Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 23

Lesson 6. The Teacher's Grace is Like Heaven - 2

Just as Ban Yu-won caught his breath, the space began to change once again.

The ceiling, which had been quite high, gradually lowered, and the torches on the walls went out one by one.

Judging by the atmosphere alone, it seemed like a ghost-type monster similar to what they encountered on the second floor might appear, but.

—Click, click

The moment they heard something crawling on the floor, walls, and ceiling all around, they knew it wasn't the case.

"Tower spiders."

Light muttered in a lowered voice, guessing the identity of the enemy.

But what was the point, when he himself was already wielding a brightly glowing sword of light, boasting a dazzling presence.

Ban Yu-won was certain that, considering both his battle cry and the nature of his weapon, there was no one less suited for stealth than Light.

'Anyway, tower spiders, huh...'

Tower spiders were monsters unique to the tower, frequently appearing on both lower and upper floors, and were one of the symbols of the tower.

The reason why such creatures as spiders became symbolic monsters of the tower was that their abilities and strength were completely random each time they appeared!

Because they could never be defined, these creatures were the most appropriate monsters to describe the tower.

'Normally, those appearing in Room 4 shouldn't be that strong. But after experiencing such an intense barrage of traps in Room 3, I can't be sure of anything anymore.'

After confirming that the members were ready for battle, Ban Yu-won signaled to Eve.

The one who had transformed into a rifle fired bullets in all directions, now loaded with acid of level 17 intensity, which had just been additionally supplied.

—Dudududududu

"Kiiiiiiiii!"

"Kigit, kiiiiii!"

Due to Eve's omnidirectional firing, spiders all around let out terrible screams.

The astonishing point was that the acid bullets, which had instantly melted the monsters in Room 2, couldn't kill even a single spider in Room 4.

The magic bullets imbued with sharpness couldn't pierce through, and even with acid applied, they couldn't melt them.

Whether this level was appropriate for a normal Room 4 or not was unclear, but at the very least, it meant these creatures were not to be taken lightly by Ban Yu-won.

"Eve, keep firing. Dokgo Yeon, I think you need to step in this time too."

"Of course."

As Dokgo Yeon thrust her open palm forward, a massive flow of pressure arose in the space where there had been no wind, sweeping away all the spiders in front.

What Ban Yu-won could read from her movement was just overwhelming wind.

In the process, the acid bullets fired by Eve also mixed and scattered, achieving the feat of inflicting additional wounds as bullet fragments lodged into the spiders' bodies.

"This is the sword wind you've been looking for so eagerly."

"It really is sword wind..."

"Phew."

Dokgo Yeon, who had just performed an unbelievable feat, brushed it off with just a light sigh.

While Ban Yu-won was dumbfounded by that single move, which would be better described as a giant's palm sweeping across all the walls of the tower.

"I'll leave the task of ending their lives to you. Ah, is there a more benevolent ruler than me?"

Dokgo Yeon spoke as if bestowing some great favor and stepped back.

Ban Yu-won couldn't help but laugh.

"You're not my ruler, but still, thanks. Light, take the rear. Luciel, cover the top."

"Got it."

"Calm down, calm down...!"

He entrusted the entire rear to Light, who wielded an area-of-effect weapon no less potent than Dokgo Yeon's, and assigned Luciel, with her keen senses, to block any potential surprise attacks from the ceiling.

Of course, after giving instructions to his companions, Ban Yu-won himself charged forward.

Eve had stopped the tower spiders' movements and wounded them, while Dokgo Yeon had knocked them out en masse, so he should at least be able to finish them off!

However.

—Clang!

"What, it's blocked?"

It was unbelievable.

He had rushed straight towards a creature already on the brink of death, ready to crush its head with his sword, but the sound it made was like this.

Of course, he wasn't utilizing the concept of pierce learned from Dokgo Yeon right now, and since the target didn't resemble a human form, the concept of murder accumulated in the Executioner's Greatsword wouldn't be effective either. On top of that, blood poison probably wouldn't work either.

Still, this was ridiculous.

"No, what..."

Repeatedly uttering the word of denial 'no' wouldn't improve the situation.

Ban Yu-won hurriedly changed his posture and launched a quick thrust, and fortunately, this time he was able to crush its head and kill it.

[You steal 0.5 life, 0.6 body, 0.4 demon, and 0.2 carapace (甲殼) from the tower spider. Carapace is a concept that humans cannot possess.]

Despite receiving help from Dokgo Yeon, language concepts of a different caliber compared to the monsters in Rooms 1 and 2 were absorbed into Ban Yu-won, giving him a momentary sense of satisfaction.

But this wouldn't do.

'In this chaotic situation, am I supposed to just keep thrusting and withdrawing? Even my sister couldn't manage that.'

Thrusting, while more powerful than slashing, also accumulates more physical fatigue, and because the motion is larger, it's less convenient for transitioning to the next move compared to slashing.

If he had a concept related to slashing, he wouldn't need to worry about this... Wait a minute!

'I just absorbed it!'

It was unbelievable.

Didn't he have the Slash 20 that he had absorbed in Room 3, causing astonishment among the other members?

Of course, since it was a concept that an individual couldn't possess directly, he couldn't use it himself, but in that case, he could imbue it into the sword.

Ban Yu-won immediately imbued it into the Executioner's Greatsword.

[Due to excellent compatibility with the target of imbuing, the depth of Slash imbued in the Executioner's Greatsword has become 30. The depth of Magic Sword has become 30.]

"Lucky me."

He had never considered the possibility of such a combination, but come to think of it, this sword he was holding, the Executioner's Greatsword, was a true demon sword with the most terrifying history among the relics his grandfather had brought.

It was only natural that the harmony would be excellent when imbuing the concept of cutting and slashing into a relic whose very name included 'Decapitation'!

If anything, it was puzzling why concepts like decapitation or slashing weren't originally embedded in it.

'Well then.'

No matter how thoroughly Dokgo Yeon had swept away the spider swarm with her sword wind, if left alone, they would eventually wake up from their unconscious state and pounce again.

Ban Yu-won gritted his teeth and swung his Greatsword again as he advanced.

At that moment, Ban Yu-won felt a strange sensation dominating his body.

The overwhelming baptism of cut he had felt in Room 3 flashed through his mind.

Immediately after, the Greatsword, drawn from top to bottom, beheaded the spider.

"Whoa."

It wasn't a particularly good feeling.

After all, he had just been wielded by the weapon, so to speak.

But if he could understand the sensation this way, he might be able to grasp the true meaning of cut on his own, without having to rely on Dokgo Yeon's power.

'Let's give it a try.'

With a determined look in his eyes, Ban Yu-won charged towards the spiders strewn across the floor.

He strikes downward, then draws horizontally.

The intense will of slashing imbued in the sword forcibly corrected his movements, cutting and slicing through the spiders.

Ban Yu-won didn't forcibly resist but tried to comply, attempting to follow the path the sword violently led him on as naturally as possible.

'Good, I can feel the burden on my body decreasing. Next, let's try to read the will contained within the sword itself.'

As Ban Yu-won was trying to read the will of the sword.

His movements, which had seemed as if someone was forcefully pulling him from the side, gradually began to correct themselves, and along with that, his hunting speed started to increase.

Although he couldn't compare to Light, who was firing off slashes of light that swept away several spiders at once, or Luciel, who was crushing spiders with light hand and foot gestures, Ban Yu-won was still definitely pulling his weight, severing the necks of spiders with each precise sword strike.

"Hmm."

Dokgo Yeon was watching Ban Yu-won's performance with great interest.

She had seen him hesitate at first, unable to cut through the spider's carapace, and then do something that allowed him to slice through the spider's neck, completely different from before.

The aura emanating from the sword in his hand had become more intense than before, so she could guess that he had done something to the sword.

'An ability that's intuitive and overwhelming, but easy to be swayed by because of that.'

Dokgo Yeon dared to define Ban Yu-won's overwhelming power in such a way.

But what was interesting was that what Dokgo Yeon had seen wasn't the entirety of Ban Yu-won's ability.

And that ability wasn't all there was to Ban Yu-won.

'I thought he might be swayed by it like that foolish girl now that the sword has been strengthened, but instead, he's calmly assessing his condition and quickly starting to adapt.'

It was as if he was recreating what she had seen earlier in Room 2.

Of course, the speed of his sword strikes had slowed considerably, but they had become that much heavier, and his posture, which had seemed to be controlled by the sword, was gradually stabilizing.

Although it might be impossible right now, he would soon reach the true meaning of 'cut' in his own way.

Without Dokgo Yeon even having a chance to intervene.

'How long did it take me to master the Three Talents?'

She was called the greatest talent in the martial arts world.

But watching Ban Yu-won made her want to slap her past self who had been even slightly proud of her own talent.

Of course, the one she most wanted to slap was that man.

"Ugh, this is still draining my strength. At this rate, how long will it take to finish these things off..."

Dokgo Yeon reaffirmed her resolve as she watched Ban Yu-won's face, who was complaining about being weak while inflicting multiple wounds on her delicate heart.

'I must have him after all.'

"Huh?"

Feeling a sudden chill, Ban Yu-won looked around with wide eyes, thinking another elite monster might have appeared, but there was nothing.

Perhaps due to coming out of his focused state, he felt his arms becoming sore.

If he hadn't been stealing the concepts of life and body from the spiders in real-time during the battle, he might have already been lying down.

As he skillfully cut off the neck of a spider lunging at him, feeling satisfied that he could now cleanly execute slashes even against moving targets, he suddenly realized something.

"Hey, Dokgo Yeon, why are you just standing there? You should be firing off sword winds!"

"You're doing well on your own. It's been helpful for your growth, hasn't it?"

Dokgo Yeon replied nonchalantly.

Hearing that, he casually checked his internal code and found that his martial arts had grown to as much as 70.

Although he hadn't yet grasped the concept of 'cut', his fundamentally changed sword strikes and understanding of them had influenced his swordsmanship, causing it to grow explosively once again.

At this rate, he felt pleased thinking he might reach 100 by the time he left the tower.

"Still, since I worked hard alone, I'm not giving you any sports drink."

"What...!"

But that's that and this is this.

Though it was quite adorable how Dokgo Yeon's lips were twitching as if she couldn't accept it, a promise is a promise, so there's nothing to be done.

"They seem to be dwindling now, Eve, start conserving your bullets."

"Shhhk."

Even though Eve was in its magic gun state, for some reason it made a snake-like hissing sound as it transformed.

Returning to its original club-like form, it directly bashed the few remaining spiders around, and perhaps due to containing acid, it was quite smoothly smashing their skulls.

Admirably, it was even collecting the spent casings rolling on the floor on its own!

"As expected, it's stronger than you."

"Eve is essentially part of my combat power."

After instructing Eve to capture a few spiders alive instead of killing them all, he plundered all the remaining concepts on the battlefield and reviewed the changes in his internal code.

[Life 148

Body 87.9

Magic Power 114

Soul 365]

'Good, with this I've completely surpassed the average.'

Should he mock the regular admission students who had looked down on him for the difference in specs that would be caught up to in just a week?

Or should he marvel at his own potential for leaping over a wall that ordinary people could never surpass in one bound?

But this isn't the end.

The exploration of the tower has only just begun.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, delving deep into the tower and awakening his potential, surely he would be able to compete even with the special class...!

"It's an outside communication."

"Outside? Why at this timing?"

Light, who had been drinking the sports drink Ban Yu-won handed him with admiration, suddenly furrowed one eyebrow and muttered.

Belatedly, Ban Yu-won also noticed that the student ID hanging around his neck was vibrating.

"It says to come out of the tower...?"

"What? I haven't even warmed up yet. And I haven't even had my Gatorade."

"Already...."

Dokgo Yeon was dumbfounded at Ban Yu-won's stunned murmur after reading the message.

Meanwhile, Luciel, whose hair had already turned black by about a third while battling in Room 4, seemed uninterested in their conversation, her gaze fixed on empty space.

"Is there no further notification?"

"It must be difficult to send long messages from outside. Plus, this isn't a personal message from Professor Yumina, but one sent by the principal."

"Meaning it's for all students."

"I don't like this."

Dokgo Yeon said bluntly.

"Telling us to come out when not even 2 hours have passed since we started. Not even explaining why, it's hard to accept..."

"Kuh."

"Luciel?"

Just as Dokgo Yeon was showing her intention to ignore the message and continue exploring, Luciel let out a faint groan.

"Kuhuh."

"Luciel, ugh?!"

"Grrrr...."

Luciel, emitting strange groans, violently pulled at Ban Yu-won.

Although he had already been convinced early on that there was no normal person in this party, Ban Yu-won, who hadn't expected Luciel to go this mad, sent a pleading look to Light and Dokgo Yeon for help, but the two were staring beyond Ban Yu-won into the darkness.

Perhaps they too were sharing a similar sensation to Luciel.

"So this is why they told us to come out."

"Let's leave. Come to think of it, it was strange from the beginning. Surely, that irregular the professor mentioned before we entered the tower..."

"But the student ID isn't working."

At Dokgo Yeon's calm interjection, Ban Yu-won reflexively checked the function of his student ID.

It really wasn't working.

The sense of crisis intensified all at once.

"Grrrr... It's coming."

Luciel said, pulling Ban Yu-won behind her.

—Click

Only then did he realize that Luciel's pulling him since earlier had been merely an action to protect him.

—Click click click

—Click click click click click click click

From the floor, from the ceiling, from the walls,

On a scale incomparable to anything before.

The sound of tower spiders swarming could be heard.

Ban Yu-won had to admit that this space had become irregular.