Chapter 47

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Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 47

Chapter Title: Lesson 11. Apprentice Mage Ban Yu-won - 2

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As expected, on Monday morning, an alert arrived on every student's pendant, announcing the special activity scheduled for that week.

All the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠necessary information was provided, and connecting to the school intranet via the mirror revealed even more details.

Ban Yu-won was shocked once he learned the true nature of this special activity.

"We're going to another dimension?!"

Dokgo Yeon scolded Ban Yu-won as he shouted while slicing into a pancake topped with fried chicken.

"Why are you so surprised? You're a student studying abroad in the top dimension right now."

"Now that you mention it, yeah..."

"Yu-won, let me cut it for you."

Ban Yu-won froze anew, struck by the surreal reality of his situation.

Lucelle, who had sat down right next to him, diligently cut the pancake on his behalf.

Not only that, but she speared a piece of pancake and chicken together with her fork and brought it to his mouth. When she caught Dokgo Yeon's odd gaze, she flashed a bashful smile.

But she never lowered the fork.

"Yu-won. Ahh."

"Huh? Ah, ahh."

"You beast, cut it out."

Dokgo Yeon spoke in exasperation at Lucelle, who had finally achieved her goal.

Lucelle's reaction was something to behold.

She tilted her head as if asking what the problem was.

"I'm being moderate though...?"

"Ban Yu-won, didn't you say you were learning magic? Have you already mastered mind alteration? Look at this beast boldly standing up to me."

Dokgo Yeon dabbed at the corner of her eye with a tissue, putting on an exaggeratedly moved expression. Ban Yu-won, who had been munching on his pancake, replied seriously.

"I didn't do anything."

Ban Yu-won actually wanted to refuse Lucelle's kindness, which felt a bit overwhelming.

But she had argued ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that to perfectly control her heart flame, she needed to adjust her usual behavior patterns to fit a master-servant relationship, leaving him no choice.

"Look at that..."

"No way, those two."

"Wow, check out the weakest ones pairing up."

"That bastard's got some insane luck. I hope he just explodes."

"What about the videos from now on...?"

It was only natural that the other students in the cafeteria focused their attention on the two, who were acting like a lovey-dovey couple.

Among them, fans of 'Rebellion's' videos gasped in admiration or shot jealous glares at Ban Yu-won or Lucelle.

But this was still a welcome development.

If they were still being despised as lower-dimensional trash, the looks they were getting would have been entirely different in nature.

"The goal of this special activity is to survey the lower dimensions and block the monster waves on behalf of the pitiful souls who lack the ability to defend themselves."

"Light?"

Meanwhile, As Light had his nose buried in his mirror, reading the announcement for the special activity.

Ban Yu-won glanced at him and didn't miss the twisted smile forming on As Light's lips.

Perhaps sensing Ban Yu-won's puzzled gaze, As Light spoke without hiding his sneer.

"Ban, they talk like the lower dimensions couldn't even be maintained without the higher dimensions' benevolent care."

"You..."

Ban Yu-won was at a loss for words at the darkness in his voice when Dokgo Yeon spoke up instead.

"If he wants to become a god, that level of arrogance is perfectly normal. Don't overthink it, Light."

"Ha, right. This is all just preliminary training to ascend to godhood..."

As Light's bitter tone lingered in his mind.

Recalling how he had always shown clear resentment toward the higher dimensions, it wasn't hard to guess he'd had some past trauma.

'Setting aside any seduction or whatever, I should probably get closer to him.'

Like it or not, he was a partner he'd spend the next five years with, sharing joys and hardships.

Ban Yu-won renewed his resolve.

"Yu-won, ahh~."

"Ahh~."

But for now, he had to obediently open his mouth and accept the pancake as Lucelle instructed.

No matter where he went in the academy, talk of the special activity was everywhere.

Special activities happened occasionally anyway, but one that required mandatory participation from all grades was a semesterly 'event.'

The first-years were excited at the chance to witness the upperclassmen's skills firsthand, while the upperclassmen were looking to scout promising first-years.

In the midst of all that buzz, Rebellion naturally drew the most attention.

They had pushed aside Ortima's bloodline—one of the greatest teen clans across all dimensions—and were receiving the most interest among the first-years.

Especially after last week's exploration video revealed they had dealt with a tower intruder, adding to their fame in multiple ways.

This came up even in Professor Xenon's lecture on Tuesday afternoon, as dealing with intruders was an actively promoted issue at the academy and directly tied to many students' safety.

Quite a few students attending Professor Xenon's lectures had contracts with constellations, so they often crossed paths with irregulars and were sensitive to intruders.

For freshmen—not even their competing 4th or 5th-years—to encounter a 'qualification hunter' intruder and even kill it? They couldn't ignore that.

"They're not just lucky."

"Well, not anyone can attend Professor Xenon's lectures."

"Hmph, still trash."

"I watched the video since they hyped it up so much, but the intruder was just some bottom-feeder from Exodus's lowest floor. Making a fuss over catching something like that is ridiculous."

"But they had constellation support?"

"Probably a low-grade one."

However, since the class was mostly upperclassmen from special classes, favorable public opinion never formed in the first place.

Rebellion had sparked it all, and the special classes were getting roasted on the intranet as a result.

...All because they had made discriminatory remarks first, of course.

The actual hot topic, Ban Yu-won and his group, had no time to worry about such things.

Dokgo Yeon wasn't the type to care about others' gazes anyway.

As Light was busy learning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spearmanship from Dokgo Yeon (in a rather aggressive manner).

Even Lucelle, who had been conscious of the stares, now focused solely on Ban Yu-won.

And Ban Yu-won had to concentrate on the two tasks assigned to him.

"Hoo..."

Wednesday evening.

Since receiving the Incarnation Technique from Dokgo Yeon last week, Ban Yu-won had practiced it ceaselessly, without a single break. Reading the power's guidance message before his eyes, he felt how far he still had to go.

'At the very least, I won't feel like I've accomplished something until the entire Body concept has converted.'

Originally, Ban Yu-won's Body depth had purely surpassed 300, but as he practiced the Incarnation Technique, it steadily decreased.

However, this wasn't dissipation—it was a process of transforming into something superior to the Body.

He could actually feel his physique, muscles, and bones growing stronger, tougher, and more ideally structured. Once the concept fully changed, the fundamental performance of his body would be different.

He had initially thought to complete the conversion before the special activity, but now he realized that was overly arrogant.

'Remaking my body from head to toe is a massive project. No way it'd finish in a week. It'll take at least a few months. Wonder if I can finish before the semester ends.'

If he kept fighting monsters and stealing Body concepts repeatedly, it might take even longer.

Dokgo Yeon would be astonished at his ridiculous speed if she knew, but unfortunately, he only thought his progress was slow.

"Hoo, alright then..."

One clear fact was that the Incarnation Technique wouldn't yield short-term results.

Having realized that, he had no choice but to focus more on the 'other path' for now.

"If it fails again today, I'll snap this thing in half."

At Ban Yu-won's mutter, the magic wand... no, the staff before his eyes trembled.

He had been struggling to extract the 'magic language' concept from this staff.

Probably because its ego was so firmly established, it was treated like a pseudo-lifeform rather than a mere object, unlike the things he usually extracted concepts from easily.

Still, from Sunday to Tuesday—three full days—he stubbornly tried to wrench out the concept, treating it as practice for his power, but it was ultimately impossible.

"You listening? Bro doesn't have time. Come on."

Maybe if he got a bit more proficient at channeling heart flame into his power, he could extract it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this, but the problem was tomorrow was Thursday—Professor Yumina's magic combat studies lecture.

He couldn't attend her lecture after promising to learn magic with the artifact she'd make him into a mage, only to bail out yelling, 'Turns out it's impossible!'

So Ban Yu-won decided to execute Plan B, which he'd been hesitant about.

That was threatening the staff's ego.

"I was gonna wait and see how long you'd throw your tantrum, but... you're overdoing it. If you're gonna cling to it that desperately, I'll have to smash it and absorb the concepts from the wreckage..."

Destroying its function as an artifact would likely make it impossible for the soul to fully dominate the concepts.

Yumina had inspected it and said it was too good to believe it came from the lower floors, so he'd endured the embarrassing appearance to try using it as a staff, but if the soul acted this uncooperatively, he had no choice.

"So if this staff breaks, it's your fault, not mine. Got it? Bye then—."

—Who the hell are you trying to destroy me!

The moment Ban Yu-won actually grabbed both ends of the staff to snap it, it vibrated violently, and a young girl's voice shot into his mind.

It was a sensation he'd experienced before with Dokgo Yeon's telepathy.

Sighing that he should have done this sooner instead of wasting time, Ban Yu-won replied.

"Finally decided to talk, huh."

—You! Human! You thought you could brazenly chat with me after trying to wreck a precious artifact's internals?!

Maybe because its main body was on the verge of breaking, the voice was extremely hysterical.

The rule was to stay calm when the opponent was excited.

Ban Yu-won replied nonchalantly.

"Artifact internals? You mean recovering the concepts."

—Yes, that brutish power! Why would I acknowledge a guy swinging around such a vicious authority? You're no mage. The path of magic is the noble, elegant way of truth pursued by those who follow absolute providence!

"You won't know until you try learning it. So hand over the concept already."

If it said impossible, he'd snap the staff for real this time.

With that resolve, he spoke seriously, and the soul dwelling in the staff burst into tears.

—How did I end up with such a brute... Sob sob, if I let you do this, I'll be completely ruined. I'll lose all functions as an artifact.

"I guarantee you won't. Don't worry."

Has he only used his power once or twice?

Not just extracting concepts from artifacts—he could add, mix, and synthesize them without issue.

As Ban Yu-won snorted, the soul's wails grew louder.

—What do you know! About this delicate, complex artifact structure! All the info and functions are intricately linked—if even one is removed, the whole thing collapses, and even I might not stay sane...

"Shut up. Hand it over if you don't want to break."

—Waaah!

He knew it wouldn't happen, but Ban Yu-won oddly felt like the trash one here.

—Take it, you damn brute! I was going to raise a magus to shake the world, but to meet such a miserable end in a thug's hands... Ah, my sorrowful life...

As if a mere object had any 'life.'

Ban Yu-won realized the thick defensive barrier the artifact had constantly maintained vanished, allowing him to easily extract the concepts with his power.

No need to hesitate now.

In one go, he pulled out the magic language concept at depth 100 and bestowed it upon himself.

For good measure, he also extracted and absorbed the depth 50 elemental magic.

The moment he absorbed the two concepts, lightning struck Ban Yu-won's mind.

Until now, the language system he couldn't comprehend was finally internalized as his own law. How could this not be wondrous!

The Magic Language concept fulfilled its role the instant it was acquired and melted away in his body, but that knowledge didn't vanish—it was etched into his mind and profoundly influenced his soul and power.

'Now I can fully decipher the student ID. No, maybe even adjust it if I'm lucky.'

Now he could perceive all types of magic language as kanji and even utter it as such, so no one could deny him the title of mage!

The elemental magic he absorbed along the way was no lightweight either.

Depth 50 was second only to his swordsmanship at 78 for a single technique.

And he'd taken it in without any degradation!

"Phew, now I can attend Sis... Professor Yumina's lecture without a worry."

How happy Yumina had been that she could finally get him to attend her class!

He felt relieved not to betray her expectations, but at the same time, worried that he might not have much left to learn from her now.

—What... is this.

But the artifact's reaction was strange.

The artifact itself was emitting an odd light and trembling faintly.

"What? Surprised it's more intact than you thought?"

Ban Yu-won teased mischievously, but the artifact apparently had no time to play along.

—Impossible, why... Why would they do this to me...

"...Huh?"

The artifact showed emotional instability, as if suddenly recalling memories forgotten for centuries.

—Right, that's it. I'm not the ego of some, some weapon...!

"Hey, don't spill the backstory yet. Hold on a sec."

Ban Yu-won sensed something was wrong and immediately called a timeout.

His head was already complicated sorting through the new knowledge, and he had a bad feeling this thing was about to unleash a grand tale like 'The Hidden Truth of a Heavy Artifact ~How a Promising Young Magus Girl Became Trapped as an Ego in a Staff~'!