Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Lesson 29. The Truth Will Come Out Eventually - 3
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The Dark Elf Ketra, who had ended up as Ban Yu-won's first sparring opponent in a random match of all things, drew daggers in both hands and declared it with a subtle expression.
"Sorry, but I can't go easy on you."
"Pardon? Well, of course not."
Ban Yu-won replied in a daze.
He'd known from the start that there was something off about her head... but what did she have to be sorry about?
"It's not bragging, but my simulated constellation battle scores are pretty high. Considering our friendship, losing once or twice wouldn't hurt my grades... But even so, I just don't want to lose to you."
Indeed. Even though losing wouldn't affect her scores at all, she simply didn't want to lose—which was why she felt sorry toward Ban Yu-won.
Ban Yu-won felt his mind drifting off into the astral plane and barely managed to reel it back in.
In the end, he could never understand someone like Ketra, from beginning to end.
"It's fine, so fight at full strength. Like Professor Xenon said, winning or losing isn't what matters."
No matter how skillfully Ban Yu-won could wield his Authority within the orb's space, he didn't think he could beat Ketra, who had already attended Xenon's lectures for over a semester.
"Right, winning or losing doesn't matter. You're correct. Winning a spar like this won't bring back Mira anyway..."
"Uh..."
He looked like a pretty boy, so why did everything he say sound so unhinged?
Ban Yu-won gazed at Ketra's half-corpse-like face and pondered what on earth had turned this man into such a state.
"Sorry, underclassman. That was all a lie."
Noticing Ban Yu-won's look of horror, Ketra hurriedly smoothed out his expression and spoke.
Was she seriously trying to maintain their friendship even in a situation like this? Dumbfounded, Ban Yu-won drew his sword.
"Let's just start the spar."
"Yeah—sorry."
The next moment, Ketra was standing behind Ban Yu-won.
There had been no warning, no presence at all.
"But the part about it being a lie? That's true."
A sharp dagger grazed Ban Yu-won's throat.
"Everything I said to you, underclassman... Gah?!"
—Clang!
The figure of Ban Yu-won with his throat slit melted away like water.
Of course, it wasn't some mere changeling trick—it was an illusion borrowed from Eve through resonance.
Even without prior preparation, within this space, Ban Yu-won could read every surrounding situation in real time and respond accordingly.
Recognizing himself and everything around him as concepts, grasping them instantly, then weaving flows of concepts to counter them—turning disadvantage into advantage.
That was the essence of the swordsmanship Ban Yu-won had created.
'An energy that surpasses ambient ki... It actually works. I can feel the Hyunshin Art reacting too. All that's left is to analyze this, maximize its efficiency, and train the Hyunshin Art to wield it in reality.'
Golden mana scattered through the air.
Mana the same color as Ban Yu-won's aura—an energy he had instantly synthesized on the spot, dreaming of something beyond ambient ki.
An energy optimized for the swordsmanship he wielded now—one that responded more sensitively than even telekinesis to his imagination, forming concepts and maximally enhancing everything.
—Crack!
"Kgh!"
Before long, Ban Yu-won's sword, ambushing Ketra from behind, was blocked by her swiftly reacting twin daggers.
He had known from the start that he couldn't overwhelm her with physical prowess alone.
But what about now, when he could perfectly wield the Origin Sword?
What about now, when he could generate an energy beyond ambient ki that maximally amplified every concept he created?
"You're really a freshman?!"
Their weapons clashed ceaselessly in the air, producing endless noise.
Both were cloaking their blades in aura, but Ban Yu-won's was clearly superior in quality.
To the dumbfounded, groaning Ketra, Ban Yu-won shrugged and replied.
"This space values imagination over raw ability. That's how you could perfectly hide your presence and ambush me, right, senior?"
"No way. You've only been in here twice, and you've already imagined an Authority that overwhelms mine? And how is your aura—?!"
"Talent, I guess."
Even as he shot back flippantly, Ban Yu-won read Ketra's reactions moment by moment, striking in ways she couldn't easily block.
With the fairy race's inherently keen senses, plus her unique Authority that corrected minor movement errors, Ketra managed to keep up—but she couldn't hide her shock.
'This isn't right. It's beyond the limits of imagination—this is a power he already possessed!'
That made it all the more ridiculous.
If this was an Authority he had possessed from the start—then this greenhorn who hadn't even finished his first semester at Union Academy was already perfectly controlling and advancing his power.
Considering how first-time students in this lecture often collapsed trying to conjure massive or outlandish Authorities, the fact that a mere freshman like Ban Yu-won was attempting something so 'clever' was already unbelievable. But even more astonishing was...
"You're reading me?"
"I'm glad my first opponent was someone as hard to read as you, senior."
Changelings that turned his disadvantage into advantage.
And Ban Yu-won's Origin Sword, reading every flow, timing the moments they shifted to turn the tables back into disadvantage.
After just a few clashes, Ketra realized that Ban Yu-won's Authority was, at minimum in combat, a perfect superior version of her own.
"It's definitely helping my training."
"—You."
How could he read the concepts of himself, his opponent, and the environment more precisely?
How could he manifest his own convictions into conceptual power more swiftly?
How could he maximally amplify the power of the concepts he created?
The energy that answered all those questions danced in his hands, wielded solely by Ban Yu-won's vivid imagination.
A twinge of guilt, like peeking at the answer key without solving the workbook properly, mingled with the thrill of clearly seeing the path ahead.
'...Tch, already halfway?'
The one downside was that since Ban Yu-won himself hadn't reached that realm yet, bridging the gap between imagination and reality consumed a massive amount of mana.
Ketra, meanwhile, still had plenty of mana left. If he didn't seize victory soon, Ban Yu-won would lose.
He had already grown accustomed to how she moved.
If she weren't using both changeling and presence-concealment Authorities simultaneously to evade lethal blows every time, Ban Yu-won's sword would have pierced her skull long ago.
So he could keep sparring and waiting for an opening... but now that he'd grasped the knack of martial arts, Ban Yu-won wanted to end the spar and focus on self-study.
'Plus, what she said earlier is nagging at me.'
—Shing!
Preemptively blocking Ketra's attempt to hide her presence and play assassin again, Ban Yu-won parried her sword to create distance, then adopted a charging stance once more and tossed a question her way.
"When you said everything you told me was a lie... you meant your feelings for Mira? That you actually liked her from the start?"
"..."
Ketra didn't deny it.
Previously, she'd hemmed and hawed that she hadn't realized it until now... but with access to Mira completely blocked off, she apparently no longer had the leisure to craft a mask.
However.
However, Ban Yu-won suspected what Ketra was hiding wasn't some obvious lie anyone could see through.
But something more fundamental.
"By any chance, senior."
Ban Yu-won spoke again.
The power of divine speech absorbed from Lucein Ortima's right-hand man had influenced his All-Speaking Lips, evolving the Authority.
And the charm he possessed amplified his influence over others.
Thus—when he spoke with intent, it became an Authority that compelled anyone to listen closely and answer honestly.
"The claim that changelings swapping fairy and human children never actually happens—that was a lie too, wasn't it?"
"Eek—?!"
The moment Ketra failed to hide her shock and terror, Ban Yu-won accelerated.
She gritted her teeth and thrust her twin daggers in fury—but seeing Ban Yu-won's form dissolve emptily right after, she knew she'd been had.
"Ha..."
Pff—gazing at the longsword that had pierced her heart in one breath and protruded from her chest, Ketra let out a laugh.
"Getting caught off-guard like this... My contract constellation would be furious if they knew."
"I had a feeling you were assassination-type. Since I won with a cheap trick this time, let's spar again sometime."
The penalty for losing a spar was extremely light.
Ejected from the virtual space, unable to return for the rest of the day.
But the dismayed expression on Ketra's face probably wasn't due to that.
"I'll keep your secret, so don't worry."
No need to specify what secret.
It was obvious from how she'd flinched at the word "changeling."
...Clearly, Ketra was a fairy race member who had been changeling-swapped and raised among humans.
It instantly explained why her personality was so twisted.
And why she hadn't been able to advance her relationship with Mira despite liking her all along.
"Yeah... Thanks."
"I don't lie about stuff like this, so you can trust me."
"No, not just that. Mira too."
"Huh?"
I guess someone fake like me won't cut it after all.
With those final words, Ketra's figure vanished from the spot.
It wasn't like she was actually dying—just lost a spar—yet she was putting on airs, and Ban Yu-won still couldn't make sense of her words right up to the end.
'What does "fake" even mean? Being raised among humans doesn't make her any less fairy.'
Mentally fake, maybe?
That thought made it click somewhat.
It also shed light on her ambiguous attitude toward Mira so far, and how she only acted to win others' favor...
'She wasn't self-centered. Maybe she was desperately brainwashing herself into believing everyone liked her.'
Yeah, a truly self-centered person wouldn't care about others' opinions.
If she instinctively acted to 'win affection' just to align her delusions with reality as much as possible, everything fit together.
She had no choice but to do so.
'But honestly, no point overthinking her anymore. Nothing in it for me.'
He already had enough annoying people around who needed cleaning up after—no need to add more work.
Of course, if Ketra wanted, he'd offer some counseling.
But she probably wouldn't.
No matter what others thought, to her, Ban Yu-won was just a plunderer.
"Time to train."
Winning one spar left the remaining time as free period.
He could request another, but solo focus on martial arts would yield better results now.
Upon hearing Ban Yu-won's sparring report, Dokgo Yeon twisted her facial muscles ever so slightly into a smile.
"Well done. I thought that guy needed to be beaten at least once."
"How'd you do?"
"I could win even without this space's help."
Figures.
Glancing at the others to see how they fared, Lucelle and Light both wore similarly deflated expressions—result obvious without asking.
"I just couldn't get a feel for... creating Authorities. I tried pumping up my power blindly, but it wasn't enough."
"That's revealing your true nature."
"I was so focused on keeping the holy sword from unsheathing that I couldn't concentrate on the spar at all..."
"Yeah, you did great. I'll make hot chocolate, so cheer up."
Thank goodness these kids were simple enough to recharge with a cup of hot chocolate—then, sure enough, Dokgo Yeon silently tugged at Ban Yu-won's sleeve.
"I know. You wouldn't leave me out, right?"
"No way. I won, so make me two cups."
"You're getting shameless, teach... Ow!"
That very day after classes.
Rumors spread on the intranet that Ryu Cheol-myeong had visited the student council room.
With the lower-dimensional faction led by Rebellion rising in the academy lately, whispers circulated that Ryu Cheol-myeong, the epitome of purebloodism, must be threatening the student council president.
If so, he needed immediate sanctions; why were they stirring trouble when the chancellor hadn't acted; don't escalate with baseless speculation—hundreds of students were yapping away on the intranet forums.
Ban Yu-won saw through it: Student Council President—Shati and Mira had begun their 'operation' in earnest. He messaged her asking if he could help.
Her reply: 'No need, already succeeded lololol.'
...These girls are terrifying.