Why Did I Have to Enroll

Let’s assume that the population of a thriving medieval European nation was around 10 million. Even then, the population of the capital city wouldn’t exceed 300,000. This country… the capital of Sanctum was no different, with a population just shy of 200,000 living within its city walls.

That’s why it was possible.

What was?

A nationwide audition!

“Wow, what a spectacle.”

For this soldier selection, the largest square in the capital had its surrounding buildings demolished to create a massive plaza. Ban Yu-won climbed up to a platform as tall as a three-story building and looked down at the gathered people.

Even though it was called a nationwide audition, gathering every citizen of Sanctum was practically impossible and unnecessary. Only those living in the capital were present.

‘The setting for Room 27 is limited to this capital. Of course, it’s vast, but all allies and enemies are within this space.’

It was an extreme theory, but if everyone before him died, Room 27 would be cleared. Ban Yu-won once again realized that power was supreme.

“That’s right. But aside from them, not a single person with mobility issues was left out. Without your reputation, it wouldn’t have been possible, even with a royal decree. Isn’t it astonishing that all these people gathered to receive your blessing?”

“It’s a miracle.”

Miracles and magic exist. They are all created by humans. More precisely, today’s scene was the result of a fantastic combination of strong national power and a being with overwhelming charm and recognition.

Ban Yu-won shed tears of emotion, realizing that his month-long efforts were not in vain.

“You’re brainwashing yourself now. It was actually two days, Ban.”

“Let’s think in terms of the tower now.”

When they progressed through Room 23, they didn’t know, but if a room wasn’t just exploration or breakthrough but quest-based (like all the rooms in this exploration since Room 23), it was possible to speed up or skip time flow arbitrarily.

Time skips occurred with each shift, but they could also skip unnecessary time during room progression, compressing a month’s journey into two days. If Yumina hadn’t kindly explained this after watching the previous video, they would have missed it.

…In fact, it was basic knowledge taught in the Tower Studies course, but in the first year, they hadn’t taught it yet because “there’s no way you’ll reach a quest room.”

“Blessing of Light, huh? You’re good at making things up.”

“Shh.”

Luciel covered Dokgo Yeon’s sarcastic mouth from behind. The reason there was no backlash when all the citizens of the capital were gathered was largely because Ban Yu-won declared he would bestow a blessing to protect them from the darkness with the power of the Star Trace he possessed.

In a situation where public sentiment was poor due to the epidemic (the main theme of Room 25, a side effect of the power of the Dark Forest’s Claw) and murders, who would resist if Ban Yu-won, a renowned contractor of light, personally offered a blessing?

Of course, the contractors of Wings and Claws wouldn’t have wanted to be dragged here willingly. But what could they do? At this point, resisting alone would be irreversible!

This summons was a legitimate national order, and since it was accepted by all citizens, it was impossible for only a few to sneak away. Thus, all the suspects gathered here.

“Now, it’s your turn.”

“Understood.”

Ban Yu-won stood at the center of the platform, looking down at the citizens, and opened his mouth. He didn’t forget to use language magic to amplify his voice so it spread throughout the plaza.

“Greetings, citizens of Sanctum. I am here today to reassure you. I have come to banish disease and death and bring light to the city.”

After selling medicine a few times, you can even swap cold medicine for a cure-all. As Ban Yu-won swiftly cleared Rooms 24, 25, and 26 in just two days of real time, his persuasive skills were at their peak, and even though he hadn’t yet gotten to the main point, all the citizens were focused on him.

If anyone avoided his gaze here, they were the culprit.

“I will borrow the name of the one I serve to bless you. Fear will vanish, and you will regain peace of body and mind. Neither disease nor death will dare approach you.”

As Ban Yu-won spread his arms, a glowing sphere sparked between them. There were two major areas where he had grown significantly during this exploration, aside from his persuasive skills: the depth of Judgement he gained each time he dealt with evildoers, and the depth of Photon Magic, which steadily grew with the Light Magic and Dark Magic he obtained from dealing with contractors.

The depth of his Photon Magic was now a staggering 50. Celon had cursed and wailed several times, calling it a scam.

But it seemed she had forgotten that when they first met, he had absorbed the concept of the staff and instantly achieved an elemental magic depth of 50.

‘If there’s even a hint of aggression, it’ll be a disaster, so remove all offensive abilities.’

First, he greatly increased the diffusion of light. Naturally, he hadn’t made any contracts with the Star Trace, so he didn’t know how to perform a blessing of light, nor was he aware if such a thing existed.

But he could create something plausible. Drawing the lacking magic power from the ‘Magic Power Storage’ talismans he made whenever he had free time, he imbued the glowing sphere with language magic one by one.

First was ‘Warmth’ to make the recipients of the blessing feel at ease. Since he couldn’t interfere with the concept within their bodies, he found a concept that could indirectly make them feel blessed, which was warmth.

Next was ‘Tracking’ to identify those who met the conditions Ban Yu-won desired. It goes without saying who he wanted to find.

Additionally, he incorporated concepts like ‘Diffusion’ and ‘Harmlessness’ to complete the magic.

“Receive the blessing.”

Ban Yu-won spoke with the most solemn voice he could muster and burst the sphere. The sight of it spreading across the plaza packed with tens of thousands of citizens was truly spectacular.

[You gain a deeper understanding of the diffusion of light. The depth of Photon Magic has increased to 55.]

―It grew again?!

‘Well, considering how many talismans filled with magic power I used, it should grow at least this much.’

The light that covered the entire plaza ‘blessed’ every single citizen, and curiously, it lingered above the heads of some.

Citizens, feeling the warm light being absorbed into their bodies, murmured in gratitude for the divine grace and marveled at Ban Yu-won’s profound magic power.

Of course, there were those who doubted whether this blessing was truly a blessing, namely some skilled warriors and the very few mages.

However, even they were convinced and fell silent when they witnessed what happened next.

“Oh my, I have received a command from Him! He told me to rise with those chosen by the light and directly repel the darkness!”

As Ban Yu-won exclaimed with a fervent voice, they finally realized that this ridiculous event was nothing more than a play to form a ‘legion.’

If it were Ban Yu-won’s doing alone, as warriors and mages loyal to this country, they couldn’t help but intervene. But standing beside him was Count Durk, the king’s chamberlain.

In that case, it was more natural to interpret that Count Durk had borrowed Ban Yu-won’s power to form a new legion, and there was no reason to oppose it!

Now.

This leaves one crucial fact.

Who was chosen?

“Who on earth…?”

“Oh, there really are people with light above their heads!”

“Thank goodness it’s not me… I mean, they’re proud soldiers!”

Those chosen by the light. In other words, those Ban Yu-won sought with his tracking magic. To put it more simply, the contractors of Wings and Claws!

Instead of attacking them with light magic, Ban Yu-won had located and locked onto them precisely!

“M-me? That can’t be! I have no power!”

“There must have been a mistake. It’s not me!”

Citizens who realized a ball of light hovered above their heads were flustered by the stares of those around them and blindly denied reality…

Ban Yu-won didn’t hesitate to drive the nail in.

“He said that when those chosen by the light gather to form a legion, no matter how deep the darkness, it can be repelled! The power will be granted by Him. Do not fear and follow His will.”

To be honest, let’s confess here.

While it was called a nationwide audition, the existence of the audition itself was a secret. The citizens present thought they were merely receiving the blessing of light!

But would they express dissatisfaction with this sudden selection?

Of course not.

Whether the Light God chose them or not didn’t matter. Most people at this moment were thinking, “As long as it’s not me!”

“This is a conspiracy! That man is a fraud! He’s deceiving the nation! He’s impersonating a god!”

“In fact, I am the true contractor of light! He told me that man is pretending to be righteous and capturing innocent compatriots!”

“Light? There’s no way light would choose me. There’s no way! Why won’t it disappear, this…?”

“Stop lying! Don’t run away and step forward!”

“Accept the sacred mission, friend.”

“The contractor of light is calling you!”

Out of the 200,000 citizens, only about 500 were chosen by the light, and the remaining 199,500 citizens naturally blocked any escape routes for the selected soldiers.

If even one of them escaped, who knows if they might have to select a new soldier from the remaining people!

“Go on. Hurry! You have to go out to repel the darkness!”

“How dare you frown when chosen by the Star Trace? Do you have complaints? If you don’t do it, someone else will have to!”

“Get out there! Quickly!”

“You’ve been chosen by the light. Don’t even think about running away!”

When a small group is placed in an unfair situation, and their sacrifice allows the majority to avoid crisis, the overwhelming majority will never move for them. Gathering all the citizens in one place was precisely for this reason.

After Rooms 24, 25, and 26, this was the moment when all of Ban Yu-won’s efforts truly bore fruit.

“Hah.”

Turning the overwhelming majority into allies and deciding the fate of the few at will. Light sighed as he watched.

“How, how is everything going exactly as Ban planned…? Are they all fools? Or… is it because they’re fake?”

“On the contrary, it’s because they’re not fools. Even if they’re fake, they still possess human selfishness. …Today, I’ve learned something from Ban Yu-won.”

“It’s amazing, but it’s terrifying. I’m sure those who watch the video will be scared too.”

While inwardly giving a wry smile at his companions’ words, Ban Yu-won narrowed his eyes and watched the targets.

At first, they made all sorts of excuses and retreated, then claimed they were the true contractors of light (Wings) and displayed a glimpse of light magic, only to be pushed forward by those urging them to accept the blessing. These were the followers of Wings.

In contrast, like the followers of Wings, they made excuses, but at some point, they stopped as if receiving a revelation. These were the followers of Claws.

‘Ah, they came out with that pattern? It seems Claws are definitely smarter than Wings.’

When Ban Yu-won signaled, Dokgo Yeon, Luciel, and Light, who had been waiting for this moment, quickly descended. He, too, prepared Eve, Tyche, and twenty-five swords.

And then the incident occurred.

“Haha—hahahahaha!”

“From now on—it’s the time of the night ruled by the Dark Forest’s Claws!”

“He’s not a contractor of light! Because we are the contractors of darkness who could never be chosen by the light!”

A phenomenon opposite to what happened in Room 23 unfolded in the skies above Sanctum’s capital. The dark magic emanating from hundreds of contractors began to gather in the air, dyeing the area in darkness!

An artificial night had arrived.

“From now until our festival ends, it will remain night! We’ll kill you all!”

“Thank the friend who created this opportunity for us!”

“Kyaaaah!”

“My, my body…!”

The Claws’ contractors, transforming under the influence of the night. Meanwhile, people began to collapse due to the trick that prevented them from acting at night.

Although the party members and followers hurriedly moved to isolate and protect them from the contractors, they too couldn’t act at night, and soon the plaza would become a scene of hell.

If Ban Yu-won hadn’t anticipated and prepared for this situation.

“Celon? We need to hurry. Before I collapse too.”

―I’m ready. Those guys really have a ridiculous amount of magic. But it doesn’t seem very pure… Yeah, it doesn’t look too difficult.

Photon Magic is magic that governs both light and darkness. From the moment Ban Yu-won saw the materialized Wings of Justice create day in Room 23, he knew the opposite could happen, and he sought a way to restore the artificially created day and night to their original state.

“Here we go.”

―Alright.

The conclusion was simple. Since Ban Yu-won had mastered Photon Magic and understood its structure, it wasn’t difficult to interfere and reverse it. Adding a touch of language magic made it even easier.

It was a concept he was quite familiar with.

[Reversal]

The magic power that had been poured out and spread across the plaza rose into the air and clung to the dark magic that summoned the darkness.

[Dawn]

And it tore apart the curtain of night, instantly turning the plaza back into day.

“……”

“……”

The Claws’ contractors, who had transformed into beasts and then returned to their original forms, were dumbfounded, unable to grasp the situation. Similarly, the Wings’ contractors, who had stood firm in the darkness covering the plaza (thus gaining more trust and standing out), were equally stunned.

It was precisely the atmosphere Ban Yu-won had intentionally created.

“What are you doing? You should have realized by now.”

Ban Yu-won smiled brightly and commanded them.

“Start killing each other now.”

“Ah, ahh……”

Those who refused that command would be deemed guilty.

Fortunately, since the Claws’ contractors had used dark magic, it was calculated as an ‘attack,’ so Ban Yu-won’s command to attack didn’t incur any penalties.