Why Did I Have to Enroll

Chapter 140:

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 140

Interlude: Awakening Was a Mistake

Ban Yu-mi was overwhelmed by the literal new civilization she encountered through an unknown link leading to an unknown site.

“?Welcome to Union Net. Translation services for all languages are provided when using Union Net.”

The notification was genuine. She could effortlessly read the unfamiliar script filling the screen, just like her brother, Ban Yu-won, had done.

Despite knowing it was impossible, she opened an English book, hoping she might have gained the same ability as her brother, only for her vision to go dark instantly. It was clear that the translation service only worked while viewing Union Net.

“What is this? Union… Union. Isn’t that the name of the place Ban Yu-won went to?”

She remembered clearly. Her brother, who always lived in a state of laziness and leisure due to his overwhelming talent, suddenly decided to attend a strange place called Union Academy instead of the prestigious S University he had been accepted to.

He was always a peculiar guy, but suddenly he started doing inexplicable things, awakened her magic power, and whispered secretively with their grandfather before leaving.

He left. That bastard left on his own, leaving her behind.

“And now he’s out there flirting with aliens?!”

Given her dislike for reading, it was inevitable that she would access Union Net’s video platform, Unitube. Once there, finding the Rebellion channel, ranked in the top 1,000, wasn’t difficult.

Especially since Ban Yu-won, a student at Union Academy, was involved. Searching for Union Academy brought up the video he uploaded first.

But after watching the most recent video and confirming he was healthy, she was only relieved for a moment. Seeing her brother getting cozy with a ridiculously beautiful black-haired elf left Ban Yu-mi speechless.

“This bastard went there for this? Just to date pretty aliens?!”

Ban Yu-mi checked all the videos on the Rebellion channel. What she discovered was even more outrageous.

There were four people in his class, including him. One was a beast who clung to him from the start, another was a mentor figure who bossed him around, and the last was a guy who looked like a pretty girl and clung to him at every opportunity.

“Ban Yu-won is super popular…!”

And that wasn’t all. The strange flower-headed professor tried to act like his sister instead of her, the elf in the first video openly flirted with him, and the female club members called him ‘teacher’ and clung to him. Even the sky-blue-haired beauty and the student council president, a demon, were all over him…

“This bastard doesn’t know when to stop!”

She felt a burning rage inside. Her brother was popular on Earth too. If she hadn’t been there to fend off weird girls, he would have had a scandalous youth. She believed he owed her a hundred thanks.

But now, without his sister’s watchful eye, he was freely playing around with girls? While she worried, he was off in another world, building a harem?

‘…But.’

Just as she was about to smash her phone in frustration, Ban Yu-mi noticed the woman acting as her brother’s mentor swinging a sword in the video. She was captivated, watching it repeatedly.

‘She’s a master.’

A master far beyond her. Her talent was exceptional, but she had trained in kendo and fencing, sports that no longer aimed to kill. The woman in the video displayed pure swordsmanship, not meant to be seen by others, reaching the pinnacle of handling a sword.

Realizing the true value of Dokgo Yeon’s swordsmanship from just one viewing was proof of Ban Yu-mi’s incredible innate talent, though she wasn’t aware of it. It wasn’t important.

‘It pisses me off to see him flirting with girls… but I have to watch to learn the sword.’

Seeing her brother call Dokgo Yeon ‘teacher’ and learn swordsmanship from her was infuriating, but she was also captivated by her swordsmanship. Ban Yu-mi resolved to steal her swordsmanship perfectly and become stronger as revenge for taking her brother.

She had recently quit the Olympic team and had a lot of free time. Her parents suggested transferring to another university, but as someone born for martial arts, pursuing academics was out of the question.

Ultimately, she could only think of wielding a sword. Dokgo Yeon’s sword appeared like a guiding light.

‘Like this? No, like this. I have to perfectly imitate the form to understand even a bit of that eye-ghost’s nonsense.’

She set up a large screen to repeatedly play Dokgo Yeon’s sword-wielding video and reconstructed her swordsmanship from the basics.

It was grueling but rewarding. The magic power her brother awakened in her circulated quickly within her body, growing in size. Her extraordinary sword talent extracted parts of Dokgo Yeon’s swordsmanship that suited her, transforming and developing it to fit her.

‘Look at Ban Yu-won, his swordsmanship is improving rapidly. He refused when I offered to teach him…!’

Watching the videos to learn the sword naturally made her notice her brother. He seemed to be one of the more talented ones at the academy, growing rapidly and excelling.

He wielded a sword, used magic, and created strange items, doing everything by himself.

‘He’s giving gifts to all the girls. He only gave me a lousy massage coupon… He’s dead when he comes back for vacation.’

For the record, the massage coupon was valid only until Ban Yu-won was eight, but thanks to her foolish brother forgetting to set an expiration date, it was still valid and stored in her secret stash.

Other things that caught her eye on the Rebellion channel were the monsters that might appear on Earth after dimensional evolution. Not aliens with different appearances, but mindless creatures hostile to them.

Ban Yu-mi conducted virtual training, thinking about how to deal with the various monsters in the videos. Her newly established swordsmanship wasn’t limited to fighting humans for that reason.

“Are these bastards really going to appear on Earth? Is that what dimensional evolution means?”

Reading about various dimensions on Union Net naturally made her realize the changes Earth would face.

Realizing this, she had to be honest with her parents.

“Mom, Dad, Earth is screwed.”

“Yu-mi, what do you mean by ‘screwed’? Can’t you speak more elegantly…?”

“They say dimensional evolution will happen on Earth. It’ll become weird like that strange school Ban Yu-won went to!”

“Dimensional… evolution?”

Of course, her parents didn’t believe her immediately. But with Ban Yu-won, who had already left Earth, as a precedent, and seeing his video on her phone, they couldn’t help but believe.

“Did you miss your brother so much that you made a fake video…?”

“Do you think I’m crazy? I can’t stand the sight of him!”

“Right, if you made the video, there wouldn’t be so many pretty girls.”

Starting with her mother, who sighed and reluctantly accepted reality, the Ban family began preparing for dimensional evolution.

As for her grandfather, Ban Ji-won, after receiving mana from Ban Yu-won, he maintained his sanity and even awakened his magic power upon seeing the Babel Tower in the video.

“We can’t just sit around. I need to raid some crop storage in America.”

“What are you talking about, Father?”

“We have a farm in America under our Won’s name, son.”

“A farm?!”

Her father, Ban Ju-seok, discovered the hidden wealth of the family and awakened his magic power after his grandfather. It was a close call, but why did it feel so unfortunate compared to his grandfather?

“Dimensional evolution. What changes will Earth mainly face, son?”

“I don’t know… If mana appears, will fine dust decrease?”

“Hmm, it seems like monsters will be the main problem. They say dungeons will appear too…”

“Can’t we handle those monsters with the current military firepower?”

“Looking at this video, it seems like technology in any dimension isn’t inferior to Earth’s, but they don’t use firearms. Isn’t there a special reason? Moreover, if you look closely, Won is mixing mana with his gun.”

“Mana… So if we can’t use it, we’re all screwed, right, Father?”

“I see where Yu-mi got her language from.”

Ban Ji-won converted the Ban family’s assets, stored in various countries, into precious metals and gathered them in one place. He stockpiled enough food for the family to consume for decades, fortified the mansion’s walls, purchased combat-capable artifacts, and subtly hinted at the changes Earth would face through his connections.

Ban Ju-seok, contemplating whether to retire early from his diplomatic position, decided to strengthen ties with politicians with his father’s help to minimize the chaos Korea would face post-dimensional evolution.

Meanwhile, her mother, Kang Eun-young, sighed more each day, watching Ban Yu-mi train to calm her troubled heart.

And Ban Yu-mi…

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Yu-mi? Why do you suddenly look like a puppy needing to poop? Do you have something on your mind?”

“No, I’ve made up my mind.”

After much hesitation, she finally left a message in the group chat of the Korean women’s fencing national team, her college friends.

[Me: If anything happens, come find me.]

[Me: Think of it as an earthquake and prepare a bit.]

[Yugumddak: What’s up, lol? Why so serious, sis?]

[HyunG: If anything happens, come to me.]

[Gangmyeon: What’s up, Yu-mi? What are you up to these days?]

[HyunG: I miss Yu-won so much I could die. Introduce him to me soon.]

[HyunG: (Emoji of a girl drawing a heart with her fingers)]

[Me: (Emoji of a fat duck punching a wall)]

[Me: I can’t say much, but remember. I’ll take responsibility for you guys if anything happens.]

[Yugumddak: Love you, sis?]

Ban Yu-mi blocked Lee Hyun-ji, a college friend, and closed her phone. Only then did she feel somewhat relieved.

She knew it was a shallow trick to ease her mind, but it was better than doing nothing.

How much time had passed?

Finally, the moment arrived.

[Earth is undergoing dimensional evolution and will officially connect with Union Net! The top 1% of Earth’s talents will be granted access, and as Earth’s mana density increases, this percentage will rise.]

[Earth is a very special dimension. As a reward for reconnecting with Union Net, all Earthlings are granted the status window, a miraculous privilege not easily enjoyed by higher-dimensional residents!]

[Awakening the unique ability, Unquenchable Flame.]

…And Earth’s changes unfolded in a slightly different direction than Ban Yu-mi had anticipated.