Chapter 23

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Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: Lesson 6. A Teacher's Grace is as Vast as the Heavens - 2

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Ban Yu-won had barely caught his breath when the space began to shift once more.

The ceiling, which had been fairly high, started lowering bit by bit, and the torches hanging on the walls flickered out one by one.

Just judging by the atmosphere, it felt like some ghost-type monster similar to the one they'd faced on the second floor might appear.

—Clack, clack.

But the moment he heard something crawling across the floor, the walls, and the ceiling from all directions, he knew that wasn't the case.

"Tower spiders."

Light muttered under his breath, unnecessarily lowering his voice upon guessing the enemy's identity.

What's the point? He was already wielding a brightly glowing light sword, proudly displaying his dazzling presence.

Ban Yu-won was convinced there couldn't be anyone less suited to stealth operations than Light—not with his battle cry or his weapon's properties.

'Tower spiders, huh...'

Tower spiders were a signature monster of the tower, frequently appearing on both lower and upper floors, and one of the creatures that symbolized the tower itself.

The reason such lowly spiders represented the tower was because their abilities and strength were always random every time they showed up!

Since they could never be defined consistently, they were the perfect monster to describe the tower.

'If they're appearing in a fourth room, they shouldn't be too strong normally. But after that insane barrage of traps in the third room, nothing feels certain anymore.'

Confirming that his party members were ready for battle, Ban Yu-won signaled to Eve.

The weapon, transformed into a shotgun, had just been resupplied with acid. It fired bullets brimming with depth-17 acid in all directions.

—Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

"Kieeeek!"

"Kiggit, kieeeek!"

Eve's all-around barrage elicited horrific screams from the spiders lurking in every corner.

What was shocking was that the acid bullets, which had melted the second-room monsters in an instant, failed to kill even a single one of these fourth-room spiders.

They hadn't pierced with the sharpness-infused magic bullets, nor had the acid fully dissolved them.

Whether this matched a normal fourth-room difficulty was impossible to say, but at least to Ban Yu-won, it meant these things weren't pushovers.

"Eve, keep firing. Dokgo Yeon, looks like you'll need to step in this time too."

"Of course."

Dokgo Yeon thrust her open palm forward, and a massive pressure wave surged through the airless space, sweeping away all the spiders ahead.

What Ban Yu-won read from her movement was pure, overwhelming wind.

In the process, Eve's acid shots mingled with the blast, scattering bullet fragments that embedded into the spiders' bodies and inflicted even greater wounds.

"This is the palm wind you've been so desperate to find."

"Real palm wind..."

"Hoo."

Dokgo Yeon brushed off her absurd feat with a single light sigh.

Ban Yu-won stared in awe at that strike, which might as well have been a giant's hand slapping the tower's walls clean.

"I'll leave the killing blows to you. Ah, is there any lord as benevolent as me?"

Dokgo Yeon stepped back, speaking as if she'd bestowed some grand favor.

Ban Yu-won couldn't help but laugh.

"You're not my lord, but thanks anyway. Light, take the rear. Lucelle, cover above."

"Got it."

"Calm, calm...!"

He assigned the rear entirely to Light, who wielded an AoE weapon rivaling Dokgo Yeon's, and blocked surprise ceiling attacks by relying on the sharp-sensed Lucelle.

Of course, after issuing orders, Ban Yu-won himself charged forward.

Eve was halting the tower spiders' movements and wounding them, while Dokgo Yeon was knocking them out en masse. He ought to handle the finishing touches himself!

But.

—Clang!

"No way, it blocked that?"

He was dumbfounded.

He'd swung straight down at a spider already on the brink of death, one that should have vanished with a crushed head—only for it to clang like that.

Of course, he wasn't using the Pierce concept Dokgo Yeon had taught him, and since the target wasn't humanoid, the Murder concept stacked on the Executioner's Longsword had no effect. Blood poison wouldn't work either.

Still.

"No, what the...?"

Repeating the negation word "no" wouldn't change anything.

Ban Yu-won hurriedly shifted his stance and thrust quickly. Fortunately, this pierced the spider's head, killing it.

Even with Dokgo Yeon's help, the linguistic concepts absorbed were on a whole different level from the first- and second-room monsters, bringing Ban Yu-won momentary satisfaction.

But this wouldn't do.

'Thrust, retreat, repeat in this chaotic melee? Even my older sister couldn't manage that.'

Thrusts were more powerful than slashes but caused greater fatigue buildup in the body and had larger motions, making transitions to the next action less fluid than slashes.

If only he had a concept related to slashing... He did!

'The one I just absorbed!'

It was ridiculous.

He had the Severance 20, absorbed in the third room amid everyone's shock!

True, it was a concept individuals couldn't hold, so he couldn't use it directly. But then he could just imbue it into his sword.

Ban Yu-won immediately applied it to the Executioner's Longsword.

"Lucky."

He hadn't even considered such synergy was possible. Come to think of it, the Executioner's Longsword was the most fearsome artifact among those Grandfather had brought back—a true demonic sword with a brutal history.

With "execution" in its name and now infused with severing and beheading concepts, perfect harmony was inevitable!

He even wondered why it hadn't originally been imbued with such concepts.

'Alright then.'

No matter how much Dokgo Yeon had swept the spiders away with her palm wind, leaving them alone would let them recover from unconsciousness and swarm again.

Ban Yu-won gritted his teeth and advanced, swinging the longsword once more.

In that instant, he felt a strange sensation dominating his body.

The overwhelming Severance baptism from the third room flashed through his mind.

Immediately after, the sword slashed from above downward, decapitating the spider.

"Hah."

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

He'd essentially been wielded by the weapon just now.

But if he could grasp the sensation like this, maybe he could comprehend the true essence of Severance on his own, without borrowing Dokgo Yeon's power.

'Let's do this.'

With resolve in his eyes, Ban Yu-won charged at the spiders strewn across the floor.

Downward strike, then horizontal slash.

The intense Severance will dwelling in the sword forcibly corrected his movements, slicing and cleaving the spiders.

Ban Yu-won yielded to it without resistance, trying to follow the sword's savage lead as naturally as possible.

'Good, I can feel the strain on my body easing. Next, read the will contained in the sword itself.'

As Ban Yu-won worked to decipher the sword's intent,

His movements, which had looked like he was being yanked around, gradually refined, and his hunting speed picked up accordingly.

He couldn't match Light's light slashes that felled multiple spiders at once or Lucelle's casual palm strikes pulverizing them, but Ban Yu-won was steadily decapitating spiders with each precise swing, pulling his weight.

"Hm."

Dokgo Yeon watched Ban Yu-won with keen interest.

She'd seen him hesitate when he failed to cut the spider's carapace, then do something and suddenly start decapitating them effortlessly.

The aura emanating from the sword in his hand had intensified, so she guessed he'd tinkered with it.

'Intuitive and overwhelming, but an ability that's easy to be wielded by as a result.'

That was Dokgo Yeon's bold assessment of Ban Yu-won's supreme authority.

But what was intriguing was that this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't even the full extent of his ability.

Nor was the ability his entirety.

'I thought I'd see him get swung around by the sword like that foolish girl, now that it's empowered. But instead, he's coldly assessing his state and adapting quickly.'

It was like replaying what she'd seen in the second room.

Of course, his sword strikes were much slower now, but heavier—and the posture that looked controlled by the sword was stabilizing.

It might be impossible right now, but soon he'd arbitrarily grasp the true essence of Severance.

Without her intervention.

'How long did it take me to separate the Three Talents?'

She, hailed as the greatest prodigy in the martial world.

Yet watching Ban Yu-won made her want to smack her past self for ever feeling smug about her talent.

Of course, the one she most wanted to smack was that man.

"Ugh, this drains my strength just the same. At this rate, when will I ever clear all these...?"

Dokgo Yeon reaffirmed her resolve upon seeing Ban Yu-won complain about his own weakness despite the wounds he'd inflicted on her delicate heart.

'I definitely have to make him mine.'

"Huh?"

Ban Yu-won suddenly felt chills and whipped his head around, thinking maybe an elite monster had appeared. But nothing was there.

Maybe because he'd snapped out of his focus—his arms were starting to ache.

If he hadn't been stealing Life and Body concepts from the spiders in real-time during the fight, he might have collapsed already.

Skillfully decapitating a charging spider, he felt satisfied that he could now cleanly sever even moving targets. Then, a sudden realization hit him.

"Hey, Dokgo Yeon, why are you just standing there? Fire another palm wind!"

"You're handling it fine on your own. Good for your growth, right?"

Dokgo Yeon replied nonchalantly.

At her words, he instinctively checked his internal code and saw Martial Arts had surged to 70.

He hadn't mastered the Severance concept yet, but the fundamentally altered swordsmanship and deeper understanding had explosively boosted Swordsmanship as well.

At this rate, it might hit 100 by the time they left the tower. A pleasant thought.

"Still, I suffered alone, so no sports drink for you."

"What...!"

But that was that, and this was this.

Dokgo Yeon pouted adorably, unable to accept it, but a promise was a promise.

"They're thinning out now. Eve, conserve ammo."

"Shrrk."

Eve, still in shotgun form, somehow hissed like a snake as it shifted shape.

Back to its innate club form, it bashed the remaining spiders directly. Thanks to the acid it held, it smashed their sturdy shells with ease.

Impressively, it was even picking up the spent casings on the floor!

"Still stronger than you."

"Eve will soon be part of my combat power."

He'd instructed Eve to leave a few alive, then stole all remaining concepts from the battlefield and checked his internal code changes.

'Perfect. Now I've completely surpassed the average.'

Should he mock the regular-admission students who'd looked down on him for a spec gap that hadn't even been a week old and could be caught up to?

Or marvel at his own potential, which had leaped over an insurmountable wall in one bound?

But this wasn't the end.

The tower exploration had only just begun.

Over the weekend, delving deeper would surely let him challenge even the Special Class...!

"External contact."

"External? At this timing?"

Light, who had been marveling over the sports drink Ban Yu-won handed him, suddenly frowned and muttered.

Ban Yu-won belatedly felt his Student ID vibrate against his neck.

"They want us to exit the tower...?"

"Pardon? I haven't even warmed up yet. And I didn't get to drink my candy milk."

"Already...?"

Dokgo Yeon looked incredulous at Ban Yu-won's dazed mutter after reading the message.

Meanwhile, Lucelle—who'd gone through the fourth-room battle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with about a third of her hair already turned black—seemed uninterested in their conversation, staring into empty space.

"No further notifications?"

"Hard to send long messages from outside. Besides, this isn't from Professor Yumina—it's from the Chancellor."

"To all students, then."

"Not pleased."

Dokgo Yeon stated flatly.

"Less than two hours in, and they tell us to come out? No explanation. Can't accept it..."

"Kgh."

"Lucelle?"

As Dokgo Yeon hinted at ignoring the message and continuing, Lucelle let out a faint groan.

"Krrgh."

"Lucelle, urk?!"

"Grrr..."

Lucelle, emitting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eerie groans, yanked Ban Yu-won forcefully.

Ban Yu-won had long since accepted there were no normal people in this party, but he hadn't expected Lucelle to snap like this. He shot pleading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looks at Light and Dokgo Yeon, but they stared past him into the darkness.

Perhaps they were sharing Lucelle's sensations.

"That's why they told us to exit."

"Let's go. Thinking back, it's been off from the start. The professor mentioned an 'irregular' before we entered..."

"But the Student ID isn't working."

At Dokgo Yeon's calm remark, Ban Yu-won reflexively checked his Student ID.

It really wasn't functioning.

His sense of crisis spiked instantly.

"Grrr... It's coming."

Lucelle said, pulling Ban Yu-won behind her.

—Clack.

Only then did he realize Lucelle had been dragging him not out of madness, but to protect him.

—Clack-clack-clack.

—Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack.

From the floor, the ceiling, the walls.

On a scale incomparable to before.

The sound of a tower spider horde approached.

Ban Yu-won had to admit this space had turned irregular.