Chapter 63
Faced with Leo’s fiercely blazing aura, the Seiren student hastily retreated.
“Hm.”
Leo looked down at his own hand and let out a slight laugh.
“You were acting all dignified, so I had high hopes. Honestly, this is a letdown.”
“Don’t make me laugh! I’m Seiren’s top Class 1!”
“So what?”
“Tch!”
Being in Seiren’s top Class 1 is considered an elite position in elf society.
It’s a status admired and respected by all.
But he had completely picked the wrong opponent.
Other students would know about Seiren’s system and realize how impressive that was, but Leo felt nothing.
Even among the first-year knight students at Lumene, there were at least three who were stronger than this Seiren student—even leaving Leo aside.
‘Well, those three are exceptions, but still, for someone from Seiren, he’s pretty underwhelming.’
He was even more disappointed after noticing the slight contempt in the student’s gaze toward Lumene earlier.
Just then, the Seiren student began chanting runes.
‘Star magic? Is he a magic swordsman?’
Leo’s eyes gleamed with interest.
If he was a magic swordsman, that changed things.
Besides, Leo had never actually seen the elves’ star magic in the current era, so he was curious.
‘Mirage, huh.’
Leo could have blocked the runes easily, but he allowed the student to finish the spell so he could observe and analyze it.
The Seiren student completed four illusions and spoke.
“Now the real thing begins.”
“……”
A faint disappointment appeared in Leo’s eyes.
‘Is this really what star magic has become these days?’
Mirage was one of the greatest illusion spells.
A magic so realistic, it was impossible to tell what was real.
It was Luna’s favorite spell.
But the Mirage before him was different from what Leo knew.
‘It’s more realistic than most illusion spells… but it’s crude. The formula’s been reworked to make it easier to use.’
He’d thought magic had advanced over time.
But Luna’s magic seemed to have regressed in Leo’s eyes.
How disappointed would his friend have been to see this?
‘She’d have cussed him out for sure.’
Just as Leo shook his head, remembering Luna’s difficult personality—
“This must be a spell you humans have never even seen.”
The Seiren student mistook Leo’s pondering for shock and spoke with arrogant confidence.
“I can use illusion magic too, you know?”
“Hmph. Human magic might seem crude next to our elven star magic… Let’s see, shall we?”
At that, Leo smirked and began chanting runes.
The Seiren student’s face twisted.
“Are you mocking me? There’s no way a human can use star magic…”
His angry face froze.
The spell was complete.
It was the same Mirage spell as his own.
But when he saw Leo conjure eight illusions, his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Well, that’s about the extent of my magic.”
“N-no way!”
“There are plenty of human mages who can use star magic. Looks like you need to fix that narrow way of thinking.”
Leo said indifferently.
[Hahahaha! Look at that dumbfounded face! He looks really stupid!]
From Leo’s shoulder, Kirran clapped and laughed in delight.
‘This guy is nothing like his father.’
Silload never took pleasure in others’ misfortune.
“Tch! That’s just a fake made to look like star magic!”
The Seiren student shouted and charged at Leo.
‘This guy just can’t accept anything.’
Shaking his head, Leo gripped his sword.
At that moment, aura energy burst from the Seiren student’s sword.
Leo’s eyes twitched.
‘All four are real?’
It was a high-level technique that combined Mirage with swordsmanship.
‘Strange. His fundamentals are terrible, but he can use such a powerful advanced spell at will.’
Leo clenched his fist.
He couldn’t use that skill right now.
To be exact, the spell the Seiren student used was star magic, but not the star magic Leo knew.
‘Luna was a pure magician.’
Combining sword and magic—
That wasn’t something Luna would have come up with.
So to Leo, this skill was both star magic and not star magic at the same time.
Strictly speaking, it was a new field reached by later elves endlessly pursuing Luna’s path.
‘I need to revise my earlier judgment. It’s not regression.’
Some magicians are offended if their own spells are changed or altered.
They view their magic as a kind of work of art.
But Luna wasn’t like that.
‘She was the most magician-like magician of all.’
Exploring possibilities, experimenting, and realizing those ideas—nothing made her happier.
That was the kind of elf Luna was.
‘She would have been thrilled to see this.’
Even though it was now very different from the star magic she used herself, she would have smiled, calling it a new advance.
Fwoosh—!
Brilliant sword energy from four blades filled the air.
Leo’s illusions scattered helplessly.
Mirage is a spell that creates lifelike illusions.
Luna loved to use it, but no matter how real it looked, it was still an “illusion.”
‘Even if the bodies are illusions, the sword energy he’s created is real.’
Leo carefully analyzed the structure of the spell.
“Ha! How about that! This is the power of real star magic—so different from your fake!”
‘Fake, huh. Mine is the original, the very magic Luna created herself.’
It was literally the origin and beginning of star magic, the original itself.
Yet a distant descendant was calling it fake, and Leo couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle.
“What’s so funny? Are you laughing at me?”
The Seiren student bristled, thinking Leo was mocking him.
The illusions surrounded Leo, brandishing their swords as if four mirrors were striking him at once.
Of course, the sword energy was real.
Whoosh—!
Aura of flames gathered on Leo’s fist.
‘Well, that’s all there is to it.’
Leo’s red eyes glimmered dangerously.
Fwoosh! Bang!
Leo slammed his fist into the ground.
Explosive flames erupted in all directions, sweeping the area.
“Guh!”
The illusions vanished instantly, and the real body was revealed.
Leo spoke icily.
“A skill without enough power is just a cheap trick.”
“Don’t mock me!”
The enraged Seiren student conjured new illusions.
This time, eight.
Eight auras flared.
‘He’s pouring in all his mana and aura.’
Sensing that his opponent was going all in, Leo smirked.
‘It’d be easy to blow those away, but…’
Leo’s red eyes moved quickly.
‘Maybe I’ll try this technique.’
Vmmm—!
Leo quickly weaved a spell with his mana.
Meanwhile, eight illusions surrounded Leo.
They moved in perfect synchronization, cornering him like reflections in a mirror.
At that moment—
Fwoosh—!
Leo used Mirage.
This time, there were two.
“Hmph! Do you think you can confuse me with illusions while you’re surrounded?”
With a sneer, the Seiren student saw Leo charge aura into his fist.
Whoosh—!
Leo’s double’s fist also radiated aura.
Seeing that, the Seiren student’s face turned stiff.
‘No way…!’
Leo’s Mirage, like his opponent’s, created illusions that could use real aura.
‘No! There are only two illusions—there’s no difference…’
Suddenly, Leo and his illusion moved.
The Seiren student’s eyes filled with shock as he saw the two move differently, like two separate people rather than mirror images.
‘Impossible! To handle Aura Mirage at that level, you’d need to be at least in the advanced class of the second year!’
In an instant, Leo took out seven illusions and raised his fist.
“This skill is not bad.”
Seeing two Leos charging at him, the Seiren student’s face went pale.
“W-wait…!”
Whoosh! Boom!
Two blasts of flame struck, and the Seiren student’s eyes rolled back.
“H-how did you… learn… a Seiren spell technique…?”
Mumbling in disbelief, Leo answered flatly.
“Just now.”
He analyzed the spell structure and reworked it so he could use it himself.
A complicated process, but not so hard for Leo.
And he even adapted it further.
‘It’s a skill that burns through aura and mana so I probably can’t keep it up for long, but it’s impressive.’
Leo grinned and turned his gaze toward the bushes.
A moment later, someone burst out from the thicket.
A girl with red hair in a Seiren girls’ uniform.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Lunia El Lunda. First year at Seiren.”
“Are you going to attack me, too?”
At Leo’s question, Lunia looked between her fallen classmate and the student from another school, then let out a deep sigh.
“We came here for a mission exercise, but something unusual happened in the sanctuary, and it looks like he misunderstood the situation. Of course, his behavior was far too rude, even before the misunderstanding. I was delivering the teacher’s message to my classmates when…”
Lunia trailed off.
Guessing what had happened, she bowed her head.
“I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“Well, as long as you apologize, it’s fine.”
Leo let out a small laugh.
Lunia gave a wry smile.
“I hope you won’t think all Seiren students are like him.”
“I don’t. Anyway, now that the misunderstanding’s cleared up, can I go? I need to report to my professor.”
“Yes.”
Lunia smiled brightly and said,
“See you again later.”
“Sure.”
As she watched Leo walk away, Lunia kicked the unconscious boy in the side.
“Hey, get up, you idiot! How long are you going to lie there?”
“Ugh!”
“What was with all that acting high and mighty when you’re the worst in top Class 1! You moron! God, you’re so embarrassing!”
Throwing off her gentle demeanor, Lunia snarled.
Seiren’s school rules required that students present themselves with proper appearance and conduct as hero candidates to outsiders.
Especially since Lunia was ranked number one in Seiren, she was their poster girl and had to pay extra attention to her image.
‘Still, he accepted the apology so coolly.’
Lunia thought of Leo.
‘Maybe he’s interested in me? Well, I guess he could be! I am pretty, after all.’
Lunia grinned, her face smug.
‘He’s kind of cute, which is my type. And he’s strong enough to take that guy down. I forgot to ask his name, but I’ll see him again in Velkia.’
Humming, Lunia’s eyes sparkled with fighting spirit.
‘And I can ask about that Leo Plov guy too.’
—
“Lunia El Lunda? Where have I heard that name before?”
Leaving the forest, Leo tilted his head.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, something came to mind and he exclaimed.
“The Lunda family’s heir. Fiora’s original contractor, right?”