I got into school for nothing - 77
I got into school for nothing (77)
Lesson 17. How to Clear the Trick Room - 2
Hearing about the events unfolding in the small town, Light's eyes snapped open, and he stood up.
“A murderer is openly moving about...?! How dare they be so brazen!”
“Calm down. We haven’t even confirmed the murder scene ourselves. We’re merely hypothesizing what might be happening within the town based on various circumstantial clues.”
It was just a guess, based on the hooded man who was secretly moving about mentioning a murderer. They still couldn't grasp all the detailed circumstances.
But there was no way Light, who aspired to be an apostle of justice, would calm down with just those words.
“But if a murder could happen there tonight, now isn’t the time to be so relaxed!”
“They’re not even real people, so there’s no need to worry.”
In the end, it was only when Dokgo Yeon stepped forward and revealed the final secret hidden in this room that his demeanor finally settled.
Light blinking his big, bright eyes in a flustered expression was quite endearing.
“They’re not real people?”
“Of course. From the start, there’s no way humans other than us climbers could enter the Tower. To exaggerate a little, those who appear human are ultimately no different from monsters. It means all of this is a situation created by the Tower.”
In fact, Ban Yuwon had also been a little confused until he personally infiltrated the small town at night.
But knowing that a Constellation’s power was being applied in the small town now, he was certain.
All of this was nothing more than a fabricated charade.
‘If there truly were a Constellation contractor among the humans in that small town, they wouldn’t be stuck in a mere Room 23. Those contractors are, in the end, nothing more than fakes created by the Tower, borrowing a Constellation’s power to test climbers. The Constellation probably gained a share in return for lending its power to the Tower...’
Since everything was fake, there was no need to feel unnecessary obligation or guilt about what was happening in the small town.
Just like a game of Mafia played by people sitting around on Earth, Room 23 was merely a game where they only needed to annihilate the enemies before all their allies died.
Light’s expression, after hearing all the explanations, had thoroughly soured.
“Ban, my head’s so complicated right now...”
“Why are you thinking about it so hard? I gave up trying to guess the Tower’s Authority the moment monsters started pouring out endlessly.”
“Yuwon is truly... I don’t know whether to call him wise or fair.”
Even Rucell was dumbfounded by Ban Yuwon’s attitude, which seemed to equate monsters with humans.
But Ban Yuwon said to his companions without a change in expression.
“There were hints before, weren’t there? Do you remember Professor Yumina saying that there might be times when we’d have to protect the weak in the Tower?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, she did.”
“From now on, there will be plenty more Trick Rooms that limit our actions... and among them, there will probably be cases where we have to protect such beings. Let’s get used to it this time.”
Indeed, Ban Yuwon was less shocked by the appearance of ‘fake people’ compared to Light or Rucell, likely because he was accustomed to the existence of NPCs (Non-Player Characters) in RPGs and other games.
‘Honestly, if it’s the Tower, it wouldn’t be surprising if it summoned real humans from other dimensions to use them. ...But it wouldn’t, right? They must be NPCs?’
It would be great if he could contact them and thoroughly investigate the concepts within their bodies.
Even if, by some chance, they *were* ‘real humans,’ treating them as NPCs would be beneficial for Ban Yuwon’s mental health, so he decided not to think further on this matter.
“Yuwon...?”
“Alright, everyone, you’ve worked hard. Let’s get some sleep and move as soon as morning breaks. We have to conquer Room 23 before we leave the Tower.”
Rucell, seeing Ban Yuwon’s subtly changing expression, watched him with a worried look, but Ban Yuwon forced a smile and declared it bedtime.
Would the people of the small town truly accept them after a day had passed?
To put it simply: they did not.
“I told you not to come closer, you monsters!”
“People died yesterday too! Why are you trying to enter the city at a time like this?!”
“Get lost! If you don’t vanish from my sight, I’ll shoot you with an arrow!”
Vehement refusal.
But having failed to infiltrate the city last night, they couldn’t back down this time.
“We need to get inside, no matter what.”
Dokgo Yeon declared forcefully as she approached the city gate, deflecting all the arrows shot from the ramparts without even laying a hand on them.
“Heeek!”
“M-Monster. A real monster!”
“No doubt, that’s the murderer!”
Even the humans who had occupied the ramparts and the gate, adamantly refusing their entry, were now cowering in fear from her intimidation, unable to move. Ban Yuwon smacked his forehead.
Was this truly the same Dokgo Yeon who had insisted on cultivating other party members’ crisis management skills?
Wasn’t she just charging forward, oozing bloodlust?!
“We weren’t in the city yesterday, and therefore we are not the murderer. And we must enter the city.”
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
“I *said*, let us in.”
“Hiiieeee!”
Advancing by force any further might have directly harmed the people, so Dokgo Yeon merely stood firm before them.
However, the mere trace of killing intent she subtly displayed was enough for those guarding the gate to stumble backward, one after another, even wetting themselves.
“Hey, if we ever have to do a siege battle or something, we can just send Dokgo Yeon to charge in.”
“Don’t say that directly to Dokgo Yeon, Ban. Unless you want to end up like those people.”
“But Dokgo Yeon’s actions seem to be the answer. There’s nothing else we can do when they won’t listen at all.”
Rucell, seemingly realizing something after witnessing Dokgo Yeon’s forceful breakthrough, also uttered a remark before following her forward.
“Hiiieeeeek! A m-monster is coming again!”
“B-Bow... the bow, the bow!”
“D-Don’t aim it. You’ll die! You’ll die!”
Ban Yuwon and Light, who hadn’t moved yet, could only see Rucell’s back... but observing half of her hair turning pitch black, they roughly understood why the people were consumed by terror.
That kid can now handle her Heart Furnace quite naturally, even when not directly engaging in combat! He was so proud, he almost shed tears!
“Ugh, yeah, that’s a skill too...”
“Ban?”
“Let’s go too. I think we can talk now.”
“‘Talk,’ you say. Not ‘threaten,’ but ‘talk’...”
As Ban Yuwon and Light, who appeared relatively weaker compared to Dokgo Yeon and Rucell, reached the city gate, the people finally seemed a little calmer.
“You, you people! What on earth are you?! What are you?!”
They must have thought they were relatively easier to handle.
Which, to be fair, they were.
“How dare you...!”
“It’s okay, Rucell.”
Rucell was about to bare her fangs at the sight of them yelling at Ban Yuwon, but Ban Yuwon extended a hand to restrain her (a gesture he, of course, deliberately orchestrated) and flashed a friendly smile.
“We are looking for the murderer.”
“What?!”
The citizens guarding the gate were startled and glared at Ban Yuwon.
In truth, his party members were equally startled but struggled to maintain their composure.
“You said there were murders happening in the city, right? Those were all committed by those who worship an ‘evil god.’ We are constantly tracking them. Our mission is to kill them.”
“L-Lies. Don’t think we’ll fall for that. Aren’t you also in league with them?!”
“If that were the case, there would be no need for us to be having this conversation, would there? You must realize yourselves that refusing us is not rational.”
The series of murders occurring within the city.
Because of this, they reacted sensitively to even minor changes.
If one were to think rationally, the probability of outsiders being suspects in these murders would be infinitesimally close to zero.
“If left unchecked, the scale of the damage will only spread. You desire a peaceful daily life, and we must find the murderer. Our goals align, so there’s no need to be wary of each other.”
“Th-That’s...”
“Is that true? You’re chasing a murderer...”
“But certainly, these people have never entered the city, so they couldn’t have committed the murders...”
At Ban Yuwon’s strangely persuasive words, the citizens gradually regained their composure.
It was as if an area-of-effect status ailment removal spell had been cast, which was due to Ban Yuwon’s inherent Authority being enhanced by the effects of Ortima’s Divine Word, which he had recently acquired.
However, in truth, Ban Yuwon’s assertion wasn’t entirely appropriate for calmly entering the city—.
“No, I still can’t trust you! At a time like this, to let you, who claim to be searching for a murderer, into the city—.”
He had casually mentioned the existence of the murderer, who was currently treated as a taboo within the city, which was precisely why he invited such unnecessary misunderstanding.
Even pretending to have no connection to the murderer might not have guaranteed entry, but he had openly declared his purpose!
But of course, this was also Ban Yuwon’s intention.
“It seems you all agree that we are not the murderer. If that’s the case, then not wanting to let us, who are chasing the murderer, into the city...”
Could it be...?
The man, receiving Ban Yuwon’s suspicious gaze implying 'Could it be...?', became greatly flustered.
“N-No! I’m not the murderer! I just wanted to protect our city...”
“Then why are you overreacting so much? Were you, by any chance, last night...?”
“No!”
“Now that you mention it, it’s truly suspicious. These people aren’t the murderer. Why are you so unwilling to let them in?”
“Surely you’re not, are you?”
“N-No, I said! I’m innocent, I, I really didn’t do it!”
Huh?
Team Rebellion’s members tilted their heads, watching Ban Yuwon swiftly shift from being under suspicion to cornering one man alongside the other citizens.
How did it come to this?
To his companions, who harbored such doubts, Ban Yuwon explained simply in a low voice, unheard by the citizens.
“The game has already begun. And the best way to survive this game is to aggressively corner and hang anyone who isn’t on our side.”
“You’re not even human!”
That was precisely why Ban Yuwon had, from the beginning, taken such a strong stance.
To turn the ignorant majority into allies with his words (though in truth, it was more brute force by Authority than eloquence), and to, conversely, corner the (clever) minority who still doubted him!
The best way to get close to others is to create a common enemy.
Ban Yuwon was merely putting that into very active practice!
“No doubt, that scoundrel is the murderer!”
“I knew it from the moment he vehemently argued that we shouldn’t let outsiders in!”
“Hang him! Hang that scoundrel!”
Even while his companions stood dumbfounded, the impromptu trial by the citizens grew increasingly fervent.
Meanwhile, their wariness toward the outsider party faded, and they subtly managed to step inside the city.
“Execution! It’s an execution!”
“Kill the murderer!”
“Everyone, calm down! No one can be saved this way...!”
“Anyone who obstructs just punishment is a murderer!”
The madness Ban Yuwon had created quickly spread throughout the small town, leading to an impromptu trial and then an execution that flowed as smoothly as water.
Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yuwon, who had watched it all until the execution was complete, simultaneously nodded as if they had realized something.
“It wasn’t him.”
“But we’re perfectly fine.”
“...?”
Light tilted his head, failing to understand their words, then suddenly realized something.
“...It wasn’t him? The murderer?”
“Yeah. He came on too strong, so I had a little hope, but it wasn’t him. He must have just been a deeply suspicious person.”
“He treated us as murderers without a second thought, so he must have been prepared for the same treatment himself.”
“...”
Leaving the pale-faced Light aside, the two continued their conversation.
“Actually, we were also exploring the Trick. It seems as long as we don’t directly kill someone with our own hands, we won’t incur the Trick Room’s sanctions.”
“I thought it would be fine from the start. Unless all climbers possess Authority like yours, it would be impossible to clear this room without a single mistake.”
“Ha, haha.”
Light let out a dry laugh.
Meanwhile, Ban Yuwon, seeing an NPC die before his eyes and confirming with his own two eyes the disappearing concepts, realized with certainty that these were not real people. He declared with a visibly lighter expression.
“Alright, then it’s your turn now. I’ll only help minimally, so go on, give it a try. Let’s see how many more we have to hang before this room ends.”
“Light, Rucell, you heard that, right?”
“N-No... I don’t want this! This isn’t the Tower I imagined!”
“Rucell.”
“Yes!”
Light finally exploded, but it was within the expected range, so Rucell immediately stepped forward to subdue him.
A trial of blood for blood began.
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