I got into school for nothing - 251
I got into school for nothing (251)
Lesson 49. Casanova's Holiday - 1
It was Saturday morning, the eighth week of the second semester. All exams related to midterms and all assignments, with the exception of the magic thesis with Aire, were complete.
Ban Yuwon had entered an empty low-rank dungeon near Union with Shati.
“Hmm, just the right place for a stray cat to sneak into. Narrow, cozy, and dirty.”
This was accompanied by Mira, a power user capable of imbuing her bright smile with poison and curses.
“Juniorrrrrr, I’ll curse youuuuu!”
“Nooo.”
A secret technique passed down through generations of the fairy royal family... or so Ban Yuwon had just arbitrarily added to the description. Even as Shati writhed under the Elven Cobra Twist, spitting venom at him, Ban Yuwon couldn’t help but question her, despite feeling a little guilty at the sight.
“You should have at least tried to deceive her!”
“Unlike some people, I’m the type who can’t lie to someone I love.”
“You philanderer! You devil!”
“Hahaha, hearing the word ‘devil’ from an Evil One gives me a unique feeling.”
As Ban Yuwon feigned indifference, as if it were none of his business, Mira, having finished punishing Shati, exuded the aura of a demon king resurrected from the dead and sat in a seiza posture to one side.
“Alright, go on now. Do it. Whether it’s a hug or a kiss.”
“Ughhhhh, really!”
Shati, who absolutely did not want Mira to find out about her summoning practice, but also couldn’t stop now that she was here, approached Ban Yuwon slowly, tears streaming down her face.
“You look like something out of a horror movie; can you wipe your tears first? And if you’re planning to use them as a catalyst for summoning, bring a basin.”
“So! What’s the solution?!”
Casually accepting Shati’s petulant outburst, Ban Yuwon explained what had happened with Yumina yesterday, indirectly and briefly, touching on personal matters as little as possible.
After all, everyone already knew something was going on between Ban Yuwon and Yumina because this morning she had deliberately come all the way to the student cafeteria where the Rebellion members were eating and smiled brightly, shooting “love-love beams” before leaving.
If that was the case, it was better to simply present the facts before any baseless rumors spread, to minimize the damage.
“Hmph... I knew it was only a matter of time with that person, but yes. So that’s how it happened.”
“Is that what’s important right now?! It’s Codeword, Mira. Codeword! If he makes a single mistake, the Ortima Family might capture Junior Yuwon and dissect him alive!”
“I already knew about Yuwon’s Codeword.”
“Do you really not feel satisfied unless you constantly flaunt your relationship with him in front of me?”
Just because Ban Yuwon could interfere with internal concepts using his Codeword didn’t mean all problems were solved.
After analyzing Shati’s Authority for some time, the unfortunate conclusion was that the structure of her summoning magic could not be changed.
Summoning could only ever call forth monsters from the Demon World, and to properly command them, Blood Magic was required no matter what.
Since Shati didn’t want to acquire Blood Magic, it was unclear where to even begin modifying things.
“From what I’ve observed, your summoning magic divides into three stages. First, finding a world where Blood Magic flows. Then, summoning a monster possessing Blood Magic from there. Finally, commanding it with Blood Magic. The first two are beyond alteration. Meaning, the summoning location and the summoned entity cannot be changed.”
“Originally, the command through Blood Magic should also be maintained as is. However, because I was born without Blood Magic, it caused a conflict with my Authority...”
“That’s still fortunate. After all, it means there’s a way to modify the method of command, or rather, how the summoned monsters are handled.”
As evidence that Ban Yuwon hadn't been secretly cheating with Shati all this time, the explanations flowed out, and Mira, listening beside them, nodded and added:
“Since you’re not going to raise these monsters for life anyway, it seems like we could temporarily trick and use them. Like, with Changeling.”
“That has its limits. Records are left in the Authority as summoning is repeated.”
Every time Shati summons, she often fails to pay a suitable price to the target and ends up killing it herself.
She might not have known it at first, but such cruel actions she took with each summoning were etched into her Authority and transmitted in real-time to the summoned monsters.
Therefore, the more she repeated her summons, the worse the monsters’ reactions to their summoner became.
In other words, even if they could temporarily trick and control monsters with Changeling here, if such records persistently remained, it would eventually revert to a situation where monsters would attack the summoner the moment they were summoned.
“Then isn’t it already over? Even if you change the price now, the monsters won’t willingly obey, right?”
“You’re right, Mira. Precisely.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Junior? Fine, then let’s duel for Mira.”
To Shati, who was knocked down by Mira’s Elven Dropkick, Ban Yuwon kindly explained.
“You should listen to the end. If it’s a monster you can’t properly contract with anyway, then we need to think about how to make use of it. For example, your summons—the monsters summoned by your Authority—possess far more mana than the mana expended to activate the Authority itself. That alone is an absurd advantage.”
“What good is a large amount of mana, if I can’t even command the monster?”
“Mana is destructive power. Haven’t you been to the abandoned dimensions? The destructive power unleashed when monsters collapse is formidable, even setting aside the infection waves.”
Seeing Ban Yuwon make such half-mad remarks, Shati wore an expression as if she was seeing something terrifying and blasphemous.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Ban Yuwon suddenly declared, ‘I am a bomber.’
“Mira, do something about your boyfriend.”
“Huh? He’s a genius.”
“No, that’s wrong, your rose-tinted glasses are too thick...!”
Shati was appalled by Ban Yuwon’s idea of using monsters as bombs, but Ban Yuwon had actually concluded that there was no other way.
“At the very least, you agree that you can’t just summon monsters and use them as they are, don’t you, Senior?”
“That’s true, but... So? What are you going to do?”
“First, we summon two monsters.”
“Not one, but two monsters. And then?”
“We immediately fuse those two monsters. As it happens, I have a concept I acquired from an abandoned dimension here. We combine this with your Authority to enable fusion.”
Ban Yuwon pulled out his Code Core and explained naturally, as if advertising a product on a home shopping channel.
Mira and Shati, of course, having watched the live broadcast of the abandoned dimension purification, knew what ‘fusion’ meant.
“Infection waves?!”
“You can rest assured, I’ve cut all of that out.”
Just as potato sprouts are poisonous but can be eaten deliciously if cut off, the concept of a chimera generated by infection waves could be effectively utilized if only the waves themselves were removed.
Although Ban Yuwon kindly provided such explanations, Shati, listening, couldn’t simply nod in agreement.
“Ah... anyway, alright. So, since we can’t use monsters as they are, we summon two at once and fuse them. I understand that far. Then what’s next?”
“Fusion is a concept that doesn’t guarantee results. So, even if you fuse monsters, there’s no guarantee that a proper monster will appear, and even if a monster is miraculously completed, its structure is extremely unstable. Therefore, it would be difficult to command it like other summoners anyway.”
“Then it’s meaningless!”
“Surprisingly, what appears then is the complementary concept of Collapse!”
His tone was like someone introducing a partially cooked sample, skipping the basic cooking steps.
“With this concept, a fusion of two monsters, whose genetic factors are haphazardly mixed and extremely unstable, can be easily collapsed! In that process, destructive energy, completely harmless to humans, is emitted, inflicting horrific damage upon targets near the designated coordinates!”
“Harmless to humans, my foot!”
“It means at least enemies hit by the Collapse explosion won’t turn into monsters.”
After finishing his explanation of how the two concepts, Fusion and Collapse, functioned in the monster summoning process, Ban Yuwon pointed to the faintly glowing red magic circle on the back of Shati’s hand and added.
“The problem was how to harmonize these two concepts with your Authority, but I got a grasp of it yesterday while modifying Professor Yumina’s abilities with Codeword. Once the procedure is complete, Senior, you’ll be able to activate your Authority and detonate an instant bomb at a desired location.”
“I was the bomber, though...”
Shati was aghast at the proposed method of utilizing her Authority, which had concluded in a completely different direction than she had imagined, but she soon accepted that there was no other way.
In fact, the way she had effectively utilized her Authority until now was by abruptly summoning monsters into enemy lines to cause indiscriminate destruction... which was essentially not so different from what Ban Yuwon was suggesting now!
Moreover, with Ban Yuwon’s method, she could attack enemies at her desired timing, and it was even more powerful than generally utilizing mana.
There was no longer any reason to refuse.
“Kyahahaha... Fine! If this is how it is, I’ll become a bomber or whatever it takes!”
“Then let’s proceed with the procedure immediately. ...Mira? You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to kiss her.”
Since this involved inserting and modifying concepts that Ban Yuwon possessed, it was far more complex than the Codeword he had manifested on Yumina yesterday. However, having thoroughly examined her Authority for the past two weeks and pondered how to interfere and transform it, he was able to complete it without error.
“Whoa...”
Ban Yuwon invested a whopping 1,000 of the Fusion (融合) concept and 300 of the Collapse (崩壞) concept, which he had acquired from the abandoned dimension purification, to fundamentally change her summoning Authority. The transformed Authority now took on an even more intricate magic circle form, with golden lines interwoven between the red, suggesting Ban Yuwon’s touch.
“...This is a bit embarrassing.”
Shati stared intently at the completed Authority, her cheeks flushed, as if imagining something.
Mira wore an expression as if she wanted to rip the skin off Shati’s hand right then and there, but Ban Yuwon, knowing that Shati’s attitude was an intentional act to provoke such a reaction from Mira, sighed and distanced himself from Shati.
“That was quite a significant investment. You know that, right? I plan to actively carry out abandoned dimension purifications in the future... So know that I’ll be asking for your help then, Senior.”
“If this Authority becomes useful, as you say, then of course I’ll cooperate. You’ll share a bit of that concept, won’t you?”
“Depends on how you do. Shall we try an experiment?”
“Yes, I want to confirm the destructive power proportional to the mana.”
Ban Yuwon immediately wielded his Giwon Sword, forming a barrier in front of them.
Beyond the barrier, Shati stretched out her hand towards the interior of the dungeon and activated her Authority. A sphere containing powerful gravitational force appeared in the air, and in an instant, the transmuted mana of monsters condensed!
“Wow, two monsters are being shredded the moment they’re summoned, not even knowing why...”
“And that’s not all?! The fusion is affecting the surroundings too, it seems to be drawing in external mana!”
“It’s an advantage, as it can pull opponents in to prevent them from dodging attacks.”
“Yuwon, what in the world have you created?”
The modified Authority manifested in two stages.
Firstly, the moment the magic circle was activated, two monsters were simultaneously summoned and fused. Secondly, by snapping her fingers, the fused entity would Collapse, creating an artificial explosion.
The moment Shati activated her Authority, she gauged the destructive power it would unleash, and with a slightly composed expression, carefully snapped her fingers.
—KWA-BOOM!
At that instant.
The dungeon vanished.
In the suddenly clear, expansive view, all three were speechless. Soon, Mira, having regained her composure, let out a soft ‘Hoo-hoo’ and gave a relaxed smile.
“As expected of Yuwon. The barrier is sturdy, isn’t it?”
“Junior Yuwon! What in the world have you created?! You’re not planning to go around making these things explode everywhere, are you?!”
But Shati absolutely could not remain calm.
Looking around, it wasn’t just one dungeon, but several other dungeons in the nearby dungeon cluster seemed to have been linked together and obliterated at once.
Ban Yuwon nodded, satisfied with the result that, though designed by him, had truly worked perfectly.
“It’s fine. The only Evil One I know is President Senior.”
“Is that the problem... Ah.”
She herself, the other full professors, and probably even the Chancellor could not possibly fathom the full extent of Ban Yuwon’s potential.
Just as she grasped that realization and pressed a hand to her forehead, Shati noticed something connected to her Authority screaming.
“What’s wrong, Shati?”
“Well, there’s a Bronze Devil I summoned for an experiment once and then neglected. I forgot to kill it beforehand, and it seems the information from that explosion just now was transmitted to it.”
“...”
“It’s completely terrified right now, begging that it’ll do anything if I just quietly kill it...”
Indeed.
Ban Yuwon understood.
It must have been a truly terrifying experience...
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