I got into school for nothing - 368
I got into school for nothing (368)
Lesson 72. Tower of Babel Isolation Operation - 3
The President of Union Academy, the record holder for conquering the Tower of Babel, and a man who, at the same time, had mastered the ability to interfere with dimensions, carrying out astonishing acts of severance by disconnecting countless dimensions from the Union Net.
Some said he was trying to become the ruler of a new universe, backed by the Ten Great Families.
Others claimed he was wary of superhumans with abilities as astonishing as his own emerging from lower-ranked dimensions.
Still others suggested he had realized a profound truth within the Tower of Babel and was undertaking a great, yet incomprehensible, task to save the universe...
“Are there really people saying things like that?”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?”
Ban Yuwon grinned, lightly pinching and then releasing Rucell’s cheek as she spoke.
The two were floating high above the C-29 Dimension, where an Orc Wave had just begun to erupt.
He hadn't expected such a dramatic opportunity to arise so quickly. It seemed that with the Tower of Babel's connection to Earth severed, anomalous phenomena were breaking out not just within the Tower itself, but across all dimensions.
‘It's a good thing I can detect the infection wave in advance.’
Had lower-ranked dimensions been swallowed whole by infection waves and annihilated while the Union Net's connection was severed, he would never have been able to bear the terrible resentment that would surely follow.
Ban Yuwon asked Tikke to ensure the scene of the unfolding Orc Wave was clearly visible on screen.
“Can everyone see it? From now on, I’ll suppress this Orc Wave.”
An Orc Wave is a phenomenon that occurs when Orcs holding a Relic—an artifact that intensely stimulates the innate inspiration of Orcs—become the center of a monster wave.
What ordinarily would be an infection wave, twisting everything and giving birth to the concept of monsters, instead, under the influence of an Orc wielding a Relic, transforms everything into Orcs—a truly horrific event.
An F-rank dimension caught in an Orc Wave would be utterly annihilated, leaving nothing behind. Even higher-ranked dimensions risked total destruction, as the disaster could escalate to wipe out several dimensions entirely, depending on the level of the Relic and the Orc wielding it.
“Wow, Master. The comments are going wild!”
“Of course they are. At this point, it’s serious enough to be a problem even for B-rank dimensions.”
Ban Yuwon nodded in agreement, chiming in with Rucell, who was wide-eyed as she read the comments updating in real-time.
By the way, despite the fact that all C-rank dimensions had already had their connections to the Union Net severed, the reason live streaming was still possible was because Ban Yuwon and Rucell, as students of Union Academy, were connected to the Tower of Babel on an individual level, not through their dimension.
Their student IDs were the proof of this connection... and as long as they were connected, sharing that connection with Tikke was no difficult feat for Ban Yuwon.
“Now, look at this. This is why I cut off the connections between various dimensions and the Union Net.”
Ban Yuwon winked at the screen and held up a cube he’d pulled from his pocket.
He had officially begun lying through his teeth.
Frankly, whether they believed him or not didn’t really matter.
But if it worked well, wouldn’t it reduce friction in future dimension isolations?
“This is a monster wave interception device—developed in secret with Professor Campanella and Adjunct Professor Mira of Union Academy. It’s incredibly delicate, requiring precise adjustments to the dimension wall’s blocking capabilities. Unfortunately, while we were implementing this operation on the dimension walls, a side effect occurred: isolation from the Union Net.”
Ah, the comments were ablaze.
Comments ranged from "Don't lie!" and "If an infection wave could be stopped by just one artifact, there wouldn't have been so much damage over thousands of years!" to "I knew it all along!"...
Watching people's wildly enthusiastic reactions, no matter which side they took, Ban Yuwon somehow felt a little satisfied.
I can control the emotions of all these people!
Perhaps the original Tower Lord also wanted this, which is why he sought to unite all dimensions?
“Oh, it’s starting.”
But no matter how people reacted, the "Mousetrap" was real.
Experiments within the illusory space created by Eve had been perfect, but this was the first time it was absorbing a massive Orc Wave, one caused by an Orc wielding a Relic, in reality. Ban Yuwon watched, a slightly tense expression on his face.
“Wow, it’s being sucked in, stretching out like melting cheese.”
As if there had been no need to worry, the wave began to be drawn into the "Mousetrap".
The sight of the wave, the corrupted mana, and even the Orcs born from it, all being utterly dismantled, turning into pure concepts, and then sucked in, caused the comments to explode once more.
Naturally, the Orc wielding the Relic quickly perceived the abnormal phenomenon, but it could only watch in bewilderment as everything but itself was sucked into the cube floating in space, powerless to take any action against it.
“Today, I’m demonstrating it this close to prove its effectiveness, but once all necessary measures are taken, we’ll be able to detect and immediately counter monster waves anywhere in the universe. Astonishingly, from now on, no dimension will ever need to worry about monster waves again.”
The Orc holding the Relic was the epicenter of the infection wave.
Inevitably, the cube, having absorbed everything else, proceeded to dismantle and absorb even the Orc itself.
The "Mousetrap", specialized for infection waves, cleanly conceptualized and absorbed the Orc without the need for an Authority amplification device, returning to its original pristine state.
“It’s done.”
Even a three-minute meal wouldn't be this simple.
Ban Yuwon touched the cube with his hand, verifying that it hadn’t absorbed anything other than the infection wave, then leaned into the screen and made an additional appeal.
“You must all feel that strange things are happening across every dimension. I don't intend to exploit this, but rather to stop it. Now is the time to unite everyone’s strength.”
With that, he ended the broadcast.
Thanks to the Orc Wave ending without a single casualty, most of the inhabitants of the C-29 Dimension would likely not even know Ban Yuwon had come and gone.
Of course, it wasn't just the rescued C-rank dimension that was attracting attention from this video—which had spread across UniTube, no, the entire Union Net, in an instant.
It was the astonishing artifact Ban Yuwon had displayed, and the method to acquire it.
“Maybe I should quit being a student and just become a show host.”
“That wasn't exactly what I was aiming for...”
Meanwhile, there were quite a few people who were wary, claiming the "Mousetrap" itself was Ban Yuwon’s trick.
With all dimensions in chaos, conspiracy theories were cropping up everywhere.
At any rate, since he had succeeded in making it difficult for people to easily discern his true intentions, just as Lilyth had suggested, he figured it was time to drive in the final nail.
That day, for the first time in a while, all the busy Team Rebellion members gathered in one place.
“Once we’ve dealt with the A-rank dimensions, all that’s left are the S-rank dimensions.”
“They must have had their thoughts after seeing Fridwen and Fides fall. All the alliance members have agreed, with only one exception...”
“It would be the Ortima family, wouldn’t it?”
As Ban Yuwon spoke, as if he had expected Anneri’s report, Luisha bowed her head deeply on one side, looking apologetic.
“As you know, Senior—the Ortima family has, in fact, never accepted interference from other dimensions. While they might readily nod in agreement to simply gathering opinions, if you, Senior, were to personally erect a barrier around the Ketiuses dimension, they would absolutely never permit it.”
“Hmmmm...”
Ban Yuwon fell into deep thought.
Should he prepare for an all-out war with the Ortima family and somehow extend a barrier over the Ketiuses dimension?
However, the ancestral Codeword he had wielded to suppress the traitors among the Ten Great Families was highly unlikely to work against the Ortima family. While the full power of the Ortima family head was unknown, even the individual who had appeared as their acting representative made it clear that they wouldn't be easily overcome.
“You all know this would be more detrimental to the Ortima family, don’t you...? It could be truly dangerous.”
“Of course. We now know about the Tower’s structure. Enough so that we consider it an honor to be able to participate in the efforts to stop this.”
Luisha replied with a wry smile.
Seeing her speak to this extent, it seemed she genuinely had no other recourse.
While her status as an Ortima heir usually carried considerable weight elsewhere, if the current family head opposed it, there was simply nothing an heir—let alone one who wasn't even his direct daughter—could do.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll try to persuade Father.”
At that, Lusein sighed and spoke.
Ban Yuwon looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.
After stepping down as heir, he had cooperated with Ban Yuwon, yet he had always avoided actively getting involved with his own family.
“This is for her sake. Not for yours, you bastard.”
“No, I know that. But can you do it?”
“Honestly, Father is a man even I, his own son, find difficult to understand. Aside from his desire to make the Ortima family unequivocally the strongest in the universe, frankly, I couldn’t find a single human trait in him. He is so utterly arrogant that one might question if he ever truly perceives anyone else.”
What, is this bastard describing himself right now?
Despite everyone staring at him with the same expression, Lusein, who paid no mind whatsoever to others’ appraisals of him, let out a soft sigh and continued.
“However, he made a grave mistake with me two years ago. He won’t completely ignore my words. And if I fail—then you are to proceed with your Tower exploration as planned.”
“But the Ketiuses dimension would be in danger.”
“We are the Ortima family.”
Lusein scoffed, replying to Ban Yuwon’s worried voice.
“Do you honestly think we wouldn’t be prepared for something like that? I’ve seen your grandfather, Ban Jiwon, erect barriers with his Codeword. If it comes down to it, I will personally intervene, so don’t worry.”
“...Alright.”
It was unexpected that Lusein, who rarely used honorifics with anyone, seemed to show considerable respect to Ban Yuwon’s grandfather, Ban Jiwon.
“What is it?”
“Well, you see...”
When Ban Yuwon whispered the question to Luisha, she explained that upon seeing Ban Jiwon skillfully wield an Authority that was fundamentally identical to the Ortima family's, delving into its deepest realms, Lusein couldn't help but be reminded of the elders of his own family.
He was truly a guy you couldn’t possibly call likable even if you died and came back to life, yet seeing that he, too, had his own firmly established criteria for judgment, one couldn't help but think: ‘He truly is a scion of one of the Ten Great Families after all.’
‘The problem is, those criteria are far too twisted.’
His cousin, on the other hand, seemed to have been somewhat corrected.
Ban Yuwon, having received the explanation, recoiled slightly as he looked at Luisha, who was smirking playfully.
No, she still seemed pretty twisted, but regardless, she was scary.
In any case, the discussion concluded.
Ban Yuwon chuckled softly as he watched the mirror, where inquiries for the "Mousetrap" were still exploding, then stood up and declared.
“Once we’ve settled things with all the A-rank dimensions, we’ll immediately proceed with installing barriers around the S-rank dimensions. We’ll finish it all in a single day. After that, Team Rebellion will enter the Tower.”
Ban Yuwon declared with a firm voice, then looked around at his team members—Rucell, Asha, and Eire, who had smoothly entered Melodia and returned to her position as the new family head—and spoke.
“—You haven’t forgotten about me, have you?”
‘I’m going to meet you. How could I forget?’
After mercilessly silencing Dokgo Yeon, who was spouting nonsense, he looked at the other members and said.
“At that time, I’ll need you all to take care of the Tower’s exterior. Including the Chancellor, who could be the biggest variable—and the Amore family, who are still biding their time, or any changes that might occur within the Tower itself, all must be closely watched. If I successfully complete everything and emerge, all will be well—but in an emergency, you must be prepared to truly attack the Tower from the outside and bring it down.”
“What about the True Dragons?”
“That, I believe, we can resolve internally. At least, that’s what I think.”
“Now that we have a direction, things have become a bit simpler.”
Heukseol, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Reconstruction is certainly better than demolition, wouldn't you agree?”
“There you go again with such a peculiarly Earthling-like thing to say... Ah, have you made contact?”
“Yes, of course.”
Heukseol bowed respectfully and replied.
“The Meryongdanju said that if he keeps his promise properly, emerging a day earlier won’t be an issue. He stated that quite clearly.”
“Good.”
A smile bloomed on Ban Yuwon’s lips at Heukseol’s reassuring words.
“If Father comes, I’ll have one less thing to worry about externally.”
“Father? Weren’t you going in to rescue your father, Yuwon?”
“The Meryongdanju has two fathers.”
“That’s enough of that now.”
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