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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Lesson 2. These Are Your Roommates - 3
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For the full day after that, Ban Yu-won busily dashed about without a moment's rest.
He sorted the relics inside the trunk into those from which he'd extract only the concepts and those to store intact. On top of that, he bought up massive quantities of everyday items that seemed ripe for concept extraction.
In the process, the Code Core's capacity ran short, so he urgently needed to procure things possessing the concept of a core. The solution turned out to be exceedingly simple.
No matter the variety, he could extract roughly 0.05 depth of the core concept from fruit seeds.
As a result, he purchased so many fruits that he was mistaken for a fruit vendor, pulling out a total depth of 155 cores.
The leftover fruit concepts—that is, the pulp—were all gathered together. At first, he experimented to see if he could split it into fruit and meat , but as expected, it was impossible.
Pulp was merely the flesh of the fruit, after all, not meat itself.
Through this, Ban Yu-won realized he couldn't arbitrarily split every concept composed of Hanja characters. Nor was it easy for a sub-concept (pulp) to surpass the limitations of its super-concept (fruit).
The takeaway was that no matter how freely he could dissect language concepts, he couldn't defy the natural order.
It was a reminder not to try living life too easily.
"What should I do with this concept? If I cram it all into one watermelon, wouldn't it turn into a super tasty one?"
"We're not eating it right now anyway. Why not just turn it into canned fruit or something?"
"Whoa, Sis, are you a genius?"
Ban Yu-mi's offhand remark, as she watched over his work, opened his eyes wide in realization.
He immediately pulled out a jar of strawberry jam from the supplies he'd packed (since he wouldn't be returning home for a while, he'd stuffed his inventory full of preserved Earth foods like canned goods and instant ramen).
He infused the pulp concept into it.
"Why a jar instead of a can?"
"Cans are done once you open them, but this can be shared."
"You're not just trying to deal with the jam, are you?"
At first, he tested by adding 1 at a time (1 was no small amount, requiring several fruits to produce). Seeing no major visible changes, he grew bolder, adding 5 at a stretch.
By the time he snapped out of it, all 570 worth of pulp obtained from extracting 155 cores had been concentrated into that single jar!
"Oh no, I overdid it...!"
"Hey, this thing's glowing?"
He was bracing to hurl the jar away, fearing an explosion, when—as Ban Yu-mi pointed out—the contents began emitting a dazzling light.
In that tense moment, the glow faded, and a Babylonia Code alert appeared before Ban Yu-won's eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have crafted Junior Spirit Elixir 5. The vitality contained in the pulp has been compressed and sealed to near its limit. Just one bite will greatly invigorate your life force and have a significant impact on the growth of Life. However, the seal is currently very loose, making it easy for the vitality to escape.
The moment he read it, Ban Yu-won generously detached about 5 worth of the Seal concept he'd separated from snack bags and bestowed it upon the jar.
The change was instantaneous.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have crafted Junior Spirit Elixir 10. Due to the perfect seal, the contents are perfectly preserved, and their efficacy is amplified. It's also effective for healing wounds, but fundamentally, it's best for long-term consumption to promote growth in one's existence concept.
"Whoa, I even made a spirit elixir."
"What is it? What happened?"
Instead of answering, Ban Yu-won opened the freshly sealed jar, scooped out a big spoonful of the contents, took a bite himself, then fed one to his sister.
Stars filled her eyes.
"Mmmph! What... is this? So good! Absolutely delicious...!"
"No more for you."
"Whoa, whoa!"
"If you're jealous, make your own. Grandpa! Come try a bite of this jam!"
"Aw, Grandpa prefers yanggaeng..."
With that, he'd cleanly dealt with both the cores and the pulp.
He also learned that even ordinary concepts, when gathered and compressed through special methods, could transform into entirely new ones.
Now it was time to head to the academy.
"Don't get down on yourself, son. I'll go ahead and enroll you at S University anyway. Come back anytime."
"Yeah, I get it—Dad has zero expectations for me."
After an exchange that drained his energy—thanks to his father, who was even more devil-may-care than himself—he turned to find his mother pulling him into a tight hug.
"Take care of yourself, my son."
"Thanks, Mom."
"You'll go even if it kills you?"
"Can't go if I'm dead. I'll go, stay safe, and come back fine."
"Sigh, honestly..."
"Yu-won."
As he barely escaped his mother's embrace, Grandpa Ban Ji-won approached.
Amazingly, ever since first hearing about Babel Tower from Ban Yu-won, he'd kept a level head. Dressed neatly even now, he evoked memories of his days in active service.
The very image of the grandfather Ban Yu-won had always admired and emulated.
"Don't fail the family's long-cherished wish."
"I'll get you into the tower somehow before graduation."
"Good lad, my grandson."
Here, only grandfather and grandson shared an intense longing and desire for the 'tower'.
They embraced fiercely. After the goodbyes, Ban Yu-won tossed a word to his sister, who stared blankly at him.
"Sis, don't get caught doping at your tournament for no reason."
"Idiot, why enter a tournament if I'm gonna cheat?"
Even as her little brother headed to some unknown other world, her attitude remained unchanged.
Then again, that's what put him at ease.
"Alright, do your best. I'm off."
Ban Yu-won chuckled, gave his family one last look, and responded to the message that had appeared before his eyes moments ago.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Union Academy's entrance ceremony begins. Summoning student Ban Yu-won. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
He closed his eyes and opened them to find himself in a massive auditorium.
The people to either side flinched in surprise at his sudden appearance, then frowned upon seeing his uniform.
"What is this? Bottom-feeder? Why are you here?"
"Get lost over there."
"Ah, thanks."
How kind of them to even tell him where to go.
Ban Yu-won waved to the freshmen who'd kindly pointed out his seat and headed to the area reserved for Lower Dimension Special Admission passers.
He hadn't expected them to segregate seats too. As Light had warned, things might get a bit rough ahead.
Come to think of it, he'd only just noticed the uniforms were different.
'And the auras radiating from all around... Whew. These are all freshmen, right?'
He was still a total newbie, but he'd cleared one dungeon, gained insight into the concept of Magic Power, and spent a full night sparring with Ban Yu-mi—someone far above him—picking up the knack of reading opponents' presence.
Yet even the weakest-looking among those around him felt over ten times stronger than Ban Yu-won.
If he could just touch them, he might attempt to interpret their language concepts, but he could hardly ask hostility-dripping strangers, "Mind if I grab your hand?"
For now, all he could do was puff out his chest, stride boldly, and hurry to his seat.
'If Grandpa hadn't helped, I'd really be lost. At least thanks to that, I've stocked up my trump cards nicely.'
The spot he reached after weaving through had just four chairs set apart—like exiles on display.
"Ban!"
"Light, hey. So this is our spot. Special seats are the best."
"Th-the best...? Haha..."
There, besides Light—who wore a strained smile at Ban Yu-won's overuse of slang—were two more female students.
"Ah, hello."
"Uh, hi."
One had strikingly bright pink eyes and hair like bubblegum, with a black streak dyed into part of her bangs. She was a beauty with an innocent, puppy-like cuteness.
But Ban Yu-won struggled to keep his eyes off her unusually ample chest rather than her lush, flashy hair or face.
She seemed aware of it, hunching her body as her default posture—which only made it more pitiful, forcing him to rein in his instincts.
"Um, hi to you too."
"...Hmph."
The other had an excess of flair in a different way.
Her long hair shimmered with an unnatural luster, pure white. Her eyes lacked distinction between sclera and iris—jet black throughout—with a silver cross floating at the center of her pupils.
This already strayed slightly from Ban Yu-won's concept of humanity.
Some kind of demonic eye from a comic? The thought made him shrink back unnecessarily.
'No, but are these really Lower Dimension Special Admissions? All three could crush the regular track...'
As Light—whose strength he'd gauged just two days ago—let alone the black-and-white girl exuding a chilling aura that might surpass even professors if handled right, even the puppy girl trembling like a lamb felt leagues above Ban Yu-won!
The silver lining, befitting the top academy across all dimensions, was that amid all sorts of bizarre races enrolling, these at least looked human.
And each one attractively so!
'One doesn't seem quite human... but staring at her, she has a certain eerie charm. Yeah, a bewitching allure.'
True to his linguistic prowess, he smugly coined a fitting term for her.
Then he noticed her cross-shaped pupils fixed straight on him and flinched.
"Wh-what?"
"That thing... floating around you. Intriguing."
"Huh? Oh, you mean the Dokkaebi Bangmangi?"
It wasn't surprising for someone sensitive to presence to notice the Dokkaebi Bangmangi.
When he summoned it to his palm, she leaned in close without blinking, scrutinizing it intently.
Then she let out a soft chuckle.
Oddly, the overwhelming pressure from her eased dramatically in that instant.
"My name is Dokgo Yeon, daughter of a martial artist. And yours?"
"Uh, your name..."
"So you only learned my name now... ...after days as roommates."
From what the other two said, this was apparently her first self-introduction.
But Ban Yu-won had something else on his mind.
"Ban Yu-won. Martial world, you say? Do you do martial arts and stuff? Like palm wind strikes?"
"Pfft."
Dokgo Yeon burst into laughter at 'palm wind strikes'.
Ban Yu-won paled, fearing he'd offended her, but since Light and the puppy girl laughed too upon hearing it, it didn't seem rude.
"Your perception isn't... pfft, entirely wrong."
"For real? Well, with fantasy worlds out there, martial realms make sense."
"Among countless dimensions, the number of martial worlds—that is, 'dimensions where mana cultivation methods and martial arts infused with religion, philosophy, and other ideologies are systematically established'—is said to exceed ten thousand, Ban."
Light chimed in, seizing the chance to bond with fellow special admits.
"Ten thousand?!"
"...Hmph."
Ban Yu-won was purely shocked, but Dokgo Yeon shot Light a slightly cold glance.
It could be taken as belittling her home dimension.
Realizing his slip, Light retreated with an awkward expression.
"Sorry, no intent to disparage your birth dimension. I just meant to share the fact innocently..."
"...!"
"Light, better stay quiet."
"Y-yeah."
Thankfully, no enraged Dokgo Yeon demonstrated martial arts right there.
She seemed to decide to ignore him, turning away sharply and extending a hand to Ban Yu-won.
"Ban Yu-won, pleased to meet you. ...I sense an affinity with you."
"Yeah, likewise. Don't forget—if you get something from me, give back in return."
"Hehe."
She didn't seem as scary as first thought.
As he shook her hand with that judgment, the cross in her eyes lightly rotated.
Not sure if it was positive, but things were going well until that super creepy finale!
"Um!"
As the two chatted amiably, someone piped up from the side.
The pink-haired puppy girl.
"Pleased to meet you too...! I'm Luchel—no family name, just Luchel."
"A-hem. As Light here. Call me Light. Pleased to meet you, Luchel, Dokgo."
"Dokgo?"
Dokgo Yeon—who'd seemed in good spirits till now—frowned.
"Call me Dokgo Yeon."
"Ah, haha... Looks like the ceremony's about to start."
Light pointed straight ahead with his now-familiar wry smile after the rebuff.
Nine professors ascended the platform at the auditorium's center.
Ban Yu-won spotted Professor Yumina—with her green skin and red petal hair—and felt a surge of unexpected fondness. As if sensing it, she turned, giving him a small smile.
"Did you have an interview?"
"Yeah, with that professor."
As he chatted with Light.
Suddenly, fireworks exploded in midair.
Everyone reflexively looked up.
The auditorium's ceiling parted, revealing a colossal eye beyond.
—Everyone's gathered.
A being that shouldn't be perceivable had manifested.
Far too exalted and immense—merely gazing upon it would crush frail lives unto death.
Ban Yu-won barely registered the eye, suffering horrific shock, but it wasn't for naught.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your understanding of the Eye concept deepens. Omniread Eye's depth reaches 105. You can now see more, and more clearly. Soul's depth reaches 320. Your mind grows more resolute, and resistance to malign influences strengthens.
As Ban Yu-won widened his eyes at unexpectedly growing his unique concepts.
Was it his imagination? The giant eye seemed to look right at him.
But probably just that—his imagination.
—Then, we shall begin the 2,557th entrance ceremony of Union Academy.
Such a exalted being couldn't possibly individually recognize a tiny speck like Ban Yu-won.