Why Did I Have to Enroll

Lesson 1. This is your status window – 2

People become rather calm when something too surprising happens. It wasn’t something like a theory advocated by someone famous, but it was what Ban Yu-won was going through now.

[With an external stimulus, the power Babylonian Code was opened. Select and display ideograms from among the languages most familiar to the power holder.]

‘Ideograms familiar to me…Chinese characters?’

That was the correct answer. It is a language in which the meaning was contained in the word itself, not in the phonetic alphabet that expressed the sound in text. The Babylonian Code was arranged in the form of Chinese characters and appeared before him.

[The two Goblins share concepts: the Devil, the Life, and the Physique. Other concepts are insignificant or overly complex, so they cannot be absorbed with the level of the current holder.]

[Absorbs 0.2 of Devil. The Devil is a concept that humans cannot possess. The power of the Babylonian Code can hold it in your body for a while, but you won’t be able to handle this power. It is recommended to separate it or give it to another object or creature.]

[By absorbing 0.4 of Life, the holder’s Life became 10.4. The total capability and potential of existence were improved.]

[By absorbing 0.2 of Physique, the holder’s Physique became 10.2. Your body became stronger.]

Messages written in a language clearly different from the academy’s guidebook appeared one after another. Amid the chaos, Ban Yu-won could see three strings protruding from each of the two Goblins’ bodies…, and they found their pairs, merged, and in turn, were pulled into his body.

‘Ah….’

Indeed, mysteriously, he could see how the strings that entered his body moved, and the two-pronged character string…perhaps Life and Physique, were completely absorbed into his body. On the other hand, the other string, Devil, tried to run wild as soon as it entered him but was soon suppressed by a mysterious force and quarantined into a corner of his body. When the absorption was finished, the Goblins’ corpses dried up and scattered.

‘…My body has changed.’

He felt it. He’d never used this kind of expression in his life, but at this moment…he felt stronger. From his grip to his skin becoming tougher, it was clear to his senses. Arguably, this was the most surprising moment yet.

[Revealing all bodily concepts recognizable by the current holder.

Life 10.4 – The concept possessed by all living things. Related to existence.

Physique 10.2 – The concept of body.

Soul 300 – The concept of the spirit.

Complete Sight 100 ― The eye that reads everything. The unique concept of the holder only.

Complete Hearing 100 ― The ear that hears everything. The unique concept of the holder only.

Complete Speaking 100 ― The lips that say everything. The unique concept of the holder only.

Devil 0.2 ― A concept possessed by unclean beings that originate from the Devil. Humans cannot possess it, but it is held by a powerful skill.]

Even while Ban Yu-won examined his changed body, the messages kept coming. In fact, although he was surprised, it wasn’t that difficult to accept this message window. It was because this Babylonian Code appeared in place of the status window and had a very similar structure. Because of this, he could understand why they took back the status window from him.

Stealing the concept of language from the dead Goblins meant gaining experience, and this code showed the status window!

‘Life, this seems to be the level that appears in games. As this grows, my level rises too. The things called Physique or Soul are the statuses. Why is only Soul so high? I don’t know, so let’s move on. Complete Sight or Complete Hearing must have something to do with my language skills…so this is a skill. Maybe these have something to do with the overly high Soul level.’

At this point, it could be said that it was just a slightly unique status window. Let’s just go with that!

‘It’s going to be too complicated if I try to figure out why I have this ability. I don’t know! Knowing doesn’t even mean I can do anything right now….’

No, that wasn’t necessarily the case, was it? Ban Yu-won’s gaze stayed on the concept that appeared in the last line, the Devil. Humans couldn’t keep it, so they told him to get rid of it quickly. They also informed him that it could be separated or given to other objects or creatures. It was only after seeing this that Ban Yu-won had a glimpse of what his abilities were.

‘That means that it is possible not only to understand words but also to grasp and classify the elements that make up a living being as a single linguistic concept.’

He could strengthen himself by absorbing them or giving them to other things to strengthen or change them. If not, there must be a way to liberate the language and use it on its own. Words were actually power.

‘Magic Thousand-Character…ahem!’

Perhaps it was because he was the owner of these abilities, but Ban Yu-won understood and accepted the abilities without any hesitation. This likely was why the Union Academy accepted him as a special student.

‘In other words, if I have this ability, there is a chance I will survive this crazy monster den…!’

He had just awakened his powers and grown a bit by devouring the concepts the two Goblins possessed. However, he knew this wasn’t enough to deal with Goblins head-on. So, what should he do now?

Ban Yu-won thought that the answer might lie in the Devil.

‘They said I could give it to others. Fortunately, there is something I can give to you.’

He examined the club closer. It was sturdy and still stained with Goblin blood and brain fluid. Ban Yu-won was skeptical that he would be able to deal with a Goblin with a weapon he’d never used before, but it would be better than his bare hands.

“Wait.”

At that moment, Ban Yu-won made an involuntary sound at the realization. He looked around, startled, but there was still silence. This was probably because the areas of these two Goblins overlapped.

‘If I can take away the concept of language from a body, couldn’t I take it from an object as well?’

Ban Yu-won hurriedly scanned the floor. G1 and G2 disappeared with their straw clothes, but their clubs remained. He placed his hand on G1’s club and activated his power. He only realized it a few minutes ago, but once he realized it, he could handle it as though it were natural.

[Now that you have taken ownership of a thing, it is possible to usurp its concept. Do you want to absorb Blunt Weapon 1?]

‘I’ll absorb it.’

Blunt weapon? It was just a club. Ban Yu-won started the absorption with a bitter smile.

The same scene as before unfolded. The club crumbled, and golden strings flowed into Ban Yu-won’s body. However, it was a concept that Ban Yu-won, like the Devil, couldn’t directly possess.

[Attaching Blunt Weapon 1 to the object you touched. This object will have Blunt Weapon 2.]

It was simpler than he thought. The string flowed out of his body again and into the club, and that was it. There was no change in its appearance. Did it mean that there was no big change by increasing it by one, or was it that the appearance wouldn’t change?

That was easier than expected, so Ban Yu-won tried the next thought that came to mind.

[Because you have ownership of the thing, it can usurp its concept. Do you want to absorb Blunt Weapon 2?]

‘Okay, it doesn’t look like the amount is reduced by re-absorbing what I’ve given.’

This was more important than he thought. If you exchanged money, wouldn’t it incur a fee? If you repeat the process of exchanging won into dollars and then converting it back to won, it will decrease from its original amount. However, his abilities had no concept of a fee, so he could grant or absorb at will.

However, if he absorbed all the concepts that made up an object, the object would collapse, so he had to be careful.

‘Then cancel absorbing Blunt Weapon…and let’s give it the Devil.’

Just before executing it, Ban Yu-won hesitated. He remembered the guide that said language could not only give but separate. And if that was the case, wouldn’t it be possible to apply it directly to his body?

‘Devil…could this be magic?’

To be honest, it was very interesting. However, the reason Ban Yu-won expected the outcome but didn’t try it was that he had no idea if it would make a dramatic change by acquiring roughly 0.2 Devil. He’d also confirmed he could reabsorb the concept in case he needed it.

‘Yes, this is right. Right now, a weapon should have Devil.’

The urges from when he was a moody teenager were about to burst out, but he desperately suppressed them. Then, he pulled out all 0.2 Devil isolated inside his body and gave it to the Blunt Weapon. Of course, it didn’t change at all even when it was given the Blunt Weapon 1, so it wouldn’t change much if he gave it the concept of Devil 0.2.

That’s what he thought. But the result was very different from what he thought.

[The thing has the Devil 0.2, so it has taken on the properties of artifacts. The destructive power was slightly amplified, and the durability was noticeably increased. An additional critical hit chance was given.]

“…What?”

Stunned by the unexpected guidance, a message from the academy popped up.

[Created temporary artifacts during the evaluation. It’s amazing indeed. A large bonus was given to your evaluation! I recommend going to the Artifact Production Department!]

“Ha, haha.”

He did it. But it was thrilling and given a large bonus?

It was the moment when it was proved that this unique ability he was born with was an ability never before found in the Union Academy.

‘I can do it. They’re all dead now!’

…Of course, that didn’t mean he could face the Blind Goblin one-on-one, so he had to keep walking the tightrope. It would still take a long time for him to use abilities that couldn’t be confirmed with the Babylonian Code, such as deception and trickery, vocal imitation, and hacking, but he could go on to defeat the Goblins.

But as he walked, considering this, he was faced with a large door that didn’t suit the cave at all.