I got into school for nothing - 98
I got into school for nothing (98)
Lesson 21. It's because of the special admissions - 2
It was a Monday morning, the seventh week at Union Academy.
As Ban Yuwon checked the reactions to the video he had uploaded yesterday on his mirror, As Light reacted with disbelief.
"You really uploaded this, Ban? Are you a Uni-Tube fiend?"
"As Light, your modern vocabulary has improved quite a bit."
"Don't talk to me like I'm an old man!"
*Ah, he caught me.*
Watching Ban Yuwon playfully stick out his tongue, As Light was tormented by the impulse to mercilessly yank it.
"The atmosphere was quite nice, wasn't it? You might as well have stayed out overnight."
"O-overnight..."
Rucell's face turned into a ripe strawberry.
Ban Yuwon gritted his teeth, pretending not to hear her words, and said, "We can't just keep showing us killing monsters and making jokes. I tried this concept, and the reaction isn't bad, is it? We barely uploaded anything during the exam period, with only videos of sparring and studying, so I thought we needed some new stimulation around now."
"Well, the view count itself is incredibly high, but... it seems like not all of Rucell's fans are reacting positively."
As Light pointed to the comment section as he spoke.
Ban Yuwon was dumbfounded to see a surprising number of harsh comments mixed in.
Most of them were insults directed at Rucell, but Ban Yuwon received a significant share too.
There were even pedantic comments scolding them for dating at a time when they should be focusing solely on ascending the Tower.
"Seriously, we're not idols. Do we have to follow some no-dating clause?"
"Humans naturally have arbitrary expectations and arbitrary disappointments. Perhaps they express their emotions more unrestrainedly because they don't face us in person."
"But I always made it pretty obvious how much I liked Yuwon..."
Rucell, who had finally recovered from the shock of the word "overnight," interjected.
As she said, in previous videos, Rucell's devotion to Ban Yuwon had been clearly visible.
So why was there such an uproar now?
It was... Ban Yuwon knew the reason but was too embarrassed to say it himself, so Dokgo Yeon provided the answer instead.
"A maiden's one-sided love might seem fresh and adorable, but yesterday's date video gave the impression of an already established couple. If someone was excessively invested in one of you, they couldn't possibly forgive one of you getting completely entangled with someone else."
"An e-established couple..."
*Ah, Rucell has embarked on another journey into her world of imagination.*
Dokgo Yeon neatly finished her yogurt bowl and sighed.
"No need to ask how far things have progressed. Why is this beast so needlessly bold, yet so clumsy in crucial moments? You're quite alike."
"We're not even dating. We just went on a date. ...Anyway, Ban dated me too, didn't he?"
"As Light, if you jump in now, it'll only get more complicated, so just keep quiet."
Knowing that speaking up now would truly make things troublesome, Ban Yuwon clamped his mouth shut and merely checked the video.
Then, he realized he could manipulate the video's information to view the viewership statistics by dimension.
He figured that seeing the names of dimensions wouldn't tell him where they were located, and the information was meaningless beyond knowing that many viewers were from Union, so he scrolled past it idly—.
But then he discovered Earth among the dimensions and his breath caught in his throat.
"What is this?"
"What is it? How do you read this?"
"Earth."
"Earth?"
Ban Yuwon's teammates leaned in toward his mirror.
He projected the mirror's image as a hologram, a strange expression on his face.
"It's just one person, but they watched this video from Earth."
"Didn't you say there was no Mana on Earth originally?"
"There were no monsters, no dungeons, no Constellations."
"It's a typical, lowest-ranked dimension that hasn't undergone a single evolution. A world without even Mana, let alone Constellation connections... How could someone like Yuwon be born there? It's a miracle..."
If so, then naturally, there would be no one with access to the Union Net.
No, since Ban Yuwon had already gained access, he could connect even if he returned to Earth, but... wasn't he at Union Academy now?
"Perhaps Earth has begun its evolution? Maybe your being called to Union Academy was a sign."
"Yeah, that's convincing. It was always a bit strange that a special admissions student appeared from a world without even Mana... Perhaps Ban was Earth's first Mana awakener."
Ban Yuwon couldn't help but feel conflicted.
He had hoped that Earth would remain separate, the world he knew, distinct from this fantasy realm of the Tower of Babel and Union Academy.
*What if monsters and dungeons appear on Earth? What about my family?*
Ban Yuwon's mind became fraught with worry.
"But this person is amazing too."
Rucell exclaimed, imagining the unknown Uni-Tube viewer from Earth.
"Access to the Union Net is harder to obtain the lower the dimension's rank. But to boldly gain access from a world where Mana has just begun to emerge... Perhaps they possess talent second only to Yuwon."
"Moreover, it seems this person watched all the videos on our channel. Could it be that they know Ban Yuwon is from Earth?"
"No way."
Ban Yuwon let out a chuckle at Dokgo Yeon's overly bold speculation.
"Even on Earth alone, there are diverse races. If you consider all dimensions, there would be countless people who look like me. How could they pinpoint my origin?"
A condition that made it even harder to deduce his nationality or background was that Ban Yuwon was mixed-race.
His hair and eyes were black, but his facial structure and bone frame were typically those of a mixed East-West heritage.
Why did Ban Yuwon believe his grandfather's stories about "our ancestors built the Tower of Babel"?
Because he knew his family line wasn't purely indigenous Korean.
Furthermore, unlike his older sister, he seemed to have inherited more prominent mixed-race features, as if through atavism. As a child, he even thought it was something very special... which further solidified his trust in his grandfather's words.
*A shameful past. ...No, since Grandpa was right in the end, maybe there's nothing to be ashamed of?*
Incidentally, Grandfather Ban Jiwon, with his beard, looked like a dashing European gentleman at first glance.
Ban Yuwon had never seen anyone who suited the phrase "nice gray" as much as his grandfather.
He had also given him Mana, so he hoped his dementia symptoms had improved even a little... Huh?
*Could it be my grandpa?!*
Ban Yuwon's eyes widened, and he scrutinized every video uploaded to the channel.
The unknown viewer from Earth had watched all of the Rebellion channel's videos, and especially the ones where Ban Yuwon was active, more than dozens of times.
Someone who showed such interest and affection, specifically for him among the four members, and not anyone else... undoubtedly, it had to be his grandfather!
"It's our Grandpa, I'm sure of it."
"I've never heard Yuwon use such an affectionate term before."
"...You're not jealous of Grandpa, are you, Rucell?"
"Why are you specifying 'family'?"
To Dokgo Yeon's pertinent question, Ban Yuwon explained that before his enrollment, he had returned to Earth and injected Mana into his grandfather, father, and sister.
"Then wouldn't your sister, the only one among them to awaken Mana, be the most likely candidate?"
"My sister? ...Could that be?"
Listening to her words, Ban Yuwon calmly reconsidered and realized that his thought was simply born from a desire for his grandfather to have watched his videos.
Of course, he didn't think his sister would deliberately replay his videos dozens of times, and he didn't even want to imagine it, so he decided to continue believing it was his grandfather.
"Sister, Grandfather... I want to meet and greet them all soon."
Rucell said with a warm smile.
Just as Ban Yuwon was about to respond to her, quickly erasing the word "family meeting" that had popped into his head—.
"If you apply in advance, it's possible to visit other students' dimensions. During the break."
Yumina appeared with a tray, sat down next to them, and said this.
Her tray held only a small muffin, water, and a drink.
It seemed she also didn't care for today's menu.
"Professor, do you also eat at the student cafeteria?"
"Today is an academy-wide holiday. Not just the restaurants, but the faculty dining hall is closed too."
Because the previous week had been the exam period, today, a Monday, was a holiday with no classes.
Instead, what happened was that overall grades were officially posted, and students who had objections to their scores could use today to inquire with professors and have their grades rectified.
"Professor, I'll apply for that. My dimension would probably be better off without me... So, I want to go to Yuwon's dimension during the break."
"...Beast, have you even prepared to abandon your own dimension?"
Rucell chuckled lightly at Dokgo Yeon's scowling question.
"I know what you're worried about, Dokgo Yeon, but it's alright. I won't cause Yuwon any trouble."
"Well, I wonder if that will really go as you wish."
Dokgo Yeon sneered unpleasantly, while Rucell brushed it off with a gentle smile.
Strangely, these two often had conversations that only made sense to them, as if much had been omitted in between.
*Is this truly the unique communication style of women?*
As Ban Yuwon pondered blankly beside them, Yumina cleared her throat and began to explain.
"To talk about that, I should first explain the academic schedule during the break. I mentioned that the first semester runs until the 14th week, didn't I? There's no separate closing ceremony; the exploration period begins immediately from the 15th week. I told you, didn't I? That you can explore the Tower for two weeks during the break."
"So, the 15th and 16th weeks are the exploration period."
"Exactly."
Yumina nodded and continued.
"The 17th week usually involves a special activity schedule. We did one before, remember? It's where you're dispatched to another dimension to perform a quest. You four will likely be grouped together as a team, unless something unusual happens."
"Will Professor also come with us?"
"Of course. We can't send a team of new students without a supervisor."
With a schedule already set for three whole weeks after the final exams, students who were happy about the long break probably felt like they'd been hit by a truck.
...But thinking about it again, it didn't seem like many would be sad about having less time to play at Union Academy, which gathered prodigies from all dimensions.
"Alright, once the special activities are over, it's finally the break. You can return to your home dimensions and stay there for a month and a half until the second semester begins. Of course, you can stay at the academy, but there's no real point since you can't enter the Tower or participate in special activities."
"Is it the same even if I have Solo Exploration authority?"
"Yes, you can't enter. That's why the break is a good time to catch Tower intruders."
Yumina had a proud expression, but well.
Recalling the Tower's structure and the Chancellor's attitude towards it, Ban Yuwon merely shrugged.
Yumina's words continued.
"Actually, I wasn't going to tell Rucell and As Light students in advance because they might have a summer session schedule during the break."
"Ugh."
"Ack."
Rucell and As Light, who now knew the terror of summer sessions, shrank their necks so much that anyone would think they were Dullahans. But the next moment, Yumina smiled brightly and held out her mirror.
"You can consider that worry gone. You both did very well."
"Ah, grade posting!"
Ban Yuwon hastily pulled out his mirror as well.
Of course, he could access the school website with his student ID, but viewing it on the mirror was much more convenient.
After logging in with his student ID, he quickly moved to the grade confirmation page. As expected, his written exams were all perfect scores, and all his practical exams received the highest distinction.
His overall evaluation sparring ranking was, as he already knew, 8th.
"Hoo-hoo, you all did so well that my nose has risen high. Although it's an average of four people, you're the most outstanding among the eleven classes!"
"That's a relief."
Dokgo Yeon was not just good at martial arts; though not as high as Ban Yuwon, all her rankings were in the single digits.
Rucell and As Light also had excellent practical scores, and thanks to the potent effect of Ban Yuwon's Study Talisman, they had received higher grades than the academy average...
"If I sold these talismans, they'd be a huge hit."
"Yuwon?!"
"Hoo-hoo. It will truly be an uproar. Because you overwhelmingly beat even the Special Class! Just thinking about teasing the professors who spoke ill of you just because you were special admissions students makes me feel incredibly good."
Yumina's petal-like hair fluttered gently in the air, a testament to her uplifted mood.
Perhaps she had already had a run-in, as whispers like "Professor Cantone said this" and "Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong said that" seemed to drift from her.
"We must reward the greatest contributors to my prestige! Student Ban Yuwon, how about we go on a date?"
"..."
"A date..."
"Ah."
He had just changed the subject, but Yumina brought the troublesome atmosphere right back!
Ultimately, due to As Light and Rucell's fierce opposition, the date was canceled, and instead, the five of them decided to do club activities together.
It was something they were quite used to by now, but from the next day onwards, Ban Yuwon and his companions realized that the gazes of those around them had changed once again.
* * *
At a bar in Ronica's upscale shopping district.
Alec de Cantone, a full professor of Tower Research at Union Academy, slammed his whiskey glass down forcefully and snarled.
"I can't stand it!"
"Calm down, Professor Cantone. You can't change those plebeians' grades. If there had been any cheating involved, we might have been able to do something..."
"It's infuriating enough that those low-borns are defiling the sacred Tower, but now I have to watch those worms strutting around as top-ranking students?!"
*Gulp.*
Cantone, having ordered whiskey in a rock glass, downed it in one go, rendering the point of the glass useless, and ground his teeth.
"How did the Tower come to this? Is the Chancellor out of his mind? I've advised him countless times that professors should directly select students instead of relying on a mad system like the Union Net, but he ignored it, and now he's utterly destroyed the academy's order!"
"But look, Professor Cantone. It's still true that those students are excellent..."
"Noble blood! Noble Mana! The very essence of one's being is determined at birth! Why can't they understand that no matter how much those worms struggle, they'll always end up as worms!"
Professor Cantone poured a generous amount of whiskey into his rock glass.
It was liquor specially brewed to intoxicate even superhumans with Mana flowing through their bodies, but he paid no mind and gulped it down in one go.
"Even if their grades are high, it's just for basic subjects. To think they'll swagger around because of that... Hmm?"
"Professor Cantone?"
His colleague, who was seriously considering cutting ties with this madman but showed no hint of it on his face, feigned concern.
Cantone, of course, couldn't see through his colleague's thoughts, and in any case, he was barely sane, caught up in a sudden thought.
"Yes, basic subjects... Surely, top-performing students could take advanced major courses."
"Yes, but isn't that more a matter for the professors to decide than the students?"
"Indeed."
Cantone emptied his glass, placed it on the table, and stood up.
"I need to have a word with Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong."
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