Chapter 7

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Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 7

Chapter Title: Lesson 2. This Is Your Roommate - 3

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For a full day after that, Ban Yu-won kept himself busy without a moment's rest.

He sorted the relics in his trunk into those from which he would extract only the concepts and those he would preserve intact. On top of that, he bought up a massive quantity of everyday items that seemed ripe for concept extraction.

In the process, his Code Core started running low on capacity, so he urgently sought out items possessing the concept of a core. The solution turned out to be ridiculously simple.

Fruit seeds of any kind yielded about 0.05 worth of the core concept.

As a result, he bought so many fruits that a fruit vendor might have mistaken him for a competitor, extracting a total of 155 depths' worth of cores in the process.

The leftover fruit concepts—that is, the pulp—were all gathered together. At first, he experimented to see if he could split it into fruit and meat, but as expected, it was impossible.

Pulp was merely the flesh of the fruit, not meat itself.

Through this, Ban Yu-won realized that he couldn't split every language concept made of Chinese characters, and that a sub-concept like pulp couldn't easily surpass the limitations of its parent concept like fruit.

The key point was that no matter how much he could dissect language concepts, he couldn't defy the natural order.

In other words, you couldn't live life trying to take the easy way out every time.

"What should I do with this concept? If I cram it all into one watermelon, wouldn't it make an insanely delicious one?"

"We're not eating it right now anyway, so why not just make it into canned stuff or something?"

"Whoa, Sis, are you a genius?"

Ban Yu-mi's offhand remark while watching his work suddenly enlightened him.

He immediately pulled a jar of strawberry jam from the luggage he'd packed (since he wouldn't be returning home for a while, he'd stuffed his inventory full of preserved Earth foods like canned goods and instant ramen).

"Why a jar instead of a can?"

"With a can, once you open it, you have to finish it. But this we can share."

"You're just trying to get rid of the jam, aren't you?"

He started by adding 1 at a time (which was no small amount, requiring several fruits to produce), observing the changes. Seeing no major visible differences, he grew bolder and added 5 at a stretch.

By the time he snapped out of it, all 570 depths' worth of pulp extracted from the 155 cores had been crammed into that single jar!

"Oh crap, I overdid it...!"

"Hey, it's glowing."

Just as he was bracing to hurl the jar away in fear of an explosion, the contents inside began emitting a dazzling light, just as Ban Yu-mi said.

In that tense moment, the light faded, and a notification window from the Babylonia Code appeared before Ban Yu-won's eyes.

The moment he read it, Ban Yu-won generously peeled off about 5 depths of the seal concept he'd separated and collected from snack bags earlier, then applied it to the jar.

The change was immediate.

"Whoa, I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even making elixirs now."

"What's that? What happened?"

Instead of answering, Ban Yu-won opened the freshly sealed jar, scooped out a big spoonful of the contents, took a bite himself, then fed one to his sister.

Stars filled her eyes.

"Mmmph... This is... delicious! So good...!"

"No more for you."

"Wow, wow!"

"If you're jealous, make your own. Grandpa! Come here and have a bite of jam!"

"Aw, Grandpa prefers yanggaeng..."

With that, he'd successfully dealt with both the cores and the pulp.

He also learned that even ordinary concepts, when gathered and compressed in a special way, could transform into something entirely new.

Now it was time to head to the academy.

"Don't get discouraged, son. And I'll go ahead and register you at S University. Come back anytime."

"Yeah, I get it—Dad has zero expectations for me."

After receiving his father's utterly laid-back farewell—which outdid even Ban Yu-won's own nonchalance—he turned to find his mother pulling him into a tight hug.

"Take care of yourself, my son."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You'll come back even if it kills you, right?"

"If I die, I can't come back. I'll go and come back safe."

"Sigh, honestly..."

"Yu-won."

As Ban Yu-won barely extricated himself from his mother's embrace, Ban Ji-won approached.

Amazingly, he'd kept his composure ever since first hearing about Babel Tower from Ban Yu-won. Dressed neatly even now, he evoked memories of his prime working years.

The very image of the grandfather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ban Yu-won had always admired and emulated.

"Don't forget the family's unspoken wish."

"I'll somehow get you into the tower before graduation."

"Good boy, my grandson."

Here, only the grandfather and grandson shared a fierce longing and desire for the 'tower.'

They embraced strongly, and after their farewell, Ban Yu-won tossed a word to his sister, who was staring blankly at him.

"Sis, don't get caught doping at your tournament for no reason."

"Idiot, why enter a tournament if you're gonna cheat?"

Even as her little brother headed to some unknown other world, her attitude remained unchanged.

Then again, that was what put his mind at ease.

"Alright, do your best. I'm off."

Ban Yu-won chuckled, gave his family one last look, then responded to the message that had appeared before his eyes moments ago.

He closed his eyes and opened them to find himself in a massive auditorium.

The people on either side flinched in surprise at his sudden appearance, then frowned upon seeing his uniform.

"What, bottom-feeder? Why are you here?"

"Get lost over there."

"Oh, thanks."

They'd even told him where to go—such kind friends.

Ban Yu-won waved to the freshmen who'd kindly pointed out his seat, then headed to the area reserved for Lower Dimension Special Admission passers.

He hadn't expected them to segregate seats too. As Light had warned, things might get a bit rough ahead.

Come to think of it, he'd only just noticed the uniforms were different.

'And the auras radiating from all around... Ugh. These are all freshmen, right?'

He was still a total newbie, but he'd cleared a dungeon, gained insight into the concept of Magical Power, and spent a full night sparring with Ban Yu-mi—someone far superior—learning to read an opponent's presence to some degree.

Yet even the weakest-looking one among those around him felt over ten times stronger than Ban Yu-won.

If he could touch them, he might try interpreting their language concepts, but he could hardly ask these hostility-reeking folks, "Mind if I grab your hand real quick?"

For now, all he could do was puff out his chest, pretend to be bold, and hurry to his seat.

'If Grandpa hadn't helped, I'd really be lost. At least thanks to that, I've stocked up on aces.'

The spot he reached after weaving through had just four chairs set apart, like they'd been exiled.

"Ban!"

"Light, hey. This our spot? Special seats are awesome."

"Aw, awes... haha..."

There, besides Light—who was grimacing at Ban Yu-won's slang overload—were two more female students.

"Oh, hi."

"Uh, hi."

One had strikingly bright pink eyes and hair like bubblegum, with a black streak in her bangs. She was a beauty with a puppy-like, pure, and cute vibe.

But Ban Yu-won struggled not to let his gaze drift to her exceptionally ample chest, rather than her lush, flashy hair or face.

She seemed aware of it, hunching her body as her default posture—which only made it more heartbreaking—so he focused on suppressing his instincts.

"Uh, hi to you too."

"...Hmph."

The other had another extravagantly striking feature.

Her long hair shimmered with an unnatural luster, pure white, while her eyes were entirely black—no whites— with a silver cross floating in the center of her pupils.

This already strayed a bit from Ban Yu-won's concept of humanity.

Some kind of demonic eye from a comic? He felt needlessly intimidated.

'No, but are these really Lower Dimension Special Admissions? All three could crush the regular track...'

As Light, whose strength he'd gauged two days ago, exuded an aura that might surpass professors on a good day—not to mention the black-and-white girl with her chilling presence—even the puppy girl trembling like a lamb felt leagues above Ban Yu-won!

The silver lining was that, true to the prestige of the dimension's top academy, amid all sorts of bizarre species enrolling, these at least looked somewhat human.

And attractive ones at that!

'One doesn't seem quite human... but staring at her, she has some eerie charm. Yeah, a bewitching allure.'

True to his language prowess, Ban Yu-won coined a fitting term and felt satisfied.

Then he noticed her cross pupils fixed straight on him and flinched.

"W-What's up?"

"That thing... floating around you. Intriguing."

"Huh? Oh, the Dokkaebi Club?"

It wasn't surprising for someone sensitive to presences to notice the Dokkaebi Club.

When Ban Yu-won summoned it to his palm, she leaned in close without blinking, scrutinizing it intently.

Then she smirked.

Curiously, the overwhelming pressure from her dropped sharply in that instant.

"I'm Dokgo Yeon, daughter of a martial world denizen. And you are?"

"Uh, your name..."

"So you only learned my name now... ...after days as roommates."

From what the other two said, this was apparently her first self-introduction.

But Ban Yu-won had something else on his mind.

"Ban Yu-won. Martial world? You mean like kung fu stuff? Palm winds and all?"

"Pfft."

The girl who'd named herself Dokgo Yeon burst out laughing at "palm wind."

Ban Yu-won paled, wondering if he'd offended her, but since Light and the puppy girl laughed too, it wasn't rude.

"Your perception isn't... pfft, entirely wrong."

"For real. Well, with fantasy worlds out there, martial worlds make sense."

"Among countless dimensions, the number of martial worlds—'dimensions where mana cultivation methods and martial arts infused with religion, philosophy, and other ideologies are systematically established'—is said to exceed ten thousand, Ban."

Light chimed in, seizing the chance to bond with his fellow special admits.

"Ten thousand?!"

"...Hmph."

Ban Yu-won was purely shocked, but Dokgo Yeon shot Light a slightly cold glance.

It could come off as belittling her home dimension depending on how you took it.

Light realized his slip, looking sheepish as he backed off.

"Sorry, no intent to demean your birth dimension. Just sharing the fact purely..."

"...!"

"Light, better stay quiet."

"Y-Yeah."

Thankfully, no martial arts demonstration erupted in fury before their eyes.

She must've decided to ignore him, turning away sharply and extending a hand to Ban Yu-won.

"Ban Yu-won, pleased to meet you... I sense a bond with you."

"Yeah, same here. Don't forget to give as good as you get if there's something in it for you."

"Hehe."

She didn't seem as scary as he'd first thought.

As Ban Yu-won shook her hand with that judgment, the cross in her eyes lightly rotated.

Not sure if it was positive, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was going well until that super creepy finish!

"Um!"

As the two chatted amiably, someone piped up from the side.

The pink-haired puppy girl.

"Pleased to meet you too...! Lucelle—no family name, just Lucelle."

"A-Ahem. As Light. Call me Light. Nice to meet you. Lucelle, Dokgo."

"Dokgo?"

Dokgo Yeon—who'd seemed in a good mood till now—frowned.

"Call me Dokgo Yeon."

"Ah, haha... Looks like the ceremony's about to start."

Light pointed ahead with his now-familiar wry smile after the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rebuke.

Nine professors ascended the stage at the auditorium's center.

Ban Yu-won spotted Professor Yumina with her green skin and red petal hair, feeling a spark of fondness. As if sensing it, she turned, giving him a small smile.

"Had an interview?"

"Yeah, with her."

As he chatted with Light.

Suddenly, fireworks boomed from thin air.

Everyone reflexively looked up.

The auditorium ceiling parted, revealing a colossal eye beyond.

—All are gathered.

An existence that shouldn't be perceivable had manifested.

So transcendently vast and exalted that merely gazing upon it would crush frail lives unto death.

Ban Yu-won barely registered the eye, suffering a horrific shock—but it wasn't for naught.

As Ban Yu-won widened his eyes at unexpectedly growing his innate concepts.

Was it his imagination, or had the giant eye just looked at him?

But probably just that.

—Then, we shall commence the 2,557th entrance ceremony of Union Academy.

Such a exalted being recognizing the tiny existence of Ban Yu-won individually? Impossible.