Chapter 422
-Students! And all our distinguished guests who have come to Lumene! Welcome! I’m Runba Tess, and I’ll be your commentator for this tournament!
Runba greeted them in a cheerful voice.
-And today, we have a special guest with us. The professor in charge of the second-year Magic Department! Professor Len!
-A pleasure to be here. I’m Len Hors.
Len introduced himself, looking neat and tidy.
-Professor. What are your thoughts on this tournament?
-I’ve been watching with great interest. This year’s incoming students have followed a different curriculum than any before. They all took the first-semester final exams, and they’ve also been receiving help from their second-year sunbaes thanks to the Mentor System… I’m overjoyed that everyone has grown so well under this new curriculum. I’m quite fond of the system that Professor Leena, our newly appointed principal, has introduced.
-Yes. That’s why so many people are paying attention to Lumene’s new academic system. But Professor Len. What are your thoughts on the fact that there isn’t a single student from the Magic Department in the semifinals?
In his bid to make the commentary more entertaining, Runba brought up a topic that was extremely sensitive for Len.
And the moment Runba finished speaking, a scream erupted from the Magic Department’s section.
Professor Harrid’s eye twitched.
-And as a professor from the Magic Department, it was a bit of a surprise that you volunteered to commentate on a match between first-year Knight Department students….
-Who said there isn’t a single student from the Magic Department in the semifinals?
-Pardon?
-And what’s this about a match between Knight Department students?
-Um, well.
Len asked Runba in a grim voice.
Meeting Len’s eyes, Runba realized she’d poked a bear she shouldn’t have.
-Student Luke Elda is a dual class! He’ll be transferring to the Magic Department starting in the second semester! On top of that, student Luke has been receiving my personal tutoring in magic for the entire first semest- BEEP-!
-We apologize for the brief broadcasting incident.
Yura urgently spoke into the microphone enchanted with Amplification Magic.
Lumene professors were free to give private lessons to specific students.
But blabbering about it in a public venue could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings if one wasn’t careful.
Thus, Len’s tirade was quickly cut short by the other intervening professors.
Professor Ain covered Len’s mouth and dragged him away.
Mmph! Mmph! As Len struggled, Professor Harrid jerked his chin, and Professor Ain mercilessly chopped him on the neck. Len immediately went limp.
The one who took the microphone in Len’s place was Mel, a first-year Magic Department professor.
-It’s Mel! I look forward to working with you all.
Cheers erupted from the students as they saw Mel speak with a bright smile.
Hearing Mel’s voice, Ar’s cat ears perked up.
“Hey, that Lumene professor’s voice. Didn’t it sound a lot like the Dragon Lord’s?”
“Now that you mention it.”
“Hm. It is similar.”
At Ar’s sharp observation, Lunia and Driana also tilted their heads.
“Must be a coincidence, right?”
“Probably. It’d be weird for the Dragon Lord to be working as a professor at Lumene.”
But they quickly lost interest.
Logically speaking, it was something that would never happen.
Amidst all this, Runba continued her commentary.
-Alright, let’s introduce them! He remained at the bottom of his class for the entire first semester! But he’s the star of a major comeback, achieving the feat of reaching the semifinals in the final practical exam! Luke Elda!
Whaaaaaaa!
A torrent of fervent cheers poured out.
The first and second-years were watching Luke with complicated gazes, but to the students in their third year and above, Luke, the cause of this great reversal, was an object of intense interest.
Moreover, since Lumene was full of hero candidates with strong pride, the gentle-looking Luke was popular among the upperclassmen.
At the cheers of his sunbaes, Luke’s face flushed slightly as he offered an awkward smile.
Seeing his somewhat simple demeanor, the upperclassmen who had taken a liking to Luke let out even more delighted screams.
-Oh! Student Luke! You’re incredibly popular! Now then! Our next student is! The most talked-about sword genius among this year’s new students! Aina Beidna!
As Aina stepped into the arena, a roar of cheers no less than Luke’s erupted.
The feat of the Sword Saint, who, in his old age last year, had held off the Monster Queen until the Hero of Beggining and the Founder of the Nebula appeared.
If not for him, perhaps most of the students here would have lost their lives.
Remembering the Sword Saint’s noble sacrifice, his great-granddaughter Aina had received much attention since her enrollment.
Amidst the pouring cheers.
Luke and Aina faced each other in the center of the arena.
“You made it this far.”
“Yes, Aina.”
Luke took a deep breath.
“I’ll do my best today so that I won’t be ashamed to stand before you.”
“Luke Elda.”
“Yes?”
It was the first time Aina had called him by his full name, so Luke looked a little surprised.
“Why did you enroll at Lumene?”
At the sudden question, Luke looked momentarily puzzled.
But he soon answered.
“I’ve admired heroes since I was little.”
Luke said with a shy smile.
“Heroes are amazing people. I wanted to be like them.”
Aina watched Luke speak.
It wasn’t some grand ambition.
It was just because he’d dreamed of it since he was young.
There wasn’t a big reason for helping others.
It was simply because it was the right thing to do.
Luke had helped others without hesitation.
Aina recalled Luke helping her during the entrance exam.
After her match with Juen.
For the first time since enrolling, Aina had taken a look at her surroundings.
And she realized.
All of her peers had goals for themselves.
‘I’m fundamentally different from them.’
Aina’s eyes grew somber.
‘Everyone holds an ideal and aims to be a hero.’
She couldn’t care less about being a hero.
She had only honed her sword and enrolled at Lumene to get revenge on Tartarus.
In contrast to all her classmates who admired Leo Plov and wanted to be like him.
She had only seen him as a necessary tool.
‘Luke Elda and I… no. It’s not just Luke Elda. I’m different from the others. That’s why I couldn’t challenge my limits.’
During the first semester, Aina had never once challenged her limits.
During the entrance exam and the mentor selection, as soon as she thought there was no chance, she had given up.
In her match against Juen a few days ago, she gave up as soon as she hit her limit.
Unlike her, Juen had tried to push past her limits to defeat her.
‘Luke Elda is the same.’
Aina knew the Luke from before enrollment.
His skills were pathetic, not even comparable to her own.
She had thought he was a student who didn’t belong at Lumene.
But…
‘This boy is the student who belongs at Lumene more than anyone.’
After endlessly pushing past his limits, he now stood before her after such a short time.
‘It’s only natural that Leo-sunbae acknowledged him.’
Until now, Aina couldn’t accept that Luke, not her, had become Leo’s Mentee.
But now she understood.
‘I… am not qualified to be a hero candidate.’
At the refereeing professor’s word, the two students returned to their respective positions.
Drawing his sword, Luke looked at Aina with tense eyes.
Aina just stared silently at the ground.
Ting-!
The coin signaling the start of the match flew into the air.
Clang!
The coin hit the ground.
In that instant, Luke became a flash of silver light and charged at Aina.
—
“She looks down.”
Leo muttered as he watched Aina, then looked at Celia.
“What’s with her?”
“How should I know?”
Celia answered in a blunt tone.
“Looks like Aina didn’t come to you.”
“She was a kid who didn’t need my help in the first place.”
Celia let out a short sigh.
“Aina is the type to get stronger on her own.”
“Even so, knowing your personality and how you like to take care of others, I thought you would’ve helped her a lot.”
“You’re right. She was unstable in some way. As her mentor, I wanted to correct that.”
Celia wore a bitter expression.
“But I guess I was a terrible mentor, because I couldn’t be of any help in the end.”
“Having too strong a sense of responsibility is also a problem.”
“What?”
“You were a perfectly good mentor. Aina was more unstable than you think.”
He didn’t know why Aina sought his acknowledgment.
But whatever it was, Leo knew that to Aina, everything was merely a means to an end.
Leo had seen countless people like Aina, burning with a desire for revenge against Tartarus.
‘It’s not that it’s wrong. In fact, in some ways, it can be a driving force.’
But simple hatred would one day consume itself.
That was why Leo hadn’t chosen Aina, even though he could have given her what she wanted.
If Leo had chosen Aina as his Mentee, she would have used it as fuel for her hatred.
‘It would’ve gotten out of control. That girl didn’t need an adult who would understand and comfort her, but an older sister or brother her age who would try to understand and constantly clash with her.’
“You might not have known, but… you were there for Aina, holding her up so she wouldn’t go astray or break down.”
“Is that so?”
Celia crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“If she comes to you after this match, give her a real scolding.”
“I was planning on it anyway. I won’t be satisfied until I give her a piece of my mind.”
Celia scoffed and swept her hair back.
“Anyway, Leo. What do you think of this match?”
“In terms of raw power, Aina has the upper hand.”
“Right. But in that state of mind, it’ll be hard for her to gain an advantage against the current Luke.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“What?”
“Types like Aina can always perform at 100% of their ability, anytime, anywhere. Even if their mental state is completely shattered.”
“Then it’ll be hard for Luke to win.”
“Right.”
Leo smiled.
Seeing him, Celia tilted her head.
“You’re pretty relaxed. Are you satisfied with him just getting this far?”
“Of course not.”
Leo shook his head.
“Luke will be a good stimulus for Aina. Maybe Aina will surpass her limits, too.”
“Then wouldn’t it be even harder for him to win?”
“It would. But he’s not one to be broken so easily. Just as Luke is a stimulus for Aina, Aina will be a stimulus for Luke.”
—
Claaang-!
Luke’s sword, clad in silver Aura, and Aina’s sword, clad in golden Aura, crossed.
Krrrk-!
They locked blades, pushing against each other in a contest of strength.
A moment later.
A golden flash sparked.
Golden lines embroidered the air.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-clang-!
But all the golden lines were blocked by the silver sword.
‘Amazing.’
Luke’s eyes widened.
This was his first time clashing with Aina.
In the Knight Department, they endlessly held mock battles within each grade.
But for Luke, who was at the bottom of his class, Aina was an opponent far beyond his reach.
Thus, he never had the chance to cross swords with her.
All Luke could do was watch Aina’s swordsmanship from a distance.
He knew that technically, her refined swordplay was on a level he couldn’t even compare to.
But blocking it directly was a world apart from just watching.
‘I can’t feel any emotion.’
It was a sword that cut people down dispassionately.
A merciless and sharp swordsmanship because of it.
Because he couldn’t feel any emotion, he couldn’t predict it.
‘Aina is incredible! How can she do this?’
Luke barely managed to block Aina’s sword and retreated.
Watching him, Aina thought.
‘A sword that clearly shows emotion.’
Through the sword, Luke’s emotions were clearly palpable.
When Aina learned the sword, she was taught how not to reveal her emotions.
That was probably true for any knight.
Passion clouds judgment.
And a skilled knight can quickly grasp their opponent’s emotions to predict the flow of their attacks.
In that sense, Luke’s swordsmanship laid his attacks bare.
Literally full of openings.
But…
‘I can feel too many emotions.’
Paradoxically, because the attacks were so clear, they were hard to predict.
‘How can this be?’