Chapter 377

“Whew, that’s brutal, Black Rabbit.”

Wagging her white tail, Ar clicked her tongue as she watched the scene unfolding on the screen via Video Magic.

“You look more like a black rabbit, not Lumene’s student council president.”

“Who are you calling a rabbit? I’m a cat, you stupid tiger.”

Ar glared at Borman, who had come up beside her and linked his arm with hers.

Borman, a tiger beastman ranked fifth among Azonia’s second-years, looked down at Ar and said.

“Want me to show you a mirror?”

Ar scoffed at his words.

“Still, this is surprising.”

“What’s so surprising?”

“That Lumene’s student council president is so rough.”

Borman pointed at Leo on the screen, his voice filled with admiration.

On the screen, Leo had a beastman warrior, armed with a giant battle hammer, in a face-crushing grip.

It wasn’t just a matter of having superior strength and skill.

“I thought he was far from being a warrior.”

“Are you an idiot? He’s an All-Class, you know? If he’s not a warrior, what is he?”

“Huhu, not all warriors are the same.”

Borman clenched and unclenched his fist as he looked at Ar’s dumbfounded expression.

“There are many unmanly warriors who avoid direct confrontation, cowardly relying on magic and spirits. I thought Leo Plov might be one of them, but I was foolish.”

“What’s this musclehead talking about? How are magic and spirits cowardly?”

“A proud, head-on clash using only strength and skill is a true fight!”

Ar gave him a pathetic look, but Borman paid her no mind.

Borman Tisser.

He was the son of Botech Tisser, the champion of the Steel Colosseum in the Land of Iron, one of the five beastman nations, and a beastman hero himself.

In the nations of the beastmen, a race of struggle, no kings existed.

Instead, the champion of the colosseum in each nation wielded power comparable to a king.

Of course, not all of the beastmen’s strongest were colosseum fighters.

Ar’s family, the Tune’s, was not a family that was active in the colosseum.

But it remained a fact that many prestigious beastman families were active in the colosseum.

The colosseum was the place to display one’s strength and make a name for oneself.

As the son of a champion, Borman had been raised as a fighter since he was young.

As such, even among the combative students of Azonia, he possessed an exceptionally strong fighting spirit.

He was a man who felt a thrill whenever he saw a new, strong opponent.

As Borman flexed his hand, his muscles rippled.

“I can tell just by watching him fight. That man is a true warrior. A man just like you and me!”

“Yeah, yeah. Black Rabbit is a true warrior and a man just like us…”

Ar, who had been nodding along dismissively, suddenly froze.

“Why am I a man!”

“Keok?”

Her eyes flashing fiercely, she kicked Borman in the side.

Borman, who had collapsed to the floor twitching, recovered a moment later and got back up.

“To think I’d get a chance to have a manly duel with Leo Plov. A fight using Aura is great, but a struggle using pure physical strength is also an exciting battle.”

Genuinely delighted, Borman declared proudly.

“I’m glad I got into gambling debt. Ar, stay out of this. I’m the one who’s going to fight him.”

“Do whatever you want.”

Ar scoffed.

As an Azonia student, Ar also wanted to face Leo, but she held back this time.

She wanted to pay off her debt quickly, but a large part of her also wanted to let Borman meet Leo.

‘…Black Rabbit needs to know that guys who say such idiotic things exist. Then maybe he’ll stop calling me a stupid cat.’

***

Thud-!

The beastman warrior, whose face had been grabbed by Leo, collapsed, his face caved in.

Leo indifferently pushed aside the unconscious beastman, whose eyes had rolled back in his head.

The Underground Arena, which should have been roaring with cheers, gasps, and boos, was filled with only silence.

The only one exuding any presence was Leo, his red eyes glinting—and him alone.

The arena fighters Leo faced were all of a bad sort.

From the first one, a criminal who wouldn’t have been out of place on death row, to skilled fighters who had committed crimes in the outside world and drifted here.

It was a fight devoid of honor, purely for the sake of being a spectacle.

And in that fight, Leo showed no emotion.

He showed no anger toward the criminals, nor disgust for those who reveled in killing people for simple pleasure.

He showed no emotion even toward those who fell by his hand.

He was as impassive as a janitor cleaning up the trash before him.

That appearance made everyone present feel a primal fear.

Leo’s demeanor was reminiscent of a judge.

But it was far from righteous.

It was as if he were dispassionately slaughtering those who had lived unjustly.

Those who lived with sin felt a fundamental terror at the sight of Leo.

That was why they didn’t dare to even open their mouths.

Leo casually flexed his fingers and looked at the announcer.

The announcer, meeting Leo’s red eyes, swallowed dryly and turned his head away.

Watching Leo overwhelm the entire casino with his presence alone, Carr clicked his tongue.

“This type of Leo is no joke.”

It was a side of him that was unfamiliar even to him, his best friend at school.

“Somehow… he seems very different from the Leo Sunbae we imagined.”

Juen swallowed dryly.

Leo Plov.

The one and only youngest first-year student council president in Lumene’s 3000-year history.

The path Leo had walked was filled with feats so great they were rarely seen even when compared to the countless heroes who had produced numerous legends and anecdotes.

Right now, the upperclassman most admired by the vast majority of first-years was none other than Leo.

But seeing Leo in a real fight was different from what they had imagined.

They had imagined a righteous figure who would embrace everyone and lead the people.

And the majority of first-years had imagined wanting to be like Leo.

If they were to become heroes.

They thought they had to achieve great deeds like Leo, starting from their first year.

Juen was no different.

But she had never imagined him dispatching people so impassively, even if they were criminals.

“Do we… have to be like that too?”

As Betty muttered with a confused expression, Austin replied in a dark voice.

“I am a knight, so I have no choice but to follow the young master.”

Juen thought deeply amidst the serious atmosphere.

‘…It’s shocking, but… that’s not the wrong path.’

A hero must sometimes be ruthless.

In that respect, Leo’s current appearance was also close to a hero’s virtue.

‘But something’s different.’

Conflicted, Juen looked at Luke and said.

“You’re surprisingly calm about this.”

“Pardon?”

Luke looked at Juen with a puzzled face.

“You genuinely respect Leo Sunbae too, don’t you? Didn’t you think you wanted to be like him?”

“I did. But there’s something Leo Sunbae told me a while ago.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me not to become like him.”

“What?”

“Don’t become like him.”

“Pardon?”

* * *

Luke’s eyes widened as he looked at Leo, who had said it out of the blue during training.

– “No matter how hard you try, you’ll end up walking a different path than me.”

Leo smirked and looked at Luke.

– “You’re too nice.”

– “But… Leo Sunbae, you’re the person closest to being a hero among all Lumene students. Everyone wants to walk the same path as you, don’t they?”

The younger one is, the more they are drawn to the nearest and most intense light.

And for the first-years of Lumene, the nearest and most intense light was none other than Leo.

– “I’m not as noble a person as you all think. The path I’ve walked and will walk isn’t exactly a clean one… filled with dreams and romance.”

Luke looked at Leo with a bewildered expression.

– “Kids your age think the most amazing-looking path is the right answer. But there is no right answer. There are just individual paths.”

* * *

“Leo Sunbae said it. That I should just go down the path I want to take.”

At Luke’s words, Juen, Betty, and Austin’s eyes widened.

Hearing that, Carr clicked his tongue.

“Sometimes, it really feels like there’s a guy who’s lived a full life inside him, you know?”

Clicking his tongue, Carr glanced at Chloe and Chelsea.

They were probably more bewildered by Leo’s appearance than the first-years.

‘Well, as for me, I’m a slacker and I’ve never really dreamed of being a hero.’

To be precise, he knew all too well that he couldn’t become one.

Although overcoming one’s limits was Lumene’s lesson.

Carr was one of the students who felt his limits all too keenly.

That was why his feelings toward Leo were quite different from Chelsea’s and Chloe’s.

Carr knew better than anyone how amazing Leo was.

Though he was his friend, he genuinely respected him and thought he would become a hero who would achieve feats no one else could.

He wanted to be helpful from behind Leo’s back, but he had never thought of standing beside him.

But Chelsea and Chloe were different.

Chelsea, who had idolized him from the day they met, and Chloe, who had received his help when she was lost and wandering.

The two of them, who had been striving to follow in Leo’s footsteps and walk the same path, were now seeing a completely different side of him.

“The class rep is just oozing this dangerous man vibe. Isn’t it kind of cool?”

Meanwhile, Eliana’s eyes widened as she chattered on.

“Must be nice. Being an airhead.”

“What was that!”

Eliana glared at Carr.

Carr clicked his tongue and looked at Chelsea and Chloe with concern.

The two girls were silently watching the frightening side of Leo.

It was then.

“Uwooooooooooooooooh!”

A roar that seemed to change the atmosphere echoed out.

Everyone, startled, looked toward the arena entrance.

A tiger beastman with a massive build was walking out, both arms raised high.

“Huh?”

“That guy is…”

The second-years let out surprised gasps.

“Do you know him?”

When Betty asked, Chloe nodded.

“Yeah, that’s Borman Tisser, ranked fifth among Azonia’s second-years.”

At Chloe’s words, the first-years’ eyes widened.

They couldn’t help but be bewildered by the sudden appearance of a big shot from another school.

“It’s been a while! Leo Plov!”

“You’re Borman from Azonia, weren’t you?”

Leo, his mood completely different from before, let out a smirk.

Seeing that, Borman grinned broadly.

“To think you remember my name! It’s an honor!”

Kwak-!

As the atmosphere shifted, the casino patrons began to cheer.

“I was moved by your untamed beast-like nature, Leo Plov! I am truly thrilled by this situation where I can meet a warrior like you and compete to see who is superior!”

“He’s still the same.”

Chelsea clicked her tongue.

At that, Chloe asked.

“Come to think of it, you were in a party with Borman in Tarkam during the Smith Exclusive Contract, weren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“How was he?”

“An idiot who only knows how to charge.”

“And such a reckless person is ranked fifth among Azonia’s second-years?”

Betty said with a disbelieving face at Chelsea’s words.

“Yeah. But he’s strong. That’s why he’s ranked fifth.”

“Since he is not using Aura, Leo might have a hard time. Look at that monstrous build.”

Beastmen were the strongest race in close-quarters combat.

Their beast-like nature displayed terrifying power in battle.

In a situation where Aura couldn’t be used, the strongest race was the beastmen.

“I doubt it.”

Chelsea smiled faintly.

“I told you, didn’t I? Leo Oppa is skilled enough to take down monsters even without using Aura during the entrance exam.”

“Chelsea’s right. Do you know when the most dreadful time in the Knight Department’s second-year classes is?”

Following up on Chelsea’s words, Eliana pouted.

“It’s none other than when we have to spar with the class rep using purely physical strength. The class rep is a monster.”

Eliana shuddered as if she didn’t even want to imagine it.

***

In the crowd, Delean was watching Leo.

‘An All-Class like the Hero of Beginnings? A second-year with unprecedented power? What does any of that matter.’

He turned around with a cold expression.

‘Isn’t he just like those vulgar shadows who hunt in the dark… not even acknowledged by the gods? To make a guy like that the student council president at a time when a nobler hero is needed more than ever. Lumene has really hit rock bottom.’

Delean scoffed.

‘As I thought, Lumene is wrong. It’s not fit for the times.’

Delean clenched his fist and curled his lip into a sneer.

‘I will usher in a new era of heroes.’