Chapter 131
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Lesson 27. Mock Constellation Battle - 1
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On Tuesday afternoon of the ninth week, in Professor Xenon's lecture "Babylon and Constellations," held in room 3 of the west corridor on the eighth floor of Union Academy's main building.
Ban Yu-won, flustered by the students buzzing with barely contained excitement, found and took his usual seat with his friends. Just then, Xenon emerged from the lecture prep room, surveying the class with a faint smile.
"It seems like everyone's already guessed it. Well, we can't put it off any longer... That's right. Starting today, we'll begin the Mock Constellation Battle."
"Finally!"
"This is gonna be fun!"
Watching the mostly fourth- and fifth-year students practically jumping for joy was a bit awkward.
Especially the ones from Special Class, who made a habit of looking down on everyone.
But Ban Yu-won knew full well that most Academy students were dying to take this class precisely because of the Mock Constellation Battle. He wasn't exactly immune to the anticipation himself.
"In previous lectures, we've covered Babylon's civilization and the constellations in enough detail. Now it's time to make it second nature through practice. So, before we dive into the Mock Constellation Battle, let's activate the Orb――."
Xenon placed his hand on the massive black sphere—the Orb—that had been dominating the center of the lecture hall throughout the class.
At that instant, Ban Yu-won felt a strange pressure filling the room.
No, this was—Xenon's power.
It was Xenon's power of annihilation!
"Good. You should be on guard."
Xenon spoke as if reading Ban Yu-won's unease.
"But rest assured, my power is being channeled entirely through this Orb right now, solely to block constellation interference."
And that was true enough.
Students who had attended his lectures before sat calmly in their seats, while the others murmured, frantically searching for their contracted constellations.
Ban Yu-won was no exception—he could normally sever his connections to constellations at will, but now he sensed they were already cut off.
Creating a space that blocks constellations right from the start. No wonder it's called a mock battle.
"Before we proceed with the main lecture, one warning: Everything you see, hear, and experience in this class must remain strictly confidential. Everyone, come forward, touch the Orb, and swear it. Even those who've attended before."
Touch that swirling vortex of an Orb that looked like it could suck you into an abyss if you mishandled it?
Ban Yu-won wasn't the only one feeling an instinctive aversion.
But Xenon continued in a firm tone.
"If you don't like it, leave now. I won't stop you. No penalties to your grades either. But you won't be allowed in my class again."
"Yu-won..."
"It'll be fine."
"Yeah, no problem."
Ban Yu-won blinked and turned at the sudden voice from behind. There stood Mira, the black-haired fairy girl, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Beyond her, he caught a glimpse of Kettra, which tugged at his attention a bit.
Kettra looked utterly dejected, but Mira seemed oblivious to his existence.
Maybe the student council president's measures were working after all.
But right now, it wasn't Kettra he needed to worry about—Mira was shoving her face right up to his.
"What are you doing here?"
"I contracted with a constellation too, you know. So I officially joined the class this week. Last-minute entry."
"You can join at this point in the semester...?"
But given Mira's terrifying performance in the Tower lately, it was entirely plausible.
Why hadn't he thought of that?
If she'd meant to surprise him, mission accomplished.
Mira giggled and whispered in his ear.
"Surprised? ...Happy?"
"Shh, class is in session."
"Ahem, right. But about that thing."
Lucelle's soft voice blocked Mira's advance.
Mira cleared her throat, conceding the point, and pointed a slender finger at the Orb.
"The Chancellor and Professor Xenon spearheaded its creation, but Professor Campanella helped too, from what I hear. It's got safety measures, so don't worry."
"If you say so..."
He hadn't planned to back out anyway, even if it was a bit risky.
They exchanged nods and rose from their seats, heading to the center of the room.
"Is everyone ready?"
Xenon made one final check with the students.
Not that it mattered, but with students surrounding the giant Orb and reaching out to it, the scene looked suspiciously like some cult ritual no matter how you sliced it.
"Extend one hand to the Orb. Does everyone have contact? Do you swear not to leak any experiences from this place? Good. Then, let the Mock Constellation Battle――begin."
In that moment, the world flipped inside out.
Barrier, severance, protection, inversion, expansion, creation――.
A barrage of concepts, each brimming with immense depth, seized and reshaped the space, ultimately carving out a sub-dimensional realm detached from Union Academy—and the world itself.
"Figured it out, Mr. Ban Yu-won?"
Xenon now stood before Ban Yu-won.
He was powerful to begin with, but within this barrier, he had become an absolute existence.
And the same went for Ban Yu-won.
"It's got a structure like the Tower. You can't die for real here, right?"
"Correct. I'll give you 5 bonus points."
It was a structure tough to grasp at a glance unless you were Ban Yu-won.
But as the barrier formed, the countless concepts dominating the space, the magic from the Orb expanding and fracturing it into myriad "rooms"...
Realizing he had been separated from the other students and his companions, isolated in one of those rooms, made its inspiration obvious.
If Ban Yu-won had to name it, he'd call it "Babel Tower VR (Virtual Reality)."
AR (Augmented Reality) might be more precise, but no need to split hairs.
"For countless ages, we've strived to replicate the Tower's structure, and this space created by the Orb is the fruit of that labor."
Xenon extended both arms, conjuring a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.
"It's a severely limited space, but we can manipulate phenomena within it. If you become the Tower's master, you could create something like this inside the Tower itself—or even greater. This space was made to explore the Tower's possibilities and limits."
"A simulation. To understand and conquer the Tower more deeply."
"Exactly. Unlike students from other dimensions, your comprehension is remarkably swift. Another 5 bonus points."
Was this guy too generous with points?
Then again, considering the unfair minus points from early in the semester, it probably evened out.
"But there was a problem. Can you guess it?"
"Probably—the resource consumption is way too high."
"Correct. We can manipulate phenomena, but only within the limits of our magic power. I'm manifesting fully formed artifacts right now, but..."
Xenon held out the artifacts in his hands for Ban Yu-won to see.
Ban Yu-won nodded and focused on them.
They were composed of provisional concepts.
Maintained by the Orb's authority and Xenon's magic, they'd collapse if his magic cut off or he left the Orb's influence.
'But resources from the Tower persist outside it. That's the key difference.'
If it were that easy to mimic the Tower perfectly, it'd just be a second Tower.
"Mr. Ban Yu-won."
Xenon eyed him curiously as Ban Yu-won nodded in realization.
"Could you perhaps create a sword like this?"
"Just make a sword?"
"Yes."
Ban Yu-won wielded concepts, but he'd never manifested them into physical form before.
For instance, he'd acquired masses of the "shell" concept in a recent battle, but that alone couldn't produce an actual shell or carapace.
Yet that was odd.
If you fully grasped a concept that formed a physical reality, you should be able to manifest it as matter.
'Probably because I don't fully comprehend all the concepts that make up physical forms. Just seeing a hard shell doesn't mean it's purely "shell"—there's [something else] involved.'
But amazingly, this space automatically supplied whatever he was missing.
It reinforced and realized the clumsy, incomplete imaginings and knowledge of humans, at the cost of devouring their magic.
That was how this space worked.
Definitely different from the Tower—Ban Yu-won sneered inwardly at the realization, certain it would greatly aid his power's growth.
This space might hold more value for him than the Mock Constellation Battle itself.
'Alright, let's give it a shot...'
Ban Yu-won extended a hand, sketching an imaginary sword in the air, then infused it with his magic.
'What makes a sword? Instead of just creating the broad "sword" concept, build it from detailed components and merge them.'
A sword breaks down easily into blade and hilt.
The blade is made of metal, sharp (keen).
The hilt is wood, sturdy (solid).
Adding a length concept to calibrate it, they finally merged into a sword.
'I must've missed a ton of details—.'
But the moment he finalized his vision of a perfect sword, particles from the space clung to his emitted concepts, erupting in dazzling light.
Ban Yu-won watched the space's conceptual supplementation in awe, eyes wide.
This was exactly what he needed to evolve his power.
He couldn't master it from one or two looks, but seeing his haphazard concepts organize into structured form already made his brain tingle.
"...What is this?"
Too focused on the phenomenon in his hand, Ban Yu-won missed Xenon staring at him dumbfounded.
"Mr. Ban Yu-won...?"
Xenon hadn't actually expected him to create a sword.
He'd just meant to teach the basics of wielding power here and warn against overdoing it...
"Oho, that looks quite convincing."
In Ban Yu-won's hand was a thick longsword of the bastard sword variety, identical in appearance to the Executioner's Longsword.
It brimmed with aggressive magic, its blade razor-sharp, its seamlessly joined hilt firm.
A sword—a proper magic sword.
Ban Yu-won swung it through the air experimentally, nodded in satisfaction, and offered it to Xenon.
"Take a look."
"...No need."
It had taken longer to create, but Xenon could tell at a glance that Ban Yu-won's sword was superior in quality to his own.
Repeat it a few times, and the time would shrink while quality soared.
Xenon had nothing left to teach him.
"No adaptation training needed for you. An unimaginable result. Even artifact specialists struggle to create swords in this space—it's a whole different challenge..."
Xenon wryly erased his sword and staff, then declared,
"10 more bonus points. Since we need time for new entrants to adapt to the sub-space today, no practical session. Feel free to self-study in the meantime, Mr. Ban Yu-won."
Not that self-study means keep making swords—Xenon added.
"Creation is the power of constellations. Here, we develop and master abilities akin to theirs."
Hence, the Mock Constellation Battle.
Students becoming constellations and clashing—impossible outside, but feasible here.
"Hmm... Well, if you can turn imagination into reality, anything's possible. But is there some special purpose?"
Xenon nodded firmly.
"Imagining and embodying powers unlocks advanced mana applications. It demands intense focus and control, making it excellent training in itself."
"Huh."
"But above all, training here makes wielding constellation power outside far easier. Think of it as expanding your physical and mental limits."
"All upsides..."
"Heh, indeed. Remember, gaining entry is a tremendous boon."
With that, Xenon vanished from the spot.
Probably checking on the other students.
Ban Yu-won pondered, then sat right there.
Sure, imagining constellation powers was fine, but his own were already similar. Did he need new ones?
'Then I'll just create ways to wield my powers more easily and powerfully here.'
Unlike fleeting imagination, his powers would grow for real in the process!
The thought thrilled him.
Now he finally understood why seniors clamored for Xenon's class.
'First step, then.'
Analyze this space's concepts in his own words.
Ban Yu-won reached out.
He began decoding the space filled with golden letters.