Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 7

Lesson 2. This Is Your Roommate - 3

For a full day after that, Ban Yu-won was moving frantically.

He classified the artifacts in the trunk into 'concepts to extract' and 'items to preserve intact', and also bought large quantities of everyday objects from which concepts could be extracted.

In the process, as the code core's capacity became insufficient, he urgently needed to obtain things with the concept of Core (核), but the answer was extremely simple.

He could extract about 0.05 of the Core concept from fruit seeds, regardless of the type.

As a result, he bought such a large quantity of fruit that he could be mistaken for a green grocer, and extracted a total of 155 depth of Core.

The remaining fruit concept - that is, the fruit flesh (果肉) - was all gathered together. At first, he tried to see if it could be divided into fruit (果) and meat (肉), but it was impossible.

After all, fruit flesh is just the flesh of the fruit, not meat itself.

Through this, Ban Yu-won realized that not all concepts of language made up of Chinese characters could be split, and that it wasn't easy for a lower concept (fruit flesh) to surpass the limits of a higher concept (fruit).

The point was that no matter how much you can split language concepts, you can't go against the natural order.

It meant that you shouldn't try to live life too easily.

"What should I do with this concept? If I put it all in one watermelon, wouldn't it become an incredibly delicious watermelon?"

"Why don't you just make it into something like canned food? It's not like we're going to eat it now."

"Wow, sis, are you a genius?"

A single comment from Ban Yu-mi, who was watching Ban Yu-won's work, enlightened him.

He immediately took out a jar of strawberry jam from the luggage he had prepared (he was planning to fill his inventory with Earth's preserved foods like canned goods and ramen, as he probably wouldn't be able to return home for a while) and put the concept of fruit flesh into it.

"Why a jar and not a can?"

"Once you open a can, you have to finish it, but with this, we can share it."

"I thought you were just trying to get rid of it."

At first, he put in 1 at a time (even 1 was not a small amount, as it took several fruits to make), watching the progress, but as there wasn't much visible change, he boldly started putting in 5 at a time.

Pushing it in like that, when he came to his senses, he realized that all 570 units of fruit flesh obtained from extracting 155 Core had been concentrated into a single jar!

"Oh no, I've done it...!"

"Hey, this is glowing!"

Just as he was preparing to throw the jar away, thinking it might explode, as Ban Yu-mi said, the contents of the jar began to emit a dazzling light.

In that tense moment, as the light subsided, a notification window from the Babylonia Code appeared before Ban Yu-won's eyes.

[You have crafted a Beginner Potion 5. The vitality contained in the fruit flesh has been compressed to near its limit and sealed. Just one sip will greatly boost life force and significantly affect the growth of life. However, the seal is currently very loose, making it easy for vitality to escape.]

Upon hearing this, Ban Yu-won generously took about 5 of the seal (封) concept he had collected from separating snack bags and applied it to the jar.

The change was immediate.

[You have crafted a Beginner Potion 10. Due to the perfect sealing state, the contents are perfectly preserved, and its efficacy is also amplified. While it's effective in healing wounds, it's best used for promoting the growth of the concept of existence through long-term consumption.]

"Wow, I even made a Potion."

"What is it? What happened?"

Instead of replying, Ban Yu-won opened the carefully sealed jar and took a big spoonful, first eating a mouthful himself, then feeding a mouthful to his sister.

Stars filled her eyes.

"Mmm, this... it's delicious! Damn, it's so good...!"

"I'm not giving you any more."

"Wow, wow!"

"If you're jealous, make it yourself. Grandpa! Come here and have a taste of this jam!"

"Ah, grandpa prefers yokan..."

With this, he successfully dealt with both the Core and the fruit flesh.

He also learned that even concepts that seem ordinary can be transformed into completely different concepts when gathered and compressed in special ways.

Now it was time to depart for the academy.

"Don't get discouraged, son. And I'll register you at S University just in case. Come back anytime."

"Yeah, I can see you have absolutely no expectations for me, dad."

After receiving this energy-draining greeting from his father, who was even more of a laid-back optimist than Ban Yu-won, he turned his head to find his mother hugging him tightly.

"Take care of yourself, my son."

"Thanks, mom."

"Are you really going, even if it kills you?"

"If I die, I can't go. I'll come back safely, don't worry."

"Oh, geez..."

"Won-ah."

Ban Ji-won approached Ban Yu-won, who had just barely escaped from his mother's embrace.

Surprisingly, he had maintained his sanity ever since first hearing about the Babel Tower from Ban Yu-won, and even now, dressed neatly, he reminded one of his days as an active professional.

He was the very image of the grandfather that Ban Yu-won had always admired and followed.

"I entrust you with the family's secret wish."

"I'll call you to the tower somehow before I graduate."

"I'm proud of you, my grandson."

At this moment, only grandfather and grandson could share the intense longing and desire for the 'tower'.

They embraced strongly, and after saying goodbye, Ban Yu-won said a word to his sister who was staring blankly at him.

"Sis, don't get caught doping at competitions for no reason."

"Idiot, if you're going to cheat, why even enter the competition?"

Her attitude remained unchanged even though her brother was going to a different world she didn't even know about.

Well, that's what made him feel reassured.

"Alright, do well. I'm off then."

Ban Yu-won smirked, took one last look at his family, and then responded to the message that had appeared before his eyes a moment ago.

[The entrance ceremony for Union Academy is beginning. Student Ban Yu-won is being summoned.]

*

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he found himself in a vast auditorium.

Startled by his sudden appearance, the people on either side of him flinched, then frowned upon seeing the uniform he was wearing.

"What's this, a bottom-feeder? Why are you here?"

"Get lost, over there."

"Oh, thanks."

How incredibly kind of these friends to even tell him where to go.

Ban Yu-won waved to the freshmen who had pointed out his seat, then headed towards the area designated for students admitted through the lower dimension special selection.

He hadn't expected them to discriminate even with seating arrangements, but as Light had said, it seemed things were going to be a bit tough from now on.

Well, he had only just realized that the uniforms were different too.

'And the auras emanating from all around... Whew. Are these really all freshmen?'

Ban Yu-won was still a novice, but he had managed to clear one dungeon, gained insight into the concept of magical power, and spent a whole night sparring with Ban Yu-mi, a superior skilled person, learning to some extent how to read an opponent's aura.

Yet even the weakest-looking person around him now seemed at least ten times stronger than Ban Yu-won.

If he could touch them, he might be able to attempt an interpretation of their language concept, but there was no way he could ask, "Can I hold your hand for a moment?" to these people exuding such hostility.

For now, all he could do was walk with his shoulders squared, pretending to be as confident as possible, and find his seat as quickly as he could.

'If grandpa hadn't supported me, I'd have been truly lost. Thanks to that, at least I've gathered my secret weapons thoroughly.'

Shuddering, he arrived at a spot where only four chairs were placed, separated from the other freshmen as if they were in exile.

"Ban!"

"Light, hello. So this is our spot. These special seats are totally awesome."

"Awe-awesome? Haha..."

Besides Light, who was smiling bitterly at Ban Yu-won's casual use of slang, there were two more female students.

"Ah, hello."

"Mmm, hi."

One of them was peculiar, with bright bubblegum pink eyes and hair, with only a part of her bangs dyed black. She had a gentle and cute impression, like a puppy, and was quite beautiful.

However, Ban Yu-won tried hard to keep his gaze from wandering to her particularly voluminous chest, rather than her lush, glamorous hair or face.

She seemed aware that her chest was of a noticeable size, as her default posture was to shrink her body as much as possible. Feeling sorry for her, Ban Yu-won put effort into suppressing his instincts.

"Um, hello to you too."

"...Hmm."

The other girl, on the other hand, had different striking features.

Her long hair was strangely glossy white, and her eyes were completely black without distinction between whites and irises, with a silver cross floating in the center of her pupils.

This slightly exceeded the concept of humanity as Ban Yu-won knew it.

Is this some kind of demon eye from a manga or something? The thought made him feel a bit intimidated.

'Wait, are these guys really from the lower dimension special selection? All three of them seem way too powerful for the regular admission...'

Not only Ars Light, whose skills he had witnessed two days ago, but the eerie aura emanating from the black-and-white girl (white hair and black eyes, hence the nickname) seemed like it might even surpass a professor's. Even the puppy-like girl trembling like a lamb over there felt overwhelmingly stronger than Ban Yu-won!

The fortunate thing was that, befitting the reputation of the top interdimensional academy, amidst all sorts of bizarrely shaped races that had enrolled, at least these three appeared human-like.

And all of them were attractive to boot!

'Well, one of them doesn't quite look human... but if you look at her for a while, there's something eerily charming about her too. Yeah, let's call it a bewitching charm.'

As expected of a language ability user, Ban Yu-won felt satisfied after coming up with an appropriate word to define his companion.

Suddenly, he flinched as he realized that her cross-shaped pupils were staring directly at him.

"What, what is it?"

"That thing... floating around you. It's interesting."

"Huh? Oh, you mean the goblin club?"

For someone sensitive to presence, noticing the goblin club isn't surprising.

When Ban Yu-won summoned it to his palm, she leaned forward without blinking and examined it closely.

Then she smiled, "Huh."

Strangely, at that moment, the overwhelming pressure emanating from her seemed to significantly decrease.

"My name is Dokgo Yeon, daughter of a martial arts practitioner. And your name?"

"Oh, your name..."

"You just learned my name now... Even though we're roommates. We've been living together for days."

Hearing the conversation between the other two, it seemed this was the first time she had introduced herself.

But Ban Yu-won was more concerned about something else.

"I'm Ban Yu-won. But did you say martial arts? Do you use martial techniques and stuff? Can you shoot air blasts?"

"Pfft."

The woman who introduced herself as Dokgo Yeon couldn't help but laugh at the mention of air blasts.

Ban Yu-won turned pale, wondering if he had said something offensive, but seeing Light and the puppy-like girl also burst into laughter, it seemed his words weren't rude after all.

"Your understanding is... pfft, not incorrect."

"Really? Well, I guess if fantasy exists, there's no reason martial arts worlds wouldn't."

"Among countless dimensions, the number of martial arts worlds... that is, 'dimensions where mana cultivation methods and martial arts infused with religion, philosophy, and other ideologies are systematically established' is said to exceed ten thousand, Ban."

Light, who was looking for an opportunity to socialize with fellow special admissions students, chimed in from the side.

"Ten thousand?!"

"...Hmph."

While Ban Yu-won was genuinely shocked by his words, Dokgo Yeon shot a slightly cold glare at Light.

Depending on how one heard it, it could have sounded like he was looking down on her home dimension.

Light, seeming to realize his mistake, retreated with an awkward expression.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect your home dimension. I was just trying to state the fact..."

"...!"

"Light, it might be better if you just stay quiet."

"Uh, okay."

Fortunately, the angered Dokgo Yeon didn't demonstrate her martial arts in front of them.

Perhaps deciding to ignore him, she turned her head with a sharp sound and extended a hand to Ban Yu-won, saying,

"Ban Yu-won, pleased to meet you. ...I sense a connection (緣) with you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. If you have something to gain from me, don't forget to give me something in return."

"Hehe."

She doesn't seem as scary as I first thought.

As Ban Yu-won made this judgment and clasped her hand, the cross in her eyes rotated slightly.

Whether it was a positive sign or not, things were going well until that last moment—so scary!

"Excuse me!"

As the two were having a fairly amicable conversation, someone interjected from the side.

It was the pink-haired puppy-like girl.

"Nice to meet you too...! I'm Luciel, just Luciel without a family name."

"A-ahem. I'm Ars Light. You can call me Light. Nice to meet you. Luciel, Dokgo."

"Dokgo?"

Dokgo Yeon, who had seemed in a good mood until now, frowned and said,

"Please call me Dokgo Yeon instead."

"Ah, hahaha... Looks like the ceremony is about to start."

Light, who had been reprimanded, pointed to the front with a bitter smile that was becoming increasingly familiar.

Nine professors could be seen ascending to the podium prepared at the center of the great hall.

Ban Yu-won felt a surge of happiness upon spotting Professor Yumina with her green skin and red petal-like hair, and as if noticing his gaze, Professor Yumina turned to him with a small smile.

"Did you have an interview?"

"Yeah. With that professor."

As he was talking with Light,

Suddenly, the sound of fireworks exploding in mid-air was heard.

Reflexively, everyone looked up.

The ceiling of the great hall had opened, and beyond it, a massive eyeball could be seen.

—Everyone has gathered.

A being that should have been imperceptible had manifested.

So grand and enormous that merely gazing upon it would crush fragile life forms to death.

Ban Yu-won barely managed to perceive the eyeball and was terribly shocked, but it wasn't without reward.

[Your understanding of the concept of Eye (眼) deepens. The depth of the All-Reading Eye has become 105. You can now see more, and more clearly.]

[The depth of Soul has become 320. Your mind becomes more resilient, and your resistance to malevolent forces increases.]

As Ban Yu-won, who had inadvertently grown his innate concepts, widened his eyes,

Was it just his imagination, or did the giant eye seem to look at Ban Yu-won?

But it must have been an illusion.

—Then, let us begin the 2,557th entrance ceremony of Union Academy.

After all, it would be impossible for such a grand being to individually recognize the existence of someone as insignificant as Ban Yu-won.