Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Lesson 8. This Technique is Mine - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ban Yu-won had gone on a date with Lucelle that Saturday and experienced it firsthand, but filming inside the tower was truly an enormous event.
No matter how much the tower changed every time you entered it, capturing vivid footage of its interior would be of immeasurable help.
From the moment Ban Yu-won entered the tower with a camera, the academy staff had been buzzing. When he uploaded a nicely edited video of his exploration, they went absolutely wild.
—Even more than catching tower intruders.
"So......"
Sunday evening.
Nine professors sat around a round table barely big enough for ten people.
Yumina opened her mouth, not bothering to hide her displeasure.
"You're proposing we halt the search operations early and hold this meeting instead, Professor Kantone?"
"Of course, Professor Yumina. A tower intruder is just one individual at most, but footage of the tower? That's way beyond personal matters, wouldn't you say?"
Yumina just snorted at the words of Alex de Kantone, the Tower Studies professor famous for his sleazy insinuations that matched his drawling speech and sly smile perfectly.
"Everyone knows the intruders are acting in a group, so how is that 'just one individual'? And tower footage falls squarely under personal achievements. I have no idea what angle you're coming from."
"Professor Yumina, even your lies are beautiful. Your affection for your student is truly......"
"Shut it. No one's here to admire your tongue's length."
The petite woman with silver short hair forcibly cut off Kantone's rambling.
She was Thalia Liliana Campanella, the only professor in the academy's rare Artifact Creation department.
Having silenced Kantone, she turned a sharp gaze on Yumina and demanded answers.
"Yumina, the search was a farce anyway. Quit getting mad and explain. What the hell is that kid?"
"Thalia, you too."
"It does need explaining."
If Yumina handled Magical Combat Studies, there naturally had to be its counterpart.
The man who just spoke was Ryu Cheol-myeong, professor of Aura Combat Studies.
Fancy name aside, Aura just meant channeling qi or mana into weapons, and all students who fought that way learned from him.
Magic was an advanced skill requiring immense talent, so there were fewer magic students—and thus, in faculty meetings, Ryu Cheol-myeong's influence edged out Yumina's slightly.
"We can't just cover for him because he's your student, Professor Yumina. The tower is the core of our academy. One student violating its authority is unacceptable."
"Professor Ryu, that's a bit off-base. No one's filmed the tower before simply because they couldn't. What we should discuss is how to leverage that student's ability for the academy's benefit......"
"So what is that technique?!"
Given the gravity, the professors were wildly excited.
The nine full professors gathered here were so old that even 500-year-old Yumina counted as young among them.
They rarely got worked up over anything, but Ban Yu-won had caused the academy's first major incident since its founding, leaving them all acting half their age.
"Quiet, everyone."
But the young man's voice rang out, instantly silencing the noisy professors.
He taught 'Babylon and the Constellations,' an advanced course whose title was hard to grasp at first listen. His name was Xenon.
He also served as the academy's sole vice-chancellor.
"First and foremost, we professors have no authority to force anything on that student."
"But Vice-Chancellor."
"That's non-negotiable, no matter the reason."
The professors trying to argue fell silent at his firm tone.
The vice-chancellor's will was the chancellor's will.
No matter how they met, without the chancellor's approval, it was all for nothing.
"Personal requests are permitted. But if anyone pressures the student excessively or causes harm, those involved will face expulsion."
"Of course, Vice-Chancellor. None of us would oppress a student the academy must protect and teach. But if that student ignores everyone's requests...... wouldn't that create real problems?"
Kantone spoke up again.
He clearly despised Ban Yu-won.
"He's not just on our radar. Other students...... especially the heirs of the Ten Great Families won't hold back."
"Exactly. Sharing the student's technique for everyone's use would actually protect him! In exchange, we could give him a few artifacts......"
Exchanging glances with another professor, they seamlessly continued each other's points—like they'd already rallied their allies before the meeting.
Yumina could only marvel at what the students would think if they saw this.
"It seems you two didn't quite grasp what I said."
Xenon spoke in a stiff voice.
"I said all involved would be expelled. Students included."
"......Pardon?"
"No, Vice-Chancellor, you're joking, right?"
"He's a lowborn from a lower dimension who's broken every rule since enrollment. You're saying we should antagonize the Ten Great Families to protect him?"
Most professors looked incredulous.
Ryu Cheol-myeong openly despised Ban Yu-won and pressed hard.
Yumina wondered why they'd unanimously approved his enrollment then—but plenty had voted yes hoping to steal his useful skills.
And now their true intentions were showing.
"You lot—after hearing you talk, do you really think you'd get away with touching my student?!"
Yumina, boiling over, was about to stand when Xenon held out a hand to stop her.
He regarded the recent speakers with cold eyes.
"All those years pursuing wisdom and knowledge, and this is how lightly you weigh them? ......Professor Campanella?"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Campanella—secretly smitten with Xenon, thus going quiet whenever he spoke—replied in a shrill voice at the sudden call.
"You're researching machinery in the tower, correct?"
"Yes! I've been obsessed with it for about 200 years......!"
Artifacts were typically divided into two types.
Natural ones born from special environments and conditions.
And artificial ones humans created by analyzing and replicating those, with prepared environments, conditions, and materials.
Some argued mass-produced mana machines sold outside counted as artificial artifacts, but that was foolish.
Miracles born from humanity chasing divinity.
Vs. mass-produced tools to replace human hands and feet.
How could they compare? Their structures differed fundamentally, determining if they worked in dungeons or the tower.
That said, artifact creators didn't look down on machines.
"Artifacts are hard to produce with intended results, especially for filming......! So I've been tweaking machines to run in dungeons."
"Some successes, I hear."
"Of course! Machines break in towers and dungeons because their complex structures overload from mana waves. Simplify the structure, add mana-circulating materials, sync with the user's mana on touch to delay overload......"
Like any otaku grilled on their specialty by a crush, she rattled on excitedly.
But the heartless Xenon had no intention of letting her finish.
"Filming, though—you've never succeeded. Am I wrong?"
"No, you're right, Professor Xenon. I managed five minutes of footage and backup in a dungeon with the same model, but in the tower? It fails before even turning on......"
Campanella deflated instantly.
But the professors finally sensed something off.
"Worked in the dungeon, but not the tower......?"
"Other devices functioned?"
"Yeah, like the mana bombs in Ban Yu-won's footage—we stored them with mana-blocking tools and detonated later. But filming? Impossible......"
That was why Campanella was so worked up too.
If he weren't Yumina's student, she'd have rushed to the dorms and clung to his leg by now.
"But still, that makes it sound like......"
"The special part isn't his technique."
Xenon boldly declared, reining in the murmuring professors.
He glanced at Yumina and Campanella before adding,
"His innate talent for creating artifacts is confirmed, but that's not the key point."
"Vice-Chancellor, then what is?"
"He has the tower's recognition. The only one."
Assertion.
The professors groaned under the weight.
"He entered the tower for the first time just the other day. 'Tower's recognition'? Never heard that before......"
"From a mana-less lower dimension, no less. Him getting tower recognition? Even you saying it, Vice-Chancellor, that's a stretch."
"Wasn't it just Professor Campanella's research lacking?"
Yumina mentally noted down Kantone, Ryu Cheol-myeong, and the others.
Someday she'd make them pay for flapping their mouths!
"Believe me or not, but even if you extract his technique, it won't matter. I declare it now."
Xenon scanned each professor.
Now everyone understood this absurd meeting's true purpose.
It wasn't to discuss Ban Yu-won's technique or academy plans.
It was the chancellor's warning: tread carefully if you touch him!
'Great situation. The chancellor really likes Ban Yu-won......! And tower recognition? Maybe he really is the tower's......'
At least publicly, no one would dare mock or trample him now.
As Yumina sighed in relief,
"And Professor Yumina."
"Yes, Vice-Chancellor."
"Has Ban Yu-won truly been chosen by a Constellation?"
"What?!"
The room erupted again.
As Yumina had told Ban Yu-won herself, no one got Constellation contact on their first tower day.
But Yumina wanted to hide it, so she hesitated.
"Discussing my student's personal achievements or abilities is a bit......"
"I teach students chosen by Constellations. If he was chosen, he's my student too. Just confirm if he contracted."
"......Ban Yu-won has not contracted with a Constellation."
No lie.
The professors caught the nuance; they knew she wouldn't lie about this. Silent shock rippled through.
"He refused, then. Impressive will against a Constellation's pressure."
Yumina tried to brush it off with an ambiguous smile, but Xenon nodded as if reading something.
"Understood. Then all of Class 11, including Ban Yu-won...... no, the whole class should attend my lectures."
"Pardon? Wait, Vice-Chancellor!"
Yumina cried out in panic.
"None of my class has contracted with a Constellation!"
"Professor Yumina, it's not about contracting. It's about being chosen."
Other professors nodded instinctively, then realized who he meant and stiffened—quite the sight.
"Being chosen proves exceptional talent. Once one Constellation takes interest, others follow. Refusing once makes them even more intrigued. That's precisely why he needs my class. The others present qualify too."
"Ugh......"
Yumina didn't mind him taking other full professors' classes, but Xenon's? It felt like losing him, stirring unease.
Xenon smiled smugly (Campanella fainted), then declared,
"Meeting adjourned. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."
Xenon vanished first.
The neutral professors followed.
Ryu Cheol-myeong glared at Yumina before leaving.
"Professor Yumina, I always admire your student devotion, but wasn't it a tad excessive this time......?"
"Thalia, snap out of it. You'll drool sleeping here."
"Uh, yeah."
"......"
Kantone approached with his usual sleaze, but Yumina ignored him, woke Campanella, and left together.
"Hah, shut down again. Professor Kantone, drinks at the bar?"
"......Tch!"
All professors departed.
The lone round table bathed in moonlight pouring through the window. A crack formed in its center, opening wide into a massive eye.
—Those blind to the academy's essence, jealous and scheming, obstructing the qualified.
A quiet murmur.
The eye tilted gently, fixing on the distant tower.
—Time for another purge? ......No, observe a while. That child's ability holds promise.
The eye closed.
Moonlight alone soaked the dim chamber.
The next day, Monday.
"You're Ban Yu-won, right? I'm Mirei Oldena from the Hato dimension!"
"Got time for lunch? Yeah, this is a date invite......"
"Ban Yu-won? Know the academy student council? I'm Graham, the secretary. Here to invite you."
"Wh-what's goin' on."
Ban Yu-won had reached the peak of his life.