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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Lesson 1. This Is Your Status Window - 4
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[You have stolen Demon 1, Life 2, Body 1, and Swordsmanship 3 from the Goblin Warrior.]
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have stolen Demon 1, Life 2, Body 1, and Swordsmanship 3 from the Goblin Warrior.
The boss of the Blind Goblin Cave, the Goblin Warrior, was like a giving tree that held nothing back.
Not only did it provide experience equivalent to ten goblins, but it also gave him Swordsmanship 3—a concept Ban Yu-won had never possessed before!
Perhaps it was because Ban Yu-won had clashed directly with it, enduring tremendous hardship and experiencing its abilities enough to define them in words? That was his guess.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Life: 15 💨 Body: 12.5 ✨ Soul: 300 💪 Magic Power: 11.25 🍀 Omniread Eye: 100 🛡️ Omnihear Ear: 100 🍀 Omniloquent Lips: 100 ⚔ Swordsmanship: 3 ― The ability to fight enemies with edged weapons.
Ban Yu-won immediately separated the Demon 1 and granted 0.5 Ear to the Dokkaebi Bangmangi (bringing its Ear to 5.2), then absorbed the rest into himself.
His body grew stronger once more thanks to the boosts in Life, Body, and Magic Power—that went without saying.
The moment he absorbed Swordsmanship 3, Ban Yu-won realized he could now move with greater agility and cleverness.
Swordsmanship wasn't just the skill of wielding a blade; it was the ability to fight enemies with it.
From this moment on, he could anticipate enemies' presence and movements and respond accordingly.
'What to do with this.'
He looked down at the lump of metal rolling on the floor, his face troubled.
With eyes that could pierce through the linguistic concepts of objects, he saw a chaotic mess of sharpness, dullness, and tool clashing in disharmony within it.
After pondering briefly, Ban Yu-won decided to take it along.
He hadn't planned to originally, but the academy had given him an inventory.
The inventory was exactly like the item window in games: summon a shimmering pocket of subspace from thin air, toss objects in, and later retrieve them from anywhere by summoning the same hole.
Its capacity was generous, so adding one lump of metal wouldn't be an issue.
"Next up, then."
Ban Yu-won picked up the other trophy rolling on the floor.
It was a small key, and he knew its purpose without even examining it closely.
The small door at the back of the room, guarded by the Blind Goblin Warrior.
The key was meant to open it.
"Oh."
Opening the door revealed a truly tiny space inside.
In the center stood a stone altar with a modest red orb atop it—likely the Dungeon Core.
Destroying the Dungeon Core ends the practical evaluation.
Ban Yu-won picked it up, wondering if he could separate its concepts, but no dice.
The core was fused to the altar, and even if he could smash it, it didn't seem like something a person could claim.
"Guess I'll smash it."
He ordered the Dokkaebi Bangmangi—which had been orbiting him faithfully since its creation—to destroy the core.
It swung without hesitation, shattering the red orb into pieces. Naturally, golden strings of text emerged from within.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have stolen Demon Core 10 from the Dungeon Core. A Demon Core is a concept humans cannot inherently possess. Thanks to the power of the Babylonia Code, it can be temporarily stored in your body, but you will be unable to wield this power yourself. It is recommended that you separate it or grant it to another object or creature.
He'd half-expected it, but the core's concepts couldn't be held by Ban Yu-won directly.
So he tried splitting the Demon and Core...
'No way splitting off the Demon completes a nuke, right?'
Nah, probably not.
If you could make a nuke that easily, it wouldn't be a nuke.
Mocking his own foolish thought, he split the Demon Core.
Demon 5 emerged, which he fully absorbed, raising his Magic Power to 16.25.
Core 5 remained...
Ban Yu-won pondered what to do with it, then pulled out the metal lump from his inventory and granted it there.
It wasn't because he thought it was junk.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The object possessing multiple linguistic concepts has gained the Core concept, allowing it to function as a 'Code Core' that holds linguistic concepts. It can now stably store an amount of linguistic concepts proportional to the Core concept it holds.
At that moment, another tiny miracle occurred.
The crudely crumpled metal lump compressed into a smooth iron orb, and the jumbled concepts inside neatly separated and arranged themselves!
A vessel to store concepts he couldn't absorb himself but might use someday had been completed.
Not junk.
It was a collection for future use, so definitely not junk!
'Defining and transforming objects with words. Pretty fun.'
They say you come out of the bathroom a different person, and Ban Yu-won was living proof.
He'd started out cursing Union Academy and this bizarre world after being dropped into it, but now that he'd survived the evaluation and awakened his latent incredible ability, it all felt like a 'tough but worthwhile experience.'
Of course, he still wanted to track down and get revenge on whoever had thrown him into a death trap without warning...
Though judging by their tech level, who knew when that would even be possible.
'Sigh. Revenge aside, it'd be best if I could just go straight back to Earth, but things don't look that simple. When I meet the person in charge, I'll calmly ask about my situation. Alright... time to move.'
He wanted a bit more time to mentally prepare here, but that wasn't an option.
Since smashing the Dungeon Core, the floor had started faintly shaking.
If he didn't get out soon, he'd be buried with the collapsing dungeon.
Seeing the Dokkaebi Bangmangi still drifting around him, he steadied himself and muttered softly.
"I'm heading out."
His vision brightened in an instant.
By the time Ban Yu-won came to, he was no longer in the cave but in a cozy room.
Much larger than his room back home, it came with an attached bathroom and shower, plus a separate bedroom.
Two separate beds suggested it wasn't a single room.
No signs of life, though, so he'd arrived first.
But that wasn't the important part.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Congratulations once again on passing the practical evaluation. Examinee Ban Yu-won will now reside in Union Academy Men's Dormitory Building D, Room 1303, as a provisional enrollee. Room 1303 is a double, and your roommate is currently in the enrollment preparation process. The entrance ceremony is at 9 a.m. the day after tomorrow. Please thoroughly read the guidebook in the room, which contains basic academy common knowledge. If you wish a personal interview before the ceremony, fill out the provided form.
To think they'd grant his wish so readily.
Ban Yu-won searched the room and soon found a questionnaire-like form on the desk.
All it required was desired time and reason.
Time: 'As soon as possible.'
Reason: ...
"...Let's be honest."
He didn't know Union Academy.
He'd never even applied.
He'd been shocked to suddenly pass the document screening and take the practical, and while he'd somehow passed, he had no confidence in handling a school that demanded such skills, so please send him back to his original world.
After writing that much, he hesitated briefly but added one more line.
'Requesting reimbursement for travel expenses.'
Once finished, the form dissolved into thin air.
For reference, he'd written it in the same language as the academy notifications.
The response came quickly.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your interview request has been approved. Professor Yumina of Magic Combat Studies will conduct the provisional enrollee interview. In one hour, the prepared student will be summoned directly to the professor's ready room. Please compose yourself and prepare in the meantime.
Yumina? Korean, maybe?
Ban Yu-won thought so for a second before shaking his head.
Union Academy accepted students from countless dimensions; professors wouldn't be exceptions.
'More importantly.'
At the reminder to compose himself, he finally took stock of his filthy state.
Blood, sweat, unspeakable secretions, dirt—everything was a mess.
His neat uniform from before the dungeon was long since rags.
Wondering where to find a change of clothes, he stripped and headed to the shower.
This world's shower wasn't much different from Earth's.
The difference was magical devices controlling temperature and pressure, but their intuitive design made it easy.
"Huuuuh..."
Hot water soaking his body drew out a sigh.
Injuries from the fight and strained joints screamed in unison.
Advances in Life and Body had healed much, and since awakening Magic Power, a mystical self-healing worked within him, slowly mending things.
'If I went back to Earth now, I could probably do well in UFC.'
Absorbing the Blind Goblin Warrior's concepts had elevated his physical abilities to another level.
Already superior basics, plus Swordsmanship for mastering his body.
Activate Magic Power on top, and he might even make the Olympics.
...Conversely, even this growth only put him at top Earth athlete level.
'But if I keep collecting linguistic concepts like this...?'
The Blind Goblin Cave was the weakest den imaginable.
Beating stronger foes would yield bigger growth, obviously.
Keep getting stronger, and he could stand tall before the irresponsible academy staff who dragged him here...
He snapped out of it and slapped his cheek.
"Am I crazy?"
Lower Dimension Special Admission, dropped in the weakest den, barely survived that ordeal—and now thinking of tackling stronger ones?
Risking death to grow stronger for what?
He must be totally insane.
He'd never imagined harboring such savage instincts.
'Just go home.'
He didn't need more power.
Back to Earth for a top university, enjoy youth.
Follow Grandpa and Dad into diplomacy, uphold the family honor.
A boring but peaceful, serene life. Yeah, a dull, tedious one...
'I really must be losing it.'
After slapping his head repeatedly and finishing the shower, he dried off and spotted new underwear and a navy uniform-like outfit in the bathroom basket.
Undoubtedly prepared for him.
They fit perfectly, almost eerily so.
"The clothes... are nice."
Probably the uniform.
He grumbled about wearing one again so soon after high school, but once dressed, complaints vanished.
No tightness or stuffiness—just comfortable, like wearing nothing, even refreshing.
With basic Demon awareness from the dungeon, he sensed it infused with magic.
Are you ready for the interview?
"Yes."
I'm not enrolling, but can I keep this uniform as a gift?
If not, how to sneak out just the linguistic concepts?
Musing thus, he replied to the message.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A blink, and he was in a large room unlike the dorm.
Impressive: the wall behind the central desk was all glass, revealing the outside clearly.
"Welcome, Student Ban Yu-won."
A young, beautiful woman seated regally at the desk greeted him warmly.
He'd wondered if Yumina was Korean from the name, but she was neither human nor Korean.
Her skin was green, lush petals bloomed in place of hair, and ruby gems gleamed where eyes should be, staring at him.
Yet despite the alien features, she was stunningly beautiful—a marvel.
"You're aware you've captured every professor's interest during the exam process, right? My goodness, special or general admission, creating a new artifact mid-evaluation is a first in my five hundred years... Student Ban Yu-won? What are you looking at?"
But.
Even with this exotic beauty before him.
Even here to demand return to Earth.
Ban Yu-won's gaze fixed outside the window.
Yumina noticed and smiled, violet lips curving.
"First time taking in the academy with your own eyes? Hehe, I'm glad you like it. So, tempted to attend Union Academy now?"
"Y-Yes...?"
"You must've been shocked, dragged into the practical out of nowhere. Earth, was it? How low must a dimension's rank be to not know Union Academy, the pinnacle across all dimensions... Ahem! I can answer all your questions. How our entrance exams work, the expert training ahead to awaken your talents..."
"Professor."
Ban Yu-won asked, mesmerized by the view outside.
More precisely, past the academy buildings to the massive tower atop the hill.
A tower piercing the heavens, too tall to even glimpse the top.
"What's that tower called?"
"You really don't know Union Academy. Not knowing Babel Tower."
Babel Tower.
Ban Yu-won let out a hollow laugh as the professor tilted her head but kindly continued.
"The origin of all the world's mysteries and dangers, the dungeon of dungeons. That Babel Tower is why Union Academy exists. To nurture dimension-topping talents and help them reach its peak—that's our purpose, the last hope shared across all dimensions. ...Student Ban Yu-won? Why are you laughing like that?"
"No. Just... my mind's changed a bit."
Our building's right here.
Ban Yu-won decided to enroll in Union Academy on the spot.