Chapter 33
Lesson 8. This skill is mine – 3
‘Is this…possible?’
Concepts couldn’t be taken from a living person at will, but how had this happened? It only seemed possible because it was a special situation in which a part of the body was cut off, but that discovery sent a chill down his spine.
‘Of course, this cannot be applied to Ruchel.’
Ban Yu-won borrowed a term from a game he had played before and decided to call it ‘Part Break.’ Then he pulled all concepts out of Electo’s arm, leaving 0.1 of Life and Physique each. He knew that if he took everything, the arm would disappear, but if even the slightest part of the concepts remained, the substance would not collapse. It was almost like an empty shell, but that wasn’t Ban Yu-won’s concern.
[You stole 22.9 Life, 27.9 Physique, 14 Giant, 14 Volcano, and 14 Superpower. Giant and Volcano are concepts that humans cannot possess.]
It wasn’t a coincidence that the depth of Giant, Volcano, and Superpower was all the same. He also expected to some extent, that he wouldn’t be able to deal directly with Giant and Volcano.
On the contrary, he was actually celebrating since he hadn’t expected to be able to handle Superpower. And what was the depth of this acquired Life and Physique? It was worth two Elites from the Tower.
Ban Yu-won, thinking such a thing, suddenly got goosebumps.
‘What, am I a psychopath? It wasn’t even from a monster; I’m actually pleased to get something after cutting off someone’s arm…maybe it’s because the depth of the Soul has deepened?’
It seemed that his personality had changed since he could make such assessments calmly. In fact, he was previously an ordinary Korean man who was asked to suddenly risk his life fighting, so it would be strange if his perception hadn’t changed.
“Ugh, uuuuugh!”
Meanwhile, Electo, now down an arm, was rolling on the ground, screaming in pain.
“Calm down, Electo! The arm can be reattached!”
“Aaah!”
“Keep calm; I’ll get you treatment now!”
Entel grabbed and calmed him, then picked up the arm and sent Electo and his arm somewhere. He must be headed to the treatment room inside the academy.
Entel looked back at Ban Yu-won, his eyes sparkling coldly.
“You went too far, student Ban Yu-won!”
“I’m sorry, Associate Professor Entel. But Electo suddenly attacked at the moment when the match ended….”
“You don’t mean to say that it was inevitable, right? You could have perfectly dodged it with your skills.”
Entel responded sharply. Ban Yu-won wondered if all the points he earned through the Rebellion channel had disappeared. Even though he smiled bitterly at that thought, he said what he had to say.
“Please. I could have dodged it, but I just thought that a student who disregards the professor’s authority and behaves in his own way needs a lesson.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“And it was also necessary to make sure that students with rotten minds who arbitrarily ignore the rules and attempt a surprise attack in an official match do not become commonplace.”
Ban Yu-won, conscious of the camera still in the air shooting this scene, made a decisive declaration. Their match was broadcast live from start to finish, and many students watched. So in such a situation, could he allow them to see a student openly ignoring the professor’s declaration?
If Ban Yu-won had taken a passive approach in this situation, the negative outcome would be indescribable. In the worst case, there was the possibility it would spread the perception that there was no need to follow the rules when going against lower-level students.
Therefore, Ban Yu-won didn’t think that his response was excessive. As a representative of the special lower-dimensional students standing here, he did what he had to do to protect his authority and the academy’s rules.
“Haah….”
“I believe that my actions were perfectly justified and had to be taken for the sake of order in the academy.”
Hearing Ban Yu-won’s answer, Entel was unable to respond. What if he denied Ban Yu-won here? That wouldn’t be something as simple as a denial to him but a denial to all students from the lower dimension. In addition, he would be lowering his and the other associate professors’ authority.
“You are…right. Students who ignore the rules of a fight should be punished. However, it is not for you but for the academy and me to determine the terms of that punishment.”
“I am sorry if my actions violated your authority. I had to act quickly…I will gladly respond to my own punishment for that part.”
What was Ban Yu-won talking about now? In a nutshell, it was ‘I responded because you were standing still like a moron.’ If he understood the meaning, Entel’s job was to bring even the slightest responsibility onto himself.
“No, you shouldn’t. The fault lies with the student Electo who ignored my declaration and acted. Moreover, your behavior was in self-defense and doesn’t go against the academy’s rules, so I don’t think it’s your fault.”
Words were really interesting when you could say one thing but mean another. Ban Yu-won said only the most favorable things, expanding the problem to the whole school, not just himself and Electo. He covered his position so thoroughly that his stance couldn’t be denied, at least from the standpoint of a professor.
“Professor! That bastard was rude just now….”
“Enough. You guys should refrain from swearing, and it is still airing.”
Entel, who had reached an unspoken agreement with Ban Yu-won, restrained the protesting Class 1 students.
“This has now been settled. It’s not difficult to reattach Electo’s arm, and it’s Electo who broke the academy’s rules in the first place.”
Entel beckoned Ban Yu-won to join the line, and he politely bowed his head as if conscious of the video before joining the party.
“You were so cool! So…!”
Ruchel’s eyes lit up.
“Ban, you really…that skill blew away the whole arm.”
“Once I understood the concept, I found a way to forcefully deflect the opponent’s strength.”
It was a Reverse that had reached a different realm. Light was stunned when he noticed just how strong the technique was, while Dok Go-yeon…
“This is so fun; you got stronger again, huh?”
“Did you notice?”
…was the only one here who noticed that Ban Yu-won had devoured the giant’s arm.
“Wait, given this, go ahead and cut off the arms of all those in the special class.”
“Are you going to make me the official enemy of the academy? I’m going to destroy the image I just created.”
“It’s just because it’s a waste. You should have cut off his left arm while at it.”
In just a week, Ban Yu-won thought that his emotions had dried up, but listening to Dok Go-yeon, he was still at the level of a kid.
“Everyone enjoyed the fight, right? Then we will start the class.”
After the broadcast concluded and the commotion subsided to some extent, Entel, who had unintentionally overpowered the other students’ thanks to Ban Yu-won, finally started the class. However, even during his lecture, most students in the special class watched Ban Yu-won and his party.
So, what happened after the lecture was even more shocking.
“Dok Go-yeon, right?”
“Hmm?”
Ortima, the man with horns rising like a crown from his head, walked directly over to them. When Dok Go-yeon frowned and looked at him, squinting her eyes, he swallowed hard and said.
“I have something I want to tell you.”
“Do you want another fight? I won’t stop you if you want to die, but I think fighting in the academy will be difficult.”
“It’s not for a fight.”
Ortima reached out a hand to Dok Go-yeon. In his hand was a flower carved out of jewels.
“I want to ask you out on a date.”
“…?!”
* * *
Ban Yu-won muttered.
“How masochistic do you have to be to ask a girl who kicked you in the chin on a date?”
“Didn’t you just say the answer yourself?”
“Oh, right.”
After finishing all the other designated classes, the Class 11 members moved on to their new class called ‘Babylon and the Constellation’ by Professor Xenon, which was held in Room 3 of the West Hallway on the 8th floor of the Academy Main Building.
What happened this morning was so shocking that Light reacted with a shiver to Ban Yu-won’s comment.
“How can a man not understand another man’s feelings? I wanted to ask you about it.”
On the other hand, Dok Go-yeon, who received the date request, replied, disconcerted.
“Don’t look like an idiot like that, you guys. He intends something different, and I found no trace of affection.”
Dok Go-yeon dismissed the morning incident with a snort, but Ban Yu-won tilted his head as he recalled Ortima’s attitude.
“It didn’t seem like that…can you say that for sure? You are very pretty.”
When was the time when words had the greatest effect? It was when you never expected them. Even Dok Go-yeon was so startled by the sudden and direct compliment that she flinched.
“Ban Yu-won, I don’t know if you are really oblivious or not shy.”
“That’s half the method. Don’t be fooled, Dok Go-yeon.”
“Hmph, I know that much, so you don’t need to tell me.”
Seeing that the two of them got along so well, it was clear that they became closer while training. However, they looked like two girls whispering to each other. Then Ruchel cautiously raised her hand and said,
“I, too, agree with Ban.”
“Beast, do you know that you have been blatantly taking Ban Yu-won’s side since Saturday? If you’re trying to woo him, can’t you do that when I’m not here?”
“It’s not like that…!”
Ruchel said, pounding her chest with frustration (Ban Yu-won looked away quickly).
“I mean, his eyes were different. Of course, he seemed to have other thoughts as well.”
“It doesn’t matter. Because I said no anyway.”
Dok Go-yeon said coldly. That was right. As soon as she got the request, she flatly turned it down.
‘You are my enemy. There is no room for compromise.’
With such an iron-wall declaration.
“Still, if what Ruchel said was true…couldn’t you give it a try?”
Dok Go-yeon shook her head at Light’s question.
“Even if that man was interested in me as a woman, ‘we’ are at a loss just for me to meet him.”
“What?”
“Oh…that’s right. Rebellion.”
Ban Yu-won explained with a bitter smile to Light.
“In just one week, our popularity has grown absurdly. I’m not bragging, but the fact that I beat Electo in class today will also affect that. But in this situation, if it is known that Dok Go-yeon went on a date with Ortima, the pinnacle of the academy’s vested interests, what would other people think?”
Light paused for a moment, then shrugged.
“Inside….”
“Right. When Ban Yu-won filmed a video about the four of us, we became a community. People don’t think of us as individuals anymore. To preserve this fictitious perception, we must move forward as one body.”
The four-member group formed under Rebellion must continue to act as one. Even to the extent that if their individual liberty was violated, they couldn’t fall apart, and this was their contract.
“Then you’re saying you thought about all of this from the beginning and agreed with Ban’s plan?”
“Of course. How many times do I have to say it?”
Dok Go-yeon responded with annoyance at Light’s question.
“From the beginning, I was only interested in Ban Yu-won. The reason the four of us agreed to be united was that Ban Yu-won was here. Do you understand now? That’s why I cannot tolerate any attempt to sabotage my plans. I have no time to listen to a man who dares to take advantage of me.”
“…Okay.”
Light seemed a little depressed at Dok Go-yeon’s unkind words. Ban Yu-won thought it was cute, but even Dok Go-yeon could not hide the smile on her lips and comforted him.
“Light, if you want me to appreciate you, you should work harder.”
“Hmph.”
Light turned away as if he was ashamed of revealing the truth. Ban Yu-won knew that Dok Go-yeon had respected them as individuals from the moment she began to properly call him Light, but she left him alone because that sulky appearance was cuter.
“Ah.”
Then Ruchel made a sound. They had arrived in front of the classroom.
“We’re not late, right?”
“They must have already had class last week. If a bunch of first-year students like us jumps in during the class, what would the seniors in the upper grades think?”
“They should think juniors with great talent have arrived.”
At the sound of a voice from behind, the party flinched and turned around. Standing behind them was a young brown-haired man with a heart-shaped earring in one ear. His skin was black, and the pointy ears reminded Ban Yu-won of the dark elves from fiction. The mark on his school uniform showed that he was in his fourth year.
“Hello, guys. It’s nice to meet the people who are making the academy buzz. But first, let’s go inside.”
He winked and opened the door.
“Come on in.”
“Then….”
Light entered first, followed by Dok Go-yeon. Ban Yu-won asked Dok Go-yeon quietly as he entered last with Ruchel.
“Did you not notice?”
“I was aware of him until he approached, but I missed him for a moment…he must be specialized in stealth.”
It seemed certain he was someone talented if even Dok Go-yeon could not keep track of him.
It was absurd. He thought of Dok Go-yeon as someone who was already out of the frame of being a student… but to think some students made even her nervous. Since there was no way that only this guy they met just now was strong, the students gathered in this classroom could be considered absurdly talented.
Ban Yu-won finally realized how dangerous the place they had been thrown into was.
‘Professor Yoo Mina, I blame you.’
He let out a loud sigh and entered the classroom. Ruchel grabbed his arm tightly as if to tell him he would do just fine. But in fact…it wasn’t the seniors who were the scariest in this classroom.
“There are many new faces today. I should introduce myself. I’m Xenon, the professor in charge of this class, ‘Babylon and the Constellation,’ and the Vice-Principal of the Academy.”
“…Ha.”
[Disparity]
[Impossible]
[Darkness]
A monster in human form was teaching the students.