Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Lesson 31. That Last Spoonful is Always the Worst - 5
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Most of the key concepts for creating mechanical familiars had been acquired during this exploration.
Mecha Armor—the superior concept born from combining machinery and plating—Magic Circuits, and Magic Cores.
These three, infused with the unique traits of each mecha bug, enabled rotation, acceleration, superhuman strength, high jumps, or firing magic bullets.
'If it were just copying forms, there'd be no need to hesitate. But I have no intention of sticking with bug shapes. Tanks, maybe.'
Ban Yu-won planned to imbue these with the vast array of fixed concepts he'd accumulated over time to forge powerful mechanical familiars.
However, he limited their number to five.
Too many familiars would make balanced growth difficult.
Especially since concepts like Life and Soul grew exponentially harder to deepen, blindly multiplying familiars was never wise.
"First, sort the parts by purpose, then evenly assign base concepts to reinforce them."
The base for all mechanical familiars: Mecha Armor 500, Magic Circuits 500, Magic Core 500.
On top, he extracted just the Massive sub-concept from the Giant concepts stockpiled from his first solo exploration, distributing 100 evenly to each.
The leftover Human concept from extracting Massive... He was a bit curious what a familiar made from it might yield, but it also scared him a little, so he shelved it.
"Sisssit."
"...You want this? This one?"
"Sisit."
He couldn't refuse Eve's request, but somehow... the outcome felt predictable. Was it just his imagination?
When Ban Yu-won handed it over without fuss, Eve gobbled it up with relish and squeezed his arm affectionately in return.
"Anyway, good. Next up."
Likewise, from battling frost giants in his first solo run, he'd amassed a ton of Ice fixed concepts.
Pure elemental fixed concepts like these were rare even after fighting countless foes, so he'd been saving them for a rainy day.
Ban Yu-won combined it with the Shield concept from his stockpiled Weapon concepts and infused them into a single mechanical mass.
"Ice screams defense, as expected. You'll be our tank from now on."
As a finishing touch, he added Life Resonance, plus a fragment of his own soul extracted via Soul Flame.
[Mutant Authority activates: Target's concepts combine into a superior concept. Mutant depth reaches 40.]
[You have birthed the ultimate artifact 'Frost Fortress,' which transcends mere machinery to grow on its own. Life and Vital Energy, Soul depths increase by 5 each.]
"Oh..."
It even came with an awesome name automatically!
Honestly, he'd just dumped in materials and hammered away with his authority willy-nilly... Was it the Mutant effect? Or his imagination?
It emerged as a sleek, streamlined mecha soldier—even a modern Earthling would call it a cool tank!
"I don't see a shield, though?"
"It is the shield. It'll be rock-solid, so trust it."
Ban Yu-won's eyes sparkled as he checked Frost Fortress's internal concepts.
Frost Fortress [Mecha Giant Soldier 600, Life 500, Soul 100, Ice Magic Power 500, Iron Wall 500]
"Mecha Giant Soldier."
Other transformed concepts caught his eye too, thanks to the Mutant influence, but that one stood out most.
Ban Yu-won was certain all his mechanical familiars would become Mecha Giant Soldiers—and they did.
"Ooooh!"
"So majestic!"
Gazing at the five completed Mecha Giant Soldiers, each with distinct features, Light and Lucelle couldn't hold back their awe.
Dokgo Yeon, however, looked somewhat skeptical.
"They look convincing now that they're done. But will these five be enough?"
"Materials were limited. Better five strong ones than mass-producing mediocrity."
"I agree with that judgment."
"Plus, I plan to add concepts from clearing remaining rooms."
"Since we're relying on you for everything, I'll trust you for now."
Frost Fortress: Shield-concept giant soldier.
Hell Drill: Giant soldier with a fiercely rotating drill-like greatsword powered by its core.
Heavenfall Mega-Cannon: Ultimate artillery born from merging all barrels and magic bullets.
Lightwing: Giant soldier with mechanical wings for flight.
Blackfang:立体机动型 giant soldier with sharp mechanical claws, running on all fours like Lucelle in beast form.
"And when these five combine—!"
"Combine?"
"Nah, nothing."
He'd split them into five purely for functionality (true, but...), and with Dokgo Yeon buying it, he couldn't admit it was partly his geeky dream.
"Sisit..."
"Eve, shh."
Eve—who understood his authority second-best—narrowed her serpentine eyes at him, but he hoped it wasn't blame.
"Ban, so we head to Room 91 now?"
Crafting them carefully for conceptual harmony had eaten time; it'd been over twelve days since entering the tower.
Understanding Light's impatience, Ban Yu-won shook his head firmly.
"No way. Gotta give these guys basic combat training first..."
"And you need training too, right?"
"Yeah, sure."
Ban Yu-won gave a wry smile at Dokgo Yeon's words.
Checking his internal concepts, his Body remained stuck at 7.
"It just won't budge."
So close, yet stubbornly refusing to drop—like it was taunting him.
Body conversion, Incarnation Technique growth, Origin Sword completion—all hovered one step away.
Pouring himself into the mechanical familiars was partly to shake off that frustration.
"I was gonna let it happen naturally, but given the situation, no choice."
At Ban Yu-won's report, Dokgo Yeon nodded knowingly and drew her dark blade.
"No need for words. Special training it is."
"Thanks."
"If you're truly grateful, hurry up and go independent."
Ban Yu-won chuckled unwittingly—then she kicked off, charging him!
"Pushed to the brink of death, your martial arts have to grow!"
"H-Hey, wait!"
Deathly aura bloomed from her entire body.
Using that in sparring?!
Maybe she'd sniffed out his nerdy dreams in the Mecha Giant Soldiers...!
As Ban Yu-won desperately countered Dokgo Yeon, Lucelle clapped gleefully at Light.
"Then Light, let's spar too."
"Sure... Huh? Lucelle, you seem off."
"Ufufu, while we're at it, tell me what's been up with Yu-won lately...!"
"Y-Yeah, hey, wait—save—Ban—!"
The grueling two-day special training finally ended.
Body, stuck at 7, dropped to 3 after brutal clashes mimicking real battle with Dokgo Yeon. Incarnation Technique, halted at 225, surged to 235.
But dueling just the two of them wouldn't perfect his martial arts, so they pressed onward.
—Boom! KABOOM! RUMBLECRASH!
"Ooooh!"
"Maybe we didn't need special training after all?"
In Room 91, the party witnessed—and marveled at—the Mecha Giant Soldiers' might.
Hell Drill, breakthrough lead, rotated its greatsword like a drill and charged unstoppable.
Heavenfall Mega-Cannon relentlessly bombarded with explosive magic shells, scattering foes.
Lightwing and Blackfang harried from air and ground with superior mobility, shredding enemy lines—Frost Fortress barely got a turn.
"Ban, why are their names so childish?"
"Maybe some old-school vibes from my reference materials seeped in..."
Ban Yu-won was cringing too.
Lightwing and Blackfang felt sleek thanks to key materials, but the other three screamed youthful hot-blooded excess...
"Fine. Fortress, Drill, Cannon it is."
"Zero thought or effort in those nicknames..."
The battle was so one-sided, Ban Yu-won could joke with Light carefree.
Even Tike and Eve—who'd been pivotal in Room 89—were taking it easy now.
"I figured they'd be effective, but this much?"
Dokgo Yeon stared at the battlefield in disbelief.
Built as elites from the start, the mechanical familiars outclassed foes.
Trick Room buffs amplified the gap further.
"Could we chain through all the rooms like this?"
"You just jinxed it, Light."
"What?! I did nothing wrong!"
Light looked betrayed, glancing around.
But Lucelle and Dokgo Yeon—rarely in sync—shook their heads.
"Light, you didn't know? You're still so green..."
"There are spells you must never utter. Pity you haven't learned yet."
Lucelle aside, Dokgo Yeon had mocked it last time—yet flipped seamlessly to tease Light. Artistry.
And these two—why such perfect chemistry?
"What the—Ban told you, right?! Why not me? Unfair!"
"No way I'd guess they'd lord it over you..."
Regardless, Light's curse manifested perfectly.
Enemy composition shifted abruptly.
—KABOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
—RUMBLE!
As chains progressed, rooms grew vast—Room 93: dozens of meters high, hundreds square, a colossal field.
Then, drill-horned stag beetle-like mecha bugs charged to pulverize everything!
Hell Drill clashed horns and blade, shaking heaven and earth.
"Just collapse the tower already!"
"Lucelle, lightning?!"
"On it, but... their resistance is up!"
"Corrosion's barely working too, damn it. Here it comes."
Foes had clearly adapted to Lucelle and Ban Yu-won.
Realizing shells were futile, artillery dropped; chargers dominated.
Worse, versus flying Lightwing: ceiling-crawling Mecha Spiders shot metal webs!
Ban Yu-won had to assign four rain blades to shield Lightwing.
"Nngh, hraaaah!"
"Tch... Half-baked punks acting up!"
"Don't kill 'em all—leave one!"
"Got it!"
The party, idle till Room 92, scrambled desperately to suppress.
Even full-mobilizing Tike and Eve took hours to barely win.
—I could've handled it.
As Ban Yu-won yanked a Mecha Spider's web to bind the last foe, Ceron spoke.
Partly freed from sealing, he was friendlier now.
'You're our ace, so we save you. They're learning. Ideally, hold to Room 94 on our own, use you in 95.'
—Fair enough. Spare some Magic Cores? Wanna prep something.
'Sure.'
He'd poured concepts and parts into the five, but absorption limits left many cores rolling around.
'Hmm.'
Bending to collect, he noticed something.
Rooms 84-85 were dirt floors—now mixed with metal plates, wires: civilization traces.
'If this continues...'
He tested electricity on it.
Metal conducted easily, as expected.
Great if he could weaponize it against foes.
But if reversed...?
'...Need countermeasures.'
And so, Room 94.
The Rebellion party now stood mid-mechanical empire.