Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 174

Lesson 34. Free Subordination - 9

The moment the Beastmen were collectively buried, he appeared. It seemed that among the Beastmen Ban Yu-won had dropped into the sinkhole, there was a chieftain, a Constellation’s contractor. The rampaging Magic Power seemed to devour the others in the sinkhole, and in an instant, it grew in size and leaped out of the pit, standing on the ground.

I never expected it to turn out like this.

“Is this solitude too?”

“Not really. Thanks to you gathering them all together, it was easier to use them as sacrifices.”

The voice answering Ban Yu-won was unexpectedly calm and composed. He looked up to meet the eyes of a beast over 100 meters tall, looking down at him from a dizzying height. There was no trace of the Beastmen who had become sacrifices. The aura emanating from its entire body, the unique Magic Power and soul resonance of the Constellation… it resembled the descent of a Constellation he had experienced in the previous tower.

The difference was that back then, the Constellations caused chaos by consuming the tower’s share, whereas this time, the Constellation had sacrificed its contractor and other victims to cause a larger descent.

‘This thing is at least ten times bigger than Abel.’

It’s a monster. Breaking down an iron wall would be easier.

“So, you’re the brat who dared to steal my bride.”

“If you’re talking about Luciel…”

At first, he thought it wanted Luciel as a contractor for her abilities, but to think it called her a bride. Didn’t it say it planted the Heart Furnace in her before she was even born? There’s a limit to being a lolicon!

“I’m sorry, but you seem a bit disgusting, sir.”

“Does a mere human dare interfere with the will of a Constellation?”

The beast’s slit-like eyes glared sharply at Ban Yu-won. Without even releasing Magic Power, a terrifying pressure bore down on his shoulders. This is where the concepts of Resistance and Fortitude come in handy. Ban Yu-won recalled the time the headmaster bestowed the concept of Fortitude upon him and maximized both concepts.

The high rank and soul concept at the core of his existence supported him, allowing him to stand tall even before the Constellation’s descent form.

“You’re not an ordinary human. Even though this isn’t my true form, how can you withstand my pressure?”

“Pressure, indeed. Understood.”

The Origin Blade is a powerful martial art and an excellent growth-type martial art. At this moment, Ban Yu-won faced and resisted the ‘pressure’ bestowed by the transcendent, learning from it. Even without acquiring pressure as a fixed concept, he could easily suppress beings of lower rank than himself in the future.

Well――if he killed this descent form, he’d gain the pressure without needing to.

“You’re holding up well. Against them, underestimating them is the end. They’re more conceptual than they seem, so depending on your mindset, they can be easy or hard to deal with.”

Perhaps worried about Ban Yu-won facing the Constellation directly, Celon infused Magic Power into him from within the staff, boosting his morale.

‘Thanks for the advice.’

“Even though it can’t summon its true form, it’s bluffing. The descent can never be complete, and it’s the same for that thing. There are many limitations. Just hold on until you can summon Abel.”

[I’m on it, Master! I’ll try to shorten the time as much as possible… so, about 20 minutes!]

Even Lilith, who was charging diligently in the inventory, spoke energetically. Taking medicine meant Ban Yu-won was using talismans or elixirs he usually stored Magic Power in. Thanks to that, the charging time was significantly reduced, but 20 minutes was still too long.

‘Well, that’s that.’

However, Ban Yu-won didn’t show any dissatisfaction and smiled. How could every battle be easy? If he survived this, he could surely evolve the Mysterious Body Technique. For that, he could risk death once or twice.

“You seem to want to stall for time, but I wonder if that’s really good for you.”

“Well, what do you mean?”

“Your ally has started moving. All I need is my bride, so I’ve decided to leave that monstrous woman to him.”

He realized who the ally was and who the monstrous woman was without needing to hear it. But Ban Yu-won didn’t respond. Wasn’t Aneri Dedota with Dokgo Yeon? She could protect Dokgo Yeon even against Ryu Cheol-myeong. All he needed to do was focus on the enemy before him.

“Then I’ll kill you now. I can’t let the chains extending from you continue to bind my bride.”

The beast stepped forward. Immediately, the Abyss, still moving underground, created a large sinkhole at that spot, but as soon as it stepped down, the earth miraculously rose again, creating solid ground. From the sinking to the rising of the earth, it was all so natural that Ban Yu-won couldn’t help but laugh, even when it wasn’t the time to.

“I am the ruler of all beasts. There’s no way the earth would betray me.”

“But it must consume your energy each time.”

Ban Yu-won retorted sarcastically and kicked off the ground. If the beast used earth-related magic, staying grounded was dangerous, so he granted himself the concepts of flight and levitation. The Constellation’s aura filled the area, oppressing him from all sides, but it couldn’t stop Ban Yu-won’s ascent, shielded by the barriers of Resistance and Fortitude.

“A human without wings mimicking a bird.”

“That’s not all.”

Immediately, a spear of rock shot up from the ground, losing its target and collapsing again. It was terrifying to see dozens of meters high rock spears erupting from the ground like waves, but as long as he could read their movements with the Origin Blade, he wouldn’t fall for such blind attacks.

‘Where’s the weak point?’

In truth, just fitting the beast’s massive body within the range of the Origin Blade was a burden. But there was no time to leisurely analyze it. The second attack came swiftly. Purple-tinted scales shot out from its body like bullets!

Though they were called scales, due to the beast’s enormous size, each scale was larger than Ban Yu-won, and their edges were sharpened, making it seem like a rain of decapitating swords… but…

“Thanks for the meal!”

“……!”

The truth that projectiles didn’t work on Ban Yu-won held here as well. No matter how terrifying the power contained within, as long as the attack’s substance was completely detached from the target, it lost ownership and could be conceptualized at will. To prevent this, one would have to throw it like a yoyo with a string attached to the fingertips or protect it with a power similar to Ban Yu-won’s, but naturally, the Constellation facing him wouldn’t know this.

[Acquired 100 Dragon Scales and 100 Heart Poison.]

A satisfied smile appeared on Ban Yu-won’s lips as he conceptualized and absorbed all the scales shot by the beast.

“Dragon Scales are a great gain… but what’s Heart Poison?”

“It’s a curse. A curse that erodes the heart, the worst kind.”

Since coming to this star, I’ve had a lot to do with curses. As he thought indifferently, Ban Yu-won suddenly realized.

“Is Luciel’s Heart Furnace similar to this?”

“Well realized. Be careful; that thing may look like a brute, but it’s adept at curses.”

“……It certainly seems that way. It might have been involved in the solitude ritual earlier.”

The change was swift. Before he knew it, a purple mist had enveloped the atmosphere. It surrounded the area for hundreds of meters, centered on the beast, and without the All-Reading Eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to secure his vision. The components were a mix of various curses and poisons, including Heart Poison… but the important point was that, unlike the scales, it couldn’t be conceptualized and absorbed.

“It’s too late now.”

The Constellation declared in a satisfied voice.

“You’re already within the range of my power and can never escape.”

“So the first two attacks were all to deploy your power without me noticing.”

“Correct. I tested it, thinking you could predict and respond to my movements… but it seems you’re still incomplete.”

The mist clinging to Ban Yu-won’s entire body squeezed him physically and magically, tormenting him. Thanks to the concepts of Resistance and Fortitude, he could prevent it from penetrating his body, but… it was quite painful. However, it was a misconception that even the Origin Blade couldn’t detect the beast’s trick. Ban Yu-won had no intention of retreating anyway.

‘If I run away here, this monstrous thing will charge into the Wolf Fang Tribe’s territory.’

He didn’t want to let it meet Luciel if possible. The wretched concept of Heart Poison would undoubtedly have a negative impact on Luciel. While stalling for 20 minutes to summon Abel was important, stopping it here to prevent harm to Luciel was even more crucial.

“Whew.”

Ban Yu-won let out a short sigh as he fiddled with the earring hanging from one ear. Just like during the last special activity, it was a one-time shield prepared by Yumina for their safety. As long as it didn’t break, he was still okay. He was getting used to this annoying cursed mist.

‘Detoxifying it with the concept of Dispel… doesn’t work. Trying to clear the mist with the concept of Clear Skies… doesn’t work either. If it weren’t for the Constellation’s power, I could have done something, but it’s tricky.’

“This mist is considered part of that descent form. Unless you suppress the main body, there’s no way to erase the mist.”

‘That damn thing is too big.’

Even now, he was using the Origin Blade to thoroughly analyze the beast’s entire body, trying to find a weak point, but he couldn’t find one. However, if he remained idle, the cursed mist would gradually drain his Magic Power and erase the shield. He thought about breaking through with the Rain Sword, but it would be neutralized in this mist as well. It would be better for Ban Yu-won to charge with the Executioner’s Longsword alone.

The Sevenfold Magic Cannon fired by Tike with full power couldn’t even scratch the beast’s shell and vanished.

“It’s okay, Tike.”

Though it trembled its diaphragm in embarrassment, just capturing the monster in its lens was enough for now.

“You’re holding up quite well. But you still don’t understand the rank of a Constellation.”

Crack, the earring finally shattered. With it came increased pressure and pain. As his Magic Power, which had been slowly decreasing, began to drain rapidly, Ban Yu-won licked the Elixir of Life he had been holding in his mouth to start recovering. About… 12 minutes left until Abel’s summoning.

“You need to come down a bit more.”

Thud! The beast began stepping forward again. This time, the Abyss quickly created a sinkhole, but it raised the ground again in the same manner as before, creating a foothold. Perhaps there was a special ritualistic meaning to its movements. With each step forward, the mist thickened, and the pressure on Ban Yu-won doubled. It was reminiscent of the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Step from martial arts novels, but… that only made Ban Yu-won more determined.

“Alright, let’s charge.”

“I’ll use Light Magic to clear all the mist in an instant.”

Celon responded as if waiting for this moment.

“And I’ll enchant your sword. As you might have guessed, Light Magic can oppose a Constellation.”

“Okay.”

11 minutes left. If he could just hold out against the beast until then, the evolution of the Mysterious Body Technique would be a sure thing. He felt a strange thrill, risking death against an opponent his power couldn’t fully affect. But just then, another beast entered the battlefield.

“Master!”

It was Luciel, the bride the Constellation had been desperately seeking.