Why Did I Have to Enroll

Trick Room.

It's a term used in the Tower to refer to a space governed by special rules and order.

Although it's said to appear extremely rarely within the Tower, it's not an unusual occurrence in Ban Yu-won's group's exploration.

In that space, there exist firm rules that must never be broken, and those who violate them are severely penalized by the Tower.

Of course, like all high-difficulty rooms in the Tower, clearing a Trick Room could also secure definite rewards.

"Hehe, what an extraordinary human, albeit reckless. How could he possess such monstrous strength until the moment he lost his life...!"

Presumably, the penalty Light received this time was 'strengthening the enemy.'

At the same time, it seemed his own strength had been weakened.

Was it just his imagination? Ban Yu-won gritted his teeth as he looked at Orc Captain Kuros, who seemed to have turned darker compared to when he first appeared.

Meanwhile, Dokgo Yeon, who had watched the situation unfold from Light's charge to his death, just snorted as if dumbfounded.

"I knew that sword affected the mind, but I didn't think it would turn a person into such an idiot."

It was a scathing assessment.

Of course, even Ban Yu-won couldn't think that Light's recent behavior came from a sound mind.

Although he hasn't known Light for long, he knows that Light isn't usually so quick-tempered.

Both slaying the last orc in Room 15 without thinking and charging at the Orc Captain while ignoring the Trick Room's order are actions that would be unthinkable for the normal him.

Ban Yu-won thought that perhaps not being able to hold the sword throughout the exploration had caused an even greater backlash.

"As expected, that sword can't be trusted. It'll cause such mistakes at crucial moments... I'll have to give him a harsh lesson when we get out."

"But for now, let's focus on that guy."

"No."

Dokgo Yeon said firmly as she took a step forward.

At that moment, with a heavy vibration—kuung—an enormous pressure bore down on her shoulders.

Ban Yu-won tried to reach out towards the string of pressure characters tormenting her, but Dokgo Yeon stopped him.

"Now that Light is dead, there's no meaning in continuing the exploration. So I thought it might be good to experience firsthand how great a price one must pay for breaking the rules of a Trick Room."

"You..."

Ban Yu-won wore a bewildered expression, unable to properly understand her words.

He thought he knew a lot about Dokgo Yeon, but that too was apparently a misconception.

"Kuhahahahahahaha! Foolish, utterly foolish! Do you not know the order of this place, or did you think that puny body of yours could survive defying the absolute order!"

"Hmph."

Orc Captain Kuros laughed heartily, realizing that Dokgo Yeon was no weakling when he saw her footsteps immediately become heavy.

Dokgo Yeon snorted and twisted her shoulders as if enjoying the pressure that was pressing down on her entire body.

And then.

"I'll take my leave first. Ban Yu-won, do well with the beast, you two."

"What...?"

Dokgo Yeon, while enduring the terrible pressure that made even taking a single step difficult, turned her head towards Ban Yu-won as she spoke.

A trace of a smile played on her lips.

"Don't forget what I told you before entering the Tower."

Perhaps she.

Did she intentionally arrange for Ban Yu-won and Luciel to be left alone?

"Die, you presumptuous human!"

The massive halberd was swung down towards Dokgo Yeon.

Ban Yu-won clearly saw the pressure on the halberd intensify the moment it approached Dokgo Yeon.

He saw part of the string of pressure characters that had been weighing her down climb up the halberd and assimilate into it.

"...Hut!"

At that moment, as the movement of the halberd and the beast's body balance inevitably twisted violently, Dokgo Yeon seized the opening that appeared and drew her sword.

—Swish

—Kwaaang!

Right after the blade of the short sword beautifully traced the air.

Her body was crushed under the halberd.

She, who could have easily overwhelmed her opponent in a one-on-one fight under normal circumstances, was so helplessly defeated as the price for violating the order of the Trick Room.

'No, she didn't go down helplessly.'

Ban Yu-won, who had collected everything left behind after her death, blankly raised his head to examine the result of her sword draw.

"Kkeuk, kueuuuuuuu!"

With just one sword draw, one slash.

The Orc Captain, who had received a deep diagonal cut from his right waist to his left arm, let out a scream of pain.

"My arm, my arm!"

His left arm, unable to withstand the slash, finally fell off and rolled on the floor with a thud.

Ban Yu-won could see that the aura of death, which remained even now after she had been lost (lost, a term meaning to die in the Tower), lingered on the Orc Captain's wound, causing him pain.

"That bitch, that damned woman...!"

The now one-armed Orc gritted his teeth and raised his other arm, but that arm too had been severely wounded by Light's sword strike, making his movements very unnatural.

Moreover, after Dokgo Yeon's loss, his body had turned even darker, and Ban Yu-won finally realized that this phenomenon was only visible to his eyes.

'Could it be an ability from the fruit of good and evil? Recognizing sinners?'

Thinking about it that way made sense.

Why is he a sinner? Well, because he killed people.

He killed his friend right in front of Ban Yu-won, so naturally, he could be called a sinner.

He darkened a bit after causing Light's loss, and darkened even more after Dokgo Yeon's loss.

But what meaning does that have? He's not sure yet.

Is it just recognizing sinners, or is there something more to it?

—The weakest soldier charges first.

"I'll know when I face him directly."

Ban Yu-won, who had coldly sneered at the Trick Room's announce voice that remained unchanged even after two people had been lost, finally took a step forward.

He's lost one arm, suffered terrible injuries from his waist to his chest, and even his remaining arm isn't intact due to sword wounds.

No matter how monstrous he might be, surely Ban Yu-won would have a chance at this point?

"You, you're the weakest one...!"

Orc Captain Kuros gritted his teeth as he watched Ban Yu-won step forward.

He must be aware that due to Dokgo Yeon's fatal blow, he was no longer in a state to guarantee victory even against Ban Yu-won.

But soon his expression became strange, filled with curiosity and delight rather than anger.

"Foolish creatures, ignorant and reckless! But what fortune for me!"

"What, you...!"

As Ban Yu-won frowned at the incomprehensible words, he suddenly remembered something and turned around.

There was Luciel, pouncing on him.

Her hair was completely dyed pitch black, without a single strand missing.

"Ah, the timing is just unbelievable,"

"Kyaaang!"

Without a chance to resist, Luciel charged at him.

He could feel her nails digging shallowly into his body.

"Kuk!"

"Kyaaa...!"

In an instant, Luciel pinned him to the ground and straddled his chest.

Her eyes gleamed with a feral light as she looked down at him, and suddenly her protruding fangs were revealed.

'Dangerous!'

His heart pounded as if it would burst.

Honestly, he couldn't quite judge in what sense he was in danger right now, but he was in danger nonetheless!

It was fortunate that the Orc Captain wasn't taking any action.

Or perhaps he couldn't act because Luciel's target was Ban Yu-won, not the orc.

'There's no time to worry about that now!'

Ban Yu-won pulled out all of her positive emotions he had stored in the Code Core and thrust them towards Luciel's chest, unsure whether she was trying to bite or suck his neck.

'Be absorbed! And neutralize a bit!'

The moment Ban Yu-won's will strongly manifested and his Mysterious Qi was absorbed into the string of characters.

As if by magic, the concept of emotions was sucked into her bosom.

When the flow of characters knocked on the heart, knocked again, and finally its tip invaded a part of the solid concept.

—Kwajik

Suddenly, everything was dyed red.

"Kuhak?!"

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

Luciel let out a great howl.

She threw Ban Yu-won aside, stood up, and charged in a straight line.

He belatedly realized that his neck had been bitten by her.

"You've finally wounded your comrade, if I can take care of you too... Kuhak?!"

The Orc Captain's joyful shout, groans, screams, and roars confused his ears.

But now, with his body drained of strength and his head spinning, he could hardly make a normal judgment.

Even in this state, the thought of needing to heal his body was clear, so he took out the ointment he had prepared for such times.

An ointment made by condensing as many as 50 concepts of healing (治癒).

As he applied it to the wound, he felt the bleeding subside barely, but it was difficult to recover his already weakened body.

'Elixir...!'

Peach jam made by condensing the fruits of Eden.

He clearly remembered the description saying it not only increased potential but also healed current wounds.

Ban Yu-won, who barely recalled this with his uncooperative mind, took it out from his inventory and put a little on his finger into his mouth.

Surprisingly, at that moment, he felt all his senses become clearer.

[You have gained Life 2, Body 1, Mysterious Qi 2, Charm 1. The natural healing power of wounds becomes much faster.]

He saw an incredible effect from just one mouthful.

Of course, it wouldn't always be like this, but he could see that the potential of the elixir was limitless.

He still couldn't understand why his charm increased, though.

More importantly, the bleeding had completely stopped, his wounds were healing, and his head started to work properly.

"...Ha!"

Ban Yu-won, who hurriedly got up after putting the elixir back in his inventory, finally realized that he had experienced a shift.

The Orc Captain was already dead and gone.

It was somewhat comforting that the concepts the beast had possessed were naturally left in a corner along with the reward (treasure chest) from Room 16.

However, everything else was at its worst.

"Kuaaaaa!"

"Kyaaak!"

Luciel was rampaging, covered in wounds large and small all over her body.

All the monsters that appeared as Room 17 unfolded were rushing towards her.

It seemed as if they couldn't even see Ban Yu-won, but that wasn't the case.

Even in her state of lost reason, Luciel was protecting him and prioritizing hunting the monsters trying to approach him.

"Luciel!"

"Krrrr!"

But that didn't mean she could communicate with Ban Yu-won.

Luciel turned to look at Ban Yu-won when he called, but she immediately attacked the monsters without approaching him.

'Damn it!'

Observing Luciel, Ban Yu-won realized that her heart was in complete chaos.

Touching the heart from the outside wasn't something that could be done just by getting closer to her awkwardly or by separately storing her emotions.

It was because Ban Yu-won had needlessly stimulated her that everything in her heart had become jumbled, causing Luciel to rampage without a chance to take care of herself.

'Even in this state, she's trying not to hurt me.'

Her biting his neck was probably the price of not being able to suppress the sudden surge of her wild nature.

Sensing that she would inflict even worse injuries on him if this continued, Luciel hastily shook him off and charged towards the Orc Captain—.

And the result was this catastrophe.

'I failed.'

It was his fault for not checking beforehand.

None of his thoughts had been correct.

Was it wrong to have complacently relied on his own abilities?

Was he arrogant to judge and try to adjust the concepts Luciel held on his own?

Ban Yu-won bit his lip and blamed himself.

One thing was certain: he couldn't leave her like this.

"Luciel, stop now! If we move on to Room 18 like this, it'll really be the end!"

"Krrruk!"

As expected, she didn't listen.

Luciel's strength, as she rampaged without reason or care for her own body, was so monstrous that the monsters of Room 17, which would be difficult for four people to challenge, were all being swept away by her alone.

But Luciel's physical condition, after killing the Orc Captain while bearing the penalty for violating the Trick Room's rules and then engaging in fierce battles against the monsters of Room 17, was far from good.

In Ban Yu-won's eyes, it was clear that her body would soon face collapse.

But how could he stop her when there was no way to do so!

'That beast seems to like it when you go in strong.'

It was then that Dokgo Yeon's parting words flashed through his mind.

'...Wait, what did you say?'

'Don't pretend you didn't understand. It means don't compromise halfheartedly when dealing with a beast that doesn't understand human words.'

Don't compromise halfheartedly.

Perhaps it was her own criticism, telling him not to be hypocritical towards her when he was already trying to manipulate Luciel's emotions as he pleased?

'Don't forget what I told you before entering the Tower.'

No.

Dokgo Yeon wasn't the type to make such criticisms.

If she was as utilitarian and cynical as she seemed, she likely meant it literally... Yes, she was more likely discussing a more effective method for Ban Yu-won to handle Luciel.

'If, as she said...'

Ban Yu-won raised his head.

Luciel was swinging her half-broken claws at the few remaining monsters—Masked Goblins.

"Luciel!"

"Kruk?!"

A shout filled with Mysterious Qi echoed throughout the room.

Luciel flinched and stopped in her tracks.

The problem was that the monsters still weren't stopping.

A method to solve both Luciel and the monsters suddenly came to mind.

He had the material for it... the string of 'pressure (壓)' characters that had been caught in his hand at the moment they were about to crush and annihilate Dokgo Yeon.

"Luciel, sit!"

"Kyaeng!"

The pressure that extended through his hand pressed down on both Luciel and the group of monsters.

An extremely enormous force, but slightly insufficient to extinguish life.

That's why it was even more appropriate.

"Stay still!"

"Kyaeng, kyaeng..."

Luciel, who had been struggling against the pressure, suddenly became docile upon hearing his voice.

He could see the heart that had been rampaging inside her strangely starting to calm down slowly.

Really? Could it really be this simple?

Even though he had done it himself, he couldn't understand the current situation, but nevertheless.

He did exactly what the current situation demanded of him.

"Come here, Luciel."

"Kyaeng!"

He lifted the pressure only for her and 'commanded'.

Luciel, as if she had been waiting for just those words, dashed over and stopped in front of him.

He could see that amidst her once completely black hair, pink strands were now starting to appear here and there.

It harmonized with her vivid and beautiful pink eyes.

Like countless cherry blossom petals fluttering between spring branches, it was fleeting yet simply beautiful.

"...Ban."

Her reason was returning.

The rampage caused by the heart was resolved that surprisingly easily.

But the real problem was just beginning.

"My master!"

"No, please, seriously. I'm begging you. For real."

Ban Yu-won shuddered as he saw the new concept of 'Subordination (隸屬)' taking root within her.

'This means Luciel has become a being of mine, by me, for me...!'

It was the kind of thought that would make President Lincoln, who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, sit bolt upright in his grave and reach for a Gatling gun.

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