Chapter 285
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 285
Chapter Title: Lesson 55. The Heart of the Tower - 5
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―Kuaaaaa!
"The architectural style is completely different from the Martial World. It seems the rulers of this world long ago sealed away sorcery that had flowed into their dimension."
"Yeah, it does look kind of like a Roman temple at first glance. And there was a barrier too."
"Ugh...! Like I said before, the Demonic Cult doesn't use sorcery because we're confident we can protect our stronghold without it! Even those cowardly Orthodox fools go crazy with barriers and formations, got it?"
―Kiiiiii!
"So that's not a sign of ability—it's a symbol of incompetence. They couldn't even hide the barrier's energy, letting us waltz right in."
"I see, you could look at it that way."
"You have no choice but to see it that way...!"
―Kwagagagagagak!
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You were the one who broke through the barrier earlier. You can't set one up, but..."
"The way you say it makes me sound like all I can do is destroy and annihilate things."
"Yeon, you're fine just like this. I'll handle the barriers from now on."
"Hmph, you'll only realize the futility of barriers once you've seen the heart of the Demonic Cult."
"The noise from smashing the barrier outside is so deafening, and yet you two can bicker about something so trivial..."
Asha spoke in a weary voice as she watched Ban Yu-won and Dokgo Yeon squabble while advancing through the temple interior.
The eerie rupturing sounds echoing from behind them, combined with the periodic vibrations shaking the space.
If they didn't know they were inside a barrier, it wouldn't be strange to think the entire world was collapsing.
Watching Ban Yu-won relentlessly tease Dokgo Yeon even in such a situation made her wonder if he'd eaten something bad, but seeing Dokgo Yeon clench her fists and earnestly argue over something so minor was so cute that she could understand the temptation to tease her.
Or maybe that's just how those two play?
Could it be that when Yu-won teases me mischievously, it's...?
A form of affection?
He definitely likes me, right?
"No point rushing. Don't worry, we're almost there."
Right as she might get smacked by Dokgo Yeon for teasing more, Ban Yu-won shut his mouth at the perfect timing, stepped away from her, and winked at Asha.
Asha, distracted by Ban Yu-won, didn't notice, but Lucelle caught Dokgo Yeon flashing a fleeting look of regret.
'Dokgo Yeon really has become a completely adorable girl...'
Lately, a secret battle for shares of Ban Yu-won had been unfolding among the Rebellion members.
Everyone liked him, but there was only one of him, so they each tried to appeal to him and maximize their time together.
Dokgo Yeon had always played coy, pretending she wasn't interested while steadily securing her time with him, but lately, even she showed hints of impatience and jealousy—evidence that her feelings for him were growing.
"An artifact, maybe?"
"Probably."
She was sticking right to his mutterings even now.
She probably didn't even realize it herself. Lucelle smiled warmly, content to watch Dokgo Yeon like that.
"Among sorcery-related items, there are many that allow even those ignorant of sorcery to wield high-level spells. However, they often demand excessive sacrifices..."
"I've got a sense of it already. Sealing an entire space with a barrier like this means the artifact here is something similar, right? One sealed away after a nation fell, but the seal wasn't perfect, drawing the gaze of the Constellations... and ultimately dooming the world."
"Yu-won, did you read this world's history or something?"
"Here it is."
Just as Asha tried to wedge herself between them again, Dokgo Yeon stopped.
She explained it was a Martial World-style maze where straying from the precise sequence and movements would trap you forever—a formation's domain. They'd finally escaped it.
Of course, Ban Yu-won had planned to absorb the entire maze concept like he usually did in the Tower, but formations could damage or destroy their contents, or cause them to run rampant if forcibly broken.
'If my authority extended a bit further, I wouldn't need to worry about formations or anything.'
It was like knowing a bomb's location but having arms too short to reach it.
Ban Yu-won smacked his lips at the solid steel door that appeared before the group.
―Kuuuung!
As if congratulating them on finding the artifact, the world shook violently once more.
―Right now, I'm coming...!
The faint voice of the Observer of All Things began to echo again.
Ban Yu-won shook his head to dispel the sticky unease her voice left behind and reached for the door.
"Can I unseal this?"
"Yes. We'll retrieve it right away and destroy the formation too."
Ban Yu-won immediately activated the Seal Ring.
All the layered sealing concepts binding the contents were drawn out and absorbed into the ring. The steel door, now bereft of its sustaining power, crumbled away with a hiss.
Beyond it lay an altar the size of Ban Yu-won's waist, topped with a thick book.
The book emitted a faint glow even now—and despite being neither a sharp weapon nor a living beast, it radiated a ferocious killing intent that made approaching it feel arduous.
"It's in an easy-to-understand form. Illiterates must have mishandled the item's power and caused it to rampage."
Dokgo Yeon, unswayed by mere objects, casually dispersed the killing intent filling the room and clicked her tongue.
Meanwhile, Ban Yu-won strode quickly to the altar and retrieved the book. Its pages, densely packed with black text, showed gaps where letters were missing here and there.
The original text had been properly written, but sections in the middle were erased.
"Seems you're right, Yeon. It's incredibly unstable. And this..."
"Whoa, it feels like it could drag us in and explode right now."
"Light, shh. Master will handle it."
He'd sensed a similar energy from the black waves filling the outside.
Incidentally, the power sealing this room, the formation protecting it, and the barrier enclosing the temple—all stemmed from this book!
"—Hey, isn't this way bigger than we imagined?"
After appraising the book's value and mentally calculating, Ban Yu-won muttered in shock.
He'd obtained artifacts or major concepts from Tower rooms before, but this was in a class of its own.
Thinking the Tower had merely copied and relocated an existing artifact was pointless.
The power imbued in it, the ancient aura discernible at a glance...
This was undoubtedly the real thing.
Someone unable to claim the item themselves had severed a chunk of the world containing it and stored it in the Tower.
Waiting for the day someone would come, unseal it, and retrieve the book!
And that moment was now.
Ban Yu-won of Union fame for unsealing, and Dokgo Yeon, true heir of the Martial World, along with their Rebellion team— they were perfect for extracting this world's sealed artifact, the sorcery book.
Ah, broadcasting was doomed.
Air this item, and even Yumina's power couldn't fend off the hordes targeting Ban Yu-won.
[Would you like to absorb the sorcery book written in ancient language?]
And Ban Yu-won possessed the authority to devour such an extraordinary item whole.
Sorcery book plus the power to comprehend its language—a perfect match.
He held it out to Dokgo Yeon with a hopeful look, but her firm headshake reminded him of his father's words about hoarding leading to ruin, so he absorbed it immediately.
[Absorbing Sorcery 2,570, Ancient Language 1,248. Due to the target's excessively high rank, time is required for complete digestion.]
[Incomplete concept absorption. Supplementing deficiencies with existing concepts. Absorbed Ancient Language concept, raising depth of All-Reading Eyes, All-Hearing Ears, and All-Speaking Lips to 600.]
[Curse concept absorbed into Sorcery. Acquired Sorcery 1,248.]
Ban Yu-won exhaled deeply, a satisfied smile crossing his face at this rare big catch after so long.
Curse had evolved into its encompassing superior concept, Sorcery, with depth nearly doubled.
His core authorities—All-Reading Eyes, All-Hearing Ears, and All-Speaking Lips—had each grown by nearly 200 in depth.
The new ancient language filling his mind was, as always, converting into something as natural to him as Korean, storing itself away.
Each syllable carried profound meaning and presence akin to ego, so incomplete understanding was a flaw, but...
He could grasp what events tied to this sorcery book had transpired in the past.
He'd need a serious talk with Dokgo Yeon later.
"I thought you'd store it in a subspace. Taking in that much energy at once... You okay?"
"Nah, feels a bit heavy. Been a while since I've had an experience like this."
Ban Yu-won shrugged at the worried Dokgo Yeon peering at him.
Yes. Despite this tremendous growth, he hadn't fully digested the sorcery book.
Imperfectly fused lumps of concepts floated in his body; once they harmonized perfectly with his existing ones...
He'd likely grow again by the same amount, and fully uncover the book's history.
'Those gaps bother me, though. The growth is underwhelming compared to the item's rank—maybe those missing parts were the core.'
As the blanks in the sorcery book suggested, absorption hadn't been perfect.
If those gaps held the sorcery that doomed this world, securing all concepts left him feeling unsettled despite the gains.
Retrieving those cores might allow full digestion of the lumps—but then—
―Kwaaaaaang!
―I'm here!
"Knew it. If you don't show up now, you're out of business."
Ban Yu-won clicked his tongue, gazing up at the black tidal wave shattering a corner of the world and manifesting in the sky at the perfect moment.
The sorcery book's core—likely absorbed into that black tidal wave.
How to extract it?
"So, Yu-won, got a plan?"
"Well, I thought absorbing it would auto-shift us out—but looks like we have to settle things with that thing first."
Mission accomplished, at least.
Ban Yu-won stepped forward, calming Asha gripping the Divine Dragon Spear, and first reclaimed all the formation energy filling the temple.
With its core sorcery book already devoured, the crumbling formation dismantled easily when he applied his newly acquired sorcery, boosting his Sorcery depth by 2.
"Ah—Yu-won, it's getting bigger?!"
As Ban Yu-won savored his new power, Asha shouted.
He looked up. The world was blackened.
The colossal tidal wave, now too vast to measure, surged to devour the space beyond the barrier entirely.
No, was all that Curse?
Was this really Room 201's difficulty?
Even graduation exams weren't this bad!
―My beloved child—since you've taken what I desired, if I reclaim you, all will be in harmony!
"Can you report Constellations for sexual harassment?"
"Yu-won!"
"I know. Let's do this."
He opened his Inventory.
Talismans he'd infused with vitality over time, plus those Cellon made with his unique holy light mana, poured out in droves.
He hadn't expected to use talismans for actual sorcery.
Ban Yu-won levitated them all into the air and exhaled shortly.
"Yeon, tell me later. What the Martial World went through, why this power developed."
Realizing he'd read not just the power but the history from the sorcery book, Dokgo Yeon looked surprised before nodding.
Immediately after, the hundreds of floating talismans emitted bright light and charged toward the tidal wave!