Chapter 103

In the Erek drill grounds, the audience held their breath.

What they saw was the first-years beginning to take down the colossal Gigantes.

“The first-years are amazing! Even if that’s not a fully grown one, I can’t believe they’re fighting Gigantes like this!”

Lily exclaimed in awe, while Elena smiled gently.

“Isn’t that right, Senior?”

“……”

“Elena, Senior?”

Lily glanced at Elena in confusion.

Then her eyes widened.

Elena, mouth slightly open, stared fixedly at Leo on the screen.

‘What was that word again?’

Just a moment ago, there had been nothing but despair among the first-years.

And who could blame them?

Gigantes?

Even if it wasn’t a fully grown one, wasn’t that trial far too great for first-years to overcome?

It was only natural to feel overwhelming despair.

‘But as soon as that kid appeared, everything changed.’

It wasn’t simply because their fighting strength increased.

Leo’s arrival changed everything.

‘There are many great heroes in the world.’

And this year’s first-years were full of those who clearly possessed heroic qualities.

But…

‘That kid is on a different level.’

Turning despair into hope.

A light that guides the way through darkness.

There was a special word for a person like that.

‘That’s right.’

A shiver ran down Elena’s spine.

In the eyes of the heir to a family that had long watched over the [Hero Record], Leo resembled certain figures.

‘A Great Hero.’

—

Fwoosh—!

Abad, riding atop a wind wyvern, began chanting.

GRAAAAAAH!

Gigantes roared and swung its arm.

Fwoosh—!

The massive arm barely missed the wind wyvern.

Even a glancing blow would mean instant death.

But Eliza, controlling the wyvern, didn’t falter as she pulled hard on the reins.

Heir to the Hergin family.

Eliza Hergin had been exceptionally gifted at handling familiars since childhood.

She roused her [Spirit Power], pushing the wind wyvern’s abilities to the limit—Eliza truly moved like the wind.

Abad, a magician of the wind, sensed it instinctively and smiled softly.

“Impressive.”

“If you’re so impressed, then land a big hit on that damn beast, will you?”

“Sure. But can you get me near its mouth?”

“Are you trying to get us killed?”

“Didn’t Celia just blow off its head?”

Eliza frowned at Abad.

He gave the smile all the first-year girls swooned over.

Not that Eliza so much as batted an eye.

“And so?”

“The wind of Lewellin can’t lose to Zerdinger’s flames.”

“Hmph!”

Eliza curled her lips in a sneer.

“You know how embarrassing it is for a magician to be weaker than a knight, right?”

With that, Eliza yanked hard on the reins.

The wind wyvern spread its wings wide and soared skyward.

Then, it dove at tremendous speed.

Sensing the immense [Magic Power] in the air, Gigantes opened its jaws wide.

Flash!

A violet breath lit up the sky.

With near-acrobatic movements, Eliza dodged the attack and closed in on Gigantes at high speed.

GRAAAAAAAH!

Gigantes swung its fist at Eliza.

‘Tch! I can’t get close…’

Just as Eliza realized she couldn’t approach, she caught an opening.

Flash—!

Chen Xia soared through the air.

Chen Xia drew her right hand back.

A massive [Aura] of water formed in the air.

Boom—!

When Chen Xia opened her palm and struck, a palm-shaped [Aura] of water smacked away Gigantes’s arm.

“Well done, Xia!”

“Leo told me what to do!”

As she fell, Chen Xia’s words startled Eliza.

‘He predicted my movement and gave Chen Xia the order…!’

Reaching Gigantes’s face, Eliza let out a short laugh.

“His leadership is the real deal.”

Whoooooosh—!

A wild storm whipped up around Abad.

Wreathed in visible [Magic Power], Abad unleashed his spell.

“Tempest.”

Fwoosh—!

The raging wind vanished, and for an instant, everything was silent.

Gigantes’s face had been blown away.

“With this…!”

Abad clenched his fist.

Thump—!

New flesh began sprouting from Gigantes’s head.

Eliza quickly put some distance between herself and the beast.

“No way! How are we supposed to kill that thing?!”

Even blowing its head off was useless.

No matter how grievous the wound, it healed in an instant.

How in the world were they supposed to defeat it?

“Out of the way!”

At that moment, Celia’s voice rang out from above.

Abad looked up, arms open to catch her.

Seeing this, Celia made a face—‘No way!’—and spun her body.

She landed right on top of Eliza.

“Kyaa!”

“Sorry!”

“Why would you fall on me instead of Abad?!”

“As if I’d let a Lewellin catch me!”

“This isn’t the time for that!”

“Celia, what are you doing up here? Even with a wind wyvern, it’ll be hard to move with three people.”

“She’s right! Get off!”

“Leo told me to come here!”

Celia readied her sword.

“Abad, get ready. Chloe says she’s almost finished.”

Abad smiled at those words.

“Got it.”

“We need to hit it hard to stall that thing until Chloe’s spell is done.”

Abad raised his staff and gathered his [Magic Power].

At that moment, the sound of someone chanting runes echoed through the air.

Not because it was loud—but because all the [Mana] in the area began to resonate with a single magician.

KRAKAKAKAKANG—!

Leo slashed at Gigantes with a wave of flame, then looked toward the inner wall.

“It’s starting.”

“Wow! Wow! This is actually making me feel brave!” Chelsea cried out, her voice full of excitement as she heard Chloe’s chant.

Crackle! Crackle!

Duran and Chen Xia joined forces.

Since water and lightning complement each other, their teamwork maximized their effectiveness.

The drawback of lightning is that it’s hard to focus power on a single point, but with Chen Xia’s stream of water, Duran’s lightning was channeled precisely.

GRAAAAAAH!

Sensing Chloe’s extraordinary [Magic Power], Gigantes roared and charged toward the inner wall.

Duran and Chen Xia’s attack struck Gigantes’s back.

Crunch! Crackle!

GROOOOOO!

Even as its entire body was fried, Gigantes didn’t stop charging.

SPLASH! CRACK! THUD!

At that moment, massive chains of earth wrapped around Gigantes’s neck.

With [Spirit Armor] earth spirits, Walden conjured chains and pulled on Gigantes’s neck.

RUMBLE!

Thanks to his contract with the earth spirit, Walden’s strength surged for a moment, pinning Gigantes down.

Snap! Snap!

But the chains began to break.

THUD! Clatter!

Gigantes broke free and sprinted toward the inner wall.

At that moment, Chelsea unleashed her spell.

“Gale Harpoon.”

A harpoon of wind pierced Gigantes’s left eye.

THUD—!

GRAAAAAH!

Its eye burst, blood gushing out.

Clutching its face, Gigantes staggered, but even as it bled, it didn’t stop running.

Even a being at the apex of [Demonic Beasts] knew by instinct.

If it didn’t block the attack, it would die!

Ignoring the barrage of powerful attacks, Gigantes charged straight for the inner wall.

Then—FWOOSH!

A massive flame storm erupted.

Celia, sword raised high and wreathed in flames, blocked Gigantes’s path.

“Just die already, monster!”

The soaring inferno rained down on Gigantes like a death sentence.

KRAKAKAKAKANG—!

Starting from its left shoulder, the flame storm bored into Gigantes.

GROOOOOO!

Gigantes let out a deafening roar.

“Haaaaaah!”

Eyes flashing, Celia poured all her strength into her grip.

FWOOSH!

From the left shoulder to the right side.

Its severed upper body flew through the air.

Everyone thought that fatal wound would be the end.

Thud—! Thud! Thud!

“No, no way!”

Astonishing vitality—Gigantes was still alive, even with half its torso gone.

Flailing its one remaining left arm, Gigantes charged on.

It rushed straight at Chloe, standing atop the inner wall with her staff.

Leo stepped in its way.

Clink—

Leo readied his sword.

Magical runes floated above it.

‘Magic Sword.’

The art of imbuing a sword with [Magic Power].

Fwoosh—!

Flames swirled across the blade’s surface.

The magic fused with the [Aura].

WHOOOSH—!

“Inferno Blade.”

With a massive blade of flame conjured by magic, Leo drove the sword into Gigantes’s chest.

Freeze—!

Gigantes stopped moving.

‘We got it!’

Just as everyone clenched their fists in hope, Leo frowned.

Thud—!

Gigantes began moving again.

Leo chased after it.

With all his [Magic Power] spent, only [Aura] remained.

From the wall, students watched with bated breath as Gigantes barreled toward them, then fled in panic.

“Aaaah!”

“It’s coming!”

“Run!”

But Chloe didn’t stop chanting.

“Chloe! Get out of there! You’ll be too late at this rate!”

Carr shouted in alarm, but Chloe, eyes closed and focused, didn’t stop.

Determined to protect Chloe, Carr began chanting his own spell.

“Hey! Don’t just run, stop that monster!”

At that moment, Eliana snarled and chanted a spell.

Haul tightened his grip on his spear and rushed at Gigantes, shouting,

“It’s half-dead! If we can’t even stop that, what kind of hero candidates are we?!”

Other students stepped up to buy Chloe the time she needed to finish her spell.

Magic exploded, [Aura] slashed Gigantes, and concentrated attacks from spirits and familiars rained down.

Gradually, Gigantes’s charge slowed—bit by bit.

And then—

Thud—!

Gigantes knelt right in front of Chloe.

Twitch— twitch—

Its body trembled.

The wounded areas were regenerating.

Fwoosh—!

Refusing to give up, Gigantes raised its left arm to stop Chloe’s spell.

“What now? Our magician is untouchable.”

Leo reached Chloe’s side.

Fwoosh—!

[Aura] of flame blazed.

He would’ve needed Fiora to maximize its power, but Leo no longer had the [Spirit Power] to summon her.

He had used most of his [Spirit Power] supporting his allies.

‘Still, I should be able to block at least one more attack from this wounded Gigantes.’

Leo’s red eyes flashed.

FWOOSH—!

A slash of flame erupted.

The recoil from using [The Hero’s Breath] left Leo’s left arm burning.

As Gigantes’s sole remaining arm rose, Chloe’s blue eyes opened.

“Ice World.”

CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK—!

Ice spread from beneath Chloe’s feet.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack—!

An absolute, freezing cold engulfed Gigantes’s body.

Leo, staring at the frozen beast right in front of him, gave it a gentle push.

Sway—! Thud! CRACK—!

With a light gesture from Leo, the toppled behemoth shattered to pieces, and every first-year held their breath.

And then—

“Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“We did it!”

“We really took down Gigantes!”

A chorus of cheers erupted.

Chloe collapsed from exhaustion.

“Haha… You guys are really… incredible.”

Carr, his legs shaking, approached and handed Chloe a mana potion.

Then, looking toward Leo, he shouted,

“You looked just like a hero from the [Hero Record]! Leo! That’s a true feat—!”

“……”

Leo, who had been on the wall, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Leo?”

A flustered Chloe asked, and Carr shook his head.

“I… I don’t know.”