I got into school for nothing - Chapter 68
I got into school for nothing (68)
Lesson 15. Didn't you learn to be careful with contracts? - 2
[Life 17, Demonic Spirit 22, Body 28, Sword 21, Club 14, Swordsmanship 2, Club Arts 1.7......]
Tuesday morning.
Ban Yuwon narrowed his eyes, checking the language concepts that Eve and Lilyth had collected throughout yesterday.
At a glance, it seemed like a lot, but in the end, they were just concepts extracted from goblins.
Even if he absorbed these, there wouldn't be the slightest change in Ban Yuwon's internal concepts.
From the start, he hadn't intended for them to collect concepts for his own absorption.
“So, how was it? This wasn't all, was it? Eve probably didn't get much effect anyway.”
Compared to the Body concepts they gathered, Life and Demonic Spirit — especially Life — were excessively scarce.
That meant one of them had absorbed the concepts, and Ban Yuwon himself had instructed them to absorb as many concepts as possible.
But Eve already possessed a whopping 150 Life, far past the point where she could grow from absorbing goblin concepts....
—Honk honk!
“Yes, yes, Lilyth. You did well.”
As expected, Lilyth honked softly, confirming Ban Yuwon’s prediction.
He gently tapped the part where Lilyth’s Mana Core was housed, checking her concepts.
Lilyth [Hovercar 50, Life 50, Demonic Beast 35, Demonic Core 37, Soul 15, Swiftness 40, Magic Resistance 25, Hardening 20, Sharpness 30, Resonance 12]
Eve reported that the depth of Resonance contained within Spica was around 25, and Eve and Lilyth had each taken 10, implanting the rest into Tikke.
Thanks to this, Eve and Lilyth could explore different dungeons and collect concepts....
Especially Lilyth, due to her motorcycle form, had high mobility and excellent combat power, clearing dungeons even faster than Eve.
It was almost as if this was the greatest gain from Ortima.
“As expected, you've grown a lot. At this rate, your Life will break through 100 in no time.”
—Vroom!
“But Lilyth’s Resonance was 10, right? It increased by 2 in such a short time. What about you, Eve?”
“Ssshit.”
Checking Eve, she was at 13.
Was her concept growth rate different because she had been with Ban Yuwon longer than Lilyth? Ban Yuwon tilted his head, then smiled with satisfaction.
“If these concepts continue to grow, it would be fine to share them with others.”
“Ssshh... Sssshhh!”
Eve was a little dejected by the bold declaration of splitting a token of her bond with Ban Yuwon, but she soon replied bravely.
If there was a way to properly utilize Ban Yuwon’s unique Authority of verbalizing concepts, why wouldn't he use it?
Eve had been born through his Authority, so she was merely grateful to be able to become his strength in this way.
“I'll try to find a way to acquire the concept of Resonance elsewhere... but until then, please both of you work hard. I'm counting on you.”
“Ssshh.”
—Vrooooom
Eve and Lilyth saluted Ban Yuwon in their own ways, then departed to clear dungeons again using the spatial transfer function of his student ID.
As repeatedly mentioned, there was a limit to the depth of concepts that could be obtained by simply touring low-level dungeons where goblins, or at most hobgoblins, appeared. Even a little more exploration like this, and not just Lilyth, but even Tikke, who wasn't a combat-oriented artifact, would soon reach the limit of her internal concepts.
Of course, Ban Yuwon’s primary goal was that, but in truth, it was merely a preparatory stage.
‘Increasing my own combat ability is good, but I need to use my Authority in more diverse ways.’
Yumina would also be expecting him to further develop his Authority.
Since he had achieved a certain level of accomplishment in magic, he was now thinking of venturing into artifact creation.
—What are you talking about? Your magic achievements are still shit! Surely you're not going to praise yourself by claiming a high level just because you use unique magic, are you? That's your Authority being great, not your achievements!
“Quiet, Staff.”
—I'm not a staff, I'm a human!
Did she know that she would also benefit if Ban Yuwon’s artifact creation ability improved?
He tapped Cellon’s core, which was dangling on his back and prattling on, then sighed and prepared to enter the lecture.
Today's morning lecture was the Comprehensive Practical Combat class.
Since Ortima had not yet returned to the Academy, the atmosphere in Class 1 was quite chaotic; it was Aire who suppressed the volatile mood that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
“Ban Yuwon, magic duel.”
“Me? With you?”
“Please.”
Her sudden challenge to Ban Yuwon suppressed the volatile momentum of Class 1.
Of course, the duel did not unfold as Class 1 had hoped.
Instead of blasting each other with deadly magic, they competed over control in spell formation, just as they had during the special activity on Gellas.
For those involved, it was an incredibly thrilling match, but for anyone watching, it couldn't have been more tedious.
“Hmph, well now. How can a freshman... I knew Student Aire was excellent, but I heard Student Ban Yuwon only recently began his path in magic. Just how?”
However, since Adjunct Professor Entele, who was in charge of the lecture, was observing their duel with sparkling eyes, no one dared to interrupt easily.
As he had long suspected, he was a magic major.
“This is truly a magnificent duel. All students who walk the path of magic, observe closely. Even students who haven't delved into magic can learn by watching the mages' combat styles!”
“Uh, yes...”
“What are they doing, Misty?”
“It's clearly a fraud. The princess is just going easy on him. That man, even a week ago, couldn't perform such precise mana manipulation.”
In reality, it wasn't as magnificent a magic duel as Entele was effusively praising.
Aire thought Ban Yuwon was some kind of magic genius, but in truth, his magical skill was vastly inferior to hers, so he could only endure with Cellon’s help... or rather, with "gear power."
—Whoa, whoa, the control's slipping! You can't do this? Hey, if you know where your opponent is trying to break through, you should obviously be able to block it!
‘Great Archmage, please bestow your teachings upon me.’
—I'll take complete control of your mana, so just observe and learn the flow. Understood? Looking at your pathetic state, you'll need at least another year of learning....
‘Yes, please go all out.’
The duel proceeded roughly along these lines.
Of course, if Ban Yuwon just left the duel entirely to Cellon, there would be no point in him dueling Aire.
Cellon might not realize it yet, but since awakening his Authority, Ban Yuwon’s learning ability was unparalleled, and even at this very moment, he was rapidly improving his skills by memorizing how Cellon manipulated Hyungi.
In other words, he was "draining her knowledge."
—But your mana is curious, no matter how I look at it. Should I say its density is high, or that it's pure...? That girl's mana is ridiculously fierce, yet yours isn't pushed back at all.
‘It's Hyungi, I told you.’
—Hyungi... I see. Fine. This staff isn't my physical body anyway, so for it to be best utilized in your hands....
The next moment, after Cellon made a sound as if she had made a grand decision.
A powerful wave of mana, manifested from Ban Yuwon (that is, manifested by Cellon), severed not only the spell he himself was constructing but also Aire’s mana intricately entwined within it, creating a sort of mana vacuum.
“......?”
A bold technique that simultaneously completely negated magic and temporarily paralyzed the interferer's mana.
However, in this case, Ban Yuwon, who had invested far more mana in weaving his spell, ended up at a disadvantage. Aire, who highly regarded Ban Yuwon, scrutinized him, trying to understand why he had made such a choice... and then her eyes widened in shock.
“A flame...”
A flame-like mana blazed, engulfing his staff.
The gem, the core, embedded in the staff’s head, also deepened in color from crimson to black.
Everyone could sense the smoldering flame burning within it.
“Mana mutation... he changed the properties of an artifact on the spot...?”
Had he gained some insight during their duel?
Aire gazed at Ban Yuwon, her expression unable to conceal her astonishment.
At the same time, she understood.
Ban Yuwon had nullified her mana with a powerful technique because he didn't want his important realization to be interrupted by her!
...However, in reality, Ban Yuwon himself was the most astonished.
Cellon's Tears [Soul 350, Mana 300]
This was what the staff was originally like.
Cellon's Tears [Soul 400, Hyungi 300]
Because it had changed like this in an instant!
‘It's not that I hadn't thought about it, but this...’
Knowing that Hyungi was more suitable for wielding Language Magic or elemental magic than simple Mana, he had briefly considered whether the staff's mana itself could be converted into Hyungi.
But Hyungi was produced by Hyunsingong, and Ban Yuwon had learned Hyunsingong thanks to Dokgo Yeon implanting its seed in him.
He didn't know where or how to modify the staff to convert its mana, so he had left it alone.
‘You... how did you?’
But... could it be that Cellon had arbitrarily converted her own mana into Hyungi?
What was even more astonishing was that she had completely transformed all her mana into Hyungi without any loss.
And hadn't the depth of her Soul subtly increased during that process?!
—Why are you so surprised? I'm a Great Archmage. I even directly controlled your mana; guiding it to synchronize and transmute the staff's mana core is simple. ...Anyway, this is truly excellent mana. Even some of the seals on my memories have loosened a bit more.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Cellon’s voice and manner of speaking seemed to have matured just a tiny bit.
Ban Yuwon imagined Cellon, finally unsealed, speaking in a grandmother's voice, then suddenly snapped back to reality and raised his head.
He remembered that he was still in a duel, and Aire, across from him, pouted and retrieved her orb.
...Pouting? He must have seen wrong.
“That's enough for today.”
Aire, her expression unreadable, announced curtly and descended from the dueling arena.
“Uh... okay.”
—Hmph, it seems she's feeling defeated by this Great Cellon's mana control ability.
Ban Yuwon thought there was no way that was true and also descended.
Half-ignoring Adjunct Professor Entele, who excitedly prattled on about how he had changed the artifact, he turned his gaze and suddenly met Dokgo Yeon’s eyes.
She was nodding with a very satisfied expression.
Right, she also didn't really understand what had just happened.
* * *
Tuesday afternoon's lecture, led by Professor Zenon, who, alongside Yumina, had undeniably made the most intense impression during this special activity.
“It's about time to start preparing for midterms.”
—With that, Zenon casually dropped a bombshell.
Ban Yuwon blinked, momentarily wondering if he had misheard, but sadly, he hadn't.
The fourth and fifth-year seniors were all nodding with serious expressions!
‘No, why are midterms already happening?’
But thinking about it carefully after hearing that, it was indeed the time around the fourth week in Korean universities when students were swamped with group projects, midterm assignments, and midterm preparations, leaving them completely drained!
The fortunate thing, if there was any, was that given Union Academy's specific educational objectives, the weight of written exams wasn't supposed to be very high....
“I know many of you are looking forward to it, but the Mock Constellation War will be reflected in the final exam. That means you'll be using these orbs after the midterm season concludes.”
“Then, Professor, midterms are...”
“Written. I assume everyone is aware of Union Academy's graduation criteria, but please remember that a GPA below B will disqualify you from participating in the graduation exam, leading to a certificate of completion rather than actual graduation. So study hard.”
Zenon declared mercilessly, just as he had when he single-handedly annihilated the monster wave that had invaded Gellas.
Ban Yuwon mentally smacked his past self for thinking the weight of written exams wouldn't be high, then focused on the class.
Of course, he excelled at anything composed of language, so there was virtually no chance of him getting a bad score on a written exam... or so he thought...
Tug.
Tug, tug.
Ban Yuwon felt a tug on his sleeve and turned his head.
“......What are you two doing?”
“Yuwon...”
Rucell, sitting next to him and clutching his sleeve, had tears welling in her eyes.
Strangely, he knew what she wanted to say without even hearing it.
Then this pressure he felt from the other side....
“Light.”
“Ban, I'll be frank. I'm an idiot.”
This idiot had finally admitted it.
“Written exams? I thought I just had to climb the Tower to be here. I don't know anything about that.”
“You, didn't you complain to the professor last time, saying you couldn't hear the lecture because the other students were too noisy?”
“That was obviously a lie to keep those guys in line.”
‘How nice it must be to be so brazen.’
Ban Yuwon sighed and nodded.
“I'll help you, so let go of this and pay attention to class right now. You'll get better scores if you study hard, even starting from now.”
Just in case, he glanced at Dokgo Yeon, but she snorted and shook her head as if to say she was no idiot.
Indeed, Dokgo Yeon was the only one he could rely on.
At that moment, Zenon, standing at the lectern, let out a dry, inorganic laugh and spoke.
“There's no need to worry from now on. It all comes from what you've learned. So, everyone, open your ears and listen carefully.”
Ban Yuwon was certain that Zenon had directed that comment at his party.
“Today, we will learn about Constellation Sponsorship. Most Constellations form contracts with beings they favor, but if a human refuses a contract and the Constellation still doesn't want to let them go, what the Constellation offers is either conditional or unconditional sponsorship. Among these, unconditional sponsorship might seem, at first glance, like receiving something without cost, but you must never take it lightly, and the reason is...”
Lectures, magic training, physical conditioning and duels, and even concept farming by Eve and Lilyth.
Ban Yuwon spent the week more diligently than ever.
By the time he came to his senses, it was Friday again, time to enter the Tower.
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