Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Lesson 21. They Say It's a Special Admission - 2
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Union Academy's seventh-week Monday morning.
As Ban Yu-won checked the reactions to the video he'd uploaded yesterday on his Mirror, Light reacted with disbelief.
"No matter how you slice it, you uploaded this? Ban, are you some kind of YouTube zombie?"
"Light, your modern vocab has really improved."
"Don't talk like I'm some relic from the past!"
Busted.
Light felt an urge to grab and yank Ban Yu-won's playfully sticking-out tongue without mercy.
Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon, dissatisfied with today's breakfast menu, dumped some plain yogurt over her cereal along with Ban Yu-won's elixir jam and munched away with her usual listless expression.
"The vibes were good. Why not just stay out overnight while you were at it?"
"O-overnight."
Lucelle's face turned the color of a ripe strawberry.
Ban Yu-won gritted his teeth and pretended not to hear her as he replied.
"We can't just keep putting out videos of us killing monsters every day and cracking jokes among ourselves, so I tried this concept. The reactions aren't bad, right? Honestly, during exam period, we only had duel and study footage, so uploads dropped off. I figured it was time for some fresh stimulus."
"Sure, the views are through the roof, but... it doesn't seem like all of Lucelle's fans are thrilled."
Light pointed to the comments section as he spoke.
Ban Yu-won was stunned to see shocking insults mixed in among them.
There were plenty targeting Lucelle, but Ban Yu-won got his fair share too.
Even preachy comments scolding them for dating when they should focus solely on climbing the tower.
"What, are we idols who have to follow some no-dating clause?"
"Humans project their expectations wildly and get disappointed just as wildly. Maybe because they don't face us in person, they pour out their feelings without restraint."
"But I've always been pretty obvious about liking Yu-won..."
Lucelle, finally recovering from the shock of that "overnight" word, chimed in.
As she'd said, her devotion to Ban Yu-won had been clear in previous videos.
So why the uproar now?
He knew the reason but was too embarrassed to say it aloud. Dokgo Yeon supplied the answer instead.
"A girl's crush looks pure and adorable, but yesterday's date video screams 'fully ripened couple.' If someone's overly fixated on one of you, they can't forgive seeing you glued to someone else."
"F-fully ripened couple."
Ah, Lucelle was off to fantasy land again.
Dokgo Yeon polished off her yogurt bowl cleanly and sighed.
"No need to ask how far things went. Why is this beast so boldly reckless in useless ways but half-assed where it counts? Birds of a feather."
"We're not even dating. It was just a date between the two of us. ...Besides, Ban went on a date with me too."
"If you butt in now, Light, it'll get messy, so shut it."
Ban Yu-won knew opening his mouth here would make things truly annoying, so he clamped it shut and just kept checking the video.
That's when he discovered he could manipulate the video info to view views by dimension.
He figured seeing dimension names wouldn't tell him where they were anyway, and with most viewers from Union dimensions, it wasn't useful intel—so he skimmed over it.
Until he spotted "Earth" among them. His breath caught.
"What the hell."
"What? How do you read this?"
"Earth."
"Earth?"
Ban Yu-won's teammates crowded around his Mirror.
He projected the image as a hologram, face twisting oddly.
"Just one viewer, but they watched from Earth."
"Didn't you say Earth has no mana?"
"No monsters, no dungeons, no constellations."
"A typical bottom-tier dimension that hasn't evolved once. A world without even mana, let alone constellation access... How could someone like Yu-won be born there? It's a miracle..."
Which meant no one there should have Union Net access rights.
Well, Ban Yu-won had gained them, so he could log in from Earth if he returned... but he wasn't there now!
"Maybe Earth is starting to evolve? Your summons to Union Academy might've been the sign."
"Yeah, that tracks. Even so, a special admission kid popping up from a mana-less world is wild... Maybe Ban's Earth's first mana awakener."
Ban Yu-won's mind reeled.
He'd wanted Earth to stay separate from this fantasy world of Babel Tower and Union Academy—just the world he knew.
What if monsters and dungeons appeared there? What about his family?
His head spun.
"But this viewer is impressive too."
Lucelle marveled, imagining the unknown Earth YouTuber.
"Union Net access is harder for lower dimensions. To snag it from a world just budding with mana... Maybe the next most talented after Yu-won."
"And they've watched every video on our channel. What if they know Ban Yu-won's from Earth?"
"No way."
Ban Yu-won chuckled at Dokgo Yeon's bold guess.
"Earth's got diverse races. Across the whole dimension, tons of people look like me. How could they pinpoint my origin?"
What made tracing his nationality even harder: Ban Yu-won was mixed-race.
Black hair and eyes, but facial structure and build screaming East-West mix.
Why had he ever believed Grandfather's tales like "Our ancestors built Babel Tower~"?
Because he knew his lineage wasn't pure Korean stock.
Unlike his sister, his mixed traits stood out starkly—maybe atavism—so as a kid, he'd thought it made him special...
Which made him trust Grandfather even more.
Embarrassing backstory. ...Or not, since Gramps turned out right?
For the record, Grandfather Ban Ji-won, with his beard, looked like a dapper European gentleman at a glance.
Ban Yu-won had never seen "nice guy" fit anyone better.
He'd infused them with mana, so hopefully the dementia eased up a bit... Huh?
Wait, is this Gramps?!
Ban Yu-won widened his eyes and scoured every video on the channel.
The mystery Earth viewer had binged the Rebellion channel—and replayed Ban Yu-won's spotlight clips dozens of times.
Showing that much love specifically for him out of the four members...
No doubt: Grandfather!
"It's definitely Gramps."
"First time hearing you call someone so fondly, Yu-won."
"...You're not jealous of Gramps, are you, Lucelle?"
"Why assume family?"
To Dokgo Yeon's fair question, Ban Yu-won explained injecting mana into Grandfather, Father, and Older Sister before enrolling.
"Then wouldn't your sister, the only one who awakened mana, be most likely?"
"Older Sister? ...Maybe."
Thinking coldly, Ban Yu-won realized his hunch stemmed from wishing Gramps had watched his videos.
Of course, he couldn't picture her rewatching dozens of times—or wanted to—so he'd stick with Grandfather.
"I want to meet your older sister and grandfather soon... pay my respects."
Lucelle smiled warmly.
As Ban Yu-won shoved "meeting the parents" from his mind and started to reply—
"Just apply in advance, and you can visit other students' dimensions during break."
Yumina sat beside them with her tray and dropped that line.
Hers held just a small muffin, water, and a soda.
She wasn't thrilled with the menu either.
"Professor, you eat in the cafeteria too?"
"Academy-wide holiday today. Restaurant and faculty dining are closed."
Last week was exams, so this Monday was a no-class holiday.
Instead: overall grades posted. Students with score disputes could consult professors for corrections today.
"Professor, sign me up. My dimension's probably better off without me... So during break, I'd like to visit Yu-won's."
"...Beast, you ready to abandon your dimension?"
Lucelle smiled lightly at Dokgo Yeon's frown.
"I know what you're worried about, Dokgo Yeon, but it's fine. I won't burden Yu-won."
"Dunno if it'll work just 'cause you want it."
Dokgo Yeon sniped unpleasantly; Lucelle brushed it off with a gentle smile.
Oddly, they often had these clipped, telegraphic chats that skipped huge chunks.
Is this girl talk?
As Ban Yu-won pondered blankly, Yumina cleared her throat and launched into explanation.
"To cover that, first: semester schedule. I mentioned first semester ends week 14? No ceremony—week 15 kicks off exploration period. Remember? Two weeks tower delving during break."
"So weeks 15 and 16 for exploration."
"Right."
Yumina nodded and continued.
"Week 17: special activities. Like last time—dispatched to other dimensions for quests. Unless something special, you'll team up as four."
"You go too, Professor?"
"Of course. Can't send newbie teams unsupervised."
Three weeks packed post-finals? Kids thrilled at long break probably felt slapped.
...But in Union Academy, gathering dimension prodigies, few would mourn less tower time.
"After special activities, actual break. Return home dimension, stay until second semester—a month and a half. You could stay, but no tower access, no activities—pointless."
"Even with solo exploration rights?"
"Yep, locked out. Makes break prime for catching tower intruders."
Yumina beamed proudly, but Ban Yu-won, recalling tower ops and Chancellor's stance, just shrugged.
She kept going.
"Actually, didn't plan to mention to you, Lucelle and Light—might have seasonal semester. But..."
"Ugh."
"Ack."
Now wise to seasonal semester terrors, Lucelle and Light shrank like dullahans—until Yumina grinned and flashed her Mirror.
"No worries. You both did great."
"Ah, grades posted!"
Ban Yu-won whipped out his Mirror too.
Student ID worked for school site, but Mirror was comfier.
Logged in, straight to grades: predictably, perfect written scores, top practicals.
Overall duel ranking: 8th, as expected.
"Hehe, you all did so well, my nose is sky-high. Four-person average, but top of eleven classes."
"Phew, good."
Dokgo Yeon, not just martial whiz, all single-digit ranks—below Ban but solid.
Lucelle and Light aced practicals; Ban's talismans boosted them above average.
"Those talismans would sell like hotcakes."
"Yu-won?!"
"Hehe. Total chaos. Crushed Special Class! Thinking of those professors trash-talking you for special admission... feels great."
Yumina's petal hair floated, proving her mood.
Maybe she'd already gloated—whispers of "Cantone this" and "Ryu Cheol-myeong that" drifted over.
"Must reward top contributor who raised my flag! Ban Yu-won, date with me?"
"..."
"Date..."
"Ah."
She'd dragged them back to awkwardness!
After fierce protests from Light and Lucelle, date scrapped; group club activity instead.
Now routine—but next day, Ban Yu-won's crew felt eyes on them shift again.
In a bar on Ronica's upscale shopping street.
Union Academy Full Professor of Tower Studies, Alex de Cantone, slammed his whiskey glass down and growled.
"I don't like it!"
"Calm down, Professor Cantone. Can't just alter those plebs' grades. If cheating, sure, but..."
"Sacred tower defiled by plebs is infuriating enough—now watch them strut as top scorers?!"
Gulp.
He'd ordered it on the rocks for savoring—downed in one, grinding teeth.
"How'd the tower come to this? Is the Chancellor sane? Begged to let professors select students, not that insane Union Net—but ignored, and now Academy's in ruins!"
"But Professor, those students are excellent..."
"Noble blood! Noble mana! Status is set at birth! Plebs stay plebs no matter their struggles!"
Cantone filled his rocks glass to brim.
Superhuman brew to intoxicate mana-flowing bodies—he chugged heedless.
"Basic courses only, yet they brag top scores... Huh?"
"Professor Cantone?"
His colleague pondered cutting ties with this nutcase—face a mask of concern.
Cantone wouldn't see through it; he was lost in revelation.
"Right, basics... Top scorers get advanced majors, yeah."
"Sure, but that's professor turf, not students'?"
"Exactly."
Draining his glass clean, Cantone set it down and stood.
"Gotta talk to Professor Ryu Cheol-myeong."