Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enrol - Chapter 155

Lesson 31. The Last Spoonful is Always the Most Annoying - 5

The key concepts for creating mechanical familiars were mostly obtained during this exploration. The higher concepts of Mech Armor, Magic Circuit, and Magic Core. These three, combined with the characteristics of each armored insect, allow them to rotate, accelerate, exert Super Strength, leap high, or shoot magic bullets.

‘If it’s just about copying forms, there’s no need to worry. But I have no intention of adopting an insect’s form. Maybe a tank.’

Ban Yu-won planned to use the fixed concepts he had gathered over time to create powerful mechanical familiars. However, he decided to limit their number to five. Having too many familiars would make it difficult to ensure their balanced growth. Especially since Life and Soul become harder to develop as their depth increases, recklessly increasing the number of familiars was not a good choice.

“First, divide the parts by purpose, then equally distribute the base concepts to enhance them.”

The base concepts for all mechanical familiars were Mech Armor 500, Magic Circuit 500, and Magic Core 500. Additionally, he extracted the sub-concept of Giant from the massive concept he obtained from the Giant during his first solo exploration, distributing 100 each. He was curious about the result if he used the remaining concept of Human to create a familiar, but he decided against it due to the potential risks.

“Ssssss.”

“…You want this?”

“Sss.”

Eve’s request couldn’t be refused, but somehow… was it just his imagination that he could foresee the outcome? When Ban Yu-won handed it over, Eve swallowed it with a satisfied expression and affectionately squeezed his arm.

“Anyway, good. Next.”

During the first solo exploration, he had accumulated a lot of the fixed concept of Ice while dealing with the Frost Giants. Pure attribute fixed concepts were rare despite facing many enemies, so he had been saving them for future use. Ban Yu-won combined it with the concept of Shield from the stockpile of weapon concepts and applied it to a mechanical mass.

“Ice attribute is all about defense. You’ll be our tank from now on.”

Finally, he added fragments of his Soul, extracted through Life, Resonance, and Soul Flame.

[A mutation power manifests, combining the target’s concepts into higher concepts. The depth of Mutation has reached 40.]

[A supreme artifact that grows on its own, ‘Frost Fortress,’ has been born. The depth of Life, Mysterious Qi, and Soul increases by 5 each.]

“Wow…”

It even came with a cool name! Honestly, he had just thrown in materials and relied on his power to mix things up… Was it thanks to Mutation? Or perhaps his imagination? It had transformed into a sleek, streamlined Mech Armor that even modern Earthlings would admire!

“I don’t see a shield, though?”

“This whole thing is the shield. It’s incredibly sturdy, so you can trust it.”

Ban Yu-won examined the internal concepts of the Frost Fortress with shining eyes.

Frost Fortress [Mech Giant Soldier 600, Life 500, Soul 100, Ice Magic Power 500, Iron Wall 500]

“Mech Giant Soldier.”

While other concepts altered by Mutation caught his eye, the most striking was undoubtedly that one. Ban Yu-won was confident that all the mechanical familiars he created would become Mech Giant Soldiers, and it turned out to be true.

“Wow!”

“Impressive!”

Light and Luciel couldn’t help but admire the five Mech Giant Soldiers, each with distinct characteristics. Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon looked somewhat skeptical.

“They look impressive when gathered like this, but are they enough?”

“I had limited materials. I figured it’s better to create five strong ones than mass-produce mediocre ones.”

“I agree with that judgment.”

“And I plan to enhance them further with concepts obtained as we break through the remaining rooms.”

“Since we’re entirely dependent on you, we’ll have to trust you for now.”

The Mech Giant Soldier themed around defense, Frost Fortress. The one with a massive rotating drill-like sword, Hell Drill. The ultimate artillery born from combining all cannons and magic bullets, Sky Cannon. The Mech Giant Soldier with mechanical wings that flies, Light Wing. And the quadrupedal Mech Giant Soldier with sharp mechanical claws, Black Wolf.

“And when these five combine――!”

“Combine?”

“No, nothing.”

Since Dokgo Yeon believed his explanation that he divided them into five purely for functionality (which was partly true), he couldn’t reveal that he made them partly for his own romantic dreams.

“Ssssss…”

“Eve, shh.”

He wanted to believe that Eve, who narrowed her snake-like eyes at him, wasn’t blaming him.

“Ban, are we heading straight to Room 91 now?”

Considering the time spent carefully crafting the concepts, it had been over two full days since they entered the tower. Understanding Light’s impatience, Ban Yu-won shook his head firmly.

“No, not yet. I need to teach these guys some basic combat skills…”

“And you need to train too, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Ban Yu-won replied with a wry smile to Dokgo Yeon’s comment. Checking his internal concepts, his Body concept was still stuck at 7.

“It just won’t decrease.”

He was so close, yet it stubbornly refused to decrease. The conversion of the Body concept, the growth of Mysterious Body Technique, and the completion of the Origin Blade—all felt just one step away. His intense focus on creating mechanical familiars was partly an attempt to escape that pressure.

“Normally, I’d let you handle it yourself, but given the circumstances, I can’t.”

Dokgo Yeon nodded knowingly at Ban Yu-won’s report and drew her dark sword.

“No need for words. Let’s train.”

“Thanks.”

“If you’re really grateful, become independent already.”

The moment Ban Yu-won chuckled at Dokgo Yeon’s words, she launched herself at him with incredible speed!

“If you push yourself to the brink of death, your martial arts will have no choice but to grow!”

“Hey, hey, hey!”

The aura of Death emanating from her entire body. Was she really using that in a sparring match?! Perhaps she had discovered Ban Yu-won’s romantic dreams hidden in the Mech Giant Soldier series…!

As Ban Yu-won desperately responded to Dokgo Yeon, Luciel clapped her hands and turned to Light.

“Then, Light, let’s spar too.”

“Okay… huh? Luciel, you seem a bit different.”

“Hehe, while we’re sparring, I’d like to hear about what’s been going on with Yu-won lately…!”

“Uh, wait, hold on, save me, Ban――!”

The grueling two-day training session finally ended. The Body concept, which had stubbornly remained at 7, finally decreased to 3 after the intense sparring with Dokgo Yeon, which was akin to real combat. The Mysterious Body Technique, which had stopped growing at 225, increased to 235.

However, it became clear that they couldn’t complete their martial arts just by sparring together, so they decided to move forward.

―Boom! Bang! Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang!

“Wow!”

“Maybe the training wasn’t necessary after all?”

Upon arriving at Room 91, the group was astonished by the power of the Mech Giant Soldiers. Hell Drill, responsible for breakthroughs, rotated its massive sword like a drill and charged forward, leaving no enemy standing in its path. Sky Cannon, in charge of long-range bombardment, relentlessly fired explosive magic bullets, scattering the enemy forces. Light Wing and Black Wolf, responsible for skirmishing, utilized their high mobility to disrupt the enemy lines from the air and ground, leaving Frost Fortress with no opportunity to act.

“But Ban, why do their names sound so childish?”

“Maybe a bit of nostalgia from the old days crept in during the creation process…”

Ban Yu-won was also cringing a bit. While Light Wing and Black Wolf had a sleek and smart feel thanks to the core materials used, the other three seemed like the result of Ban Yu-won’s youthful enthusiasm getting the better of him…

“Let’s just call them Fortress, Drill, and Cannon.”

“Such thoughtless and careless nicknames…”

Even as Ban Yu-won and Light exchanged such light-hearted banter, the battle was overwhelmingly in their favor. So much so that even Tike and Eve, who had played crucial roles up to Room 89, were now taking it easy.

“I thought it would be effective, but not to this extent.”

Dokgo Yeon was also amazed, silently watching the battlefield. The mechanical familiars, designed to be elite from the start, were at a higher level than the enemies. With the added effect of the Trick Room’s characteristics, the power difference naturally widened.

“Do you think we can break through all the Chain Rooms like this?”

“Thanks to your comment, it’s now impossible, Light.”

“What do you mean?! I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?!”

Light looked around at the group with a frustrated expression. However, Luciel and Dokgo Yeon, unusually in sync, shook their heads.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know that, Light. You’re still at that level…”

“There are certain incantations in the world that should never be memorized. It’s unfortunate you haven’t learned that yet.”

While it was understandable for Luciel, Dokgo Yeon, who had previously mocked such things, was now quick to change her stance to tease Light. And what was with these two? Why were they so in sync?

“What? Did Ban teach you that?! Why didn’t he tell me, too?! That’s unfair!”

“I didn’t expect them to boast about it…”

However, regardless of that, the incantation Light memorized was miraculously realized. Suddenly, the composition of the enemies changed drastically.

―Boom! Boom-boom-boom!

―Rumble!

As the chain continued, the size of the rooms seemed to increase, and by the time they reached Room 93, it had expanded into a massive field, several tens of meters high and hundreds of square meters wide. And charging in with the intent to crush everything were armored insects resembling rhinoceros beetles, with drill-like rotating horns!

As Hell Drill clashed with them, it felt as if the world was shaking.

“Just bring down the tower, bring it down!”

“Luciel, what about the lightning?!”

“I’m trying, but… it seems their resistance has increased!”

“Corrosion isn’t working well either, damn it… It’s finally here.”

The enemies had clearly learned about Luciel’s and Ban Yu-won’s abilities. Realizing that artillery attacks were ineffective, the proportion of artillery units had decreased, while the proportion of assault units had overwhelmingly increased. Furthermore, to counter Light Wing, which flew through the air, armored spiders appeared, crawling along the high ceiling and shooting metallic webs at Light Wing!

Ban Yu-won had to attach no less than four strands of Rain Sword to Light Wing.

“Ugh, hyaaaah!”

“Tsk… where did these half-baked things come from!”

“Don’t kill them all, leave one alive!”

“I know!”

The group, who had been resting comfortably up to Room 92, now moved busily, as if their tails were on fire, suppressing the enemies. In the end, even Tike and Eve had to be fully mobilized, and it took several hours to finally subdue the armored insects.

―I could have stepped in.

As Ban Yu-won was pulling out the metallic webs of the armored spiders and wrapping them around the last armored insect, Celon spoke to him. Having been partially released from the Seal, it was now more friendly toward him.

‘You’re the trump card, so we need to save you. The enemies are learning. If possible, I want to hold out with our strength until Room 94 and get your help in Room 95.’

―That makes sense. Then, could you give me a few Magic Cores? I want to prepare something in advance.

‘Okay.’

Even though he had poured as many concepts and parts as possible into the five mechanical familiars, there was a limit to what they could absorb, leaving a considerable number of Magic Cores scattered on the ground.

‘Hmm.’

But it was only after bending down to pick up the Magic Cores that he noticed something. In Rooms 84 and 85, the floor was clearly dirt, but now traces of civilization, like metal plates and wires, were mixed in.

‘If this continues…’

Ban Yu-won sent a current through it. Naturally, as metal is a conductor, electricity flowed easily. If he could use this to attack the enemies, it would be great. But if the opposite were true…?

‘…I need a plan for this.’

And then they reached Room 94. Before they knew it, the Rebellion party found themselves in the heart of a mechanical empire.