I got into school for nothing - Chapter 331
I got into school for nothing (331)
Lesson 65. Creation - 1
Ban Yuwon entered the Tower.
It was a Solo Exploration, and he was greeted by the familiar sight of the spacious workshop.
“Phew, it feels like this is my home now.”
Cellon, who couldn't fully materialize in human form when others were present, naturally shifted into a human, leaning back languidly on the sofa as if breathing. Her jet-black hair, like the night sky, was tied into twin tails, and her eyes, sparkling as if embedded with the Milky Way, slowly blinked as she savored the soft feel of the sofa. She had clearly become completely accustomed to her human body.
And why wouldn’t she? Cellon’s own seal had loosened considerably, and the abilities of Eve and Ban Yuwon, which aided in her bodily construction, had grown immensely.
“Your home?”
Ban Yuwon checked the state of the laboratories—that is, the monster production rooms—then turned to her, snorting.
“There are too many things holding me back for that. You might not know, but most Constellations still gnash their teeth when they see me.”
“They're fools, those guys. Though now, even that has started to feel a bit cute.”
Within and outside the Tower, Constellations ceaselessly attempted to harm Ban Yuwon.
However, with even the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas, who had ambushed him with its true body, meeting its demise, clumsy attacks merely served as good means to strengthen Ban Yuwon’s power.
No, rather, most of the 'Life' experience he gained outside the Tower over the past two years came from those very Constellations.
Perhaps they had some sense, as they didn't stake everything on attacking him—and Ban Yuwon steadily grew in power, reaching this point.
Sometimes, the thought crossed his mind that he might still be growing exactly as the Chancellor had planned, but he firmly dismissed such doubts by resolutely trusting himself.
“You, when are you going next?”
Elegantly pinching the teacup and saucer between her fingers, Cellon said, stretching her legs into the air and dangling them.
“Everything required here is already finished, isn't it?”
“That's right...”
The workshop itself remained unchanged, but its contents had constantly evolved.
Ban Yuwon had experienced countless shifts, easily dozens of them, by shaping the myriad monsters appearing in the Tower.
They were good teaching materials, excellent teachers.
Now, even without this space, even without the virtual space Zenon once created, Ban Yuwon was ready to forge something with his own power.
Of course, suitable materials would still be necessary.
“Are you hesitating?”
“I have a feeling this monster factory is about to close down.”
“Are you afraid of change?”
“Would you understand if I said I'm afraid that nothing will change?”
“Hmm...”
Cellon gave a wry smile, then emptied her tea in one gulp.
She placed the cup back on its saucer, set it aside somewhere, and patted her knees.
“I might not be as good as that child, but if I'm okay, would you like me to comfort you?”
“It's fine. Lately, everywhere I go, there are only people trying to hug and comfort me.”
“They're just using comfort as an excuse to desire you, aren't they?”
That was true.
Just now, he'd escaped from Asha, who was clinging to him like glue, offering comfort.
In two years, that girl had changed so much.
Perhaps following Rucell as a private tutor was the problem...
“Then are *you* pure?”
“No? That child has entered a stable phase now, so I was thinking it might be time for me to enjoy myself a bit.”
Ban Yuwon chuckled at Cellon's overly honest words, then snapped his fingers.
Violent changes simultaneously erupted from the dozens of monster production rooms connected to this workshop.
Elite Tower spiders surpassing a thousand 'Life', Ogre variants, acid slime swarms whose power amplified when grouped into colonies and even possessed fusion abilities, Horror House-type monsters that trapped opponents in picture frames and tormented them with illusion magic...
Besides these, many other monsters erupted and filled the Progenitor's Room like corn kernels popping into popcorn.
Naturally, it was a shift condition cleared.
“Hey, I'm a bit hurt right now.”
Cellon, feeling the shift occur, shot up from her seat and pouted her lips.
Ban Yuwon shrugged and retorted.
“Let's talk about that issue after I've fully retrieved your body first. It's still too soon.”
“Too soon? You bad boy, you're aware that you're charming women, yet pushing them away like that is the worst!”
“No, I was just now gaining the strength to move forward from your comfort.”
“Then you should have come to me too!”
Just as Cellon puffed out her cheeks and spread her arms wide towards Ban Yuwon, the shift ended.
They now found themselves inside a chasm with an exceedingly high ceiling, its immense walls, so tall that one couldn't see their end even by craning one's neck, were entirely covered with rotating gears.
—You have finally arrived here, my lovely child.
It was the voice of the Observer of All Things, which he had heard countless times over the past two years.
Cellon hastily tried to revert to her staff form, but it didn't happen.
Ban Yuwon was prepared to simply shove Cellon into his inventory if necessary, but fortunately, Cellon's form was merely fixed; she wasn't particularly restrained.
Which meant, in this space.
“Yes, you've finally come.”
He had a premonition.
That might be why he had hesitated even more.
The reason why, even as he anticipated returning to Union Academy this semester, he had trembled with a vague sense of dread...
Ban Yuwon's gaze now fixed on the monolith enveloped in a blue barrier, situated beneath the gears that covered one entire wall.
—Surprisingly, someone had intruded here not long ago. The Tower has firmly established defenses against it, taking measures to ensure the same incident never repeats.
“Hmm.”
Ban Yuwon half-ignored the Observer of All Things' words, pulling the stiff Cellon along as he approached the monolith.
As the Observer of All Things had said, a barrier that even considerable Authority couldn't scratch enveloped the monolith, preventing direct contact, but the densely carved script within could be read.
—Have you considered why you have reached this place?
“I wonder.”
Ban Yuwon replied dismissively, engrossed in reading the inscriptions.
The Observer of All Things chuckled softly, then continued.
—The Tower desires a new administrator. An administrator who will faithfully manage the Tower and supervise the Constellations, in place of that unpleasant human.
She was speaking of a conclusion Ban Yuwon and Cellon had already reached more than two years ago.
The slight difference was that she spoke on the premise of dethroning the current administrator... that is, the Chancellor.
Ban Yuwon, dumbfounded, brought out words he had kept hidden, intending to hit her where it hurt.
“You're the Chancellor's contract Constellation, aren't you?”
—Me? That human's? Oh, surely not! You are greatly mistaken.
The Observer of All Things guffawed.
Eyes opened and closed all around, as if blooming like flowers, which was utterly repulsive.
Yes, this was a space where Constellations could manifest their power without even needing to descend as avatars.
The reason other Constellations weren't appearing was likely... because she was suppressing them.
—I will admit there is an unpleasant commonality. But that is merely because our roots are the same. Our goals are completely different, child. Yes, completely...
“You want to make me a Constellation.”
—Surprisingly, not right now, child.
“Not *yet*, then.”
—Child, you have a task to fulfill, don't you? I desire that too.
In the sense that he couldn't understand anything she was saying, the Observer of All Things truly had many similarities with the Chancellor.
It would have been great if Ban Yuwon had enough power to bring both of them to their knees, but unfortunately, two years of training hadn't been enough to reach that point.
“If you don't wish to fight for your life, then leave now.”
—Huhu, yes. That's how it should be...
Waving his hand to dismiss the Observer of All Things, Ban Yuwon soon found one of the things he had been searching for.
It was the name of the Starlight Player.
Finding it so easily almost made him feel deflated, but looking closer, the writing on this monolith was not something just anyone could read.
Moreover, the name of the Starlight Player was encroached upon by the surrounding text, as if trying to obscure it, intricately entwined with dozens of other names, and even half-damaged.
It felt like witnessing a dismal scene of ostracization, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
“Stella.”
“Hm? ...Huh?”
No, if it was such an easy name to figure out her identity, why couldn't she have remembered it sooner?
While Ban Yuwon was dumbfounded, Cellon—no, Stella—who had heard her true name, opened her eyes wide in astonishment.
“No, wait... Ah. Yes, that's it! I can't believe it...!”
Perhaps she had even forgotten the meaning of entering this space.
The moment her name was called, her body slowly began to float into the air, radiating light.
At the same time, Ban Yuwon saw her name, carved into the monolith, twitch as if stretching, pushing away the other names that had encroached upon its territory.
Due to other Constellations, and perhaps the administrator who condoned it, she had lost her power as a Constellation and been sealed, but now she had finally fully regained all her strength.
Ban Yuwon watched her, now somehow more vibrant, land on the ground, a worried expression on his face.
“Stella, are you okay?”
“Yes—yes. It's a strange feeling, but yes. I think I'm okay. Everything is perfect.”
Of course, Stella's true body was still trapped within the monolith, and what was outside was merely a part of her.
As she fully regained herself, her power as a Constellation, which had been practically sealed in the monolith, was restored, and naturally, power was also granted to the physical body in reality that was connected to it.
In other words, she was now in the state of an avatar, created by investing so much power that other Constellations wouldn't dare imitate it.
—The Starlight Player expresses her gratitude to you.
—Look, I can even contact you as a Constellation now!
“Isn't it amazing? What do you think?”
“It's chaotic, so stop it.”
Ban Yuwon's expression turned serious as he watched Stella begin to express her intentions in three ways: with messages conveying emotion, messages directly transmitting her voice, and even with her actual spoken voice.
The human body she had manifested, having fully regained her Constellation power in a short time, naturally became much more vibrant; if before it was merely an exquisitely crafted doll, now she was a complete human inside—no, one could say a semi-transcendent human.
“So that's it. You foresaw this would happen earlier and said those words.”
“Hm? What are you talking about?”
“You said we'd talk again once I fully regained my body, didn't you?”
“...Huh?”
“You weren't saying you didn't like me, but that you could restore it right away, so you said that!”
“No, that's not it.”
What Ban Yuwon had intended to say was that they should talk after he had completely liberated her body... that is, after he had freed her from being bound to the Tower under the name of a Constellation.
It seemed her confidence was skyrocketing thanks to having regained all her Authority.
Stella, pushing her eyes, which sparkled with starlight like her name, close to his, said.
“Alright, let's talk again now. I'll tell you, I've actually been mentally prepared since long ago—”
“Hold on, Stella.”
“What is it?”
She had clearly felt like a mature older sister just a while ago, but now that she had regained all her memories and Authority, she had reverted to feeling like a teenage girl.
From Ban Yuwon's perspective, having received much help from her in various ways, it was awkward that he couldn't simply push her away, but thinking about it, there weren't just one or two women deeply involved with him in such a manner.
Heukseol's words weren't wrong about anything...
But even so, not now.
“There's someone you need to go meet before me, isn't there?”
“...Ah.”
At his words, Stella, who had blinked for a moment, nodded and said, “That's right.”
“I suppose I thought I'd never be able to meet her again. I completely forgot about Cellon.”
While startled by the name 'Cellon' suddenly coming from her, Ban Yuwon naturally understood.
When he first met her, the staff she was sealed within was called Cellon's Tears.
Truly—he finally understood why Professor Yumina had been so surprised when she saw it.
“You didn't want to meet her in an incomplete state, did you? ...Now there's another way.”
“That's right. Yes. I'll go out first. Heukseol? Is it okay if I stay with her?”
“Of course. I'll explain the situation.”
Even if Stella went outside, she wouldn't immediately go to meet Yumina in this state.
Such a meeting would have been possible before.
She intends to first contact Yumina using her regained Constellation power.
With her current self, it would be possible.
“Well then, I'll be going for now. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you in the future.”
“You too, Stella.”
—The depth of 'Rebellion' has become 600.
The concept of 'Rebellion', which he had nurtured to 500 over the past two years, grew by 100 in an instant.
Ban Yuwon felt Stella's form vanish from the chasm, chuckled softly—then turned his eyes back to the monolith.
The next name to find was even easier to spot than Stella's.
Because he only needed to find the most recently added one.
—Death's Pupil.
The moment he quietly murmured that name.
Squeak, squeak, screee.
The gears filling the walls simultaneously began to make noise and accelerate.
As a black mist, imbued with death, settled around him.
—Death's Pupil reacts to the one who sought her, finally commencing activities as a formal Constellation.
—Death's Pupil smiles faintly as she looks at you.
Dokgo Yeon had come to find him.
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