Why Did I Have to Enroll

Chapter 141:

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 141

Lesson 29. The Truth Will Be Revealed Someday - 1

The Academy always buzzed whenever Rebellion stirred up trouble, but this time it was particularly intense.

The million-strong Orc Wave that erupted in the lower dimension of Uraha was, as Yumina put it, an event worthy of being recorded in textbooks.

Regardless of whether the dimension was lower or not, an Orc that had acquired a Relic and become a Lord was not a monster a first-year student could face alone.

Ban Yu-won, with the help of his teammates, managed to defeat the Orc Lord and end the Orc Wave, an achievement that was hard to believe even with Professor Yumina's endorsement.

'Isn't it just a matter of taking down the Lord? It didn't look that strong in the video, so why all the fuss?' someone might say.

However, they would be making a critical misjudgment about the Orc Lord's power, which could be gauged by the number of Orcs it commanded.

Creating a one-on-one situation with an Orc Lord leading a million Orcs and finishing it off was the greatest proof of Rebellion's skill.

"Don't make it sound like I attract trouble on purpose."

On a Saturday afternoon, Ban Yu-won, who had returned to the Academy and taken a day's rest, visited Ronica's cozy wine bar with Mira to keep a promise.

It wasn't a place recommended by the student council but one he had visited with Yumina before.

It was secretive, expensive, but the atmosphere and wine were excellent.

"By next week, even more people will be asking about you. I'm already feeling down," Mira said, lightly complaining while rubbing the rim of her wine glass with her finger.

Despite her words, she wore a rather pleased smile, indicating she liked the place.

Ban Yu-won, sensing her true feelings, teased her, "You have that many friends who'd ask you directly?"

"No, not really. It's depressing because people who aren't close ask. Especially the seniors ready to graduate, they fear nothing."

"I'm scared!"

When Ban Yu-won first heard about finding a match at the Academy, he thought it was just a thing.

But hearing it now, it didn't feel like someone else's problem.

Perhaps when Luciel linked arms with Ban Yu-won on the special activity day, it was really to fend off a multitude of female students…!

“There’s always a fierce battle of nerves among the women beneath the surface at the Academy. Now do you see how much Luciel and I are struggling?”

“You’re up to something I don’t know about. I don’t know exactly what, but thank you…”

“Yeah, just treat me well. The closer we seem, the easier it is to fend off nuisances.”

It seemed like she and Luciel had coordinated their stories. Ban Yu-won suddenly recalled an incident and asked her, “How did you become friends with Luciel?”

“Did it seem that way?”

Mira laughed lightly. At that moment, Ban Yu-won felt a chill and shivered. How could she create such a heavy atmosphere with just a few words? Was this also Changeling?

“Uh… wasn’t it?”

“Not really.”

Seeing Ban Yu-won tense up, Mira smiled as if her prank had succeeded. “We did become friends.”

It seemed like she was saying it wasn’t, but it was too scary to ask further. He decided to engrave in his bones the fact that women’s relationships couldn’t be judged by appearances alone.

“Yu-won, I want to go flower viewing with you too.”

“You saw that too?”

“The flower viewing video has more views than the one where you beheaded the Orc Lord.”

He had half-expected it, but hearing it directly was frustrating. The video of the Orc Lord’s defeat was impressive and powerful, but it was more popular on the intranet than outside. Despite the rarity of an Orc Lord’s appearance and an Orc Wave, it happened in a lower dimension on the brink of F-grade, so it couldn’t appeal much to users across dimensions.

Don’t misunderstand; it wasn’t that it didn’t get attention. It’s just that Ban Yu-won’s first attempt at making seasoned chicken or Yumina’s secret flower magic, which made all the trees bloom, resonated much better with viewers.

“Raising the status of my homeland, Korea, with seasoned chicken is satisfying.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. There are plenty of similar chicken recipes in the Union.”

It’s worth repeating that the upper dimensions, including the Union, were not inferior to Earth in terms of food culture. And the same went for Korea; people here wouldn’t be moved to tears by kimchi or bibimbap. However, one thing the Union lacked was Korean-style seasoned chicken.

“This is different, anyway. I was praised more for this than when I created swordsmanship for Dokgo Yeon. You’ll know once you try it.”

“Okay, then make it for me later. I’ll judge after I taste it.”

“Just wait, I’ll make it myself… huh?”

Only then did Ban Yu-won realize he had been tricked. It wasn’t easy to catch him with words, but he had been naturally caught like this.

“You promised.”

Mira chuckled and clinked her glass against Ban Yu-won’s on the table. A cheerful sound rang out. Was this a ceremony to flaunt her victory? Ban Yu-won pouted as he drank from his glass. The wine, which he thought would be bitter, tasted sweeter.

“Well, since I learned properly from Luciel this time, it’s not hard to make it for you… Do you have anything? Like a traditional fairy dish or something?”

“I do, but do you think I’ve ever cooked in my life?”

“No.”

“You know me well.”

After sipping her wine, Mira added with a deeper smile, “So, I’ll practice hard from now on. Wait for me.”

What a cunning fox.

*

The 10th week of Union Academy dawned. As Mira predicted, the Orc Lord’s subjugation caused an explosive reaction within the Academy, and some students even managed to approach Ban Yu-won, breaking through Mira and Luciel’s solid guard. It wasn’t just female students; male students from the same first-year class also expressed interest in joining the club ‘Union Travels,’ which Ban Yu-won represented.

“Why?”

“Honestly, I want to climb the tower with you, but that seems impossible now.”

Hearing this from a male student from Class 3, Ban Yu-won nodded. They had already been running together for over two months, and the existence of the Rebellion channel made it shameless to say they wanted to join now.

“But I want to become strong like you. All the students in the club are developing rapidly, right? Surely there…”

“Huh? Oh, I see. I’m glad you think highly of our club.”

Only then did Ban Yu-won realize that the excessive attention he was receiving wasn’t solely due to his exploits in special activities. Last week, while the first-years were engaged in special activities, the enrolled students continued to climb the tower. The seniors, who had trained and grown together in the club for weeks, unleashed their potential. Even the senior led by the stone, who broke previous records and set a new one in just a few weeks, showed how the other seniors must have performed.

Especially some seniors who couldn’t handle their powers properly received Ban Yu-won’s help and began to manage their abilities. Even though the first semester hadn’t ended, their perception within the Academy was already changing drastically. And at the pinnacle of the admiration directed at them was Ban Yu-won.

“Can we join the club too?”

“You’re the president, right? And you’re also Professor Yumina’s deputy. So, if you want, we can join too, right? Can’t you just talk to us?”

Club membership applications poured in by the dozens daily, surpassing 100 by Tuesday evening. Several enrolled students and over 90 freshmen wanted to join the club. Essentially, a third of the freshmen wanted to join!

Naturally, Ban Yu-won politely declined all applicants.

‘If I accept all these people, we’ll practically own the first-year class… but we already have overwhelming influence among the first-years, so why bother?’

It didn’t align with the club’s purpose, and accepting too many students wouldn’t guarantee successful operation. The demerits outweighed the merits.

“Why not!”

However, the stone couldn’t accept this and cried out in despair.

“I don’t care about the guys, but you could’ve at least picked the pretty girls! Did you have to reject them all to feel satisfied?”

“I can’t believe how transparent you are. Just roll around like a stone.”

“Zenjaaaaaang—!”

The amplification concept emanating from the stone activates more as he moves actively, and it lasts longer the closer the relationship. For instance, Ban Yu-won, who only meets him during club activities, experiences a 2-3% power increase, while club members who regularly train together see a 4-5% increase, and those who enter the tower with him experience a 7-8% increase. At that point, it’s not something to be taken lightly. Ban Yu-won pondered how to extend this effect.

“It seems to depend on the stone’s perception. No, this is probably the biggest factor.”

“Just make me a weapon, a dedicated weapon!”

The stone, who had just completed a lap around the training room, said energetically. A dedicated weapon… Ban Yu-won pondered again. A weapon that could spread the concept emanating from him… a fan?

“Probably not… I’ll think about it more. And senior, if you want something from me, work hard and achieve better results. Got it?”

“You’re not even human…”

“But you’re a stone.”

“I’m not a stone; I’m Woo Hyeol-rin!”

Watching the stone move and observing the amplification emanating from him, Ban Yu-won realized anew that his ability wasn’t related to physical phenomena. If he could consciously handle this amplification ability and strengthen many people, just as the Orc Lord empowered its Orcs…

‘Huh.’

Could this amplification effect also be in the realm of soul power, or spiritual power?

Spiritual power is different from pure magic power or telekinesis, a power exerted based on the soul. To be honest, Ban Yu-won’s authority is closely related to the soul, growing it with each level-up, but its scope of action is much broader than spiritual power.

‘It might be arrogant for someone with authority to think this, but it feels like I’m handling the fundamental power source of all types of power, whether it’s telekinesis or spiritual power…’

Even when researching telekinesis before, Ban Yu-won realized he could achieve everything possible with telekinesis using his authority. It was probably the same with spiritual power, but since it was quite different from how he originally wielded his authority, he planned to research and familiarize himself with spiritual power first. Once he fully adapted to spiritual power, he would absorb it and integrate its principles into his authority, allowing him to wield it more completely.

‘Alright, then let’s… give it a try.’

Ban Yu-won activated the concept of ‘spiritual power’ he obtained from the Orc Lord and re-examined the way the stone’s authority worked, something he couldn’t discern before. The results were quickly apparent. With a smile on his lips, Ban Yu-won realized one expected fact and one unexpected fact.

“Woo Hyeol-rin, senior.”

“I’m not Woo Hyeol-rin, I’m a stone… huh?”

The stone, called by his name for the first time by Ban Yu-won, turned to him in surprise. With an inscrutable smile, Ban Yu-won said to him, “I’ll make you a dedicated weapon.”

“Oooooooooh!”

“But your weapon will be consumable.”

“…Huh?”

It seemed that the stone’s authority didn’t end with mere amplification. Creating a dedicated weapon for someone who handles soul-affecting power was impossible for Ban Yu-won at the moment. Instead, he could create consumables that would allow him to wield his authority more actively and powerfully. He already had inventions that fit this description.

“It’s a talisman bundle! If you infuse your spiritual power into it and attach it to a target, it will amplify them for sure.”

By incorporating some of the mysteries of the Origin Sword he had realized before, he created a spiritual power talisman that served as a sturdy vessel for amplifying authority. He inserted several concepts to support the stone’s power. When the stone infused his power and attached it to a specific target, all the drawbacks of ‘amplification’ were perfectly resolved!

‘Though it’s still limited in duration, it’s not a one-time 30-hour burst like a study talisman, so you just need to replenish it occasionally.’

Of course, creating a permanent artifact that could maintain spiritual power and various concepts would require an artifact-making professor’s level of skill. Not yet.

“What is this? I don’t like it; give me a cool weapon! Like the greatsword you got from the Orc Lord last time!”

“Stop complaining and infuse your power into it. Quickly.”

“Y-Yes…”

The stone reluctantly accepted the talisman bundle that Ban Yu-won had poured his spiritual power and energy into, unable to refuse his words. Eventually, he activated his power. Ban Yu-won’s idea worked brilliantly—resulting in an astonishing 10% ‘amplification’ of the abilities of not only the stone’s team members but also all club members, including Ban Yu-won!

The stone was no longer just a stone; he became a magnificent totem that significantly amplified everyone’s abilities just by being there! …Though he ended up collapsing from over-activating his authority.