Chapter 324
From the turret installed to protect Glory’s barrier, Eliana jumped out, crossing her arms with a loud laugh.
“Wahahahaha! As long as I’m here, no one will ever breach Glory’s fortress wall!”
Imitating a heroic character from an old tale, Eliana looked smugly at the students from other dorms who were backing away.
Then, realizing how quiet it had become, she paused with a puzzled look.
‘That’s strange. Someone should’ve made a snarky comment by now.’
Confused by the unusual silence, she looked at her fellow dormmates.
They were all staring at one spot.
When Eliana turned to see what they were looking at, she smiled brightly and waved.
“Ah! Captain! Did you finish intercepting the ones that came from the rear?”
As Eliana greeted him cheerfully, Leo returned to Glory’s base with a faint smile.
The Glory students murmured as they watched him.
“He took down Celia, Abad, and Chelsea all at once…”
“What about Walden, Duran, and Eliza, who went to the rear?”
“I heard from the scouts… they got death judgments.”
“So that means he singlehandedly took down five top-tier students?”
“Leo’s that strong?”
Everyone looked as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Eliana, too, stared in disbelief.
‘Captain fought all the dorm leaders alone?’
Of course, not all at the same time.
But even so, the fact that he had defeated three of them in succession was enough to leave her trembling.
—
Murmur—
“…That level of dominance is unreal.”
“He’s in the same class as the Hero of Beginning…”
“How can he wield both the Phoenix and the Fairy at once?”
Voices of disbelief spread through the spectator stands.
When Leo and Walden had first started fighting, the crowd’s reaction had been pure excitement.
The Phoenix versus the Earth Spirit Titan—
a clash between two of the Three Great Spirit Beasts.
It was an unexpected, legendary matchup that thrilled not just the students, but the outside guests as well.
But as the fight went on, the mood changed to shock.
No one had expected such overwhelming strength.
Leo’s power was beyond comprehension.
The first-year section of the stands was especially stunned.
Sasha clenched her fists in silence.
She alone knew a secret. (T/N: Exactly what I had in mind! She only knows this.)
‘…The Phoenix, the Fairy, and even the Pegasus.’
Arti—the Pegasus that had served the royal family of the Lordren Empire for generations. (T/N: Changing Ahti to Arti moving forward. Im gonna use Arti though instead of Arty as its more feminine.)
Sasha knew that Arti had formed a contract with Leo.
To bond with even one of the Three Great Summoned Beasts was a dream most summoners couldn’t even imagine.
But Leo had contracts with all three.
For Sasha, it was almost beyond belief.
Juen, too, gritted his teeth.
‘What ‘is’ that guy?’
Most mages specialized in a single field.
But Leo had no such limits.
‘He freely uses Star Magic and even Dragon Speech Magic…’
And then there was Leo’s original magic—his [Bible].
A spell that had caused a huge stir in the magic world last year.
It was the ideal form of magic—something every mage dreamed of.
Having such a senior in the same academy was enough to make anyone feel small.
Haviden’s expression was equally tense, and Luke clenched his fists.
‘Leo, sir…’
And it wasn’t just the first-years.
Even the third, fourth, and fifth-years were shaken.
Students who had quietly resented the fact that Leo was the student council president were now speechless.
The professors shared the same shock.
Now that Leo’s true strength had been revealed, the impact rippled through everyone connected to Lumene.
“…This is serious.”
Ain muttered grimly.
Reina, too, wore a rare, serious expression as she stared at the screen.
The sword [Flame Storm] that Celia wielded had once belonged to Reina.
So she knew better than anyone what it meant for it to have been broken.
‘The sword itself won’t be destroyed.’
[Flame Storm] was a sword made of pure fire.
As long as its master’s will burned again, it would reform.
‘But rekindling an extinguished flame isn’t easy.’
Reina sighed.
‘And the others too…’
It wasn’t just Celia who had been shaken.
“It’s as if he’s trying to break their spirits.”
At Ain’s words, Reina nodded.
“He probably is.”
“…Why? The Leo I know isn’t the type to crush others. He’s never had any reason to.”
“You’re right. That’s not who he is.”
Reina rested her chin on her hand, eyes narrowing.
“But maybe he has a reason to now.”
“A reason… to break them?”
“Yes.”
Reina chuckled softly, gathering her thoughts.
“My son was needlessly mature from a young age. Never once could anyone call him adorable.”
Ain listened quietly.
“He’s always been considerate of others. Probably even in school. Maybe it’s not that he’s been hiding his power—but that he’s been holding back for his peers’ sake all along.”
Endless, unfathomable strength.
If everyone had known the true gap between them, would any of his peers have ever felt motivated to compete with him?
‘No. They wouldn’t have.’
Ain’s eyes narrowed.
“But he couldn’t hold back forever. For the first time, he’s showing his true self to the classmates who’ve always faced him earnestly.”
“I see… He’s testing them—by showing them the difference.”
“Exactly.”
Reina smiled faintly.
“There are things professors can’t teach. You know that as well as I do.”
“When you’re crushed by the person you looked up to… that’s when you finally see something new.”
“Right.”
Reina’s eyes softened with nostalgia.
“You should know. After the first-year midterms, you lost to me completely and cried your eyes out.”
“…”
Ain’s expression turned bleak.
It was a secret known only between the two of them.
When Ain had entered as second in the Knight Department, he’d once again placed second behind Reina during the midterms.
Unable to accept it, he’d challenged her to a duel afterward—
and learned the bitter taste of defeat.
He had cried his heart out that day.
“It wasn’t a complete defeat. It was a close one.”
“Hm. Should I tell Yura and Len about it?”
“Urgh…”
Gritting his teeth at her teasing, Ain glared.
“You’re still a witch, Reina Zerdinger.”
“I go by Reina Plov now, remember? Don’t worry, I won’t tell the juniors.”
Reina laughed brightly, and Ain sighed deeply before turning back to the screen.
‘It’s fine to be frustrated. It’s fine to fall. Students are allowed that much. But…’
His eyes grew solemn.
‘Don’t lose your goal.’
—
“Haa—haa— I thought I was gonna die.”
Carr wiped sweat from his chest and looked around Noble’s devastated base with a dazed expression.
“Eliza, uh… th-thanks! If you hadn’t shown up, I might’ve been done for.”
“We… we did our best, you know.”
“…”
The Noble students looked uneasily at Eliza, who had driven out Chen Xia.
Her head was lowered, her face dark—like she could explode at any moment.
Then Carr dusted himself off and shuddered.
The image of Chen Xia relentlessly chasing him was the stuff of nightmares.
“Man, thanks, Eliza. Really, without you—”
Swish—!
“H-hey, don’t get mad. I’ll reinforce the defenses right awa— Eliza?”
As Eliza turned toward him, Carr flinched.
Then he noticed her trembling hands and froze.
“You fought Leo, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Eliza spoke quietly, her head bowed.
“Walden, Duran, and I— the three of us fought Leo Plov.”
“The three of you?”
“Whoa…”
“Didn’t expect you three to team up like that.”
The Noble students murmured in awe.
Then, Duran walked in.
Seeing his grim expression, the others looked alarmed.
“What’s wrong?”
“What happened out there?”
The two who had always brimmed with confidence were now silent.
Having remained quiet even after Chen Xia’s infiltration, the two’s silence now made everyone uneasy.
Carr hesitantly spoke up.
“Don’t tell me… Leo beat you?”
The others turned to him with disbelief.
“Hey, Carr. No matter how great Leo Plov is, there’s no way Duran, Eliza, and Walden lost when they worked together.”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“…”
But neither of the two answered.
Faces stiffened across the room.
“No way.”
“Right?”
The tension deepened—until Abad returned to the base.
“Everyone, gather up.”
The Noble students assembled, still confused.
“We’re changing the plan.”
Abad looked around.
“Avoid fighting Leo as much as possible. Fighting him now will only help Glory score more points.”
Everyone turned to Duran and Eliza.
The two who should’ve protested the loudest said nothing.
Soon, other students who had been out in the field returned, bringing reports about Leo.
When they heard that Leo had won twice—even against two dorm leaders fighting together—everyone was stunned.
“He can control both the Phoenix and the Fairy?”
“A barrier spell strong enough to nullify three people’s combined attack…?”
“He overwhelmed Abad and Celia?”
It sounded impossible. Yet it was true.
As they struggled to process it, Carr spoke up.
“At the start, Leo went alone to raid the rear unit, right?”
“Yeah.”
Abad nodded.
“Chen Xia infiltrated us to find our King, while the rest stayed behind to defend the base.”
Carr frowned in thought.
“Then it’s settled. Glory’s King is Leo.”
Abad smiled faintly.
“Reason?”
“If he’d stayed at the base, he would’ve had to face you guys head-on. That would’ve been riskier. Sending him to the frontlines would divert suspicion. Plus…”
Carr’s tone grew serious.
“If he’s running wild all by himself like that, that makes it even more likely he’s the King.”
“Why? Wouldn’t that make him an easier target?”
One of the students asked, puzzled.
“It would. But that’s exactly why no one would suspect it. It’s a show of force, a demonstration.”
Carr looked at Abad.
“Now that you’ve ordered everyone to avoid him, no one will fight Leo anymore. That means he’ll go unchallenged—he’ll dominate the field.”
Carr took a deep breath.
“Leo intends to crush us completely.”
“Why reveal his full strength now?” Duran asked with a twisted expression.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no scenario where they could win.
Even if the dorm leaders all joined forces, the difference was too vast.
‘We’d need at least five to stand a chance.’
That was his rough estimate.
But even that didn’t account for Glory’s other assets—Chloe and Chen Xia.
With them on Leo’s side, balance was already impossible.
Defeating Glory now was out of the question.
Carr spoke up again.
“Maybe something changed inside him. I don’t know what—but at least we can tell one thing: he’s finally taking us seriously.”
Carr’s expression turned firm.
“The dorm leaders I know may be sly, cocky, and insufferable…”
He glanced at Abad, Duran, and Eliza.
“But they’ve never been the type to back down from a challenge.”
He raised his voice.
“We all knew the gap was there, right? So what if it got wider?! That’s no reason to give up! Hell—”
Carr shouted, almost indignantly.
“Even I, the lowest-ranked second-year, still plan to beat Leo someday! What does that make you guys if you’re giving up already? Worse than me?!” (T/N: Carr = MVP)
Duran’s face twisted, and Eliza, trembling with fury, lashed her whip around Carr’s neck and yanked him forward.
“What did you just say, you little punk?”
“Eek! F-forgive me…!”
Seeing her icy glare, Carr paled.
Abad laughed.
“The lowest-ranked student, talking about beating the top student?”
“Yeah. Sure, it’d be suicide if I actually fought him right now.”
Breaking free from Eliza’s whip, Carr grinned.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for you guys.”
“…Leo Plov doesn’t have weaknesses. He’s a flawless monster. How do we beat that?” Eliza asked weakly.
Carr whistled.
“Huh. Didn’t know you had such a delicate side. Acting like a frail maiden after getting crushed once, huh?”
“I’ll kill you.”
“Stop! Stop! If I die, our dorm’s finished!”
Carr screamed as Eliza raised her whip again.
Abad, chuckling, calmed her down while Duran folded his arms.
“…You really think we can win?”
“Of course not.”
Carr shrugged, smiling faintly.
“But if we just sit here, we’ll definitely lose. So let’s take down that perfect monster—just once.”