Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Lesson 16. The Tutorial is Over - 3
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The shocking truth that the very first artifact he'd obtained in the tower turned out to be a sealed constellation surprisingly meant nothing right now.
"So, do you know exactly which constellation sealed you?"
―No... I only vaguely remember their face.
The constellations Ban Yu-won had just checked in the sanctuary were all in the form of glowing orbs of light.
Remembering a face didn't mean squat.
"And you know how to regain your power?"
―If I keep using spirit energy, the bonds on my soul should loosen bit by bit.
But that wouldn't dramatically change Ceron's situation anytime soon.
"You said you don't even remember who your contractor was."
―Once the soul bonds loosen, I should be able to find them! Assuming... that child hasn't died, of course.
Even the name Ceron might not be real, so there wasn't much more he could do for her right now.
He'd just have to climb the tower slowly and investigate along the way.
The only gain was learning a bit about her true identity.
'No, there was another gain.'
Ban Yu-won muttered to himself as he examined the staff, which had changed form once more.
It had grown a bit longer, and black letters now coiled around the shaft like vines, adding a powerful new concept.
[Ceron's Tears: Soul 400, Spirit Energy 300, Curse 100]
The curse concept had emerged from her specific awareness of those who sealed her and the intense rage she felt toward them. It was born from understanding the sealing concept they'd used on her and partially absorbing it into her own power.
―It's a completely separate power from magic. I interpreted another constellation's power with my own authority and turned it into my strength. Does that disgust you? If so, you don't have to use this staff anymore.
"Nah, it's pure gold."
The curse power applied to every spell cast through the staff, corrupting and strengthening them all at once.
Why would Ban Yu-won, who had already embraced a constellation's power himself, reject it just because it was called a curse? Stronger magic was a win, plain and simple.
"Alright, let's sum this up quick. I don't like constellations much either, and you got betrayed by them too, right? Our goals might align going forward... What do you think, Ceron?"
―Agreed. I'll cooperate more actively from now on. I can teach you everything I know about magic. In return, if you find my contractor... if that child is still alive, please help her. Please.
"If she's alive, yeah. I'll pay back what I owe you."
―Yeah... It's a fair trade.
With that, the bond between Ban Yu-won and Ceron grew a little tighter.
Part of it was Ceron gaining clarity on her own purpose.
But it was also because Ban Yu-won had opened his heart to her, just a bit.
'I thought all constellations just exploited their contractors.'
The way Ceron talked about her contractor—whose face she couldn't even remember—was like a parent fretting over a child left by the riverside.
Pushing aside her vengeance against the constellations to worry first about her contractor's safety? Her sincerity seemed genuine, zero chance of it being an act.
'The ones who messed with me were all scum... but maybe some aren't.'
Just like Yumina had once told him, perhaps there really were good constellations out there like her.
The thought flickered, ever so faintly.
* * *
As Ban Yu-won had inwardly hoped, the rooms starting from 21 were massively larger once again.
They differed wildly from what they'd learned in class, but none of the Rebellion members cared about such minor discrepancies anymore.
The problem was that the sheer size of the rooms meant clearing even one took a ton of time, regardless of the party's combat power. And that was with Ban Yu-won using his All-Reading Eyes to find the fastest path—it was downright chilling.
"Light, if you get us lost again, I'm seriously killing you."
"Why's everyone singling me out?! I hate you all!"
Room 21 had been a massive cave, but Room 22 was a withered forest in the grip of winter.
The tower's structure had shifted into a forest!
Then, pushing through to Room 23 revealed a small town seamlessly connected to the forest, to their astonishment.
That's when it hit them.
"Wait, this is..."
"A linkage."
Dokgo Yeon's words brought tension rippling through the group.
They'd experienced a linkage once before, from Room 15 to 16.
With a trick room thrown in, it had nearly gotten even Dokgo Yeon lost—a shocking difficulty spike. Which was why no one could take this lightly.
"Probably linked from Room 22?"
"Think about it, though. To clear Room 21, we had to beat the elite monster and find the exit out of the cave. If Room 22's environment represents the forest outside that cave..."
"It could be a double linkage."
Ban Yu-won nodded instinctively.
Of course. This was what made it a proper tower.
"Sun's probably setting by now. Let's head into the city first... Would be nice if some monsters showed up instead."
But even as he said it, Ban Yu-won was half-resigned already.
Why else would conquering the tower require experience from various outer dimensions?
He had a pretty good guess at the answer.
"H-Hey, travelers? Stay out! Don't bring more chaos to our city!"
"Begone, monsters! The city's ruin is all your fault!"
"What are those... People?"
As Light gaped, muttering in shock at the beings atop the walls. They looked utterly human, armed with crude weapons aimed right at the party.
Dokgo Yeon sighed in response.
"Not sure if they're people, but they're definitely not monsters."
"Yeah."
Ban Yu-won nodded with a wry smile, mirroring her expression.
Right now, echoing in their minds was the tower's familiar voice from two weeks ago.
―Do not attack the innocent.
"Especially since they're protected by that damn rule."
Room 23 was a small world ruled by unidentified beings and the trick rule safeguarding them.
A linkage spanning two rooms, plus a trick room on top.
No way clearing this would be easy.
―Huh? You... You can tell good from evil, right...?
'Let's hold off for now.'
Ceron tilted her head after grasping the room's rule, but Ban Yu-won decided against jumping to conclusions.
The party's eyes were turning to him now.
Reaware of his role as their representative, he cleared his throat with a cough and stepped forward.
Thwack! An arrow slammed into the ground at his feet.
"Don't come any closer!"
"Calm down. If something's happening in the city, we can help..."
Thwip, thwip! More arrows flew in.
They had zero interest in talking.
'Whatever's going down in the city, we've got no reason to be suspects just for arriving. But they don't have a shred of reason left.'
Ban Yu-won was confident that once he got a word in—thanks to his innate linguistic talent—he could either convince them or make their heads explode from sheer frustration. But if they wouldn't even let him speak?
No options left.
Hiss...
Eve's eyes gleamed, tongue flicking out in fury at the humans threatening his master. But even a familiar couldn't ignore a trick room's rule, so Ban Yu-won had to rein him in before he did something stupid.
"What now, Ban?"
"Yeah. Pretty sure we need to get inside to make progress."
After a moment's thought, Ban Yu-won scanned the group, nodded, and decided.
"Fall back for now. We need to set up camp."
"Ugh, I was so excited to rest in an actual building for once."
"No choice. Let's go."
The party slipped away from the wall-top watchers—human-like or not—and retreated to the forest entrance of Room 22.
Rooms 21 and 22 alone had been huge, so by now it was evening. Room 23 seemed affected by the outside world too; the sky was growing dim.
Ban Yu-won pulled tents from his inventory, set them up, then rolled nearby branches, stones, and snowballs into the words Protection and Alert.
Raising the staff, he stabbed the center—thud—and a mix of his and Ceron's spirit energy absorbed into the words, forming an invisible barrier around the tents just as he'd envisioned.
Anyone sneaking up on them uninvited would trigger an alarm.
"It's like a magic formation."
"Just don't mess it up, and we're good. Dinner time."
Ban Yu-won heated a pot of meat stew from his inventory and shared the bakery loaves he'd stocked up on, restoring everyone's energy.
"We'd be screwed without your inventory, Ban..."
"Other students come in lugging huge backpacks for camping."
"I get the romantic appeal, but..."
Romance didn't fill bellies. Convenience ruled.
Lucelle, perhaps uneasy about relying solely on Ban Yu-won's inventory—or maybe just unimpressed by the restaurant-bought stew—offered seriously.
"I'll make breakfast tomorrow, Yu-won."
"Appreciate it, but I'd rather get into that city..."
"The city aside, though."
Dokgo Yeon, ever vigilant even while eating, grimaced as she chewed stew-soaked bread and muttered.
"No monsters have shown up at all."
"Now that you mention it."
In Room 21, armored wolf-beasts had hounded them endlessly. Here, the environment was similar, yet zero monster presence—it felt off.
"Maybe those things on the wall are the monsters."
"Don't jinx it, or we'll end up like last exploration."
"Why are you looking at me?!"
"Overactive imagination, Light."
After dinner, Ban Yu-won asked As Light—who'd volunteered for dishes out of guilt, unprompted—to handle cleanup and pulled Dokgo Yeon aside.
"Something you need from me? The beast might get jealous."
"Dokgo Yeon, those humans earlier... They didn't look that strong, right?"
She'd been pouting with lame jokes, but straightened at his serious tone.
"That's why I didn't attack outright. If they're hiding their power, the difficulty would be insane."
"What if you and I snuck in?"
"Me, maybe. You?"
Dokgo Yeon snorted, eyeing him up and down the moment he said it.
Ban Yu-won felt deeply insulted.
"If you're talking about that amateur stealth of yours, no dice. You've improved lately, but still..."
"That's not all I've got."
"Hm?"
Over the past few days, Dokgo Yeon had sparred against his Shadow Step, raising its depth to 38—nearly double.
But Ban Yu-won had one more card he hadn't shown: Assassination 65, gained alongside the massive boost to Shadow Step from the shadow weasel.
'I was gonna master Shadow Step first before revealing it.'
Bad call.
His Shadow Step was enhanced by the shadow weasel's concept.
Obviously, pairing it with Assassination from the same source would be stronger!
"Watch out."
"Heh, warning me while charging head-on? How ri—"
Dokgo Yeon smirked mid-sentence, then narrowed her eyes.
He'd vanished completely. She couldn't help but freak out.
'Hid his presence perfectly. Even his internal energy? How? Fooling me?'
The next instant, she sensed sword energy slicing toward her neck from above and thrust out her hand.
Her fingers caught Ban Yu-won's blade mid-thrust.
His dumbfounded face was icing on the cake.
"Damn, blocked like that. Finger-stopping a blade? That's actually possible?"
"Impressive progress, though. I totally lost you for a split second... How?"
Ban Yu-won explained the concepts from the shadow weasel.
He'd first gotten Shadow Step from a constellation contractor. It hadn't meant much then, but the weasel's unique shadow concept perfected it—provided he paired it with Assassination.
"Hmm. Hmmm. Hmmmm..."
All Ban Yu-won wanted was a yes or no on teaming up for stealth. Why was Dokgo Yeon agonizing so long?
Just say no if it was a no—what was she hesitating for?
As he moved to prod her, she finally spoke, hesitantly.
"Martial arts..."
"What?"
Ban Yu-won blinked in confusion.
Dokgo Yeon squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out.
"I'll teach you martial arts!"
"...Again?"