Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 162

Lesson 33: The Star of Jade - 2

When Ban Yu-won first saw the jungle with trees towering into the sky, he imagined the Amazon and the primitive tribes living there. Slothia, who emerged by parting the trees, perfectly matched Ban Yu-won’s imagination. However, once he was guided by the chieftain, Canid, into the village of the ‘Wolf Fang’ tribe, his thoughts took a slightly different direction.

“Wow…”

“…It’s quite a sight.”

As Ban Yu-won and Dokgo Yeon entered the village—no, the city—their gazes naturally turned upwards. The reason was that most of the buildings forming the city were constructed between the trees. They built houses by using only parts of the trees, ensuring the trees wouldn’t die, or by hollowing out just enough to make a home without harming them. If you imagine such structures as numerous as the trees filling the forest, you can grasp the scale.

‘It’s like they’re squirrels. There must be squirrel Beastmen here too.’

It seemed their living space was above the trees. Seeing the Beastmen gathered and chatting on the thick, large branches intertwined like a web far above, it felt perfectly natural.

“Did they build houses in the trees?”

Canid chuckled as if he had heard a funny joke and patted Ban Yu-won’s shoulder. It hurt. Was he venting his anger for taking his daughter away?

‘No, with his abilities, he could handle anything alone without calling us… Or maybe, as he told Luciel, he simply lacks manpower.’

Only Superman can save the world alone. If there’s something to protect and attacks come from all directions—or rather, from the left and right—of course, two people should step up to block them. According to Luciel, this star has always been rife with tribal wars, and a Constellation targeting Luciel has contracted with someone other than Luciel’s father to manipulate them into attacking, leaving no room for harmony. Although the wars seemed to have calmed when Luciel entered the academy, the recent surge of dimensional pirate invasions and the resurgence of other tribes suggest a connection between the pirates and them. And behind it all, Ryu Cheol-myeong’s involvement was obvious.

‘No matter how reckless he is, can he be this blatant? I don’t want to drag this out, but observing the situation for a while might be wise.’

Wait, what did Canid say earlier?

“Didn’t you say the ground is dangerous?”

“Ah, our son-in-law wouldn’t know.”

Did he just call me son-in-law?

“On this land, the Beastmen’s main enemy resides. They’re called Forest Worms.”

“Just from the name, I can guess.”

If insects are the Beastmen’s main enemy and they build houses in the trees to avoid them…

“Do they crawl underground and attack when they sense vibrations if you walk on the ground?”

“Oh, Luciel already explained it to you.”

“No, Dad. Master knows everything.”

“That’s right, I know everything.”

Canid laughed heartily again, patting Ban Yu-won’s shoulder. It felt like his shoulder might break; it seemed like he was indeed trying to get revenge this way.

As they joked and looked up at the tree-top city, Ban Yu-won felt vibrations from underground and lowered his gaze to the ground. Sure enough, he could see strings wriggling up from below. Their strength was about 100. Compared to the armored insects they recently faced in the tower, it was laughable, but considering these creatures appeared regularly in their living space, it was no laughing matter.

“So, they attack like this.”

“Oh, did you sense its location?”

“Yes. I know everything.”

When Ban Yu-won snapped his fingers, Tike, who had been floating above his head, capturing every situation around them, aimed at the movement he read and used Projection.

—Boom!

With a sound like a comic effect, the bullet of light fired like a laser. The laser pierced the ground and accurately skewered the Forest Worm writhing underground.

“Is this magic?!”

“It’s an artifact with a will. I made it. It should be helpful in this situation.”

“Huh… Hahaha.”

Seeing his future son-in-law possessing talents slightly different from his expectations, Canid looked at Luciel with a mix of surprise and joy. Luciel responded with an unwavering smile.

“Don’t be surprised, Dad. This is just a tiny part of Master’s abilities.”

“Is that so? This alone seems enough to establish a tribe…”

Canid was astonished by his daughter’s words. Dokgo Yeon, who had been keeping some distance from them since arriving, shook her head at the sight.

“I have a fair assessment of Ban Yu-won, but… Beast, you overestimate him to a degree that surprises even me.”

“Huaaaam… When…?”

“Oh, you’re still here?”

While the outside was noisy, Ban Yu-won reached out a hand to retrieve the golden strings flowing from underground and examined them.

“Let’s see. Life and Body are at a mediocre level, but a useful concept is… Excavation.”

Everything else was trivial and went straight to the Code Core, but the Excavation at depth 20 was different. A rare concept possessed by only a few creatures. Upon confirming its existence, Ban Yu-won thought it was finally time for a breakthrough. However, the most promising key figure here, Lilith, refused it.

[Master, I don’t think I need that concept. I’ll let my sister have it.]

“Shhh, shhh!”

Eve was also angry, saying she was being burdened with something unnecessary. Why couldn’t they see the potential of this great concept? Ban Yu-won sighed and decided to imbue it into the hand drill he had.

In a movement as natural as breathing, Celon, not his subordinates, reacted.

―…Why do you have something like that?

‘I thought we might need to dig in the tower.’

―Pfft, silly.

‘I know.’

Still, he had seriously considered it at the time. He knew he had gained tremendous power, but he wasn’t sure how to use it. He thought that if he had various items, he could find diverse ways to use them, just like when he made a regular Goblin Club into an artifact. Little did he know he would learn magic and be able to dig without a drill.

―So, you realize you can dig without a drill?

‘Of course, magic isn’t just for show.’

However, the magic he wielded and the concept that held meaning on its own had different potentials. The best thing would be to harmonize the two. And in a world overflowing with Forest Worms holding the concept of Excavation…

“Ah, Ban Yu-won is making that sinister face again.”

“Didn’t you say you had a fair assessment of me?”

“That’s why I’m assessing you.”

Ban Yu-won decided to ignore Dokgo Yeon.

“Then let’s head up. It seems everyone’s gathering.”

“Indeed.”

When they looked up earlier, they hadn’t seen much movement, but now they saw so many people gathering that it seemed the branches might break. The plaza formed on the largest and thickest branch extending from the tallest tree in the city. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, were gathering there.

“Aren’t we at war? It’s nice to be welcomed, but…”

“It’s fine, son-in-law. We wouldn’t pull all the sentries. And with Slothia always monitoring the forest’s barrier, we’ll know immediately if an emergency arises.”

“Zzz…”

“She’s asleep.”

“That’s because she pays too much attention to the barrier. She’s usually a diligent and virtuous maiden. She cares for our tribe, is highly skilled… It’s just a pity she hasn’t found a suitable match yet.”

…Hmm?

Why did it feel like he was praising Slothia so openly? Ban Yu-won felt a bit of discomfort and tilted his head. However, he didn’t notice Luciel glaring sharply at Canid.

“Dad…?”

“My daughter, you don’t intend to monopolize him, do you? Your master is too exceptional to have just one woman.”

“Of course, I know that! But Slothia is…”

At that moment, someone leaped from a high branch, gradually slowing down as they kicked off the trees, and landed gracefully before them. She was a beautiful woman with short black hair and a cool demeanor, with two pointed triangular ears standing out on her head. Come to think of it, Canid also had triangular ears on his head. Slothia didn’t, so it seemed unique to Canid, but if all canine Beastmen were like Canid…

“Canid, how long will you leave the guests in a dangerous place?”

“Hahaha! Dangerous? If you knew how our son-in-law caught the bug, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Son-in-law?”

The woman perked up her ears and fixed her gaze on Ban Yu-won.

“Is it you?”

“Uh… Luciel’s mother?”

“Yes. Lucia.”

She was indeed a very charming woman. But for Luciel’s mother, she seemed a bit… something… too slim. Or perhaps Luciel’s violent charm was due to her father’s genes! From a man’s perspective, his massive build and muscular physique were surely attractive to women…

“I’m Ban Yu-won. Feel free to call me by name.”

“Hmmm.”

Honestly, he was a bit disappointed, but he couldn’t express it, so he greeted her with as cheerful an expression as possible. But right after that, Lucia approached him at a speed he couldn’t even register and sniffed his neck.

“?!”

“Mom!”

“Sniff. Sniff sniff.”

Lucia started from his neck, then moved to his chest, armpits, waist, and then――.

“No!”

“Yelp!”

Luciel desperately pushed her away while she was sniffing. Luciel, her face flushed red, bared her teeth as she hugged Ban Yu-won protectively.

“Don’t touch my man…!”

“Well… that’s good. When will you have a child?”

However, Lucia, who had been pushed away by her daughter, nodded in satisfaction and asked a question similar to Canid’s earlier. Ban Yu-won felt his mind go blank and stopped thinking.

“Not yet! I have to go to school!”

“But you should practice making one. Hmm, Canid. I’ll take Luciel.”

“I was about to ask you to. We think alike! Hahaha!”

“Because we’re a couple.”

After exchanging affectionate gestures by rubbing noses, Lucia, who had somehow approached unnoticed, grabbed Luciel by the neck.

“Let’s go, Luciel. I should have taught you earlier, sorry.”

“Mom, I’ll learn, I’ll learn, but wait――!”

Like an eagle snatching its prey, Lucia leaped up, disappearing among the branches with Luciel in tow. Ban Yu-won, as if escaping reality, thought, ‘That ghost-like movement could be referenced in Ghost Shadow Art,’ and then chuckled, recalling Luciel’s expression as she was dragged away.

“…I’m seeing many sides of Luciel I hadn’t seen before.”

“Ban Yu-won, if you keep this up, you’ll see a side of the Beast you haven’t seen by tomorrow night.”

“Don’t say that; it’s scary.”

“Are you hesitating about the relationship? Why?”

“…Huh?”

What?

When Ban Yu-won turned around, Dokgo Yeon glared at him as if asking what he was looking at.

“What?”

“No, you just now.”

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Dokgo Yeon was clearly upset, but saying anything might get him cut in half. Surely she wasn’t jealous. Perhaps she simply despised relationships between men and women for some reason.

“Then let’s go too. Chieftain, lead the way.”

“Y-yes.”

“Zzz…”

Even Canid seemed slightly intimidated by Dokgo Yeon’s unpleasant demeanor. Meanwhile, Ban Yu-won wondered if Slothia, who was calmly leaning against a tree and sleeping, might actually be a significant figure. But the next moment, Slothia’s eyes snapped open.

“Regret…”

“Huh?”

“Meeting… suspended…”

“…Slothia, could it be?”

“Prepare for battle.”

In a clear voice, she said those words, and at that moment,

―Boom!

A massive explosion erupted in the distant forest.