Chapter 52
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Lesson 12. Monster Wave - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No sooner had they arrived in the lower dimension of Gelas than they were met with a massive cheer.
It was a warmer welcome than Ban Yu-won had imagined.
"We welcome the Union Academy delegation to Gelas!"
"We'll ensure you experience no discomfort during your stay!"
"Soldiers of the Tolmon Empire, salute your saviors!"
What was all this about?
In the vast square stood countless soldiers lined up, waiting for the Union Academy students. The moment they arrived, the soldiers saluted in unison—a truly spectacular sight.
Beside the dumbfounded Ban Yu-won, As Light muttered with a sullen expression.
"They don't even feel ashamed..."
"Ashamed? Of what?"
"..."
Light fell silent at Ban Yu-won's retort, not responding right away.
But unable to withstand Ban Yu-won's unwavering gaze, he opened his mouth again to explain.
"They can't solve the crisis in their own dimension and are relying on higher-dimensional beings. I said it without thinking because it seemed pathetic."
"Hm."
Ban Yu-won nodded, realizing there was another way to look at it.
Still, judging them by his own standards without knowing the full situation in this dimension didn't feel entirely right to him either.
He had no desire to tear into Light over it.
Attention, all personnel.
Xenon amplified his voice with magic so it reached every gathered student, making another announcement.
The dimension of Gelas is currently battling a Monster Wave. The goal of this special activity is the complete suppression of the Monster Wave occurring in Gelonica.
"Ooooooh!"
"Thank you, thank you...!"
The ones shouting excitedly in response to Xenon's voice were none other than the soldiers gathered in the square.
Some collapsed on the spot, sobbing uncontrollably. Others stood rigid in salute, tears streaming down their faces. It was clear just how dire the Monster Wave crisis was in this dimension.
With thousands, even tens of thousands reacting this way, even Light—who had been shooting them disdainful looks for relying on Union Academy—found his eyes reddening, seemingly moved.
"Pathetic, huh?"
"Sh-shut up!"
We will now move to the most intense battlefield in this dimension for observation. Stay in place and follow the instructions of the faculty and student council.
The moment Xenon's words ended, a massive hemispherical barrier enveloped the thousand or so Union Academy members.
Soon, countless strings of text raced across the barrier's surface. Ban Yu-won recognized them as the runes forming a spatial transfer spell.
Incredibly, Xenon had activated a ritual to teleport the barrier—and everyone inside—to the battlefield!
Light, who had been sniffling along with the soldiers' tears, switched targets to Xenon, glaring in his direction.
"Did he just say 'observation' of the battlefield?"
"No way they're dragging this many people to the front lines just to sightsee."
Dokgo Yeon was right on the money.
When Ban Yu-won quietly asked Yumina, she explained that today was meant to show the horrors of a large-scale battlefield (or more precisely, to expose students to the harsh reality of lower dimensions), while also demonstrating the faculty's power.
Light seemed even more disgusted upon hearing that.
"Using people's deaths as a teaching tool. What do they even think those sacrifices mean...!"
"They're here to help, aren't they? Don't get too repulsed."
"If only I had a little more power..."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get stronger from now on."
Ban Yu-won, inwardly as shocked as Light, gave him a wry smile and patted his shoulder. Then a voice called from behind.
"We meet again, Ban Yu-won."
"Ah, Senior."
The man was even taller than Ban Yu-won, who had shot up to 185 centimeters thanks to his Incarnation Merit—by at least a handspan—and had a massive build.
His skin was a grayish hue, but otherwise, his physique wasn't much different from an Earthling's. He looked down at Ban Yu-won and spoke.
"I'm Graham, the student council secretary. Third-year."
"I remembered you, Senior Graham."
Ban Yu-won's peak popularity had started about two weeks ago, when he first uploaded footage from the tower's exploration.
Even now, first-years—and occasionally friendly second- and third-years—approached him now and then.
But this senior stood out among them all: he was the only one who had invited Ban Yu-won to join the academy's central student council.
"I see. Have you ever thought about joining the student council?"
"I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm still struggling to handle myself..."
"Hm. The student council will always welcome you. Feel free to ask if you have any questions."
Graham nodded heavily and moved on.
Ban Yu-won gave him an awkward smile as he passed, unsure how to respond to the overly high regard.
At first, he'd been flustered and declined out of ignorance, but he'd since learned the central student council wielded considerable authority.
They handled security for the academy and the floating island, managed facilities, and even influenced official academy events.
'Most importantly, none of the executives are from the Special Class.'
That was because they existed to check and monitor the Special Class, preventing abuses and ensuring fair competition among students.
Naturally, they clashed with the Special Class, and every member possessed skills surpassing those elite Special Class students.
Perhaps that's why they were trying to recruit him.
They must have anticipated Rebellion forming an opposition to the Special Class.
'They were one of the few groups treating Lower Dimension Special Admission students like actual people, in the name of fair competition.'
Still, it was regrettable that even they couldn't block Ortima's scheme this time, leveraging his family's influence.
In the end, a student-led group had its limits.
"We've arrived."
"Huh? Already... Ah."
Lost in thoughts about the student council, Ban Yu-won snapped back at Dokgo Yeon's voice from beside him, realizing the teleport had completed.
"Ah, ahh."
The stunned Lucelle grabbed Ban Yu-won's sleeve.
Following her gaze, Ban Yu-won soon wore a similar expression.
'What... the scale of this...'
They had teleported to a spot about 100 meters above the ground.
Below the sturdy barrier supporting their feet stretched an absurdly vast plain.
Or rather, what used to be a plain.
'You can see traces of collapsed buildings if you look closely... but.'
But that space was filled to the brim with an enormous number of monsters, most reduced to flying dust.
―Kuaaaaaargh!
―Let us become one. Turn the pitiful humans into comrades!
―Don't push! Hold the defensive line!
―Hold! I said hold! Hold the line!
―Kwaaaaa!
The monster horde blanketing the earth numbered in the millions, at least.
Of course, human armies opposed them, but so vastly outnumbered were they that their defensive lines looked on the verge of collapse.
Ban Yu-won swallowed hard at the sight of a true 'battlefield'—the first he'd ever witnessed—and muttered.
"So this... is what a Monster Wave is? I mean, is it always this horrific?"
"It's on a much larger scale than anything I've heard of..."
Goblins, orcs, trolls, ogres—these formed the wave's core.
There were also grotesquely twisted monsters, undead rising against death, and amorphous ones besides.
In the sky, harpies and wyverns led winged beasts on the rampage. Spotting the sudden appearance of a thousand humans in the air, they charged wildly—only to bounce off the barrier enshrouding them.
There are at least ten more battlefields like this in Gelas right now.
If dungeons are left unchecked, they resonate with natural mana, spawning absurd numbers of monsters. This is a Monster Wave. Fail to stop it, and the resonance grows, multiplying the monsters exponentially.
Xenon's explanation continued in a calm tone, as if they were on a field trip.
People were dying in real time below, making the nonchalance absurd.
As you see, when a wave intensifies, the effects can spread beyond natural mana to mana-laden objects or even humans. They then turn into monsters and join the wave.
"Kuh, grrr..."
"Quit growling like a beast and calm down, Light. Jumping in alone right now would just be suicide. But still... impressive."
The battlefield was as nightmarish as one in a world on the brink of doom.
Especially horrific was how the monsters' waves could transform humans into more monsters. Ban Yu-won, eyes wide, faintly made out the words Infection Wave.
That was the limit, though. Pinpointing the mana resonance's cause amid such complex, vast concepts was beyond him, barely starting to wield his authority.
'Of course, I wouldn't expect something on that scale to be easy to stop...'
Most students watched the carnage like it was an entertaining movie—literally spectating.
Not that there weren't any like Light, trembling with rage. But none could charge in to annihilate millions of monsters.
Many lower dimensions fall to Monster Waves they can't repel. Protecting them is a virtue of those at the top. Remember what you've seen today.
Xenon's voice was soft, almost emotionless.
As Ban Yu-won snorted, thinking it like some emperor's education, Xenon at the front took a light step forward.
Out of the barrier.
The change was instantaneous.
―Shwaaaaa...
Black storm clouds blanketed the sky in an instant.
Then black rain began to fall on the battlefield.
―Kiiiiik!
―Kurrk, kuhaaaaa!
Ban Yu-won didn't immediately realize where the sounds came from.
When he did—originating from the clouds overhead—he looked up, then quickly ducked his head.
It wasn't the Chancellor's overwhelming presence from mere observation.
This was a concept that wounded him just by observing it.
"Everything... everything's melting away..."
"Kiiing."
Light groaned, while Lucelle let out a beastly whine and clung to Ban Yu-won.
The black rain melted and oxidized everything it touched, impartially.
It spared neither objects nor people.
Humans, forewarned, retreated from the rain's area—but nearly ten percent, locked in combat with monsters, couldn't escape and melted alongside them.
"Whoa."
"As expected of the Vice-Chancellor. Wiping them out in one go."
"Can't even grasp what power he's using."
"...Terrifying."
Students whispered, awed by Xenon's display. Even Dokgo Yeon murmured in admiration.
"But it's not clean. True to my impression of him."
"Cruel, yeah...? No distinction between friend and foe."
Yumina, already aware of Xenon's abilities, frowned slightly too.
Ban Yu-won focused elsewhere.
'The concepts are vanishing.'
With so many lives ended, residual concepts should linger briefly—but there were none.
Not life dying and concepts fading.
Concepts dying, and life fading.
If Ban Yu-won faced that power, what could he do?
...He had no answer yet.
Now, moving to the next site.
Xenon, having erased millions of lives in mere minutes, spoke in his usual serene tone.
As spatial transfer runes blanketed the barrier again, Ban Yu-won pondered blankly. Then in his ear:
As I said earlier, don't forget what you've seen today. Keep it in mind.
For some reason, Xenon's voice etched itself clearly into his mind.