Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Lesson 5. The Tower is One-Way - 4
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“Everyone, stop fooling around and focus. A shift is happening—it's Room 2 now.”
As Light, who had stepped back a pace during the commotion, spoke up while keeping watch around them.
It had to be the aftermath of taking down the elite monster. The surrounding environment was changing, with grass now sprouting on the floor.
In the meantime, Ban Yu-won had sorted through all the concepts he'd gained from the Cloisters he and his party had hunted, plus the elite monster Lucelle had finished off at the end.
Life 8, Demon 11, Melt 12, Acid 5, Resistance 1
'I've been wasting my time running dungeons until now.'
Ban Yu-won thought it half-jokingly.
Of course, without diligently scraping up concepts from dungeons, exploring the tower like this would have been impossible. Still, the gains from Room 1 had been so extraordinary that it really felt that way.
Not only had he acquired an amount of Life that would normally take hunting nearly ten Hopgoblins—equivalent to clearing the lowest dungeon ten times—but he'd also gotten a massive haul of Demon to grow Eve and Lilise, plus his first Melt and Acid, both excellent concepts.
And even the unexpected Resistance to boot!
'Resistance aside, Acid came from the elite monster Lucelle took down... Probably means acidity. Could I extract pure oxygen from it here? Nah, too much of a stretch.'
That said, both Melt and Acid clearly had properties that dissolved enemies, so they were nothing to sneeze at.
His only worry was whether applying them directly to a weapon might melt the weapon itself.
'...It'll be fine, right? It already has Blood Poison.'
To be safe, he peeled off 3 units of Melt and applied them to a plain knife.
The knife held up fine, so he reclaimed it and applied all 12 units of Melt to his own sword, the Executioner's Longsword.
He was about to add Acid too when Eve, reverting to her snake form, playfully nipped at his hand.
He thought it was just her being cute at first, but her eyes looked unusually intense.
“You want it?”
“Shrrrk.”
Acid seemed more aggressive than Melt... But he'd never lost by following Eve's lead so far, so he boldly granted it to her.
Of course, she didn't look any different on the outside.
He'd find out soon enough.
“That child just got way stronger in an instant.”
Dokgo Yeon's voice whispered in his ear.
Ban Yu-won flinched and shot back.
“Can't you stop sneaking up on me like that?”
“Hone your senses more.”
Sure, I'll get right on that.
Ban Yu-won vented his irritation by ignoring her.
Eve stepped in for him, hissing cutely at Dokgo Yeon.
“Seriously... How adorable.”
He hoped she wasn't calling him cute.
“Stop playing around! They're coming!”
As Light bellowed roughly, swinging his sword.
Having realized from Lucelle's earlier feat that he could strike the walls before monsters fully materialized, he was firing beams of light sword energy straight at the flows of mana.
“But honestly, it's boring. No matter how careless a lion gets, it's not dying to an ant biting its throat.”
“Keep slacking like that, and you'll get got when you least expect it.”
“Ban Yu-won, I'll yield my share to you too. Chance to power up quick, right?”
Ignoring As Light's jabs, Dokgo Yeon turned to Ban Yu-won with a piercing stare.
Ban Yu-won met her gaze steadily.
Ever since entering the tower, he'd sensed she was watching As Light closely.
Looks like he was a target too.
“Sounds like a sweet deal for you, doesn't it?”
“You...”
As class president, duty-bound to foster unity, he couldn't let Dokgo Yeon's attitude slide without comment.
But realistically, him hunting more monsters than her stepping up would benefit him more.
Especially with no telling when stronger foes might appear—better to smash as many easy ones as possible while he could, for smoother clears ahead.
“Fine, you're right. But I'm trusting you'll cooperate later to make up for the stamina I'm saving now?”
“Ban! That's a ridiculous—”
“At the very least.”
Dokgo Yeon's unwavering voice cut off As Light's interruption.
“I promise I won't let you die from overdoing it now.”
“Alright then. Eve.”
“Shaaaargh!”
Ban Yu-won conveyed his intent to Eve.
Instantly transforming into a cluster of chains, she whipped sharp tendrils everywhere in rapid bursts. Just like As Light had done, the monsters melted away before they could even take shape.
He clocked it right away. That was Acid.
'Puts it to use fast, huh.'
Eve hadn't steered him wrong this time either.
Her Acid concept must be especially effective—astonishingly, she was dispatching monsters even more smoothly than against the Cloisters.
The concepts flowing in from them were mostly Demonic Spirits and Human Ghosts, excluding Life.
That pegged them as ethereal types taking human forms.
“Room 1 was like this too—monsters with special abilities but no solid bodies.”
“Seeing them pop so easily, I figured. More importantly, Ban Yu-won, why not handle that beast's share too while you're at it? Might delay her rampage a bit.”
“Ugh!”
“Dokgo Yeon! You really...”
The “beast” was obviously Lucelle.
As Light, diligently clearing his sector alone, blew his top again. Even timid Lucelle mustered the courage to retort.
“But Ban said he'd find a solution...”
“Yeah, Lucelle.”
By now, Ban Yu-won had fully grasped Dokgo Yeon's intentions and spoke up again.
He was grateful Lucelle trusted him, but sadly, he had to disappoint her here.
“Of course I'll find a fix, but honestly, she's right—I do need to level up faster.”
“Ah.”
“You guys jumping in now feels like using an ox-cleaver on a chicken. Mind if I solo for a bit?”
“Ugh... If that's how it is...”
Lucelle understood but wasn't fully convinced, retreating with a conflicted expression.
Ban Yu-won bristled at Dokgo Yeon smirking smugly at her but decided to secure the gains now that things had gone this far.
“As Light, you too.”
“What... Ban, you're serious?”
“Right now, closing the gap with you all feels urgent. I think I can handle this level solo. Lend me a hand?”
“Lend you a hand...”
If it looked like Ban Yu-won was just buckling to Dokgo Yeon's pressure, As Light wouldn't have budged.
But seeing his sincerity, As Light couldn't just brush him off.
He sheathed his sword and fell back, glaring daggers at Dokgo Yeon before firmly warning the advancing Ban Yu-won.
“Fine, go for it. But if it looks even a little dicey, I'm jumping in.”
“Appreciate it. ...Dokgo Yeon, happy now?”
He could tell she'd been sulky because he seemed to be hiding his strength.
Ban Yu-won had seen right through it.
“Who knows? Did I overreach?”
He snorted at her feigned nonchalance and signaled Eve to commence full hunting.
But Dokgo Yeon—the one who'd demanded he show his stuff—was most shocked by Eve shifting from chains to a magic gun in a flash.
“What is that?”
“Weapon from my world. Apparently doesn't work on mana-bearing monsters here—bad matchup.”
Learning this world overflowed with machines, Ban Yu-won's first thought was whether top-dimensional tech like magic tools or machinery could be used in dungeons.
But as mentioned, machines were useless in dungeons and towers. So people focused on developing ones to protect and convenience human zones instead of countering dungeon/tower mana.
At least, that's what the high-end magic tool shops he'd checked had claimed.
“But for me... it's different. Eve!”
—Du-du-du-du-du-du-du
Now fully accustomed to her rifle form, Eve spun in place like a dancer, spitting magic bullets.
Each infused with Sharpness and Acid.
Fired at speeds dwarfing the monsters' reactions, the rounds pierced one Demonic Spirit per shot,
and even vomited Acid at the impact site, damaging any new ones spawning there.
The clatter of rolling casings rang out clearly.
“Uh...”
“Hm? Yeah?”
“It's not even firing energy waves or anything.”
Eve twirled once, unleashing nearly a hundred rounds that skewered every rising Demonic Spirit around.
Power aside, the speed of clearing monsters drew even Dokgo Yeon's admiration.
“Shooting metal pellets? Too linear and aura's too obvious, but usable in the martial world. Maybe against third-rate, even second-rate assassins...”
“A weapon? Pure firepower? Or boosted because you made it an artifact? Doesn't matter—even half this power, arming soldiers with these...”
Dokgo Yeon, beyond guns' league, marveled at the magic gun's design itself. As Light balled his fists, lost in visions of Earth's rulers' classic gun fantasies.
Meanwhile, Ban Yu-won gripped his sword and moved.
He'd already told Eve: anything within 3 meters of him was his; she'd handle the rest.
—Kyaaak!
The Demonic Spirits, repeatedly born and slain due to challengers far too strong for the room, finally bared their fangs.
But the instant Ban Yu-won charged with sword leveled horizontally, they melted away pathetically.
'Melt works too!'
Difference from Acid: slower melt speed, and it clung to the blade. But ultimately, nothing remained once dissolved.
—Except the language concepts they'd yield to him!
'This changes things.'
If he could one-shot foes anyway, sustaining swings beat full-power hacks.
Realizing that, the momentum in his sword shifted.
Knees slightly bent, arms relaxed just a touch, head up scanning all directions.
Lightening his stance overall, he began slicing nearby Demonic Spirits in quick jabs—like a dance.
At last, he could showcase his pure talent, overshadowed till now by the Babylonia Code.
“You handle shadows in your reach personally, delegate the rest to tools. Your signature style?”
Ban Yu-won nodded faintly, sensing his motions simplifying as he swung lighter.
Lighter, faster, more precise.
Each strike, each step unique—he had to focus on the shifts.
You've grasped the many facets of Swordsmanship. Its depth has reached 31.
You've found the path to lighter, sharper strikes. Swordsmanship depth has reached 33.
More lethal thrusts are now possible. Pierce depth has reached 25.
The most direct proof of growth: Swordsmanship's deepening depth.
Dokgo Yeon nodded sharply, her cross pupils narrowing at his evolving sword momentum.
“You definitely couldn't swing a sword properly until recently. And you're growing ridiculously fast... If you're fooling me, that's even more impressive.”
Not just unflagging vision amid fierce battle,
but snap judgments enabling swift, shortest-path multi-slashes.
Under Eve's bullet barrage, Ban Yu-won never paused his sword dance.
“Maybe overfocusing on speed due to the situation, but still way better than a blockhead swung around by his sword.”
Sensing Ban Yu-won too focused to reply, Dokgo Yeon turned to teasing As Light again.
As Light, inwardly sharing her thoughts and admiring Ban Yu-won, bristled and shouted.
“I was fine today!”
“Doubt a blockhead kiai-ing at every weightless shadow could manage that elusive footwork. Moreover, you...”
“W-what?”
“Sliced fewer foes up close today than sword beams from afar, right?”
“Ugh...”
As Light was speechless.
He couldn't deny how much she'd sized him up in this short time.
And it was clear she wasn't just mocking him.
Like with Ban Yu-won, she was urging As Light to change, to grow.
But as Ban Yu-won swept Room 2 solo, overhearing them, he couldn't help thinking:
'What is she, our teacher?'
That sealed Dokgo Yeon's image in his mind.