I got into school for nothing - 66
I got into school for nothing (66)
Lesson 14. Level Force - 4
They played and ate with gusto.
When their time was up, Ban Yuwon and his party returned to the plaza, the designated meeting spot, where they ended Tikke's recording mode and decided to rest.
While students chattered lively everywhere, only Class 1, first-year, was subdued in a gloomy mood, likely because their leader, Oltima, had returned to his family's main residence to receive treatment.
“Aire, aren’t you leaving?”
“The return trip is with Class 1 and Class 11 anyway.”
If there was anyone in Class 1 who could replace Oltima, it would be someone like Aire, who possessed charm and charisma equal to his, and skills that surpassed him. Yet, she was with the Rebellion members, the very culprits who had injured Oltima.
Oltima was injured trying to save Class 11, and now even Aire was being snatched away by Class 11!
The problem was that among them were also the gazes of immature adults.
“Hey, Aire. Professor Cantone keeps looking over here. It’s like lasers are about to shoot from his eyes.”
“I detest that man. He’s gloomy and sly.”
“We don’t like him either.......”
They knew that the power Cantone unleashed had slowed Ban Yuwon's party's movements, causing them to be sucked into the dungeon without resistance, but.......
The exercise of power was so subtle, and no evidence was left, that even Yumina couldn't press him on it.
If it hadn't been an affair involving the Ortima family, the Chancellor might have directly reined in Cantone, so one could say he was lucky in many respects.
Yet, whether he knew he had luckily evaded suspicion or not, he was glaring at them like that.
‘Professor Yumina said something like this wouldn’t happen again... but it’s not something one can guarantee. And there’s no law saying Cantone won’t snap.’
One might question if a full professor at the best academy in all dimensions, of whom there are only nine, would truly stake his fate just to get rid of some bothersome students. But one shouldn’t forget that he had already done something similar.
That’s why he had to become stronger, faster.
So he could easily overcome any trap anyone might lay...!
“Yuwon, look here.”
Perhaps she wanted to escape the gloomy topic; Rucell called Ban Yuwon while checking her Mirror.
As she was the most elegantly dressed among the party, her manipulation of the Mirror, like operating a smartphone, looked quite natural.
“There really is a separate bulletin board where only fan club members who follow the academy students gather.”
“Huh?”
“Where, where... Ah.”
Rucell brought up the integrated community bulletin board screen of the Union Net.
As Ban Yuwon approached her, Light also clung to him from behind, only to startle and fall back upon realizing the distance was too close.
Ban Yuwon said, dumbfounded.
“You could just look at yours.”
“I’m not good at that kind of thing.”
“He’s knowledgeable about information from other dimensions, yet strangely weak in such areas......”
Having no other choice, he enlarged the image on the Mirror so Light could also see it, and the three of them huddled together to check the bulletin board.
“Unity, Phoenix, Revival, Survivor... Oh, they weren’t fan club names, but team names? Then our naming sense is similar to other students’.”
Since most special activities are conducted in teams, it seemed other students also chose team names to symbolize themselves, just like Rebellion.
However, that usually happened around their second or third year, when their team composition became solid (most students apparently change their team composition every time they get Lost in the Tower to find the optimal team).
However, Class 11 members, being from the special admissions group, had no luxury to change teams, meaning they had to stick together through thick and thin!
“What are you talking about, Ban. I think Rebellion is a very excellent name. Of course, it’s a little... because ‘rebellion’ seems to imply negating the existing system... but still.”
“Yuwon, a list of promising teams and their fan clubs is organized here.”
Ignoring the grumbling Light, Rucell called him.
Looking at the fan club list, which easily seemed to have dozens or more, Ban Yuwon was impressed.
“There really are quite a few fan clubs, mostly centered around 4th and 5th-year seniors.”
“Indeed, even if only five people form a team, there would easily be dozens per grade. In fact, when thought of that way, the number seems rather small.”
“Most of their members are only in the tens to hundreds. Compared to Level Force, they’re all at a cute level.”
At Anneri’s words, spoken with pride in the fan club she belonged to, Ban Yuwon found himself nodding.
“Definitely....”
All of their fan clubs seemed to lack in member count or cohesiveness compared to Rebellion’s fan club, Level Force.
Well, with Rebellion uploading all sorts of videos, including those exploring the Tower periodically, and engaging in modern Earth-style communication that allowed viewers to feel a sense of intimacy, how could those without even a single official introductory video possibly win against them!
......But wait a minute.
“Anneri, you haven’t left yet?”
“Your special activities aren’t over yet!”
Perhaps because of the clearly established hierarchy, she couldn’t quite bring herself to approach Ban Yuwon closely, and Anneri was peeking at the Mirror over Rucell’s shoulder.
Ban Yuwon looked at his watch and could confirm that there was still a little time left until the meeting time.
It really looked like they intended to stick around until the moment they left this dimension.
“What on earth does it mean that ‘this kind of thing’ helps in climbing the Tower......”
“Ban Yuwon-nim, surely you weren’t looking at me and saying ‘this kind of thing’ just now, right?”
“Of course not.”
“I trusted you!”
Actually, half was right and half was wrong.
Ban Yuwon had been talking about the recognition itself that was formed in external dimensions.
While he admitted they benefited from it in this instance, what did that have to do with the Tower?
“Did Professor Yumina really say that?”
“Yes, I told you.”
“Hmm... There are rumors that connecting countless dimensions to enable communication is also the Tower’s power. If so, wouldn’t it be natural for events happening in connected dimensions to influence the Tower?”
Before long, even Dokgo Yeon, who had been pretending not to be interested, was looking at Ban Yuwon’s Mirror and chiming in.
Ban Yuwon had something come to mind after hearing her words.
‘Connecting countless dimensions to enable communication... It feels similar to my ancestor’s ability. In other words, it’s inevitable that the Tower of Babel possesses such an ability.’
Unifying all languages means enabling everyone to communicate.
Couldn’t connecting all dimensions also be seen as an extension of that?
Moreover, the name of the dimension where the Tower of Babel currently stands is Union.
A word meaning ‘integration’ or ‘unification’ becoming the name of the dimension could never be a coincidence.
‘What if the Tower of Babel, standing still in that spot, was actually the key connecting all dimensions? Then, of course, the things we’ve caused in other dimensions could influence the Tower!’
At last, his complicated thoughts were neatly organized.
Ban Yuwon wanted to hug Dokgo Yeon, who had given him the decisive hint, but it was clear he’d get hit if he did, so instead, he took Rucell’s hand and shook it vigorously up and down.
She wasn’t surprised, and smiled gently, saying.
“Did something good happen, Yuwon?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Heh, I’m so happy to hear that too.”
“......What is this? From a fan’s perspective, watching the two of you create such a sweet atmosphere feels strange. Just include me and make it a harem instead.”
“I think a harem starts from four people.”
To Ban Yuwon, who had responded to Anneri’s nonsense with similar nonsense, Anneri, surprisingly, rejoiced and clung to him.
“Then I just need to find two more people besides me!”
“No, I was wrong. Stop it. ......But wait.”
Ban Yuwon, who had stopped Anneri from immediately going to the fan club’s official homepage to write a post, was horrified when he saw the homepage screen that appeared on her Mirror (which, naturally, had a very different design since it wasn’t bought in Union, but it seemed other dimensions also called such communication devices “Mirrors”).
That not only a bulletin board but also a separate fan cafe had been created, unlike other students’ fan clubs, was within the expected range.
But when he saw that the number of fan cafe members exceeded a whopping 100,000, he couldn’t help but shiver.
At the same time, a question arose.
“Anneri, you mentioned last time that the people who could access the Union Net were limited, right?”
“Aha. You’re curious about the access conditions for the Union Net, right?”
She caught on immediately.
As Ban Yuwon nodded, Anneri kindly explained.
“First of all, those who possess the qualifications to cross dimensions, like us, mostly have access rights to the Union Net. Other than that... as one goes from lower-ranked dimensions to higher-ranked ones, there are more people with access rights, and among them, it tends to concentrate in the strong and high-status strata.”
“That’s a very easy-to-understand logic of power.”
As they had discussed earlier, if the Tower of Babel controlled the Union Net, it was only natural that the distribution of access rights would follow the logic of power.
Ban Yuwon shook his head, and Anneri needlessly lowered her voice and whispered.
“While infiltrating here, I found out that only about the top 1% of humanity here seems to be able to access the Union Net. Still, for a lower-ranked dimension, this is quite a lot.”
“Then other......”
—Everyone gather.
Just as he was about to ask about other lower-ranked dimensions, Zenon’s order to gather was given.
Before long, Yumina also appeared by their side.
“You worked hard, Anneri. I hope there’s another occasion to make a request later.”
“Oh my... If you call me for something related to Rebellion, I’ll give you a 20% discount! If Ban Yuwon-nim calls me personally, 50%! And.......”
Anneri, who had been sighing regretfully until the very end, reluctantly retreated, dragging her feet... and winked at Dokgo Yeon.
“Dokgo Yeon-nim, cheer up! From what I see, there are still many chances!”
“......?”
At her inexplicable encouragement, Dokgo Yeon’s cross-shaped pupils rarely widened, showing her bewilderment.
But even if she tried to ask for the meaning, Anneri’s retreating figure was quickly swallowed by the crowd and disappeared from sight.
Dokgo Yeon was even more surprised.
“She escaped my senses in an instant...?”
“Despite how she looks, she’s a dimension mercenary. Their level is high. While she specializes in infiltration operations, excelling more in looks and stealth abilities than combat power, she is, after all, a talent who can operate without difficulty even in the highest-ranking dimensions.”
Yumina smiled brightly as she explained to the astonished Dokgo Yeon.
Rucell rarely gnashed her teeth in frustration.
“Perhaps that woman, she might have gone easy on me too.”
“Indeed, I certainly couldn’t fully read that woman’s concepts until the very end......”
At first, he had many suspicions, but in the end, she was just overly affectionate and a very good person.
Even amidst the chaos, she flawlessly exchanged Mirror codes with Ban Yuwon, so it was safe to say he had gained a reliable ally to count on in a pinch.
Along with his connection with Aire, this could be called the biggest reward he gained from this special activity.
“Dimension mercenary, huh......”
“Alright, it’s our turn to go up now. Let’s go.”
Yumina pushed Ban Yuwon’s shoulder, rousing him from his thoughts.
Seeing her speak informally, he had wondered, and sure enough, all the party members seemed to have already gone inside.
“It’s a bit... anticlimactic at the end.”
“Anticlimactic? Look behind you.”
As he was about to step through the hole that opened in the air with Yumina, he glanced back at her words, and saw.
Countless soldiers were gathered in the same formation as when they first arrived here, as if to show that the plaza hadn’t been made a gathering place for nothing.
“Thank you!”
“Long live Union Academy!”
“Farewell...!”
“We will remember your salvation forever!”
The composition of their forces would surely not be the same as it was a few days ago.
In the baptism of authority indiscriminately unleashed by the academy’s full professors, not a few soldiers would have been sacrificed along with the monsters.
A crisis they couldn’t overcome with their own strength might someday grow back like an unpulled weed and strangle them.
Despite that, they were cheering so enthusiastically.
Because, no matter what, their dimension persisted, and they survived.
Not only towards the faculty, but also towards the students, they were praising them as if they were gods.
‘—If this is the case, is it natural for everyone to become arrogant? I must be careful not to become like them before it’s too late.’
With a bitter realization, Ban Yuwon boarded the dimensional ship.
This special activity, which had truly made him realize many things about the relationship between Union and other dimensions, thus came to an end.
* * *
—The Empress declares she will break her sword!
—What has changed from last year, when she strongly expressed her intention to compete in the Olympics? Empress Ban Yumi suddenly announces retirement!
Olympic gold medalist, the rising powerhouse of the fencing world.
Fencing, which is difficult even when focusing on a single discipline, yet she competed simultaneously in both foil and sabre disciplines and won individual gold medals in both—a veritable monster.
Empress Ban Yumi’s too-early retirement news brought shock and sorrow to many domestic fans who had even a slight interest in fencing.......
The foil and sabre athletes, who had hoped to compete with her in the next Olympics and hang team gold medals around their necks, were particularly shocked.
That she gathered all her close athlete friends and treated them to Hanwoo was all for that reason.
“Are you really going to quit? Sure, unnie, you’ve won enough medals, but what about us?”
“I’m sorry, but if I go into a match now, it’ll be a foul, so I can’t help it.”
Who would have known that just by awakening mana, her body would continuously get stronger?
Muttering those ineffable words only to herself, Ban Yumi shrugged her shoulders.
For her, from the start, fencing was merely a means to become stronger, so she had no great hesitation in deciding to retire.
“Are you really getting married? Is that why you’re retiring?”
“Oh for crying out loud, what’s with marriage at my age of twenty-two?”
“Right, that’s not it, unnie. This girl still has her younger brother as her phone wallpaper.”
“That’s a bit of a turn-off.......”
“It’s very off-putting.......”
“Doesn’t your brother find it creepy?”
“But why don’t you introduce us? I definitely asked you to introduce us last time.”
“Oh, seriously.”
They kept clinging to her annoyingly, and now, subtly coveting her younger brother, she pushed them away with one arm and said.
“I’m not getting married, and I’m not introducing my brother. What are you coveting?”
“Look how firm she is.”
“Yumi, are you going to keep your younger brother to yourself forever? Huh? Do you think it’s easy to have a medalist as a sister-in-law?”
“Oh, I don’t know, I got a message. Everyone, scram.”
I even treated them to Hanwoo; they should just eat enough and be satisfied.
Ban Yumi pushed people away and checked her phone.
It was a normal text message.
Only the sender’s name was corrupted and didn’t display.
She briefly hoped it was from her younger brother, but this was clearly spam.
Ban Yumi clicked her tongue with a ‘tch’ and read the message.
“What’s this? ......Earth Dimension Evolution Notification and Union Net Advance Access Right Acquisition Guide?”
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