Chapter 200
“A first-year, and not even from Seiren, using Lampas? What kind of monster is that kid?”
Voices of shock echoed from the stands.
At the very top of the audience, a silver-haired woman with golden eyes sparkled with interest.
“As expected of the boy you chose, Senior.”
“You tried to snatch up Leo Plov yourself, didn’t you, Nergia?”
Lieven let out a small sigh.
Nergia.
The vice principal of Seiren, dispatched from Dragonia.
From Lieven’s perspective, she was a much younger junior.
“That sword he’s using—you’re the one who gave it to him, aren’t you?”
“Yes. But I was surprised at how well he handles it.”
The longsword Leo had received as a gift was forged by Nergia herself.
For a magic swordsman who wielded [Star Magic], it was a supreme blade and a top-tier staff all in one.
In terms of price, it was truly priceless.
“Still, I’m curious how he set up the magic formula to overload it with a single spell.”
A magic staff’s effects depend on the formula inscribed upon it.
Typical benefits are faster spellcasting, increased power, and so on.
The stronger the staff, the harder it is to use, but if handled perfectly, it can tremendously amplify magic.
‘Using Lampas itself isn’t what’s impressive. Even Lunia, the top first-year, could use Lampas.’
Lampas.
Among [Star Magic], it was considered a fundamental spell.
Unlike other formulas built from Luna’s research, Lampas was handed down in its original form from Luna herself.
Created by the Founder, its power was extraordinary.
That’s why anyone admitted to Seiren dreamed of learning it.
But the power came with a price.
It devoured enormous amounts of mana and had a highly complex structure.
So much so, it was nearly impossible for first or second years to even attempt.
‘It doesn’t seem like Leo Plov has the mana reserves for Lampas.’
Perhaps he was simply skilled at constructing magical formulas.
But by all rights, Leo shouldn’t have been able to cast Lampas with his current mana.
And yet, he’d managed to unleash a spell of overwhelming power.
‘Which means he didn’t use a normal spell.’
That’s why the sword made from her dragon bone had overloaded.
“Senior Lieven. Can’t we really bring Leo Plov to Seiren?”
Nergia looked back at Lieven.
“Senior, you’re about retirement age. You’ve been reclusive for a while, too. Wouldn’t someone more enthusiastic like me be better for the job?”
“If you want Leo Plov so badly, why not come to Lumene instead?”
“That’s not an option. I can’t abandon the kids at Seiren.”
Nergia was a dragon who devoted herself to nurturing heroes.
“Then try convincing him. Though I doubt you’ll have much luck.”
—
Having dealt with the cyclops, Leo set off in pursuit of the lead group.
Up until now, even if he’d wanted to go faster, the constant interference from Seiren students made it difficult.
But the cyclops’ appearance had created an opening.
Not missing his chance, Leo immediately dashed to catch up to the leaders.
Just then—
“That’s far enough, Leo Plov.”
“We can’t let you go any further.”
Two Seiren students, a boy and a girl, blocked Leo’s path.
“And you are?”
“Hmph. My name is Garin Treina.”
“And I’m Aris Treina. Surely you’ve heard of us?”
The two elves, apparently siblings, stood in Leo’s way.
“Nope. First I’ve heard.”
“What? You haven’t heard of the Treina twins?”
“We’re fourth and fifth in the first-year top class this semester! How could you not know us?”
Garin and Aris looked bewildered.
“Yeah,” Leo nodded innocently.
Clenching his fists, Garin scowled. “How arrogant! Not even bothering to research the rival school’s students!”
“Get ready! We’ll eliminate you right here!”
As Leo let out a light sigh at the twins’ angry faces—
“Leo! Why aren’t you going?”
“They’re in the way.”
With a puzzled look, Chelsea strode up, then swung her staff.
Crash—!
A powerful gust swept over Garin and Aris.
Garin quickly deployed a barrier, deflecting Chelsea’s attack.
Chelsea narrowed her eyes. “Not bad.”
Flash! Crash—!
In an instant, Aris unleashed magic.
From high above, shards of light rained down on Leo and Chelsea.
Whoosh—!
But the shards were blown away by another strong wind.
Step, step—
Abad walked up to Chelsea.
“The Lewellin siblings, huh.”
Garin smirked. “I bet you two know about us Treina twins?”
“Never heard of you,” Abad replied with a grin.
Aris jabbed a finger at Garin. “This is all your fault! I got dragged down because of you! Should’ve never teamed up with you!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Maybe they don’t know me because of you! And don’t talk to your big brother like that!”
“So what if you’re thirty seconds older!”
“I’m telling Mom!”
Watching the bickering twins, Chelsea said seriously, “Should we just leave them to self-destruct?”
“They’re strong enough not to,” Abad replied.
As expected from the fourth and fifth ranks of Seiren’s first-years, their skills were formidable.
“Leo, we’ll handle these two. Go on ahead.”
“Go get ’em, Leo!”
“Thanks.”
Leo smiled and left it to them.
As Abad predicted, Garin quickly reacted, but Chelsea blocked the interference.
“So, let’s see what you twins can do,” Abad said, smiling gently.
Aris blushed nervously. “Y-yeah. Good luck.”
“Ugh.”
She kicked Garin.
Leo immediately chased after the leaders.
He wasn’t the only one who’d slipped out of that chaos.
Flash! Crash—!
Dodging beams of light from all directions, Leo eyed the half-elf boy holding a magic staff.
‘Luca Eneres, wasn’t it?’
Third in Seiren’s first-year ranking, and a class representative.
Despite the cold, Luca wore light clothing, as if unfazed by the weather.
Crack—
Suddenly, the ground around Luca began to freeze.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you go any further. If you catch up, it’ll be too much for Eiran.”
Crack—!
In an instant, the ground from under Luca’s feet to where Leo stood froze solid.
But Leo didn’t miss that split-second chance.
He leapt, narrowing his eyes at the sheepishly smiling Luca.
‘That’s not magic. It’s spirit power. But I don’t sense a spirit contract, either. I felt this during the school trip too… What is this guy?’
Luca was using [Spirit Power].
But it wasn’t power gained from a spirit contract.
He was directly wielding spirit power himself.
[He’s probably blessed by a great spirit.]
‘Blessed by a great spirit?’
[Yes. I’ve heard from other spirits that there’s someone who inherited a great spirit’s power, someone who can use spirit power directly.]
‘Now that you mention it, I remember reading about that a long time ago.’
Recalling what he’d read in a book in his previous life, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘So he inherited the power of the great ice spirit?’
‘That seems likely.’
Leo clicked his tongue.
In this freezing cold, if Luca really had the power of the great ice spirit, this place was as comfortable for him as his own room.
‘Getting through won’t be easy.’
Just then—
“What are you doing here, Plov?”
A sluggish voice sounded.
Turning, Leo saw the massive figure of Walden standing there.
“Having a bit of trouble.”
Walden snorted at Leo’s words and summoned a fire spirit.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, the fire spirit merged into Walden’s fist.
[Spirit Armored].
It was an advanced spirit art, infusing the body with a spirit’s power.
Whoosh—!
Without hesitation, Walden charged at Luca.
Swoosh! Boom—!
Without hesitation, Walden swung at Luca, who looked a head shorter.
A huge explosion erupted, fire swirling everywhere.
Walden’s signature spirit explosion was so powerful even Lumene’s upperclassmen were in awe.
Crack—
But Luca withstood the attack and even froze Walden’s right arm in return.
“Hmm.”
Walden looked at his frozen arm and exhaled.
“Melee is a hopeless fight against me,” Luca said with a grin.
Walden smirked, then reignited his arm to thaw it.
“Maybe so.”
“Judging by your use of [Spirit Armored], you specialize in close combat spirit arts… but against me, you’re at a disadvantage—”
Whoosh—!
Walden once again charged at Luca.
“…!”
Unbothered by Luca’s freezing attacks, Walden slugged him right in the neck with his thick arm.
Thwack! Whoosh! Splash!
Crack—
As Walden melted his freezing arm with the fire spirit, he said, “It’s simple. Whoever’s knocked out first loses, whether by your freezing or my attack.”
Walden smirked.
“Get up, Luca Eneres.”
“Cough, cough… Well, what do you know…”
Luca wiped the blood from his lips, looking awkward.
“Looks like I picked the wrong fight.”
“I’ll handle this one. Go on, Leo Plov.”
“Uh, sure. Don’t overdo it.”
“Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself.”
With Walden blocking Luca, Leo was finally free of interference and dashed forward at full speed to catch up to the lead group.
Other students who had escaped the earlier chaos were also running ahead.
Seiren students continued to doggedly interfere with Leo.
And more obstacles kept appearing.
‘I’ve lost too much time. At this rate, the gap with the leaders will be too big.’
Breaking through all the obstacles and quickly chasing after the lead group, Leo thought of the three who had gotten through without interference.
At their speed, they might already be at the finish line.
‘Maybe Duran and Eliza have overtaken Eiran?’
He figured those two might have left Eiran behind and started fighting among themselves.
The other two Seiren runners seemed unable to escape the relentless interference from the Lumene students.
As Leo sprinted toward the finish line at breakneck speed—
“Don’t run away!”
“Face us!”
From far ahead, Duran and Eliza’s angry voices could be heard.
Leo stared in disbelief at the sight of Duran and Eliza chasing Eiran like maniacs.
‘Wait, why are those three still here?’
Contrary to expectations, the three hadn’t gotten as far as he thought.
Just then, Eiran, pursued by Duran and Eliza, spotted Leo and ran to him in tears.
“Leo! Save me!”
Terrified, Eiran hid behind Leo’s back.
“…What is going on here?”
“I-I don’t know! The Lumene runners said they wouldn’t leave me alone…!”
Patting Eiran’s trembling head, Leo asked the approaching Duran and Eliza, “Why are you two so desperate to catch her?”
“Step aside, Leo Plov. I need to fight her for my honor after being ignored so completely.”
“I’m first, Duran Moira.”
‘Why are these two so obsessed with a duel now?’
Leo clicked his tongue at his hot-headed classmates.
“There’s some kind of misunderstanding. She’s not the type to ignore you or anything.”
“Then why didn’t she even glance at us?” Eliza asked, arms crossed.
Leo replied dryly, “Guess you just imagined it.”
At that, Duran and Eliza looked at Eiran, who was hiccupping and trembling with fear.
Anyone could see she was the victim here, not someone who’d ignored them.
Duran and Eliza both looked embarrassed.
“Guess I was mistaken.”
“Sorry for getting so angry.”
They hurriedly apologized.
As they did, Eiran timidly peeked out from behind Leo.
“N-no, I think my attitude caused the misunderstanding.”
“A-anyway, let’s have a fair competition from here on,” Eliza said, forcing a smile.
Eiran nodded brightly.
Her innocent expression pricked Duran and Eliza’s consciences.
Seeing this, Leo nodded.
“Alright, now that’s settled—”
“Huh?”
Leo snatched the runner’s headband right off Eiran.
“Ah!”
Eiran yelped in surprise.
“Eliminated.”
Leo patted her shoulder with a smile.
“We’re still rivals, after all.”
“B-but… I trusted you, Leo…”
Eiran looked on the verge of tears.
“Leo Plov! That was dirty!”
“How could you do that to someone who trusted you for help?”
Duran and Eliza reproached Leo.
“There’s no such thing as dirty in a competition,” Leo replied, turning coolly toward the finish line.
“I’m going ahead. If I get caught by the ones chasing from behind, it’ll just slow me down.”
Without hesitation, Leo sprinted for the finish.
“Ugh… So mean, Leo…”
“D-don’t cry.”
“Please don’t cry, okay?”
Flustered, Duran and Eliza sat down and comforted the sniffling Eiran.
(T/N: Alright! Few more chapters and we’ll be able to catch up with Reaper’s releases!)