Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Lesson 13. Because I Need to See You Kneel - 2
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That dungeon was a maze-like space eerily similar to the one he'd encountered once before in the tower.
Sand-colored walls towered on all sides, the passages were severely limited, and from far beyond those walls came the unclean breathing of ominous presences.
The moment he opened his eyes here, he instantly realized this place was incomparably more dangerous than the maze in the tower.
So Ban Yu-won decided to address the discomfort in his body first.
Why discomfort? Because Lucelle was clinging tightly to him.
"Lucelle, calm down. I'm fine."
"But that woman... to Master...!"
Lucelle's hair was already half dyed black.
Perhaps her desperate grip on Ban Yu-won stemmed from fear that letting go of his body would mean losing her reason entirely.
And that made sense—the dimensional pirates' fleet had appeared, spiking the tension; the guide had suddenly revealed his true colors and spawned the dungeon; Aneri had drawn her dagger and hurled it; one frantic event after another.
"When we got pulled in here, that woman tried to drag Master away."
"Ah, so that was Aneri I felt."
"So I kicked that bitch away and secured Master."
Ban Yu-won pondered how to respond as Lucelle proudly declared this, puffing out her chest with an "ahem."
Seeing her subtly offering her head to him, it seemed like the perfect moment to pet her.
He obliged her wish and conveyed his gratitude.
"Thanks for protecting me, Lucelle."
"Protecting Master is only natural."
But her beaming face didn't quite match her words.
Cute enough that it didn't matter.
"By the way, Aneri is probably on our side."
"What?! But the male guide was clearly Exodus's..."
Lucelle shot back in disbelief.
Ban Yu-won nodded with a wry smile.
"The man's the enemy, all right. Tied not just to Exodus, but to Ortima's faction too."
Because he'd been the one to lure Dokgo Yeon toward Ban Yu-won.
Ortima was gunning for both of them at once.
So he'd used the guide to naturally lead Dokgo Yeon to join Ban Yu-won, then triggered the dungeon to suck them both in.
All during the Exodus assault, when Yumina couldn't shield them... maybe even bribing Professor Kantone to restrict their movements with that crafty spell!
He said "maybe," but recalling how the male guide had moved freely unaffected by Kantone's magic, his suspicions were nearly 100% confirmed.
"So the Ortima family really has joined hands with Exodus."
"Looks like it. Didn't expect them to drag in dimensional pirates, though."
Ortima must have reached out after Exodus got burned by Ban Yu-won's "Rebellion" video upload.
Exodus were scum like that anyway, but the Ortima family's willingness to push forward regardless of the collateral damage to other academy students was just absurd.
Even if they wriggled out of this mess, could he report the Ortimases? Of course not—no evidence left behind.
Ban Yu-won could only shake his head at the outrageous antics of a colossal force that dominated the higher dimensions.
"Th-then what about the woman?"
"When that bastard was about to open the dungeon, the woman... Aneri sensed it before us and tried to stop him."
If they were in cahoots, she had no reason to do that.
Of course, she wasn't some ordinary soldier either.
Even assuming she had her own ulterior motives, one thing was clear: she wasn't with Ortima or Exodus.
"She's definitely not from this dimension either, so we stay cautious."
"Yes!"
"...Lucelle, you're keeping the honorifics, right?"
"Yes!"
Ban Yu-won gave up quickly.
He had to accept that his relationship with Lucelle was no longer something he could redefine on his own terms.
That aside, if she didn't let go soon, his own sanity was about to hit its limit.
"Calmed down now? Then..."
"Ah, yes. Sorry!"
Lucelle seemed aware she'd been clinging too much.
She pulled away with an awkward expression and said,
"I sense monsters beyond the wall. They probably sense us too, but they're not moving..."
"No monster movement."
"Yes. Seems like the standard rules. Though since it's a dungeon made by the constellation sponsoring Exodus, it might have unfair conditions rigged against us..."
It was right at that moment.
The wall right beside them vibrated and rotated open.
And beyond it, in the new passage revealed, a massive four-legged beast—at least three meters tall—was planted firmly on the floor, growling.
"Yup, total BS."
―Kuooooong!
Bronze-skinned with a tiger's face, the monster slid across the floor like it was greased, roaring as it charged straight at them.
Planning to smash them into the wall and pulp them?
Ban Yu-won reflexively leaped aside, but Lucelle held her ground.
"—Ha!"
―Kuhaaaak!
Lucelle dropped low, met its charge head-on, kicked off the floor, and nailed a dropkick right to its front paw!
The dropkick was so flawless even pro wrestlers would weep—and shockingly, the monster couldn't withstand the impact. It screamed and floated into the air for a split second.
'No way—that thing's mass is at least twenty times hers, and she dropkicked it airborne? For real?'
Dropkicks relied on slamming your weight into the enemy, didn't they? Meaning Lucelle's slender frame actually weighed more than that beast...? Nah, no way.
Ban Yu-won shut down the pointless thoughts and kicked off the floor toward it.
The monster was airborne, unable to control its own body.
Against a foe robbed of momentum control, countering with reversal principles wasn't hard at all.
"Eat this!"
Ban Yu-won leaped and drove the tip of the weapon he held—the spearhead-sharp end of the staff—right into the monster's brow, activating Monstrous Strength.
―Kyak! Treating me so barbarically...!
Ignoring Cellon's useless chatter, he poured strength into both arms.
The depth-35 Monstrous Strength strings sucked in sword energy, glowed fiercely, and set his whole body ablaze with heat!
"Gandalf Attack!"
―Kahak!
Kwachik!
Ban Yu-won's massively amplified power, bolstered by the opponent's own force channeled through the staff, effortlessly pierced the monster's tough hide and skull, pulverizing its brain.
A flawless, impeccable strike.
'Figured it'd work, but damn, it holds up even in close quarters. Maybe add spear or halberd concepts?'
―Stop it, I'm a staff! ...No, I'm no mere staff!
'What do you want me to do, then?'
"Whew."
Not wanting to deal with being pinned under the corpse, Ban Yu-won swiftly absorbed its bodily concepts, oxidizing the remains before landing cleanly.
The haul wasn't all that satisfying, but he decided to chalk it up as proof of his growth.
'Ferocity suits the thing. Hardening's like what Lilith had—probably what toughens their hides. Damn sturdy.'
It might look easy since he'd one-shot it, but that strike had landed Monstrous Strength plus full reversal principle.
If he'd had to face it one-on-one without that, he'd have been gripping the Executioner's Longsword with Blood Poison at the ready—no Gandalf cosplay.
"That was so cool, Master...!"
As he collected the concepts and turned, Lucelle was clapping with eyes sparkling like stars.
Ban Yu-won felt sheepish at her blatant flattery.
"You did all the work; I just finished it. Anyway, it dropped Ferocity."
"Ferocity!"
He hadn't meant it that way, but Lucelle successfully absorbed the full 0.5 Ferocity he'd transferred to her, deepening her loyalty and affection even further.
Gazing at the Servitude concept that had ballooned to 5 inside her all on its own, Ban Yu-won despaired quietly.
"Master, loot."
"For real."
Not an elite monster, yet it dropped loot even after total concept absorption?
Puzzled, he picked it up: a map fragment.
It depicted part of the maze they were in, complete with an escape route marked.
Naturally, Ban Yu-won didn't buy it for a second.
He tore it to shreds in one go and scoffed.
"Our goal isn't clearing this dungeon to begin with."
"But to get out, we have to clear it."
"It's made by Exodus's sponsoring constellation. No way they'd let us clear it cleanly—and even if we did, we wouldn't actually escape."
So Ban Yu-won set his top priority.
Link up with Dokgo Yeon and As Light, who must've been dragged in here too.
Fortunately, that wouldn't be hard.
'Mina sis is the best.'
The flower ornaments Yumina had given each Rebellion member.
Besides shielding them with embedded magic power, they let wearers pinpoint each other's locations.
With these, linking up with Dokgo Yeon and As Light would be a breeze.
'The problem...'
When they'd been sucked into the dungeon, he remembered two figures flying their way.
One was definitely Lucein Ortima, who'd planned this with Exodus from the start. The other's identity nagged at him.
Even if Kantone had aided him, no way he'd ditch them in front of the whole class to rush over...
'Safe bet the other's an enemy too... Not sure if Lucelle and I can take Ortima together, let alone with backup. Things could get really messy.'
He was resolved, but anxiety was unavoidable.
How could he have predicted the Exodus assault followed by the dungeon trap?
No guarantee the monsters making up this dungeon would stay pushovers forever either...
Not easy. Ban Yu-won smacked his lips.
'Yumina's barrier's there, and I've got emergency bombs and potions... Huh?'
Lost in thought, he suddenly noticed Lucelle staring right at his face.
Her cheeks were quite flushed.
"What's up?"
"Ah, no. Nothing."
At his voice, she snapped back to her senses and edged away a bit.
Only then did Ban Yu-won realize how close they'd been.
Not him leaning in—she'd closed the distance herself.
Close enough to see his reflection in her pink eyes.
Still close, even now.
Some intangible force seemed to keep her pinned near him, refusing to let go.
'She's insanely pretty... No, stop. Demon, back off!'
Re-recognizing their situation, Ban Yu-won started to tense up.
But in a death-trap dungeon, he had no room for such distractions. He forcibly calmed himself with a cough.
"Ahem... You okay, Lucelle?"
"I'm fine. Sorry, Master. ...Guess the battle got me a little hyped."
Probably a side effect of her heart path activating.
Ever since she'd started calling him Master, activation split her emotions evenly: half combative negativity, half loyalty and affection toward him, striking a delicate balance.
But post-battle, the negativity faded while the positive lingered and amplified, resulting in... this.
"Let's hurry, Lucelle!"
A chilling thrill, a heart-pounding tickle spreading from his chest throughout his body.
A tension utterly different from battle. Ban Yu-won forced out a loud shout.
"Gotta move fast and link up with the others. Exodus goons could show any second."
"...Yeah, let's."
Lucelle looked almost disappointed for a second, then flashed a bright smile and nodded.
...Ban Yu-won, for several reasons, desperately hoped this maze would end soon.