I got into school for nothing - 267
I got into school for nothing (267)
Lesson 52. The Other Side of the Tower - 3
In the classroom, prepared solely for the weekly lecture, a strange silence settled.
In that tense, yet strangely excited atmosphere, Ban Yuwon, feeling a sense of déjà vu, concluded to himself, 'Well, of course.'
Today was the simulated Constellation battle for 'Babylon and the Constellations,' led by Vice-Chancellor Zenon.
"This semester, there are no new students. It is regrettable that we couldn't discover any new talent, but... fortunately, there's no need to explain the Orb again."
At the single word, 'Orb,' students here and there gulped.
Déjà vu or not, a semester ago, during the class after the midterms had just ended, the students had created a similar atmosphere.
Especially once the Orb activated, and they were completely cut off from the outside, a strange tension began to rise.
Neither high nor low, neither loud nor soft, his distinct voice reached the ears of every student filling the classroom.
His words weren't exactly accusatory in tone, but their content alone was enough to ruthlessly grate on the upperclassmen's pride.
Under the heated gazes of the upperclassmen flying in from all directions, Dokgo Yeon scoffed.
"If glaring could win you a battle, then that jealousy would have some meaning."
"I really like your confidence, but for now, let's be considerate of the other students...."
Dokgo Yeon's voice, neither loud nor soft, reverberated throughout the classroom, creating a splendid effect that drew even more gazes.
As for Dokgo Yeon herself, who had just uttered those words...
"L-like? This man, again... If you have time for nonsense, pay attention to the lecture!"
She said that with a flustered expression, and began to avoid his gaze.
As Ban Yuwon tilted his head, puzzled by her unusually meek demeanor, he heard whispering voices from behind.
He glanced back to see Mira had squeezed herself between Rucell and Asha, and they were chattering.
"You heard that too, Senior, right? She's at the point where she only hears what she wants from Yuwon's words."
"Hmm, this is quite serious. That arrogant and proud warrior has completely turned into a girl flustered by her first love. It's welcome that Yuwon can control her, but this... is a bit unsettling."
"What's wrong with it? She's so cute! Honestly, I wish I could show this current Dokgo Yeon to the her of a few months ago, who proudly declared she had 'given up on being a woman.'"
"Rucell, you're the scariest one, you are."
As Ban Yuwon desperately ignored them and turned his gaze to Zenon, their eyes met, perhaps by coincidence.
He opened his mouth to speak again.
"You all."
Indeed, as if the Vice-Chancellor's position wasn't won by chance, at Zenon's simple utterance, the chaotic atmosphere immediately settled.
"Instead of spending time envying others... you should engrave in your minds where this difference originated."
As Zenon's uniquely languid yet captivating voice resonated through the classroom, even students who hadn't yet grasped the atmosphere straightened their posture.
With a satisfied smile at everyone's silence, he continued speaking.
"Your ascent of the Tower is not merely for meaninglessly unraveling room tricks and slaying manufactured monsters and people. It's about the countless changes in the world that appear within it, the chemical reactions caused by the meeting of its constituent elements, and above all, the creative inspiration you can gain from its constant cycles of appearance and disappearance—"
It was a chilling feeling.
Could that person possibly have noticed what I experienced during my solo exploration this time?
New questions arose for Ban Yuwon, but of course, they weren't going to be resolved now.
"If you do not observe and strive to learn these things, you will, let alone climb the Tower, graduate from the Academy having gained nothing."
"Then those first-year... students are different, you mean?"
A brave student asked.
Of course, it was a student from the Special Class who disliked Rebellion, but Zenon replied without caring what dimension the student he was addressing came from.
"Of course. If you, student, also have eyes, you would know. Especially since they even broadcast kindly. They are performing well in the simulated Constellation battles, commensurate with their great achievements in the Tower. They are very intuitively proving what I have said to you all until now."
While it was good to glorify their team name, frankly speaking, it had little to do with anything.
Even if not for Ban Yuwon, the other three, during the last simulated Constellation battle, had simply pushed through with their innate abilities.
Dokgo Yeon, at least, as she directly wielded the conceptual power of 'Death' through her martial arts, had performed well by maximizing her Authority within the Orb's space. However, Rucell, who hadn't awakened as a Divine Beast at the time, and Asha, who was busy just controlling her Holy Sword, it was impressive that they had managed to score above average.
'Given that Rucell has now awakened as a Divine Beast, ideally extracting the mystery of her origins, and Asha has solidified her identity as a Dragonoid, even wielding the True Dragon Sword, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that other upperclassmen have no chance of beating us now.'
It was unfortunate for the upperclassmen who glared and heckled them, but the rest of the semester would be Rebellion's turn.
No, the entirety of their remaining time at the Academy.
"—! But Professor, they turn off their broadcasts at crucial moments..."
Intimidated by Zenon's sharp words, the upperclassman played his last card.
That topic had been discussed frequently before.
Whenever the Rebellion party rapidly cleared or skipped rooms, Ban Yuwon's Authority would invariably be at work. Even if they showed it as it was, it wouldn't be comprehensible, and allowing others to understand his abilities was even more problematic, which was why they had no choice but to cut the broadcast every time.
"Surely, you're not suggesting that first-year students must respectfully report everything they discover in the Tower to you, the student? Or are you implying that just because you don't understand the process, you intend to dismiss their achievements?"
"That's—! ...No, sir."
The Special Class student sank weakly into his seat.
Zenon let out a light sigh.
"The reason I mentioned the first-year students is because I wanted to say that only by changing your mindset towards the Tower, as they have, will progress follow. It is not an instruction to envy their achievements, deny them, or even imitate them. And this simulated Constellation battle also exists for that very purpose."
'Well, to me, it seems like the same thing.'
Ban Yuwon sympathized with Zenon's intention to break the complacent perceptions of the students, but from his position, knowing even a little of the Tower's secrets, his words sounded like deception.
To thoroughly investigate the Tower and pursue fragments of its power might indeed lead to unique growth.
However... the Authority that comprises the Tower, the principles circulating within it.
All of that ultimately—though it might sound somewhat arrogant—was the power of the Ban Yuwon family; in other words, the unconquerable power of another.
While telling them not to imitate the achievements or abilities of others, he was ironically circling back to contradict his own words.
'If Zenon himself thinks differently, then perhaps.'
What if, separate from Ban Yuwon's current abilities, Zenon firmly believed, without a shred of doubt, that someone else could obtain all the hidden secrets and Authorities of the Tower?
Then the meaning of this lecture would immediately change drastically.
Yes... to something like a meeting of rebels trying to drive out a landlord who'd come to inspect a rented house after a long time.
No matter how much the Chancellor tried to appeal that he was on his side, he couldn't fully trust him, and Zenon was even more so.
Ultimately, Ban Yuwon could only fully judge those whose concepts he could read.
'No... lately, it's becoming more and more like Rucell's words.'
He pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead, and turned to Rucell. He saw her smile, bright and seemingly innocent, which somehow felt annoying.
Her insistence on not giving up being Ban Yuwon's slave, he realized anew, was the result of incredibly shrewd and cunning calculations.
"Good. It seems everyone's gaze has shifted, even if only slightly. Please remember what you've just heard, even when you enter the space I create."
Zenon clapped his hands, bringing the situation to order.
"Today, like last semester, is free time. So that you can explore your own potential during that time. Everyone, come out now."
Then, what they had experienced last year happened again, exactly as before.
All the students came out and surrounded the Orb, and at Zenon's simple declaration, everyone was transported inside the virtual Tower.
Ban Yuwon, left alone, his eyes sparkling, suddenly saw Zenon appear before him.
In fact, he wasn't surprised, as he had somewhat expected this.
Outside, perhaps, but in this pseudo-space where he could manipulate all the energy in the air as if it were his own, it wasn't difficult to discern Zenon's presence.
"You're not surprised."
"Is there something you wish to say to me?"
"My attitude must have been easy to read. Indeed, I wanted to speak with you in my own space, where no one else can eavesdrop."
Perhaps he had been waiting for this moment for quite some time.
There was an opportunity in the first semester, so it probably wasn't then.
If so, then perhaps...
While Ban Yuwon organized his thoughts, Zenon, after a moment of hesitation, soon opened his mouth again.
"The Chancellor is worried. He believes that you, having obtained the means to control constellations, have revealed it far too easily."
"Means to control constellations, huh..."
"Student Ban Yuwon, you would know. I am talking about the magic that draws forth the power of the stars."
Staring intently at him, as if discussing a topic that should not be casually spoken of, Zenon lowered his voice and demonstrated by creating a shimmering Starlight on his palm.
Of course, it was a forgery that couldn't compare even a hair's breadth to true Starlight, but Ban Yuwon didn't bother to point it out.
Instead, he considered the possibility that the Chancellor's will had intervened in his encounter with Cellon in the Tower.
Although it was sealed, the staff imbued with Cellon was far too high-level to appear in a mere treasure chest of the 10th room.
Could it be that it was due to the Chancellor's intention to extract meaningful power from the Tower—?
'No, that couldn't be it.'
If he had the Authority to change even the contents of a room, the Chancellor's position should be different from what it is now.
Whether insiders or outsiders of the Academy, everyone regarded the Chancellor as an absolute being, yet at the same time, no one considered the Chancellor to be the master of the Tower.
That meant there was a clear limit to the influence the Chancellor could exert on the Tower.
Therefore, if the Chancellor had exerted influence over the causality of Ban Yuwon's encounter with Cellon, it was most likely not by changing the room, but by manipulating the staff in which Cellon was sealed...
What did that imply, then?
'...No way.'
Ban Yuwon, who had thought of the worst possibility, shook his head internally to dismiss the thought, and spoke.
"We were talking about Starlight, right? You said I revealed it too easily, but given my current circumstances, it's not like I can hide anything and endure. And I'm not the type to hide things anyway."
"There seems to have been a misunderstanding. What I mean by 'revealed' is your permission for others to wield it."
The moment Ban Yuwon heard those words, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Zenon.
Even though he said nothing, as if knowing what he wanted to say, Zenon offered an excuse.
"I hope you won't be wary. I am simply worried about you. Surely, you don't think the Chancellor would be unaware of Professor Yumina's abilities, do you?"
"That's not what I want to talk about. You want to say that Starlight was originally Professor Yumina's ability, don't you?"
Ban Yuwon found the word 'others' that Zenon uttered insufferable.
It was fine for him to act as the Tower's administrator, but if he arbitrarily defined and tried to manage the Authority that entangled Ban Yuwon, Yumina, and Cellon, that could only be called an overreach of authority.
"If not for you, Professor Yumina would have spent the rest of her life—"
"I merely offered a simple helping hand. Starlight was within her all along, from the very beginning. Does that answer your question?"
"Nevertheless, my conclusion remains unchanged."
"'Your' conclusion, you mean? Professor Zenon, your *own* conclusion?"
Despite Ban Yuwon's rather sharp observation, Zenon's impassive expression remained unchanged.
"Student Ban Yuwon, you must understand how remarkable your abilities are, how rare the things you hold in your hands are, and how many covet them. Only then can you protect them."
"Professor Yumina is my ally. An ally who will not waver even if the Tower collapses."
"Even if the Tower collapses, that's quite an interesting metaphor."
Having finished speaking, Zenon sighed and stepped back.
Submerged in the flow of the pseudo-space, his entire body began to fade.
"I hope my advice has been helpful. The Chancellor wishes for you to pursue your own path, unwavering in the face of anything."
"Thank you for your concern, Professor Zenon."
He had many things he wanted to say, but he chose not to refute them, and simply let Zenon go.
After Zenon's form completely disappeared, Ban Yuwon thoroughly scoured the space allocated to him with his Giwon Sword, confirming that only he was present.
"—Hah."
He exhaled a sigh and scratched his head.
Two conflicting thoughts now dominated his mind.
First, Zenon, who had seemed to casually change the subject at Ban Yuwon's observation, had in fact revealed the conceptual emotion of 'fluster'.
Conversely, it meant that Ban Yuwon had succeeded, if only for a moment, in reading his emotions with his All-Seeing Eye.
This meant that Zenon, who had initially seemed like an absolute being, was gradually descending from a realm beyond his reach.
The mental ease he gained from Zenon being incorporated into the realm of his Authority was indescribable.
Second, ironically, it was a thought completely opposite to that.
'Sister Yumina is an ally.'
It was his true feelings, which had burst out in anger at Zenon's arbitrary ramblings.
Even though their relationship had deepened, regarding Yumina, a mighty being whose every aspect he couldn't yet read, despite being unable to make a hasty judgment with just his Authority, he had already come to genuinely trust her.
This was partial proof that he was refuting Rucell's past words to him, and at the same time, proof that he greatly relied on Yumina.
―Isn't that just a belief based on the marriage alliance Rucell proposed? Since that girl is completely smitten with you――.
'Quiet, Cellon. Don't pour cold water on me just as I was feeling relieved about the humanity I have left.'
About his Authority, Starlight, Cellon had remained silent while Zenon, an outsider, rambled on and on, but now, as Cellon was finally trying to interject, Ban Yuwon silenced him, and could finally begin his training using the virtual space.
It was training to create something from nothing.
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