Why Did I Have to Enroll
Chapter 206:

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 206

Lesson 41. Paper Please - 1

[How dare a mere human challenge me, the follower of Ten Thousand Flames―― Argh!]

The manifestation of the follower of Ten Thousand Flames was, to put it bluntly, weaker than the manifestation of the Ruler of the Forest that Luciel and I faced together. Its instantaneous firepower was incomparable, yet its endurance was severely lacking. It felt like a one-time ultimate weapon crafted with utmost care.

[I will never forget you…!]

“I’ve heard that line from Constellations multiple times already.”

Thus, it didn’t take long to finish him off. As soon as the manifestation appeared, Ban Yu-won’s voice, infused with his authority, resonated in the minds of all his allies, and powerful figures like Nameless, Nine, and Aneri turned their attacks on him simultaneously.

“Moreover, you were the one trying to kill me from the start, so what’s with the sudden change of heart?”

The final blow was delivered by Ban Yu-won with a linear laser created through Photon Magic. No, it was imbued with the essence of the Starlight Magic he mastered today, drawing energy from nearby stars to emit a mystical light, piercing through the center of the enemy’s body and melting it away before it could even let out a death cry.

“Starlight?”

“How could a mere mortal wield that? It wasn’t a complete Starlight, but still.”

“Could he have come into contact with the owner of Starlight?”

Even those far stronger than Ban Yu-won were astonished by what they saw. Moreover, there were those who recognized the Starlight despite it being a unique magic, proving just how extraordinary the Starlight handled by Celon was.

[You have obtained Life 5, Star Trace 7, Soul Flame 25, and Synthesis 5.]

[By punishing the sinner, the depth of Judgement deepens by 10.]

[You have directly ended the life of a superior enemy! The depth of Rebellion deepens by 3.]

However, the acquisitions from the enemy were not particularly impressive. The body was completely annihilated, there was no Soul, and despite killing the manifestation of a Constellation, the Life gained was a mere 5. On the other hand, the unique concepts were quite substantial; the Star Trace acquired here and there was one thing, but obtaining a large amount of Soul Flame, a trait of the Prominence family, was a significant gain.

Moreover, this concept… Ban Yu-won felt it when extracting from the meteor shower earlier, but typically, unique concepts that only certain races can handle would reject humans, yet the Soul Flame was naturally settling within him.

And then, in the next moment.

[The flame of the sun embedded in the Origin, the power of Soul Flame, is miraculously awakened and you have ascended. The depth of the unique concept Soul Flame has reached 100.]

The power that shared its Origin with it, lying dormant deep within him, awakened―― Ban Yu-won absorbed all the concepts of Soul Flame he acquired in this cosmic battle and blossomed brilliantly!

Now, Ban Yu-won could handle the unique concept of the Prominence family that Keira had boasted so much about. Despite the absurdity of it, Ban Yu-won accepted it as if it were only natural.

‘Ah, as expected?’

Ban Yu-won chuckled as he conjured a blood-red flame, different from what originated from Elemental Magic, over his hand. Just as Photon Magic could be considered an attribute beyond Light, this Soul Flame was a much more potent attribute than simple fire.

Seeing the phrase ‘miraculously’ attached, if he had left it unnoticed, he might never have realized it in his lifetime, but it seemed the potential for Soul Flame had always been dormant within Ban Yu-won. Perhaps because his mother, Kang Eun-young, was a wielder of Soul Flame.

‘On the other hand, this Synthesis…’

Ban Yu-won speculated that perhaps the original ability of the follower of Ten Thousand Flames was not the power based on Soul Flame, but rather this Synthesis. The way he turned the orc fleet into a meteor shower at will, and the fact that he acquired the concept of Synthesis when he defeated the manifestation, all pointed to that.

Regardless of the circumstances, acquiring this rare concept was a blessing. This concept was the ‘Transcendental Synthesis’ that Ban Yu-won accidentally manifested when creating Eve and Lilith, a concept that could artificially trigger that phenomenon.

‘I’ll save it for when I need it.’

Including what he extracted from the meteor shower, Ban Yu-won now had a total of 30 Synthesis in his possession. Considering what the Constellation had done this time, it wasn’t just a mere 30; like Ever-changing, even a depth 1 concept could achieve much.

He safely stored all the Synthesis in the Code Core before finally lifting his head.

“Son.”

“Mom, hello. Seeing you in space feels special.”

For some reason, his mother looked younger than usual. There was no need to think deeply about why. The Soul Flame that had been dormant within her had reactivated. Even Keira, who was merely a knight of the family, appeared to be in her early twenties, so it was no surprise that his mother, who wielded the same power, hadn’t aged fully.

“Are you okay breathing in space?”

“Your sister seems to be struggling a bit, could you help her?”

“Who is?!”

Ban Yu-mi, who had been through a series of inexplicable events and ended up thrown into space, gritted her teeth at Kang Eun-young’s words but eventually managed to regain stability using her authority.

“Wow, it’s really an unquenchable flame.”

Keira, who had returned to Ban Yu-won’s side, murmured in astonishment.

“This complicates things… The follower of Ten Thousand Flames must have noticed, right? That’s why he exerted so much effort and power…”

“Keira, what about the Wave?”

“With the Relic gone and the Constellation that was supporting it from behind vanished, there’s no way it could be maintained.”

Turning around at Keira’s words, Ban Yu-won saw that the orc fleet, which still had about 40% remaining, was scattering in space. The orcs hadn’t died instantly, but the influence of the Wave that had allowed them to act collectively had completely disappeared, and their resistance to space had vanished cleanly.

Though there were still tens of millions of orcs left, all they could do now was flail helplessly in zero gravity, awaiting their impending doom. The ones most excited about this were, of course, Ban Yu-won’s familiars, who were still active. Watching the twenty-five Rain Swords and others roam the grand festival scene, absorbing concepts madly, he couldn’t help but feel proud of how well they had been raised.

“Son, look this way.”

“Hmm?”

Turning his gaze back at his mother’s words, he saw her looking at him with a somewhat stern expression (though the youthful appearance made it feel a bit off).

“I made a reckless request, and only you suffered. I’m sorry.”

“Leaving the main person out of it…”

Ban Yu-mi sidled up to him, glaring at their mother, seemingly thinking he would side with her in this awkward situation. Well, if he had to choose between the two, Ban Yu-won was overwhelmingly on his sister’s side. She might be a bit clueless and simple, but it wasn’t as if Ban Yu-mi chose to be born as a direct descendant of Prominence.

In this era, with Earth open and Constellations making contact, if their mother knew her existence would cause problems, she should have told her sooner and prepared her. Of course, Ban Yu-won wasn’t planning to voice all this now. Pointing out something the other party was already aware of would only be petty.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, today’s battle was relatively simple.”

“The boy who used to be so cautious about his safety now naturally risks his life.”

“Well…”

Ban Yu-won scratched his head, feeling it was quite a new sensation. Back when he lived on Earth, he was the epitome of an ordinary citizen, and aside from having somewhat special abilities, he was never the type to engage in life-risking battles or adventures. Yet now, he was openly challenging Constellations, the most mysterious and feared beings in the universe, and earnestly trying to reclaim the universe’s greatest treasure, the Tower of Babel. It was truly amusing.

The most amusing part was that, as he listened to his mother’s words, they were all drifting in space.

“Aren’t you scared, son? I just wanted our family to live comfortably and safely…”

Having gone through a terrible ordeal in the past, her words carried sincerity. Knowing she should have told her daughter the truth sooner after Earth’s transformation, but ultimately delaying it, her past must have heavily influenced her decision.

“Scared? Not at all.”

Ban Yu-won replied with a bitter smile. In truth, he was scared. These weren’t enemies he could face with mere adventurous spirit. The number of enemies was growing faster than his allies, and he was a bit worried about how to handle things starting from the second semester. However, he wasn’t foolish enough to reveal such thoughts in front of his mother.

“Besides, protecting the family is something the eldest son should naturally do.”

“Such bravado.”

His mother chuckled softly, then bowed her head in front of her two children.

“I’m sorry. Both Yu-won and Yu-mi got hurt because of my whims.”

“Wow, what are you doing?”

“Mom, don’t.”

Seeing their mother like this for the first time, the Ban siblings were flustered and held her back. When she raised her head again, determination was evident in her eyes.

“Once we tidy up here, I have something to tell you both. You might already have an idea, but… I want to say it myself.”

“What about Dad?”

No matter how important the conversation, leaving out their father was too much! Ban Yu-won instinctively protested, to which Kang Eun-young replied with a hint of exasperation.

“Do you think he married me without knowing anything?”

“Oh, now that you mention it.”

“Dad’s dead later.”

Though it was obvious, it meant their father had also been deceiving them with a straight face all this time. Indeed, the Ban family bloodline was extraordinary, Ban Yu-won thought anew as he turned back to his companions who had waited for him to finish his family conversation.

“Thank you so much. Although Earth is in a mess right now, once things settle, I’d love to invite you all for a tour…”

The battle was over. It was time to express gratitude to those who came to save him and discuss future plans…

“Huh? Where’s Nameless?”

“Huh? He was definitely attacking the manifestation with us… Oh, he’s gone?”

At Ban Yu-won’s words, Aneri blinked and looked around, only then realizing his absence and exclaiming in surprise. When they first met, she had given the impression of a stealthy assassin, but now that impression was long gone…

“Nine is gone too…”

There were many things he wanted to ask them, especially Nameless. The guests who came with the wind had left with the wind.

---

Dokgo Yeon woke up early in the morning, completed her routine training, washed, and dressed. She wore the special attire reserved for meeting the cult leader, a garment permitted only to the sub-leader of the cult, not the Dragon Slayer.

“Miss, are you nervous?”

“Nervous? Me?”

At Heukseol’s words as she helped her dress, Dokgo Yeon scoffed.

“There’s no way I’m nervous.”

“You seemed to shiver a bit just now.”

“You’re getting quite comfortable pointing out your master’s faults, Heukseol.”

“Ah, permission to enter has been granted.”

Heukseol deftly changed the subject. If there were no others around, she might have paid for her insolence. But now was not the time to focus on her.

The door before her. Beyond it awaited the ruler of the cult, the cult leader.

‘He discovered that I violated the cult’s laws. Though he didn’t question me in detail at the time and let me go…’

Today, she was summoned, likely to be questioned about the sins he hadn’t addressed then. Yet there was something she still couldn’t understand. The cult’s laws strictly forbade contact with the outside, and the cult leader was known for adhering to them. How did he find out she had passed on the Mysterious Body Technique to Ban Yu-won?

Did Heukseol tell him? No, that couldn’t be. Heukseol didn’t even know she had passed the Mysterious Body Technique to Ban Yu-won.

‘It’s not like me to be flustered. I was prepared for the possibility of being discovered. Passing on the Mysterious Body Technique was not due to personal feelings for Ban Yu-won but for objective benefits! If I explain what can be gained by ascending the tower, the cult leader will surely――’

The door opened. A massive shadow filled Dokgo Yeon’s vision. Just from the ominous aura emanating from his back, she knew the cult leader was not in a good mood. She might even have to brace for the disbandment of the Dragon Slayer.

Dokgo Yeon bit her lip, suppressing the irritation that arose from Ban Yu-won’s cheeky grin flashing in her mind, and was about to speak when…

“Bring him.”

“Cult leader, the Mysterious Body Technique… What?”

Dokgo Yeon’s retort was not something one could hear every day. While Heukseol twisted her body, thinking the young lady was too cute, the cult leader continued.

“Next vacation, bring him here.”

“Cult leader?”

“Dismissed.”

With those words, the cult leader ordered her to leave. As she backed out of the cult leader’s room, Dokgo Yeon suddenly realized the meaning of his words.

‘Bring Ban Yu-won? …Here?!’

Though she was momentarily filled with joy at the thought, Dokgo Yeon would never admit, even to herself, that the feeling was closest to that of a girl introducing her boyfriend to her father.