Chapter 131

Albi watched Leo effortlessly dispel his clone’s attacks and muttered inwardly.

‘He’s a monster.’

The three students who defeated Mirror Force before Leo—Chelsea, Chloe, and Abad—won for an extremely simple reason.

‘Because they understand themselves better than anyone else.’

The reason those three were able to win was their complete understanding of themselves.

But Leo surpassed that level.

‘It means his proficiency with the magic he uses is at its peak. And he’s only fifteen.’

This wasn’t just a matter of talent.

‘Len thinks of Leo Plov as simply an incredible genius… but I’m not so sure.’

Albi couldn’t quite define the first-year student before him.

Meanwhile, Leo began casting magic.

An enormous number of Fire Balls appeared around Leo.

Albi instantly saw that these weren’t ordinary Fire Balls.

‘They’re covered in power amplification formulas.’

Albi looked puzzled as he saw the Fire Balls, modified to such a degree that their power surpassed most advanced fire spells.

‘But still, Fire Balls. He should know better than anyone that something like this won’t work.’

The clone created by Mirror Force had the exact same specs as the real one.

As Albi expected, the Leo created by Mirror Force instantly dispelled the Fire Balls.

Fwoosh—!

But the Fire Balls weren’t aiming for the clone.

“Gasp!”

Cries of shock erupted among the students.

The Fire Balls were targeting none other than Albi.

“It’s not a duel with the clone, but a duel between you and me, Professor, right?”

Just as he said.

The opponent in these student duels was none other than Albi.

Leo’s words made Albi burst out laughing.

Then he instantly dispelled the Fire Balls coming his way.

The Fire Balls vanished in the blink of an eye.

But that brief moment was all Leo needed.

Leo closed the distance to the clone in an instant.

Whoosh—!

The clone cast a gigantic wall of fire with magic.

Seeing that, Leo quickly began casting his own magic.

“Flame Explosion.”

Fwoosh—

A bomb of fire formed in Leo’s left hand.

“Wind Storm.”

The fire bomb was wrapped in a storm.

As Leo completed his spell, the clone’s wall of fire swept toward him.

Seeing that, Leo unleashed his magic.

Boom—! Whoooosh—!

The compressed fire bomb boasted immense destructive power, blasting away the wall of fire.

Exclamations of awe erupted from all around.

Combining magic wasn’t difficult for Lumene students.

But controlling a spell whose power was amplified by such combinations was not easy.

Especially at that level of power, controlling the magic would be tough for anyone.

But Leo did it easily.

Len watched in puzzlement.

‘He dispelled even more complex magic without trouble, so why did he bother canceling a simpler Fire Wall with magic?’

At that moment of doubt—

Leo, who had closed the distance to the clone, reached out his hand.

Albi’s eyes twitched as he noticed it.

He saw that a dispel spell was imbued in Leo’s hand.

Albi tried to change the formula’s structure to respond to Leo’s dispel.

But Leo’s hand reached Mirror Force faster.

That fleeting moment created by the Fire Balls was all for this.

Len’s eyes widened and Anna looked shocked.

The clone touched by Leo’s hand vanished instantly.

“You defeated the clone?”

“What magic did you use?”

The students murmured with puzzled faces.

As Mirror Force disappeared, Albi withdrew his mana.

The moment the clone was defeated, the duel ended.

“Do you know about fairy magic?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard from Len over and over how outstanding your formula analysis skills are.”

Albi glanced at Len, who was trembling with emotion.

‘If he knew fairy magic, dispelling the formula wouldn’t be hard. But even so, he set everything up perfectly just to dispel my magic…’

“Other professors seem to think you’re just a genius.”

Albi narrowed his eyes.

“I’ve had doubts about you since the entrance exam. Leo Plov, what exactly are you?”

No matter how much talent you had, there were things talent alone couldn’t do.

There was something about Leo’s abilities that was hard to explain as just talent.

“Well, what do you think I am?”

Albi, who watched Leo answer the sharp question with playful ease, shook his head.

“That was careless of me. Forget that last question. My role in this class ends here. Go attend Len’s class now.”

“Yes.”

At Albi’s words, Leo headed toward where Len was.

Albi watched his back and thought,

‘I thought he had the qualities of a hero… but he’s unpredictable.’

Even if someone showed potential as a hero, not everyone became one.

‘No matter how outstanding a student is, there are plenty who never rise to the position of hero.’

A place for the chosen few, literally.

But looking at Leo right now…

‘He seems like someone born to become a hero.’

That unique charisma possessed by those who became heroes.

Leo had it.

‘Maybe… he’ll surpass me before he even graduates.’

—

“What are you looking at?”

The very top of Lumene’s Hero Tower.

Kalian, seated in the principal’s office, asked his longtime friend.

Lieven, watching Kalian, replied.

“I’m watching the first-years.”

Lieven could clearly see the first-year students walking across the campus below.

“So, what do you think of the first-years?”

At Kalian’s question, Lieven answered,

“They’re outstanding students. Among the generations I’ve seen at Lumene, they rank among the very best.”

“See, didn’t I say they were exceptional?”

Lieven pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and flicked it toward Kalian.

The paper, unfurled by magic, fluttered over to Kalian.

“What’s this…?”

“These are clues about hero dungeons I gathered while traveling the world for the past four years.”

Kalian’s eyes widened at Lieven’s words.

The vice principal of Lumene had always been a dragon.

And not just at Lumene.

At all the other hero academies of the other races, the vice principal had always been a dragon.

During the Age of Calamity—

After the Wise King Lysinas rallied the great heroes to defeat Erebos, it became a tradition for dragons to select heroes.

From their founding, every hero academy maintained a close relationship with dragons.

Dragons, acting on the orders of the Dragon Lord, were dispatched as vice principals to hero academies to foster the birth of new heroes.

Lieven, too, had served his duty passionately, but at some point, it had seemed like he let go of that mission.

But for the past four years, he’d steadily been searching for Lumene.

“I’m not certain there’s a hero dungeon, but sending students to investigate isn’t a bad idea.”

“Agreed. Thank you, Lieven.”

Kalian smiled at his friend.

Looking at Kalian, Lieven said,

“Kalian.”

“Hmm?”

“I know you didn’t call me here just because of the first-years.”

“That’s right. Tartaros has been making suspicious moves.”

There was a traitor within Lumene.

No—within Seiren, too.

A traitor had appeared in all the hero academies.

Tartaros’s influence must have reached every hero academy.

‘The hero academies are the biggest obstacles to Tartaros, after all.’

The long-standing peace was starting to waver.

The fact that Tartaros, which had been lying low, was now showing itself so openly was proof of that.

“I must be getting old.”

The old hero Kalian sighed deeply.

“To the one bearing the weight of this era, let me ask you.”

Eighty years ago, the dragon who chose the young Sword Star now asked solemnly,

“Are you prepared to entrust the age to the next generation?”

There were many heroes.

But if asked if any had the same influence as Kalian, no one could confidently say yes.

The reason he was considered the greatest hero was that, thanks to him, Tartaros had ceased all outward activity for so long.

His mere existence served as a powerful deterrent to Tartaros.

But now, even that deterrence was wavering.

Tartaros knew the age of the Sword Star was ending.

So the dragon who had chosen him as a great hero now asked—

Are you ready to bring your era to a close?

“I may not be as great as you, but as Lumene’s principal, I’ve watched over the students for a long time.”

Kalian smiled faintly.

“I’ve always been ready.”

“Good. Then I’ll follow your lead.”

The hero and the dragon who once changed the world exchanged meaningful smiles.

—

A week after the second semester began, after classes ended.

Professor Harrid spoke.

“Starting today, mission fieldwork will begin.”

At those words, the students of Class 5 began to murmur.

“Mission fieldwork?”

“Yes.”

Harrid continued with a bored expression.

“Mission notices will be posted on the first-floor bulletin board of the classroom building.”

Heroes were also problem-solvers for incidents all over the world.

That’s why places in need of help would request aid from Lumene Academy.

The upper echelons of Lumene screened the requests from around the world, and if they judged a place truly needed help, students would be dispatched.

In these cases, there was no commission fee, and the school covered all expenses for the students’ missions.

However, if a private individual requested a personal mission, they had to pay a commission fee to have students dispatched.

It cost money, but it meant Lumene students would come quickly.

Students could gain experience, earn money, and even get credits, so they went all out for mission fieldwork.

Even if they had bad results on midterms or finals, what kind of mission fieldwork they completed could make a big difference in their grades. In a way, mission fieldwork was as important as exams.

So when word spread that mission fieldwork was beginning, it was only natural that first-years were fired up with interest.

Watching the excited students, Harrid said,

“The requests have grades. It should go without saying, but take on missions appropriate for your abilities. Every year, some students overdo it. Mission fieldwork isn’t like other school activities—it’s the real thing.”

Harrid’s cold gaze swept over the class.

“You could lose your life.”

The students flinched at those words.

The excited atmosphere turned icy cold.

After giving the students a stern warning, Harrid spoke.

“That’s all for today’s announcements. Go check out the missions.”

With that, the students of Class 5 left the classroom.

They headed to the central hallway on the first floor of the classroom building.

Because Harrid let them go early, Class 5 was the first to check the mission notices.

“Nice! This means we can claim the best missions! Professor Harrid definitely has a knack for this kind of thing!” Carr said with a satisfied smile.

“Let’s see… Oh! There are even missions in Lumeria City?”

At that, someone quickly reached out.

“Hey! Eliana! I saw that first!”

“Whoever’s faster gets it.”

Eliana and Carr bickered, while Tide looked at them with an exasperated expression.

“Does the location really matter? It’s the content that’s important.”

While the students argued over the mission sheets,

Leo reached for a request no one else cared about.

Chelsea looked at him curiously.

“Leo, are you really going to that backwater town? The request is just bandit extermination—it sounds like a ton of trouble for nothing.”

Bandit extermination.

For the class representative Leo, it was such a lowly mission.

In fact, it was obvious none of the other students would want it either.

To Chelsea’s question, Leo smiled.

“I’ve always wanted to visit that area.”

“Huh? It’s just a neutral region in the southwest part of the continent. Why do you want to go there?”

Even when Carr, who’d been bickering with Eliana, asked curiously, Leo only smiled.

The place Leo wanted to visit—

It was the site of a legendary city, whose exact location was unclear even in history books.

A city that existed there five thousand years ago.

The land of beginnings.

‘Guardslone.’

It was the land where Kyle and Lysinas met.