Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Lesson 4. Rebellion - 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To restate the obvious, the ultimate goal of Union Academy is to send students into the tower and forge gods from among them.
In a somewhat hasty phrasing, it could even be called an academy for nurturing gods.
As such, students had to take classes in liberal arts, politics, diplomacy, and everything that fell under the umbrella of "imperial studies" to cultivate the bare minimum dignity befitting a god, while simultaneously receiving intensely practical lessons geared toward conquering the tower.
Not just "Comprehensive Combat Training," but courses like "Martial Techniques," "Magic," "Exploration," and "Special Environment Response."
The defining trait of these classes, which were mainly held in gymnasiums or training grounds, was that since everyone was actively moving around, conflicts tended to arise easily.
"Hey, you pretty boy over there. Come here."
On the second day of the tumultuous first semester—Wednesday, during the second period's "Basic Martial Techniques" class—a male student from Class 5, which was joining them for the joint lesson, pointed his sword at Light.
This class was exclusively for freshmen, allowing students to experiment with various weapons to find ones suited to their aptitudes and engage in spars under the professor's supervision, making for a somewhat free-form session.
"Didn't you hear me?"
"Hm?"
Light furrowed his brow at the voice laced with mana and looked up.
And it was a real sword at that.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Come over here and explain in detail what happened yesterday, you worm."
Not only the rudeness of pointing a sharpened real sword at someone, but also the ignorance of spewing such vulgarities without provocation.
However, it wasn't because they were genuinely unintelligent. They were simply treating Light as an utterly inferior being.
It was easy to forget when facing rational people like Professor Yumina, but beings from higher dimensions fundamentally looked down on those from lower ones.
No one minces words around pigs or chickens, right? That was exactly their attitude.
'Instead of hearing about yesterday and changing their tune, they've only grown more resentful toward us? Even so, picking fights like hormonal teens?'
Ban Yu-won sighed and pondered more fundamental countermeasures, while Light, realizing he was being provoked, scoffed back at the guy.
"Why should I?"
"Hah, punk. You scared?"
"If you have something you want to hear from me, come over here yourself and ask politely, barbarian."
"What?"
It was easy to misjudge from his refined features, but Light's temper was no pushover.
"You, a lowly scum from a lower dimension, dare call me a barbarian—"
The moment the male student scowled and took a step forward.
Something unforgettable for Ban Yu-won happened.
A sword of light appeared in Light's previously empty hand.
And when it pointed at the male student.
"Kuh?!"
Light.
Hero.
Warrior.
World.
Guardian.
Eternal.
Desire.
Dozens of layers of profoundly heavy, radiant concepts—far too much for a freshly adult Light—began erupting forth!
'—What the hell? He looks like a completely different person. Concepts I hadn't sensed at all before...!'
Right, thinking back now, he'd felt something like this from Light on the first day they met.
He'd been holding that sword of light back then too!
'I thought his speech was oddly archaic, but it wasn't like that at the entrance ceremony. So it must be because of that sword?'
Ban Yu-won felt a suffocating pressure laced with intense dissonance and stepped back from him.
So how must the male student have felt, facing that aura head-on?
He couldn't advance or retreat, merely groaning in frustration.
He seemed to barely lift one foot, only to hesitate and pull it back the next instant.
"Learning to walk? Why so slow?"
"You, this—"
Light, shrouded in intimidation, mocked his opponent.
The provoked male student gritted his teeth and took another step, then another, finally reaching Light.
By then, the pressure had hunched his posture, making him look like he was bowing to Light.
"Here to pay respects? I accept—now off with you."
"You, filthy worm... how dare you!"
That was the moment.
The male student, overcoming the pressure bearing down on him and lifting his head, thrust the sword in his hand straight at Light!
"Hmph."
"Kuh?!"
Ban Yu-won was left speechless by the power Light displayed in that instant.
As he thrust forward his sword wrapped in golden light, the trajectory of the incoming blade suddenly bent and clung to Light's sword.
The male student collapsed to the ground, groaning as if his arm had been twisted by his sword's betrayal. Light looked down at him like trash and snorted, raising his head.
"Professor."
Everyone had already been watching them anyway.
Whether Light intended to humiliate them or not, he turned to the professor who had let the situation unfold and asked calmly.
"What sort of evaluation does the academy give to charging at someone with a real sword out of the blue?"
"Ahem, our academy encourages practical spars,"
"I've never once accepted a spar."
His words were as sharp and precise as the sword in his hand.
As Ban Yu-won inwardly sighed, the professor made a reluctant face and scolded Light.
"But you can't deny that you released your energy first."
"Indeed. Then how do you treat the insults and abuse he hurled at me before that?"
"Hm? Ho ho, sorry, but I didn't see that..."
Light's expression grew even more menacing at the professor's obvious lie.
The sword of light in his hand gleamed brighter—
And in that moment, as deeper, more oppressive, more violent concepts threatened to burst forth.
"Foolish."
"Kuh?!"
Dokgo Yeon, now blocking Light's path, flicked his forehead with her finger.
"Dokgo Yeon, you...!"
"And you're getting wielded by your sword? Who do you think you are?"
"...Ah!"
At her sharp rebuke, Light snapped back to his senses and released the sword in his hand.
The sword of light melted into the air and vanished, and the male student's sword, still stuck to it, clattered to the ground with a metallic ring.
"What just...?"
"What happened? That was an enormous aura..."
Everyone present, professor included, focused their gazes on them.
Ban Yu-won sighed deeply, wondering how to defuse this situation.
'Light really is the biggest powder keg...'
"You know, at this rate, it looks like we're doomed to be academy pariahs."
"You're saying that?!"
Light exclaimed in shock at Ban Yu-won's remark as they ate their lunch of beef fried rice.
But Ban Yu-won scoffed back.
"Your stunt earlier was the bigger issue. Everyone knows you were about to throw down with the professor if Dokgo Yeon hadn't stopped you. There were plenty of ways to resolve it smoothly."
"That... But smoothly? How the hell do you resolve that smoothly?"
"Ha."
Ban Yu-won sighed at Light, who seemed genuinely baffled.
"Instead of crushing him so he couldn't even approach and humiliating him, you could've just formally requested a spar."
"No point swinging my sword at trash like that."
"Just spar—spar. When that jerk picked a fight earlier, don't respond. Go through the professor and request a formal spar."
"And what changes?"
"You can crush him decisively without any hassle."
Light flinched at the cold glint in Ban Yu-won's eyes.
Even knowing Light was growing fast and still fell short of him, he couldn't fathom why he'd wilted under Ban Yu-won's aura for a split second.
"I don't get why you'd choose that method when you have the power. What were you even arguing with the professor about? Just drag it into a formal spar. He said himself the academy encourages practical combat."
"That was... After seeing what you showed yesterday, I was trying to resolve it without violence if possible..."
"And you nearly sparked something even more violent. Fine against students, but tangling with a professor is a real pain."
"Ugh..."
He decided not to probe the bizarre changes from gripping the sword of light.
Light probably wouldn't spill easily anyway.
But this couldn't keep happening.
Ban Yu-won looked at him seriously and asked.
"Light, be honest. Can you control that power?"
"O-Of course. If not, I wouldn't have passed the entrance exam. Earlier, I just got pissed at the professor... I hate lies."
Light averted his gaze slightly, tilting his head back as he replied.
The graceful curve of his neck peeking through his flowing golden hair.
That simple motion was exquisitely beautiful.
Excessively so.
"You hate lies, huh."
"...Yeah."
Ban Yu-won suppressed a scoff.
They weren't close enough for full confessions yet—pressing further would be rude.
He'd settle for this today...
"You believe I can control it?"
"I do. No more nuisances like today."
"Good thing it wasn't a nuisance. Quite the sight, you getting puppeted by some otherworldly artifact."
Dokgo Yeon, happily scooping up her yogurt melted with a spoonful of elixir jam Ban Yu-won had ladled for her as dessert, snarked on his behalf.
"By the way, Ban Yu-won."
The cross in Dokgo Yeon's eyes fixed on him.
"You're thinking of something 'for all our sakes,' right?"
"How'd you know?"
"I've been trying to understand you."
That's what's scary!
But now was the time to withstand those cross-shaped pupils staring at him and deliver his prepared pitch.
"How about we start a channel?"
"A channel?"
"One of those video channels on the intranet. We used it pretty effectively yesterday, didn't we?"
"You said yourself it's a method for when you're powerless."
"Yeah, but we've already got momentum."
Ban Yu-won, having polished off his fried rice, tried the infinite colorless fizzy soda from the dispenser, let out a "Wack," pushed it away, and opted for yogurt like Dokgo Yeon.
Lucelle had her face buried in jam yogurt but perked up her ears to listen.
Cute.
"That's how it goes. Once we invoke school rules and justice, others will nitpick us the same way. Every action we take will get scrutinized. You guys always follow the rules that well? Watch me!" That mindset.
"Hm."
She had something in mind.
Dokgo Yeon nodded.
"When that happens, positions secured by raw power alone hit limits. Except for you, Dokgo Yeon. I'm thinking about all our positions here."
"Got it. Go on."
"To prepare, we need to build our 'image' now. Make our individual abilities known so no one underestimates us, and preemptively secure emotional sympathy from the masses so haters can't attack with reason or logic."
It was a very common survival tactic back in Korea—no, on Earth.
Crafting a fabricated positive image to boost recognition and lend credibility to one's words and actions.
Chaebol heirs or politicians deliberately riding subways, or photos of them wearing worn-out shoes spread around. Obvious fakes, but incredibly effective.
"I get it."
"What?"
"Nah, no clue."
While Dokgo Yeon grasped it instantly, Light and Lucelle tilted their heads.
"Simple summary: Make academy folks see us as approachable. Probably in the imperial studies curriculum somewhere."
"If that worked, yesterday and today wouldn't have happened!"
"Fair, learning and doing are different."
But Ban Yu-won had confidence.
While scouring this world's internet these past few days (besides the intranet, there was a widespread internet network), he'd realized the media here wasn't as developed as Earth's.
On reflection, it made sense. Union, the top dimension, overflowed with real thrills: dungeons, towers, actual gods, etc.
No need for humans to churn out "fabricated thrills" nonstop like in modern times.
'Earth stagnated without mana for ages, so its methods to captivate attention developed abnormally.'
And Ban Yu-won was a child of that modern civilization.
Call it what you will, but his language comprehension wasn't just understanding and handling words.
He had a innate talent for crafting them into engaging elements.
"Just give me permission to film you. I'll handle the rest. We'll build a solid image across this academy—no, this entire dimension. No one will dismiss us as lower-dimension trash."
"How are you so sure? Not doubting your skills, but..."
"First, looks."
Ban Yu-won was ready for Light's oblivious jab.
"You three have killer appearances anywhere. And I'm no slouch either."
"Y-You're handsome. Very..."
"No, stop."
Ban Yu-won scratched his cheek at Lucelle's sudden cheerleading and continued.
"The strongest hook for attention is looks. Thought different cultures or dimensions might not bite, but nope. Clears the basics."
"Second is skill, right?"
"Bingo. Skill rules here ultimately. Once everyone knows ours precisely, no more provocations. I'm a bit behind still, but I'll catch up fast—don't worry."
"Heh."
Dokgo Yeon smiled meaningfully.
Maybe because she'd noticed Ban Yu-won had changed even more today than yesterday.
With everyone listening intently, Ban Yu-won sighed lightly and said.
"Truth is, at this rate, we won't even attend lectures peacefully, so this is my emergency measure. Time's already tight—no time for pointless fights."
"Don't rush, Ban Yu-won. You're plenty fast already."
"Thanks."
Ban Yu-won grinned and opened his mouth again.
"Anyway, a channel's pure upside. Let's name it first. I brainstormed clickbait ones, but need your buy-in..."
But that was unnecessary.
At "name," even quiet Lucelle perked up, and soon Light, Dokgo Yeon, and her were rapidly spitting out suggestions.
In the end, the channel name became Rebellion.
Everyone inwardly wondered why it'd turned so edgelord, but they'd all vehemently rejected alternatives—no choice.
A stark example of group project pitfalls!
Ban Yu-won despaired that such a name would attract no one, but that channel secured 100 intranet subscribers that very day.
The identical channel on the regular internet site? A whopping 1,000!
...Maybe it helped that the first upload was Dokgo Yeon absolutely demolishing Light in a spar.