Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 1

Index. Congratulations on passing the document screening.

When young Ban Yu-won first learned about the existence of the fictional structure 'Tower of Babel' from the Bible,

His respected grandfather told him.

The Tower of Babel, which everyone worked together to build when there was only one language in the world.

"The person who built that Tower of Babel was actually our ancestor, Won-ah. Moreover, the Tower of Babel wasn't destroyed but was completed. Everyone has it wrong."

He said.

If he had heard this story for the first time after growing older and learning the truth about the Tower of Babel, he would have refuted it incredulously.

"Really, Grandpa? Then was our ancestor the owner of the house? Not just a house, but a building owner!"

"How on earth is your father raising you... Ahem! It's not just about being a building owner, Won-ah. What's important is our ancestor's ability."

At that time, young and naive Ban Yu-won firmly believed his grandfather's words, and to his grandson who asked with shining eyes, his grandfather told a few more stories.

That the Tower of Babel could be built not because everyone's language was the same, but because their ancestor had the ability to make everyone communicate.

That the story of God destroying the tower and scattering humanity was just an ugly delusion of humans who were jealous of their ancestor.

The master of language who could interpret all languages, transform them, and exert powerful force through language itself.

That we are the descendants of such a great person.

He said never to forget that fact.

But Ban Yu-won, who was more interested in houses and buildings than in vague abilities, persisted in asking.

"Then where did the completed Tower of Babel go? That's our building, sheesh."

"About the Tower of Babel..."

Although for fundamentally different reasons than his grandson who had quickly become worldly at a young age, his grandfather was also in pursuit of the Tower of Babel.

His grandfather responded with distant eyes.

"Even I don't know that. But one thing is certain, if we find it, our family will finally be able to regain all power and glory..."

Young Ban Yu-won never found the Tower of Babel he so desperately sought.

But the ability inherited from their ancestor did exist.

The evidence was none other than Ban Yu-won himself.

"The light of my life, the flame of my existence. My sin, my soul..."

"Yu-won, what are you reading?"

"I'm reading a book!"

"Oh my, our son is reading so diligently... Honey, our child is reading a book in a foreign language?!"

Language is originally memorized through continuous repetitive learning.

Only when the ear is opened, the mouth is opened, and the eyes are brightened can one be said to have the conditions to use that language.

"This is apple, apple, ringo, píngguǒ, mela... All mean apple!"

"Father, I think there's really something strange about our Yu-won?"

"He's reading and understanding the meaning of languages from countries he's never even seen, Father!"

However, Ban Yu-won ignored all of those processes.

He could understand and handle languages as if he knew the concept of language from birth.

All of them, regardless of whether they were phonetic or ideographic characters.

"It seems Yu-won has inherited our ancestor's blood strongly."

"Father, it's not just that level, this is..."

"Finally, a child who will fulfill our family's long-cherished wish has been born! A child who will bring the Tower of Babel back to our family!"

"I'd rather die than suffer."

That's right.

Ban Yu-won could understand and handle all languages that exist on Earth.

No, he was even more amazing than that.

[wjsckdnjschlrhdmldkzkepal「dbsldhs」dmltjfbwjsgudgkqrurdmfcnrgkemflqslek!]

"No, there's a limit to this. There's no way I could interpret such words..."

[Congratulations on passing the document screening for 「Union」, the best academy across all dimensions!]

"...I can?"

In fact, he could even read alien languages.

*

Lesson 1. This is Your Status Window - 1

It was February, and young Ban Yu-won was twenty years old.

While sitting in front of the computer, just refreshing the page repeatedly waiting for the university acceptance announcement to appear.

Suddenly, his vision brightened, and a semi-transparent glass window appeared before his eyes.

Moreover, it was a glass window with alien writing that even Ban Yu-won, who had mastered all languages on Earth, had never seen before.

[Congratulations on passing the document screening for 「Union」, the best academy across all dimensions!]

"It's not even disappearing."

While waiting for the university acceptance announcement, suddenly a glass window with alien writing appeared before his eyes, and that alien writing was even being interpreted.

Ban Yu-won, unable to comprehend this surreal phenomenon, shouted the very words one should shout first when faced with an incomprehensible situation.

"Status window!"

There was nothing of the sort.

Neither status nor state window nor anything else worked...!

Instead, though probably not as a replacement, the alien text written in the glass window smoothly changed.

[Applicants who have passed the document screening will immediately take a practical evaluation. But don't worry! As the dimension you're currently in is a lower dimension that's not even named, the practical evaluation is also classified as a special selection for lower dimensions. The difficulty level is much lower compared to the general selection for higher dimensions, so you should be able to pass without much trouble!]

"I'm going crazy, really."

What's this practical evaluation, and what's this special selection for lower dimensions?

The glass window didn't provide an answer, but if you think about it carefully, you could understand.

In general university admission systems, what's called a special selection is a selection process that selects students with special backgrounds or skills slightly differently from the general recruitment criteria, in order to accept diverse talents at the school level.

So, originally, Ban Yu-won passed the document screening for this academy called Union or whatever due to his special ability, and he can take the practical evaluation at a lower difficulty level than others...

[Once you pass the practical evaluation, you will immediately become a prospective student and move to the Union Academy dormitory, so please be prepared. Then, we will start the transfer in 1 minute. 59, 58....]

"What kind of nonsense is that, I never even applied in the first place...!"

When on earth did he write the application, and what's this practical evaluation?

He only applied to S University!

If you're going to show such strange messages, at least give me a status window too!

—Thud

At that moment, the monitor screen refreshed a bit late, and the acceptance announcement for S University's College of Social Sciences (planning to major in Political Science and Diplomacy) appeared.

The result was, of course, acceptance!

Yes, surely he must have hallucinated due to being too nervous before the acceptance announcement.

As he was trying to convince himself of this while taking deep breaths, what greeted Ban Yu-won was.

[1, 0. You will be transferred to the practical evaluation site, the Blind Goblin Cave!]

"Wait."

It was a spatial transfer magic he had never experienced before.

"Just a sec..."

As he finished his words.

Ban Yu-won was already in a place other than Earth.

In other words, to put it in the most appropriate term he knew...

He was in a dungeon.

*

[The goal of the practical evaluation is simple. Reach the center of the Blind Goblin Cave and destroy the dungeon core! As this is a special selection for lower dimensions, you pass as long as the dungeon core is destroyed!]

Hiding in a corner of the dark and damp cave, Ban Yu-won thought.

'This is neither an illusion nor a hallucination. I'm sure of it.'

Ban Yu-won had now come to accept that he was in an incredibly unrealistic situation.

In fact, he had denied reality for about 30 seconds after being dragged into the dungeon, but when he sensed the presence of a monster that sent chills down his spine just from hearing its breath beyond the passage, he snapped back to his senses as if cold water had been thrown on him.

Given that his own ability was a product of miracles, Ban Yu-won's strength was his quick adaptation to surreal situations.

He stopped all thought, moved as quietly as possible to find a place to hide, and that's how he ended up here.

'Let's think.'

Why was he in a place like this?

Was there no way to return home?

Such thoughts were meaningless right now.

What he needed to think about now was how to safely pass this so-called practical evaluation.

First, he needed to get out of this place to meet the person in charge and argue or do whatever, right?

In fact, he wondered what he could possibly do against a group capable of forcibly bringing people to a place like this.

'No, don't be weak-hearted. I'm going to get out of here safely and enroll in S University. A brilliant college life must be waiting for me...!'

For that reason, he had to find a way out of this place.

In fact, the goal had been presented from the beginning.

[Reach the center of the Blind Goblin Cave and destroy the dungeon core.]

It was a sentence that could be understood without employing any language comprehension skills.

Because he had seen it many times in games and novels.

'They're just straight-up telling me it's a dungeon. Is Union Academy some kind of school that trains dungeon explorers? Then why on earth did I pass the document screening... Let's think about that later.'

Dungeon core.

A core is the essence.

What happens when you destroy the core of an object? It collapses.

...At least that's how it was in the novels he had read, and it probably wouldn't be different here.

In other words, Ban Yu-won had been instructed to conquer and clear the dungeon.

However, the goblins living in this dungeon wouldn't stand by and watch their dungeon core being destroyed.

He would have to move while dealing with an unknown number of mysterious monsters,

Reach the center of the cave whose location he didn't know,

And overcome the monsters' interference to destroy the core.

'Sigh... I'm definitely going to die.'

Modern people can't confidently say they'd win even against a wild Chihuahua, let alone a goblin.

What about a pack of attacking Chihuahuas? Just imagining it sends a wave of terror.

Thanks to his body being frozen in fear,

He managed to stand his ground even when a club suddenly flew through the air, grazing right in front of his nose.

"Missed!"

"...!"

He desperately held back the sound that was about to escape.

Perhaps because he was too lost in thought, he hadn't noticed the monster that had approached right up to his nose.

No, that's not it.

The monster had approached while concealing its presence.

A monster incomparably scarier than a Chihuahua.

"Where are you! Where."

Dark green wrinkled skin, slightly shorter than Ban Yu-won who stood at 182 centimeters.

But its limbs were muscular, and its face baring sharp teeth was truly ferocious.

While goblins in games are the weakest monsters that even a Lv1 novice warrior can easily kill, the goblin in front of him now was clearly a monster with strength far surpassing Ban Yu-won's.

"Then to the right!"

"!"

—Whoosh

Avoiding the monster's club swings (the sound of it cutting through the air was terrifying) twice in a row was certainly not luck.

It was thanks to Ban Yu-won, who had somehow come to understand the monster's language, moving his body in response to the monster's foolishly honest words about its own actions.

'Damn, I can even understand monster language.'

Meeting a talking monster was a first in his life, so naturally, this was his first experience.

Strangely enough, at that moment, Ban Yu-won gained a bit of confidence.

At least he knew that his language ability worked even in this unknown place.

"I can't catch it! It's right in front of me!"

Meanwhile, the goblin, having failed to hunt its prey, went berserk and swung its club in all directions.

Why wasn't it aiming directly at Ban Yu-won who was right in front of it, instead of doing such crazy things?

It was because this goblin was blind.

'This must be the advantage given because it's a special selection for lower dimensions? Not much of a comfort.'

Thanks to that, he was surviving for now, but that and passing the practical evaluation were completely different matters.

Ban Yu-won slowly backed away from the goblin swinging its club like a madman, but that was a mistake.

The creature suddenly rushed forward and brought its club down with a thud!

"Missed again!"

'Gasp! Huh... This bastard, it's reading my movements the moment I move!'

Avoiding that last blow was thanks to his reflexes that had improved to a surprising degree even to himself.

It seemed that his physical abilities had been enhanced compared to when he was on Earth.

Not enough to beat the monster, though, as he was barely able to dodge the obvious attacks like now.

Fortunately, the creature couldn't read his presence sensitively at the moment of attack.

So once he avoided an attack, it couldn't get its bearings and wandered around like that.

But then.

"Is there a comrade over there? What's going on?"

Ancestors have mercy.

Just when he thought he was getting a bit used to avoiding one creature's attacks, a new monster appeared from beyond the passage!

It was equally blind, equally muscular, and equally wielding a terrifying club!

The goblin who noticed the arrival of its comrade (let's call it Gob1) shouted happily.

"The prey keeps avoiding attacks!"

"Prey? Prey!"

Yeah, I knew it would come to this, damn it!

The newly appeared goblin, Gob2, was bouncing towards him.

At this rate, he'd be surrounded from front and back.

But if he moved, they'd detect his presence again.

'How? How on earth can I survive this unreasonable situation?'

At that moment, an incredibly stupid idea popped into Ban Yu-won's mind.

But there wasn't enough time to find another way, so Ban Yu-won immediately put that idea into action.

"Run straight ahead and strike down right in front of you!"

Ban Yu-won shouted.

In the language the goblins used.

Simultaneously, he threw his body to the side.

As desperately as possible, he moved away from there.

"The prey, it speaks our language!"

"Thanks for telling me!"

"Wait...!"

Unlike Gob1, who froze in shock at Ban Yu-won's words, Gob2, who had just arrived, didn't notice the slight difference in voice and charged straight ahead.

The goblins were even more ignorant than Ban Yu-won had imagined, yet their strength was formidable.

And their evasive movements were even worse than Ban Yu-won's.

―Whack!

In other words, Gob2's club succeeded in smashing half of Gob1's skull.

"I caught the prey...!"

"I'll kill you!"

"Gwaak!"

Gob1, having received a critical hit, was so enraged that even knowing it was struck by its own kind, it swung its club back.

Naturally, Gob2 couldn't dodge and got hit.

Thwack!

"Ouch! Why did you hit me!"

"You hit me first!"

"Die!"

Ban Yu-won blankly watched the fierce battle that had begun before his eyes.

If he moved now, he might unnecessarily provoke them, so he had no choice but to stay still.

Gob2, who had landed the first blow, should have had the advantage, but it seemed Gob1 originally had more strength, as their momentum was evenly matched.

"You fool! It's not me!"

"Liar! Goblins don't forgive liars!"

While their conversation was at an elementary school level, the battle itself was chillingly intense.

Thud! Whack! Bang! Smack!

Hitting heads, striking chests, pounding legs, and taking blows to the arms, with each exchange, a thunderous sound that Ban Yu-won could barely imitate echoed, leaving him utterly astounded.

'Who the hell said goblins were the weakest monsters....'

If he had blindly rushed into the cave believing the depictions of goblins from all those novels, Ban Yu-won's skull would probably be cracked open by now.

"Ugh, ack..."

As Ban Yu-won was shuddering anew at the harshness of his situation, the battle finally took a turn.

Surprisingly, despite taking the first hit, Gob1 managed to tear open Gob2's nape!

"Die!"

"Gak!"

Gob1 brought its club down on Gob2's head.

The torn wound on the nape widened, blood gushed out, and Gob2's grip loosened, dropping its club to the ground.

It was then that Gob2 made its last struggle.

As it collapsed towards Gob1, it bit off the tip of its nose.

"Get off...!"

"Guheek..."

Was it truly the final struggle? Gob2 could no longer move.

But Gob1, already fatally wounded and now pinned down by the corpse, could only flail its limbs without being able to get up.

"Huff, huff..."

Ban Yu-won, who had picked up the club Gob2 had dropped.

He was now standing by its head, despite everything.

'If I can't kill this one, I have no hope of clearing this dungeon.'

Even though Gob1 was already dying and he could have safely run away, why did he choose to approach it dangerously?

It was because Ban Yu-won had chosen to move forward in this place, not to blindly flee.

No matter how unreasonable the current situation was, to survive he ultimately had to pass through the dungeon.

And to pass through the dungeon, he had to face these creatures.

He couldn't run away in fear even from one that was already dying.

"Hnnnngh!"

Overly tense, he gripped the club too tightly and held his breath, but for a beginner trying to hit a target with a club, these weren't bad conditions.

He brought it down just like that.

―Thwack!

Ban Yu-won's strike, with strength above the average for a young Korean man,

Decisively ended the life of the dying goblin.

[Congratulations! You've succeeded in your first hunt in the dungeon!]

At that moment, at a completely unexpected timing, a semi-transparent glass window appeared before his eyes again.

Despite feeling the ache in his hands, arms, abdomen, and waist from the excessive tension, Ban Yu-won stared at the glass window.

The message was updated.

[As a reward, we provide you with a higher-dimensional power, the status window. All students attending the academy can manage their abilities and grow efficiently using the status window! This is the cutting-edge support system provided by Union Academy!]

"Huh?"

A status window at this timing?!

Although Ban Yu-won had been cursing and hating the school officials just moments ago, he couldn't help but feel excited at the mention of a status window!

[This is your status window.]

And finally, before Ban Yu-won's eyes, his status window...

[Confirmed that the subject possesses a higher power.]

Just before it appeared.

Characters that were structurally different from those that had appeared so far, more inorganic and higher-dimensional,

'But somehow immediately recognizable' appeared.

[Retrieving status window.]

"What? Give me back my status window!"

Ban Yu-won shouted, forgetting the current situation in his surprise.

Immediately realizing his rashness, he hastily covered his mouth, but fortunately, no new goblins appeared.

[Authority, Babylonia Code is released.]

Instead, golden strings of characters began to emerge from the corpses of the two goblins lying before him.

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