Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 131

Lesson 27: Mock Constellation Battle - 1

On the ninth week, Tuesday afternoon, in Room 3 of the west corridor on the 8th floor of the Academy’s main building, Professor Xenon’s lecture, “Babylon and the Constellations,” was underway.

Ban Yu-won, feeling slightly flustered by the restless students, found his usual seat with his friends. Just then, Xenon emerged from the preparation room, surveying the students with a faint smile.

“It seems like everyone has been expecting this. Well, we can’t delay it any longer… Yes, from today, we will begin the Mock Constellation Battle.”

“Finally!”

“This is exciting!”

The students, mostly fourth and fifth years, were visibly thrilled, which was slightly awkward to witness. Especially those from the Special Class, who were known for looking down on others. However, Ban Yu-won knew that most students wanted to take this lecture because of the Mock Constellation Battle, so he couldn’t deny his own anticipation.

“I’ve explained enough about Babylonian civilization and the Constellations in previous lectures. Now it’s time to learn through practice. Before we start the Mock Constellation Battle, let’s activate the orb—”

Xenon placed his hand on the large black orb that had been sitting in the center of the lecture hall, radiating its presence throughout the class. At that moment, Ban Yu-won felt a peculiar pressure filling the room. No, this was Xenon’s power. It was the power of ‘Annihilation’ that Xenon possessed!

“Don’t worry. My power is currently being channeled through this orb to solely block the interference of the Constellations.”

That was true. Students who had attended his lectures before sat calmly, while others were murmuring, trying to connect with their contracted Constellations. Ban Yu-won, who could usually sever connections with the Constellations at will, realized that the connection was already cut off. Indeed, they had created a space that blocked the Constellations from the start, just as expected from a “mock” battle.

“Before we proceed with the main lecture, a warning: everything you see, hear, and experience in this lecture must be kept secret. Everyone, come forward and place your hand on the orb to swear an oath. Even those who have attended previous lectures, please join.”

Touching an orb swirling with a vortex that seemed to suck you into an abyss if mishandled? Ban Yu-won wasn’t the only one who felt an instinctive aversion. However, Xenon continued in a firm tone.

“If you don’t want to, you can leave the room now. I won’t stop you, and there will be no penalties in terms of grades. However, you won’t be able to attend my lectures again.”

“Yu-won…”

“It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

When Ban Yu-won turned around at the sudden voice, he saw Mira, the black-haired fairy girl, standing there as if it were the most natural thing. Beyond her, he noticed Ketra, looking somewhat forlorn, but Mira seemed oblivious to his presence. Perhaps the Student Council President’s measures were effective. But now wasn’t the time to worry about Ketra; it was Mira, right in front of him, who was the issue.

“What? Why are you here?”

“I made a contract with a Constellation too. So, I officially joined the lecture from this week. Just made it in time.”

“You can join at this point…?”

Given Mira’s recent impressive achievements at the tower, it wasn’t surprising. Why hadn’t he thought of that? If she intended to surprise Ban Yu-won, she succeeded. Mira giggled and whispered in his ear.

“Surprised? …Happy?”

“Shh, it’s lecture time.”

“Uh-huh, right. But about that.”

Luciel’s gentle voice interrupted Mira’s approach. Mira cleared her throat and pointed a slender finger at the orb.

“I heard that the Chancellor and Professor Xenon were the main creators, but Professor Campanella also helped. It’s safe, so don’t worry.”

“Well, if you say so…”

In truth, even if it were somewhat dangerous, he had no intention of leaving. They exchanged glances, nodded, and stood up, heading to the center of the lecture hall.

“Is everyone ready?”

Xenon made a final check with the students. The sight of students surrounding the large orb and reaching out their hands looked like a cult ritual, no matter how you viewed it.

“Then, extend a hand to the orb. Has everyone touched it? Do you swear not to disclose any experiences from here to the outside? Good, then let’s begin the Mock Constellation Battle.”

At that moment, the world flipped.

Barrier, Severance, Protection, Reversal, Expansion, Creation—various profound concepts filled the space, transforming it, ultimately creating a separate subspace isolated from the Academy and the world.

“Did you notice, Ban Yu-won?”

Xenon stood before Ban Yu-won. He was already strong, but in this ‘barrier,’ he had become an absolute presence. And so had Ban Yu-won.

“It resembles the structure of the tower. Here, you don’t die even if you die, right?”

“Correct. I’ll give you 5 bonus points.”

It was a structure difficult to grasp at a glance, except for Ban Yu-won. But as the barrier formed, countless concepts emerged, dominating the space. The magic power from the orb expanded the space while creating numerous ‘rooms.’ Realizing he was separated from other students and his companions, trapped in one of those rooms, it was clear what this was modeled after.

If Ban Yu-won were to name it, it would be ‘Babel Tower VR (Virtual Reality).’ Though AR (Augmented Reality) might be more accurate, such distinctions were unnecessary.

“We’ve strived to create a structure mimicking the tower over countless years, and the space created by this orb is the fruition of that effort.”

Xenon extended his arms, conjuring a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

“Though it’s a limited space, within it, we can manipulate phenomena. If one becomes the master of the tower, they could create something even more extraordinary. This space was made to explore the possibilities and limits of the tower.”

“It’s a simulation. A simulation to understand and conquer the tower more deeply.”

“Exactly. Unlike students from other dimensions, you grasp it quickly. I’ll give you 5 more bonus points.”

Ban Yu-won thought Xenon might be too generous with points. Then again, considering the unfair minus points he received at the semester’s start, maybe it was fair.

“But there was a problem. Can you guess what it was?”

“Probably—resource consumption is too high.”

“Correct. While I said we can manipulate phenomena, it’s only possible within the limits of magic power. I’m currently creating solid weapons like this, but…”

Xenon showed Ban Yu-won the weapons in his hands. Ban Yu-won nodded, observing the weapons Xenon held. They were composed of temporary concepts, maintained by the orb’s power and Xenon’s magic. If Xenon’s magic were cut off or they left the orb’s influence, they would collapse.

‘But the wealth obtained from the tower remains even outside. It’s fundamentally different from the tower.’

If replicating the tower were easy, it would become a second tower.

“Ban Yu-won.”

Xenon looked at Ban Yu-won with a peculiar gaze, seeing him nodding in understanding.

“Can you create something like this sword?”

“Do you mean just to create a sword?”

“Yes.”

Though Ban Yu-won wielded the power of concepts, he had never created a form. For instance, he recently acquired the concept of carapace in battle, but he couldn’t create an actual carapace, a shell, from it.

But that was strange. If he possessed the complete concept forming a substance, there was no reason he couldn’t materialize it.

‘Perhaps it’s because I haven’t grasped all the concepts forming the substance. Just because something looks like a hard shell doesn’t mean it’s solely made of carapace; there’s [something else].’

Surprisingly, this space supplemented what Ban Yu-won didn’t know. It reinforced the infinitely clumsy and incomplete human imagination and knowledge, realizing it in exchange for consuming magic power. That was how this space operated.

Indeed, it’s different from the tower—Ban Yu-won gained an essential insight and, with a sardonic smile, felt confident that this space would significantly aid in developing his power. Perhaps, for him, this was more valuable than the Mock Constellation Battle itself.

‘Well, let’s give it a try…’

Ban Yu-won extended a hand, drawing an imaginary sword in the air, and infused it with his magic.

‘What constitutes a sword? Instead of simply creating the concept of a Blade, let’s create and combine the detailed concepts forming it.’

A sword can be divided into the blade and the hilt. The blade is made of metal and is sharp. The hilt is made of wood and is sturdy. Adding the concept of length to adjust it, all these combine to form a Blade.

‘I’m sure I’ve missed many parts—’

However, as soon as he completed his design and imagined the perfect form of the sword, particles forming this space adhered to the concepts he emitted, beginning to shine brilliantly. Ban Yu-won widened his eyes, observing the complementary action of concepts in the process. This was precisely what he needed to learn to further develop his power. Of course, he couldn’t master it perfectly just by watching a few times, but seeing the haphazardly gathered concepts organized into a neat form already made his brain tingle.

“…What is this?”

Focused on the phenomenon occurring in his hand, Ban Yu-won didn’t notice Xenon watching him with a dumbfounded expression.

“Ban Yu-won, student…?”

Xenon never imagined Ban Yu-won would actually create a sword. He merely intended to teach him some tricks for handling power in this space and warn him against doing anything reckless…

“Oh, it seems to have turned out quite well.”

In Ban Yu-won’s hand was a thick longsword, resembling the executioner’s sword, belonging to the bastard sword category. It was imbued with aggressive magic, the blade was sharp, and the seamlessly connected hilt was solid. A sword, indeed a Magic Sword.

Ban Yu-won, satisfied, swung it through the air a few times and then handed it to Xenon.

“Check it out.”

“…No, there’s no need to check.”

Though it took longer to create, Xenon could see that the sword Ban Yu-won had just made was of higher quality than his own. With repetition, the time taken would decrease, and the quality would improve. He had nothing to teach him.

“No need for adaptation training. This is an unexpected result. Even students with exceptional artifact crafting skills find creating a sword in this space a completely separate matter…”

Xenon, with a wry smile, erased the sword and staff in his hands, declaring.

“I’ll give you 10 more bonus points. Today, due to the need for adaptation training for students newly entering the subspace, there will be no practical class, so Ban Yu-won, you may study independently.”

He added, “Not that you should create more swords like this,” with a hint of humor.

“Creating is the power of the Constellations. In this space, our goal is to develop and master powers akin to those wielded by the Constellations.”

Hence, the Mock Constellation Battle. Here, students could become Constellations themselves and compete, an otherwise impossible feat.

“Hmm, well… If you can make your imagination a reality, nothing is impossible, but is there a special purpose?”

Xenon nodded firmly.

“By imagining and mastering powers, you can gain a higher-level understanding of mana utilization. It requires tremendous concentration and mana control, making it excellent training.”

“Wow.”

“But most importantly, the training here allows you to handle the power of the Constellations more easily outside. Think of it as a process to expand the limits of your body and mind.”

“Sounds like there’s nothing but benefits…”

“Indeed. Remember, just being able to enter this space is a great opportunity.”

With those words, Xenon disappeared from his spot. Perhaps he went to check on other students. Ban Yu-won sat down, pondering. Imagining the power of the Constellations was fine, but his power was already similar to that of the Constellations, so was there a need to imagine a new power?

‘Then I just need to create a method to handle my power more easily and strongly in this space.’

Unlike imagination that disappears when leaving, his power would grow even a little through the process! The thought made his heart race. He finally understood why seniors were so eager to attend Xenon’s lectures.

‘Then, as a first step.’

How about analyzing the concepts forming this space in his unique language? Ban Yu-won extended his hand, daring to attempt interpreting the space filled with golden strings of text.