Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 156

Lesson 31. The Last Spoonful is Always the Most Annoying - 6

“Looks like the Chain Room really changes its environment at the end,” Dokgo Yeon murmured with interest, surveying her surroundings.

Everywhere was filled with metal. The mechanical empire, made entirely of metal and wires, felt as if the group had been shrunk and placed inside a machine.

“The machines are all enhanced by electricity,” was a phrase added as a new trick, but it was something they had anticipated. From now on, the lightning that Luciel emitted wouldn’t harm the enemies but instead strengthen them. Moreover, even if electricity flowed throughout the field, only Ban Yu-won and his group would suffer.

It was fortunate they had read the signs in Room 93 and prepared in advance.

“Ban, are you sure this will work?” Light asked, eyeing the rubber overshoes covering his metal boots with suspicion. He tugged at them, seemingly intrigued by the unique texture of the rubber.

“Rubber is the quintessential insulator. Sure, the idea of blocking Pikachu’s million volts with rubber gloves is a bit of a stretch, but…”

“What’s a Pikachu?”

“It’s something smaller and cuter than Luciel.”

No matter how insulating rubber is, every material has its limits. If the voltage gets too high, the heat resistance reaches its limit, and the rubber burns.

“So, I just crammed those two concepts together.”

Insulation and heat resistance. These are among the most frequently confirmed concepts in modern products because modern people are sensitive to safety. As long as they’re wearing these rubber boots, they should be able to block the current flowing on the ground without much trouble.

“Blocking the current… Isn’t this just an artifact?”

“Well, you could see it that way.”

If there’s one downside to this perfect item, it’s that everyone wearing it looks adorable. The four of them standing together in rubber boots looked like a group of elementary school kids on a rainy day picnic.

“Pfft…”

Especially seeing the usually stern-faced Dokgo Yeon waddling in boots was a work of art in itself, and Ban Yu-won couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ban Yu-won, you laughed just now.”

He realized who he had laughed at when he heard the icy voice.

“No, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that! It’s just too cute…”

“Talking nonsense…”

The eerie sound of Dokgo Yeon drawing her Blade was heard. But before Ban Yu-won could be taken down, fortunately, the enemies appeared.

“You’re lucky, Ban Yu-won.”

“So unfair…”

Dokgo Yeon, striding forward past Eve and Tike, who had transformed into armored tanks, and the mechanical minions, exuded a terrifying Killing intent that was recognizable even from behind. Yet, the rubber boots still made her seem somewhat cute…

“Oh no, if I laugh again, I’ll really get killed…!”

“Ahem. Yu-won, do you think I’m cute too?”

Luciel, who had been subtly keeping Dokgo Yeon in check lately, appeared in front of him, asking slyly. Given her excellent physique and mature charm, Luciel wearing boots felt a bit niche.

“You’re cute, but… maybe PG-12, or even PG-15.”

“Why?!”

“Luciel, stop clinging to Ban during a battle.”

“Light, don’t interrupt at such a crucial moment…!”

The start was ordinary. The proportion of elite monsters had increased significantly compared to Room 93, which was annoying, but they could still extract valuable concepts from such foes.

The change came suddenly.

“Ugh…?!”

The first to sense the omen was none other than Ban Yu-won.

He felt the ‘Flow.’ A massive electrical current, whose origin he couldn’t identify, was surging toward them.

―This isn’t Room 94. This is something you’d expect to see around Room 400…

‘It’s been a while since I’ve heard that. It’s almost nostalgic.’

―Need help? Celon has changed so much that it’s hard to handle.

‘We’ll try on our own first… but if my comrades are in danger, please step in.’

―Got it. You really do care a lot.

If they weren’t wearing rubber boots, they would have been electrocuted by now. The proof was the armored insects, whose power was already being enhanced by the electricity flowing through the field. But the same was true for the mechanical minions. They had other weapons on their side.

“Luciel, start!”

“Got it!”

Luciel, who had been rampaging on the front lines, leaped back and jumped high into the sky. As if waiting for this, a Light Wing flew in, and Luciel landed gracefully on it.

“Here we go!”

She unleashed all the accumulated Lightning Qi she had been storing during the battle!

―Kiiiiiiii!

The Light Wing let out a high-pitched cry. The powerful lightning energy concentrated on it was evenly distributed to all the minions on the battlefield through the concept of ‘Resonance’!

―Boom!

The previously balanced atmosphere was instantly reversed, and Ban Yu-won’s minions began to overwhelm the armored insects. Light and Dokgo Yeon, who had been fighting frantically, could finally catch their breath and retreat.

“The difficulty must be high if I leveled up just from combat experience, not even a reward.”

“I leveled up too… We’re not even at Room 100 yet. Can we really keep climbing the tower?”

“At least for me and Ban Yu-won, it’s possible.”

Dokgo Yeon said, shaking off the oil and insect fluids from her small Blade and turning around. There stood Ban Yu-won, wearing rubber boots, standing calmly in the middle of the battlefield, concentrating.

She didn’t intend to question what he was doing in such a critical situation. She could feel the explosive current flowing through the ground hesitating because of his presence.

‘Indeed… he was trying to use this as an opportunity for growth.’

Dokgo Yeon recalled the Martial Arts Ban Yu-won was aiming for. He sought to understand everything in the world through special symbols only he could see, perfectly reading and controlling the flow of those symbols.

If he could interact with and influence the massive flow of concepts not originating from him, it would aid not only the Origin Blade but also the evolution of the Mysterious Body Technique.

‘However, the Mysterious Body Technique requires a different kind of enlightenment to evolve.’

So he probably wouldn’t achieve the evolution of the Mysterious Body Technique inside this tower, even if he could with the Origin Blade.

Knowing this, she didn’t tell Ban Yu-won because speaking carelessly about the secrets of Martial Arts might hinder his growth.

‘But he’ll manage. No one has mastered the Mysterious Body Technique this quickly before.’

Realizing her judgment of him was accurate, she felt pleased. But then she remembered Ban Yu-won had made a silly comment about her earlier. As a teacher, she was happy about her student’s achievements, but she couldn’t tolerate being teased.

If it wasn’t teasing… though that seemed unlikely.

She couldn’t forgive it even more.

“Dokgo Yeon, are you okay? Your eyes looked a bit strange just now.”

“Ahem.”

Dokgo Yeon cleared her throat and turned away. There was no time to dwell on Ban Yu-won. There were still many enemies to defeat, and Ban Yu-won would grow on his own now.

“Hup!”

―Swoosh

She unleashed her Aura at the armored insects that were devouring the ground and sparking with electricity. Then, as if nothing had happened, she spoke to Light.

“Anyway, if you don’t want to fall behind, you’ll have to work hard too. I don’t want to see you struggling with that Blade anymore.”

“There wasn’t much trouble in this expedition. I feel like I’ve crossed a line. Just wait, I’ll train hard during the break and show you perfect control by the second semester…!”

“Hmm, so inviting Ban Yu-won to your dimension during this break was for that training?”

Light was at a loss for words. Even while talking, the spear he was wielding against the enemy suddenly lost its direction and drew a circle in the air. Maybe it was just his imagination, but his face seemed to turn red.

“Uh, well, you see. Ban and I are close friends, so, um…”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to explain. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll be like in the second semester.”

Dokgo Yeon teased as she swung her Blade to cut through the web flying toward her and then sliced through the bodies of the armored pillars.

“Maybe you’ll wear a dress.”

“A dress?! That’s weird, I mean, not that dresses are weird! Even if I wore something like that, Ban would…”

“Hmm? I don’t see what Ban Yu-won has to do with this.”

“Huh?!”

Dokgo Yeon, who had easily wiped out another group of armored insects with a light swing of her Blade, tilted her head in response. Her expression rarely changed, so when she decided to play innocent, anyone would be fooled.

“Hey! You brought up Ban just now! I can’t show a weird side to a friend, so I…”

“A friend. You still call him a friend with that face.”

Dokgo Yeon scoffed.

“You should be grateful to Ban Yu-won for understanding your lies and playing along. Otherwise, you might not even have been friends.”

Her sharp words left even the thick-skinned Light feeling deflated. He already felt guilty about it with Ban Yu-won, making it even more so.

But Dokgo Yeon’s sharp tongue wasn’t usually this severe, and it was unlike her to talk so much during a battle… Her eyes earlier were strange too, and Light suddenly thought of a possibility.

“…Aren’t you a bit angry?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Are you upset because I invited Ban? …Are you jealous?”

The moment Light uttered those words.

“Jealous?”

Swoosh…

The magic power exploding everywhere, the sparks flying from the torrent of electricity, the armored insects crawling out from the depths of the mechanical empire, screeching…

All the Noise subsided into silence.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop with such ridiculous delusions.”

Dokgo Yeon’s cross-shaped eyes were fixed on Light. Seeing Death in those eyes, Light froze like a mouse before a cat.

“Uh, okay…”

“Hmph.”

When Dokgo Yeon snorted and turned away, everything returned to normal. The harsh environment of Room 94 couldn’t surpass Dokgo Yeon’s presence and was subdued!

Clutching his pounding heart from this first-time experience, Light thought.

‘She really is jealous, isn’t she?!’

Ban Yu-won, you’re a scary kid…!

Ban Yu-won was certain.

‘I can’t reach it.’

His theory was that every Flow has an Origin. However, he couldn’t find the Origin of the current filling the area. At first, he thought it was due to his lack of ability, but after tracing the concept’s origin to a certain extent, he realized it abruptly cut off.

The answer was clear. The Origin of this current was at a point they couldn’t access in the current situation.

‘Maybe… we’ll be able to contact it once we reach Room 95.’

He felt his heart race. He had expected it from the start, but this Chain Room was indeed a jackpot.

[You gain fundamental insight into the Flow of Qi. The depth of the Mysterious Body Technique is now 242. The depth of Mysterious Qi is now 492.]

[The concept of Body is transformed. The depth of Body is now 2.]

But this was still not enough. Ban Yu-won instinctively knew he couldn’t complete the Mysterious Body Technique here.

However, the Origin Blade…

A Martial Art that develops by reading and controlling all internal and external Flows…

[You feel the integration of concepts within your Body.]

With a massive concept flowing outside, and trying to read and interfere with that Flow, he might be able to complete it!

“An elite… something huge is coming!”

Luciel, who had been supplying lightning from the back of the Light Wing while observing the battle, shouted loudly. Even without her words, everyone noticed something emerging from the massive hole where the armored insects were crawling out.

The intense vibrations made it difficult to maintain balance.

“Yu-won, it’s a dome! A dome!”

Ban Yu-won half-opened his eyes to see a massive dome-shaped mechanical mass rising above the ground. Though tightly closed, he was sure that once it opened, something terrifying would emerge from within.

‘In Room 94, not even Room 95?’

He felt the Flow of electricity that had filled the ground rushing toward the dome. It seemed as if the massive flow of electricity had been for the emergence of that thing from the start.

But that didn’t mean he could just let it happen.

‘If I can read all external concepts, I can theoretically respond perfectly by controlling internal concepts.’

That’s true. But that alone wouldn’t allow him to surpass his limits. To defeat strong opponents like Lucein Ortima, Dokgo Yeon, and Ayre, or even Ryu Cheol-myeong, who was baring his fangs at them, it wasn’t enough.

Therefore, the goal of the Origin Blade was not just that.

It had to be a Martial Art that surpassed his limits and brought strong opponents to their knees.

‘Read all external concepts and interfere with them to create a path I can break through!’

Ban Yu-won closed his eyes again. He could now transition to the concept of Mysterious Qi without even lifting a finger.

Countless directions, the concept of orientation.

The concept of Flow, which empowers it.

‘Go!’

All his Magic Power was conceptualized and enveloped the surroundings. The artificial Flow he created mixed with the Flow of electricity rushing toward the dome.

Crackle.

Intense Resistance, clashing concepts.

Ban Yu-won focused even more. Resistance only consumed concepts. He expanded his senses to read the Flow more finely and perfectly.

And at one moment, he finally succeeded in slightly twisting the Flow.

A reversal began.