Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 34

Lesson 8. This Skill is Mine - 4

[You have succeeded in understanding and reading part of the concept possessed by an elevated being. The depth of your All-Seeing Eyes has become 137.]

Ban Yu-won took a deep breath, trying not to show it.

He couldn't foolishly reveal the fact that he had noticed even a fragment of that monster.

He was already receiving as much attention as he could handle, which is why he had to hide everything he possibly could even more.

"While I've written various things in the syllabus, the goal of this lecture is actually quite simple. Understanding the origin of the Tower and the constellations. Today, we'll start by discussing the Tower."

Hadn't he explained this in the first class?

Ban Yu-won tilted his head, listening to Xenon's explanation that seemed to assume the students were hearing the lecture for the first time.

And the answer was simply that it had been canceled.

He had canceled the first class due to his own business trip.

"By understanding the origin of the Tower, we become more recognized by the Tower, and gain the possibility of accessing the treasures and miracles hidden in every corner of the Tower. Babylon. This name of an ancient civilization, barely found in a corner of the Tower, is the topic we'll be grappling with all semester."

Yeah, that ancient civilization is the history from thousands of years ago on Earth, which you look down on as a lower dimension.

As much as he wanted to snap back with that, honestly, his story itself was quite fascinating.

He had guessed from the time the Tower was called the 'Tower of Babel', but did they really know about Babylon too?

No, if that's the case, shouldn't they naturally know about Earth, its conceptual dimension? He really couldn't understand.

"The Tower is practically a living organism. It's only natural that such a Tower would reveal more secrets to those who understand it. The evidence that the Tower is alive becomes very clear when it receives a great shock, both internally and externally―"

Could what the professor was talking about now be related to the irregular phenomena that Ban Yu-won and his group had experienced in the Tower? Just as Ban Yu-won was about to be drawn into his explanation with such thoughts,

Luciel poked his side and whispered.

"In the center of the lecture hall."

The center?

Turning his gaze at her words, Ban Yu-won could indeed see a large orb placed in the center of the lecture hall.

What was astounding was that he couldn't read any language concepts inside it with his ability.

It was clear that it contained overwhelming magical power, enough for Luciel to be wary, but beyond that, he couldn't figure out anything.

'A suspicious being with a suspicious object. Now if they start some kind of religious ceremony here, it would be perfect.'

But just as Ban Yu-won was about to examine the orb more closely, Xenon smiled as if he had noticed his gaze.

"You noticed quickly. Student Luciel, student Ban Yu-won, very good. I understand why you first-years have earned the right to be here."

"Uh... thank you."

It's ruined.

How many minutes had passed since he resolved to hide everything he could, and now he does this!

Xenon's deep black eyes, like an abyss, stared directly at Ban Yu-won.

"You'll learn about this 'Orb' as the lecture progresses. For now, just know that this object is related to the mock constellation battle, which could be called the core of this lecture."

Was it his imagination, or did the surrounding temperature rise by a few degrees the moment those words left his mouth?

Ban Yu-won noticed that this originated from the 5th year students, the highest grade in this Union Academy.

'So they're the ones who took this lecture last year too? Or maybe they heard about it from friends who took the lecture earlier...'

Almost every student's gaze was fixed on the Orb.

Xenon cleared his throat and redirected their attention, saying,

"I hope you'll remember that if you can't keep up with the class properly, you might be kicked out of the lecture hall even before the mock constellation battle. Now, shall we continue?"

The lecture continued for exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes.

While the subsequent story was quite interesting too, the others attending the class all seemed to be focusing only on the Orb.

On the other hand, Ban Yu-won was in a situation where the phrase 'understanding the Tower', which kept appearing in Xenon's story, continued to bother him.

'I thought all the strange changes we encountered in the Tower were due to the invasion of irregulars. But what if that wasn't the case? What if such changes occurred because I, who knows everything about not only the history of Babylon but even the Tower of Babel appearing in the Bible, entered the Tower?'

If that's the case, it means that not just this time, but every time Ban Yu-won enters the Tower, he would encounter difficulties and environments incomparable to others.

And that was really― nothing could be more satisfying than that.

'It means I can get closer to the true nature of the Tower than anyone else, right?'

A secret he couldn't tell anyone yet, not even his companions who enter the Tower with him.

But they wouldn't resent Ban Yu-won.

After all, his companions have gained the opportunity to explore the shortest route of the Tower with him!

'As expected, it's my ancestor. He had made all the arrangements for me in the Tower.'

A confident smile spread across Ban Yu-won's face.

He had been unknowingly losing his abundant confidence due to various recent events, but at this moment, all of it was perfectly restored.

To the extent that even those watching from the side could immediately notice the change.

"Ban Yu-won, tell me immediately what vicious thought you just had."

"...Dokgo Yeon, aren't you being a bit too harsh on me?"

"Ban doesn't do bad things. ...At least not to us."

Somehow, it seems his image is becoming strangely fixed in his colleagues' minds.

Did he push Associate Professor Entel too relentlessly this morning?

When he looked at Light with eyes seeking help, he shrugged his shoulders and said,

"I trust you, leader. As long as it's not illegal, I'll follow your instructions for now. ...You're not trying to create conflict with the seniors, are you?"

Perfect.

It seems to have gone perfectly wrong.

*

Ban Yu-won was unaware of it, but Xenon's lecture was the most popular course that all students in the academy wanted to take.

Moreover, since Xenon personally selected all the students, competition to attend the lecture was essentially meaningless.

People could only envy and look askance at the students who attended Xenon's lecture.

In other words, students attending Xenon's lecture in this academy could be said to receive special treatment beyond that of the Special Class.

This was no exception for Class 11, who were from the lower dimension special admission.

"Hey, there go those lower dimension kids."

"Did you see the mukbang uploaded yesterday? The pink-haired one was cute."

"Still, they're stronger than us. Haven't you heard they're taking Professor Xenon's lecture?"

"What, no way!"

"First-year students? Professor Xenon's lecture? No way..."

"It's a new record."

If there was the biggest gain after entering Xenon's lecture (it was indeed worthy of being called an 'entry'), it was that Rebellion had firmly established itself as a 'group with definite skills' rather than just being superficially flashy.

Even in the videos posted on the channel so far, one could see Ban Yu-won's strange swordsmanship, Light's brilliant sword of light, and Dokgo Yeon's overwhelming destructive power, but in fact, video viewers didn't readily accept it.

Especially those belonging to the academy, while enjoying watching the videos themselves, mostly thought, 'Well, they're from the lower dimension, but the video is shot in an exaggerated way.'

However, when all four of them started attending Xenon's lecture, these thoughts were completely dispelled.

After all, questioning their skills would be equivalent to questioning Xenon!

"Was the video channel actually unnecessary?"

When the situation came to this point, Ban Yu-won seriously asked himself that.

But Dokgo Yeon snorted and shook her head.

"The video channel is what brings some likability to our class, what would we do without it? Instead of these piercing glares, they might have actually stabbed us."

"...Well, that's true."

"Ugh, this comment. There's someone swearing at us again, calling us lowly."

It wasn't that attending Xenon's lecture only brought positive effects.

Those with a firm sense of authority as upper dimension natives, especially those belonging to the Special Class, went as far as to say that the members of Class 11 attending Xenon's lecture were 'lowborns not knowing their place and getting ahead of themselves.'

Especially after Ban Yu-won shattered one arm of Erecto from the Special Class, and as a result of the school meeting, he left the academy in the form of voluntary withdrawal, their hatred intensified even more.

It was a situation where the majority of students in the Special Class, with one class from first to fifth year, were going around cursing Class 11.

"It's okay, Beast. They'll soon be flooded with insults and delete them on their own anyway."

"Ah, really... I refreshed and there are about 50 insulting comments."

"These people are becoming like some fanatical religious group."

"Originally, idol fans are the scariest."

"Idols...?"

Such backlash from the Special Class was snorted at and crushed by those who had developed a favorable impression of them after watching Rebellion's videos.

Of course, they might not be able to say anything face to face in reality, but isn't everyone equal on the intranet at least?

The more strongly the Special Class came out, the more fierce the criticism against them became, and thanks to that, for the past few days, a structure of 'Special Class vs Everyone Else' was forming on the school intranet.

"You're changing the flow of the academy. It's interesting."

"Yeah, well, the problem is that most of the seniors taking Professor Xenon's lecture are from the Special Class, but..."

Enemy territory.

There's no place more completely hostile.

At least during the first lecture, Erecto's expulsion wasn't known yet, so their hostility wasn't overtly revealed, but who knows what next Tuesday would be like, it was already terrifying.

"So we should improve our skills even a little by then, right? Although this kind of thing doesn't help at all in improving skills..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Training isn't just about blindly clashing swords and rolling around. You need to accumulate diverse experiences and knowledge from various places to be able to respond without panic in any situation."

"You talk well."

Ban Yu-won retorted with a snort at Dokgo Yeon's mischievous words.

He filled in all the necessary information on the paper in front of him and passed it to his companions.

"Then everyone check and write your names."

"We're busy enough focusing on the Tower, why a club? Can't we just join some decent one?"

"Light, get a grip. In a situation where all eyes are on us like this, you want to join a club where we actively mingle with other people? That's the worst of the worst plans."

That's right.

Right now, they were sitting amicably in a lecture room without doors, filling out club application forms.

There was a rule that students attending Union Academy must join at least one club.

The intention was to provide a little breathing room for students devoted to the supreme goal of divine work (神業), but when in the world do things ever go according to intention?

The clubs formed by students were a battlefield that could be called a miniature version of the academy's power structure, and a student's authority could change depending on which club they joined and participated in.

"What do you mean a decent club, that's the problem, there isn't one. Most clubs are all about exploring the refined hobbies of the high and mighty. Why are they playing chess at an academy whose purpose is to climb the Tower?"

"Just be honest. Say you don't want to wrestle with the club representatives."

"Yeah, that's actually right. Dokgo Yeon, you're number one."

"I wanted to join the piano club..."

The academy, with its grand goal of nurturing future gods, had clubs that were all extraordinary, but the problem was that they were all headed by students from the Special Class who were steeped in authoritarianism.

Ban Yu-won had no intention of joining such clubs and causing friction, and besides, he had a good back in Yumina, so he decided to unhesitatingly accept her help this time as well.

In other words, creating a new club with her as the supervising professor.

"Everyone, have you finished filling out the club application forms?"

Just as Light and Luciel had signed, followed by Dokgo Yeon, Yumina appeared.

"Professor Yumina, you look very happy?"

"Of course!"

Yumina hummed a tune as she perched on the teacher's desk.

The sight of her lush, petal-like hair fluttering in the gentle breeze was truly beautiful.

"I'm supposed to be your supervising professor, but I haven't even taught you a class yet, right? I'm so happy to be able to be with you all, even if it's in the form of a club."

"But Professor, is your time okay? It might be difficult to observe club activities every week..."

"Full professors surprisingly have a lot of free time."

Of course, Ban Yu-won understood.

It's always the associate professors, lecturers, and teaching assistants who are busy.

"Besides, the club activities sound good, don't they? I've already gotten permission for group outings from the principal, so we should be able to proceed without any problems. I guarantee it will be a club envied by all students and professors in the academy."

"Is this really...?"

Light muttered, looking down at the club application form with a dubious expression.

The club name was 'Union Adventure'.

The club activities were 'Public support, dungeon exploration, food tours, etc.'

"Ban, isn't this just a club you're creating to secure videos to upload on the Rebellion channel?"

"This is why I don't like sharp kids like you."

You pretend to be sharp only at times like this when you lack awareness when it's actually needed!

Luciel and Dokgo Yeon, who know we're going to have fun with this club, are keeping quiet!

"Hehe, now I'll be able to appear in the videos a lot too!"

"Professor, was that your goal...?"

The club application was approved immediately after submission.

The first activity was an Elroneian fried food mukbang, and this video, featuring the beautiful and young (or young-looking) professor, smoothly reached 3 million views on the external channel, signaling the club's successful start.

And there was a small bonus to this.

[You have exposed yourself to and imprinted your presence on an incredibly large number of beings. You comprehend new language concepts, charm (魅力) and honor (名譽).]

[The depth of charm and honor has become 10!]

Wow, this is how it turns out.