Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Lesson 43. Too Much Popularity - 5
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By the time the group reached the tower, the whirlwinds raging from all directions had quieted down.
It wasn't that they were losing power and dissipating.
They were simply redirecting their force toward the tower right in front of them.
"Th-this wind... could it be the Merciful North Wind?"
"W-we're done for. We're all gonna die. A god is descending in person!"
As the humans watched the winds infused with the power of the constellations sweep in from the crumbling whirlwinds and get absorbed into the central tower of the holy site, they forgot they'd just broken through those same whirlwinds themselves and began trembling in fear.
"Don't be afraid! Those things fear death so much they can't even show their true forms before us!"
But seeing the people backing away hesitantly, Light bellowed.
Miraculously, at his words, they snapped out of it and drew their weapons.
At this point, it was bordering on brainwashing.
"This is weird. Logically, what Light just said makes sense to my own mind... but strangely, I feel like rejecting it."
Watching Light seize control of the NPCs in an instant and shift them into combat readiness, Lucelle said with a mystified expression.
Ban Yu-won soothed her as he replied.
"Your brain, trained on accumulated data from experiences with Light, is glitching out from this sudden input error. The technical term is Light Syndrome."
"Technical term? You spout such nonsense so smoothly."
Dokgo Yeon, who was just as helpless against the current Light, narrowed her eyes and spoke. Ban Yu-won shrugged in response.
"I majored in Light Studies last semester and got my PhD, so of course it's technical jargon."
"Master, what about Lucelle Studies? Huh?"
"Eeei, shut up! There's no need for an academic discipline to analyze that airhead!"
Even as every Rebelion member except Light suffered from Light Syndrome and lost their senses, Light raised his holy sword high and shouted once more.
"All who have the will to defy the gods, step forward! Let's smash that monstrosity!"
"Woooooooh!"
Light's figure, charging bravely toward the tower while leading the people, was as valiant as Don Quixote tilting at windmills.
And they matched perfectly in that he couldn't even scratch his target before getting repelled.
"Tch, a barrier!"
Light, retreating after failing to pierce the eerie energy surging from the tower, muttered through gritted teeth.
Hearing him, Ban Yu-won replied incredulously.
"Come on, you think a sacred relic like that wouldn't have a barrier?"
"Master, that...!"
At that moment, Lucelle tugged his sleeve and pointed ahead.
Wondering what now, Ban Yu-won turned to the tower and sighed.
"Ha."
Light had protected himself with the holy sword's aura at the moment of impact, but the other humans hadn't.
They had tried to retreat upon seeing the vanguard Light get bounced back, deeming it dangerous, but the tower exerted attractive force and pulled them in instead.
Unable to resist even once, they were sucked straight into the tower...
—Kruk
—Krrrk...
The next instant, monsters infused with the constellations' magic power appeared in their place.
This was probably the endgame for transcendent beings who had imitated Babel Tower out of overconfidence.
Blackened skin like leather, elongated hand and foot claws, faces that were half lizard, half monkey.
Yellow reptilian eyes bulging grotesquely, glinting with malice.
"Those things... no way..."
Dokgo Yeon muttered through gritted teeth.
No one needed an explanation; everyone was thinking the same thing.
Ban Yu-won confirmed it upon seeing that every monster was cloaked entirely in wind derived from the constellations' authorities.
The situation unfolding now was an 'Irregular'.
"Damn it... I meant to use them as the foundation stones of our nation!"
"Light, you can't just build a nation willy-nilly inside the tower!"
—Kuwaaaaaak!
As Ban Yu-won retorted to Light's nonsense with more nonsense, the monsters charged all at once!
"Die as humans!"
Light's holy sword cleaved through space itself, slicing apart everything in its path. Lucelle launched spheres of lightning from the tips of her nine tails, paralyzing and incinerating the foes.
Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon fired concentrated bursts of death energy, neatly killing one by one. As for Ban Yu-won...
He took advantage of the group's fierce battle to charge toward the tower.
"Ban Yu-won!"
"This tower is the core of this room. To clear it, we have no choice but to deal with the tower, whether as fuel or fodder!"
Riding Lilith, who had reverted from human to hover bike form, Ban Yu-won reached the tower in the blink of an eye. Then, materialized magic power lunged at him.
After thoroughly scanning the concepts embedded in the magic, he found the answer he sought and smiled.
"I'll pop inside for a sec. Don't worry, just wait here!"
"Inside? Wait, Ban Yu-won!"
"Master?!"
Having clearly declared it to the group, Ban Yu-won grabbed the tendril-like stems of the stigmata extending to envelop him and got sucked into the tower.
What greeted him right after was... well, as expected, perhaps.
A space filled with light, one he'd encountered once before.
Star Sanctuary.
A provisional space of choice created inside the tower by the combined power of countless constellations.
"Kuh... kuuuuh..."
"C-can't... breathe..."
The NPCs who had been sucked into the tower earlier were writhing on the floor, groaning in agony.
They were separate from the monsters.
In truth, Ban Yu-won had been certain ever since scanning their concepts with his Origin Sword, but he saw no need to mention it.
"So this is... a space you made to contact me?"
Ban Yu-won posed the question.
—Something like that.
The owner of the powerful voice answered.
Ban Yu-won nodded as a brightly twinkling orb of light floated before him, bobbing around.
"You're the Merciful North Wind, then."
—?! How did you know!
—Indeed, his authority is best called Root Seeker.
—He was interpreting the tower from the start. The greatest potential among mortals.
—Burn him to death.
—Yes, thanks to you, we've all reaffirmed his existence and secrets.
Orbs carrying the constellations' wills emerged from all around... yes, truly from every direction, surrounding Ban Yu-won.
The NPCs rolling on the floor in agony, unable to withstand the constellations' auras, seemed invisible to them.
Well, of course.
The constellations had only intended to summon Ban Yu-won from the beginning; they had no interest in anyone else.
'It was weird that all the monsters from the tower were cloaked solely in wind. Room 145 had tons of other constellations gathered... So that's why they lured me in personally.'
Finishing his thoughts, Ban Yu-won clicked his tongue and replied.
"The Tower won't like you pulling stunts like this."
—We don't like the Tower much either.
—But no matter how much we hate or fear it, there are times we can't back down. Tiny human, you forced our hand.
—Ahh, my beloved child! At last, I can see you again!
He'd wondered when Kira, the Observer of All, would show up amid all these constellations.
Ban Yu-won swept his hand to dispel the massive cluster of light surging from the floor to fill his vision, sighing as he did.
"I heard pulling off something like this consumes a ton of occupancy."
—Designing a meeting from scratch isn't easy. But exploiting a gap in an already-formed room like this is simple. Yes, the tower you saw outside was part of the room's structure from the beginning.
The constellation ruling this desert region that formed the backdrop for the room... in other words, the host of this gathering, the Merciful North Wind, explained to him in a fairly friendly tone.
But Ban Yu-won couldn't help tilting his head at the words.
"But you made the tower, right?"
—Yes, I did.
"No, you said it was part of the room's structure originally. How is that possible... wait."
He'd just learned a major secret about the tower, dropped casually without fanfare.
The Merciful North Wind had created the tower before Ban Yu-won's group entered... meaning before Room 149 was generated.
That implied the tower didn't create new environments on the fly but copied them from other dimensions!
—No, no. Seems like a misunderstanding, so let me correct that.
"Hm?"
—Even as a failure, this tower isn't something easily replicated. It's the original.
The Merciful North Wind must be one of the more moderate constellations among the many.
The others were kindly explaining to a mere human they otherwise scorned.
But the content was so shocking that Ban Yu-won could barely respond.
"So... the original?"
—Yes. The original.
"Not copied and pasted, but cut out and pasted?"
—Precisely. Otherwise, no matter how great the tower is, it couldn't control the countless virtual spaces.
"Haha..."
A dry laugh escaped him involuntarily.
It made sense resource-wise and for management ease.
But imagining what happened to worlds sliced apart left him dizzy.
No wonder people in this room had been wailing about impending doom...
'Can't upload this to the Rebelion channel.'
As he shook his head at the foolish thought, a different light orb from the Merciful North Wind flew up, flashing noisily.
—Hey, this isn't the time for pointless explanations. We burned precious occupancy to gather and decide this human's fate, didn't we?
—We must burn him!
—If you want to kill my child, find a way past my eyes first!
—What an amusing human. Staring us down in the sanctuary isn't easy...
"Shut up!"
Ban Yu-won's shout instantly silenced the heated murmurs of the constellations filling the sanctuary.
They must have sensed the primal energy in his voice, an Origin Qi that influenced even beings far greater than himself.
—A human, daring to...
"If you have business with me, spit it out."
As Ban Yu-won declared coldly, some constellations raged anew.
But he just snorted.
"You know full well you can't affect me much in your current state. So if you have something to say... no. You need me right now, don't you?"
—Need? Us, need you?
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have tried again after failing once in Room 145."
The subordinate testing a human on behalf of gods, the gathering lights, the proliferating stigmata.
Room 145's coliseum had been perfect for forming a star sanctuary without much thought.
Yet it had been shattered miserably by Light's holy sword before they could achieve it.
Flustered, the constellations reset the board and lured Ban Yu-won in with more overt methods.
"For beings as ancient as you, your thoughts aren't that deep or wise. They're transparent. So I'll ask again."
What do you want from me?
The constellations fell silent at Ban Yu-won's question.
Well... one orb, presumably the Prominence patron Follower of Eternity, thrashed wildly, but no one paid it heed.
—Contract with me and conquer the Tower together.
It spouted the same nonsense it always did when the Observer of All appeared.
—Back off, granny. This isn't the time for personal desires.
—Hmph, but everyone wants to contract with him too. How can we destroy the Tower without unity?
"Destroy the Tower? Is that your ultimate goal?"
—As you see, opinions are divided. That's why we fight among ourselves. But one thing is clear: we all see... yes, even greater and more certain potential in you than when you first entered the Tower.
Then you're barking up the wrong tree.
He had no intention of destroying the Tower, let alone reclaiming it.
Though the idea of slicing dimensions and pasting them inside did warrant more thought...
—Kwaaaaaang!
As Ban Yu-won and the constellations faced off in this bizarre standoff, the space shuddered violently.
The Merciful North Wind chuckled awkwardly.
—That girl like that guy... she's surprisingly strong? She's rampaging to smash the tower.
—Tch, we still have much to discuss with this one!
—Retire her!
—That's why we're doing this. Does anyone want to burn more occupancy?
—We should've gotten to the point sooner.
Another constellation stepped forward.
—Hand over the Starlight Minstrel. Then we'll make you ruler of a new world. The vast majority of constellations will back you.
—Tear down the Tower and establish new order. We're content just regaining our freedom.
—Conditions beyond imagination. No one will oppose you!
Oh ho, slyly tipping the scales.
He knew exactly who the Starlight Minstrel was without asking.
Celron had a pretty fitting nickname, after all.
"The Starlight Minstrel, huh."
—Don't play dumb. We know she's with you, whatever tricks you used. The starlight you two created on Earth spread across the universe.
—Simple terms. Nod, and we'll handle that one causing havoc out there. Inside or outside the Tower, we'll support you without stinting occupancy.
—This is the first time since the Tower was built that so many constellations have gathered to promise patronage. Your potential may be immense, but based on your current power alone, we're taking a huge loss.
—Don't refuse. We truly... truly don't want to lose talent like you.
—The Follower of Eternity's flames are too hot for you to handle alone.
Now he understood why the Follower of Eternity was here.
Its presence was the stick to the carrot of sweet-talking Ban Yu-won, a simple yet effective tactic of temptation laced with veiled threat by reminding him of a powerful foe.
Ban Yu-won snorted.
"Sorry, but I'm not selling out my subordinate."
—Fool!
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
As if reading his mind, the tower shook again right as he rejected the offer.
No, it wasn't just shaking.
Cracks began spiderwebbing through the space brimming with the constellations' light, warping it!
"Ha, no way Light is perceptive enough for this. Is he really gonna let it go that far?"
—You bastard! Think our kindness makes us a joke?
—We showed maximum sincerity! Bowed our heads like this!
Ban Yu-won blocked the constellations' threats and suicidal charges with barriers conjured by waving his hands this way and that, even as he pondered seriously.
Soon the space tore completely, and desert sandstorm winds blew in.
As he swept away curses beyond description and shards of minor authorities with his barriers to exit, one light orb 'leapt across an instant' toward him.
—Keep that promise from before. I suspect we'll meet again. I look forward to the day we fight.
"You...!"
The unbidden crystal of authority absorbed into Ban Yu-won.
His eyes welled with emotion upon grasping its nature.
The absolute authority of spacetime that widened temporal gaps to pierce enemy openings, 'Gap', acquired.
'The One Who Counts Moments', who had promised him an authority if there was a next chance for the distant past Ban Yu-won, had finally earned the passing necklace!