Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Lesson 36. How Are You Feeling Right Now? - 1
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The princess of the unquenchable crimson flames scoffed as she received the report from her subordinate.
"So, you got royally played by that pathetic man, exposing the very existence of our plan, lost the elf bitch, and even had the ship holding classified data stolen by some 'mercenary'?"
"Y-Yes, that's... Aaaargh!"
Ruby-like crimson flames erupted, incinerating the subordinate's body.
"What nerve do you have to report to me like this? You should've at least captured that elf bitch before making excuses. Tsk."
Left alone in the vast room, she summoned flames once more, cleanly erasing even the ashes of her subordinate, as if she couldn't stand the sight of them.
But her rage lingered, flickering without subsiding.
'I never should've trusted those lowly things... That brainless fool has delayed the plan by over a year!'
Biting her lip hard, she manipulated her mirror to send messages everywhere.
She vented her complaints about this fiasco to the executives of Crimson Spear, and even submitted a report laced with apologies and excuses to her father—the ruler of the S-7 dimension, who was also her superior—outlining future plans...
"Why should my evaluation drop when it's not even my fault?!"
Unable to contain her fury, she kicked the room's furnishings, smashing them to pieces.
Had she not moved, the surging flames would have engulfed and burned the entire building.
Knock knock. A polite knocking sound came the next moment.
"Lady Prominence, are you already awake?"
"...Yes."
She quickly steadied her breathing and opened her mouth in a calm voice.
Beyond the door were her colleagues sharing 'academy life' with her.
Unlike the vermin she could crush or burn at will, these were precious assets.
"I just woke up. Will you all wait for me in the dining hall?"
"Yes! ...Th-Thanks to you, Lady Prominence, we should wrap up this special activity without a hitch. We're truly grateful!"
"Hehe, leading you all is my role as Phoenix team leader, after all."
"Lady Prominence...!"
After sending off her team with fitting words, she finished her abbreviated report to her father, ignited flames to burn away the grime clinging to her body, and donned her clothes.
Her thoughts turned to the fairy tribe Mira, who always irritated her, and the first-year freshman Mira had recently taken as a boyfriend.
'This mess was definitely ruined by that man, Ketra. But that freshman bothers me. There was a clash with him in the first semester, which messed up the surveillance on the elf bitch... That's why we had to rush into that botched kidnapping operation.'
She knew full well how much fame Ban Yu-won had gained lately.
Of course, uninterested in lowly beings, she'd never watched his YouTube videos...
But from reports, she knew he was a powerhouse beyond first-year norms, gathering other vermin in similar positions to form a considerable force within the school.
'Crimson Spear was targeting the place where Ban Yu-won carried out his special activity. If Ketra decided to betray us after meeting him, maybe even this whole incident was his scheme...'
Ban Yu-won, the special admission miracle from a dimension without even mana.
The crimson flame princess finally felt the need to keep tabs on him. She checked the time, sighed, and opened her mirror to access YouTube.
She planned to watch a bit before breakfast.
Acquired: Life 16, Origin Body 12, Vital Energy 15, Charm 32, Command 40, Judgment 10, Death 3, Dark Magic 70, Leaf Shadow Step 150, Concept Conversion 100.
Death and Concept Conversion are concepts humans cannot possess.
Yu-won Gong depth increases to 15. Origin Sword depth increases to 11.
Dark Magic concept absorbed into Photon Magic. Photon Magic depth reaches 100.
Leaf Shadow Step concept absorbed into Ghost Shadow Step. Ghost Shadow Step depth reaches 300.
Judgment depth exceeds 200, enabling more aggressive concept usage. Combinations with other concepts become smoother, and additional damage can now be inflicted even on non-targets.
"That was delicious...!"
Ban Yu-won clasped his hands in heartfelt gratitude for the magnificent meal.
No, excluding swordsmanship, this was even more substantial than Ryu Cheol-myeong's!
Even accounting for Origin Sword's minimal growth, Leaf Shadow Step—Ketra's signature technique—being absorbed into Ghost Shadow Step and skyrocketing its level made it superior!
'And even Death.'
Concept Conversion, being the changeling essence, was one thing, but he'd never expected to gain a full 3 in the concept of Death.
Perhaps it was because Ketra, whose death was all but sealed, had prolonged his life through the absurd miracle of the candy Ban Yu-won gave him?
As Ban Yu-won pondered the concepts he'd extracted from Ketra, Dokgo Yeon spoke up in disbelief beside him.
"You're incredible. How could you hesitate even a moment before absorbing his corpse...?"
"What was I supposed to do? Bury the senior here and leave? Or haul his body back to the academy?"
"..."
Dokgo Yeon's retort left her speechless.
She realized that Ketra's mere presence here incriminated him.
That's why Ban Yu-won had erased his traces cleanly, making his path as peaceful and quiet as possible...!
Dokgo Yeon's cross-shaped eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
"You've come up with a pretty good excuse, Ban Yu-won."
"The senior's gone. Dead! But he'll live on in my back, in this heart of mine!"
"The fact that it's so literal makes it the worst..."
Of course, there might be ways to sneak the body out and hold a funeral undetected, but honestly, he had no intention of going that far.
Better yet, with the power Ketra left behind, he'd protect Mira from now on—Ketra would approve, right?
Having rationalized it in an instant, Ban Yu-won turned to Mira.
"Feeling better now, Mira?"
"No."
Maybe absorbing it right in front of her was a bit too grisly visually, he thought, when suddenly she yanked his arm and pulled him into a hug.
"I remembered getting cut in line by Lucelle. Let's find a room just for us right now. I'm not coming out until I've made up for lost time."
"Ah, finally acknowledging the vacancy and filling the planning chief role perfectly."
Shati's annoyingly spot-on analysis of Mira's mindset, delivered with a smirk, grated on him.
She'd been sobbing just moments ago, but if she was this spirited, no need to worry about Mira anymore.
Ban Yu-won gently stroked her head before prying her off.
"Got it, but later. Still got unfinished business here."
"Ughhh..."
"Whew."
Lucelle's triumphant smile irked him a bit.
But they truly lacked the luxury right now.
What Ban Yu-won had wrapped up was only the tribe led by the beastman sacrificed to summon the constellation's avatar. Not all beastman tribes hostile to the Wolf Fang tribe were settled.
Moreover, Yumina was due soon per Shati—no way he'd flaunt their messy love lives to her.
"Let's clean up and head back."
"Wait, Yu-won! Kiss!"
"Picnic's for the ride home. Take care of the rest."
"Kuh, that's good too...!"
The clearing they were in was a total wreck after the constellation avatar and battles with tens of thousands of beastmen.
It needed restoring to forest soon, so they couldn't leave it like this.
As the group tidied up, Sloti arrived at the plaza a bit late.
"Ah, Sloti."
"Only one male...!"
"Yeah, that's what shocks you."
Sloti's speech was still rapid-fire.
Knowing what that meant, Ban Yu-won's eyes sharpened.
"Sloti, the fight's not over? The dimension pirates already retreated... Did beastmen invade from another direction through the forest?"
"No, the battle's done."
Ban Yu-won tilted his head at Sloti's firm reply.
"Then why are you still so quick?"
"It's mating season."
Oh right, that.
As Ban Yu-won nodded blankly, Lucelle, Mira, and even Aneri instantly formed a wall between Sloti and him.
Dokgo Yeon sighed in pity, Shati giggled at their swift moves, but Sloti—who'd dueled Dokgo Yeon earlier just for approaching Ban Yu-won—realized her rivals weren't just them and sighed too.
"So attractive males always get swarmed by females, huh..."
"Let's use human terms: male and female."
"I'm not in the mood to mate right now, so relax. More importantly, plant the trees quick, Ban Yu-won."
Sloti called his name.
Her lazy-looking round brown eyes gleamed with utmost seriousness.
"There's a legend on our planet. In places where so many lives have perished, a massive predator emerges, drawn by the corpses and ashes... So we need to plant trees fast to cover it up before it comes."
"Dude, we were at the end credits vibe after the main story, and you drop that line?!"
Kuuuung—.
Sure enough, the ground began shaking again just as Sloti spoke.
Resigned to doom, Ban Yu-won gathered the group, transformed Lilisse into a large passenger vehicle form, and loaded everyone.
"This planet's non-stop action for real."
"No way, a predator actually shows up?!"
"Sloti, wasn't that just a story to scare kids about damaging forest trees?"
Sloti, who hadn't freaked out during invading tribes or dimension pirate bombings, was properly horrified now—even Lucelle looked pale, so it wasn't funny.
"The legend of a Forest Worm ancestor slumbering here has been passed down through generations, even to us Naeta tribes...!"
"Aaaah, seriously—Lilisse, take off now!"
[Got it!]
As Lilisse soared powerfully with everyone aboard, the ground they'd just cleared collapsed with a boom, and an enormous—truly enormous—Forest Worm thrust its head above ground!
It closed the kilometer-plus gap in seconds, opening its massive maw to swallow Ban Yu-won's party whole!
—Kuuoooooooh!
"Whoa."
Lilisse surged up, dodging the maw and gaining distance, but the worm's body was so vast and elongating that looking down revealed only the giant cavern of its mouth.
"What kind of first-year special activity is this? What E-grade dimension?!"
"Right? I didn't pick the wrong dimension, did I?"
"This needs a full professor...!"
No clear vital spot for effective attacks.
Even Ban Yu-won, who'd slain the constellation avatar, lacked confidence against it.
Its size was incomparable!
And it waited till the fight ended to snipe the finisher? Had no shame?
"But if we could just catch it, guide its overwhelming mana into our forest..."
"How?!"
As Ban Yu-won screamed, about to declare the final command—full fusion—
—Kwachik!
A massive thorn vine plunged from the sky, piercing the predator and slamming into the ground!
"I came to help!"
"Professor!"
Thus ended the peril-filled special activity.