Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Lesson 14. Level Force - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Only after the conversation wrapped up and the situation settled down did Ban Yu-won finally have a moment to check the 'gift' he'd received from Dokgo Yeon earlier.
Life 50, Body 30, Magical Power 60, Domination 10, Charm 15, Divine Word 17
These were the concepts Ban Yu-won had successfully extracted from Lucien Ortima's right arm.
The arm must have held many other concepts besides these... but due to Ban Yu-won's low comprehension, the rest had likely dissipated.
One unexpected thing, though, was the absence of the star mark he'd obtained from Irecto.
In other words, Ortima hadn't contracted with a constellation.
'Well, considering they called it a family ruling the higher dimensions, at that level, they could probably pick and choose constellations to contract with. Every constellation contractor I've met so far has just been a puppet dancing to their constellation's whims.'
The star mark in his body had reached 0.9, glaring at him... but he'd get another chance to acquire more someday.
He shook off the lingering thoughts and absorbed the concepts.
Ortima wasn't some academy freshman—he was talent nurtured by one of the top powers across all dimensions—so the purity of the language concepts he held was extraordinarily high.
Each one carried an unshakeable persuasiveness incomparable to those from other beings. It was a presence only Ban Yu-won, who wielded the power of language, could sense.
Life's depth has reached 425, Body's depth has reached 285, Profound Qi's depth has reached 240.
In short, against monsters of similar caliber, he could now extract 100 Life and take 10 from it—but Ortima's concepts boasted a whopping 50% conversion rate.
Of course, Profound Qi required converting Magical Power first, so it was only about a third, but even that was immensely satisfying.
Absorbed Domination 10, awakening the language concept of Domination within your body. Domination's depth has reached 16.7.
Domination — The will to wield all things according to one's own desires.
Domination, a concept Ban Yu-won hadn't possessed, was fully absorbed like Charm—and astonishingly, it had already accumulated a depth of 6.7 without his awareness.
He first thought it stemmed from Lucelle's submission to him, but examining the Domination concept closely, it didn't feel like such a simplistic thing.
'If it built up just from commanding others, plenty of the monsters I've hunted would have spat out this concept. Plus, I already have Command.'
Thinking about why Ortima yielded this concept, the answer came easily.
Ortima possessed the power to twist and manipulate providence through his own will, didn't he?
In other words, Domination literally represented coercive influence over everything beyond oneself... all things. A somewhat arrogant conclusion, perhaps.
That line of thinking solidified when he absorbed the final concept, Divine Word, surpassing even Charm (which was fully absorbed).
All-Speaking Lips reacts to the higher concept Divine Word. Fully comprehended and absorbed Divine Word, raising All-Speaking Lips' depth to 180. Your voice can now carry strong intent and coercive force. Due to the growth and enlightenment of your unique ability, All-Reading Eyes and All-Hearing Ears' depths have also grown to 180.
Soul's depth has reached 580.
'Holy...'
This was the real jackpot!
All-Speaking Lips had been the slowest-growing among the three core concepts.
Yet now, it surged ahead in one go—not just growing by a whopping 15, but pulling All-Reading Eyes and All-Hearing Ears up to match it!
Of course, the Divine Word concept shattered in the process, but possessing just 17 Divine Word wouldn't grant Ortima's unique ability. Instead, it positively evolved and grew his own—nothing to complain about.
'No, if I hadn't had All-Speaking Lips, I might not have comprehended Divine Word at all and failed to absorb it. Anyway, jackpot.'
With all three core concepts tied to his ability now at depth 180, his Soul depth exploded to 580 as well.
This proved his hypothesis that his unique ability influenced his Soul.
"So, how was my gift?"
Dokgo Yeon spoke up, sensing skin-deep that Ban Yu-won had sorted and absorbed all the concepts, growing stronger.
"Yeah. Thanks from the heart. Honestly, I'm touched."
"Don't just say it—show some sincerity."
"Name it, anytime."
He smirked back, then realized there was still one more gift from her.
'I barely glanced at it earlier while hiding it and tossed it straight into my Inventory... but that was huge too.'
The iron orb brimming with ominous energy.
It seemed to be Ortima's weapon, thick with traces of his magic...
He wanted to pull it out and inspect it thoroughly, but the problem was Aire, still lingering in the room.
"..."
After Yumina firmly rejected her and explained why transfer to Class 11 wasn't allowed, she'd plopped down in a corner like a soulless corpse.
"Light, she still not leaving?"
"Why ask me?"
"Aren't you two close?"
Light, knowing she'd thrown herself into the dungeon to apologize to Ban Yu-won, stared back at him in disbelief.
Then, for some reason, he tilted his head with a hum.
"Ban, don't you look even more handsome now?"
"Don't say that to just anyone—you'll give them the wrong idea."
"But it's true."
Lucelle chimed in from the side.
"I just felt Yu-won's presence subtly shift."
"Ah."
Now he got why they were acting like this.
Probably the Charm.
Among the concepts from Ortima's arm, Charm was 15—and absorbing it pushed his Charm to exactly 50.
He'd thought there was no change when he first awakened Charm, but hitting 50 must've positively affected his appearance too.
'I'm screwed.'
If he'd known it'd cause noticeable changes, he wouldn't have absorbed or sorted concepts with an outsider like Aire around.
"It's fine."
Aire spoke as if reading his mind.
"I've known about your ability since the duel with Irecto."
"Ah."
"Across all dimensions, there are others with similar powers."
Doubtful.
Even estimating from what she'd observed, she'd peg it as 'ability theft' or 'absorption' at best—she couldn't grasp his true power.
"If you know, good. Let me explain."
Ban Yu-won explained that he'd stolen some of Ortima's Charm from his right arm, tailored to Aire's comprehension.
Lucelle, who received the savagery extracted from monsters via Ban Yu-won each time and thus intuitively understood concept theft, tilted her head after hearing the details.
"That man's Charm...? He wasn't charming at all. Compared to Yu-won..."
But unlike the blindly devoted Lucelle, Light was objective.
"He might look ugly to us, but purely face-wise, he wasn't below Ban. And Charm isn't just about looks anyway."
Spot on.
Charm was the power to sway others' hearts.
So Ortima, who wielded massive influence just by existing, naturally had high Charm.
He probably had immense Honor too, incomparable to Ban Yu-won's—but Honor apparently couldn't be stolen from others, so he hadn't gotten it this time.
"Light saying something so smart... what happened in that dungeon?"
"Ban, you don't hate me?"
"Nah, I like you."
Teasing him was endlessly fun.
"What?!"
Even now, he jumped in surprise, fidgeting with his chest and glancing at Ban Yu-won—how transparently obvious!
"Yu-won...?"
"No, Lucelle. Sorry."
But seeing Lucelle's piercing glare, it was time to ease up on teasing Light.
Then he realized someone else was staring intently too—not just Lucelle.
"...Aire? What?"
"Nothing."
But Ban Yu-won didn't miss her gaze flicking to Light for a moment.
...Hah, no way—Aire hadn't fallen for Light while breaking through the dungeon together, had she?
Entirely possible.
Light was a beautiful boy whose soft features could pass for a girl at a glance. While she cast magic, he'd bravely swung his spear to protect her... and reportedly even gave her one of Ban Yu-won's Life Candies at the end to help.
Any girl with normal sensibilities would fall for that.
That's why she hated seeing Ban Yu-won tease him!
"Can't be."
But that romance would end in tragedy.
Because Light was hiding his true self...!
In that case, her failing to transfer to Class 11 might be for the best—for her sake.
All he could do was pray she found new love soon.
"Hang in there."
"?"
Aire finally stood, tilting her head at his sincere words...
"I'll keep what I heard today secret."
"Obviously."
"As long as Light doesn't spill my secret first."
Deep enough after one day to share secrets!
"Then I'm off. ...I won't give up."
"Giving up quick might be better for you."
"Not giving up."
She shot him a glare and left the room.
Light scolded Ban Yu-won.
"No matter how much you dislike it, no need to shoot her down so bluntly."
"Ha, Light, if you knew why I said that, you'd... No, never mind."
Light looked awkward at Ban Yu-won's pitiful head-shake.
Meanwhile, ever the most objective judge, Dokgo Yeon saw right through Ban Yu-won scripting a novel in his head.
"That guy seems to be under some silly misunderstanding."
"It's cute."
Lucelle giggled, narrowing Dokgo Yeon's eyes.
"Beast, you're suffering from his annoying misconceptions too. Right now, he's convinced you only stuck to him to resolve your Madness (Heart Furnace)."
"Including that, it's good."
"Man-woman relations are beyond me."
"..."
Lucelle eyed Dokgo Yeon brazenly saying that—despite this mess stemming from exactly those relations, with her at the core—wondering if she wasn't similar to Ban Yu-won.
...Maybe that's why Dokgo Yeon paid him extra attention?
"Ortima doesn't seem like he'll give up."
"Then that day will be his funeral. Ban Yu-won was thrilled with just one arm—if I bring the rest, it'll be quite the show. ...Should've beheaded him and taken that crown. Regrettable."
Lucelle gaped.
Naturally thinking of pampering Ban Yu-won while discussing another man?
She's the most dangerous.
Reaffirming that, Lucelle vowed not to lose.
"What? Where's my iron orb? ...Eve, you ate it?!"
"Shh, shiii."
"Said it was a concept more needed by your kin than the master, so you shared with Lilith and Tike too...? Fine, I get you wield my power. ...No, good job eating it. As long as it was tasty."
"...Ban, crying?"
"Nah, just happy."
And so, the second day of special activities ended.
Thanks to the unforeseen clash with Exodus canceling the rest of the day's schedule—group free time postponed to the next day—the third day became a full play day.
...It felt like a school trip to the bitter end.