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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Lesson 1. This Is Your Status Window - 3
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'This must be the boss room, right?'
Ban Yu-won thought to himself as he stared at the iron door blocking his path ahead.
Up until now, there had been hardly any forks in the path—just a straight tunnel stretching on—and now this artificial door had appeared.
Even if it wasn't the boss room, it was only natural to assume something important lay beyond.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 🌿 Life: 13 💪 Body: 11.5 ✨ Soul: 300 👁️ Omniread Eye: 100 👂 Omnihear Ear: 100 👄 Omniloquent Lips: 100
Ban Yu-won accessed his internal code.
All the blind goblins had possessed identical stats: Life 0.2, Body 0.1, Demon 0.1.
From the very first goblin he'd encountered as a Level 1 newbie all the way to this point, he'd somehow managed (recounting the details would bring tears) to slay every blind goblin he'd crossed paths with and absorbed all their language concepts entirely. His current status was nothing short of astonishing.
Now, he could feel his grip strength surging just from clenching his fist.
Specifically, by about 20%.
From that, he could infer that basic physical intensity followed Body, but the Life concept amplified the overall stats once more.
'The problem is, even at this level, I still can't take on a blind goblin one-on-one.'
Seriously, if he hadn't had his unique ability to understand and mimic goblin speech, Ban Yu-won would've died long ago.
His one hope was the club in his hand, boasting Blunt Weapon 15 and Demon 1.5.
Unlike himself—who still felt somehow lacking even after devouring fifteen goblins whole—the club's transformation was striking.
The more Blunt Weapon it gained, the heavier it became; the more Demon, the darker its originally brown hue grew.
He could feel the weapon changing dramatically with every finishing blow he landed on a goblin.
'Maybe the essence of my ability lies more in crafting and evolving objects than in my own growth?'
It was a bit premature, but he shook his head to dismiss the thought.
He'd only awakened to the Babylonia Code a short while ago—jumping to conclusions like that was too hasty, even for him.
'More importantly... what now.'
Ban Yu-won pondered the door before him.
Honestly, he really didn't want to go in.
If he had to, he'd prefer to hunt another ten goblins—or twenty if he got greedy—to secure more concepts first.
The issue was that the cave wasn't that vast, with few branches, so backtracking now meant slim chances of finding more goblins.
An even bigger problem was the thirst and hunger starting to gnaw at him.
Wandering for hours just to snag one or two more would undoubtedly make passing the practical exam impossible.
'...Let's go in.'
The deliberation dragged on, but the decision came in an instant.
He had no intention of clashing head-on with these monsters, not even as a joke—but his reason and instincts had united in insisting it was the most advantageous option. What choice did he have?
He opened the door.
Waiting inside was a massive monster.
"Intruder... you've finally come."
This was bad.
Ban Yu-won knew it the moment he laid eyes on the thing.
It was half again as large as any blind goblin he'd faced so far.
"You... were you watching me?"
"I don't need to see to know."
True to the name Blind Goblin Cave, its eyes were sightless—but to Ban Yu-won, whether it could see or not seemed irrelevant.
Above all, the weapon in its hand was menacing.
A long, single-edged sword with a razor-sharp blade.
Its tip pointed straight at him, proving the creature's superior spatial awareness.
"I was getting bored waiting. Took you long enough dealing with those vermin."
Even its tone suggested it knew what had transpired outside.
Sensing he couldn't win, Ban Yu-won swept his gaze across the small room in that brief moment, searching for the 'core'—but all he spotted was a small door behind the goblin.
The core must be in that next room. Beating the boss was the universal key to claiming rewards.
Damn it!
"Not coming at me? Figures. A coward skulking behind my kin, mimicking their speech—why would you charge straight in?"
The goblin slightly bent its knees.
It's coming.
The instant intuition struck and he raised his club—
💥 CLANG! 💥
Agonizing pain surges through grip, forearm, and waist!
A horrific clash rang out, sending excruciating pain ripping through every tensed muscle from his hands to his waist.
Just one collision with the goblin's sword had nearly knocked Ban Yu-won unconscious.
"...You blocked it?"
"Guh... hurk..."
The goblin sounded surprised.
Lucky break for Ban Yu-won.
He needed time to suppress the nausea and reclaim the club slipping from his grasp.
He'd steeled himself for death since dropping into this place, but his resolve had been naive.
The first agony he'd ever known in his life crushed his spirit.
'This won't work. No chance. Even a miracle couldn't save me.'
Run. I have to run.
The words echoed in his head.
But his body moved oppositely.
Instinctively raising the club again, the goblin's incoming sword crashed into it like a magnet, producing another shockwave and roar.
"Impressive."
The blind goblin swordsman nodded in admiration, still utterly composed.
"I thought you were just a coward, but you've got talent... and that weapon's exceptional. Where'd you get such a sturdy blunt instrument?"
From your kin, you bastard.
He would've spat it if he could, but he couldn't spare the energy.
Instead, he moved his body to block the next incoming slash.
💥 CLANG! 💥
Just three clashes in, and exhaustion like he'd been beaten for three hours dominated his flesh.
His body numbed, his grip throbbed.
Yet he never let go of the club.
Convinced death would follow the moment he did, he clung desperately, relying on instinct to maneuver.
He was almost dumbfounded by how quickly he'd adapted to this absurd situation.
"Not luck after all."
'You fucking...!'
After successfully blocking a sword swing too fast to track, purely on innate sense, he realized it.
His natural combat sense wasn't half bad.
But without enough experience and strength to back it up, he'd block a few lucky hits until his stamina failed—then get bisected.
💥 CLANG! CRASH! 💥
A grinding twist echoed from his joint amid the barrage of blocks.
The old him would've had his bones shattered and been rolling on the floor.
💥 SCRREEECH! 💥
"Ngh...!" His somewhat tougher body endured, but each clash rapidly eroded its durability. "Wonder how many more you can block." 'What do I do? How?' Ignoring his breaking body's signals, he racked his brain desperately. Before entering, he'd anticipated multiple possibilities inside and countermeasures for each—including a vastly superior foe appearing alone. 'No answer like this. Then...!' Time to try that idea from earlier, success or failure. 💥 CLANG! 💥
Blunt weapon and sharp blade collided once more.
Aware of his approaching limit, Ban Yu-won focused on the weapon barely gripped in his hand.
From it, he extracted only the pure ma.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 1.5 Demon separates into 0.75 ma and 0.75 gui. Absorb ma 0.75.
His desperate will and focus bypassed the process entirely, yielding instant results.
He absorbed the pure essence—the concept—of ma, distilled by separating all other corrupt energies.
The change that followed exceeded his wildest expectations.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Awaken to ma.
"Hm?!"
In that instant, a brilliant golden aura erupted from Ban Yu-won. Even blind, the goblin sensed something and recoiled in confusion.
Perhaps the chance would never come again, but he couldn't attack.
He was too focused on the transformation surging within.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Newly comprehend internal language concept. You now possess 10.75 Magic Power. Activated mana circulates through your body, invigorating your flesh. 📜 ACADEMY ALERT 📜
Awakened and mastered Magic Power during practical exam! Remarkable feat for a lower-dimensional candidate without ambient mana. Minor score bonus applied!
One was his ability's notification; the other, the Academy's.
Amusingly, the bonus here was far less than when he'd crafted that weak artifact earlier...
Right now, Ban Yu-won felt euphoria beyond compare.
His mind and body fully recovered—no, they were qualitatively transformed from moments ago.
By the colorless, transparent energy coursing through his veins.
'This power was inside me all along?'
Incredible.
How had he lived without sensing this radiant force until now?
Probably because he'd lacked the language to express it.
By isolating pure ma and grasping its mystery, his internal concepts finally activated in response!
"No way... you awakened Magic Power mid-battle?"
The goblin facing him realized the change and wore a dumbfounded expression.
"So that's why you were so weak—you couldn't even handle mana. But that's still just average human level. Not enough to beat me!"
💥 CLANG! 💥
Only Magic Power had changed, but the difference was night and day.
Much more bearable now.
But as the goblin said, it wasn't enough to win.
He was a total novice who'd never properly swung a weapon, and his physicals hadn't surpassed the goblin's.
"You're growing fast, human. But my blade will sever your neck before you surpass me!"
"Shut up, monster!"
Having partially grasped his ability's true nature, Ban Yu-won's mind whirred even amid repeated clashes, devising the next plan.
'Could I extract just the "bluntness"—the dun—from the blunt weapon?'
He'd extracted concepts from fourteen clubs so far.
Each time: [Ownership secured. Steal language concept? Absorb Blunt Weapon 1?]
To steal an object's concept, he needed ownership.
Probably by slaying the original owner or buying it fairly.
That's why he couldn't steal the goblin's sword concept.
But what if he just imparted a different concept to that sharp weapon?
[Impart Blunt Weapon 1 to touched object. Target gains Blunt Weapon 2.]
That was the message when imparting before.
Imparting didn't require ownership!
And his hunch:
What happens if you impart "bluntness" to an obviously sharp (ye) weapon?
Would opposing properties cancel out...?
"Got time to daydream?"
A razor edge plunged vertically at his head.
Intuition screamed to dodge or deflect, but he honestly raised his club to block.
"Urk!"
"Hmph, even your decent judgment dulled?"
"It's not my judgment dulling...!"
Even with activated Magic Power, tanking this brute force wasn't wise.
Ban Yu-won spat blood and reached out to seize the blade.
He split his weapon's 15 Blunt Weapon into 7.5 dun and 7.5 gi.
"Your weapon now!"
The goblin, thinking he was stealing it, roared in fury.
"I'll shred your hand!"
The instant he transferred the 7.5 dun extracted from his club through his hand to the goblin's sharp blade—
Despite the goblin swinging mercilessly to sever his hand, Ban Yu-won's grip merely slipped harmlessly away, unscathed.
"...What?"
"It worked."
Ban Yu-won grinned.
Even just nullifying the edge would've been a huge win.
But the result was more.
Bluntness versus sharpness.
The clashing opposites crumpled the sword into a pathetic, once-sword lump.
Imparting concepts was no trivial matter—a hard lesson from this generous foe.
...Or so he thought, when—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Club's remaining 0.75 gui and 7.5 gi concepts auto-synthesize.
"Huh?"
An unexpected change followed.
With ma and dun stripped away, only residue remained in the club.
...Or so he'd thought. The club underwent astonishing evolution!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Transcendent synthesis ignores depth due to perfect synergy with base object. Ghostly Vessel 5 complete. Deeply fused concept resists separation.
Who could've imagined stripping ma and dun would yield this miracle?
Ghostly Vessel—vessel of ghosts.
Shorn of extraneous concepts, his club evolved into a possessed weapon!
⚙ ARTIFACT BIRTH ⚙ Intangible yet reality-affecting artifact that obeys its master and moves freely: 'Dokkaebi Bangmangi' born!
Slipping from his hand, the club coalesced into hazy smoke, drifting about.
Ban Yu-won simply stared in awe.
The Academy clearly hadn't foreseen this.
A torrent of messages flooded in the instant Dokkaebi Bangmangi formed.
📜 ACADEMY ALERT 📜
Crafted unprecedented superior artifact during exam! Absurd achievement! Special admission pass regardless of practical content! Artifact Crafting Department professor eagerly awaits examinee!
📜 SPECIAL PRIVILEGE 📜
Inventory function—exclusive to top-achieving students—unanimously granted early by Academy faculty!
Proceed directly to Union Academy dormitory?
With his sharp linguistic insight, Ban Yu-won grasped the situation instantly.
His body relaxed along with it.
Teleport to the dorm now?
The old him would've nodded without hesitation at escaping to safety.
But now? He'd obtained the treasure Dokkaebi Bangmangi, and before him sat a single disarmed, dazed blind goblin.
"...I'll finish the exam first."
Ban Yu-won replied in a newly resolute voice, then looked down at the goblin and commanded Dokkaebi Bangmangi.
"Kill."
True to its description of obeying its master, Dokkaebi Bangmangi responded at once.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Dokkaebi Bangmangi
Whoosh!
Thud!