Chapter 109
The crowd cheered for Leo, who had shown overwhelming skill.
‘I didn’t plan to stand out.’
Looking at the blood on his body, Leo let out a sigh.
Because the Cyclops had exploded when it died, he was unintentionally splattered with blood and flesh.
While receiving cheers, Leo followed the guides out of the arena.
He was led to a waiting room inside the colosseum.
When he entered, the candidates who had already finished the Demonic Beast Carnival were murmuring amongst themselves.
But when they saw Leo covered in blood, they stopped.
Since they had finished their turns and watched their competitors, they had all seen Leo’s performance just now.
Everyone eyed Leo warily.
From the perspective of the Azonia candidates, Leo was a powerful rival.
“Is there anywhere to wash up?”
The staff member who had guided Leo replied.
“You can wash once you get to your room.”
“Where do I go for my room?”
“Before going to your rooms, all candidates must first listen to the instructor who’s in charge of this entrance ceremony.”
‘At this rate, I’ll just draw more attention.’
No one else was as covered in blood as Leo, making him stand out even more.
‘I guess I’ll just sit quietly in the corner.’
Leo went to a corner of the spacious waiting room and sat alone.
‘Still, a transformation… I never expected that.’
He looked down at his hand, recalling what had happened a moment ago.
‘Really unexpected that I could draw out a transformation effect with Polymorph.’
Right now, he was using Arron’s breathing technique, now called [The Hero’s Breath].
Of course, it was very different from the ‘original’ Arron used, so the ability to freely transform was gone.
But Leo, while polymorphed, had used that transformation ability.
‘Well, in my case, there wasn’t any real change in my body.’
Polymorph was magic that changed only appearance, not the core.
On the surface, he looked like a mixed beastman and used the breath to activate transformation, but Leo was still human.
The transformation was only superficial; Leo’s body hadn’t been strengthened.
So he still suffered the aftereffects of pushing Arron’s breath to its limit.
As Leo pondered [The Hero’s Breath], Ar was watching him from afar.
‘I definitely didn’t imagine it!’
After seeing Leo’s transformation in the arena, Ar couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Beastmen had studied transformation for generations.
Transformation was the greatest weapon given to their race.
Being able to transform freely was one of their biggest dreams.
But in all history, only one beastman had ever managed it.
‘[Hero] Arron!’
Ar’s ears and tail perked up, her eyes sharpening like a cat’s.
‘Even Hero Arron was only said to have transformed freely in the ancient texts!’
There were no Hero Records left of Arron’s ‘battles.’
So the idea that Arron had truly been able to transform at will existed only in documents.
Among beastmen, there were debates about whether it was true.
Of course, Ar believed Arron could transform at will.
‘There’s nothing Hero Arron couldn’t do!’
Ever since she was little, the stories of Arron had made him a great hero who could do anything in her mind.
Her own name was even taken from Arron’s.
‘I have to ask him about it!’
Ar approached Leo, who was sitting in the corner of the waiting room.
“Black Rabbit, I have something to ask—”
“Hey.”
But someone reached Leo before she did.
Leo stood up to look at the person who approached.
It was a muscular wolf beastman boy who looked well over 180cm, staring down at Leo with his arms folded.
“What is it?”
“You’re pretty good.”
The boy looked at Leo as if evaluating him, and gave a sly smile.
“I thought you were just a coward hiding in the corner, but you impressed me.”
The boy had gray hair and wild golden eyes. He grinned as he introduced himself.
“My name is Dion Den. And you?”
“Kyle.”
“Kyle? Same name as the Hero of the Beginning, huh. That’s unusual.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing complicated. I was worried there’d only be weaklings, but seeing someone as skilled as you puts me at ease.”
Dion chuckled, his eyes gleaming.
“Thanks to you, I don’t think school life will be boring.”
“Musclehead. Spouting nonsense again.”
Ar approached, arms folded and looking exasperated.
“What? Oh, it’s you, Ar.”
Dion looked bored.
“Still as scrawny as ever.”
“Hmph! No need for extra muscle. Look at this—flexible and beautiful!”
“Yeah. As unimpressive as always.”
“Who are you calling unimpressive!”
“I’m not that interested in you, childhood friend. I know how strong you are. I want to test myself against new strong people.”
The grinning wolf beastman was a textbook beastman who sought out strength.
“Well, you can talk to him after me! I’ve got something to ask Black Rabbit too!”
“Me?”
“Yeah! I want to ask you something!”
“What is it?”
“You—”
“Hold on! I was talking to him first.”
“Then you go after me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, no cutting in line!”
“I knew him first!”
“What does that have to do with anything! Wait your turn!”
Watching the two bicker without backing down, Leo said,
“You two get along well.”
“I’m not friends with a mutt who only knows how to fight!”
“Like I’d be friends with a dumb cat like you!”
“Everyone, assemble!”
Someone entered the waiting room, gathering the candidates.
“Let’s go assemble.”
As Leo headed over, Ar, having missed her chance, kicked Dion.
“Because of you, I lost my chance to talk! You’re no help at all!”
“Hmph! So cool-headed, just like a real strong person! I like you even more!”
“Don’t ignore me!”
“When the term starts, the world will pay attention to us, not Lumene!”
“Stop ignoring me!”
She hit Dion’s back as hard as she could.
“You’re just going to hurt your own hand.”
In fact, hitting his solid muscles barehanded just hurt her hand.
Watching Dion smirk, Ar glared and bared her claws.
Dion grimaced and blocked her attack by grabbing her wrist.
“You damn cat!”
“What! You damn wolf!”
Glaring fiercely, Ar tried to kick Dion in the face.
“Hey! What are you two doing instead of assembling!”
In the end, the assistant instructor had to scold them.
—
After the Demonic Beast Carnival ended,
The entrance candidates were given a brief explanation of tomorrow’s desert-crossing marathon.
The rules were simple.
Start from Azrek, cross the Great Desert, and reach Azonia in the middle of the desert.
That was the requirement for admission.
It seemed simple at first glance.
But crossing the desert between Azonia and Azrek was no easy task.
“The Azrek Great Desert is one of the harshest places on the continent.”
All the candidates listened to Verga with admiration as he explained in the waiting room.
He was the most well-known beastman hero at present.
Until recently, he had been a mighty hero on the front lines.
“So, let me give you just one piece of advice.”
Everyone swallowed nervously, looking at Verga.
“Don’t make the foolish mistake of confusing recklessness with courage.”
At those words, tension swept through the students.
Some of them clenched their teeth.
“This is my last chance…”
“I barely survived the free lectures, and now you’re saying to give up?”
“After making it all the way here!”
Just like at Lumene, there was an age limit for entering Azonia.
Many of the candidates here were repeat takers at that limit.
For them, being told to ‘give up’ was like giving up on their dream of becoming heroes.
“And all recommended candidates, step forward.”
At that, five boys and girls stepped forward.
Students who had survived the free lectures turned their gazes toward them.
‘We barely made it through the free lectures, but those guys…!’
The key difference between those who’d survived the lectures and the recommended candidates was
That the recommended ones were judged to be so outstanding that they didn’t even need to take the lectures.
But even knowing that, for the students who struggled through, it was hard not to resent the recommended ones.
Especially since all of them were from famous houses, which only made the regular candidates more irritated.
Verga crossed his arms and looked down at the recommended candidates.
‘Father! He’s even more intimidating today!’
‘As expected of Verga! What overwhelming presence!’
Even his own daughter, Ar, who’d seen him all her life, was tense.
The other two beastmen were the same.
Only Leo looked at Verga with a calm face.
Verga stared at Leo.
“You recommended candidates haven’t gotten to know the others, have you? So introduce yourselves.”
With that, the recommended candidates introduced themselves in turn.
First up was a fox beastman with glasses.
“My name is Stea Lual. My specialty is magic. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Late Vega. I’m a spirit arts user.”
The bear beastman grinned confidently.
“I’m Ar Tune. Let’s all do our best.”
“I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.”
A few students looked surprised at the name.
The name of the great hero was so famous that while people might take a few letters from it, no one used the whole name.
Besides, Kyle was treated as a fairy tale character, so using that name was even more unusual.
After the four recommended candidates finished, everyone’s eyes turned to Dion.
Dion bared his fangs and sneered.
“Weaklings should just give up now instead of dragging us down.”
All the candidates’ faces hardened.
Some of the assistant instructors flinched, and Verga narrowed his eyes.
‘Dion has the skills to say that. But can he handle the consequences?’
Verga liked the strong.
But strength alone wasn’t enough.
The first thing Verga respected was
That you should take responsibility for your words.
With that one sentence, Dion had turned all the other candidates into enemies.
Ar shook her head at her childhood friend.
After introductions, Verga spoke.
“Good. Any candidates with questions?”
No one raised their hand.
“Then, you’re dismissed. Go down that hall and you’ll get your room assignment.”
As Verga finished, the candidates who survived the free lectures left the waiting room.
They all coldly ignored the recommended candidates.
Seeing that, the recommended candidates just shrugged their shoulders and sighed.
They’d expected as much, so they didn’t seem offended.
The recommended candidates began to leave the waiting room too.
Ar glanced at Leo, waiting at the entrance.
“Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“Come speak with me privately.”
‘A private meeting? What’s this about?’
Being called aside by the instructor—basically a professor at Lumene—made Leo a bit tense.
Meanwhile, Ar frowned.
‘Will the meeting take a long time?’
Thinking that her timing was off again, Ar headed for her room.
‘I’ll just visit his room later.’
She was determined to find out Leo’s secret.
After the students left and even the assistant instructors left to manage things,
Only the two of them were left. Verga spoke with a serious expression.
“Kyle. Let me ask you something just in case.”
“Yes.”
‘Did he figure out I’m from Lumene?’
As Leo tensed—
“Are you Reina’s son by any chance?”