Why Did I Have to Enroll

Lesson 9. Learning martial arts – 1

When the party entered the Tower, they arrived in Room 0. However, as they took a few more steps, tense, the surroundings suddenly distorted, and the number that appeared on their pendants went up one by one and soon stopped at five.

“Room 5.”

Light whispered. Today, he wasn’t holding that flashing sword, so it could be said that he was properly dressed for a covert mission.

“I was wondering if we might have to start from Room 1, but I’m glad.”

“But this….”

Ban Yu-won narrowed his eyes when he noticed that only two people could walk side by side in the hallway, a fork in the distance, and above all, no signs of monsters. Last week, they could just comfortably hunt monsters, but this time it seemed to be a search-type room and the most common.

“It’s a maze.”

“I think I saw it in the textbook.”

“This way.”

As they approached the fork in the road, Ruchel pointed to the left without hesitation. As he looked at her, wondering if there was a reason, Ruchel confidently nodded. But as they followed her directions, they soon came to a dead end.

Ruchel gave a clear answer as she felt the group’s gaze focus on her.

“I smelled a monster.”

“Are we looking for a way out or monsters?”

―Kigigigi!

At least at that point, even Ban Yu-won couldn’t find any traces of the monster, so it could be said that Ruchel’s search ability was amazing in some sense…

As soon as he thought about it, something black and sticky fell from the wall. At first glance, it looked similar to the Cloth Eater they had encountered in Room 1, but its body was stickier and gleaming unpleasantly.

“Glitch.”

Ban Yu-won reflexively called the monster’s name out.

“Why is that already…?”

“It’s not even surprising now.”

Like all the rooms they’ve been through so far, this guy wasn’t the only monster that would appear in Room 5. The sound it emitted distorted all human senses, and the irregularly flashing light caused mental abnormalities.

-Kigigi!

Sometimes, the screen cracked, and the graphics and sound would go weird on a console. This phenomenon gave rise to an abnormal fear. This monster seemed to have brought such a phenomenon into reality.

“Kyang!”

―Kigigi!

And the best way not to get hit by the Glitch was to destroy it before it could do anything. Like Ruchel just showed.

[Life 0.1, Devil 0.2, Flash 0.1, Noise 0.1, Malfunction 0.05, Reversal 0.01. Flash, Noise, Malfunction, and Reversal are concepts that humans cannot possess.]

It was a completely different type from the monsters they had faced so far, so there were a lot of new concepts he had learned. However, what Ban Yu-won paid attention to was the concept of Malfunction and Reversal. A Malfunction could be associated to a certain extent with breaking down the human body, but what about the concept of Reversal? It was probably not a concept anyone could come up with when they saw the Glitch.

In other words, this also meant that it was an additional concept because Ban Yu-won was aware of the phenomenon of a glitch in the modern Earth context.

‘As is often the case with such concepts, there’s only a bit of it, but…if I gather one by one, will I be able to fill 1 or so?’

From Ban Yu-won’s experience, it was only when at least 1 depth was gathered that a concept became a concept. At this rate, they would need to wander around Room 5 on purpose to catch enough…

“What are you going to do? We can’t just blindly rush around inside a maze.”

“Well, we have no choice but to move while remembering all the ways we’ve been….”

“Ban, don’t you have a sharper way?”

Again, the expected question came. Ban Yu-won responded with an ambiguous smile.

“I will search from now on. Let’s keep moving for now.”

“Okay.”

Ban Yu-won tried to ignore the innumerable concepts of Walls and Road that he could see. After all, the goal of this expedition was not to explore the Tower at high speed but to adapt!

Three hours passed like that.

“This is strange.”

Dok Go-yeon, who smashed the Glitch at the end of the newest dead-end road, said.

“I memorized all the ways to get here, but….”

“The shape is different, but it’s like the road we’ve been on before.”

Dok Go-yeon nodded as if she’d been waiting for Light’s comment.

“That’s it. It’s not just a maze; the paths are changing.”

“According to the textbook, that should happen above Room 100….”

“That damn textbook! Forget about that!”

Since the party entered the Tower, the only thing that matched the damn textbook was the names of the monster that appeared!

“Move away. If we break it all down, something will come out.”

The stress accumulated over the past three hours made Dok Go-yeon step forward. The fact that her sleeves began to flutter uncontrollably made it clear she was about to launch a proper attack. But she didn’t have to.

“Dok Go-yeon, wait.”

Ban Yu-won, who had scraped the concepts from the shattering Glitch, finally confirmed that the concept of Reversal had gathered to 1, then he nodded and stepped forward.

“Actually, I just found out something.”

“Now?”

“Yes. So….”

Ban Yu-won passed by Dok Go-yeon and pressed a point on the wall. Then his hand passed through the wall, and it faded from view in moments.

[You stole 0.5 Illusion 0.5. It is a concept that humans cannot possess.]

A few of these walls were illusions. When Ban Yu-won retrieved it, they faded. In other words, it was impossible to find a way because they relied on their vision.

Dok Go-yeon could not find this because the Illusion and the Wall were made of the same Mana. It might be impossible for anyone other than Ban Yu-won to distinguish the two in the first place.

“Tada.”

“…You, did you really just find that out?”

Dok Go-yeon’s suspicious eyes fell on Ban Yu-won, who regarded her with a smile. He shrugged, asking what she was talking about.

“I don’t like wasting time either, you know? I just found a hole in the middle of my exploration and poked through it.”

“Hmm.”

“I found a way, so it’s settled. Now let’s go. I’m tired of the maze.”

“If we go up the Tower, we will meet this again and again.”

“What are you talking about? Now that Ban has learned the trick, we’re going to destroy them immediately.”

Light watched him with eyes holding infinite trust. He not only eliminated most of the traps he had encountered in Room 3 before, but he was also digging through the maze, so it was understandable his companions would rely on him.

And that was correct. In fact, Ban Yu-won was slowly starting to think that everything except the monsters in this Tower would be a piece of cake for him.

‘It’s natural because it’s the Tower I will inherit.’

Ban Yu-won took the lead with such an ironic thought. The Glitch attacks continued, but their defenses were like paper. They couldn’t even withstand Ban Yu-won’s attacks, and he was the weakest in the group.

“There.”

—Crash

Moreover, they had Ruchel, who could detect them by smell. All they had to do was swing in the direction she pointed, and the Glitch was cleared up before they could even see them.

“Beast, will you be okay?”

“Yes. Because Ban is here.”

As she was sniffing with her ears up toward Glitches, Ban Yu-won noticed that Ruchel’s hair was dyed a little black. However, it was also true that her speed was slower than before, and her condition was stable because she firmly trusted Ban Yu-won.

Dok Go-yeon nodded slowly and said to Ban Yu-won.

“Ban Yu-won, remember what I said earlier.”

“I said I don’t know.”

Ban Yu-won responded helplessly to Dok Go-yeon’s warning and erased another illusion. That moment.

“Ugh?!”

“Ban!”

“Hey, in front…!”

Suddenly, the four walls around them collapsed, the passage greatly expanded, and an absurdly gigantic Glitch appeared. Ban Yu-won and his party had encountered an Elite monster before, but it was amazing to see another one. And since Ban Yu-won was at the front, only he could deal with it right now.

-Kigigi!

“Hmph…!”

When the Giant Glitch started glowing, Ban Yu-won brought out the concept of Reversal he had collected so far. Since it was not a concept that humans could possess, it was impossible for him to directly use its power. So, he was taking out the concept by itself and liberating it. Like when he used the active concept of Wave, the string of Reversal hit and exploded with his Magic Power!

-Kigigigigik!

The effect was dramatic. The golden string shot straight at the Giant Glitch with a brilliant light, and everything around the Glitch reversed and crushed it. What would happen when an attack that caused great anomalies in one’s senses and mind landed on the Glitch’s almost psychic body?

Cracks ran through its body as if it were a shattered computer screen.

“Ugh!”

Ban Yu-won took a step forward at that moment and drew his sword.

[Snapping Wave]

The wave that gave off the power of Snapping ripped through the Elite monster.

[You stole 5 Life, 7 Devil, 5 Flash, 5 Noise, 2 Malfunction, 1 Reversal, 0.5 Resistance.]

Ban Yu-won put down his sword and let out a sigh. In fact, this was a method that he was reluctant to use, although he had devised it a while ago, since the concept would be lost if used like this. Although he recovered the spent Reversal from the Elite, he had just hunted…

‘It certainly worked, though. Maybe it was because I was using it in a wasteful way.’

He applied the newly obtained Reversal to his sword as a test, and it was applied properly. Holding it and wielding it wouldn’t bring about the same dramatic effect he just had, but it was better to keep using it rather than consuming it all at once.

After waving his sword in the air a few times, he nodded with satisfaction and cleared up the rest of the concepts. The problem was the Devil, or to be precise, the 3.5 Magic that was pulled out from there.

[Magic Power 199.999]

‘It’s not going up.’

Although he had already absorbed more than enough, his Magic Power didn’t rise above 200. He was anxious even before entering the Tower, and it hit him again. In the case of Life, there were no such difficulties, and in the case of Physique…by absorbing Electo’s body concept, he passed 200, so there was a possibility that he might have passed some barrier without knowing.

“What’s wrong? Are there more enemies?”

Dok Go-yeon, struggling to speak after the small miracle Ban Yu-won had just shown, saw him hesitating and tilted her head.

“No, it’s just that my Magic Power isn’t growing.”

“Magic Power? Growth…ah, you are facing a wall.”

Ban Yu-won waited for Dok Go-yeon’s explanation that would inevitably follow.

“You’re moving forward so quickly that it feels like you’re being forcibly pulled in by those around you. It’s like pouring water constantly without allowing time for the bowl to get bigger, so you can’t help but feel the limit….”

“Bowl…so what should I do?”

“It’s not a good idea to blindly try to increase your energy like you are now. There are many things to discuss, but…yes, the best thing is to release a lot of energy and let your body adapt.”

“Adapt my body to the energy.”

After hearing those words, it was certainly difficult to say that Ban Yu-won was still actively using his Magic Power. It was only when he used the concept of something like Wave that he used a significant amount of his Magic Power.

‘It would be nice to have more operational concepts. Or should I study the active use of passive concepts?’

For the past week, he’d been paying more attention to Ruchel than to developing his own abilities, and now it’d come to bite him. Seeing that he was in trouble, Dok Go-yeon made a proposal with a soft smile.

“I know a good way; I can teach you.”

“No thanks?”

“Aren’t you thinking of me as some kind of evil swindler? It’s not that big of a deal, so don’t be embarrassed. If you want to thank me, I won’t stop you from replying with sincerity.”

Ban Yu-won didn’t miss the brief moment Dok Go-yeon’s eyes darted to Ruchel as she said that. It would have gone entirely unnoticed if it wasn’t for Ban Yu-won, the possessor of Complete Sight. But this meant that she was really envious of Ruchel receiving those clothes.

Then.

“If you teach me, I will be grateful. Look forward to your present.”

“How great.”

In exchange for advice on handling energy from Dok Go-yeon, a few sets of clothes would be cheap. When Ban Yu-won changed his attitude instantly, Dok Go-yeon smiled.

“Wait, Ban. We even killed an Elite monster, but the Shift isn’t happening. Stop chattering with Dok Go-yeon.”

“That’s better. We’ve been walking for a long time, right? Let’s take a rest. I will pass on the basics of the Black Body Move to Ban Yu-won.”

Black Body Move? Ban Yu-won unconsciously accepted the literal translation and came up with an extremely prejudiced image in his head, but Dok Go-yeon glared at him as if she had figured out his thoughts.

“The Black in Black Body Move’s name is the one when we talk about stealth. Whatever you thought, it doesn’t mean that.”

“I’m sorry, teacher.”

“Now you know. Contrary to the grand name, it will not be difficult because it is just a basic technique.”

“Still, it’s a martial arts move…shouldn’t it be like a rite of passage to learn?”

He received a lot of help from Dok Go-yeon, but this was the first time he really studied martial arts, so he asked such a question. But, surprisingly, Dok Go-yeon smiled.

“It’s a basic move that little children learn. This isn’t even an energy study; it’s just a simple technique that strengthens the body with its energy. Where did your knowledge of the Martial Arts Society come from?”

Primarily martial arts novels. It was obvious that he would get hit if he said that, so Ban Yu-won quietly decided to do what she told him. He didn’t know, but this was the first technique Dok Go-yeon learned.

Knowing this, he would have realized Dok Go-yeon’s resolution.

He accepted her offer and devoured it.