I got into school for nothing - Chapter 96
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I got into school for nothing (96)
Lesson 20. Can Familiars Be Duplicated? - 6
Evening arrived.
However, since night had yet to manifest in this world, Ban Yuwon could only track the passage of time by his clock.
['Pressure' 16 has been seized.]
All this time, the Golem – a World Giant (though it couldn't be called Ymir) – had incessantly assailed Ban Yuwon with pressure, and at some point, the intensity of that pressure even began to gradually increase.
The intensity, which began at 10, had now reached 16, signifying how long the standoff between him and the monster had dragged on.
To explain this pressure.
Fundamentally, it was a volatile concept, much like a spell, that Ban Yuwon could generate.
It would unleash its power the moment it reached its target, then vanish once all its contained energy was expended.
However, as it accumulated, compressed, and its purity increased, it gained permanence.
It was plausible that the various concepts Ban Yuwon had previously collected from the Tower of Babel had also acquired permanence in a similar manner.
"Should I start absorbing it?"
—I don't think you can absorb all of it. Your ice attribute is already at its limit, isn't it?
"Yeah."
Had he been fighting for roughly five hours now?
During that time, the intensity of his elemental magic had grown to 150, fueled by the Ice Mana absorbed from the Frost Giants.
Despite achieving a massive 50% growth, the rate of increase had slowed considerably after passing 140. Now, no matter how much he absorbed, there was no sign of further growth, confirming that repeated absorption of the same concept indeed had its limits.
'I already confirmed with the Goblins that you can't absorb a monster's concept beyond a certain point...'
The same held true for 'Life'.
When he first absorbed a Frost Giant's concept, his 'Life' had shot up by 2 to 462, but now, after dispatching well over two hundred giants, it stood at 499.7.
Efficiency significantly dwindled past 480, and after 490, it dropped below 0.1.
The limit for 'Life' achievable through Frost Giants was likely 500.
Still, he considered it a significant gain.
Growing 'Life' had become increasingly difficult, so being able to increase it by 40 in one go, thanks to these giants, was certainly something to be grateful for.
"But this is just the beginning."
In truth, this Frost Giant grind wasn't solely for Ban Yuwon's growth from the start.
Didn't he have an absurd number of familiars that needed to grow?
"First, Eve, Lilyth, and Tikke. Let's get your 'Life' to 300 today."
"Shishish!"
—Bwaaang!
—Whirr, Clank-clank
Eve and Lilyth had already achieved 'Life' intensities of 250 and 220, respectively, during the last Tower exploration.
Tikke had only recently truly become a familiar, so her 'Life' was still at 120, but with the Frost Giants' highly pure concepts, she should quickly reach 300.
The same would likely apply to their souls.
['Pressure' 16 has been seized.]
['Sharp Weapon' 5 has been seized.]
"...Even those guys are evolving."
—That bastard ate a rock again!
—Father, the worm is eating rocks!
—It can't keep eating! Receive the sharp spear forged from Father's body!
—Throw again and again! Keep throwing!
The pressure descending upon his head whenever he forgot, and the Frost Giants who had moved beyond mere projectiles that were initially just ['Stone' 1], now hurling plausible spears or thorns crafted from rock.
Of course, from Ban Yuwon's perspective, he was simply grateful for the constant 'gifts' of concepts!
"Then, shall we begin again?"
Ban Yuwon grinned, unleashing 'seven' streaks of rain.
Five of the rain streaks were used to parry the Frost Giants' attacks and restrict their movements, while the remaining two aimed for and pierced their vital points.
Having concentrated on controlling the Stormrain Swords for hours now, he could move them naturally according to his will, without consciously thinking about each individual blade.
Ban Yuwon swiftly killed two more giants, secured their concepts, nodded, and pulled out an eighth rain streak from his inventory.
Indeed, when it came to grinding for materials and skill proficiency, training against powerful foes was the best!
* * *
"There's something quite terrifying about the sky's color never changing, even as time passes," Ban Yuwon mused to himself, as if observing a phenomenon unrelated to him, and looked up at the heavens.
The sky was identical to when he first entered, yet the current time was 11 PM.
"Ah, another attack is coming."
['Pressure' 22 has been seized.]
'If I expended all the accumulated pressure to unleash a single blow, even the World Giant would probably be taken down in one hit.'
Of course, he wouldn't waste it like that.
As the grind began to exceed ten hours, unnecessary noise started to accumulate in Ban Yuwon's mind.
In games, grinding merely involved moving his fingers, but now, having to contend with concepts flying at him from all directions while also controlling the Stormrain Swords with his mental power, a considerable amount of stress was building up.
"Shishish!"
"Huh? You hit 'Life' 300?"
"Shhiiit!"
Just then, Eve delivered some welcome news.
Not only 'Life,' but all concepts that could be enhanced through absorption from the monsters, including 'Soul,' had been maxed out.
"Good. Shall we push a little harder then?"
Soon after, Lilyth, and then another hour later, Tikke, had all achieved 'Life' 300 and 'Soul' 200.
Of course, their combat concepts lagged somewhat behind their rapidly grown core concepts, but that much could easily be caught up in real combat.
—Just watching you is exhausting. Are you out of your mind? Are you going to keep up this insane work?
"Cellon, there are no limits for humans. I once engaged in a battle lasting 37 hours, even when my physical and mental condition was that of an ordinary person."
With my fingers.
—What? Was 'Earth' such a terrifying place?!
"Someone like me was nothing on Earth. That place is teeming with people who fight desperate battles, unable to sleep for at least three days, sometimes even a week."
With their fingers.
—Ugh, even if we return to Earth later, leave me at the Academy...
"You have to come with me. You'll probably grow to like Earth too."
—A den of such insane monsters?
Thanks to Cellon's periodic chatter, his mental stress was considerably alleviated.
Ban Yuwon mumbled, unleashing streaks of rain at the Frost Giants that continued to drop from the World Giant's armpit.
"Since Tikke's training is finished, it's time to properly raise the Stormrain Swords."
—I'm going to lose my mind! I'm going to lose my mind!
"You, who's just watching, can't be as tired as they are, can you?"
Ban Yuwon collected the Stormrain Swords and concepts, pointing at the Frost Giants still raging on the ground.
The monsters, seemingly realizing that simply throwing spears wasn't enough anymore, were now crafting and hurling rather plausible weapons by mixing rocks with the cold energy they possessed.
['Sharp Weapon' 10, 'Ice Curse' 5]
"Oh, what's this?"
Then, at some point, curses began to mix with the spears they threw.
Dragons, dwarves – beings from Norse mythology are known to be fond of curses, but to think they'd mix ice and curses to shoot them!
What was he supposed to do if the collection list grew even longer at this point?!
—...Hey, can't you give that one to me?
"Didn't you just say you were going to lose your mind?"
—If you give me that, I think my mind will come back.
"Alright, but in return, you'll teach me about curses from now on."
Having been deeply involved with curses and their解除 in the recent incident, he decided he needed a thorough understanding of this field to be prepared.
Fortunately, Cellon seemed to have a knack for curses, so Ban Yuwon intended to delve into it properly, starting with this 'Ice Curse'.
—So, how long are you going to keep doing this?
"Cellon, there's no end to grinding. There's only a brief rest."
—Don't say it like it's some profound quote, you idiot.
Ban Yuwon grinned, unleashing 'ten' streaks of rain.
It felt like he was training his mental fortitude.
* * *
It was 11 PM on Saturday.
All the Frost Giants were dead.
The World Giant also ceased movement.
"..."
—...
—...
He had felt something was slightly off for about an hour now.
As he culled the Frost Giants, the World Giant's rate of spawning new ones had strangely slowed.
He had felt a sense of unease, but with no other recourse, he diligently kept hunting them down.
To think the World Giant's reproductive capacity actually had a limit!
First Rain Streak ['Magic Sword' 140, 'Life' 140, 'Soul' 60, 'Swordsmanship' 15, 'Resonance' 28, 'Union' 5]
"If this is the case, then it's all for nothing..."
Ban Yuwon clicked his tongue, looking at the Stormrain Sword's options, which had yet to reach their target.
Thanks to over 30 hours of combat, operating only the Stormrain Swords, not only had his 'Swordsmanship' and 'Resonance' grown significantly, but 'Magic Sword', 'Life', and 'Soul' had also seen substantial increases across all twenty-five rain streaks. Yet, he felt he could still extract more.
"Did I get them?"
—What nonsense are you spouting out of nowhere?
—...
Just in case, he chanted the forbidden spell, but the World Giant still didn't budge.
Only then did Ban Yuwon admit that his grinding was over.
'At least the Stormrain Swords gained a degree of autonomous movement, so that's a relief, I guess.'
When he first used the Stormrain Swords in actual combat, it felt like he was directly controlling them, but now he could assign general action patterns with just a simple thought.
Of course, their precision was lower than when he directly controlled them via the Executioner's Longsword, but just as AlphaGo diversified its action patterns after countless games of Go, the Stormrain Swords also began to exhibit quite plausible movements after accumulating tens of hours of combat data!
However, the number of Stormrain Swords he could control simultaneously remained at 12.
Whether it was a limit of his 'Soul' or 'Resonance,' he couldn't tell... but he would have to gradually increase the number through effort in the future.
—Guaaaah...
It was at that moment, as Ban Yuwon assessed the fruits of his grind and made his twelve rain streaks perform acrobatic maneuvers.
The World Giant, which had been still until now, began to stir, letting out a sound.
—Kwaaaaang!
Or so he thought, but instead, it slammed its head into the ground and collapsed, dying instantly.
"..."
—...
—...
As Ban Yuwon and Cellon watched, dumbfounded, the dead World Giant's mouth opened, gushing blood that formed rivers and seas, and its two eyes, detached from their sockets, rose into the sky, one becoming a bright star and the other a dark star, separating day from night.
Its flesh rapidly decayed, forming the land, and its bones and teeth became minerals and jewels... The creation of heaven and earth, as recounted in Norse mythology, was perfectly re-enacted.
It was truly a magnificent spectacle.
"Wow, if I uploaded this video to the Rebellion channel, it would be a huge hit."
—Yeah, but the part where the giant commits suicide would have to be heavily edited out.
With that last comment, Ban Yuwon and Cellon fell silent once more.
Of course, even amidst this, he didn't forget to retrieve the concepts from the dead World Giant.
Wouldn't it be the purest collection of concepts in this entire space?!
['Life' 50, 'Giant' 50, 'Body' 25, 'Ice Mana' 30, 'Soul' 25, 'Myriad Changes' 1, 'Death' 1 have been seized. 'Giant,' 'Myriad Changes,' and 'Death' are concepts that humans cannot possess.]
It didn't have to show him the concepts themselves, did it?!
It was his first time acquiring 'Death' as a concept, and sure enough.
It was a concept one could obtain by making an enemy commit suicide!
'This feels incredibly unsettling.'
Ban Yuwon pondered what to do with this disquieting concept, then decided to stash it away in his Code Core for now.
It was an extremely dangerous power, one that even Dokgo Yeon could only temporarily generate and wield by operating her martial arts.
It was certainly not a concept that could be casually bestowed upon anything else.
Besides that, there was another important concept.
It was 'Myriad Changes'.
'It's a concept Eve already possesses. I could give it to Eve as is, but...'
In fact, Ban Yuwon had once tried to separate a portion of Eve's 'Myriad Changes' concept.
The result was a magnificent failure.
It had already become a core concept forming Eve, intertwined with the concept of a mythical beast, making it impossible to separate only a part of it.
If so, would it be wise to simply give the newly acquired 'Myriad Changes' concept to Eve?
Even if he did, Eve's 'Myriad Changes' would only grow by 1, and that would be it, wouldn't it?
—Bwaaang!
It was then that Lilyth asserted her presence.
Actually, Ban Yuwon had already been wondering if either Lilyth or Tikke could absorb 'Myriad Changes'.
—What about me?
"Cellon, you're a junior, man. These things go by hierarchy."
—With such an outdated way of thinking, you actually expect to conquer the Tower of Babel! Society is a meritocracy, skill is everything!
"Yeah, Lilyth is more helpful than you right now~."
—Ahh!
In the end, Ban Yuwon bestowed 'Myriad Changes' upon Lilyth.
Unlike with Eve, he had considered that Lilyth might not be able to accept 'Myriad Changes', but the mutant, who had been highly active lately, had done it again.
['Myriad Changes' is bestowed upon the target. Due to the action of the mutant, a new possibility of change is imbued in the target, causing a primordial mutation!]
[All concepts held by the target are combined into one. All individual concepts, centered around 'Myriad Changes,' fuse their personalities and characteristics, giving birth to a being with a unique concept. However, a considerable amount of time will be required for the upgrade.]
"Ah."
In an instant, Lilyth's entire body crumpled and transformed into a giant metallic egg.
Ban Yuwon, who had been riding Lilyth and was now flung into the air, urgently reached out, stored her in his inventory, and then created an air platform with elemental magic to prevent his fall.
—It would have been better if you had just fallen.
"I don't want to bathe in the blood of a suicidal giant."
But to think that Lilyth would even evolve due to the mutant's influence!
It was a good thing he had severed all connections with the Constellations before entering the Tower alone.
Otherwise, the Constellations would have caused an uproar again!
—Woowoong
"Huh?"
Was it finally the sword's cry?
Of course not.
What was vibrating was the world itself.
"A shift, perhaps?"
—You, brace for impact.
At Cellon's words, which made him feel like fastening a seatbelt, Ban Yuwon tensed, pouring strength into his entire body.
A tremendous pressure, surging from all directions, crushed his entire body.
The next moment, Ban Yuwon found himself flung out in front of the Tower's entrance.
"...Retired?"
—No, it seems the Tower just kicked you out? You didn't actually take any damage.
Indeed, looking at his student ID, his Solo Exploration's reached floor was displayed as 10, not 0.
It seemed the system had determined he reached 'Room' 10 as a result of clearing the sections corresponding to 'Rooms' 1-9.
—My guess is this: The next room isn't ready yet. Maybe the changes are happening there starting now?
"Ah, that could be it. You're smart."
—Sorry, I just said it on a whim. This is my first time with something like this too.
"'Phone-smart'..."
Ban Yuwon looked up at the Tower, which stood unchanged in place, and tried to re-enter, but whether Cellon's words were true or not, he couldn't get inside.
Ban Yuwon, having finished his first Solo Exploration with a feeling of incomplete combustion, returned to his room with a dissatisfied expression and lay sprawled on his bed until his date with Rucell.
['Giant Slayer' achievement has been reflected, increasing 'Honor' to 80. 'Soul' has increased to 700.]
It was also why he failed to notice the subtle changes in the concepts within his body.
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