Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Lesson 29. The Truth Will Come Out Someday - 2
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Within the club, it wasn't just Pebble who had achieved dramatic results.
Kshana, the wielder of sound-manipulating authority who had found her direction relatively early and started putting in the effort.
She had gone on an exploration in the tower this week and finally succeeded in attacking a monster with her own voice!
"It was seriously amazing, like she awakened or something."
"If we'd had Tike, we could've recorded it and shown you guys. She just went 'Quaaaaah!' and it was insanely cool."
"We took a bit of a hit ourselves, ow! But we're sure it dealt way more damage to the enemy, right?!"
Her party members—the second-year special admission students—were even more excited and rowdy than Kshana herself, who had accomplished the feat.
Then they glanced at Pebble sprawled out in one corner of the training room and whispered to Ban Yu-won with serious expressions.
"So you have to make her a proper dedicated weapon. Not... like the paper wad you made for Pebble Senior."
"I get that it's impressive, but... yeah."
Everyone in the training room right now had an amulet infused with Pebble's amplification authority attached inside their clothes.
A 10% amplification for dozens of abilities at once—what a feat!
But the appearance was a bit lacking, unavoidably so.
The reason the second-year seniors were hyping Kshana up so much might be because they didn't want to see her waving around an amulet.
Ban Yu-won chuckled and dismissed their concerns.
"Don't worry. That one was ultimately for Pebble Senior... and honestly, I've already made a weapon for you, Kshana Senior."
"Really?!"
Kshana, who had been quiet until now, raised her voice and reached out to grab Ban Yu-won's hand, but quickly pulled it back upon sensing the stares flying her way from the side.
A movement so subtle that Ban Yu-won wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been paying close attention.
Indeed—this must be the subtle war of nerves between women. He understood perfectly.
Scary.
"Here it is."
What Ban Yu-won pulled out was a megaphone.
Not one from Earth, but one bought from Union, where all sorts of magic tools were advanced.
Everyone's eyes turned to dots upon seeing it.
"Huh?"
"You know about magic tools that amplify sound, right?"
"I've heard they sell these at department stores in Ronica. I once thought about whether using one would strengthen my ability, but you can't use them inside the tower anyway."
"Magic tools break quickly in dungeons too, don't they?"
"Yeah."
Kshana and her classmates murmured among themselves.
Ban Yu-won shook his head in disbelief.
"It's a dedicated weapon for you, Senior. Do you think I'd just hand over some off-the-shelf magic tool from a shop?"
He had hammered in every fixed concept he could acquire—amplification, sonic waves, focus, and more—so its performance should be reliable, if not quite on the level of his familiars.
Moreover, anyone who knew the ability of the core concept he had painstakingly synthesized wouldn't dare call it a mere magic tool.
At those words, Kshana's ears perked up.
"Then... does that mean?"
"It's an artifact. Take a look."
"An artifact... Eek!"
Kshana took it obediently, then her eyes widened dramatically.
She couldn't read concepts like Ban Yu-won could, so she must have checked the item's info via her status window.
"H-how did you make this?! Does this mean I can target enemies with it too?"
"If you practice with this, eventually you'll be able to control it even without it. That's how it has to be."
"Thank you so much... to go this far for me...! Oh, but."
Kshana, her eyes sparkling as she checked the item info window, tilted her head upon noticing something.
"What's this hidden option here?"
"Ah—that was necessary to turn it into a proper artifact, but it was a bit dangerous, so I sealed it away."
To be more precise, the mutation concept had gone berserk, forcing him to hastily apply Mixed Flame to exert control, but he couldn't explain all that in detail.
'Who knew combining Alarm, Songstress, and Magic Spirit would birth such a unique concept.'
This was all thanks to Mixed Flame and Mutation working hard!
Perhaps his prior knowledge of Greek mythology monsters and the words derived from them had influenced it...
Anyway, to sum it up in one word.
A Siren lived inside that megaphone.
"Once you've grown strong enough to handle it, Senior, I'll unseal it for you."
"Got it. I'll work hard! There's no junior as reliable as you..."
"Yu-won."
Kshana's eyes sparkled as she realized Ban Yu-won had truly put thought into making her a dedicated weapon, but that's when Lucelle smoothly interjected.
"Didn't you say you'd focus on personal training starting today?"
"Ah—right. I've checked off everything I needed to. I won't be around much until week 13, when final exam prep starts. Keep training hard even without me. Especially you, Pebble Senior."
"Whyy?"
"Why? Do it with us here!"
The seniors reacted intensely to Ban Yu-won's declaration.
But he firmly shook his head.
"I have my own intensive training to do. Tike will keep filming steadily, so don't worry."
"Intensive training?"
"Yes."
Ban Yu-won nodded seriously in response.
His swordsmanship wasn't complete yet—just a framework so far, by no means finished.
But the task before him now was to create the martial art to wield it... in other words, the perfect content to fill that vessel.
After the Union Travel Club had fully settled in and he'd provided suitable support to Kshana and a few other seniors, Ban Yu-won began his personal training.
Dokgo Yeon didn't interfere, letting him proceed as he wished.
She had realized upon seeing his completed swordsmanship that he had already grasped the direction for Incarnation Technique as well.
She knew meddling clumsily at a time like this would yield no good results.
From now on, it was entirely Ban Yu-won's domain.
'Incarnation Technique is already an excellent martial art. In practice, Incarnation Energy amplifies nearly every concept's power, and it synergizes wonderfully with my authorities.'
Ban Yu-won wasn't a fool.
He knew full well how much potential the Incarnation Technique Dokgo Yeon had casually implanted in him possessed.
So why was Incarnation Technique called a basic art?
It developed internal energy and the body simultaneously, sure.
But fundamentally, it was a martial art that could become anything.
'Dokgo Yeon evolved Incarnation Technique to handle death. But I'm different. What I need is the energy itself that can become anything.'
Wouldn't that be the perfect content to fill the vessel known as Origin Sword?
Thus, Ban Yu-won had to delve into the principles of Incarnation Technique.
Thoroughly dissecting how Incarnation Energy was generated and emitted—everything about it.
At its end, he needed to maximize Incarnation Energy's traits to create an energy that could instantly produce whatever change he desired, manifesting it more powerfully.
'If just wanting it made it happen, there'd be no need to struggle.'
Incarnation Energy circulated rapidly through his body per Incarnation Technique's principles, but repeating this wouldn't reveal what he didn't yet know.
So Ban Yu-won quickly abandoned meditation and instead repeatedly deployed Origin Sword while operating Incarnation Technique, manifesting countless concepts he desired.
Expressing his authorities through Incarnation Energy to fill and empty the Origin Sword vessel over and over, raising his swordsmanship's completion while expanding Incarnation Energy's possibilities.
The depth of Body (肉體), stimulated by Incarnation Energy, decreases to 32. Changes to the Body concept are in progress.
Negative concepts in the body have mostly vanished due to training in Incarnation Technique. All concepts gain room for positive development.
Incarnation Technique's depth reaches 210, Incarnation Energy's depth reaches 425. Incarnation Technique shows signs of change.
Swordsmanship's depth reaches 280. Higher swordsmanship concepts are being established.
And it was quite effective.
"As expected, brute force makes the body suffer..."
Tuesday lunch.
After skipping meals to focus on training and swinging his sword in Training Room 11 until he achieved decent results, Ban Yu-won muttered half in self-mockery.
"No one creates a martial art through mere imagination. You're doing well."
"......"
He hadn't even noticed her approach.
As Ban Yu-won blinked silently at Dokgo Yeon, who had sidled up to encourage him, she stepped back half a pace with a look of disgust.
No, she came over first—what was with that attitude?
"What's wrong? Your gaze feels creepy."
"Nah, thanks. I'll keep at it."
Hiding his true feelings, Ban Yu-won checked the time and saw afternoon classes were about to start.
'Babylon and the Constellations,' the very lecture taught by Professor Xenon.
"Did you come because lunch break ended?"
"Of course. What else?"
"Nothing. Let's go."
Ban Yu-won smacked his lips, regretting the interruption to his training flow, but didn't even consider skipping on his own.
In a way, this was time for greater growth than swinging his sword alone.
"......Hoo."
Sheathing his sword, Ban Yu-won extracted and annihilated every detailed concept of sweat (汗)—including foul odors and grime—from his body.
Instantly refreshed without needing a shower or wash, he urged her to hurry and walked ahead. Dokgo Yeon stared blankly at his retreating figure.
'His understanding of his own authorities has deepened further.'
Dokgo Yeon nodded leisurely, recalling his action just now.
She had noticed it back when he manipulated concepts to make ramen on the spaceship during their special activity trip, but his growth had exploded since defeating the Orc Lord and establishing the framework of authority-derived swordsmanship.
'Ban Yu-won, you...
Born with an unparalleled authority no one else could imitate, the more adept he became with it, the more dazzlingly his strength grew.
Perhaps someday soon, he would surpass her.
No, it was merely a matter of time—he would definitely grow stronger than her eventually.
'If that really happens...'
Every time she saw such glimpses of Ban Yu-won, Dokgo Yeon felt a certain impulse.
She had assumed their connection—met in Union, ending in Union—but with him, perhaps...
"Dokgo Yeon, why are you spacing out all of a sudden?"
Ban Yu-won turned back, tilting his head.
Dokgo Yeon's breath hitched for a moment, then returned to normal.
"No, nothing. ...Let's go."
No.
She shook her head, shaking off the impulse.
She couldn't repeat her ancestors' foolish mistakes.
This was mere greed for an exceptional talent.
Helping him climb Babel Tower was enough.
She must never again allow anyone else into her dimension.
"From today, we'll begin full-scale student duels."
Professor Xenon at the podium activated the orb to erect a barrier, declaring in his usual cool, hollow voice.
"I assume you've all adapted from last week. This semester's evaluations will all be through mock constellation battles, so approach them earnestly. The matchups are listed here. Remember, it's not about victory or defeat—how you create and wield constellation power is the criterion."
Inside the space the orb created, every student could wield immense power.
Mana had limits, so imagination alone couldn't achieve anything, but the gaps between students would narrow significantly.
So what became important then?
How efficiently they created and operated authorities with limited mana.
'It's about demonstrating the ability to handle constellation power, distinct from the skills built up so far.'
For some reason, his eyes kept meeting Xenon's.
He had no idea what the professor expected of him, but Ban Yu-won would simply act on his own terms.
'He said win or lose doesn't matter. If I can do anything, I should be able to create an energy surpassing Incarnation Energy inside here.'
With finals in week 14, including this week 10, he had four chances to enter the orb's space.
Ban Yu-won vowed to complete his martial art within them.
"I never imagined you'd be my first-round opponent... Long time no see, junior."
"......Ketora Senior."
No, perhaps he couldn't.