Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Lesson 25. When Distance Breeds Longing - 6
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Ban Yu-won analyzed the bracelet's structure like this.
First off, all the info visible in a typical climber's status window was dummy data.
The bracelet had no function to create protective barriers or enhance attack power.
The elite who wore it had simply put on a convincing act.
But the artifact's magical power was real, and it was entirely used to activate teleportation.
'To be precise, it's not magical power but psychokinesis. It's spatial movement via psychokinesis, not magic.'
That explained the coordinates, which were far more abstract than magic ones. But no matter—they couldn't hide from Ban Yu-won, master of the Babylonia Code.
Now, the part where Ban Yu-won tinkered: the teleportation method itself.
Normally, equipping the artifact triggered teleportation instantly. He tweaked the condition slightly so it activated on mere contact with the artifact.
And while he was at it, since the artifact originally teleported along with the target, he modified it so the artifact stayed behind.
"Ta-da! Just throw this and hit your mark, and you've got an infinite-power weapon that express-delivers enemies straight to Constellation Yergergel! Add concepts of Return and Control, and retrieval plus reuse is a breeze. All this setup at an amazing price—just thirty-nine thousand..."
―You... you're gleefully draining a constellation's power like it's nothing...!
The key reason Ban Yu-won called it an 'infinite-power' weapon?
The constellation bore all the costs: magical power for spatial movement, activation conditions, causality, karma—everything.
Overcoming the Tower's shifts to breach spatial walls? No ordinary magical or psychokinetic power could handle that.
In other words—this bracelet was little more than a terminal to extract Constellation Yergergel's power!
"And since Yergergel can't directly interfere in this room, it can't stop or retrieve it either..."
―They must've been certain you'd touch it in Room 34 and trigger the teleport. Never dreamed you'd skip the bait, carry it all the way to Room 39, and repurpose it...
Selron seemed to pity Yergergel, if only for their shared time as constellations.
―I wonder how many it can send. Can't be infinite.
Or maybe it was just experimental curiosity.
―Dooong-dooong-doooong—!
As Ban Yu-won pocketed his finished ultimate weapon and gripped Selron, the massive bell atop the lofty watchtower rang out thunderously.
The armored beasts had finally entered visual range.
It was a monster wave in the truest sense.
The horde surged forward, flattening the dense forest of trees blanketing the hillside up to the city's mountainside perch. The sight was eerie enough to make even Ban Yu-won, entering battle with full confidence, hesitate.
"D-don't chicken out! We're on high walls! Make these damn walls count!"
"Filthy monster scum—you can't kill us! We're on the walls!"
"Screw the ground! We're on the walls!"
The soldiers, hyping themselves with rough talk ahead of death's doorstep, boosted morale.
They clustered at bows and arrows, ballistae, or bubbling oil cauldrons, hauling sharp stones like mountains onto the ramparts.
'Feels like I'm in a real war movie. Kinda get what Light meant now.'
He'd burned the letter to skip the quest without hesitation, but his wish to minimize innocent deaths for Light's sake was genuine.
Fewer deaths meant better rewards.
'Rooms 31 to 33 were smooth sailing. Compared to other teams, maybe not, but for us? Solid. Overcoming constellation interference in 34 and spotting the trick? That's gotta score high. Burning the letter instead of delivering? Bold move. Nail 39 with flying colors...!'
Ban Yu-won took a deep breath and raised his staff.
"Time for a big one."
―Light it is.
He'd planned to slam Yumina-trained Volcano Burst into the horde's center... but Selron's voice halted him first.
―Monster waves need light magic. That's why light mages get preferential treatment.
"Why...? Wave interference?"
―Exactly. Light magic suppresses infection waves—the unique monster buffs in waves. Pump max mana into a central blast for best results.
Light magic wasn't top-tier elemental for nothing!
Ban Yu-won briefly wondered about dark magic but shelved it.
Saying it aloud would surely foreshadow trouble!
"Alright, light it is."
A sphere of light formed in midair.
To avoid blinding wall defenders, he first sealed it in a thin light shell.
Then filled the inside with intense radiance.
―Your mana shot up fast.
'Comparing to when?'
Ban Yu-won snorted, channeling Selron's and his own qi—mana—fully into the sphere.
At the critical point, he hurled it unhesitatingly at the armored horde.
"Light... light magic!"
"Mercy, the mercenary's a magic swordsman! A light one, no less!"
Soldiers gaped in awe as the massive light sphere plunged into the horde's midst under his guidance, finally grasping the spell.
But the real show was just starting.
The fast-plunging sphere withstood the horde's wary preemptive strikes without bursting, reached center... and exploded!
―Swooooosh
It was like the sun detonating.
A terrestrial sun splintering into tens of millions of fragments, devouring the area—exaggerate a bit, and it looked like a god descending.
―Now you can pull off spectacles like this... No, this is wrong! Two months since starting magic?! Even with my help!
'You're busy being impressed and shocked.'
―Kuuuwaaak!
―Guoooooh!
The armored beasts' layered screams echoed like a chorus.
But Ban Yu-won was more shocked by the infection wave disruption rippling from the horde than his AOE's raw damage.
The infection wave was the wave phenomenon's core.
Disrupted, monsters' movements glitched immediately.
'It's real...'
―Would I lie? Hurry—meditate, recover mana. No time to slack.
Selron, veteran of such battlefields in human days, urged coldly after brief awe.
Ban Yu-won nodded silently, sat, and began qi circulation.
―Slash
―Kieeeek!
Of course, he wasn't idle.
The Rain Sword hovered, its twelve rain lines striking instead!
Circulation limited mobility, but low difficulty let him command resonating swords effortlessly!
"Swords are flying... The mage controls them! He must've remade the walls too!"
"Archmage, archmage! Who'd think such a one would save our city...!"
"We can't lag! Defending Eraton is our duty! Blast 'em while dazed—thin the numbers!"
"Wooooah!"
Reinvigorated soldiers unleashed on the armored beasts.
Individually stronger than soldiers via wave buffs, but light magic weakened them. Arrows that should've missed now hit, tilting battle heavily human-ward.
"The archmage's swords guard us. Fear not—fight!"
"Screw the ground! We're on the walls!"
They keeping that up?
The other walls under Rebelion's watch fared similarly.
Even with multi-shifts jacking difficulty, their power surpassed it.
They'd repelled a divine descent last week, after all.
Individual vs. group aside, they were overwhelmingly strong.
Plus Lucelle, empowered by her thunderbeast—
"Mercenary? That frail girl? Throwing her life away pointlessly..."
"Pretty thing. Such a waste."
―She didn't look the part.
Rare in Union, but this place still judged by appearances, it seemed.
Her style didn't fit blending in, so Lucelle leaped beyond the wall.
"Hup!"
"Wha—what?!"
"Suicide?!"
Ban Yu-won's concept had heightened the walls.
No safety gear? Seemed suicidal.
But mid-fall, she tripled in size, half-beastified, and landed leisurely.
―Geieeek
―Kuoooooh!
To the advancing horde, she looked tasty prey—naturally.
Blue lightning claws erupted from hands and feet. Lucelle unleashed feral roars matching theirs.
"Awooooooo—!"
Beastkin battle howls boosted self/allies' ferocity, sapped enemy morale.
She'd howled for hype before, but true success was now.
'Thanks to Master.'
Linked to him, she controlled her beast core, gained giant strength.
Even partial beastification—long abandoned—worked. No more shame.
'So—this battle is for Master!'
Kraaaang—! She howled again, kicked off.
She plunged through cowering beasts, slashing blue lightning claws!
―Krunch-crackle
―Kya aaaak!
"Kyaaaau!"
Front paws crumbling houses, shells tanking cannon fire—shredded like paper by her claws.
Not one or two—every challenger bisected in a second, dead.
Her hulking at the gate stalled the entire monster tide.
"M-monster?"
"Infected? No, fighting them..."
"A-anyway, chance! Attack!"
Soldiers struck as giant-beast Lucelle stormed enemy lines.
Weak singly, but grouped? They could kill armored beasts.
With Lucelle rampaging, any beast-pin meant double, triple her output.
"Awooooooo—!"
Battle howl again—she enlarged claws.
Crackle—blue sparks infused her feral mana.
'Weapon fully syncs with self to draw lightning aura...!'
Recalling Dokgo Yeon, she launched anew.
Scorching, cleaving all—a streak of lightning.
Meanwhile, what was Light doing?
―Dudududududu
―Kraaaat!
"Having too much fun, Eve..."
Chasing excited Eve—long denied action—he fought armored beasts.
Eve detached Tike's barrel, quadrupling into longer, thicker gatling guns, spewing mana bullets wildly, mowing hordes.
―Kwaaak!
―Keeek!
―Shhhit, shishishi!
Devouring Ban Yu-won's concepts—even his unique ones via Resonance—Eve's polymorph soared.
Core concepts like Life and Phantom Beast: 400 now.
Not vastly above foes, but Eve's strikes always critical; theirs never grazed.
'Similar levels don't mean equal strength. Phantom beast origin. Born different.'
―Slash
Musing on that while watching, he realized: upper-dimensional talk.
But Eve started as a club—self-made... without Ban Yu-won, no evolution.
Artifact from mundane object, granted life, evolved to phantom beast.
Eve symbolized Ban Yu-won's miraculous power.
'Eve from plain club to phantom beast. I inherit dragon blood yet flounder.'
―Kwachik
Maybe why Ban Yu-won's feats stung more.
Maybe he could fix his lacking self—
'No. Sounds like I'm just chasing his power. What if he misunderstands? Just opened up as friends...'
―Kwaaaang!
Natural to admire talent.
But voicing? Awkward, like admitting inferiority—embarrassing.
Above all, hated his dislike.
'Best keep dragon blood secret. Sounds beggy. Already helped tons...'
―Kwajijik! Kwaaa!
'Yeah, Aire helps too. Awaken dragon power proper, then tell. He offered sword help from start.'
―Slash! Swooo—!
Light sighed.
Always needing help.
And this time? He'd challenged Ban Yu-won like he mattered, prying motives. If affection soured, no complaints.
His solo rebellion—Ban could've brushed coldly. But serious reply? Cool guy... hated hate.
'Can't stay like this. True friends have no debts... Right, repay what I got?'
―Kwaaaaang!
Swinging mana-charged spear, bisecting blocking horde, Light pondered.
What to give a friend?
"That young merc's insane. How many armored beasts soloed?"
"Mana-shooting artifact mid-solo? Figures—owners match gear."
Lost in thought, reflex-spearing, forgetting battle—but Eve led true, matching Ban Yu-won and Lucelle's pace in kills.
Dokgo Yeon opened tightly shut eyes, rose.
Heavy quakes shook earth.
―Doooong, doooong
As expected—Babel climb outclassed others.
The stone peak eternally guarding city's rear, piercing skies.
Beyond, monsters wrought something—now mana gathered centrally, birthing a core.
'Infects even inanimates via wave. Constellation meddling here too...'
Inanimate with mana core? Golem.
'Topples? Quest ends. Solo mountain carve—hope level rises a bit.'
Watching hundreds-meter peak reshape into golem-form, Dokgo Yeon drew her shortsword silently.
Challenging Tower-certified solo-mountain feat—
"Think inanimates can't die? Big mistake."
The girl exuded death from every pore.