Chapter 37
Goooooo—!
Flames gathered at the tip of Leo’s sword.
His fire burned even fiercer.
Wreathed in flame, Leo charged forward.
‘Now!’
Before Leo could enter striking range, Haul thrust his spear.
Shwwaaak—!
A massive surge of green [Aura] burst from the spear’s tip.
The [Aura] extended like a living anaconda, targeting Leo’s neck.
Leo tried to slash through the attack with his [Flame Aura].
Fwoosh—!
At that moment, Haul’s [Aura] curved like a live serpent.
‘I figured as much.’
Unfazed, Leo charged at the exposed Haul.
Though Haul’s technique was incredibly difficult to counter from a distance, it had one fatal flaw: once the distance closed, he became defenseless.
“Got you!”
Haul shouted in triumph.
Ssssk—!
“……!”
His [Aura] continued to extend.
“[Snake Prison]!”
Snap—!
Like a snake coiling around its prey, the [Aura] quickly wrapped around and constricted Leo.
Gasps erupted from every direction at the impressive display of precise [Aura] control.
Professor Ain raised the corner of his mouth slightly as he observed.
‘[Flame Aura] excels in powerful offense but has a clear vulnerability in defense. It’s like a double-edged sword.’
[Poison Aura] shared the same trait.
That’s why it was naturally weak against [Flame Aura].
‘He’s been obsessively training [Aura] control to overcome that flaw—and it worked.’
Ain turned his gaze to Leo, who remained silent inside the trap.
‘But Leo Plov isn’t the type to charge in without a plan.’
‘How’s that, Leo! I’ll defeat you with this! And then…’
Haul turned to look at Celia, who wore a surprised expression, and clenched his fist.
‘Celia! I’ll make sure you recognize that I’m your equal—!’
“Impressive technique. But your finisher’s sloppy.”
“What!”
Fwoosh—! BOOM—!
The [Aura] coiling around Leo suddenly swelled, then exploded outward in all directions.
Gooooooo—! FWOOSH!
Leo’s [Flame Aura] erupted with violent intensity.
Holding his sword in a follow-through position, Leo stared directly at the frozen Haul.
“You should never let your guard down until the fire’s out.”
“Ugh!”
Haul regripped his spear.
Crack—! Boom—!
In an instant, flames exploded from beneath Leo’s feet.
[Aura Step].
Fwoosh! Fwooshhh!
Like a blazing bullet, Leo’s sword shot forward, stopping right at Haul’s throat.
“……Winner, Leo Plov.”
Ain announced calmly.
WAAAAAAH!
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
“Wow! Wow! Leo won!”
“……He was that good in real combat too?”
Chelsea jumped up and down with joy while Tide muttered in disbelief.
Carr, handing out popcorn to guests, let out a few loud whistles.
“Who was the one that said that 1st-year kid would suck in real combat?”
“Haul was amazing too, but the matchup was just awful.”
“There’s definitely a reason this year’s 1st-years are getting all the attention.”
Upperclassmen murmured in admiration as they evaluated the duel.
As Leo sheathed his sword, Haul dropped his head and knelt.
“A complete defeat. You were on a different level… and I underestimated you. What a disgrace.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect you to have that kind of technique either.”
The level of [Aura] control Haul displayed was something Leo hadn’t anticipated—something that couldn’t be achieved without immense effort.
“If your [Aura] had just been a little stronger, I might’ve blacked out from suffocation. I underestimated you too, so I guess we’re even.”
Leo smiled and extended his hand.
“That was an amazing technique.”
Haul looked dazed at the offered hand, then slowly took it and stood up.
After pulling Haul to his feet, Leo patted him on the shoulder and exited the arena.
‘Leo Plov… He’s not standing next to Celia for no reason.’
Haul muttered as he trudged out of the arena.
But standing in his way were the Knight Studies students from Class 1.
“Haul! That was close!”
“Ughhh! That was our golden chance for bathroom revenge!”
“What the hell is that guy? He’s got no weak points in real fights either!”
Class 1 students rallied to comfort Haul.
“Elegance! Haul! That was a splendid match! If not for the matchup, you could’ve crushed someone like Leo Plov! Don’t be discouraged!”
“Professor Sedgen. Please refrain from biased comments, even if he is your student.”
Professor Ain rubbed his temples as he addressed the loudly shouting Professor Sedgen.
Caught off guard by the unexpected praise, Haul scratched his head awkwardly.
Then, spotting Celia approaching, he immediately tensed.
Celia gave him a bright smile.
“Not bad. You looked cool.”
“What? Oh! Uh! Y-Yeah!”
Haul answered awkwardly, his face flushing red.
‘Haul’s actually pretty innocent, huh?’
‘Celia’s surprisingly dense when it comes to that stuff.’
‘But come on… she should’ve figured it out by now, right?’
The Class 1 students exchanged subtle smiles.
“Leo, great work. When did you even have time to train your [Aura] like that?”
Celia walked up to Leo and asked.
Haul clenched his fist.
‘Leo Plov! You’re my new target!’
The persistent boy had now set his sights on catching up to Leo.
Watching Haul steel his resolve, the Class 1 students clucked their tongues and munched on popcorn.
Leo, having decorated the first match with a flawless victory, sat to watch the remaining duels.
“Eliana Laden from Class 5, step forward.”
“Heeyah~! Who’s my opponent?!”
“Chen Xia from Class 10, step forward.”
“Gah!”
Eliana, who had stepped up enthusiastically, was visibly shocked to find herself paired with Chen Xia.
“Let’s have a good match.”
“Y-Yeah, you too.”
Chen Xia and Eliana exchanged greetings.
‘I’ve grown a lot too! Even the entrance exam top scorer is beatable now!’
With a firm grip on her rapier, [Aura] surged around Eliana.
Ssssh—!
As a martial artist, Chen Xia had no weapon.
Instead, blue [Aura] shimmered at her fingertips, forming droplets of water.
Her [Aura] trait was water.
Droplets forming at Chen Xia’s fingertips began to intertwine like threads, soon creating a silky wave of water.
As her hands moved in a fluid, dance-like motion, the ripple of water gracefully gathered at her fingertips.
“Huuup!”
Eliana took a deep breath and pointed her rapier at Chen Xia.
“Haap!”
With an explosive surge of [Aura], Eliana shot forward.
Seeing the furious charge, Leo let out a sigh.
“That idiot…”
BOOM—!
“Gwah!”
Crash! Roll roll roll!
Eliana’s fierce charge was not only blocked effortlessly by Chen Xia, it was completely deflected.
She tumbled helplessly across the ground, eyes spinning in circles.
“Chen Xia, victory.”
It was a match that clearly showcased overwhelming strength.
Still, few had high expectations—Eliana, being a magic swordsman, was at a disadvantage in this exam.
Hands clasped together, Chen Xia gave a polite bow and exited the arena.
Eliana, forcing herself up, raised a clenched fist toward the sky and shouted.
“S-Still! I came at her strong! I wasn’t intimidated!”
“Can you be quiet? This is embarrassing.”
“Yeah, just pretend to be unconscious. Please.”
The Class 5 Knight Studies students coldly shut her down, and Eliana pouted.
“Class rep! They’re saying I’m embarrassing!”
Watching her whine, Leo spoke up.
“Your impatience is the problem. You know how strong Chen Xia is, don’t you?”
“Of course! That’s why I charged in! I knew I couldn’t break through with swordplay alone, so I had to show some spirit!”
“What a thing to brag about.”
Leo clicked his tongue at Eliana, who crossed her arms and made her declaration proudly.
Eliana was still a top-tier student, not an exaggeration even on a school-wide scale.
‘Just a bad matchup. If she could’ve used magic, maybe it would’ve been different—but this was a Knight Studies exam. Still, if she’d been more careful, she wouldn’t have lost so pathetically.’
Leo shook his head and met eyes with Chen Xia, who was seated with the Class 10 group.
She smiled and waved, and Leo waved back.
‘I thought this before, but Chen Xia really is the most well-balanced Knight Studies student among the first years.’
Celia and Duran’s [Aura] traits were heavily offense-oriented.
Chen Xia’s water-based [Aura], on the other hand, had excellent balance between offense and defense.
As Leo pondered Chen Xia’s abilities, he observed the other duels among his peers.
Compared to entrance exam results, many students who had been in the lower ranks had improved significantly.
Some even managed to defeat those who had once been far stronger than them.
While fortunes rose and fell, the entrance exam top scorers proved they were on another level.
Celia, who had defeated her opponent in an instant, elegantly brushed her hair aside and approached Leo.
“Well?”
“You’ve grown.”
“Obviously.”
Celia narrowed her eyes.
“Leo, I’m taking the representative seat this time.”
Watching her confidently declare it, Leo gave a faint smile.
“Take it, if you can.”
At that, Celia smiled sweetly and returned to Class 1.
Eliana, who had been observing from the side, spoke up.
“You’re popular.”
“Jealous?”
“Nope. Like I told Nella, I’m not into that kind of popularity.”
—
Midterm exam period.
After the last written test—Linguistics—ended, the Class 5 students swarmed Chelsea.
“Hey! Hey! Chelsea! Let us see your answers!”
“I’m first!”
“Carr! You’re always at the bottom anyway! You can wait!”
“That’s not fair!”
A fierce competition broke out to see the answer sheet of Chelsea, the highest scorer in Class 5’s written tests.
Seeing all her classmates swarming in, Chelsea waved her test sheet in front of them.
“Who should I show first?”
“Chelsea! Show me first!”
“Me! Me, please!”
“You look especially beautiful today, Chelsea!”
Class 5 clung to the youngest among them.
“Hohoho.”
Chelsea covered her mouth with a smug smile, clearly enjoying the attention.
“The test’s already over—do they think their scores will change or something?”
Leo, seated in the back by the window, leaned on his chin and spoke. Nella gave him a lazy smile.
“Fufu. Still, it’s human nature to want to know your score a little early, isn’t it?”
At that, Leo shook his head and began packing up his writing tools.
“I’ve only got the Hero Studies and Combat Studies joint practical left. You still have Magic Studies and Summoning left, right?”
Leo had passed the Knight Studies duel exam with five consecutive wins.
Of the five matches, the toughest was the first—against Haul.
Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran also passed with five wins each.
Nella had one loss.
“If it weren’t for that jerk Duran, Nella could’ve had a perfect record too!”
Chelsea, having finished passing out her answers, hugged Nella as she complained.
Nella had been a strong contender for a perfect record, but her third match was against Duran, resulting in a loss.
“I put up a good fight against Duran, so I’m satisfied.”
Nella patted Chelsea’s head with a smile.
“By the way, Leo, how’s your Summoning practice going?”
“Going well.”
“But you almost never show up for group practice.”
Tide, a student from the Summoning department, asked with a puzzled look.
The Summoning practical was traditionally one of the biggest first-year events at Lumene.
Leo simply smiled at his question.
“I’m practicing hard—just not where you can see me.”
“That’s so Leo. Always confident, huh? So what’s your goal?”
As Chelsea asked with sparkling eyes, Leo answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“First place.”
