Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 35

Lesson 8. This skill is mine – 5

The two new passive concepts for Ban Yu-won were created on Thursday night, the last time the members gathered in the training room and fought before their next Tower exploration. After completing their first club activity on Wednesday evening, the video uploaded to the outside channel gained momentum within the day. The number of views satisfied a specific condition that Ban Yu-won wasn’t aware of.

[Charm 10 – The ability to captivate and influence the hearts of other beings.]

[Honor 10 ― Class established as acknowledged by many beings.]

Charm and Honor were linguistic concepts that could be particularly valuable in modern Earth. But maybe it was because Ban Yu-won imitated the Earth’s methods that he realized this concept. The problem was that it was questionable whether these concepts had any meaning in climbing the Tower.

‘In terms of a game, isn’t it just like unnecessary information like numbers and status?’

In fact, even looking at the definition of the language, he thought, ‘So what?’ In particular, wasn’t honor literally just recognition? That ‘class’ part was a concern, but at least right now, it had no effect on his other abilities. And having charm wasn’t a bad thing…

“Ruchel, has my face changed a bit?”

“Y-Yes?”

When he asked Ruchel, who was facing him as his opponent, she repeatedly blinked in surprise and then nodded.

“B-Ban is very handsome.”

“No, I’m not asking how I look, but how I’ve changed.”

“Ahhh. That…!”

Ruchel was flustered but somehow tried to weave the words together. Light stretched out on the floor after finishing his fight with Dok Go-yeon, opened his eyes softly, and pointed out.

“Ban, that’s sexual harassment.”

“Really? So Light, did you notice any change in my face…kuek.”

“Stop it; you are disturbing our fight.”

Dok Go-yeon, worried that Ban Yu-won would ask her next, broke in at the right time and kicked him in the face. That made it impossible for him to ask them what his face was like for at least a few hours.

“Just fight. Or should I make you both roll on the floor again?”

“You used to be an assistant in the military, be honest with me….”

“Hmph. I just do everything right.”

That’s exactly what an administrative supply officer says when he’s on duty over the weekend, making the other soldiers work…! But Ban Yu-won, who knew that if he grumbled more here, he’d suffer for it in his fight against her later, struggled to ignore her and faced Ruchel again.

“Okay, Ruchel. Let’s fight one last time.”

“Yes…! Um, if I go wild again, please tie me up.”

Over the week, it seemed that Ruchel had developed a somewhat dangerous habit as she was chained up every time she went on a rampage. Still, he thought it was something she should ask Eve directly rather than himself. But at the moment when Ban Yu-won was thinking about how to respond to Ruchel’s request.

“Hiyaa!”

Ruchel attacked, taking that chance! Suddenly, the sharp claws that extended out of her hand scraped down Ban Yu-won’s cheek!

“Ha…!”

Ban Yu-won lifted his long sword at an angle and deflected the claws pressing on him, then took a quick step forward and kicked her in the stomach. He kicked as hard as possible but couldn’t knock her off balance. Ban Yu-won knew it too, so in the meantime, he finished reorganizing and attacked.

-Clank!

Ruchel was a monster that, no matter how much Ban Yu-won had grown, he had no chance of winning against. For Ban Yu-won, the battle with Ruchel centered around Flow, but he used Reverse and Wave to slowly accumulate damage.

-Crash

“I got it!”

“Ugh?! Where!”

However, Ruchel had not only her feral physical ability but also animalistic senses. Just as Ban Yu-won read her attack and dodged or counterattacked, she was also growing to be able to instinctively read Ban Yu-won’s movements and cope with them.

-Clank!

-Kyigigigi!

Naturally, Ban Yu-won also had to unfold various combinations of Flow and Reverse to not be read by her. So, the match between them was accompanied by a fierce battle of the minds simultaneously as they physically collided. This display of skill was the reason behind their videos’ popularity.

“Crrr…hyaah!”

“Ugh!”

Of course, the popularity of those sparring videos must also be attributed to Ruchel’s ‘extremely outstanding’ body. So, after filming, Ban Yu-won made sure to check them thoroughly and cleverly cut out the parts that he considered to be overly sensational. Therefore, this superb view was only permitted to Ban Yu-won…!

-Bang!

With his Beheader’s longsword outstretched at an angle, Reverse properly worked, breaking her sharp claws in half, and he smashed her against the wall. Even after suffering that great shock, she jumped up with a wild groan.

“Crrrrrr…!”

“Oh, no!”

By now, more than half of Ruchel’s hair was dyed black. Her abilities began to be greatly amplified, and it was also the point where her instincts overtook her reason. Already his abilities were far behind, but if hers were now amplified, there was no answer. Because her reaction speed was so fast, it was impossible to use Reverse, and the best he could do was to devise a way to somehow dodge.

‘We have to enter the Tower tomorrow, so I want to find a clue now!’

He opened his eyes wide as he dodged her claws. He didn’t just repeatedly fight her over the past few days like an idiot. Still, Ban Yu-won tried to evoke her emotions, studied how to keep her rational, stayed close to her, and collected the fragments of her emotions that she radiated.

‘The emotion that burns and runs wild in the depths is impossible to bring out. Then, to neutralize the emotions that were originally hers…!’

Mind Brazier burned hotter with negative and intense emotions and was calmed by positive and gentle emotions. The evidence was that any emotions could be fuel, but when positive emotions prevailed, she wouldn’t rampage. However, when entering a combat state, the negative and intense emotions were amplified over the gentler positive ones, so the change couldn’t be avoided. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be fine to just add enough positive emotions…!

“Get ready, Ruchel!”

“Kaaaaah!”

However, when he was about to inject the golden string extracted from the code core, Ruchel suddenly crashed into Ban Yu-won. When he returned to his senses, two huge mountains blocked his view. They were getting closer and closer.

That was dangerous!

“?!”

“Crrr…!”

“Shhhh!”

After receiving orders from Ban Yu-won, Eve, waiting on standby, immediately wrapped around Ruchel. Ban Yu-won immediately tried to instill in her the concept of the positive feelings he absorbed, but he soon realized that he had no need for them. Ruchel’s Mind Brazier quickly stabilized, and all her negative emotions dissipated.

“Whew, wheeew…!”

Tied up tightly in the chains, Ruchel panted for breath. Ban Yu-won stood up and returned the concepts back to the code core.

“Ruchel, haven’t you been able to regain your sanity after being chained up much faster?”

“I think so.”

Ruchel responded while panting. Ban Yu-won found it ridiculous. Still, it didn’t mean he could chain her up and make her defenseless whenever she went wild during battle.

“Thank you, Ban.”

“No need to thank me. In the end, I couldn’t solve it.”

He couldn’t be more embarrassed that she’d easily bowled him over while he tried to calm her. However, Ruchel soothed his wounded ego with a bright smile.

“No, it was…it can’t be helped.”

“Phew. Anyway, I think I’ve found a way. Let’s try it again.”

“I’m sorry, I’m already close to my limit….”

“Oh.”

Eve released the restraints as soon as Ruchel regained her sanity, but she was still gasping for breath and shaking. After dozens of battles, going on a rampage and being imprisoned, and then being forced to regain her composure, of course, she was exhausted.

“Shit.”

“Hmm….”

“Dok Go-yeon?”

After a while, Dok Go-yeon approached them. She was staring intently at Ruchel.

“No way….”

“What?”

“No, nothing. But it seems to be a lot better than the first time.”

She was right. Ban Yu-won could have endured for quite some time if he hadn’t inadvertently hit her with a critical attack. It could be said that it took more time for her to enter that rampage state, which was definitely an achievement.

“I’m fine. If Ban is here.”

Ruchel said boldly. Ban Yu-won gave her a small nod, vowing to reciprocate her trust. Dok Go-yeon looked between them in turn and made a worried sound.

* * *

It was the second Friday morning after Ban Yu-won entered Union Academy. Perhaps the first expedition had a lukewarm finish due to the Irregular intrusion, but the students’ excitement was unusual. Even during the brief time he was heading to the student cafeteria, he felt their intense energy radiating.

“You’re ready, right?”

“Yes, I am fine.”

Ruchel’s attitude had changed considerably since their last fight the previous night. He still couldn’t fathom her intentions, though. At least she wasn’t shivering like she was when they first entered the Tower, so that was good enough.

Light, on the other hand, was in a blatantly bad shape.

“Dok Go-yeon, wouldn’t it be better to let me hold the holy sword when entering the Tower? I’m not going alone; all of our lives are at stake.”

“Everyone already agreed that we should lay a solid foundation rather than rushing. Today is just the second expedition of the first semester of the first year.”

Ban Yu-won nodded as if agreeing with Dok Go-yeon’s strict reply.

“I don’t know what the restrictions are on your sword. But I know it’s not good to let yourself be swung by a sword like that. And…never mind, we’ll talk about this later.”

Ban Yu-won then swallowed the words he was about to say. In his view, Light didn’t become stronger when he held the holy sword, but rather, it seemed to be stealing his core codes.

‘And if it really is, then the action Dok Go-yeon is taking is the most appropriate. She really judges the situation so accurately that it’s creepy….’

Light was still anxious, but he nodded, closing his eyes.

“Don’t blame me if you fall in the Tower because of me.”

“I won’t. I’ll just become even harsher.”

“Instead, remember that millions of subscribers are watching our videos.”

“That’s blaming!”

Breakfast concluded with this strange tension, confusion, and determination hanging over them, but Ban Yu-won made up his mind while eating with his party. At the same time, his Life and Physique grew by one thanks to the jam.

Now walking toward the Tower on the hill, Ban Yu-won confirmed the concept of his body.

[Core]

Life: 240

Physique: 220

Magic Power: 199

Soul: 427

[Manual]

Martial Arts: 173 [Swordsmanship 65, Sewing 30, Snapping 28, Flow 27, Reverse 23]

Leadership: 7

Riding: 19

Resistance: 6

Charm: 10

Honor: 10

Complete Sight: 137

Complete Hearing: 115

Complete Speaking: 117

[Active]

Wave: 25

Superpower: 14

‘Okay, that’s pretty good.’

Ban Yu-won smiled contentedly at the concepts he had grown over the past few days. It bothered him a little that his Magic Power hadn’t reached 200 yet, but once he got into that Tower, he would be able to raise it straight away.

“Eve, you’re also ready, right?”

“Shhh.”

Eve acted cute, as if they were excited about fighting a real battle after a long time.

“Ban.”

Ruchel stepped closer to him.

“Please, take good care of me inside the Tower. I will listen to everything you say.”

“Trust me.”

“I will.”

Ruchel’s pink eyes gleamed with a mysterious light. In fact, there was no guarantee that he would be able to stop her from going wild, but Ban Yu-won responded with the strongest possible tone because he couldn’t afford to make her doubt again after she had made up her mind.

Then Dok Go-yeon spoiled the mood.

“I wish you could hold on until at least Saturday evening. Just know that whoever dies first will suffer the most.”

“You seem to have a taste for making people suffer.”

“Ban Yu-won.”

Dok Go-yeon, approaching with an always dignified appearance, whispered in his ear.

“To be honest, these two are still disappointing. Today is the first evaluation. You haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”

“Of course not.”

Ban Yu-won responded firmly.

“It’s only been a week, and those two have already started to change. Without waiting for the result, I am sure I won.”

“It looks like we have a long way to go. Oh, one thing about the beast…I was just going to tell you yesterday.”

“What?”

“That…damn.”

“Ugh!”

Before she could speak, Dok Go-yeon snapped her fingers, and Ruchel, trying to overhear their conversation, covered her ears as tears welled in her eyes. It seemed that Dok Go-yeon just used a high-level technique to momentarily deafen her.

Dok Go-yeon said, somewhat disconcerted.

“That beast seems to like to go strong.”

“…Wait, what?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. It means don’t compromise halfway while dealing with animals that don’t understand humans.”

“Sorry, I really don’t understand.”

“Really? You will find out soon.”

Dok Go-yeon smiled faintly and moved ahead.

As always, the Tower stood there, waiting for them to arrive.