I got into school for nothing - Chapter 69
I got into school for nothing (69)
Lesson 15. Didn't you learn to be careful with contracts? - 3
"Let's climb the Tower together."
Friday morning, mealtime.
As the Rebellion members gathered to eat (today's menu was a fusion-style pasta, a stir-fry of noodles with a kimchi-like pickled vegetable and ham, topped with cheese), Aire approached and spoke.
Ban Yuwon glanced at the surprised students around them, then sighed and replied.
"It's no use telling us."
"You lack a mage. With me, your composition will be perfect."
"Ban is an excellent mage."
No, perhaps it was his way of trying to get her to distance herself from him? Ban Yuwon twirled his noodles around his chopsticks, a sudden thought occurring to him.
"But he's not a magic major. It's inefficient for him to only act as a mage."
"You speak as if you know Ban quite well."
"I've watched all of Rebellion's videos. And I've subscribed."
Our patron, I see.
In Ban Yuwon's mind, his favorability toward her increased by 1 point.
"With me, it's perfect. If only you nod your heads, I can persuade Professor Yumina."
Indeed.
She wasn't asking to transfer to Class 11, but simply to form a team with them to climb the Tower, so Professor Yumina had no real reason to refuse.
In fact, upperclassmen from second year and above, who had realized the importance of teamwork after dying multiple times in the Tower, often formed teams with students from other classes to climb.
Perhaps knowing this, Light also could no longer object to her and turned to look at Ban Yuwon.
"Ban, I, well..."
"Ban Yuwon, I'll follow your judgment."
"Me too."
Before Light could even say anything, Dokgo Yeon and Rucell abruptly left the decision to Ban Yuwon.
As things stood, Light's opinion would have no impact on the decision!
"Aren't you two really flattering Ban too much?"
"We simply trust him."
"Me too."
"—No, it won't work."
Whether he responded to their trust or not, Ban Yuwon made a definitive conclusion.
Aire heard his words and, while wearing a somewhat resigned expression, finally countered.
"Why?"
"Because climbing with you won't help our growth much. You're too strong."
"But you all are strong enough..."
"Hold on."
Ban Yuwon dipped his hand into a water cup, then pulled it out, leaving water on his fingers, and drew two characters on the table.
The character for 'block' and the character for 'sound,' combining them to form the concept of 'soundproofing.'
As he imbued the completed word with his Hyungi, a soundproof barrier formed around the table, preventing their conversation from leaking out.
It was actually a type of magic he'd wanted to try for a while.
"I'm going to talk about something a bit sensitive."
Ban Yuwon replied with a wry smile to his astonished companions and continued.
"Our current members... yes, all our members except Dokgo Yeon, are in a transitional phase."
"Transitional phase."
"Exactly. Each has their own reasons, but simply put, they're in the process of finding their own path forward."
Ban Yuwon was a novice who had only just awakened to his unique ability.
Of course, in less than a month, he had accumulated martial power surpassing most first-year students, but while his strength was immense, his skill in wielding it was far from refined; one couldn't possibly say it was refined.
Rucell was a girl who had been so mentally cornered that she didn't hesitate to serve a boy she'd known for less than a month as her master.
She had barely escaped the curse of the Heart Furnace that had bound her for so long and was gradually learning how to wield it.
She had also only recently resumed the accumulation of Wildness, which had been forbidden until now.
It could be considered the epitome of instability.
Light? There's no need to even mention him.
Right now, he'd just be a burden on anyone he was with.
"Hey!"
Ban Yuwon lightly pushed aside the shouting Light and continued.
"For us right now, climbing the Tower isn't just about conquering it; it's also about finding the path that best suits each of us. And Dokgo Yeon, bless her, is helping us with that."
"Then I'll help you too."
"Sorry. One teacher is enough."
Ban Yuwon refused her briefly but firmly.
Aire, perhaps realizing that what she had just said amounted to nothing but an empty echo, her expression stiffened slightly.
Then, in a deflated voice, she asked.
"Can we be friends?"
"Of course. You can keep appearing as a guest in our videos. Professor Yumina would like that too."
"...Okay."
She gave a small nod, as if that was enough, and then left.
Ban Yuwon let out a sigh, then erased the characters on the table, dismantling the soundproof barrier.
Dokgo Yeon's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"I see you in a new light, Ban Yuwon."
"Don't give me that bullshit, you idiot. The answer was obvious from the start. How could we possibly accept her right now?"
It would just turn into Aire's one-woman show, or rather, a two-person show if Dokgo Yeon was added.
And Aire herself probably knew that.
It could simply be interpreted that her certainty in the Rebellion team's potential made her act so impatiently.
And if Ban Yuwon were to add one more deduction...
'Wasn't she trying to say she wanted to be friends from the very beginning?'
But perhaps she found it difficult, which is why she beat around the bush with talk of joining Class 11 or climbing the Tower together?
'Starting as friends, it's a common strategy. Though given who she is, it'll probably fail in the end...'
Ban Yuwon covertly watched Light's face, who was fuming, thinking Ban Yuwon had just hurled insults at him, and kept these thoughts to himself.
Light, who somehow only grasped that the gaze was significant, spoke with trembling eyes.
"W-What is it? Ban, you keep looking at me with those strange eyes lately. A-Are you perhaps... into men...?"
"Rest assured, that's absolutely not it. No, perhaps you can't be reassured."
"What?!"
Light shrieked in alarm.
Indeed, teasing this guy is always the most fun.
Ban Yuwon ignored the dumbfounded stares of Rucell and Dokgo Yeon and stood up.
"Alright, let's get up now. Time to enter the Tower."
***
Since all four had cleanly 'Lost' in their previous ascent, this attempt began again from Room 1.
For some reason, everyone looked at Ban Yuwon, and he, not betraying their expectations, stepped forward.
"We probably won't have to fight until Room 5 or 6."
"Ban Yuwon, you can handle up to Room 15 on your own, can't you?"
"No, not me, but my kids."
"Shhh."
Eve, released from Ban Yuwon's arm, soared into the sky.
Not only that, but he also took Lilyth out of his inventory, causing Rucell to be the first to tilt her head in confusion.
"Yuwon, your bike... it got bigger?"
"Just a little. It's a living being now, after all."
The notion of a bike made of mere metal being alive was no longer surprising.
After all, wasn't Ban Yuwon the one who had transformed a common club into a living entity?
As the group quietly observed Lilyth, perhaps embarrassed, she honked "Pa-ang!" and began to speed off ahead.
"Looks like Room 1."
"Well then, shall we follow slowly?"
Where had Ban Yuwon first felt his limits when he initially entered the Tower?
Was it Room 4? He thought so.
But for the beings before him now, talk of limits was completely irrelevant.
"How many hours have passed?"
"About three hours."
"This place right now is... Room 9."
"That's incredibly fast."
What was the reason students didn't give up and continued to challenge the Tower, even though their records reset every time they 'Lost'?
It was because even a Tower with an ever-changing internal structure possessed inherent, unalterable elements, and climbers who repeatedly challenged it learned these and could conquer the Tower more efficiently.
It was similar to a roguelike game, where the more you play, the more familiar you become with the overall structure, and the faster you progress.
Of course, even considering all those points, Eve and Lilyth's clearing speed was still exceptionally fast.
"They don't have a concept of stamina. And their mana never depletes because they absorb and recover it as soon as they use it."
"That means you can do the same when it comes to mana."
"That's why I usually don't complain about lacking mana."
And then...
Ban Yuwon smirked as he watched Eve and Lilyth confront the monsters of the 9th floor: Trap Reapers, creatures wearing straw hats and armed with hooked claws on both hands.
These were insidious monsters that sowed invisible traps everywhere, instantly detonating them to halt an opponent's movement before savagely slashing with their claws to inflict damage. However, for Ban Yuwon, who could inherently read and absorb the concept of 'trap,' they were the best possible adversaries.
Naturally, the same applied to his 'vassals,' who could fully utilize his Authority through resonance—
—Kiiiihaaa!
—Buaaaang!
"Shhhik, shishishish!"
No matter how many Trap Reapers attacked at once, they were no match for Eve and Lilyth.
What's more, these two had cleared out all the monsters that appeared from Room 1 to Room 8, absorbing a considerable amount of concepts and greatly increasing their power.
"Eve might even reach a 'Life' (生) of 250 by this weekend."
Lilyth, perhaps a bit lower, around 220.
Given that Irekto, a member of the Special Class when they first enrolled, had a 'Life' (生) of 250, there was no need to explain how absurdly high these numbers were.
—Kihik!
—Kihiiih?
As soon as the Trap Reapers scattered their traps, Eve and Lilyth codified and absorbed every single one. Overwhelmed to their very souls by the formidable presence of Eve and Lilyth, who were eliminating their comrades with perfect synergy as if reading each other's minds, the Trap Reapers turned their heads, seeking an easier target.
But of all targets, the one they set their sights on was none other than Ban Yuwon.
"...I guess I still look like the weakest one."
"To be honest, you do."
"I-I'll protect you."
"No, don't. You'll only make yourself look pathetic."
Ban Yuwon pouted and stepped forward, even deliberately exposing himself to make it easier for the monsters to charge and strike him.
But the moment a Trap Reaper lunged and slashed at his body, his form surprisingly became semi-transparent and distorted into thin air!
"What are you aiming for? That's my afterimage."
—Kihit?!
"And this is also an afterimage."
—Bwoooong!
—Kiiiiiih!
As the Trap Reapers, repeatedly slashing at Ban Yuwon's afterimages and failing to find his true body, grew flustered, Lilyth swiftly caught up from behind and impaled one with her front fender, killing it.
"Satisfied, Ban Yuwon?"
"Yeah."
"Why is this man sometimes so childish?"
Dokgo Yeon sighed, but Ban Yuwon couldn't suppress his truly triumphant feelings.
It wasn't merely because he had uttered one of the 'Top 20 Special Attack Lines I Absolutely Want to Say.'
What he had just performed was Jamyungbo, and an illusion technique that temporarily created clones to deceive an enemy's senses.
While Jamyungbo was naturally a concept he possessed, the illusion technique was not; it was Eve's ability.
Perhaps it was only natural.
The concept of 'Resonance' granted to Eve allowed her to share some of Ban Yuwon's Authority, and simultaneously, enabled Ban Yuwon to use her abilities!
"I wondered what you were trying to show us."
"Then, Ban, it means that the stronger an artifact... no, a vassal possessing that 'Resonance' becomes, the stronger you become as well."
"Exactly. You could call it mutual assistance."
That wasn't all.
The more vassals he had imbued with 'Resonance,' the more diverse his abilities would become, allowing him to adapt flexibly to all sorts of situations.
And the advantages of having more vassals who could coordinate almost as if reading his mind through 'Resonance' were simply immeasurable.
"Shishishish!"
—Pa-ang!
Before long, Eve and Lilyth, having disposed of all the Trap Reapers, returned to Ban Yuwon's side.
The two of them together had harvested over 150 concepts of 'trap' in terms of depth.
He thought it might be worthwhile to pour all of this into creating a truly potent, sustained trap.
"Alright, let's head to Room 10 now."
"It's almost embarrassing to rest. If there's nothing special, let's just move straight to Room 11. It's about time we started moving ourselves, too."
"Ban, didn't they catch all the monsters? Is there, by any chance, some kind of labyrinth hidden here too?"
They cleared it so easily that it hardly felt like Room 9, but normally, Ban Yuwon's party's explorations were a hellish difficulty incomparable to other students'!
It wasn't an easy stage where one could simply exit after defeating all the monsters.
"This entire Room 9 is a trap. My guess is, if the Trap Reapers weren't dealt with within a certain time, it would have activated this to make all of us 'Lost'."
"...Most ordinary parties would have just ended here, then."
"No, if you weren't here, Ban Yuwon..."
"We might have cleared all the monsters, but then messed around for ages, triggered a trap, and ended up dead. Though you, Dokgo Yeon, might have just smashed the trap with sheer force."
However, since the traps installed in this room were complex, combining ground erosion and lava eruptions, at least one person would surely have been 'Lost'.
As Ban Yuwon offered that terrifying explanation, he reached out and touched a spot on the wall, and a thin strand of golden characters, slightly protruding, wrapped around his finger.
As he gently pulled it out, a 'trap' (陷穽) with a depth of no less than 50 began to emerge.
Combined with what was recovered from the Trap Reapers, it totaled a clean depth of 200.
Ban Yuwon would remember this place as a treasure trove.
—Child, stop your steps and wait a moment.
—Can you hear my voice? I have something I must share with you, a genius creator.
...No, is it a trap even at the very end?
Comments