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I got into school for nothing - Chapter 255

I got into school for nothing (255)

Lesson 50. Dragon's Tomb - 1

It was, indeed, a magnificent spectacle.

To be brutally honest, Aneri and the others had never expected this ruin exploration to end peacefully from the very beginning.

Truth be told, they were actually looking forward to a conflict.

The guardian alliance formed by the thirteen planetary civilizations comprising the D-13 Dimension was a notoriously hopeless alliance, famous for its incessant internal conflicts, even with dimension pirates as a clear external enemy. Ban Yuwon, for Asha's sake if nothing else, intended to turn this place upside down at least once.

It wasn't just Ban Yuwon who harbored such thoughts; from the moment Asha became strange, Yumina had been continuously monitoring the D-13 Dimension.

Then, she learned of the ruin's discovery on Galahad, and after consulting with Aneri, they took measures to ensure that a rumor, stating a member of the Level Force mercenary group possessed the Authority to open ruins, would spread on Galahad.

‘And those fools were beautifully hooked, lured us here to this very spot.’

However, the very fact that she learned of the ruin's discovery on Galahad meant that information control within Galahad was not absolute.

It's safe to assume that most members of the alliance were aware of the ruin's existence.

These were people who caused internal strife even when nothing was happening, so would they truly remain still when faced with a major event like a ruin?

Indeed, they had even confirmed the presence of an unscheduled scout ship, making it obvious that conflict was inevitable.

‘The only reason they'd been quiet so far was probably because none of them possessed the ability to open a ruin anyway.’

But right now, Level Force was here.

This meant those eyeing the ruin could now move without restraint.

He was confident he wouldn't be surprised even if there were traitors among the knights accompanying their party.

No, they were definitely there.

They were so weak that even though he had no particular connection to them, their emotions were transparently obvious.

“But how did you avoid the scout ship? If you’d shot it down, there’d be chaos by now...”

“That’s a trade secret. Now, lead us to the ruin. Let’s finish this quickly before we’re disturbed.”

“Very well. I hope you won’t break our contract.”

“We should be saying that.”

Watching Aneri and Crown Prince Roccius clash, sparks flying, as they kept each other in check even before entering the ruin, Ban Yuwon used telepathy to inform and warn all his party members about those present whom he judged to be enemies.

—Their combat power alone isn't much to speak of, but we don't know what they're hiding. So, if push comes to shove, subdue these guys first.

—What about that guy?

Ban Yumi's retort wasn't telepathy; her will resonated and was transmitted only to party members who possessed the same crimson flame.

It was a means of communication with overwhelmingly higher stability, though limited in the number of recipients compared to telepathy.

It made sense that the Ten Great Families had prospered with such abilities, Ban Yuwon marveled anew, even as he replied via telepathy.

—Roccius wasn't lying when he spoke with Aneri earlier. However, he doesn't seem to have any intention of truly upholding his contract with us.

—Damn it, then what was the point of big sister negotiating, even resorting to a battle of wills?

Selden’s reply was also not telepathy.

It was a magic that pierced the mind more violently, likely closer to a form of telepathy.

While it was somewhat surprising that Selden, a former pirate whose speech and actions showed little refinement, wielded magic, conversely, if he had no special abilities, he wouldn't have held a position in the Crimson Spear.

—That's a disguise, of course. The responsibility for breaking the contract falls on whoever reveals their true intentions first.

—It's only possible because they don't know we have the master key. Hehehe.

Aneri, who was at the forefront of the party, engaged in a sharp confrontation with Roccius, yet skillfully interjected herself into the team's conversation.

This was a technique fundamentally akin to telepathy.

A master key, Ban Yuwon chuckled and replied.

—Don't needlessly butt in; just play your part well.

—That's a given, of course. Among the countless Ninjutsu... skills I've mastered, there's one that allows me to split my mind in two.

Setting aside the fact that Aneri's deceptive nature had become increasingly apparent since the start of this mission, it seemed she was slowly but overtly revealing her true identity, so he decided to intentionally ignore her.

“From now on, we’ll travel by carriage.”

“That’s fine, but surely you don’t intend to drag all those knights along with us to that place, do you?”

The spaceship's landing spot had been a secluded forest, but the place Roccius led them to was even more remote.

Aneri frowned, looking at the carriages waiting in a line.

Roccius, on the other hand, replied unhurriedly.

“I have no intention of publicizing the fact that we're exploring a ruin. However, as you’ve experienced, there are no perfect secrets on this planet. Therefore, I plan to split our group midway to confuse anyone who might be pursuing us.”

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, Ban Yuwon felt the vibrations from the broken cross fragment inside his inventory growing stronger.

It seemed to be reacting more violently as they drew closer to the ruin site.... Ban Yuwon, checking with Lilyth, who was nestled in his chest, masquerading as a common throwing knife,

‘If I reverse-calculate this, couldn’t I roughly pinpoint the ruin's location?’

[I already finished the calculations ages ago and sent Tikke up. Ah, I think she found it?]

His familiars were all so capable that Ban Yuwon barely had a chance to do anything himself.

Ban Yuwon confirmed the coordinates of the location Tikke sent via resonance, then spoke to Aneri.

—I've got the coordinates; let's go with spatial movement. Act all grand and declare you're about to use spatial magic.

—No, Yuwon-nim, how did you know the ruin's location...? Even setting that aside, spatial movement? Perhaps you don't realize, being usually at Union, but that's not a skill that should emerge from a Lower-Rank Dimension.

—People from Lower-Rank Dimensions can't even open ruins.

—That's true. You really are the best, Yuwon-nim.

When Aneri, convinced by Ban Yuwon's logic, relayed this directly, Roccius burst out laughing.

“Hahahahaha! If we could really move directly to the ruin's entrance, why would I refuse? That's a funny joke, but no matter how excellent your mercenary group is, something like that is only possible for the Ten Great Families...”

He had received his implicit permission.

The most crucial condition for applying spatial magic to others had been cleared, so there was no need to hesitate any longer.

In truth, the other knights, excluding Roccius, possessed such negligible magical power that they could be drawn into the spatial magic without any need for such theatrics.

—Whoosh

The next moment, Ban Yuwon's party of six, plus four knights including Roccius—a total of ten people—arrived at a ruin scattered with construction materials.

Though it looked like a place where no ruin would exist, seeing Roccius’s expression stiffen the moment they arrived at this location, it seemed they had arrived at the correct spot.

The other knights were frozen solid, as if they didn't even have the energy to speak, which was somewhat amusing.

“What in the... How?”

Roccius, dumbfounded, mumbled incomprehensible words, but still urgently checked on the three knights who had accompanied him.

Each of them was a knight he usually didn't trust, which was because Ban Yuwon, knowing they were all traitors, had deliberately hand-picked only them to bring along.

“This is... Damn it. How did you know this was the ruin again?”

“Indeed, ahem. We told you we could open ruins. Our ruin-related technology is superior.”

At Roccius’s words, which evoked a deep sense of agreement, Aneri, who had almost inadvertently nodded and revealed her thoughts, hastily changed her wording.

“As you wished, you no longer have to worry about our movements being exposed, right? Now, let's enter the ruin.”

“No, wait. Damn it... Ugh, there’s a strong knight among those we left behind.”

“A strong knight? What a joke.”

Fortunately, Aneri, who had returned to her usual relaxed demeanor, snorted dismissively.

“From our perspective, they're all pretty much the same. Furthermore, I guarantee that as long as you don't break the contract first, you won't be harmed inside the ruin.”

“......”

Roccius felt he was being reeled in at this point.

However, from his perspective, with the fate of his nation riding on this ruin exploration, the current situation was indeed a golden opportunity.

In the end, he closed his eyes tightly, but still nodded.

“Let’s go in.”

He ordered his knights to clear away some of the debris, revealing a stone staircase leading underground.

It was a stone staircase that exuded the passage of vast ages, its age clearly different from its surroundings.

Roccius took the lead, with one knight beside him, and the other two knights circled around behind Ban Yuwon’s party.

As they descended the stone stairs, Aneri, feeling the unpleasant gazes fixed on the back of their heads from behind, sighed and asked him,

—Yuwon-nim, did you bring only these suspicious guys to prevent information leaks?

—Of course. There's no need to go around advertising that we can use spatial movement. They will all die in here.

—Oh dear. Son, when you say 'kill' so easily, your mother gets scared.

—Isn't it the DNA Mother passed down?

—Yumi, what did you just say?

Leaving the two who had started a mother-daughter squabble, Ban Yuwon shared all the information he had gathered in that short time with the rest of the group.

—As you all probably know, there's already a faction that has infiltrated this planet. Some of those knights even have devices installed in their bodies that transmit their location the moment they die. So, you can assume that once they die, it'll be a free-for-all from that instant.

—There's no point hiding anything from Young Master.

—And also... I'd like us to claim all the ruins for ourselves. Everyone, move with that in mind.

—We could just kill them all.

Thwack! Aneri suddenly smacked Selden on the back of his head.

To the startled knights, Aneri calmly replied that there had been a bug.

Selden, the pervert, looked wronged yet showed a hint of pleasure.

Ban Yuwon began to wonder if this mercenary group could truly bring down Prominence.

“This is the entrance.”

After walking down the stone stairs for well over ten minutes, a colossal door finally appeared before their eyes.

A door made of an unknown metal, testifying to the traces of an ancient civilization.

It absorbed all magical and physical impacts, and stood there for hundreds, even thousands of years, never aging or being destroyed.

“Hm.”

Aneri gestured to Ban Yuwon with her eyes.

Buried among the party members, Ban Yuwon stepped forward for the first time, and the gazes of Roccius and the other knights converged on him.

“This person... the one who used that spatial magic earlier...”

“You're in the way, move.”

The moment Ban Yuwon pushed Roccius aside and positioned himself before the door, reaching out to touch the metal door, strings of various complex concepts swirled, transmitting information to him.

Naturally, the heaviest concept was 'Seal', and he saw rare metals formed from a fusion of various concepts, but even more important was the cross, vibrating as if boiling in response to these concepts.

Ban Yuwon secretly took it out of his inventory and held it against the door.

—Authentication failed. Damage to the Master Key has been confirmed. Please go through other authentication procedures to restore it.

A mechanical ancient language echoed throughout the entire space.

Of course, because it was an ancient language, no one but Ban Yuwon understood it.

“It truly... responded.”

“Someone with such abilities in a not-so-famous mercenary group?”

Roccius and the knights, taking this as proof that the seal was being smoothly released, widened their eyes and scrutinized Ban Yuwon, but there was no way for them to discern his personal information, protected as he was by a mask.

‘A master key, was this really the key?’

Indeed, in comics and such, it's common for a protagonist's initial equipment to turn out to be the key to advanced facilities.

When you think about it, Asha was practically the protagonist of this dimension, and the necklace Asha wore around her neck was both a shackle restricting her freedom and, at the same time, a key item, wasn't it?

Thus, this development could even be considered natural!

Furthermore, though he couldn't be certain, some of the metal making up the metal door seemed to have the same composition as the metal that formed the master key in Ban Yuwon's possession.

‘First, let’s open it.’

If it was merely a matter of opening it, it was simple.

The concept of 'Seal' that formed the metal door was extremely firm, so Ban Yuwon couldn't simply extract it. However, he possessed the Seal Ring, a supreme artifact.

When he brought it to the door, the concept of 'Seal' that formed the door naturally became disrupted and released, and then, drawn by his Authority, it was entirely absorbed into the Seal Ring!

Seal Ring [Seal 850, Amplify 100, Enhance 100]

In the process, all the concepts constituting the Seal Ring grew dramatically!

Before Ban Yuwon, who wore a knowing smile, the majestic metal door that had stood firm, lost the concept of 'Seal' that had maintained its durability, and crumbled.

However, amidst that, all the concepts that had formed it flew towards Ban Yuwon, and were sucked into the cross in his possession.

Soul Liberation [Seal Soul 1,000, Demon Slaying 500, Ancient Knowledge 500]

It restored the cross to its original form... No, even earlier than when Asha possessed it, restoring it to its state when it was first created!

—Master Key restored. Please restore the consumed artifacts without delay.

Ban Yuwon hadn't explicitly done anything.

It was simply that as he opened the door, a protocol designated as the highest priority for this facility—the 'Master Key's Restoration'—was executed, and the ancient metal blocking the entrance was consumed to restore the cross!

‘Jackpot.’

With the upgraded Seal Ring, and the overwhelmingly superior high-tier artifact, Soul Liberation, which made even the Seal Ring pale in comparison, now in his possession, Ban Yuwon could have simply made a U-turn and returned to the academy at this point, but...

If this was just the entrance, how many treasures could there possibly be inside?

Ban Yuwon subtly swallowed, so as not to be noticed, and looked back.

The remaining nine members of the party were staring blankly at him.

“Let’s go.”

He declared in the most nonchalant voice he could muster, and stepped into the wide-open ruin.

The others could only stare blankly and follow him.