Why Did I Have to EnrollVolume 38
Play Speak 38
Lesson 9. Learning martial arts â 3
Ban Yu-won constantly circulated the Black Energy while washing up and changing his clothes. Every time he circulated it, his body heated up, and the Black Energy evaporated little by little. Still, the amount he recovered naturally was about that much anyway, so as long as he was conscious, it was possible to circulate infinitely.
âIt seems that I can increase the amount of circulating Black Energy, but if I do that, I will run out of mana when I really need it, so letâs stop.â
However, in circulating the Black Energy like this, there were several additional effects other than training his body by consuming Magic Power. The most representative of them, it had the advantage of strengthening his physique to a much greater extent than simply activating Magic Power. Long live the teacher Dok Go-yeon!
âAndâŠI think my senses have become keener.â
He always felt his senses grow clearer when his Magic Power was activated, but the Black Energy was special. NoâŠrather than permanently training his body or temporarily strengthening it, he wondered if this was its main ability. In particular, the amplification effect on Complete Sight and Complete Hearing was great. He could hear things he couldnât before and see in greater detail.
âDid she even expect thisâŠ?â
If that was the case, then Ban Yu-won was truly indebted to Dok Go-yeon for a considerable gift. He looked at her suspiciously, but all he got in return was a skeptical smile. Meanwhile, Light and Ruchel, standing on the sidelines watching Ban Yu-wonâs training, tried to calmly greet him.
âAre you going to upload this video?â
âAre you crazy?â
âI think there will be a lot of viewsâŠ.â
Ruchel didnât even fight, so why was her hair darker? Ban Yu-won had a lot of things he wanted to ask her, he spoke with a red-tinted face, but Dok Go-yeon beat him to the punch.
âItâs not something you can tell by looking at it, but we should try to hide the fact heâs been taught martial artsâŠ.why are you looking at me like that, beast?â
âItâs nothing.â
âItâll be good if you get stronger, Ban.â
As he could see from Ruchelâs reaction, the martial arts Ban Yu-won had been taught were not ordinary, and Light summed it up by saying, âItâs probably a technique good for oneâs health.â At their contrasting attitudes, Dok Go-yeon laughed.
âThen we should start looking for a way to move to Room 6. We decided to take on this expedition with a relaxed mind, but I donât want to stay in Room 5 all day.â
âNow that I think about it, I think itâs time for lunch.â
âDonât even dream about that until we get to Room 6.â
âThis isnât the military.â
Ban Yu-won, urged by the party, set out in earnest to find the end of this maze.
He was already able to test out his improved eyes. Now that he could see more things at once and distinguish them in finer detail, he naturally became faster at discovering and analyzing conceptsâŠ
âHmmâŠ?â
Unsurprisingly, Ban Yu-won, who quickly found the Way to Room 6, paused as he led the party. While the concept of the Way leading from this room into Room 6 was clearly visible, he noticed a different concept faintly buried in the opposite wall. Whether it was by chance or inevitability, he would not have been able to find it if it hadnât been for the enhanced eyesight caused by the Black Energy.
âFast WayâŠ?â
That must mean a shortcut. When Ban Yu-won approached the wall and checked it, he found a small crack. Inside, illusions were densely embedded and disguised to make it appear like an intact wall. Without his existence, no one could have found this out.
âLet me.â
He absorbed the illusions.
[You absorbed 50 Illusion.]
â50?! This is crazy!â
Of course, it was extracted from a huge wall, but still, to think it was possible to obtain a depth of 50 all at once⊠meant that the existence of this Fast Way was that hidden. Ban Yu-won shrugged and went to put it away in the core, but Eveâs tightened around his forearm.
âYou want this too?â
âShh.â
âAll right, eat a lot and grow taller.â
He tried to give it the entirety of the concepts, but Eve could only absorb about 20 of them. Apparently, its level was still insufficient, so it was slowly reaching the limit of what it could absorb.
âIndeed, itâs too much. The concept I got from the Elite Monster I killed last timeâŠâ
Eve, realizing it hadnât been able to eat all of the Illusion due to its lack of ability, let out a hiss. Ban Yu-won smiled sadly, sensing that Eve would be more active than himself in the next room when Ruchel pulled at his other arm.
âBan, thisâŠ!â
What appeared after the Illusion had collapsed was a set of stairs going up. As for the Tower, the distinction between the rooms wasnât clear, and it was difficult to find a structure that explicitly suggested an ascent like this, but that didnât mean there werenât any. It was also written in the textbook that multiple rooms could be skipped if certain conditions were met.
âIt seems like a shortcut. Is it because this room was that difficult?â
âI thought about it last week, but I think our expedition is very different from the usual one.â
âThatâs why our videos are popular with the other students.â
To be honest, if it were a recording of an ordinary exploration, the people outside would still find it enjoyable, but who else in the academy would want to watch it?
The response was good because it was a video of a group of freshmen fighting against monsters, traps, and Elites of an unbelievable level. More than half of them must be thinking, âOh, theyâre good at editing videos!â
âSo, what are we going to do?â
Ban Yu-won, who turned to the party after revealing the stairs, asked the obvious question. The answer that came back was equally as obvious.
âOf course, we have to go up.â
âIt wonât be surprising if the difficulty level jumps.â
âLetâs go.â
It was a unanimous decision. The party bravely climbed the stairs with Eve transformed into a shield ahead of them. There was a small attack while they climbed, but it was just a group of bats clinging to the ceiling.
âAhh!â
âLight, youâll fall like that.â
âThatâs pathetic. You canât respond even to this?â
Light, without the holy sword, was considered to be a level lower than Ban Yu-won. He could move just fine without it yesterday, but when they entered the Tower, he became more sluggish.
âIâm used to fighting with a sword, and itâs unavoidable to be a little nervous!â
âA little?â
âOh, Room 6.â
While Dok Go-yeon was reacting to Lightâs excuses, Ruchel suddenly muttered. It grew dark around them until there was nothing they could see except the stairs they were climbing.
âI donât think there was a Shift.â
âMaybe this staircase is a Shift. What are you doing, Light? Walk faster!â
âIâm not scared!â
âI didnât say anything about being scared.â
The stairs continued upward, so the party didnât stop moving. Not even the bats appeared anymore.
âRoom 7.â
This time, it was Light who called out. Even though they had wasted a lot of time in Room 5, they could skip two rooms simultaneously. But more importantly, the stairs were still not finished.
âMore than three roomsâŠ?â
âMaybe not three.â
As Light mumbled in shock, Dok Go-yeon looked up at the stairs. Ban Yu-won, realizing his gaze had caught on her long, slender neck, belatedly turned away.
âWhat kind of shortcut did you find, Ban Yu-won?â
âI didnât know it would be this amazing.â
But in fact, when he noticed the depth of the Illusion hiding it was 50, he expected it to be unusual.
âIsnât it in the textbook? Shortcuts are great luck, but the more rooms we skip, the higher the difficulty will be in the next room.â
âIâve read that itâs easy to expect compensation for your good luck.â
âThe difficulty of our exploration is hard already. But if the cost of skipping three rooms is added to itâŠ.â
âThen the reward will be even better.â
At Lightâs indirect appeal to let him use the holy sword, Dok Go-yeon responded with a snort. Ban Yu-won smiled kindly.
âItâs okay, Light. As long as we donât get caught up in an Irregular, dying is no problem.â
âBaaanâŠ.â
âDonât beg, my friend.â
Lightâs obsession with the Holy Sword was the same as that of Gollum coveting the One Ring. But this time, not only Ban Yu-won but also the other members of Class 11 felt that there was something wrong with the contract between him and the holy sword.
âWouldnât it be better if we broke it? It is clear that the basics havenât rotted.â
âDonât say such nonsenseâŠ!â
Light, terrified at the notion of destroying it, covered his chest. Ban Yu-won saw he was clutching the necklace.
âAfter all, it seems that necklace is the key.â
Not yet, but someday soon, the day would come when he would discover all Lightâs secrets. He turned his head, determined to deal with that later, and suddenly realized that the number in their pendants had risen again.
âRoom 8.â
âAs expected, it continues.â
âThis is crazy, skipping four rooms?!â
Light was trembling. When he wasnât holding the holy sword, his mental status as a whole also declined! Ban Yu-won was about to make fun of him for being cute, like a newborn fawn, when suddenly Ruchel grabbed his arm.
âRuchel, you donât have to use my arm as a means of communicationâŠ.â
âRight next, enemy.â
Her voice was hard. Her hair, which had already turned half black, hinted at her condition. Most of all, given how she clung to him, Ban Yu-won thought heaven and hell were coming to him simultaneously!
âRuchel, waitâŠ.â
âEnemy, IrregularâŠ! Itâs the same as back then!â
âCalm down, I get it!â
âCrrrrâŠ!â
No matter how he tried to calm her with words, it was impossible. In the end, Ban Yu-won resorted to more coercive means and had Eve wrap around Ruchel.
âCrrrrâŠheh, haaa.â
After a while, Ruchel, losing her energy, leaned her cheek on Ban Yu-wonâs shoulder and drooped. Ban Yu-won shook his head as he faced Light and Dok Go-yeon, who looked at him as if he were a criminal.
âNo, I didnât do anything wrong. She was the one who came at me.â
âYou are mistaken, Ban Yu-won. I wasnât staring at you; I was fed up with that beast trying to seduce you.â
âMe tooâŠI know Ban is not the kind of guy to do something that rude.â
âMy comrades!â
âBy the way, this is Room 9. I guess itâs natural.â
âRight.â
Light nodded in agreement with Dok Go-yeon.
âBecause Room 10 is a rest area.â
âRight. It doesnât look like we would go to the rest area immediately.â
There were some rules in the Tower. If they had to pick an absolute rule among them, it would be that there was a rest area every 10 rooms. There were also some patterns in those rest areas, with some bad and some great ones, but the important point was that monsters didnât appear inside. So, the parties who challenged the Tower often used that as a marker for the unit of difficulty.
âAnd it said that Elites are more likely to appear in Room 9.â
âGiven what weâve been through, itâs almost certain.â
âNo, no.â
Ruchel, breathing heavily as she leaned on Ban Yu-won, shook her head and said.
âIrregular. Itâs an Irregular.â
âIf itâs an Irregular like last time, a ConstellationâŠ?â
Again? But not surprisingly, he had already heard something similar in Professor Xenonâs class on Tuesday. He said once a person had been approached by one Constellation, the probability more would visit them increased.
âEven so, to be tormented by a Constellation every time we enterâŠ.â
âHaah.â
Dok Go-yeon let out a loud sigh.
âShall we eat first?â
âYeah, that would be better.â
When she realized that an urgent battle was awaiting them, she reacted like that. When Ban Yu-won opened the inventory with a bitter smile, he heard Dok Go-yeon turn to Light and address him.
âLight, pick up your sword when we enter that room.â
âOkayâŠ! Leave it all to me!â
âItâs annoying to see you change your attitude so quickly.â
Ban Yu-won felt a similar sentiment to Dok Go-yeon, but since Light looked noticeably down, he decided not to give the finishing blow.