Chapter 179
Professor Sedgen moved his pen as he watched the match between Torua Yan and Jamua unfold from midair.
‘Those two are on a different level.’
Scratch—scratch—
‘Torua looks like she’s getting serious. I wonder how the first-years will respond.’
Whether in ancient times or now, the number of spells a mage could wield had always been one measure of power.
Of course, a mage could still be strong without variety.
Some were dominant with only a few devastating spells.
Like Elena Zeron, a third-year.
But unlike Elena, Torua skillfully handled a massive number of spells.
‘The amazing part is the spells themselves.’
Sedgen’s lips curled slightly.
‘Not standard spells—every one of them is original.’
Torua’s strength lay in magic research.
And her research didn’t stop at any one field, as long as it fell under the umbrella of [Magic Power].
Her original spell diversity was off the charts.
‘So how will you handle someone like Torua? From your perspective, every spell she uses is completely unknown.’
Fwoosh—!
Seeing the magic fill the air, Chelsea gasped.
“What the—those are all original spells?!”
“That can’t be right!”
A student from the Knights Department on the team shouted in disbelief.
Even someone with no background in magic knew it was insane to develop this many original spells.
“Yeah, it makes no sense… but this is Lumene.”
Chloe gripped her staff.
“It’s a place where sense can be shattered.”
Wooooong—!
A blue glow of [Mana] surged around Chloe.
“Ice World.”
With her calm incantation, Chloe’s original [Field Magic] activated.
In this domain, Chloe was queen.
Crack—crack—
Torua blinked in awe as even the flow of mana began to freeze.
“Impressive. To raise your spell’s output this much… you must have a very clear goal.”
She smiled and gave a little clap.
Torua glanced briefly toward Leo.
At that moment, Abad completed his original spell as well.
“[Tempest].”
BOOOOM—!
A violent storm erupted in the middle of the frozen world.
Torua’s eyes narrowed.
‘Wind and ice aren’t a bad combo.’
Abad’s [Tempest], infused with shards of ice, emitted a terrifying chill.
On top of that, Chelsea enhanced his spell with a power-amplifying chant.
It was a perfect mage combo.
Crack—
Torua tried to evade the spell, but a wall of ice formed in the air, cutting off her escape.
Meanwhile, the remaining students dashed toward the undefended goal.
“Nope, not allowed.”
Torua waved her hand lightly.
CRACK—!
“Guh?!”
“Now it’s golems?!”
“Break through! They’re probably weaker than those slimes—”
Squirm—
“Aaaaah?! Lava Golems?!”
“Run! RUN!”
As molten rock began pulsing through their bodies, the students screamed and scattered.
You couldn’t create Lava Golems without being top-tier in golemcraft.
‘What can’t she do?’
‘That’s Torua Yan, the Omnipotent Wizard.’
It was a nickname earned from her near-universal mastery of magic.
“Gimme.”
“Ah—t-the ball!”
Torua snatched the ball from a first-year and floated into the air.
“Well done, first-years! As a senior of the Magic Department, I’m thrilled!”
She puffed her chest with pride.
“You’re going to be the best! The golden age of Lumene will be led by you!”
She crossed her arms and nodded grandly.
“I wasn’t nearly this good when I was a first-year.”
“Liar. You’re a total monster.”
Chelsea grumbled.
Torua smiled at her, adjusting her grip on her staff.
Wooooong—
[Magic Power] swirled violently around her.
The first-years tensed.
“Effort is everything.”
FLASH—!
Multiple magic circles lit up in the air.
Abad’s [Tempest] dissipated.
Fwoosh—!
Chloe’s [Ice World] was gone, too.
Both of their faces froze.
‘That fast?’
‘Did she just brute-force it with [Mana]?’
But their expressions quickly changed.
‘No!’
‘She analyzed and unraveled the formulas!’
It was stunning.
From a mage’s perspective, it was awe-inspiring.
‘This level…’
Abad had grown up seeing powerful mages in his family—some even hailed as archmages or heroes.
Chloe was the same.
Though not from a noble bloodline, she had grown up in the North Tower, surrounded by brilliant magicians.
Many of them had mentored her due to her raw talent.
Some were even stronger than Torua.
But none understood the field of [Magic] as deeply as she did.
Even after graduating Lumene, she would only grow stronger.
‘Most people would be discouraged seeing that.’
But neither Chloe nor Abad showed signs of that.
Instead, they looked like people who had just set a new goal.
‘Is that also because of Leo? Then what’s his reaction?’
Torua let out a soft chuckle and turned to look at Leo—
Her eyes widened.
Leo was watching her from the ground with a strange look in his eyes.
‘Admiration… and… comprehension?’
Torua’s expression subtly shifted.
—
“Looks like Torua’s getting excited,” Ulta said.
“I’d be thrilled too if the Knights Department juniors fought that well.”
Rhys smirked at her comment.
“Well, I don’t think our juniors are falling behind.”
He smiled while watching the first-years facing off against Jamua.
“Torua’s only weakness is that she doesn’t know how to hold back.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Ulta. What exactly do you know about Leo?”
Rhys raised an eyebrow.
Ulta gave a soft smile.
‘The Phoenix… and the fairy’s contractor.’
Back on the Summoned Beasts’ Island in the first semester—
Ulta had truly wanted to form a contract with a fairy.
Not for power or ambition as a summoner.
‘Wouldn’t it be fun to be friends with a fairy?’
It was a childish, innocent thought—but that was who Ulta was.
‘But someone had already formed that contract.’
She realized it while fighting a [Demonic Beast] practitioner from Tartarus.
Later, Yura told her Leo had contracted with a Phoenix on his first day.
A summoner’s strength was based on the creatures and spirits they contracted with.
‘Of course, a powerful creature is useless if you can’t handle it. But Leo can handle both the Phoenix and the fairy.’
That alone made him qualified to be student council president.
Ulta believed that.
She also had a personal wish—
‘It’d be great to have a student council president from the Summoning Department.’
Just as Torua and Jamua were convinced Leo belonged to the Magic and Knights Departments, Ulta was certain Leo was from the Summoning Department.
‘I don’t know why he hasn’t revealed that he’s the Phoenix and fairy’s contractor… but maybe this will be the chance.’
As the department’s strongest summoner, Ulta wanted to leave her juniors with the ultimate successor.
‘Come on, Leo. You can’t beat Torua without the Phoenix. Let them see who you really are.’
—
“We need a way to counter all those original spells,” Abad said, voice grave.
“I could fly in and try to distract her?”
Chelsea raised her hand.
She was the fastest among them and might actually be able to break Torua’s line of sight.
“No. Those are all original spells. Get too close and you’ll get hit.”
Chloe shook her head.
“I’m not trying to score. I’m trying to wipe you all out,” Torua laughed from above.
Watching her, Leo spoke.
“I’ll hold her off for a bit.”
“Leo?”
Chloe looked shocked as Leo stepped forward.
“You guys get ready to score.”
Leo activated [Fly Magic] and rose to meet Torua.
“Hey, Leo. I’ve got a question.”
“What is it?”
“I’m your super-senior and an older woman, right?”
“Right.”
“Then shouldn’t a cute little first-year like you blush or get flustered when you see someone as pretty as me?”
“Isn’t it true that none of the first-years—or even male Magic Department students—react to you that way?”
Torua was undeniably beautiful.
At 21, she was someone any first-year might have a crush on.
But no one in the Magic Department reacted like that.
Probably because, more than being a respected upperclassman, Torua had a famously odd personality.
She was known as the magic-obsessed weirdo.
“Anyway.”
Torua crossed her arms.
“Still feels weird having a first-year look at me like a middle-aged man.”
“What’s so middle-aged about me?”
“Hm. You’re giving me this vibe like you understand me. Like that old retired Professor Irua when I was in first year.”
“Who’s that?”
“Sixty-year-old mage from the Northern Tower.”
“Then I’m not middle-aged. I’m ancient.”
Torua had just compared Leo’s gaze to that of a literal grandpa.
Leo chuckled.
“Well, I guess I understand a little.”
“Understand what?”
“How much effort it must’ve taken to get that strong.”
Torua’s strength wasn’t just talent—it was the result of unimaginable effort.
‘Elena, Chloe, Abad, Chelsea… they’re different.’
Those four were all born with one overwhelming gift.
Torua wasn’t like that.
In Leo’s eyes, she was someone who had many gifts—but none strong enough to reach the peak in any single area.
‘Just like me.’
He was an all-class, yet never mastered any one discipline. He had to borrow everything from others.
‘She got this strong purely through passion and effort.’
She studied, researched, and patched her weaknesses across the board.
Her so-called omnipotence was built, not born.
Torua’s eyes widened.
Most assumed her path to the top of Lumene’s mage hierarchy was talent.
Sure, no one denied her hard work.
But no one really understood the heart it took to get there.
Not even the friends who’d spent five years with her.
But Leo… Leo seemed to understand it perfectly.
Though he said nothing, Torua felt a strange kinship with him.
“Leo.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s get married.”
Leo laughed.
“I was hoping for a flustered reaction. Now I really feel like the older one.”
Torua pouted and crossed her arms.
“So… you’re gonna stop me on your own?”
“Yes.”
“I know you’re a great mage, but isn’t that a bit reckless?”
“It is.”
‘I can’t beat her right now. The gap in technique and scale is massive.’
Leo gathered [Mana].
“But I can stop you—briefly.”
“Oh? Confident, huh? Alright. If you manage to stop me and your team scores even once, I’ll admit defeat.”
“No takebacks.”
Leo raised his power.
Then glanced toward Rhys.
‘Student council president… huh.’
When he first heard about it, he wasn’t interested.
But recently, his thoughts had changed.
He had read journals from those who once sealed Erebos 3,000 years ago.
‘I used to think it was fine to leave it for someone else someday.’
Leo clenched his fist.
‘But I was wrong.’
[Hero Record] contained sealed fragments of Erebos.
And Tartarus was now aiming for it.
What if one day, like his own records, the others’ were erased?
If Tartarus succeeded in destroying the Hero Record entirely…
The future would be lost.
‘I need to become a great hero again—to prevent that.’
He had to leave behind new records.
For someone to inherit his power someday.
‘If I must start by being student council president in my first year, so be it.’
There would be backlash.
‘But if I show it through ability, they can’t object.’
The only way to counter Torua’s barrage of original spells—
Was to answer in kind.
Matching [original magic] with [original magic] was nearly impossible.
But Leo had a way to make it possible, if only for a moment.
‘Original magic… requires original magic.’
He closed his eyes.
BZZZ—!
A complex spell circle appeared across his entire body.
Torua frowned.
‘What… I’ve never seen this formation before.’
As she stared in confusion—
Leo opened his eyes.
They glowed crimson.
And in his vision, all of Torua’s magic formulas became visible.
In an instant, he parsed them.
Leo summoned his [Mana].
WOOOOOM—!
He cast Torua’s original magic himself.
Torua’s eyes flew wide open.
“…What did you just do?”
Leo smiled.
“My original magic. It’s called [Bible].”