Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 35

Lesson 8. This Skill is Mine - 5

It was on Thursday night when Ban Yu-won gained two new passive concepts, as the members gathered in the training room for one last sparring session before tomorrow's tower exploration.

Presumably, in the process of the video they uploaded to the external channel after their first club activity on Wednesday evening gaining traction and its view count multiplying within a day, Ban Yu-won had satisfied some unknown specific conditions.

[Charm 10 ― The ability to captivate and influence the hearts of other beings.]

[Honor 10 ― The status established by being recognized by many beings.]

Charm and honor can be said to be language concepts that are particularly valuable in the modern Earth.

Perhaps because Ban Yu-won had imitated Earth's representative means of packaging himself and his companions, he too came to realize these concepts.

The problem is that it's questionable whether these concepts will be meaningful in climbing the tower.

'If we were to put it in game terms, isn't it just unnecessary status, information that's nothing more than numbers?'

In fact, even when examining the definition of the language, one thinks, 'So what?'

Especially honor, isn't it just recognition in itself?

Although that 'status' part is concerning, at least for now, it had no effect on his other abilities.

And charm, well, it's not bad to have, but...

"Luciel, has my face changed at all?"

"Huh, what?"

When he asked Luciel, who was facing him as his sparring partner, she blinked in surprise and nodded hastily.

"B-Ban, you're very handsome."

"No, not how I look, but how I've changed."

"Ah, aah. That's...!"

Luciel, flustered, tried her best to string words together.

Light, who was sprawled out on the floor after finishing his sparring with Dokgo Yeon, opened his eyes slightly and pointed out.

"Ban, that's sexual harassment."

"Is it? Then Light, have you noticed any changes in my face... Ugh!"

"Stop it, you're being distracting during training."

Worried that Ban Yu-won might shove his face at her next, Dokgo Yeon intervened at the right moment and personally smashed his face.

Thanks to that, he wouldn't be able to ask about his face for at least a few hours.

"Just spar as you're told. Or should I roll both of you around again?"

"You're definitely an ex-marine corps instructor, honestly..."

"Hmph. I just do everything properly and correctly."

That's exactly what the administrative supply officer says when he's the duty officer on weekends, rolling the soldiers around without giving them a moment's rest...!

But knowing that if he grumbled any more, he'd really end up rolling on the floor non-stop against Dokgo Yeon, Ban Yu-won deliberately avoided her and faced Luciel again.

"Alright, Luciel. Let's have one last sparring match then."

"Yes...! If, if I go wild again, please tie me up properly."

It seemed Luciel had developed a somewhat dangerous habit after being chained up every time she went berserk for the past week.

Still, shouldn't that be a request she makes directly to Eve rather than Ban Yu-won?

As Ban Yu-won was agonizing over how to respond to Luciel's words without it being sexual harassment, at that moment.

"Haaaaaap!"

Surprisingly, Luciel charged forward, seizing that opportunity!

The sharp claws that had suddenly extended from her hands were swung with a fierce momentum, aiming to scratch Ban Yu-won's face!

"Ha...!"

Ban Yu-won raised his longsword diagonally to deflect the claws pressing down on him, while quickly stepping forward to kick her in the abdomen.

He kicked with all his might, but she, balancing with her animal-like senses, was only pushed back a little.

Ban Yu-won knew this too, and in that gap, he regrouped and attacked her.

―Clang!

It must be said again and again that Luciel is a monster who Ban Yu-won has no chance against in a head-on fight, no matter how much he has grown.

For Ban Yu-won, sparring with Luciel basically centered on using flow to deflect her attacks, while utilizing counter and wave to gradually accumulate damage on her.

―Thwack

"I got you!"

"Ugh?! Where!"

But Luciel is not only outstanding in physical abilities but also in her animal-like senses.

Just as Ban Yu-won read and deflected or countered her attacks, she too was growing to instinctively read Ban Yu-won's movements and respond to them.

―Clang!

―Screech!

Of course, Ban Yu-won also had to devise and deploy various combinations of flow and counter to avoid being read by her.

Thus, their sparring involved rapid offense-defense switches that could make one's eyes spin, accompanied by an intense battle of wits, and it boasted high popularity among the videos uploaded to the channel.

"Grrr... Haaat!"

"Hup!"

Of course, Luciel's 'excessively excellent' figure also contributed to the popularity of those videos.

That's why when filming sparring videos with Luciel, Ban Yu-won always made sure to check thoroughly and maintain decency by subtly editing out parts that seemed overly suggestive.

Therefore, this breathtaking view right now was allowed only to Ban Yu-won...!

―Bang!

That's when it happened.

The counter he deployed by extending the executioner's longsword diagonally worked perfectly, half-breaking the sharp claws extended from Luciel's hands and sending her flying into the wall.

Despite the big impact, Luciel sprang up, and a beast-like groan escaped from her mouth.

"Grrrrrr...!"

"Oh no!"

By now, more than half of Luciel's hair had turned black.

This was the point where her abilities began to amplify significantly, and also where instinct started to outweigh reason.

It was already challenging enough to match her abilities, but with this amplification, it became truly impossible.

Her reaction speed became so fast that using counter to target a moment of 1/100,000th of a second was utterly unfeasible. The best option was to somehow use flow to deflect her attacks while devising a way to stop her rampage.

'We have to enter the tower tomorrow, so I want to find a clue somehow right now!'

He tilted the blade of his longsword to continuously deflect her relentless claw and nail attacks, his eyes wide open.

It wasn't as if he had spent the past few days foolishly just clashing with her repeatedly.

He had tried to guide her emotions, researched ways to maintain her rationality for longer periods, and spent time with her intimately to gather as many fragments of her emotions as possible.

'The raging emotions in her core that cause her to go berserk. It's impossible to extract them. Then, perhaps neutralizing them by inserting emotions that were originally hers...!'

The core ignites with negative and intense emotions, and calms with positive and gentle ones.

Any emotion could fuel the core, but the evidence showed that when positive emotions were dominant, she never displayed signs of going berserk.

However, once in a combat state, negative and intense emotions amplified more than positive ones, making it impossible to avoid going berserk.

If that's the case, wouldn't it work to simply add enough positive emotions to make up for the deficit...!

"Brace yourself, Luciel!"

"Graaaaaah!"

But just as he was about to inject the golden string of characters extracted from the code core, Luciel suddenly charged at Ban Yu-won.

Though startled by this pattern he had never seen in their previous sparring sessions, Ban Yu-won tried to react quickly, but by then Luciel had already pinned him down and mounted him.

When he came to his senses, two enormous mountains were blocking his view.

And they were getting closer and closer.

This is dangerous!

"?!"

"Grrrr...!"

"Swoosh!"

Eve, who had been on standby following Ban Yu-won's orders, immediately wrapped around Luciel's body, tightly binding her.

Ban Yu-won was about to inject the concept of emotions into her, but soon realized it wasn't necessary.

As Luciel rolled on the ground, bound by Eve, her core quickly stabilized, and all the negative emotions began to dissipate.

"Huff, huuuu...!"

Tightly bound in the chain net, Luciel panted heavily.

Ban Yu-won stood up, returned the concept of emotions to the code core, and asked her:

"Luciel, hasn't the speed at which you regain your senses after being chained up increased dramatically?"

"It seems, so."

Luciel replied, still breathing heavily from the aftermath of her rampage.

Ban Yu-won was simply dumbfounded.

It's not like they could chain her up every time she goes berserk during combat, leaving her defenseless.

"Thank you, Ban."

"What are you thanking me for? We still didn't solve the problem this time."

He had planned everything out and was just about to inject the concept, but to be caught off guard by her ground technique and not even be able to do anything – it was utterly embarrassing.

But Luciel, as if understanding his embarrassment, smiled brightly and consoled him.

"No, that's... well, it couldn't be helped."

"Sigh. At least we know the method now. Let's try one more time."

"I'm sorry, my body is already at its limit..."

"Ah."

Eve had released her restraints as soon as Luciel regained her senses, but she was still panting and trembling.

Today alone, after dozens of sparring sessions, she had repeatedly gone berserk and been forcibly calmed down.

No matter how robust her physique, it was unreasonable to expect her not to be exhausted.

"Damn it."

"Hmm..."

"Dokgo Yeon?"

At some point, Dokgo Yeon had approached them.

More precisely, she was staring intently at Luciel.

"Could it be..."

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. It just seems she's improved a lot since the beginning."

Well, that's true.

Even in the recent sparring match, if Ban Yu-won hadn't inadvertently landed a critical hit on her, she could have held out for quite a while.

It was certainly progress that it now took much longer for her to enter a berserk state.

"It's okay. As long as Ban is here."

Luciel said bravely.

Ban Yu-won nodded slightly, making a silent promise to repay her trust in him.

Dokgo Yeon looked back and forth between Ban Yu-won and Luciel, letting out a prolonged "Hmm" until the very end.

*

The second Friday morning since Ban Yu-won's enrollment at Union Academy had dawned.

Perhaps because the first exploration had ended with a lukewarm conclusion due to the invasion of an Irregular, the students' level of excitement was unusual.

Even during that short time heading to the student cafeteria, one could feel the sharp energy emanating from all directions, to the point where one's body would stiffen involuntarily.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Luciel's attitude had changed considerably since last night's final sparring session.

Although he still couldn't guess her thoughts.

At least she wasn't trembling like when they first entered the tower, which alone could be considered excellent.

On the other hand, Light was visibly not in good condition.

"Dokgo Yeon, wouldn't it be better to wield the holy sword at least when entering the tower? It's not just for my sake, but the fate of all four of us is at stake."

"We've already agreed to build a solid foundation rather than rush. Today is just the second exploration of the first semester of the first year."

Ban Yu-won nodded in agreement with Dokgo Yeon's stern voice.

"I don't know what constraints your sword has. But I can tell that constantly being swayed by the sword isn't good. And... no, let's talk about this later."

Ban Yu-won swallowed the words he was about to say.

From his perspective, it seemed that Light wasn't getting stronger when holding the holy sword, but rather, was having his talent, magic power, and core concepts stolen by the sword.

With the concepts of holy spirit and demon spirit imbued in the necklace he wore around his neck, he couldn't even be sure anymore whether that holy sword was truly sacred or not.

'And if that's really the case, then the measures Dokgo Yeon is taking with Light right now are the most appropriate. She always makes such chillingly accurate judgments...'

Light was still anxious, but he nodded, squeezing his eyes shut at the strong insistence of Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yu-won.

"Don't blame me if we collapse in the tower because of me."

"I won't blame you. I'll just be even harsher."

"I won't blame you either. Just remember that our hundreds of thousands of subscribers are watching the video."

"That is blaming me!"

Breakfast ended in a strange tension, confusion, and determination.

They shared jam while steeling their resolve with the party members.

Coincidentally, both Life and Body grew by 1 each.

Walking towards the tower on the hill with his prepared companions, Ban Yu-won checked his internal concepts as if performing a solemn ritual.

[Core]

Life  240

Body 220

Magic Power 199

Soul 427

[Passive]

Martial Arts 173 [Swordsmanship 65, Pierce 30, Cut 28, Flow 27, Counter 23]

Leadership7

Riding 19

Resistance 6

Charm 10

Honor 10

All-Seeing Eyes 137

All-Hearing Ears 115

All-Speaking Lips 117

[Active]

Wave 25

Super Strength 14

'Alright, it's become quite impressive.'

Ban Yu-won smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the concepts he had deepened through training over the past few days.

Although he was a bit concerned that his magic power hadn't yet reached 200, he figured he could raise it immediately once they entered the tower.

"Eve, are you ready too?"

"Shrrk."

Eve, who had been more active with chains to restrain the rampaging Luciel than with weapons like guns or clubs over the past few days, seemed excited at the thought of engaging in a real battle after a long time, and was acting quite affectionate.

"Ban."

Luciel drew close to him.

It was a level of closeness that would have been unimaginable last week.

"Inside, please take care of me. I'll listen to everything you say."

"Trust me. I'm naturally strong in real situations."

"I'll trust you."

Luciel's pink eyes sparkled with a mysterious light.

In truth, there was no guarantee that he could prevent her from going berserk, but Ban Yu-won responded in the strongest tone possible, unable to shake the resolve of the girl who had steeled herself.

Beside them, Dokgo Yeon chimed in.

"I hope we can last at least until Saturday evening. You know the first person to die will be rolled the hardest."

"You seem to have developed a taste for rolling people."

"Ban Yu-won."

Dokgo Yeon, looking as noble as ever, approached and whispered in his ear.

"These two, honestly, are still disappointing so far. Today is the first evaluation. You haven't forgotten our promise, have you?"

"Of course not."

Ban Yu-won replied firmly and added,

"It's only been a week. The two have already started to change. I'm confident I've won without even waiting for the results."

"The road ahead seems long. Ah, about the beast... There's one thing I meant to say yesterday."

"What is it?"

"That's... eep."

"Kyaah!"

Before speaking, Dokgo Yeon snapped her fingers, and Luciel, who had been trying to eavesdrop on their conversation, covered her ears with a pained expression.

It seemed that Dokgo Yeon had just employed a high-level technique to shock only Luciel's ears.

As Ban Yu-won looked at her with worried eyes, thinking 'I hope that doesn't last long,' Dokgo Yeon said something rather unexpected.

"That beast seems to like it when you go in hard."

"...Wait, what did you say?"

"Don't pretend you don't understand when you do. I mean don't compromise halfheartedly when dealing with a beast that doesn't understand human words."

"Sorry, I really don't get it."

"Is that so? You'll understand soon enough."

Dokgo Yeon smiled faintly and moved ahead.

As always, the tower was waiting silently in its place for the group to arrive.