Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Lesson 8. This Technique is Mine - 3
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‘Is this... possible?’
Ban Yu-won had been struggling with Lucelle's core all this time for one simple reason: he couldn't freely steal concepts from a living person.
And yet now it was possible?
Of course, it seemed feasible only in this special circumstance where a body part had been severed, but it was still a mind-blowing discovery that made his head spin.
‘Naturally, it wouldn't work on Lucelle.’
Ban Yu-won decided to call this "part destruction," borrowing a term from an old game he'd played.
He left behind just 0.1 each of Life and Body from that arm, then extracted every last concept it held.
Pulling everything out would cause the arm to vanish entirely, but as long as even a tiny fragment of concept remained, its form wouldn't collapse.
It'd be little more than an empty shell at that point, but that wasn't his concern.
Stealing Life 22.9, Body 27.9, Giant 14, Volcano 14, Monstrous Strength 14.
Giant and Volcano are concepts humans cannot possess.
The concepts of Giant, Volcano, and Monstrous Strength all shared the exact same depth—no coincidence there.
His guess was that the Giant concept served as the base, from which the powers of Volcano and Monstrous Strength were derived, and Ban Yu-won had sliced off the whole package in one go.
He'd half-expected he wouldn't be able to wield Giant or Volcano himself.
But being able to use Monstrous Strength? That was beyond his wildest hopes—he was over the moon.
And the depths he'd gained in Life and Body? Talk about a haul.
It was equivalent to taking down at least two elite monsters from the tower!
As those thoughts crossed his mind, Ban Yu-won suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
‘What’s this? Am I turning into a psychopath? Chopping off a guy’s arm—not even a monster’s—and grinning like I just looted a rare drop... Was it the deepened Soul depth messing with my head?’
Even entertaining such notions with cold detachment meant his personality had shifted, whether he liked it or not.
Then again, a regular guy from Korea suddenly thrown into life-or-death struggles in dungeons and towers? Some change in mindset was inevitable.
“Guh... Guuuuhhh!”
Meanwhile, Irecto—now missing an arm—writhed on the ground, letting out agonized screams.
“Calm down, Irecto! We can reattach your arm!”
“Gaaaahhh!”
“Stay still—we're getting you treatment right now!”
Entel rushed over, restrained him, scooped up the severed arm from the dirt, and teleported both Irecto and the limb somewhere—probably a treatment room inside the academy.
With the matter handled in seconds, Entel turned to Ban Yu-won, her eyes flashing coldly.
“That was excessive, Ban Yu-won!”
“My apologies, Associate Professor Entel. But Irecto waited for the match-end signal and lunged at me out of nowhere...”
“You're not about to claim you couldn't dodge it, are you? With your skills, you could've easily brushed it off.”
Entel's sharp rebuke.
Ban Yu-won half-suspected all the points he'd racked up on the Rebellion channel were evaporating.
A wry smile tugged at his lips, but he stood firm and said what needed saying.
“Of course not. I could've dodged, but I felt a student flouting a professor's authority and acting recklessly deserved appropriate payback.”
“...What did you say?”
“Plus, in an official match where rules must be strictly followed, it was necessary to make an example of this rotten-minded punk who ignored them for a cheap ambush—ensure everyone knows better.”
Ban Yu-won declared firmly, mindful of the cameras hovering in the air, still recording.
Their duel had been broadcast live from start to finish, watched by countless students.
For a student to blatantly ignore the end-of-match call in such a public setting?
Had Ban Yu-won reacted passively, the fallout would've been disastrous.
Worst case, it could've bred the notion that "rules don't apply to lower-dimension students."
So no, he didn't consider his response overkill.
As the representative of the Lower Dimension Special Admission track, standing right here, he'd simply upheld his authority and the academy's order.
“Ha...”
“I believe my actions were entirely justified and exactly what was needed to preserve the academy's discipline.”
Entel heard him out but couldn't muster a rebuttal.
If she denied him here?
It wouldn't just discredit him—it'd discredit every lower-dimension student.
And undermine her own authority, along with the other associate professors', in the process.
“You're... right, Ban Yu-won. A student ignoring match rules deserves punishment. But that's not for you to deliver—it's for me and the academy.”
“If my actions encroached on your authority in any way, I apologize. With the match still broadcasting live, I had to act fast... I'll gladly accept any punishment for that.”
What Ban Yu-won was really saying, in plain terms: "You froze up like an idiot, so I handled it."
If Entel grasped that subtext, the proper move was to shoulder the blame herself.
“No, no. The fault lies solely with Irecto for ignoring my declaration and moving. Besides, your response qualifies as self-defense under academy rules. Nothing for me to reprimand.”
Words were fascinating things—the same situation could be spun in endless ways.
Ban Yu-won had carefully selected the phrasing most favorable to him, elevating the issue from a personal squabble with Irecto to a matter concerning the entire academy.
He'd packaged his stance impeccably, leaving professors no room to contradict him.
“Professor! That punk's insolence just now—”
“Enough. Control yourselves. We're still broadcasting.”
Having reached a silent accord with Ban Yu-won, Entel sharply silenced the protesting Class 1 students.
“This ends here. Reattaching Irecto's arm is no big deal, and he was the one who broke academy rules to begin with.”
She gestured for Ban Yu-won to rejoin the group. He bowed politely—ever mindful of the cameras—and returned to his friends.
“That was awesome! So...!”
Lucelle's eyes sparkled with genuine admiration.
“Ban, you... That final move, blasting his whole arm off.”
“Once I grasped the concepts, I figured out how to forcibly twist the flow of his power against him.”
This was a realm beyond merely snapping off a spider's leg with brute force—a true reversal.
As Light could tell how exquisite that technique was and was utterly floored.
And Dokgo Yeon?
“Fun. You've gotten stronger again, haven't you?”
“You noticed?”
She was the only one present who'd clocked that Ban Yu-won had devoured the giant's arm.
“Wait, at this rate, if we just go around slicing off arms from those Special Class types—”
“You trying to turn me into public enemy number one? You'd shatter the image I just built.”
“Just saying it's a shame. Why not take the left arm too while you were at it?”
Ban Yu-won had thought his sensibilities had dried up over the past week, but Dokgo Yeon's words proved he was still green.
“Everyone catch the duel? Good. Let's begin the lesson.”
With the broadcast ended and the commotion died down, Entel—unwittingly bolstered by Ban Yu-won's display—finally started class.
Even during the lecture, though, most of the Special Class students glared murderously at Ban Yu-won and his group. Ortima—the one who'd dueled Dokgo Yeon earlier—stared so intensely he could've doubled as a space heater.
Which made what happened after class all the more shocking.
“Dokgo Yeon, right?”
“Hm?”
Ortima—the man with horns sprouting like a crown—approached their group directly.
Dokgo Yeon arched a delicate brow at him, and he swallowed hard before speaking.
“I have something to say to you.”
“Another challenge? I won't stop you if you're suicidal, but a deathmatch inside the academy would be tricky.”
“Not a challenge.”
Ortima extended a hand toward Dokgo Yeon.
In it was a flower carved from gemstone.
“I'd like to ask you out on a date.”
“...?!”
Ban Yu-won muttered in genuine bewilderment.
“What kind of fetish lets a guy ask out the girl who kicked him in the jaw?”
“Didn't you just answer your own question?”
“Huh. Guess I did.”
Class 11 had wrapped up their other scheduled lessons and was heading to Room 3 on the eighth-floor west corridor of the academy's main building for Professor Xenon's class, "Babylon and the Constellations."
The morning's shock lingered, so Ban Yu-won had been mulling Ortima's intentions when he blurted that out. As Light's half-hearted response was the entirety of their exchange.
“If even a guy can't understand another guy's heart, who can? I wanted to ask you that.”
Dokgo Yeon—the recipient of the date invite—shot back incredulously, then switched to a serious expression.
“Don't be dense. It's obvious he has ulterior motives. No spark of romance in those eyes.”
She dismissed the morning fiasco with a scoff, but Ban Yu-won recalled Ortima's demeanor and tilted his head.
“Didn't seem only like that... You sure you can say for certain? You're gorgeous, after all.”
Compliments hit hardest when least expected.
Even the great Dokgo Yeon jolted at the sudden praise, her body shivering faintly.
“Ban Yu-won, are you clueless or just shameless?”
“That's my tactic. Don't fall for it, Dokgo Yeon.”
“Hmph. I know that much—no need to tell me.”
They got along like two peas in a pod. Clearly, their bond had formed through physical... closeness.
Though it looked an awful lot like schoolgirls gossiping, for some reason.
Lucelle timidly raised her hand then.
“I agree with Ban.”
“You little beast—siding with Ban Yu-won so blatantly since Saturday? If you're courting him, do it when I'm not around?”
“That's not it...!”
Lucelle thumped her chest in frustration (Ban Yu-won quickly averted his eyes) and insisted.
“His eyes were different. I saw the scheming too, sure.”
“Doesn't matter. I turned him down anyway.”
Dokgo Yeon said coolly.
Indeed. She'd rejected him outright the moment he asked.
You are my enemy. There's no room for compromise.
With an ironclad declaration to match.
“Still, if Lucelle's right... didn't that leave a chance to play along?”
Dokgo Yeon shook her head at As Light's question.
“Even if he genuinely felt attracted, meeting him would've hurt us.”
“Huh?”
“Ah... yeah, Rebellion.”
Ban Yu-won explained to the clueless As Light with a wry smile.
“Our fame exploded in just a week. No brag, but me smashing Irecto today factors in. Now, if Dokgo Yeon—of all people—were seen cozying up with Ortima, the academy elite's pinnacle, what would others think?”
As Light paused, then slumped his shoulders.
“Infighting...”
“Exactly. The moment Ban Yu-won filmed us as a group, we became a single entity. People won't see us as individuals anymore. To protect that narrative, we have to move as one from here on.”
The four-person Rebellion crew was bound together, forced to act in unison.
Even at the cost of personal freedom—they couldn't split.
That was the deal.
“So you foresaw all this from the start and backed Ban's plan?”
“Obviously. How many times do I have to say it?”
Dokgo Yeon snapped irritably at As Light.
“I've only ever been interested in Ban Yu-won. I agreed to us four uniting because he was part of it. Clear now? That's why I won't tolerate any attempt to derail my plans—especially not from some guy trying to use me.”
“...Got it.”
As Light seemed a touch downcast at her icy words.
Ban Yu-won found it adorable—and apparently so did Dokgo Yeon, who failed to hide her smile as she soothed him.
“As Light, if you want my respect, work harder.”
“Hmph.”
Caught red-handed, As Light turned away, embarrassed.
Ban Yu-won had noted Dokgo Yeon calling him "As Light" properly signaled her personal respect for him, but As Light's sulk was cuter, so he let it slide.
“Ah.”
Lucelle piped up.
They'd arrived at the classroom.
“Not late?”
“We already had this class last week. What do upperclassmen think of first-years—lower-dimension Special Admissions, no less—jumping in mid-semester?”
“That some talented juniors showed up.”
The group—including Dokgo Yeon—jumped and turned at the voice from behind.
Standing there was a young man with brown hair and a heart-shaped earring in one ear.
His skin was dark, pointed ears evoking a dark elf from fiction.
The insignia on his uniform marked him as a fourth-year.
“Hey, underclassmen. Thrilled to meet the ones shaking up the academy. But let's head in first.”
He winked playfully and opened the door.
“Come on.”
“Alright...”
As Light entered first, Dokgo Yeon following with narrowed eyes.
Ban Yu-won and Lucelle brought up the rear. He quietly asked Dokgo Yeon.
“Didn't notice him?”
“I did until he got close, then lost him for a second... Specialized in ambushes.”
Even she couldn't dismiss his skill.
Incredible.
Dokgo Yeon seemed beyond mere student level, yet here was someone who put her on edge.
And he wasn't the only strong one here—this class drew absurd powerhouses.
Ban Yu-won finally grasped how perilous their situation was.
‘Professor Yumina, I'm blaming you.’
With a dramatic sigh, he stepped inside.
Lucelle gripped his arm tightly, as if assuring him she'd manage—oddly comforting, and funny.
But truthfully...
The scariest thing in this room wasn't the upperclassmen.
“Lots of new faces. Introductions are in order. I'm Xenon, instructor for Babylon and the Constellations—and the academy's vice-chancellor.”
“...Ha.”
[Disruption]
[Incomprehensible]
[Darkness]
A monster in human guise.
Grabbing the chalk to teach students, no less.