Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 19

Lesson 5. The Tower is a One-Way Street - 2

"Why, why are there... so many people staring?"

On Friday morning, Luciel, who was desperately struggling to fish out something indescribable resembling coriander from atop her rice noodles, suddenly shuddered and muttered.

Ban Yu-won kindly replied as he completely removed the concept of the scent that Luciel found uncomfortable from her rice noodles.

"That's because our channel has grown into a major one watched by a third of the Academy's population in just two days."

"A third, you say?"

Light, who was also struggling with the aroma wafting from the rice noodles, muttered in shock.

But since Light had a teasing side, I left his bowl alone for now and instead answered his muttering.

"Yeah, that's 500 people in numbers. Amazing, right? Actually, the plan is progressing ten times faster than I thought. Everyone's losing their minds over this new kind of stimulation. Probably from now on, there'll be much less trouble during lectures like before. People won't be able to cause trouble because they'll be too conscious of others watching."

Ban Yu-won's plan yielded results far exceeding his expectations.

Perhaps the reason was that the members' appearances were exceptionally outstanding even in this Academy filled with prodigies from all dimensions.

The first uploaded video of Dokgo Yeon and Light's sparring match, where they displayed dazzling and terrifying power unbelievable for freshmen, likely played a significant role.

However, that wasn't the only reason.

Videos of everyone eating together.

Videos of attending classes.

Videos of gathering after dinner and shower to play board games Ban Yu-won brought from Earth and chatting (this was a big hit).

Above all, videos of having tea with Professor Yumina, one of the Academy's influential figures, were edited to be much more entertaining than the original using Ban Yu-won's modern Earth media editing skills, which was also crucial.

"Attract with fun, make them grow attached. In my hometown, we didn't have such media, so I can't believe how fast and dramatic the effect can be. It's truly an interesting result."

"I guarantee it'll get even more interesting. We'll gain even more attention."

In fact, their videos were gaining explosive popularity outside the Academy.

Originally, there were no regulations prohibiting it, but Academy students themselves had never even thought of filming their daily lives and sharing them externally.

So when suddenly four gorgeous men and women gathered to film their Academy life and upload it, it couldn't help but be a huge hit.

"Ugh, uuugh... But..."

"Get used to it, Luciel."

And at this point, Luciel was particularly drawing attention.

While Dokgo Yeon and Light were of course good-looking, they were so overwhelming in terms of skill that people felt a bit distant from them, whereas Luciel had only shown puppy-like aspects so far.

...Her beauty and physical attributes were also overwhelming.

"I shouldn't have agreed the day before yesterday... Huh? The strange soap taste is gone from the noodles now! Ban, thank you...!"

Luciel, who had been frowning intensely feeling the gazes pouring in from around, reflexively took a sip of the rice noodle soup and her eyes sparkled with joy.

As Ban Yu-won chuckled, Dokgo Yeon, who was slowly savoring the rice noodles beside him, chewed and swallowed thoroughly before snorting and scolding Luciel.

"Strange soap taste? You don't even know how to eat. This scent is what makes the dish."

"Dokgo Yeon, you seem to know something."

Ban Yu-won divided the concept of the scent he had extracted from Luciel's rice noodles equally between his own bowl and Dokgo Yeon's.

Since it was the first time he had so blatantly displayed the concept of language, Dokgo Yeon narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him.

"Will it be alright?"

"Can you understand just by looking?"

"No, not at all."

"It's not something I can hide anyway. Does that answer your question?"

"Excellent. Openly revealing while concealing is indeed the ultimate form of concealment."

Having finished her 'looking down with a satisfied gaze evaluation' that she had grown accustomed to over the past 5 days, Dokgo Yeon took a sip of the rice noodle soup and muttered with a satisfied sigh.

"So that's how you made that elixir..."

"I did add one more process though."

"Um, Ban."

As everyone was eating contentedly, Light cautiously held out his rice noodle bowl to him.

"Could you remove some from mine too...?"

"Remove what?"

"The, the strange soap..."

At the mention of soap, Dokgo Yeon glared at Light, who pouted his lips and protested.

"It smells like soap, what can I do!"

"Sigh, not knowing how to respect and accept cuisines from various cultures and immediately thinking of rejecting them. It's deplorable."

"You threw away the potage that came out last time too."

"That time, it was just that the chef's skill was poor."

See, it's fun indeed.

Ban Yu-won ignored the two who were starting another battle of wits and simply extracted only the scent concept that Light disliked from his bowl.

"Ban...!"

That was, without exaggeration, a gaze looking at a savior.

"But it might be good to try a little bit at a time? There's probably a reason why the Academy serves various types of dishes at every meal."

"Ugh, that's true. I'm always learning from you."

"Hmph, you're different from someone who's swayed by swords."

"Why are you feeling proud?"

In the end, even after removing the scent, a fight breaks out.

I wonder if they know they'll have to enter the tower soon after just eating, or if it's fortunate that they're maintaining their usual condition.

Ban Yu-won decided to cleanly give up intervening at this point and just enjoy eating his rice noodles.

Honestly, from Ban Yu-won's perspective, he couldn't help but think it was a total win to be able to eat foods from many countries for free.

Of course, even this breakfast was being recorded in its entirety.

*

"You all know, right? Today is the day we enter the tower."

Yumina, who had gathered the members of Class 11 in a classroom without doors, said with a smile on her face.

"Actually, entry has been taking place since dawn. Starting with the graduating 5th-year students, they've been entering in order, and now the 2nd-year students are going in."

"I suppose we'll be the last among the 1st years?"

"No."

Yumina shook her head with a grin in response to Ban Yu-won's question.

"Ban Yu-won's strategy has worked well even with the professors. I proposed letting you all, who are drawing attention within the Academy, enter first among the 1st years... and surprisingly, it was approved."

"Professor, I love you."

Yumina burst into laughter, apparently pleased with Ban Yu-won's finger heart gesture.

Next, Ban Yu-won asked about an important matter.

"Is it possible to film inside the tower?"

"I'll check on that, but you know cameras break down quickly inside the tower, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

However, he also knew how to prevent those machines from breaking down in dungeons and towers.

He has Tike, a camera-equipped drone he created following Eve and Lilith!

He won't entertain any criticism about just slapping on any name that came to mind after Eve and Lilith because he couldn't think of another plausible name.

"So you've created something else. Well, to answer your question, it's not prohibited. Originally, since the tower's internal structure changes every moment, filming doesn't have much meaning. If it's meaningless, there's no need to prohibit it."

That was something he had already confirmed while preparing to enter the tower and reading basic materials over the past few days.

The interior of the Tower of Babel is a space similar to a dungeon.

There are monsters and traps.

At this point, he wanted to summon his ancestor and demand to know what on earth they did to devalue the building so much, but sadly, that was the reality.

However, the Tower of Babel was completely different from the dungeons Ban Yu-won had explored over the past few days.

The key was its internal variability.

The tower's interior structure changes every time, and one can never reach the same place twice.

Once you pass by, that's it; no matter how much you try to go back, you can't return.

Naturally, the composition of monsters and traps changes constantly, and consequently, the perceived difficulty level varies slightly each time.

'It's truly the perfect condition for testing and growing humans.'

It might seem like too harsh a condition for explorers, but it's not entirely so because the tower is filled with mysterious energy where one doesn't die even if they die.

More precisely, in 'most' areas, challengers don't actually die but are simply returned to the tower's entrance.

That's why the Academy's students can continue to attend the Academy and challenge the tower without dying en masse.

"You all have your student IDs, right? It's not only your entry pass to the tower but also an indicator of how deep you've explored the tower, so you must never forget it."

Hearing her words, he took out his student ID and saw that the number 0 had appeared inside it.

A new function of the student ID had been activated in anticipation of entering the Tower of Babel.

"You all know from your classes, but this shows how deep into the tower you've reached. Starting from Room 0, the count will increase by one as you progress through the tower."

"Room..."

The unique structural change phenomenon that occurs in the tower is called a shift, and the more shifts one experiences, the deeper they can be said to have penetrated into the tower.

And the unit written on the student ID, room, increases by one each time this shift is experienced.

"Do you know the highest record, Professor?"

Yumina nodded with a satisfied expression in response to Ban Yu-won's question.

"Of course. The all-time record is 561 rooms. Does that help?"

The group was stunned by the suddenly revealed unbelievable record.

Among them, Ban Yu-won raised his hand again and asked a question.

"561 rooms is not a depth that can be explored in just 2 nights and 3 days, is it?"

"As long as you don't die inside the tower, challengers can record the position they've reached. And on their next entry, they can start from that point. This is done through the student ID you're all wearing right now."

"So that's why this is essential for climbing the tower..."

Handing out items with teleportation, key, and save functions to all students for free - this academy was truly out of its mind.

But what surprised Ban Yu-won even more than that was...

'This is just a roguelike game with a mid-save function.'

Of course, the conditions were a bit harsher than the games he had played before.

The map changes every time, and so do the monsters.

If you die, you have to start over from the beginning.

It might even be better than a game since abilities don't reset.

...Although there was a 5-year time limit to clear it.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Dokgo Yeon smiled seductively while gripping her student ID.

Ban Yu-won shuddered at the subtle fighting spirit emanating from her.

On the other hand, Light was holding his student ID with a stern expression, saying nothing.

And Luciel... for whatever reason she was hesitating, she stared blankly at Ban Yu-won with a helpless expression.

Even if she looked at him like that, there was nothing he could do.

After all, Ban Yu-won's desire to climb the tower wasn't any less than theirs.

'I could have lived peacefully on Earth if I wanted to. But this is what I chose. I'm prepared to fight with my life on the line.'

He couldn't know with what mindset his companions in the same position were trying to climb the tower, or why they might be hesitating.

But surely, the hearts of those climbing a tower said to make one a god couldn't be light.

Perhaps if they knew Ban Yu-won's simple thought of climbing the tower to inherit it because his ancestor built it, they might find it ridiculous or laugh at him.

However, the desire for the tower that Ban Yu-won had harbored since childhood - though it might be worldly and simple - was that much more pure and intense.

Enough to be certain the moment he saw the tower, and to be prepared to throw away his life and plunge into the unknown.

"It seems everyone is mentally prepared. But there's one last thing I need to tell you."

Yumina nodded as she made eye contact with Ban Yu-won again and opened her mouth.

"It's about the dimensional pirates I mentioned before. During the process of registering new students as tower climbers, a gap appears in the tower's barrier. This is when the success rate of dimensional pirate invasions is highest."

"So?"

"Irregular phenomena can occur due to their abnormal intrusion. In simple terms, it means you might encounter dimensional pirates inside the tower."

Luciel's breath seemed to stop for a moment.

Professor Yumina continued.

"What you need to be wary of is not the intruders themselves, but the irregular phenomena. Although it's said you can't die in the tower, that's not absolute, especially when it comes to irregularities."

The tower doesn't absolutely guarantee the safety of climbers.

Saying it's safe in 'most' areas implies that there are unsafe areas as well.

When irregularities are involved, the tower's rules can easily be distorted, and students caught up in it could also be in danger.

"So for your safety, as the professor in charge, I judge it's better to finish this exploration quickly and return. Now, let me ask... Class president, how many days is this exploration planned for?"

Ban Yu-won looked around at his companions.

In fact, this had already been communicated to them.

He looked around thinking their minds might have changed in the meantime, but Dokgo Yeon and Light, and even Luciel, just nodded silently.

Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and turned to Yumina to answer.

"We'll be back in 2 nights and 3 days, making full use of the time."

"Good, now it's your turn. Have a safe trip."

The moment Yumina clapped her hands, they finally stood in front of the entrance of the enormous tower.

The tower soared high as if to pierce the sky.

Behind them, all the first-year students who had lost the lead to Class 11 were lined up.

Many associate professors of the academy and nine full professors including Yumina were all focusing on them.

"Is everyone ready?"

"No need to ask."

"...Absolutely."

"Uh, uhh."

Somehow, he didn't like their answers.

Ban Yu-won suppressed his desire to tackle them and took out a camera drone from his chest.

The professors' eyes widened as they saw it moving vividly as if alive and sparkling around Ban Yu-won, and Ban Yu-won grinned at their expected reaction.

"Well then, let's go in."

Four rebels and the artificial life form following them became the first freshmen of the year to enter the tower.

It was noisy from the start, but could it possibly have a grand ending?

'Ancestor, just you wait.'

Whether it would be grand or not, it was certain that it would be noisy until the end.

 Fantasy,

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 19 (19/378)