I got into school for nothing - Chapter 280
I got into school for nothing (280)
Lesson 54. What Not to Touch – 5
“Oh.”
The moment he casually extended his hand and activated his power, Ban Yuwon realized something was different from usual.
It wasn't because someone else, or the Tower, had influenced him.
It was because he had succeeded in creating a single goblin purely with his own ability.
—Kieehk!
A goblin, born just now, gaining new life by Ban Yuwon's hand, using the countless fragments discharged by the Tower as material.
As if knowing that Ban Yuwon, not the Tower, had created it, the monster stared intently at him for a moment before bowing its head, then disappeared, sucked into a hole in the ceiling along with the other goblins.
Cellon, who had been leisurely drinking black tea with the chocolate Ban Yuwon brought, also stared blankly at it and let out an exclamation of awe.
“That was fast.”
“Indeed...”
Although the Tower had prepared everything, the sensation of creating a living being with his own hands felt particularly special to Ban Yuwon.
Of course, there were entities like Eve or Lilyth, who were originally inanimate objects but gained sentience and a status beyond mere living beings. But those were cases where objects with distinct forms from the start gained sentience, evolved, and grew.
In contrast, the goblin he had just created? It was a creature molded from scratch, combining life, demonic essence, a minute amount of soul, and a negligible dash of swordsmanship for individuality.
“You’ve become a creator god.”
“Not exactly, unless I created it from complete nothingness.”
“Ordinary people wouldn’t even distinguish the difference, you know.”
“That’s true, but...”
Had it not been for this place, The Progenitor's Room, where remnants of life constantly flowed in and new life was born through the Tower's mysteries, he would have required far more time to reach such a stage.
So, what could he do now? Truthfully, apart from goblins, he still wasn't confident in creating anything else.
More cases, more practice were needed.
As if this space understood that, it immediately transported him to The Next Progenitor's Room.
No, perhaps ‘factory’ would be a more fitting name.
“Wow, the scale just expanded immensely.”
“Where in the world is such a place hidden within the Tower...”
First, the room they were in became slightly larger, and the holes in the floor and ceiling vanished, replaced by doors leading to other rooms on all four walls.
Each door had a nameplate inscribed with a different monster's name, meaning each of those rooms served the same function as the goblin’s Progenitor’s Room from earlier.
In the central room where they now stood, connecting to all the Progenitor's Rooms, there was not only a large sofa and table, just like in the goblin’s Progenitor’s Room, but also an incredibly plush-looking bed.
“What, why is there a bed like that... You don’t mean?!”
Even as the space warped and shifted, Cellon, who had been calmly seated, drinking tea, suddenly saw the bed and her expression twisted. She urgently rose to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at him.
“Are you trying to take advantage of us being alone to do something weird to me? Like you did with that perverted fairy or that lewd beast-kin!”
“You’re just casually insulting Mira and Rucell because they’re not here, aren’t you? And I didn’t set up this bed, so calm down.”
“Oh, right, you didn’t.”
Seeing her immediately calm down and sit back, it seemed it was her own kind of joke.
She occasionally displayed a peculiar sense of humor. Was it perhaps because Cellon, contrary to her appearance, was even older than Yumina...
“Didn’t you just insult me in your head?”
“No, not at all? More importantly, let’s check those out.”
“You go. I’ll just stay here and drink tea.”
“...Then at least properly infuse Starlight into the Talismans.”
Ban Yuwon checked the total of eight doors, one by one, starting from the left.
There were monsters representative of the Tower, such as Tower Spiders and Crustaceans, and surprisingly, there was also a Troll, a monster he had never encountered inside the Tower before, except for Asha.
Come to think of it, Asha mentioned facing a Troll in her entrance exam. Who would have thought that would be foreshadowing?
Ban Yuwon, indulging in pointless musings while checking all eight Progenitor's Rooms and observing how concepts were collected and new monsters created within them, returned to the central room with a vigorous nod.
“You’re back?”
Cellon, who had set her teacup aside and was evenly infusing Starlight into dozens of Talismans, held them out to Ban Yuwon and tilted her head.
Before the Starlight could escape from the Talismans, he activated the power of his ring, sealed them all, then retrieved them into his inventory with a shrug.
“With the skill of only just having created a goblin, it seems impossible. We’ve spent a lot of time, so let’s head back for today.”
“Alright...”
“Why?”
Feeling uneasy at her lukewarm expression, Ban Yuwon questioned her. Cellon set down her teacup and answered honestly.
“From my perspective, what you’re going through right now feels like a class for raising the Tower’s administrator. Don’t you think so too?”
“I’ve thought that from the beginning?”
“Right...”
Cellon fell silent, seemingly deep in thought, then quickly glanced around before shaking her head, as if saying, ‘Never mind.’
“We’ll talk later. It’s not that important anyway.”
“No, don’t you know you’ll be punished for making someone anxious like this? Don’t leave me feeling uneasy, just tell me.”
“It’s just—I was thinking about the Tower’s intention in giving you this kind of education. It’s such an artificial setup.”
Well—of course, it’s an arrangement made by my ancestor.
Ban Yuwon, who was about to say that, promptly closed his mouth.
Cellon was half-bound to him as a vassal, so she roughly knew how he was connected to the Babel Tower.
The fact that she said such a thing, even knowing that... did that mean she suspected his ancestor?
Or the Chancellor and Zenon?
In either case, Ban Yuwon had considered the possibility, but he couldn’t exactly reject the hidden side of the Tower that was helping his talents blossom.
As the saying goes, ‘once on a tiger’s back, there’s no getting off’. From the moment he first entered the hidden side of the Tower under the guise of Solo Exploration, no, from the moment he decided to enroll in Union Academy upon seeing the Babel Tower standing tall, he had been on an unstoppable sprint.
‘Still, it’s a good time.’
He had also been thinking that it was about time to investigate more thoroughly.
Especially since there was someone who knew more about the origins of the Tower and the world than anyone else, wasn’t there?
Namely, Eire, a Dragonian who carried on the will of the True Dragon, and the Melodia Family who sponsored her.
Especially since Eire herself had even told him to come visit during the break—
‘I can’t go during the break because I have to visit Yeon’s dimension, but my business there will only take a day anyway. If I classify it as a special activity, like when I went to Senior Shatie’s dimension last time...’
“I know what you’re thinking, but stop.”
Cellon, who shared his thoughts, shook her head vehemently with a horrified expression.
“You’d reject her invitation to visit during the break and only go for your own business? If a man I cared for did that to me, I’d curse him with all my spiritual power.”
“It’s fine. I can just make an excuse that I came to at least say hello because I was sorry I couldn’t visit during the break.”
“So you were aware that you were doing something bad?”
However, Ban Yuwon didn’t realize that he wouldn’t need to visit the Melodia Family to uncover the truth he sought.
Hadn’t Eire already kindly warned him?
That the ruins where the True Dragon slept had awakened, and there wasn’t much time left until its activation.
* * *
Aside from the training conducted in the Tower, he had a mountain of tasks to complete.
Drafting his magic thesis, which was nearing completion, and helping the Special Admissions for Lower-Rank Dimensions seniors who still hadn’t found their direction.
He also needed to set a date to visit Mira’s dimension, and he had to keep in touch with his sister in advance.
Yumina still wanted to spend time alone with him under the pretext of teaching him magic, and Student Council duties couldn’t be neglected either.
This week, perhaps due to a feeling, a Tower climb with his companions, which felt like a long time coming, was also scheduled.
“Haaah...”
Thursday night.
After finishing his sparring match with Dokgo Yeon, Ban Yuwon, too lazy to even go shower, conceptualized all the grime on his body and completely annihilated it, then let out a yawn.
Seeing this, Dokgo Yeon blinked her eyes and asked.
“Are you sleepy?”
“Yeah, hmm—a little.”
Originally, perhaps due to his outstanding Authority and the resulting spiritual status, Ban Yuwon’s stamina was quite robust compared to his raw combat power. However, since receiving supplies of life essence and blood wine from Eden, he rarely felt fatigued.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to endure the deadly schedule that stretched from the beginning of the second semester to the Union Foundation Festival...
“It’s a bit early to sleep... but it might be better to rest today.”
Dokgo Yeon also realized that even after the Foundation Festival, Ban Yuwon, far from becoming idle, was moving even more busily.
This was because as Ban Yuwon transcended the student level and gained the ability to truly influence various dimensions, the number of entities seeking to act by relying on his special Authority had increased.
His actions for not only himself but also all his companions hadn’t changed since the beginning of his first year, but now it felt like many more individuals had entered the category of ‘companions’.
‘The makings of a ruler.’
It was a quality Dokgo Yeon herself possessed, but she dared say his ‘vessel’ was of a different caliber.
With an embrace that could even pull in someone as headstrong as herself, what more needed to be said?
However, despite his vast ‘vessel,’ Ban Yuwon himself could not yet be called truly strong.
While he already possessed formidable abilities, and his creativity and execution had reached a level where he could accomplish feats beyond his current power, Dokgo Yeon’s diagnosis was that his mental fortitude still remained at a human level.
“Ah—right. I’m going to sleep. Thanks for sparring today, Yeon.”
“No, wait.”
“?”
Dokgo Yeon had instinctively called out to stop Ban Yuwon, but then had to rack her brain for what to say next.
But soon, an easy excuse flashed through her mind.
“You won’t be able to rest properly if you go back to the dorm room where that idiot is waiting. He’s a fool who just clings to you without even knowing what state you’re in.”
“You guys really have no mercy for Asha...”
Ban Yuwon grinned, thinking, ‘It’s the same for me, though.’
Dokgo Yeon clenched her fists as if making a great decision, then suddenly sat in a meditative posture in the center of the training room.
“Um... come here.”
“Huh...?”
“I didn’t sweat.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. ...Huh?”
“Lie down.”
“Huh?!”
As Ban Yuwon cautiously approached, to his surprise, Dokgo Yeon laid him down on her lap.
Her thighs, clearly trained to their limits, were still pleasantly soft as they cushioned the back of his head.
“Yeon?! What are you do—”
“I merely thought it would be better for you to rest here for a while before leaving.”
Her voice was firm, allowing no other conclusion.
Ban Yuwon, lying on her lap, grew tense, recalling Mumyeong’s words to him. However, Dokgo Yeon, who had initiated such bold skinship, was also flushed and at a loss, making it unlikely she would notice his inner turmoil.
“A-Are you not uncomfortable?”
“It feels amazing.”
“Is that so...”
“Next time, I’ll do it for you.”
“Who! ...Still, since you made that offer with the intention of being fair, I suppose I’ll accept it just this once.”
Dokgo Yeon had reflexively raised her voice, but then imagined herself lying on Ban Yuwon’s lap and succumbed to the temptation.
But it didn’t end there.
Ban Yuwon, his energy already recharged just from receiving Dokgo Yeon’s lap pillow, took out a small piece of chocolate from his inventory to reciprocate.
It was the same kind Cellon had eaten in the Tower today: an arranged version of an originally expensive chocolate, enhanced by Ban Yuwon’s infusion of various concepts to add diverse effects and a profound flavor.
“Ah—open up.”
Ban Yuwon intended to do for her what Dokgo Yeon had been unable to do previously, due to Rucell and Asha’s presence.
“...Won, haven’t you considered that I’m currently in a prime position to subdue you?”
“It’s just the two of us. There’s no need to be shy, so hurry.”
“This man is getting more and more...”
However, even as she said that, Dokgo Yeon had subtly tilted her head, making it easy for his hand to reach, and slightly parted her lips.
As Ban Yuwon offered the chocolate, she cautiously took it with her mouth, wary that his fingers might touch her lips.
Quietly observing her expression, it was now impossible to distinguish between a tomato and Dokgo Yeon.
“Is it delicious?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t tell at all.”
Dokgo Yeon, filled with embarrassment, nervousness, and other feelings too shameful to even think about, opened her mouth again.
The fact that only her voice still feigned composure was truly characteristic of her.
“I think I’ll need to eat one more to know. Ah, ahh—”
However, the content of her words was dripping with desire, which made Ban Yuwon burst into laughter.
After that, he was forced to spar again.
Comments