I got into school for nothing-Chapter 76
I got into school for nothing (76)
Lesson 17. How to Clear the Trick Room - 1
“I’ve decided to call it Gwoeyeonggong,”
Ban Yuwon murmured, walking lightly beneath a dark night sky where not even the moon had risen. The black shadow flickering at his feet held an ominous magical power. Like a hazy presence, half-there and half-not, concealing sharp claws, it was a monster incarnate.
“There’s neither leopard nor weasel in it, you know? It’s not even a beast, for that matter.”
Dokgo Yeon, reading the essence of the martial art from the *ki* he exuded, replied with an incredulous tone.
Ban Yuwon, in response, merely shrugged.
“In the process of refining the imagery, while preserving the shadow’s stealth and the beast’s ferocity, I stripped away all the unnecessary elements, and only a strange monster was left.”
The depth of Gwoeyeonggong, this newly born martial art concept, was 100—which was 3 points shy of the combined depths of Jamyungbo (38) and Amsal (65). However, the depth of the overarching martial art itself had leaped from around 420 to 500, and since Gwoeyeonggong itself was a higher concept, like Hyunsingong, it became so powerful that comparing it to concepts like Jamyungbo or Amsal would be an insult.
Gwoeyeonggong was merely the beginning. Having realized the harmony between the flow of his inner energy (Hyungi) and his forms (body), Ban Yuwon, as Dokgo Yeon had told him before, harbored an ambitious dream of creating his own martial art based on Hyunsingong. In creating Gwoeyeonggong, he had gained a certain level of confidence.
Of course, he didn’t delude himself into thinking he truly possessed an exceptional talent for creating martial arts.
‘It was entirely thanks to building his foundation with Hyunsingong. It was by gaining insight into inner energy and the physical body through Hyunsingong that such a bold endeavor became possible.’
Dokgo Yeon’s bodyguard’s unique martial art, the concept of the ‘Shadow Weasel,’ and so on — he had indeed gathered many ‘sources’ from various places, but ultimately, Gwoeyeonggong was no different from a martial art born on the foundation of Hyunsingong. Depending on the practitioner’s growth trajectory, it could evolve in countless unique ways; Hyunsingong was truly a martial art like Eevee.
Ban Yuwon now faintly suspected that even that chilling martial art Dokgo Yeon wielded, which exuded an aura of death, was rooted in Hyunsingong.
“Dokgo Yeon, I want to ask you something seriously...”
“Shh. We’ve reached the city wall.”
Just as Ban Yuwon, unable to suppress his curiosity, was about to ask her, Dokgo Yeon coolly cut him off. Before he knew it, her entire body was veiled by shadow, making her invisible. Vowing to ask later, Ban Yuwon likewise began to fully employ Gwoeyeonggong. It felt as if his body was sinking into the shadows. He transformed into a shadowy monster, hiding his body in the darkness and targeting his prey’s neck.
—This is quite impressive indeed. It’s good enough that I’d want to teach it to my bodyguard.
—Sorry, but I’d rather not meet that person if I can help it.
He’d learned her unique martial art without permission, and even modified it to his liking. He couldn’t be sure, but wouldn’t she try to tear Ban Yuwon apart the moment she saw him?
Dokgo Yeon watched Ban Yuwon’s serious expression, chuckled softly, then turned her gaze away.
—But... there’s absolutely no one on guard, is there? What was that strict daytime security all about?
—What the — there really isn’t anyone.
Incredulous, Ban Yuwon followed Dokgo Yeon’s gaze and scanned the top of the city wall. One would expect at least two sentries, but there was only silence. Without hesitation, the two leaped over the wall and entered the city.
Just like the city wall, the interior of the city was also utterly silent.
—We waited until midnight to move, but... Even so, I didn’t expect there to be no patrols at all.
—Could it be magic?
—If our enemy is someone who can cast such a large-scale spell, they won’t be easy to deal with.
Conversing via telepathic message (It wasn’t Language Magic. While creating Gwoeyeonggong, he had naturally gained the ability to use telepathic messages too.), the two delved deeper into the city. The city was a mix of stone and wooden buildings, roughly half and half, and the architectural style allowed one to roughly guess the era. If one were to use Earth as a reference, it felt like Europe some five to six hundred years ago.
‘Perhaps the appearance of some other dimension, with a civilization developed to this level, had been transferred here?’
Just as Ban Yuwon’s thoughts continued, Dokgo Yeon, sensing a change, sent him a telepathic message.
—Something has started moving secretly.
—Isn’t that just us... Ugh!
Even while employing Gwoeyeonggong, Dokgo Yeon, who ghost-like found and smacked Ban Yuwon on the forehead, led him up to the roof of a nearby building.
—Look.
—Wow, that’s seriously suspicious.
A figure, whose hood was pulled low over their head, was scurrying across the alleyway. It kept looking around cautiously, as if wary of something, but it didn’t seem skilled enough to spot Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yuwon. Thus, Dokgo Yeon’s ‘Room 23 Monster Collective Theory’ could probably be discarded.
“Lord, please help me find the culprit today...”
The voice that emanated from beneath the hood was carried by the night wind and reached Ban Yuwon’s ears. It was neither an angel’s nor a girl’s, but a young man’s voice.
—A culprit. Is he looking for the culprit of some incident in the city? And specifically, in the middle of the night?
—Let’s observe a little longer.
The man, moving cautiously, soon stopped in front of a rather large stone building. As the two watched, he knelt on the ground, clasped his hands before his chest, and prayed.
“Lord, answer me.”
A small voice, as if weeping. Ban Yuwon guessed it was a magical incantation.
“Is the murderer within these walls?”
‘...Huh?’
It was a moment that made Ban Yuwon’s eyes flash open. But regardless of his thoughts, the magic successfully manifested. A pure white cross appeared in the air, pierced the building, and then dissolved away. The man looked at it and despaired.
“Ah, to fail to find them again...!”
“...”
The man, despairing, rose from his spot. It seemed his magical reserves were low; he was panting as he returned to the alley he had come from. Ban Yuwon gazed at his lonely retreating figure... and made an exceedingly sour face.
—What’s wrong, Ban Yuwon?
—This feels like a game I know. But I’m not sure yet. Let’s wait a moment.
—A game... play...? This situation?
Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait thousands of years. Just a few minutes later, they could sense something moving within the city. A very crude, ferocious, and unrefined aura. A group, smelling of blood, was roaming the city.
—Let’s go.
—Right.
After Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yuwon exchanged telepathic messages, just as they were about to leap forward. A new rule of the Trick Room appeared, as if it had been waiting, blocking their path.
—Those not contracted with a Constellation may not act within the city at night.
“Hmph?!”
“...!”
As their vision blurred, a terrible coercive force erupted, flinging them high into the sky. Dokgo Yeon regained her balance in mid-air, and Ban Yuwon summoned Lilyth and mounted it in a brief instant, but they could not re-enter the city.
“It’s completely blocked. ...I can feel a vulgar aura similar to a Constellation’s Authority.”
Dokgo Yeon, who had repeatedly struck the invisible barrier blocking their path, clicked her tongue in annoyance and spoke. The barrier enveloped the entire small city in a perfect hemispherical shape, leaving no gaps to be found, and moreover, a hazy fog had risen, obscuring any view of the city’s interior.
“Sneaking in at night must have been against the rules. I thought it would be fine...”
Ban Yuwon replied with a sigh. Perhaps the fact that they managed to last a few minutes without being expelled was because their infiltration level was high enough not to be caught? But when the true ‘change’ occurred in the city, they were caught precisely because they had hurried to pursue it.
“Sorry, it’s my fault. If I had just let you go alone, you would have been able to gather enough information.”
“Ban Yuwon, don’t talk nonsense. I only allowed you to accompany me because I believed your stealth ability was on par with mine. Therefore, our abilities were both insufficient. Hmph!”
Dokgo Yeon spoke firmly, but after striking the barrier a few more times, she let out a faint sigh and landed on the ground. Ban Yuwon landed Lilyth next to her and said.
“I appreciate you saying that, but...”
“There’s no need to concern yourself; I wasn’t being considerate of your feelings.”
As she surveyed the small city, now hazy and filled with fog, Dokgo Yeon’s cross-shaped pupils flashed.
“When day breaks, let’s challenge it head-on again. At least we’ve learned one more trick.”
“You said ‘Constellation’.”
Ban Yuwon caught Dokgo Yeon’s words, his eyes gleaming.
Dokgo Yeon nodded and continued.
“Those not contracted with a Constellation cannot act at night. This isn’t demanding that climbers contract with a Constellation, but rather...”
“it’s a hint that the ones moving at night are connected to Constellations.”
The city’s citizens who reject outsiders, the city steeped in an unnatural silence as soon as night fell. And those who secretly moved within the sleeping city. The theme of Room 23 wasn’t a simple trick, but rather a test of how climbers would deal with a space where a Constellation’s coercive force was at play. Ban Yuwon couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
‘As expected, the Tower and the Constellations were in a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s nothing new.’
Through sanctification and various other phenomena related to Constellations within the Tower, he had come to think that not only were Constellations using the Tower, but the Tower might also be using the Constellations. Sure enough, now that they had reached Room 23, he realized that the Tower was overtly using Constellations to test climbers. But quite apart from that insight, he had realized something else about the events happening in this Room 23.
‘The city’s atmosphere was completely different between day and night. Ordinary citizens couldn’t act, while only a few individuals moved... Someone possessed a special means to find murderers. And murderers moved in groups.’
“Wait, isn’t this exactly like a Mafia (Werewolf) game?!”
“You’re talking about that ‘game’ again. Tell me more.”
“So, you see...”
Ban Yuwon briefly explained the Werewolf game he knew to Dokgo Yeon. Night was the time for the murderers (Constellation contractors). They would run wild, attacking citizens, creating innocent victims, then feign ignorance and crawl back into the darkness. When day broke, the awakened citizens would only know that new victims had appeared, but they wouldn’t know who the murderers were. Nevertheless, they had to find the murderers and hang them. Before all the citizens living in the city fell victim to the murderers.
“Of course, there are also special ability users (contractors of other Constellations) who can oppose the murderers, but as we saw earlier inside the city, they’re a bit...”
“It was an absurdly flimsy ability that could only tell whether a murderer was present in a randomly designated area or not.”
“Exactly. If you could quickly find and eliminate the murderers, the citizen side would have too great an advantage. It’s a well-balanced game in many ways.”
Ban Yuwon recalled memories of playing Mafia with his friends during a high school field trip, and gave a faint smile. As he often said, Ban Yuwon’s gift for gab was beyond what ordinary people could approach, so whenever he played Mafia, his team would invariably win. This happened so consistently that eventually, when a game started, whether they were Mafia or citizens, it became a rule to ‘just kill Ban Yuwon first’!
‘Thinking about it again makes me furious. Those bastards are dead when I get back to Earth.’
Dokgo Yeon saw his murderous smile, and wore a slightly disgusted expression.
“To have such games... your world. The more I learn, the more chilling it becomes. I thought you’d never killed anyone before coming here, so I’m a little surprised.”
“No, are you insane?”
Don’t look at me like I’m a survivor of some death game!
“It’s a game, a *game*. It’s not actual murder; it’s just people gathering, setting a few rules, assuming roles, and enjoying the hypothetical situation.”
“That’s even stranger. More importantly... so, in the end, tomorrow we enter the city, side with the citizens, find the murderers, and kill them?”
“Exactly.”
Ban Yuwon nodded, thinking to himself.
‘As expected, I think this could be solved immediately with my Authority.’
—That’s what I told you.
Cellon, who had read his thoughts, said with a pouty tone.
—Besides, you can probably, by now, discern Constellation contractors, can’t you?
‘As long as the opponent isn’t significantly stronger than me, probably.’
Having received patronage from two Constellations, Ban Yuwon’s fundamental understanding of Constellations had deepened. More importantly, didn’t he possess a Constellation’s Stigma that had reached level 5? Unless the opponent was a powerhouse on par with Dokgo Yeon, it wouldn’t be difficult to discern the Constellation’s Stigma they carried within their body. Even if his All-Seeing Eye had some ambiguous aspects in distinguishing good from evil, if he found those who held the concept of a Constellation’s Stigma and cross-referenced them, he would be able to perfectly locate the group of murderers!
“Hmm...”
However, Dokgo Yeon, after hearing his words, wore a pensive expression,
“...No.”
She glanced at Ban Yuwon’s composed face, and spoke as if making a resolution.
“Certainly, your ability could end this in an instant. But if we do that, the crisis response capabilities of our other party members won’t grow. We can’t unilaterally rely on you.”
“But to finish quickly and cleanly, we’d be able to taste Eden’s Fruit in Room 30.”
“...Even so, let’s try to challenge it. Once should be fine.”
“Alright, I understand.”
For about five seconds. At the mention of potentially not getting Eden’s Fruit, Dokgo Yeon wore a seemingly shocked expression, and was clearly in serious internal conflict. For her honor, he decided to pretend not to have seen it.
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