I got into school for nothing-Chapter 217
I got into school for nothing (217)
Lesson 43. Too Popular - 2
Every Friday morning, the gathering of the entire student body in front of the Tower had long since become an established ritual.
The hierarchy among teams was clearly displayed by their entry order into the Tower.
Some boasted, while others envied.
Perhaps the Academy intentionally emphasized this hierarchy.
After all, a timely dose of inadequacy and a spark of inferiority were perfect catalysts to boost students' competitive spirit and accelerate their development.
The first exploration of the second semester, and the glory of being the first to enter, naturally belonged to Rebellion.
"It seems like there are more people than in the first semester."
At the center of the four, as always, stood Ban Yuwon, with his uniform jacket unbuttoned.
Rucell, also in uniform, clung tightly to him as they walked, just like in the first semester.
However, the other two were different from usual.
Usually, As Light would cling to Ban Yuwon as if competing with Rucell, while Dokgo Yeon walked behind them, gazing at either As Light or Rucell with disdain.
"Ban Yuwon, are you really okay with this? Since the semester started, we haven't coordinated with that bug once."
Now, unusually, Dokgo Yeon was walking beside Ban Yuwon, matching his pace.
Of course, her attire was a black martial arts uniform, no different from the first semester. Unlike the academy uniforms, which were enchanted and processed with special materials upon distribution to students, boasting defensive power comparable to artifacts, her uniform was a garment completely devoid of magical enhancements.
Yet, throughout the entire first semester, despite Dokgo Yeon fighting in countless battles, her uniform never showed signs of dirt or tears, indicating it must be a precious item passed down from her homeland.
Perhaps it harbored a unique concept that Ban Yuwon didn't know about....
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...No, nothing. And there's no need to worry about As Light. Until we settle our match in a special competition, he promised to climb the Tower as a team member, following my instructions. Right, As Light?"
Ban Yuwon said, looking back.
As for As Light, who usually occupied Dokgo Yeon's spot...
"Hmph. I have no desire to participate in such pointless endeavors, but a contract is a contract."
Now, he walked as far away from the group as possible, muttering words that sounded like they came from a patient suffering from severe chuunibyo.
He was still wearing the thick plate armor that appeared to be royal exclusive, just like in the first semester, but the difference was that his face, revealed after taking off his helmet, had become noticeably masculine.
With his hair cut short and his blue eyes shining brightly, As Light looked exactly like a blond prince straight out of a fairy tale.
"That's As Light, right? He's completely different from the first semester!"
"You didn't know? Well, he hasn't been appearing much in Rebellion's videos lately, so I guess it's understandable."
"I don't know what happened during vacation... but he's cool."
Unaware of As Light's current exasperated state, the external onlookers simply made light-hearted comments about him becoming more manly.
Hearing the comments around them, Ban Yuwon and the others felt their stomachs churn.
This guy shouldn't be becoming more manly! Because he's not a man!
"Hmph."
As Light puffed out his chest and swaggered, as if it were only natural for him to be the center of attention, while the rest of the group, as if by prior agreement, simply ignored him.
After what felt like half an eternity of torture, the group finally arrived in front of the Tower of Babel.
The Tower remained unchanged, but the Rebellion members were completely different from when they first entered the Tower in the first semester....
"Are you ready?"
Yumina, who greeted them in front of the Tower, cheered them on with her usual warm smile.
As Light, seemingly uncomfortable, turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
"Let's go in quickly."
"Yes, we should."
After exchanging glances with Yumina, he took a step into the Tower.
Rucell, clinging to his arm, entered simultaneously. Dokgo Yeon, walking beside him, entered almost at the same time.
Finally, the moment As Light, who had been procrastinating as if he wanted to separate from them immediately, was nudged by Yumina and took a step.
The world melted away, transporting them to Room 130.
"This place is..."
As Light, who had so overtly expressed his reluctance just before entering, was now looking around Room 130, Eden, with an expression of interest.
Despite being the very person who had personally cleared up to Room 130 with them before the break, he acted as if he were entering Eden for the very first time.
Ban Yuwon deliberately ignored him and approached the fountain in the center of the room.
What overflowed from it was not pure water, but a fragrant, intoxicating liquor that made one's heart pound.
It was the all-purpose panacea, Bloody Wine, obtainable only in Eden.
"The depth of the Bloody Wine is no joke, is it? I'll be able to replenish all the amount I used during the break."
"..."
Watching Ban Yuwon extract the entire concept of Bloody Wine from the fountain and store it, As Light made an expression that was impossible to describe.
Dokgo Yeon glared sidelong at As Light, then turned her gaze to Ban Yuwon and spoke.
"If you're done, let's depart quickly. I'd like to reach Room 150 by the end of the weekend."
"Okay."
"As Light, if you hold us back, I truly won't forgive you."
"Hold back? Ha."
Could that guy be researching patterns for scoffing?
With a scoff that suggested even craftsmanship, As Light magnificently parried Dokgo Yeon's provocation, then, without hesitation, drew his Holy Sword and declared.
"You should be careful not to hold me back."
* * *
Tower of Babel Room 131 was a desert.
About ten blazing suns hung in the sky, and the scorching sands ignited in response to every step they took.
As one could tell from the mere fact that there were ten suns, it was not a naturally formed environment.
A hellish heat that even the trained bodies of superhumans could not endure.
Ban Yuwon saw his heat-resistant barrier, created with Language Magic, being breached and knew for certain.
This couldn't be dismissed as mere heat.
From now on, even the environment was unequivocally their enemy.
"Having cleared Rooms 100 to 130 so easily, I'd completely forgotten that the Tower's environment could be such a pain in the ass."
"M-master, save..."
As if to prove her beastly nature, Rucell, who was very sensitive to heat, panted with her tongue hanging out, leaning on him, despite him casting a barrier around her.
She was indeed very cute, but in this situation, clinging to each other would only make them hotter.
"Beast, circulate your internal energy! I didn't teach you martial arts just so you could waste it on nothing!"
Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon, despite refusing the barrier Ban Yuwon offered to cast for her, maintained a calm complexion. This was thanks to the internal energy furiously circulating within her body, maintaining her temperature and blocking the invasion of heat.
The reason Ban Yuwon remained composed, even after his heat-resistant barrier was breached, was because he, like her, was circulating his internal energy.
The energy of Yugi was also an ever-changing energy that could transform into anything, and if he circulated it with an appropriate amount of cooling energy, it was as effective as having an air conditioner.
"I'm doing it, but... my energy..."
On the other hand, Rucell, as a nine-tailed fox, naturally wielded the power of fire, and now also controlled the newly awakened power of lightning, thus managing two attributes.
Her internal energy was naturally based on these attributes, so while it might be enhanced in this heat-filled environment, it seemed unable to protect her from the heat itself.
Just as a cobra wielding potent venom would invariably die if bitten by another cobra....
"There's no helping it."
Ban Yuwon took the Seal Ring from his hand and slipped it onto Rucell's.
"Use it to seal the heat. You can release the sealed heat later when you use your fire abilities."
The Seal Ring was, without a doubt, among the top-tier, high-grade artifacts Ban Yuwon had obtained from the Tower.
Thanks to Ban Yuwon diligently adding to its 'Seal' concept every time he collected one, its depth of sealing had now reached 600, allowing him to completely block the invasion of heat with just a small amount of mana.
"Master...!"
Rucell, who quickly moved the ring Ban Yuwon had placed on her index finger to her ring finger, clung to him, her eyes sparkling.
In any case, her clinging remained unchanged.
Dokgo Yeon clicked her tongue.
"Beast, have you contracted some disease where you'll die if you don't cling to him every time something happens? Just watching you makes me feel hotter."
"Hmph, making such a fuss over this."
As Light had added another pattern to his repertoire.
Whether it was thanks to his Holy Sword or not, he, like Dokgo Yeon, wasn't shedding a single drop of sweat.
As Light glanced at Rucell and the ring on her hand, then spoke.
"To be unable to overcome even this much heat, reduced to relying on an item."
"Are you really saying that, holding a Holy Sword?!"
It was impossible to tell who was currently inhabiting As Light's body, but their intelligence seemed even lower than As Light's.
At least As Light himself had known what he was being swayed by!
"Ha, the Holy Sword and I are one. There's no need to distinguish between me and the Holy Sword."
As Light had added yet another pattern to his repertoire.
Ban Yuwon gave up on tackling him any further and decided to explore the room instead.
Usually, the main pattern for such deserts was for giant scorpions or similar creatures to emerge from the seemingly empty sand and attack, but one could also anticipate the opposite, with enemies appearing from the sky....
"I don't feel anything yet."
During the break, Ban Yuwon had mastered Giwon Sword and evolved to Yugi, becoming capable of reading and reacting to all concepts around him in real-time. However, if the Tower changed faster than his reaction speed, there would be nothing he could do.
"It doesn't seem like a Trick Room, but..."
"There's a possibility it's a Chain Room, though. That would be a welcome development."
The sheer scale of the room, far grander than anything they had experienced so far, and an environment that tested the limits of both body and mind.
If such conditions were set and it ended with just one room, that would truly be unbelievable.
While it was common for other first-years to have never even experienced a Trick Room, let alone a Chain Room, Rebellion had long since surpassed the standards for first-years.
As they realized the formidable nature of their environment, all the members, including Rucell who had been dazed by the ring, felt a surge of strength and a healthy tension fill their bodies.
Regardless of whether they had endured hardships throughout the break or not, the Tower wouldn't care for the students' circumstances and would test them however it pleased.
"As expected, it's coming from below!"
Ban Yuwon, feeling a colossal concept surge from the ground, activated the concepts of 'leap' and 'ascend' to spring into the air, shouting.
As if Rucell and Dokgo Yeon had been waiting for his words, the next moment, they leaped up together.
The desert floor collapsed.
"Huh...?"
Dokgo Yeon made an inarticulate sound.
What she saw when she looked down was just a pitch-black hole.
Ban Yuwon, belatedly realizing its true nature, shouted again.
"It's a whale!"
"Then that's... a whale's throat...?"
Gazing at the gigantic black hole, a hundred meters in diameter, Dokgo Yeon was utterly dumbfounded.
For a moment, she wondered if she should shove a living giant into that throat, but thankfully, she didn't voice it.
Rucell, who had already manifested all nine of her tails and was rotating them like propellers, effortlessly floating in the sky, narrowed her eyes and examined the whale that had appeared above the desert.
"Perhaps the Tower of Babel thought that if it just sent out a giant monster, we would struggle?"
"Stop comparing the Tower of Babel to a third-rate game developer."
"...But where's As Light?"
At Dokgo Yeon's words, Rucell let out a gasp and looked around, but of course, he was nowhere to be seen.
"That bug! No sooner do I speak than he causes trouble again...!"
"No, wait."
Just as Dokgo Yeon's eyes widened and she was about to descend towards the whale, Ban Yuwon grabbed her.
While searching the surroundings with Giwon Sword after hearing her words, he had detected an unusual flow of concepts.
"Let go, Ban Yuwon. No matter how much I dislike him, if that bug gets retired... Hm?"
Dokgo Yeon, as if she had felt it too, closed her mouth and looked down at her feet.
The whale, which had leaped up with its gigantic maw wide open, intending to swallow even the group, was seen failing to achieve its objective, sinking back into the sand.
No, more precisely, just before that, it lost its balance and thrashed on the sandy ground, causing a tremendous roar and an earthquake.
"Could it be?"
The next moment, after a cautious incantation.
The whale's body exploded into fragments, and a blue light surged forth!
[You have obtained 50 Sand Whale. This is the concept of a higher organism, which humans cannot possess.]
A Sand Whale, quite literally.
What makes this even a 'higher organism'?
Since the monster was dead, Ban Yuwon instinctively reached out to retrieve its concept, and was able to confirm As Light's appearance emerging from amidst the dissipating monster's corpse.
An immaculate appearance, unbelievable for someone who had just entered and exited a whale's belly.
"...Hmph."
As Light looked up at Ban Yuwon and his group, who were floating in the sky, and with a smirk, he added yet another pattern to his repertoire.
Next to Ban Yuwon, who was desperately trying to stop a furious Dokgo Yeon from activating her martial arts, Rucell quietly opened her mouth and said.
"...Perhaps this Light is superior to the original Light?"
Everyone had been thinking it, but no one had dared to say it aloud. And she had blurted it out without hesitation!
Ban Yuwon shivered, but couldn't bring himself to deny it.
But at the same time, it also meant that compared to the beginning of the first semester, the extent to which As Light had been 'devoured' by the Holy Sword was severe....
In just that one day, the group succeeded in clearing up to Room 140.
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