Chapter 317
“What?”
Abad’s expression hardened after hearing the news from the rear detachment via magic communication.
“Leo showed up there? Is it just him or are there others?”
– It’s just Leo! Emio’s already been taken out!
Hearing that, Abad fell into thought.
‘Leo, who was supposed to attack another dorm, is showing up at the rear of our base?’
“What’s the likelihood that Carr Thomas’s intel was wrong?”
Duran, who had been listening beside him, asked, but Abad shook his head.
“No. That’s impossible. I watched Carr gather the intel myself. The information was solid.”
“It could be that our movements were leaked instead…”
Duran’s eyes sharpened mid-sentence.
Flash—! Crackle!
As he drew his sword, an intense golden flash burst from it.
BOOOOM!
Golden sparks exploded from Duran’s sword with a thunderous roar, lighting up the sky.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
The web-like lightning aura spread out, striking the incoming ice spikes.
The extreme heat emitted from the lightning instantly vaporized the ice.
The male students from Noble gasped in awe at the sight.
“That’s Duran for you.”
“That power’s like a large-scale spell.”
“Kyaaaa!”
“Duran, you’re amazing!”
Duran, cloaked in his lightning aura, truly looked formidable.
But he didn’t stop there.
Crackle!
Golden electricity wrapped around Duran’s feet.
Utilizing [Aura Step], Duran dashed through the air at incredible speed.
“Isn’t it dangerous for a mage to take the front like this?”
He raised his sword and smiled as he looked at the platinum-haired girl.
“Chloe.”
Flash—
Lightning aura surged from Duran’s blade.
Chloe’s blue eyes tracked the path of Duran’s sword.
Clang-clang-clang!
An ice barrier instantly rose.
Duran’s eyes twitched.
‘Did Chloe know such magic? If she cast a defensive spell with that level of power, there should’ve been a signal.’
But he hadn’t sensed any movement of Mana.
‘Is this that familiar the Magic Department was working on?’
Just as he had that thought—
Bzzz—
Chloe’s Mana surged.
“[Frost Nova].”
As the spell completed, a cold storm of ice howled out.
Just before Duran was caught in it—
Kyaoooo!
A Wind Wyvern grabbed his arm and lifted him into the sky.
Using the momentum, Duran swiftly mounted the Wind Wyvern’s back.
Crackle-crackle!
He raised his hand.
‘A greatsword?’
In his hand was a massive [Two-Handed Sword].
‘I heard students in the Knight Department were learning sub-weapons… so Duran picked a greatsword.’
Even if they fall under the same category, [Longswords] and [Two-Handed Swords] are handled completely differently.
‘The strength of a Two-Handed Sword—’
Chloe focused her Mana.
‘—is its overwhelming destructive power compared to a longsword.’
Flash—! Crackle-crackle!
As Duran raised his two-hander, a lightning bolt from the sky struck it.
Golden waves of electricity roared out.
Seeing that, Chloe summoned her Mana.
Voooom—!
Complicated runes spread across the air.
“[Ice World].”
Crackle! Cra-cra-craack!
As Chloe’s chant ended, an absolute-zero chill enveloped Duran.
Fwoooosh!
Duran grimaced and withdrew his attack.
The other students from Noble panicked and fled from the range of Chloe’s magic.
In response, the students from the Magic Department began chanting for a counterattack.
But Chloe had already quickly left the battlefield.
“A surprise attack really is terrifying.”
Abad clicked his tongue.
He opened his palm.
A [Magic Circle] spread out.
“[Instant Contract].”
As the spell was cast, powerful Mana erupted across the area.
“What kind of magic is that? It looks like a contract spell.”
“[Familiar Contract Spell].”
“Familiar contract spell?”
“A wide-range [Familiar Contract] that forms temporary contracts with nearby animals.”
It was also a new spell developed for a Magic Department presentation.
Using magic engineering instructed by Len, the goal was to apply familiar base-enchantments to surrounding animals temporarily.
Abad had developed it as an assignment with advice from Len and Tina.
Rather than creating familiars, it allowed him to temporarily command hundreds of pseudo-familiars at once.
Abad, being an all-rounder, was capable of powerful fire support like Chloe in the rear or front-line combat like Chelsea.
At first glance, he seemed like a typical all-rounder, but most all-rounders tended to be mediocre.
However, Abad had grown into a truly exceptional and flawless all-rounder thanks to overwhelming talent.
That’s why he believed that gathering preemptive intel to gain superiority in combat was key.
And so, he created the [Instant Contract] spell—capable of forming a large-scale familiar army on demand.
‘That’s a spell worth coveting.’
Eliza’s eyes sparkled.
As a student from the Summoning Department, Eliza began envisioning ways to apply that magic to summoning.
As she watched with intrigue—
“……All of Glory’s students are at their base.”
Abad’s words shocked the Noble students.
“Was Carr’s intel wrong?”
“No. The intel was right. But Glory must’ve crafted their plan knowing their information would be leaked.”
“Then what about Leo Plov? Isn’t he supposed to defend the base?”
Eliza furrowed her brow.
To that, Abad replied.
“Among Glory’s students, the only one outside fighting other dorms is Leo.”
All of the Noble students widened their eyes.
“Leo’s been assigned the role of hunting down others solo. We were completely fooled.”
“N-No matter how strong Leo is, does it make sense that he’s hunting dozens of students by himself?”
One student asked, flustered, and the recently returned Duran answered.
“……Aside from dorm leaders and top scorers, who do you think can stop Leo Plov?”
The students looked stunned.
“You all seem to be under some illusion, so let me spell it out for you.”
Sparks danced around Duran’s body.
“That guy isn’t just someone with access to all class abilities.”
Eliza scoffed and mounted her summoned beast.
“He’s a flawless monster who perfectly understands and utilizes every class ability. If you charge at him just because of numbers, you’ll only become sacrifices. There’s only one way to stop him.”
Crackle! Fwoooosh!
“Overwhelming strength!”
Duran shot forward, and Eliza’s Wind Wyvern charged in after him.
—
“Carr’s probably figured out our entire plan.”
Before the exam began—
Chloe gathered the Glory students and spoke.
“That’s why we’re all going to stay and defend the base.”
Chloe looked to Leo.
“Leo, you’ll rack up [Kill Points] by taking down students from the other dorms.”
She smiled faintly.
“The more wildly you rampage, the more the others will assume you’re not the [King]. Of course, Walden, Duran, and Eliza will come after you.”
Chloe’s strategy required trust.
“You won’t lose to any of them.”
It was a bet on their strongest card.
—
Clang! Fwoooosh—!
Nella blocked Leo’s sword.
No other student dared stand in his way.
The detachment squad had been formed from mid-ranked students with good mobility and stealth.
Most top scorers had gone to the front of Glory dorm with the dorm leaders for a direct assault.
One of the few capable of responding to Leo’s attack, Emio, had already been eliminated due to carelessness.
In short, the only one here who could hold Leo off even a little was Nella.
But most of the students were horrified.
“There’s no opening!”
“I mean, we’re all second-years too…!”
No one doubted that Leo was the strongest of the second-years.
But few expected the gap to be this wide.
It was a one-sided massacre.
And there wasn’t even a chance to exploit an opening.
Overwhelming power.
It felt like facing a 4th or 5th year, and the second-years trembled.
“This is… the youngest ever [Student Council President]…”
One student muttered as they were swept up in Leo’s flames.
Clang!
Nella gritted her teeth, bracing against Leo’s fire.
“This is our first real fight, huh.”
“Yeah… back in first year, we were class rep and vice rep. At most, we just had light sparring.”
Nella replied with difficulty and raised her [Aura].
Fwoooosh—
Leo’s flames engulfed her.
But Nella deliberately leapt into the fire.
Her healing-type Aura recovered the damage she received.
Leo watched and commented.
“Not a good choice.”
“What?”
Leo quickly reacted to Nella’s self-destructive surprise attack.
He had faced countless enemies who tried the same.
Especially those with strong regeneration often relied on this.
Just as Leo was about to finish her—
RUMBLEEEE—!
The ground shook.
Leo backed away from Nella.
He looked up at the sky.
“You came first, huh.”
Leo smiled faintly.
And his opponent landed.
Tap—
As he touched down, he spoke.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment, Leo Plov.”
Walden’s eyes gleamed.
—
After their exam ended, the first-years quickly moved to their designated spectator section.
Grouped by class, the first-years all looked visibly relieved.
Since it was their first test at Lumene, they had prepared their best.
Regardless of the results, they were enjoying the feeling of liberation now that the exams were over.
Meanwhile—
The testing grounds were rapidly cleaned up, and magic screens rose up to show the field from the audience stands.
Guests in the VIP section gasped in admiration.
“Now we can see our children in action clearly.”
“They’ll bring honor to our family!”
Parents of second-years spoke in excitement.
Through the crowd, a woman with black hair moved toward the frontmost seat.
Some people narrowed their eyes at her.
“Oh my, coming alone without an attendant?”
“Must be someone from an insignificant family.”
“There aren’t even any seats left. Why not just sit in the back if you’re late?”
As the murmurs grew, a noble lady walking past the woman covered her mouth with a fan and said,
“Front row seats are not just for anyone. Only Lumene graduates can sit there.”
The black-haired woman smiled gently.
“Yes, I know.”
“What?”
Just as the noblewoman’s eyes twitched—
“……Reina, senior?”
A cautious voice came from behind.
Turning her head, Reina smiled brightly at a face she hadn’t seen in decades.
“Len! It’s been so long!”
“It really is you, Reina-senior!”
Len beamed as he approached her.
Those nearby looked flustered by their exchange.
“You should’ve come earlier to cheer on Leo.”
“You know how he is. He’s not the type to get motivated just because I cheer him on.”
Reina smiled faintly.
Len chuckled and offered his arm.
“Come. For Leo’s future, as his mother, there’s something very important I need to discuss with you.”
Hearing that, the surrounding parents gasped and quickly turned away.
They had just gossiped about the mother of the unprecedented all-class wielder and youngest student council president at Lumene.
Naturally, they felt embarrassed.
But Reina didn’t seem to care.
“Len, the spectator area’s that way.”
“I need to speak with you somewhere quiet, Reina-senior.”
“You’re not trying to lure a married woman somewhere secluded, are you?”
“It’s that important.”
Just as Reina was about to protest—
“What’s with this nonsense?”
Yura suddenly appeared and locked her arm around Len’s neck.
“Oh, Yura. Long time no see.”
“Long time no see, Reina-senior.”
As Len struggled to free himself, he shouted,
“Let go of me, you gorilla arm! I have a very important meeting with parent Reina-senior as a professor!”
“……You can die choking on that gorilla arm.”
“You two haven’t changed a bit.”
Reina clapped and laughed cheerfully, unbothered by the bickering.
It was the kind of grace only a Lumene graduate could possess—completely unfazed by the concerned parents around them.
Just then—
“……Reina Zerdinger?”
“Oh my, Ain?”
Reina lit up as she spotted her old classmate.
“It’s been so long!”
“……I just remembered something urgent.”
Ain turned without even looking back.
“Hey! How could you ignore an old friend like this?”
“Let me go.”
With Ain caught by the scruff, Reina smirked with half-lidded eyes.
“If you keep acting cold, I’ll tell everyone what happened after the first midterms back in freshman year.”
Ain glared at her, and Yura and Len both froze mid-argument.
“……You really do live up to your nickname, Flame Witch, Reina Zerdinger.”
“Haven’t heard that in a while.”
As Ain sighed deeply, Reina beamed brightly in return.
Just then—
The screen zoomed in on Leo.
Standing across from him was Walden.
Ain narrowed her eyes.
“A big match.”