Chapter 130
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Lesson 26. Push Away When You Get Close - 5
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Dealing with a constellation was an utterly exhausting affair.
Any shared success went to the constellation as merit.
Any shared failure fell on the contractor as fault.
That was why Kantone despised his own constellation.
—Foolish contractor of mine.
"Lord Yerger, why do you blame me so?"
Kantone shot back with a somewhat sharp tone at the constellation, which was clearly expressing its intent to berate him.
Yerger was one of the pseudonyms the constellation used to refer to itself.
—You failed to recognize the qualities of the Adversary. You are a fool.
"The Adversary? If you mean that lowly thing..."
—Lowly thing?
Even the constellation's voice grew edged.
—I warned you. Do not use such words in my presence.
"But great Yerger, he is a student from a lower dimension where mana barely flows."
—And that student is shaking the academy right now. I hate the Tower, but this time I must admit their choice was not wrong.
"No, it was wrong."
Kantone answered immediately.
"That sandcastle he piled up with his filthy hands might hold for now, but a strong wind will scatter it eventually. It's always been that way."
—So you plan to become the typhoon yourself?
"Great Yerger."
—I will not help you.
The constellation stated flatly.
—This is not for the greater cause; it's merely for your petty desires. As my contractor, I lent my aid once, but there will be no second time. Moreover, I will not permit you to use my power against him henceforth.
"L-Lord Yerger!"
—This is your karma; bear it yourself. And heed this warning, contractor. The debt you owe 'us' is piling up. If you get distracted, you won't be able to handle it, and it will choke the life from you.
"...I will keep that in mind."
The constellation's presence soon vanished.
And even after that—for a while, until he was sure he had his space fully to himself—
Kantone ground his teeth.
"Don't think I'll bow my head forever. ...The Tower will be mine, not yours."
But Kantone knew well that now was not the time to unleash his rage.
He had to seal it away completely for the moment, treasuring this fury intact.
With direct intervention in the Tower blocked, resorting to bolder measures would be a clear blunder.
Even the constellation was withdrawing its hand. This was unmistakably a time when he was at a disadvantage.
Success would bring problems, and failure would be disastrous.
That lowly thing grated on his nerves to madness, but for now, he had no choice but to leave it be.
'But...'
He still had cards to play.
Kantone recalled Ryu Cheol-myeong's face—the man who had propositioned him with a filthy backroom deal—and forced a smile onto his own.
There were plenty of ways to move that brute.
He'd heard the man had been walking a dangerous tightrope for quite some time.
A man who had somehow endured as a full professor at the academy, skilled only in wielding massive greatswords and auras.
If he succeeded, Kantone could eliminate the eyesores without lifting a finger—perfect.
If he failed, only one power-hungry, woman-obsessed full professor unfit for the academy would vanish.
'The only downside is having to tolerate him until vacation... No helping it. I'll look forward to the start of the second semester. Mutual destruction works fine too.'
Replacements were a dime a dozen anyway.
Professors, students, constellations—
The only unchanging two were the Tower and the Chancellor.
Kantone's goal was to change those two, deemed immutable.
It wasn't far off.
Not far, at all.
Having rested fully in Room 39, Rebellion breezed through Room 40 for its rewards only and then charged straight to Room 50 over the next two days.
Their lack of hindrance merely meant no Chain Rooms or Trick Rooms appeared, but the traps that would terrify any ordinary first-year and the overflowing hordes of monsters remained as vicious as ever.
Yet Rebellion, boasting combat prowess surpassing not just the first-year average but the academy-wide average across all years, barreled ahead without a single setback.
Ban Yu-won, having earned the Archmage's Achievement in Room 39, consciously focused on swordsmanship from Room 41 onward, but naturally found no further achievements; he merely practiced activating thought acceleration via the concept of Acceleration while building a foundation in martial arts using the Storm Rain Sword.
No treasure chest appeared in Room 50, but the Fruits of Eden were plentiful. Combining them with those from Room 40, Ban Yu-won succeeded in producing an amount of spirit medicine jam sufficient for at least a year ahead—and at a more advanced level than before, thanks to his growth.
"If Lilith were here, we could've reached Room 60."
"If the four of us could transform, you mean."
"I believe in her. Lilith, having absorbed Manbian, will turn into a combat tank."
"Say that without peeking at the egg in your inventory for no reason. She won't hear you anyway."
On Sunday evening, after finishing their exploration, Rebellion unusually disbanded without a reflection session.
Having showered refreshingly in Room 50, they had no need to stop by the dorms.
The women left for their room first—precisely, Dokgo Yeon dragged away Lucelle, who was trying to cling to Ban Yu-won—and the two men faced each other.
"Stay in the room, Light. I'll probably grab dinner and head back."
As Light's expression soured slightly.
"Ban, not coming to our room? Don't tell me you have another appointment with Professor Yumina?"
As Light thought Yumina was making moves on Ban Yu-won and viewed it very negatively.
"Nothing like that, so don't worry."
"Then? We just came out of the Tower..."
Ban Yu-won grinned at As Light, who eyed him curiously, and explained.
"I told you the day before yesterday, remember? I'm turning the armor into a familiar. Heading to Mira's. Need her help."
"Oh..."
But despite his explanation, As Light's expression soured even more.
Ban Yu-won then recalled that As Light harbored competitive spirit and inferiority toward Mira.
"Right, that woman. She's helpful for artifact crafting, sure..."
"...Light?"
"B-Ban. I exist, you know."
Startled by As Light's noticeably darkening face, as Ban Yu-won tried to say something, As Light suddenly opened his mouth with a look of great resolve.
"Truth is, lately, I've gotten close to Aire."
"Yeah."
"...So?"
"What do you mean, so?"
What was this about now?
A contest of who's got the better friends?
As he tilted his head, As Light said impatiently.
"W-What do you think?"
"About what?"
"That I've gotten close to Aire?"
"So?"
As Ban Yu-won just blinked, As Light thumped his chest in frustration and added.
"We even went out together!"
"I know. You two skipped training to hang out."
"You knew?"
"Of course. And Light."
Finally grasping what As Light wanted to say, Ban Yu-won nodded emphatically and placed a hand on his shoulder.
At that moment, As Light's face lit up brightly.
"Ban...!"
"A person's worth isn't determined by who they hang out with. Me getting close to Mira doesn't make me any more special."
"...Huh?"
As Light made a face that clearly said 'that's not it,' but Ban Yu-won ignored it and continued.
"And you're the same, Light. Even if you don't hang out with Aire, you're plenty special. No need to worry."
"Uh, uh-huh..."
As Light nodded slowly, his face a mix of disappointment and not-unpleasant feelings.
He retreated with an incompletely combusted expression.
"Come back before midnight."
He urged Ban Yu-won.
"Obviously."
"Yeah, and... truth is, I'm not that close to Aire. Just needed some help. So don't mind it. Uh, embarrassing as it is. That."
Ban Yu-won braced for the incoming shock.
As Light hesitated, then squeezed his eyes shut and said.
"I think of you as my best friend. Anyway, that's it, okay?!"
He had no idea what 'that' was!
But without giving a chance to retort, As Light vanished from the spot.
Left alone, Ban Yu-won let out a grand sigh and slumped his shoulders.
Truth be told, he had a faint inkling of what it was about.
'Possessiveness...'
Possessiveness didn't only arise in romantic relationships.
Plenty of people disliked or minded when close friends got close to others, so it could easily be seen as a branch of friendship.
Ever since As Light opened up about his kingdom and holy sword, he'd seemed particularly fixated on friends and friendship.
'The issue is, Light isn't actually a guy.'
But declaring it love would lead to deep deliberations on whether friendship can exist between men and women.
Wasn't this a problem that got more cringeworthy the deeper you thought?
As Ban Yu-won scratched at the goosebumps on his arms, the merciless Cellon chimed in.
—One thing's for sure: his feelings for you aren't ordinary friendship. It's something more irritating, clingy, and sickly.
She really didn't hold back since Light couldn't hear.
Ban Yu-won inwardly agreed but made excuses for his friend.
"It might not be. Light's just hidden himself for so long that... maybe that's the only way he knows how to express his feelings."
A maximally softened version of 'he looks like he's never had friends.'
—That's exactly the problem.
True enough.
"If he gets close to Aire, this might resolve itself... I'll think about it later."
—That's called escapism, you know?
"Don't know, don't care. I'm off to make the armor."
Just then, a reply from Mira arrived: she'd be waiting in the Artifact Creation Department's workshop.
Ban Yu-won activated his Student ID and headed straight there.
"Yawn... Hi, Yu-won."
Mira greeted Ban Yu-won dressed in a silk slip dress topped with a thin cardigan.
Accompanied by a somewhat languid yawn.
It was a bit funny seeing her flawlessly equipped with a pickaxe in that outfit.
"Yu-won, sorry, but I can't pull an all-nighter today. Just one and done, okay?"
"No, let's call it today."
He could tell at a glance that the slip dress wasn't fashion—it was genuine sleepwear.
She'd probably jumped out of bed at his contact, throwing on just the cardigan.
Realizing that, Ban Yu-won apologized swiftly.
"Sorry for dragging you out. I knew you were climbing the Tower hard. My fault. Rest today; we'll do it tomorrow."
"Don't sweat the weird stuff."
But Mira pouted instead.
"Just because I said I'd give you everything doesn't mean I follow your every word. If it harms my body, it's a long-term loss for you too, so I can definitely refuse those."
"You're sleepy right now, though."
"Yeah, pleasantly sleepy."
Mira added with a lazy smile.
"That's why I thought it'd be nice to see your face before bed, and your message came right then."
"You've seen it, so go sleep."
"You showed your face, so I gotta do something. A little pre-bed exercise isn't bad."
So hurry and bring the workpiece, as Mira wiggled the pickaxe in her hand.
"Still... you didn't change on purpose to signal you're sleepy, right?"
"No time to change."
"Really?"
"Actually, a lie."
Mira answered honestly.
"I wanted to show you me in thin clothes, so I came like this."
"Alright, looks like you're really fine. Let's work."
"..."
He'd given the answer she wanted, yet she seemed dissatisfied.
"You said you'd accept everything, but you keep pushing me away?"
"We'll argue later about when our contract turned all lovey-dovey. Work now."
"...Fine. I'll work so hard you'll want to give me that 'lovey-dovey' reward on your own."
Regaining her motivation, Mira looked at the armor before her and widened her eyes.
"Heard it's from Room 40."
"Yep."
"But why is it so... Hmm, I'll check the footage later."
Recalling that Ban Yu-won's party's explorations were anything but ordinary, Mira nodded with a wry smile, convincing herself.
But even she couldn't stay calm watching the changes Ban Yu-won induced by touching the armor.
"What are you doing... right now?"
"Got a lot from this exploration. Extracting 'Armor' from the shell of the Armored Beast, combining it with the overflowing 'Magic' we got."
And it becomes Magic Armor.
In truth, this was also the core concept the artifact originally possessed.
So what Ban Yu-won was doing wasn't adding something new, but massively amplifying an existing concept.
Massively.
"Honestly, we got so much this time. ...In terms of concept depth alone, it might surpass the others."
"Not sure about that."
Mira smiled wryly as she watched the Magic Armor's possessed mana and surface hardness rise in real time.
"But I get why Professor Campanella wants to drag you into Artifact Creation."
"...Hmm, is this the limit after all."
Even after separately extracting the Armor from the shell—at nearly 1,000 depth—the Magic Armor's depth stalled at 600.
Still, definitively higher core concept depth than Eve and the other familiars.
"Mind processing it from here? Something like this, ideally..."
"Hmm... Yeah, hmm. Got it, simple."
Bam, bam bam! Crack, bam!
Nodding repeatedly at Ban Yu-won's explanation, Mira hammered the armor a few times with her pickaxe.
The magic pickaxe's power, which skipped all crafting steps to produce the desired result, transformed the armor in an instant.
Its form didn't change much, but its functionality now matched Ban Yu-won's specs at a glance.
Without Mira's help, he'd have struggled for ages!
"So?"
Mira turned to him post-work, looking somewhat proud.
"You're making this live and move too, right?"
"Of course. Honestly, I'm more excited about this one than the last."
What Ban Yu-won prepared was a heap of low-depth 'Life',
a fragment made by splitting off part of his soul via the Authority of Soul Flame,
and 10 'Evil' obtained by separating 20 'Ferocity'.
"There's a legend in our world. When a perfectly fine suit of armor moves like it's alive and attacks humans, it's said to be possessed and controlled by an evil spirit..."
Living Armor.
Ban Yu-won merged the Evil and soul fragment in his hand to create it.