Chapter 234
The day after the opening and entrance ceremonies.
Second-year Magic Department auditorium.
Second-year Magic Department students were gathered, waiting for Len.
“At least we still get to take Magic class with the same group from first year!”
Carr said cheerfully.
Though the dormitories had changed, their departments had not.
During department-wide integrated classes, they could still take lectures together like this.
Leo rested his chin on his hand and smirked at Carr’s words.
“Why? Having a rough time in the dorm?”
“Listen to this, Leo! It’s terrifying!”
Carr poured out his complaints.
“The entire dorm is filled with students with insane pride! Seriously! It’s like everyone’s got the same personality as the dorm leaders!”
The Third Dormitory.
Named ‘Noble,’ it mostly consisted of students from prestigious families.
Even the dormitory heads were heirs of Heroic Houses.
Naturally, students with strong pride gathered there.
“Even that jerk Emio ended up in our dorm.”
Carr sighed.
“Anyway, the place is full of arrogant snobs. They look down on you just for being a commoner. Tsk!”
“Yeah, that does sound tough.”
Carr wasn’t from a noble family—he wasn’t even from a well-known one. He was a commoner.
And on top of that, he was ranked at the very bottom of the class.
No wonder life in a dorm full of nobles was hard.
“Well, there is one good thing.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re all loaded. Like, seriously.”
Carr grinned and rubbed his chin.
As someone interested in commerce, Carr appreciated the buying power of his dormmates.
“How’s Glory treating you?”
The First Dormitory’s name was Glory.
“Already trying to gather intel?”
Chloe asked, her eyes fixed on a book thinner than her usual ones.
“What are you reading anyway?”
It clearly wasn’t a textbook, nor was it one of her beloved grimoires.
Unusually, she was reading a humanities book.
Chloe held it up.
“‘The History of Shadows’?”
“Yeah. I got curious.”
“Shadows, huh. Well, the new principal did boldly say she’s a Shadow.”
Carr shook his head.
The Shadows.
Not an official title.
Since the era of heroes began, those who fought against Tartarus to protect world peace were called heroes.
But those were the ones who operated in the light.
Where there is light, there is shadow.
And not all paths to peace receive applause from the public.
Some live in the darkness.
“A Shadow as principal. Surprised the board approved that.”
“There are Shadow graduates from Lumene too, you know.”
“Still. No one really wants to become a Shadow.”
Carr clicked his tongue, and Chloe nodded in agreement.
Shadows were essential in maintaining world peace—just like heroes.
Especially since they pursued and executed traitors who had sided with Tartarus.
They also hunted Hero Killers who targeted heroes from the shadows.
Despite that, Shadows were not well regarded.
Living in darkness meant doing dirty work.
Even if they were hunting killers, they were still killers themselves.
That’s why people feared them and kept their distance.
‘Shadows, huh.’
Leo narrowed his eyes and rested his chin on his hand.
In his days as Kyle—
Leo had done similar work.
He hunted and executed traitors.
And he never told his comrades.
Only Lysinas and Dweno had known what Kyle had been doing.
‘It was something that had to be done.’
Lysinas and Dweno had said he didn’t have to carry the burden alone.
But Leo had always dirtied his own hands.
‘No reason for everyone to be stained in blood.’
Leo looked down at his hands.
‘I was hoping there wouldn’t be people like that in this era…’
He let out a bitter smile.
‘Come to think of it, what happened to her?’
A girl came to Leo’s mind.
Bihar.
A girl who had learned swordsmanship from Kyle, just like the elven leader Velkia, student of Luna the Founder of the Nebula.
She’d been saved by the Great Heroes and often followed Kyle on his hunts for traitors.
‘Did Bihar end up walking a different path from Velkia?’
Unlike Velkia, who helped rebuild the world as an elven leader, Bihar had left no mark on history.
Her name didn’t even appear in the Hero Record.
Thinking of his forgotten disciple, Leo let out a soft sigh.
“So, did you learn anything about the Shadows?”
Most Hero Candidates didn’t pay much attention to the Shadows.
Students all dreamed of becoming heroes.
Since Shadows were essentially the opposite of heroes, few were interested in learning more.
“Yeah. The strongest Shadows are said to belong to the dominant eastern power—the Shan Empire.”
“The Shan Empire…”
Carr rubbed his chin.
Along with the Lordren Empire, it was one of the only two human empires.
“They’ve had their share of problems too, haven’t they?”
“Right. A hundred years ago, Shadows dispatched from the Shan Empire were responsible for the downfall of the newly founded Hero Kingdom, Trihan.”
“Trihan Kingdom. In the end, they really were traitors.”
“Yeah. But the problem was they destroyed the country without any solid evidence—just suspicions.”
Carr clicked his tongue at Chloe’s explanation.
“Guess being a superpower means you can do whatever you want.”
“Maybe because it’s the Shan Empire?”
Shan wasn’t just a dominant power of the East.
It was a nation with a 4,000-year-old legacy.
“What do you think, Leo?”
“Wiping out a nation over suspicion alone is definitely too much.”
Just then, as the three were discussing Shadows—
Bang—
The lecture hall door opened, and Len appeared.
Anna followed close behind, carrying the attendance sheet.
Step. Step. Step.
With all eyes on him, Len walked to the front and scanned the class.
“Good to see you all.”
He smiled with his usual charismatic flair.
“Continuing from last year, I’ll be teaching your Magic Theory class. I’m Len.”
“Professor Len~!”
“Welcome back!”
“Please take care of us again this year!”
The students responded with enthusiastic cheers.
Young, talented, and popular—Len was a star among Magic Department professors.
As the students settled down, Len accepted the attendance sheet from Anna.
“I’ll begin roll call. Chloe Mueller.”
“Yes.”
“Carr Thomas.”
“Here! Professor!”
“Leo Plov.”
“Here.”
‘Leo!’
Len covered his mouth with his hand, his face overcome with emotion.
Of course, the other students couldn’t see it.
‘You have no idea how hard I worked just to teach you again…’
Anna, watching Len’s face in real time, sighed up at the ceiling.
In truth, the selection of second-year subject professors had been fiercely competitive.
Naturally—every professor at Lumene wanted a chance to teach what was considered one of the greatest generations in history.
And Anna had witnessed firsthand just what kind of stunts Len had pulled to win the spot.
He’d finally earned the role of second-year Magic Department instructor.
All for the sake of teaching Leo.
For Len, it was a deeply emotional moment.
For Anna, who had to deal with all the fallout, it was enough to make her cry.
‘Should I just quit?’
As she seriously considered submitting her resignation, Len finished calling roll.
“Before we start class, everyone.”
He swept his gaze across the room.
“Who here can tell me what the most powerful spell currently in existence is?”
The students began to murmur.
There were countless powerful spells in the world.
Depending on a mage’s specialization, element, or school, answers could vary widely.
“What do you think?”
“Not sure.”
“That’s a hard one.”
Students began to discuss amongst themselves.
Then Chloe raised her hand.
“Yes, Chloe?”
“The strongest existing magic spell is [Star Magic: Dawn].”
Len nodded.
“Correct.”
He scanned the classroom.
“Though it may seem subjective at first glance, there is no magic more powerful than [Dawn]. In terms of raw power, mana efficiency, and—most importantly—casting time, nothing else compares.”
Len smiled.
“[Dawn] is a flawless masterpiece created by the Founder of the Nebula.”
Spreading his arms wide, Len continued.
“I became even more certain of this when I witnessed it during the Lumeiren incident, when she defeated the Monster Queen.”
At those words, the students of the Magic Department swallowed hard.
How could anyone forget?
Though the exact reason for the legendary hero’s appearance was still unknown, they had all witnessed the miracle firsthand.
The greatest mage in magical history.
The unrivaled genius.
Luna Lubinence—the Founder of the Nebula—had descended.
And they had seen her cast [Dawn] with their own eyes.
“However, [Dawn] is a difficult spell to use.”
Len walked to the blackboard.
He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing out the formula for [Dawn].
The chalkboard quickly filled with intricate, incomprehensible runes.
“With unmatched power, excellent mana efficiency, and fast casting time, it’s a perfect spell—but only if you can use it. To do that, you must understand every piece of the complex formula created by the Founder.”
The students stared at the board with defeated expressions.
Then one student raised a hand.
“Recently, spell activation formulas have advanced a lot. Do you think it might be possible someday to simplify [Dawn] using those?”
“Simplifying [Dawn] is actually easy.”
“Huh?”
“This is the simplified version.”
Len smiled slyly.
‘That’s the simplified version?’
‘No way!’
‘Even fully written out, I don’t understand a single part of it!’
The students clutched their heads.
“This simplified version was created by elves who inherited Star Magic. If you simplify it any further, the magic won’t activate. So trying to reduce it to a basic activation formula? Impossible. Besides, even the formula alone isn’t enough—what matters most is that you’ve mastered [Star Magic].”
The students nodded.
[Star Magic].
It was the elves’ unique magic—required to learn [Dawn].
“I guess we’ll never learn it in our lifetime.”
“I tried learning Star Magic once… No way.”
Some students shook their heads.
Star Magic was elven magic.
It wasn’t completely impossible for other races to learn it.
But it required the right mana wavelength and immense magical talent and intuition.
Seeing the students’ reactions, Len grinned.
“Up to now, yes, Star Magic was considered a matter of talent and intuition for humans. But you all know, right? That last year, Ain-senior managed to distribute [The Hero’s Breath] to Knights Department students in Azonia.”
At that, the students looked confused.
Then, realizing the implication, they stared at Len in disbelief.
“W-Wait…”
“Have you made [Star Magic] more accessible?”
Turning Star Magic into a universal spell had remained incomplete for decades.
The formula left by the Founder had been modified so that elves could learn it, but no other race had dared to attempt it.
In the present day, it was considered a strictly elven art, impossible for outsiders to use.
“This past winter break, a groundbreaking and miraculous magic thesis was published at Lumene.”
“No way!”
“Who wrote it?!”
“Was it Torua-senior after she graduated…?”
“No, maybe it was Elena-senior!”
“Or one of the professors?”
The class buzzed with excitement.
Of course they were excited.
[Star Magic]?
To be able to cast the Founder’s magic beyond the barrier of race?
What could be more thrilling for a mage?
“Fufufu. You’re all wondering who wrote that historic thesis, aren’t you?”
The students held their breath.
“One of the co-authors is right here in this classroom!”
Len raised his hand.
All eyes followed it—
And landed on…
“Huh? Me?”
Leo looked at Len in confusion.
“Fufufu. Leo, from the moment I first met you, I knew it. That you would leave a lasting legacy in the world of magic.”
“…So you mean… me?”
“Fufufu. You are the greatest talent in the history of Lumene’s Magic Department.”
“……”
No matter how many times Leo asked, Len just kept saying what he wanted.
“You wrote a thesis like that?” Carr asked.
Leo looked visibly annoyed.
“I’ve never written anything like that.”