Chapter 86
‘Dodged him!’
Emio wore a look of confidence.
‘If he’s slowed down even once, it’s hard to speed up again!’
In contrast, Emio was still accelerating.
‘With this, the others will finally see the limits of that Leo guy…’
“Hey there.”
“…!”
Emio’s eyes widened as he looked to the side.
There, riding a broomstick, was Leo, waving his hand.
“H-How?!”
“I just caught up, obviously.”
Leo, wearing an indifferent expression, gathered Mana.
Crackle—!
“This is payback for earlier.”
Golden sparks flickered in Leo’s hand.
“Lightning Bolt!”
Flash! Crackle!
“Ugh!”
Emio dodged in a hurry.
“As expected of a magic tool made by Professor Albi! It looks so plain on the outside, but its performance is incredible!”
Emio, sneering, channeled Mana into both hands.
As an expert in electric magic, Emio recited the advanced version of Lightning Bolt.
“Chain Lightning!”
Crack-crack-crack-crack—!
A chain of lightning surged toward Leo.
When Leo easily dodged the attack, Emio shouted,
“It’s useless!”
‘Homing function?’
Leo looked intrigued.
It was a spell that would electrocute anything near its target, but Emio seemed to have modified the magic formula to make it home in on the target instead.
As Chain Lightning chased after him, Leo gripped the broom tighter and lowered his posture.
Crackle—! Crack!
‘Grit! He’s dodging all of that?’
Watching Leo nimbly dodge the rapidly pursuing Chain Lightning, Emio glared at the broom Leo was riding.
‘It’s not fair! How is anyone supposed to win against someone riding a magic tool like that…?’
“Ice Bolt.”
Leo fired a spell forward.
Countless shards of ice flew like bullets.
“What are you aiming at?!”
“I’m aiming ahead, of course. Chain Lightning.”
Crackle—!
Leo’s cast Chain Lightning created a giant net of wires in midair.
“No!”
When a giant mesh of wires suddenly appeared ahead, Emio’s eyes widened.
The previously fired Ice Bolt served as the conductor.
“Ugh!”
Emio hastily braked.
If he got electrocuted like this, the match would be over in Leo’s favor.
Whoosh—!
Crack! Crackle!
Just as Emio managed to stop in front of Leo’s electrified net and let out a sigh of relief—
“It’s not over yet.”
Thunk—!
“Argh!”
Leo struck Emio’s magic tool with his Aura-imbued fist.
In an instant, the disrupted magical formula caused the tool to go haywire.
“I didn’t break it, so you just need to fix it.”
Leo grinned, then flew up into the sky.
“Argh! Whoa?!”
The out-of-control magic tool wobbled erratically.
Whoosh—!
“Gah!”
Then it suddenly sped toward the school building.
“S-Stopppp!”
Thud!
“Ow?!”
Emio crashed into the wall and slid down.
Leo gave a laugh at the sight, then turned at the finish line and returned.
“I’m back.”
“Leo. I don’t think you need any extra aerial combat training.”
Albi smiled and praised Leo.
Assistant Professor Anna, seeing this, was surprised.
‘Wow, Professor Albi is giving praise?’
Since Albi was notoriously stingy with compliments, Anna found it quite a surprise.
“Senior Albi has recognized Leo’s potential too! Of course! There’s no way Senior Albi wouldn’t notice such a shining talent! This means Senior Albi acknowledges Leo as a valuable asset to the Department of Magic!”
‘This guy is going overboard again. I just hope he doesn’t go on a rampage in front of the students.’
Anna sighed deeply, wondering when she would have to rein him in.
Emio, face a mess from hitting the wall, trudged back.
“Unforgivable! Leo! You cheated!”
Emio yelled in anger.
“How did I cheat?”
“How could you use Aura in a magic class!”
“There wasn’t a rule against using abilities outside of magic, was there?”
Hearing their exchange, the students started to murmur.
“He used Aura?”
“In a magic class, isn’t that a bit…?”
Gaining confidence from their reaction, Emio shouted,
“In the Department of Magic, it’s a rule to use only magic!”
“If it were a normal magic class, I wouldn’t have used Aura. But this is training for the departmental competition, right? For the record, most of the students in the Department of Knights have been preparing for aerial attacks since the start of the term. Flying isn’t that big of an advantage.”
“Uh?”
Emio flinched and snapped back at Leo’s words.
“Are you saying the students in the Department of Knights are better during magic class?”
Leo sighed deeply.
“I’m saying you should prepare for their attacks. You lost your mobility the moment your wing magic tool was neutralized. That kind of situation can easily happen in the departmental competition.”
The critical flaw of wing magic.
If the magic tool is damaged, you lose your mobility.
“S-Still, this match was unfair! You used Professor Albi’s wing magic tool!”
“This?”
Leo looked down at the broom in his hand with a smirk.
“This is just an ordinary cleaning magic tool.”
“What?”
Leo tossed the broom to Emio, who caught it awkwardly and stared in disbelief.
It was just a regular cleaning magic tool, as Leo said.
“I don’t even know how to use wing magic. I never learned.”
“What?”
All the students were shocked.
“You don’t know wing magic? It’s basic! Wait—how did you catch up to me without wing magic?”
“I used Fly Magic.”
“Fly Magic?”
A traditional levitation spell that has existed since before the Age of Calamity.
But ever since wing magic was invented, Fly Magic had almost completely fallen out of use.
“N-No way.”
Emio looked at Leo in disbelief.
“Wing magic is certainly easier and lets you fly fast. In that sense, it seems like an upgraded version of Fly Magic.”
Leo made a bored face.
“But that’s all. It relies heavily on magic tools, and the formula has clear limits.”
“As Leo Plov says. Wing magic was created based on Fly Magic. Through magic tools, anyone can fly quickly, but that’s all there is to it. Its convenience is higher, but you can’t make the same precise movements as you can with Fly Magic.”
The students who claimed their mobility was fine avoided Albi’s gaze.
“With the development of wing magic, it’s true that mages overcame their biggest drawback: lack of mobility. But that only applies in general. You’re not just ordinary mages, you’re students at the Human Hero Academy.”
At Albi’s words, everyone flinched.
“And the students you’ll be competing against are also students at the Human Hero Academy. Don’t think that ordinary methods will work against your rivals. The real issue isn’t the Department of Knights, but the Department of Summoning. Magicians who rely on wing magic are easy prey for summoners who use flying familiars and spirit magicians who use wind spirits. Do you now understand what I meant by ‘mobility is an issue’?”
“Yes…”
As the magic students answered feebly, Len signaled to Anna.
“Everyone, starting today, we’ll practice Fly Magic. Professor Len, student Torua, and the teaching assistants will help you practice. Before we start, we need to divide into groups based on your ability, so we’ll have a test. Please line up.”
At Anna’s instruction, the students lined up.
“Ugh!”
Emio glared once at Leo before lining up.
Len approached Albi and Leo.
“Leo, you can receive combat training in magic from Senior Albi.”
“I don’t need to take the test?”
“Your performance in the match already proves you’ve mastered mobility, Leo.”
With a snort, Len turned to go coach the other students, but then noticed Torua standing beside Leo and frowned.
“Torua, what are you doing here?”
“I wanted to attend Professor Albi’s class.”
“You already know all this! Stop messing around and help teach your juniors!”
Len grabbed Torua by the scruff and dragged her off.
Albi looked at the crowded practice hall and spoke.
“We should move to a different place.”
With a wave of Albi’s hand, a portal opened in the air.
‘Fairy magic.’
Leo stepped through the portal.
He immediately arrived at another magic practice hall.
“What should I do now?”
“Just study on your own.”
“You’re not going to teach me anything?”
Sitting on a chair off to the side, Albi closed his eyes.
“I don’t know what I could possibly teach a first-year who’s modified Fly Magic to that level.”
Albi had recognized just how absurd Leo’s magic was.
“You seem to have nothing left to learn at the first-year level. But it would be overstepping if I just started teaching you upperclassman material. As your instructor, all I can assign you is self-study.”
“Then, Professor, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Could I get access to the Lumene restricted section?”
Albi opened one eye and looked at Leo.
“Access to the restricted section is beyond a professor’s authority.”
“I’m asking not as a professor, but as a member of the Zeron family.”
“……”
The Zeron family.
One of the three great hero families of Lumene, with overwhelming influence.
“Why do you want to enter the restricted section?”
“There’s a text I want to find.”
“What is it?”
“A history of the Hero Record not known to the public.”
“……”
Albi silently stared at Leo, then nodded.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.”
“Oh.”
Leo was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly things were going.
“Of course, even with my letter, you won’t necessarily be allowed in. To access the restricted section, you need the permission of the head of the Zeron family—my elder brother, Altech Zeron.”
Albi took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it.
“All I can do is set up the introduction. After that, it’s up to you.”
“Aww.”
Leo looked disappointed.
But even getting a recommendation to meet Altech was huge.
Even most royalty couldn’t easily get an audience with Altech.
As he accepted the letter, Leo thought about Altech.
‘Wasn’t he called the Infinity Speller?’
A mighty hero said to wield limitless spells.
“Wait. Isn’t Lord Zeron currently dispatched to the southern front in Tartarus?”
He was currently absent, leading the campaign against Tartarus on the front lines.
“You can meet his representative.”
“Representative?”
“Yes. That’s much easier—they’re your senior.”
“Who is it?”
Albi let out a rare, deep sigh.
“Lumene third-year, Elena Zeron.”
Looking rather troubled, he clicked his tongue.
“She’s my niece.”