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I got into school for nothing - 87

I got into school for nothing (87)

Lesson 19. Changeling - 2

"That man is suspicious."

It was Sunday morning, in the Class 11 training room. To Ban Yuwon, who had just reported returning from Ronica with Ketra yesterday, even as he thought it felt like ages since all four of them had gathered, Rucell approached him so closely that their bodies touched, sniffing at his neck as she spoke.

"I heard that men who like other men usually talk about women on purpose to lower your guard, then seize the opportunity to pounce."

"I'm more concerned about where you got that knowledge, Rucell. And that senior is a definite heterosexual, so don't worry."

No matter how you looked at him, Ketra was clearly a man who liked women. Did Rucell not realize that we would be the ones being ruder by misunderstanding him like this? No, it must be because she was so focused on protecting Ban Yuwon from others that she didn't pay attention to anything else...

As he was thinking such thoughts, Rucell, displeased by how much other people's scent had soaked into Ban Yuwon, began pressing her body against his chest and rubbing herself against him.

"Hnngh...?!"

"Rucell, that's enough. It's rude to Ban!"

Instead of Ban Yuwon, who wasn't getting angry, Light burst out, shouting. But honestly, Ban Yuwon didn't find it particularly rude. A pleasant scent. A soft touch. A satisfying weight. Without exaggeration, it felt like being in heaven.

"Dokgo Yeon, you usually stop this kind of thing. Do something."

"...Well, I don't think it matters if we let them be. Their relationship is for them to sort out."

"Dokgo Yeon?!"

Light's shock was as great as his trust in Dokgo Yeon. But Rucell, letting out a small 'Heh' as if she'd expected it, continued to rub her scent onto Ban Yuwon.

Rucell, this girl, something definitely happened between her and Dokgo Yeon. As he was already feeling the need to come to some kind of conclusion regarding his relationship with Rucell soon, he didn't refuse Rucell's bold skinship and readily accepted it.

How long had it been?

"Are you satisfied now, Rucell?"

"Uh, yes... thank you."

Perhaps Rucell had thought Ban Yuwon would push her away mid-way, as she floundered for a long time, unable to find a moment to separate, until he spoke to her, upon which she finally retreated with a shy smile.

"Ban Yuwon, what happened yesterday?"

Dokgo Yeon, who had been observing Ban Yuwon's considerably more manly response, stared at him intently and asked.

Yesterday, you say. Ban Yuwon recalled yesterday evening's encounter, which had been on the verge of exploding in many ways, and smiled bitterly.

"Yeah. I witnessed the unfortunate culmination of love in many respects."

"Culmination."

"...More accurately, I should say it was a premonition. I'll tell you the details later."

"That must be related to the commotion in the cafeteria the day before yesterday."

"This is why I dislike quick-witted people."

"Hmph."

Dokgo Yeon, letting out a small laugh at his provocative remark, drew the ink-black short sword from her waist and moved to the center of the training room.

"Come at me. You've become excessively arrogant, so it seems necessary to inject some manners back into that body of yours."

"Yuwon, I'll go first..."

"No. I'll do it."

Ban Yuwon, too, gripped his Executioner's Longsword and stepped forward, confronting her.

To him, who, even without the aid of talismans or the like, instantly focused on the opponent before him and raised his aura, Dokgo Yeon threw out a challenging remark.

"You're making something these days, aren't you? Won't you bring it out?"

"Not only is it unfinished, but it's not a weapon that would work against a strong opponent like you."

"Even if you praise me, I won't go easy on you."

"If a little praise were enough to make you drop your guard, I wouldn't have stopped at just this much praise, would I?"

Dokgo Yeon let out a faint laugh and brought her short sword forward. The next moment, Dokgo Yeon, leaping as if folding the ground and rushing forward, and Ban Yuwon's sword blades crossed, creating a sharp clang!

—Chiiing!

"'Flow (流)' has completely ingrained itself in your body. What about 'Reversal (反)'?"

"See for yourself."

—Clang! Cha-aang! In that brief moment, Ban Yuwon's and Dokgo Yeon's sword blades clashed and separated countless times.

Dokgo Yeon's eyes widened as she felt her hand, gripping the short sword, tremble from the sheer weight of their clash.

'His rebound force has become much stronger... He's precisely targeting my weak points and deflecting my power. Did he gain some enlightenment in such a short time?'

In reality, it was more accurate to say that while gaining experience in 'reversing things' with Language Magic, he had also mastered 'Reversal (反)' in martial arts.

If Ban Yuwon had gained one major insight while assisting the Student Council as a Language Mage these past few days, it was that the concepts he wielded through Language Magic and the internal concepts he cultivated within his body were ultimately not so different.

—Cha-aang, Clang! Kagagak!

The more he cultivated his internal concepts, the broader the versatility of his Language Magic became; and the more he devoted himself to Language Magic, the more diverse growth he could achieve in his internal concepts.

Ultimately, since all of it stemmed from his Authority, there was no need to consider them separately.

Now that he had realized this, his development as an ability user would greatly accelerate.

"Hmm, you've been busy running around, and it seems you've achieved quite a lot from it. Then let's go a little harder!"

"What?!"

—Skagagagak!

Dokgo Yeon, who had long discerned his brilliant talent, realized he was beginning to blossom and, satisfied, intensified her aura.

Black lines drawn haphazardly in the air. No, it was almost like black planes. All of them were death.

"Even Lord Frieza only evolved three times, but just how many stages do you have?!"

"Quite good!"

It was no exaggeration; Ban Yuwon, feeling her movements genuinely increase in speed by over 30% in an instant, was startled and moved his feet nimbly.

As he had built a foundation in footwork while practicing Gwoeyeonggong, he could move quite skillfully even when converting it for combat.

"But it's still crude, look closely at my sword! You can't fully perceive the flow of Qi by just deflecting and parrying!"

"Uwaaaaaaah!"

[The profundity of Swordsmanship (劍術) has reached 108. The profundity of 'Penetration (貫)' has reached 53, 'Severance (斬)' 60, 'Flow (流)' 75, and 'Reversal (反)' 63. Based on Hyunsingong, sword-related movements are being unified into a single flow.]

[The profundity of the Body (肉體), stimulated by Hyungi, decreases to 181. You feel your body developing beyond conceptual limits.]

[Due to the cultivation of Hyunsingong, some negative internal concepts have been extinguished. A positive surplus of 'Life (生)' is generated. This surplus potential will promote the growth of other concepts.]

[The profundity of Hyunsingong has reached 111, and the profundity of Hyungi has reached 292.]

[The profundity of 'Life (生)' has reached 455.]

Why was it that no matter how much he grew, he always ended up sprawled out in the same state after sparring with Dokgo Yeon?

Ban Yuwon, pondering a mystery that wouldn't be solved for at least this century, collapsed onto the spot.

Dokgo Yeon approached him, looked down, and a faint smile played on her lips.

"Haa, that was quite good. At the very least, you won't be outmatched technically against other students."

For Dokgo Yeon, who rarely gave compliments, it was an unusually high praise.

...No, actually, these days, I'm not so sure about that.

However, Ban Yuwon also realized through their fierce battle that a definite flow was beginning to form in his swordsmanship, which had previously relied on a few isolated concepts, so he wasn't feeling too bad.

"It's unbelievable that you've honed your skills to this extent in just over a month since properly picking up a sword... *Cough*! You can rest assured about the sparring schedule starting tomorrow."

"I'll avenge you instead, Yuwon!"

"Sorry, Rucell, but just hearing that, I can already imagine what the next few minutes will be like..."

As expected, Rucell, whose hair was half-dyed black and who had stepped forward full of vigor, was sprawled beside Ban Yuwon in less than five minutes.

Light had lasted three minutes, so she was much better than him.

"You just cursed me, didn't you!"

"Yeah, something like that."

* * *

After a weekend packed exclusively with study and sparring, consuming Ban Yuwon's special talismans, Monday finally dawned.

If last week was the period for tackling a massive amount of homework directly tied to exam scores and preparing for tests, then this week was the actual exam week, with numerous practical assessments, including the Comprehensive Practical Combat evaluation that would be reflected in the first-year overall grades, as well as written exams.

In other words, they had already reached the sixth week of the Academy.

"Honestly, it feels like I've already spent about half a year with you guys. Perhaps it's because I've gotten that used to it."

"W-what? Saying things like that doesn't make me happy at all, you know?"

Upon hearing Ban Yuwon's words, Light twisted his entire body, revealing that he was honestly pleased, even if his mouth said otherwise.

Fortunately, he hadn't experienced any Holy Sword-related attacks up until yesterday, so if things continued this way, he would likely achieve a respectable evaluation in this regular exam.

Though he wouldn't say it even if his mouth were torn to shreds in front of Light, Ban Yuwon had already heard Dokgo Yeon assert that "Light's martial talent is definitely at genius level."

"From now on, we'll spend much more time together, Yuwon. Ah~."

Meanwhile, Rucell, with a truly stable demeanor, pierced a sausage with her fork and brought it to Ban Yuwon's mouth, smiling like a Madonna.

The moment he accepted and ate it without refusal, Ban Yuwon felt all eyes inside the student cafeteria turn towards them.

As expected, Rucell's popularity was steadily rising.

If one removed the tinted glasses of 'Special Admissions,' all that remained was an angelic beauty, so it was natural for her fame to grow as Rebellion became more renowned.

"Well... I don't know about Light, but the beast is quite stable now, so unless something unexpected happens, we'll likely be together until graduation, at least."

"Please, no more ominous expressions like that."

Dokgo Yeon also spoke in a nonchalant voice, skillfully using her chopsticks.

Today's meal was a typical American brunch style, consisting of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. Seeing her nonchalantly devour it, despite generally not being fond of Western food, showed that she had become quite accustomed to the Academy.

...However, the fact that she was holding chopsticks instead of a fork revealed her unchanging stubbornness.

"Haa, the bug's gaze is rather sharp. I wonder if he hasn't come to his senses even after all that he's been through."

"Huh? Oh..."

At Dokgo Yeon's remark during their meal, Ban Yuwon gave a bitter smile.

The "bug" she referred to was none other than Lusein Rown-Palomer Aquinas Ortima.

He had reportedly returned last weekend, and even now, sitting with his personal guard in the center of the cafeteria, his eyes and arms were completely intact, by what means he had achieved this, one could only wonder.

This was a huge difference, considering Irekto, who had lost an arm just like him, had been half-cyborged.

Of course, that scoundrel had intentionally integrated machinery into his body to become stronger, but...

"Still, he's only watching from afar, not approaching."

"That sounded like a line from a poem, Yuwon."

"Our kids are too sharp these days..."

"Hmph."

Dokgo Yeon sighed.

"I wonder how long that vermin intends to keep up his ridiculous act."

"Dokgo Yeon, I just thought of a great idea."

"I don't think it's going to be very good."

Dokgo Yeon responded with a look of disgust to Rucell's words, her eyes sparkling.

As Ban Yuwon took a sip of water, thinking he couldn't quite grasp the power dynamic between these two lately, an unexpected stray shot flew his way.

"How about you also try some skinship with Yuwon, like me? Then you'd instantly know what feelings that trash harbors for you. Right, like feeding him."

"?!"

Ban Yuwon was dumbfounded by the unbelievable suggestion.

More importantly, Rucell also calls Ortima 'trash,' it seems.

Of course, Dokgo Yeon snorted.

"I refuse. Why would I bother participating in such a farce?"

"Are you running away?"

"I'm saying it's meaningless."

"If it's meaningless, all the more reason to try it once. You have nothing to lose."

Rucell, unyielding; Dokgo Yeon, wearing an annoyed expression.

As Ban Yuwon prepared to make his escape, facing her who could explode at any moment, Dokgo Yeon suddenly let out a deep sigh and turned her gaze to him.

"You don't dislike it, do you?"

"Why would I dislike it? It's an honor, actually."

At his honest, reflexive reply, Rucell let out a chuckle.

"Yuwon is so honest, I love it."

"...Haa, fine, I understand. I'll play along."

She understood? Ban Yuwon doubted his ears.

But Dokgo Yeon, with an impassive expression, skillfully gathered scrambled eggs with her spoon, following Rucell's words, and then, without protest, offered it to Ban Yuwon's mouth!

"Dokgo Yeon, you...?"

"Open your mouth quickly. Put this in, and close your mouth quickly."

"You're missing something, Dokgo Yeon. You have to say 'Ah~'."

Rucell, stop it! Dokgo Yeon's mental HP is already at zero!

Ban Yuwon shivered, convinced that this time, Dokgo Yeon would surely explode, but.

The result was astonishing.

"Kugh... Ah, Ah~."

"Ah~?!"

The sight was so utterly shocking that Ban Yuwon temporarily lost his mind.

But when he came to, and found himself munching on scrambled eggs, it seemed he had safely received and eaten it from her!

"I did it. Without the slightest self-consciousness, calmly and nonchalantly. Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes. It was entertaining."

"Just you wait, beast...!"

Ah, Rucell just shivered.

As an added bonus, Lusein Rown-Palomer Aquinas Ortima, at a distant table, was also trembling with rage.

Ban Yuwon cast his gaze at the person in question, thinking, "Why doesn't he just openly declare his affection for Dokgo Yeon?" but.

She, as if she had forgotten why she had engaged in that farce moments ago, simply resumed her meal with a placid expression.

...Seeing that her ears were slightly red, it seemed she was indeed embarrassed.