Chapter 6
Lesson 2. This is your roommate – 2
“Yu-won, I don’t know why you’re bothering me, but you know that I’m a busy person, right? I have a business trip soon…ouch!”
“Haah, you idiot. Today is Yu-won’s university announcement day. Can’t we take the time to have dinner together?”
As soon as he sat at the table, his mother slapped his father on the back while he was talking. On the other hand, grandfather was sitting at the head of the table.
“Tower of Babel? You’re talking about the Tower of Babel, right?”
And talking nonsense. His father and mother kept glancing at him while they chatted, but they each wore an expression that asked, “Who brought this old man out?”
“Okay, now that we’re all gathered, speak.”
Ban Yu-mi sat with a calm expression and a bamboo sword within reach. If the meeting’s purpose wasn’t a big deal, she was ready to raise her bamboo sword and smash Ban Yu-won in the head.
“Then I will tell you from the end.”
Ban Yu-mi’s expression went cold as Ban Yu-won placed the chip bags down on the table. Would this bastard call a family meeting for such a trivial matter?
“Everyone, watch with your eyes wide open.”
“At the bag of chips?”
“Weren’t you talking about the Tower of Babel?”
[Stealing the concept of the Bag from the finished chips bag.]
[You absorbed 0.1 Bag. It is not a concept humans can possess, so it is recommended to separate it or give it to other things.]
When Ban Yu-won absorbed the concept, it dried and twisted, then scattered into powder. When his father saw it, he stood and shouted.
“Powder flying!”
“Honey, sit down. Yu-won, what was that just now? Can you use it on other garbage as well?”
“The ability to turn garbage into dust…!”
“!!!”
Everyone seemed to be quite surprised, but…for some reason, he felt that the direction of their surprise was a little different than what he expected.
“Doesn’t everyone have a different reaction other than that? Like where I got this ability?”
Then his family’s response was even more spectacular.
“It’s surprising, but it’s not as surprising as speaking ten languages at three….”
“Yu-won, can you get rid of styrofoam?”
“So, what was that uniform you were wearing earlier?”
“Tower of Babel!!!”
While all the family members were talking about what they wanted, Grandpa raised his voice.
“You have found the Tower of Babel, Won!”
“Huh?”
“Father, why are you acting like that?”
“Grandpa, you should hurry up and go to sleep.”
How the hell did he come up with the words Tower of Babel after seeing the bag of chips turn into dust? The others thought Grandpa’s dementia had worsened and tried to take him to his room.
“No, everyone. As expected, Grandpa knows.”
It was ironic that it was the correct answer.
“I found it. But strange monsters are occupying the tower, grandpa.”
“Such a dreadful thing!”
Grandpa shouted. It could be his imagination, but the old man, who moments ago looked small and untidy, seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. His anger and passion blew the bellows, causing that old body to inflate.
“That’s why I have to get it back. Support me.”
“Absolutely! Our Won will fulfill the family’s dream; how can this grandfather stand still?”
The old man abruptly stood up, his eyes twinkling, and asked his son.
“Hey, where did you put my phone?”
“Yes? …Oh, that old-fashioned phone? If it’s that one, it’s in the warehouse.”
“Come. I need to use it.”
“Father? Whoa, you’re still as strong as ever!”
Grandpa dragged his son out. Yu-won’s mother and older sister just stared at them, dumbfounded. It was probably the first time in years that Grandpa, Ban Ji-won, showed such lucidity.
“How much does Father like the Tower of Babel to be that excited…so what is the truth, Yu-won?”
His mother asked. Ban Yu-won answered honestly.
“I found the Tower of Babel.”
“Are you going to do this too, son? I don’t know why you deceived your grandfather, but….”
“I mean it.”
Ban Yu-won opened his inventory. The Goblin’s Club, which had fully restored its energy after a few hours of rest, jumped straight out, spun around in the air a few times, then went behind his mother and patted her lightly on the shoulder.
“Kyaaah!”
“Trust me. So, Mom, I’m sorry, but I can’t go to college.”
“Aren’t you lying after you failed to get in?”
“No, he didn’t, Mom. I saw that this bastard passed the S. college exam for sure.”
Ban Yu-mi explained, then she turned to Ban Yu-won.
“Can’t you take me to the Tower of Babel? It looks like it’s going to be really fun.”
“You are not ready. No, don’t clench your fists. It’s true. Give up.”
“Damn….”
“I’ll explain it, so sit down and listen.”
Ban Yu-Won explained to them what happened to him today. His mother was terrified to hear that her son had been on the verge of death without her knowledge, and Ban Yu-mi’s eyes twinkled at the existence of monsters and Mana. And when he said that the Tower of Babel was called the Dungeon of Dungeons.
“No!”
His mother screamed.
“How can I send you to such a dangerous place!”
“I will go, Mom. It’s a place where I can best utilize my talents.”
“That’s different from what you used to say! You wanted to live comfortably and hoped to become a diplomat!”
“Oh, that’s because working as an archaeologist or a linguist would make my achievements visible. But not there. Our building is there!”
“Haah, I should have known that since you were a kid, you only followed your grandfather!”
Ban Yu-mi asked as their mother pounded her chest, frustrated.
“Can I handle that Magic Power too?”
“What? No way…wait.”
What was the reason Ban Yu-won was able to deal with Magic Power? The moment he accepted Magic from the outside, it must have stimulated the Magic Power sleeping in his body. And if so, Ban Yu-mi could also have the potential.
“Sister, give me your hand.”
“Oh, you’re embarrassing me.”
“Don’t start that again.”
As he grunted, his sister grabbed his outstretched hand, and Ban Yu-Won took 0.05 of his 16.25 Magic Power and gave it to her. At the moment when it flowed through his hand, Ban Yu-mi flinched.
“W-What is this?”
“Magic Power. Did you feel it?”
“This, just now…!”
Ban Yu-mi, hastily shaking off Ban Yu-won’s hand to retreat, stared down at the floor. She sat down in a typical kendo stance. Unlike Ban Yu-won, who realized the Magic Power as soon as he absorbed some, she had to sit like that for quite a while. Maybe it was because she absorbed only 0.05?
Ban Yu-won was pondering whether she should take a little more of his Magic Power because it was taking too long, but then a brilliant red light rose from Ban Yu-mi’s body.
“Done! It’s this, right?!”
“Oh, this works.”
Her presence swelled. Since she was already pretty strong, the change was dramatic once she awakened her Magic. Her strength and stamina grew. Meanwhile, their mother covered her forehead and lamented as she watched her daughter do a handstand with one finger to test her strength.
“Oh my, even my daughter has become weird.”
“I’ll give Magic Power to you too, Mother. When you realize this, your body gets stronger.”
“I’m fine. I don’t want it.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“No!”
Perhaps she was strangely scared by seeing her daughter emit red light from her body, but their mother blindly refused. Meanwhile, Ban Yu-mi, realizing her new strength, grabbed Ban Yu-won and dragged him away.
“Ban Yu-won, let’s fight!”
“I never learned swordsmanship.”
“Don’t lie, you bastard. You got the posture down. Your sister will take good care of you, so hurry up and follow me. Quickly!”
“Wait, before that, grandpa….”
“Won.”
As he resisted his sister, their father and grandfather returned to the living room.
“I told them to come by around noon tomorrow. They’ll bring something.”
“Who did you call?”
“The banker, who did you think I would call?”
Banker? Ban Yu-won remembered a glimpse of his family have an account in a Swiss bank. Looking at his father, he nodded, still bewildered.
“You had an account in a private bank that looks like something out of a movie. And you haven’t even told your daughter….”
“You don’t have the talent! The account was originally going to be handed over to Won!”
“Oh, Dad. And grandpa too.”
Ban Yu-won gave his father and grandfather 0.1 each of his Magic Power.
Even if it wasn’t right now, if they could awaken Magic Power someday, it would benefit their health. In particular, he thought it would be great if he could delay his grandfather’s dementia.
‘Now my Magic Power is exactly 16.’
It was an investment in his family, so he didn’t feel like it was a waste. He also wanted to give some to his mother, but she adamantly refused.
“You can feel the energy in your body, right?”
“It’s good for your body, so focus on it and feel it. Then since we’re done talking, we’ll be going!”
“Wait, I have to explain the academy to grandpa too….”
“Explain to him, mom!”
Ban Yu-mi dragged Ban Yu-won down the road, and she forced him to become her rival. If there was a positive realization he had gained from this, it was that confrontation with a powerful person that made the various concepts he possessed grow. In particular, the growth of swordsmanship was shockingly fast, and through only a few hours of fighting, it rose from 3 to 5.6.
“What the heck, you? Why are you getting strong so quickly!”
“Oh, this is what talent is.”
“I really want to kill you.”
Even though Ban Yu-mi became stronger after she realized the Magic Power, it was the same with Ban Yu-won, and he was ahead of her in the amount they possessed. But more than anything else, Ban Yu-won had a higher level of Life. While her life spent training gave her an initial edge, he was catching up in no time.
‘Well, I guess it’s too much to describe simply as talent?’
Ban Yu-won also felt suspicious about his growth. Then, he suddenly realized that he had his unique concept of Complete Sight, Complete Hearing, and Complete Speaking. It seemed that this might not only apply to language.
‘What is the reason why my swordsmanship is developing so quickly now? That’s because I’m looking at my sister’s movements, interpreting them, and applying them to myself. It’s not just about reading language.’
Ban Yu-mi, who had never lost to her little brother when it came to sports all her life, held some resentment toward him. Thanks to her renewed efforts to defeat him, Ban Yu-won grew his swordsmanship to 7.2 and was able to develop his other body concepts a little.
However, he slept until noon the next day from the resulting exhaustion.
“Are you awake?”
“Oh, grandpa…are you okay?”
Ban Yu-won was slightly worried, looking at his grandfather Ban Ji-won, who waited for him to get up. But he nodded, putting on a strong face to dispel his grandson’s worries.
“I can’t lose my mind at a time like this, right? Don’t worry; I’m not going to do anything weird until our Won makes sure it’s ready. More importantly, check this.”
As he turned his head following his grandfather’s pointing, he saw, to his surprise, a pile of ingots made of pure gold.
“What is this…?”
“I took some gold out of my account. Gold works anywhere in the world, so take it with you.”
“What will you do if you give me all of this?”
“Boy, there’s still a lot left, so don’t worry. You can’t underestimate the family wealth that our ancestors built up. Ahem, more than that, this is the real thing.”
A large trunk in the corner of the room came to Ban Yu-won’s notice after he took his eyes off the dazzling gold.
Although it first appeared as a common trunk, it strangely caught his attention and didn’t let go. Ban Yu-won realized that it was because of the Magic Power he felt inside.
Magic Power! Wasn’t there no Magic Power on Earth?
“T-This…?”
Ban Yu-won got up, opened the trunk, and found all objects. He knew well that his ancestors had traveled worldwide, and he remembered that even his grandfather, Ban Ji-won, had been an experienced diplomat and returned with souvenirs in his spare time. However, what was contained in this trunk weren’t small souvenirs but real relics containing history and tradition.
Even the gold paled by comparison.
“Grandpa, how did you…?”
“These are the traces of ancestors who tried to find the Tower of Babel. It’s all yours now, Won. Will this help?”
Ban Yu-won picked up one of them, a slingshot that looked very old. It was carved from a sturdy branch, with strange characters written on the surface, and with a tendon from an unknown animal in place of a rubber band.
[Are you sure you want to steal Magic Gun 5, Shooting Gun 17, Hunter 21, and Wild Beast 8 from the slingshot that pierces the eyes of a lion?]
“…Yes.”
Ban Yu-won nodded frantically.
“It will be very helpful.”