I got into school for nothing - Chapter 360
I got into school for nothing (360)
Lesson 70. No Intention of Giving an Opening - 6
The Tower extracts the essence of destroyed worlds and absorbs it as part of itself.
When I first learned this fact, it was quite a shock, but at the time, I still believed the Tower only ripped off portions from already annihilated worlds, so I merely thought, ‘Right, such recycling could exist,’ and moved on.
However, at some point, I began to suspect that wasn’t the case, and through Zenon’s testimony, I learned that the Tower not only obtained by-products of destruction but could also directly “orchestrate destruction.”
‘Of course, Zenon believed it was merely a process to elevate the Tower itself.’
But that wasn’t it.
The Tower had a separate agenda, using the dimensional concepts and information it acquired in this manner.
“I thought the perfect replication of a Room’s environment within the Tower of Babel was a concept. But it wasn’t. It was... simply a process of the Tower digesting a world.”
These are then thoroughly analyzed and broken down once more by climbers like Ban Yuwon, completely absorbed into the Tower during the process....
Yes, simply put, it could be called digestion.
—The conversation just got incredibly cheapened.
“I’m currently flabbergasted, realizing that I wasn’t a challenger to the God’s Seat, but rather something akin to a lactobacillus helping with digestion.”
—Then what about the Constellations?
“Aren’t they like red and white blood cells? Managing the body’s interior, eating away harmful bacteria, that fits perfectly. Be happy, Yeon.”
—Not at all, not even a little, I’m not happy. I feel like such a distant existence from you.
“...Could you please stop ambushing me like that sometimes?”
Anyway, where do the concepts, information, and energy born from this digestion go?
Naturally, they would be used to recreate the Rooms.
And after being thoroughly analyzed through repeated breakdowns... yes, through the process of rumination.
Only the qualitatively enhanced results are sent out to Earth.
‘Judging by Kang Miyeon’s Authority, it seems a climber from Clarent must have died in the Tower. And that’s not all. The various Authorities overflowing on Earth, dungeons appearing and raising their levels one after another as if by appointment, abundant Mana, and the discovery of new materials supporting abnormally fast development.’
There’s a term called city planning.
It refers to the meticulous advance planning of all elements that constitute a city—from land distribution, road construction, to securing and arranging residential areas and amenities—to create a city that is both aesthetically excellent and functionally perfect.
What the previous Tower Lord was doing with the Tower of Babel was precisely that.
Not city planning, but world planning.
He collected all other dimensions, or parts of them, analyzed them through the Tower of Babel, and used that information to transform Earth into a perfect world.
‘But if this connection were to be arbitrarily severed... an unimaginable meltdown would occur. A rampage more horrific than all the roads and sewage systems of a planned city bursting.’
The reason why the Chancellor told him to go to Earth became clear.
If Ban Yuwon had succeeded in destroying the Tower without a second thought, an absurd rebound would have occurred through the Ziggurat connected to the Tower of Babel, and Earth would have met its demise.
Conversely, what if Ban Yuwon continued to climb the Tower as he was?
“Then, ultimately, all worlds would face destruction or similar calamities, Earth would be ‘completed,’ and the Tower, having fulfilled its mission, wouldn’t matter whether it collapsed or not. Then the owner of the Dragon-Slaying Sword slays all the True Dragons, and that’s the end. ...How clear-cut.”
“Gasp, I have to kill the True Dragons?!”
“Ah, Asha... just check your sword’s condition for now. I might actually have to ask you.”
“Understood!”
It all made sense: Earth having been hidden until now, and its absurdly fast development after reconnecting with the Union Net.
He had known it all along, but as expected, the Tower of Babel was not some tower one climbed to become a god.
Furthermore, the Tower of Babel was no longer even an artifact that sought to connect and integrate all dimensions.
The Tower was merely a weapon of destruction, or an amplification device for destruction, created by a man who had faced countless obstacles and frustrations, to enforce his stubborn will.
“The Observer of All Things... was it all because of that, that she intended to leave the Tower in a stagnant state?”
There was a fatal divergence between the Chancellor and the Observer of All Things. This led one side to wish to support Ban Yuwon to help him conquer the Tower, while the other sought to kill Ban Yuwon and make him a Constellation to protect the Tower.
Both were ordered by the Tower Lord to protect the Tower, but the Chancellor hoped that if a descendant of the Tower Lord ever appeared, they would climb to the top and fulfill the Tower Lord’s wish.
The Observer of All Things, to ensure she could protect the Tower indefinitely, intended not to tolerate anyone climbing it, even if they were the Tower Lord’s descendant.
—What are you going to do, Won?
“I can’t tolerate either, of course.”
Success achieved through the sacrifice of others is not success.
Peace maintained through the sacrifice of others is, naturally, not peace either.
“This is wrong. I don’t know how many dimensions will be ground down for Earth’s completion until I ascend the Tower. What if only Earth remains in the end? Then, problems will arise in their own way. The idea of integrating dimensions into one was better.”
Since he couldn’t overcome the dimensional walls in the end, he must have changed the Tower’s development direction.
Instead of that, he should have just abandoned the project.
The origin of the Tower of Babel contained a God’s Fragment, they said.
Trying to make power beyond one’s capacity one’s own inevitably makes things go awry.
Ban Yuwon extended his hand, adorned with the Seal Ring.
The center of the temple, the core of the Ziggurat.
All protective spells, barriers, and sealing magic guarding it shattered, their concepts subjugated to the ring.
Finally, the object that was the core of the ‘communication’ function connecting the Tower of Babel and Earth revealed itself.
Surprisingly, it was in the form of a massive stone slab, but reflecting on it, since The Mirror also had such an appearance, it wasn’t strange.
Perhaps the order was reversed—this stone slab became the model for The Mirror.
—Warning. Unauthorized action. Touching ‘The Mirror’ before complete synchronization is not recommended.
—If a secret code is not entered quickly, the target will be designated as an intruder.
Only then, realizing that Ban Yuwon was not a successor intending to obediently inherit the Tower, a loud warning siren blared throughout the entire ruin.
The Mirror, a mirror reflecting the Tower of Babel to change Earth?
Names, they say, reveal the essence of things. Ban Yuwon scoffed, having learned the means of communication connecting the Tower of Babel and the Ziggurat.
“Grandpa, it’s going to get really dangerous now. I’ll make a rubbing for you later, so go out first.”
“Ugh, I knew it would come to this. Couldn’t you have waited a bit?”
“I had to hurry, even a little. I’m sorry.”
Perhaps the Chancellor had thought Ban Yuwon would accept reality here and conform to the previous Tower Lord’s will to make Earth the sole completed dimension.
But he had no such intention.
“It might be a little late, but that’s no reason to be complacent. You’ll understand, right?”
“If that’s what my grandson thinks—then do as you wish.”
“I love you, Grandpa. See you outside.”
“Alright, be careful.”
As he felt Grandfather Ban’s presence recede, Ban Yuwon drew and gripped his sword.
His beloved sword, Myeol-yeom, imbued with the power of severance, death, and annihilation.
For what reason had he learned Cheonma’s martial arts for two years?
Wasn’t it precisely to sever the Tower’s machinations that arbitrarily connected everything and messed it up?
It was as if he had acquired it precisely for this moment.
“Hmph, haaah—.”
—My goodness, the Cult Master truly imparted the root of the pillar. Are you entrusting the next Cult Master position to this child? Really...?
Dokgo Yeon seemed to sense something just by seeing his starting stance, whispering in astonishment, but Ban Yuwon couldn’t hear her voice as he was concentrating his mind to perform his martial arts.
Even a starting stance (起手式, a non-aggressive posture taken to show courtesy to an opponent before exchanging blows) is not ostentatious.
It was merely taking a defensive posture so that he could easily counterattack whenever and wherever an enemy attacked, while simultaneously tensing all the muscles in his body to concentrate Cheonma’s perfected ability of severance to a single point and thrust it.
Courtesy? Cheonma has no courtesy to offer an enemy he is about to kill.
The Ziggurat is no different.
—Detecting aggressive reaction towards the Tower. Initiating defensive spell formation.
“It’s coming.”
Life and Mana, soul, and of course, Authority and monsters, along with various concepts forming natural environments, are seen flowing into The Mirror at the center of the Ziggurat, riding a spiral string of characters woven with the two concepts of ‘connection’ and ‘sharing.’
That vast flow of energy was connected to the Tower of Babel by conceptual strings that others dared not observe.
It was precisely that string that Ban Yuwon intended to sever.
The sword drew a sharp diagonal trajectory, starting from Ban Yuwon’s chest and piercing the ceiling.
It was a single sword stroke aiming for severance.
“Asha!”
“I already saw it!”
Simultaneously as Ban Yuwon unleashed his sword strikes, Asha, having discovered something, rushed out, changing her True Dragon Sword into a spear and fiercely swinging it.
Something like black tar pouring down from the ceiling simultaneously bounced off and vanished.
Whether by chance or not, it was the core component forming the Tower’s Rooms.
It was also the concept forming the root of all monster waves, and ultimately, the concept that leads dimensions to destruction.
It is the concept of Integration (統合, combining everything into one).
“If this goes wrong, Grandpa will be in danger.”
Ban Yuwon, who had thought, ‘I should have waited until he fully exited,’ and was about to teleport directly to Grandfather Ban, the next moment felt his heart sink.
This was because the Tower’s concepts filling the surroundings interfered with his spatial movement.
Since when?
Since he was designated as an intruder?
Since his entry itself was achieved by deceiving the recognition devices, perhaps it was from the moment he set foot inside the Ziggurat.
And if spatial movement is being interfered with to this extent, then probably the entrance too...!
“It’s okay, I’ll go check!”
Asha, noticing Ban Yuwon worrying about Grandfather Ban who had gone ahead, ignited a blue Aura on her True Dragon Spear, bravely shouted, and ran out.
The black tar falling from all directions tried to hinder her movements, but she, whose entire body had already transformed into a mass of Aura, easily broke through the wall of tar, charging sharply like a spear.
If it was her, who had just been strengthened, she would surely protect Grandfather safely.
—Still, she’s improved a bit.
“She’s improved a lot. In terms of skill alone, she doesn’t fall behind anyone. All thanks to a good master...”
—Given who taught her, of course her skill should improve. I’m talking about her perceptiveness.
“...You’re really quite strict with Asha, after all.”
Ban Yuwon shrugged his shoulders and continued to swing his sword.
The tar could never invade him.
To him, this much was merely a ‘service’ that he could conceptualize and absorb at any time.
“Hoo...!”
—Hang in there, Won.
The problem was ‘The Mirror’.
A task undeniably more difficult than separating a single dimension.
If severing the connection was too difficult, one might think it’d be better to just destroy The Mirror, but if The Mirror was destroyed, a backflow would immediately occur.
Ultimately, Earth would be damaged even more severely than if the Tower were destroyed, so severing the connection and preventing further energy exchange was safer for both sides.
—Raising alert level to maximum.
Now, loud warning sounds continuously echoed throughout the entire ruin, tormenting Ban Yuwon.
It wasn’t just simple noise.
It was a terrible attack, as if an extremely evolved version of Kshana’s Authority, which, merely by filling the space with sound, bound others immobile and prevented them from discharging Mana outwards.
Along with it, a large amount of tar capable of completely engulfing the space poured down from above. In an instant of carelessness, he might be buried in the tar and absorbed into ‘The Mirror’.
—Won!
At that moment, the aura of death exploded.
Immediately after a flash, Ban Yuwon poured all his power into his sword and once again cut through the air.
As a massive trajectory, carrying both the power of death and severance, advanced and struck the ceiling wall forcefully.
—Crack
Even though such a sound shouldn’t have been audible, it felt as if he heard the sound of the string connecting Earth to somewhere else snapping.
—Connection with the Tower has been severed. Energy depleted, entering sleep recovery mode.
“You won’t recover, you bastard.”
He swung his sword once more.
The aura of the daughter and the aura of the father harmonized, and what overlaid it was the aura of annihilation burning with intense flames.
Myeol-yeom, thrust straight forward, embedded itself deep into the ruin’s ceiling and erupted in flames. That was the end of it.
No more warning sounds or messages were heard.
—Whoosh....
Watching The Mirror, which had lost its power and fallen completely silent, Ban Yuwon nervously examined it, wondering if the things he worried about might happen. Fortunately, The Mirror showed no signs of going berserk, nor did any terrible changes appear on Earth.
“Good, now if I just safely seal this and return....”
—Kwooong!
Damn it, is this a time lag?!
Fortunately, it wasn’t that.
As Ban Yuwon, after sealing only The Mirror there, rushed out, Asha, who had been blankly staring up at the sky while supporting Grandfather Ban, spotted him and urgently shouted.
“Above! Dragon Fang Soldiers! Melodia!”
Ah, it was from that direction?
Comments