Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 9

Lesson 3. This is Your Pet - 1

The moment he was dragged into the secret room, Ban Yu-won performed a pillbug imitation that surpassed even Luciel's earlier display.

A life-saving contortion to protect his head and heart even in a sudden ambush situation!

―It's fine to look straight ahead. My true form is not here.

However, the principal's voice, coming from right in front of him, instantly dissolved his defensive posture.

Ban Yu-won raised his head and carefully surveyed his surroundings.

A doll, devoid of any signs of life, was sitting on the desk.

Yes, an ugly scarecrow doll was sitting there of its own volition.

The voice had also originated from the doll.

...Although the doll's mouth didn't move at all.

"Principal... I mean, Chancellor?"

―Ban Yu-won, I'll allow you to call me Master.

Judging by the way of speaking, this wasn't just an ordinary master, but more like a Dark Flame Master or something.

Suppressing the urge to make a snarky comment, Ban Yu-won nodded.

"Understood, Master."

―Then I should explain why I called you here.

"Ah, yes."

―Originally, I do not interfere with the growth of students.

It was a roundabout way of speaking that took its time getting to the main point.

But since Ban Yu-won had expected the principal to employ such a manner of speech, he listened quietly.

―Whether they are weak or strong, I leave them be. I don't care if they die in the tower or survive to gain power and honor.

Then why is the chancellor doing this?

The answer to that came without even having to ask.

―My purpose is singular: to witness with my own eyes the one who reaches the end of the tower. All other existences, whether weak or strong, ugly or beautiful, evil or good, are worthless.

At this point, Ban Yu-won couldn't help but ask a question.

"What is... the tower?"

Ban Yu-won was certain that it was the Tower of Babel on Earth, and a building owned by the Ban family, who were clearly descendants of their ancestors.

At the same time, he had heard from his grandfather that if they reclaimed the Tower of Babel, they could regain all the power and glory of their family.

This was already half-ingrained in his mind, and although he hadn't really expected it to happen, from the moment he faced the tower, he was prepared to risk his life to climb it.

But what about for the chancellor? And for the other students, what was the Tower of Babel?

―The tower is the path to godhood and a trial. That is why I do not interfere with the students' hardships.

The chancellor replied briefly.

Strangely enough, upon hearing his words, Ban Yu-won felt like, "Ah, so that's how it is."

After all, from what he'd heard about his ancestors, they possessed abilities that were practically godlike.

Moreover, the Tower of Babel that was on Earth had somehow ended up in this inexplicable dimension.

If a divine throne (神座) awaited at the top of the tower, then it made sense...

―However.

If the chancellor's words had ended there, there would have been no reason to call Ban Yu-won.

―However, this time I decided to make an exception.

"Uh..."

―Because I saw potential in you. The greatest potential I've seen so far.

The doll sitting on the desk floated into the air and met Ban Yu-won's eyes.

―A feeble body, but a surprisingly strong spirit. This fully reveals your limitless potential.

"......"

―But the instability of body and mind will stimulate others in unfavorable ways, and if left unchecked, interference will surely come before you can bloom. I couldn't just stand by and watch that happen.

The doll extended its hand towards the pendant hanging around Ban Yu-won's neck, causing it to vibrate slightly.

Soon, changes occurred in the flow of characters inside the pendant.

Although Ban Yu-won didn't fully understand it yet, he silently observed everything and engraved it into his mind.

After who knows how long had passed, when the pendant finally calmed down, the principal spoke.

―However, this is not to help you climb the tower. I've merely taken some measures to prepare you for climbing the tower.

"What is it?"

―I've given you the authority to explore external dungeons.

"External? Do you mean outside the academy?"

―That's correct.

In this world where Union Academy is located, there exist things called dungeons.

Special caves similar to the dungeon where Ban Yu-won took his practical exam, teeming with monsters and traps, maintained by dungeon cores.

There were many of them, but to put it bluntly, they weren't challenging enough for the academy students to care about, so the principal would occasionally have people clear them out on a large scale, or use them for practical exams for newly enrolled students.

―I've added a function to your student ID that allows you to spatial-shift to explore external dungeons, so make sure to explore dungeons in your spare time to improve your skills before entering the tower.

"Ah...!"

It was only then that Ban Yu-won realized how much consideration the principal had shown him.

Even though he had great potential, Ban Yu-won was still at a level where he was holding back his classmates.

The principal had allowed him to explore lower-difficulty dungeons before entering the tower, giving him a chance to grow his abilities even a little.

―Of course, external dungeons aren't necessarily easy and safe. You'll have to ensure your own safety.

"I don't expect that much."

Ban Yu-won had no intention of swinging his sword at straw men, and besides, external dungeons were generally lower in difficulty than the tower.

It was just the right condition for Ban Yu-won at his current level.

―When you recite the spell, you can move directly to the dungeon, and after exploring the dungeon, if you recite the spell again, you can return to where you were originally.

"Ah..."

This method also seemed somewhat familiar.

However.

―The spell is 'Drown in the infinite darkness', so remember it.

The spell situation was even more serious than Professor Yumina's!

―Now go. Ban Yu-won, keep moving forward without stopping.

"Thank you, Master."

Unable to ask for a change in the spell, Ban Yu-won simply bowed his head and retreated.

The principal added one more thing to him as he was leaving.

―If your performance is excellent, I'll grant you the next privilege.

"The next privilege?"

―Solo exploration of the tower.

Ban Yu-won's head snapped up at these unexpected words.

―Then, I look forward to our next meeting.

But at that moment, the principal dismissed him, and Ban Yu-won was flung out of the room as if someone had forcefully pulled the back of his head.

However, he didn't roll on the floor because something soft and fragrant caught Ban Yu-won from behind.

"How was your meeting with the principal?"

"Professor?!"

Ban Yu-won, flustered, pulled away from Yumina.

But Yumina didn't seem to mind at all.

"The principal always dismisses guests like that. He has a peculiar personality."

"I'm sorry."

"I was waiting from the start to catch you, Ban Yu-won."

Yumina smiled mischievously, as if joking, and then suddenly focused her gaze on the pendant on his chest, her eyes sparkling in surprise.

"It seems the principal has high expectations for you too, Ban Yu-won. An external access permit, no less."

"He told me to quickly improve my lacking skills by exploring external dungeons."

"That's a good method. But be extremely careful. The area outside the academy is beyond our sight."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, that's right."

Yumina suddenly clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something.

"If you have time after exploring the dungeon, it might not be a bad idea to visit the external city."

"Oh."

"After all, the food and drinks inside the academy, whether in the cafeteria or the store, can get boring and repetitive. And they don't sell alcohol. Can you believe they don't sell alcohol?"

Ban Yu-won had a feeling he knew what Yumina wanted.

"Should I buy you some alcohol? That is, if there's a shopping area I can walk to near the dungeon..."

"Thank you! Then, may I make a request?"

Yumina eagerly accepted his offer and began to chant a spell in an alien language.

"The priests of the Spring God's temple still brew fruit wine that they drink during their fasting period. Among them, the Honeymoon from the Spring Temple in Ronica is famous for its fantastic fruit aroma, rich foam, and a sticky yet refreshing aftertaste. If you go to Ronica, could you please get exactly two bottles of that?"

With those words, Yumina took something out from her bosom, approached Ban Yu-won, and pinned it to his chest.

Ban Yu-won, who had been dazed by the sudden approach and retreat of the flowery scent, came to his senses and saw that it was a jeweled brooch carved in the shape of elaborate flower petals.

"If you wear this, they'll give you the alcohol without question. Buy some snacks while you're at it. With that, everything will be fine."

Yumina winked at Ban Yu-won.

It wasn't hard to realize that following the principal, even Yumina was showing him excessive favor.

"Thank you. I'll be going then."

"I hope you won't be too late."

Yumina looked at him with a grin.

She seemed to expect him to leave right away.

Of course, that was his intention too.

If there was one problem, it was the spell.

"Infinite..."

"Infinite?"

"In, in..."

"In-in?"

Unable to overcome his embarrassment, Ban Yu-won muttered the spell inwardly while cursing the principal.

But the moment he gathered his courage to say the spell out loud, he realized his surroundings had already changed.

It was a dungeon.

'You mean I could have said it internally?!'

As he was torn between relief at not creating a black history in front of his professor and anger at being tricked by the principal, something tapped his shoulder.

It was the goblin club that had been quietly behaving due to the overwhelming presence of the people around him until now.

"Thanks, club. I need to focus now."

He couldn't maintain a relaxed state of mind after entering the dungeon where monsters lurked, even if he might have before entering.

He opened his inventory and pulled out a gleaming blue-tinted longsword.

Executioner's Longsword [Magic Sword 12, Murder 19, Blood Poison 9]

A creation made by combining the energies of artifacts with sword concepts from the trunk (while dumping all the leftover concepts into the Code Core).

Simply put, it was a sturdy and sharp sword imbued with magic power, becoming even more lethal when facing humanoid enemies, and inflicting a vicious poison into the blood when wounding an opponent.

Although Ban Yu-won saw it as a far more powerful weapon than the goblin club he had created during his practical evaluation, in reality, artifacts with this level of ability weren't particularly rare, so it would be a stretch to say it fully utilized Ban Yu-won's powers.

'The armor is secure too.'

There weren't many artifacts with defensive concepts among those his grandfather had brought.

However, there were quite a few items with the concept of talismans that could protect the wearer in times of crisis, and Ban Yu-won had extracted all of these concepts and applied them to his school uniform.

As a result, the defensive capabilities of his uniform now surpassed those of most ordinary armor.

"Well then, shall we go!"

Ban Yu-won stepped forward quite majestically, as if this was his second exploration.

Whoosh, the goblin club sliced through the air menacingly, escorting him.

At that moment, several arrows suddenly sprang from the far end of the corridor, bearing down on him!

"No, this is a bit different from what I imagined?!"

Ban Yu-won hastily dodged, and the goblin club, startled, spun wildly in the air, deflecting the arrows.

"It's a human!"

"A weak human... How long has it been!"

The monsters that soon revealed themselves were indeed goblins, the same ones he had fought in the practical evaluation not long ago.

But these weren't blind, and more importantly, they were all holding crude bows and arrows!

A dungeon where cowardly monster brats come at you with bows right from the start—for Ban Yu-won, who had been eager to test the power of the swordsmanship he'd practiced all night with his sister, it was nothing short of disheartening.

"Shoot!"

"The weak human has no shield! Tonight's dinner is human skewer!"

The goblins shouted as they pleased while drawing their bowstrings.

However, if they thought Ban Yu-won had entered the dungeon relying on just a sword, they were sorely mistaken.

"Club."

He was well aware that his greatest weapon was the miraculously born magic item, the goblin club.

The two days spent on Earth were not only a training period for his own growth but also a research period to maximize the potential of the goblin club.

"Transform."

Ban Yu-won declared.

The goblin club floating in the air instantly compressed into a sphere, then in the next moment, it transformed into a firearm familiar to any Korean man who had completed his military service.

To be precise, it should be called a magic gun and a spirit gun at the same time.

"Open fire!"

—Ratatatatatatat

The moment Ban Yu-won's order fell, the goblin club, no longer in a form that could be called a club, rained dozens of magic bullets upon the goblins.

It was the moment when the concept of transformation, which Ban Yu-won had extracted from countless slime toys collected and dissected with the help of his family, shone brilliantly!