Chapter 93
“What a mess.”
Leo clicked his tongue as he arrived at magic class.
The lockdown declared that morning was enough to turn the entire school upside down.
Even though some time had passed since breakfast, the students were still caught up in talk about the lockdown.
“I know everyone is unsettled by this sudden situation. But don’t let it distract you—focus on preparing for the [Department Competition].”
Len spoke in a disinterested voice.
“As you all know, the [Department Competition] is attended by guests from outside the academy.”
The unsettled mood changed instantly.
Guests from outside.
That meant, in short, the powerholders of various nations.
Just attending [Lumene] didn’t guarantee you’d become a hero.
But just by attending a hero academy, your chances of attaining high status in the future greatly increased.
“Today, like last time, we’ll be practicing [Fly Magic].”
At Len’s words, the students tensed up.
[Fly Magic] wasn’t hard in terms of pure technique, but its application was extremely difficult.
It was especially tough for students of the [Magic Department] at [Lumene], since they were all used to [Wing Magic].
“And those four who passed the first class—step forward.”
At the call, Leo, Chelsea, Chloe, and Abad stepped forward.
Len drew his staff and waved it through the air.
Shaaarrrk—!
A doorway opened in the air.
“You four will train under Senior Albi.”
The four of them moved through the space to the next training area, where Albi awaited.
All the other students looked at the four with envy.
‘What’s the difference between me and them? Damn it!’
While Emio gritted his teeth in frustration, the four crossed over to where Albi was waiting.
The training ground was far too big for just four people. They approached Albi, who was sitting in a chair.
“Professor Albi, Professor Len sent us here.”
At Chloe’s words, Albi opened his eyes.
“Chloe Mueller. What do you think is your biggest weakness?”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard, Chloe thought for a moment before answering.
“The power of my spells?”
“…Of the four of you, your spells are probably the strongest, aren’t they?”
“Isn’t strong a good thing?”
“Chelsea Lewellin, what do you think your weakness is?”
“Close combat ability!”
“Even for a [Battle Mage], your close combat is impressive.”
“It’s not enough! I think I should be able to take down at least a [Knights Department] student!”
Chelsea threw her fist into the air with a shout. Albi sighed.
“Len’s teaching philosophy is to maximize each student’s strengths. That’s why you’ve each honed your best abilities here at [Lumene].”
Chloe and Chelsea nodded at Albi’s words.
“But it’s not good to focus too much on just one thing. Chelsea Lewellin, your biggest weakness is spell power.”
“But Professor, I’m a [Battle Mage]!”
“Don’t misunderstand, Chelsea Lewellin. A [Battle Mage] is a mage who fights on the front lines—not a knight. No matter where you stand, you’re still a mage.”
“Ugh!”
“What is the basic role of a mage?”
“To change the flow of battle!”
“Do you really think you can do that on the front lines with your current skills?”
“N-No.”
Albi crossed his arms.
“You should train with that goal in mind.”
“What kind of training should I do, specifically?”
“You need to practice [Multiple Chanting].”
“Multiple Chanting?”
Chelsea looked puzzled.
She already practiced it plenty—chanting was her specialty.
“I’m not talking about ordinary multiple chanting.”
Albi raised both hands.
In his right, a [Fireball] appeared.
And in his left…
“[Hellfire]?”
He formed the most powerful fire spell.
Chanting two spells of similar power with different elements at the same time wasn’t that hard.
But chanting both a basic spell and an advanced spell simultaneously was difficult.
The fundamentals of their structures were totally different due to their different outputs.
Naturally, the bigger the gap between spells, the harder it got.
“If you aim to be a hero as a [Battle Mage], this should be easy.”
Chelsea swallowed nervously at Albi’s words.
“Let’s begin practice.”
“Yes!”
Chelsea answered smartly and dove into training.
Albi turned his gaze to Chloe.
“Chloe, you know your weakness, right?”
“I’m bad in chaotic battles.”
“Right. Actually, all mages except [Battle Mages] have this problem. Gaining mobility with [Wing Magic] was to avoid chaos in close combat. But the fundamental problem remains—especially you, Chloe. You’re a textbook mage.”
“Ugh!”
Chloe flinched at Albi’s words.
She’d only focused on magic, just like a classic mage.
Of course, as a [Lumene] student, she’d built up basic stamina, but that was it.
“To prepare for chaos, you should study martial arts.”
“In magic class!?”
“This lesson is special for the [Department Competition].”
“T-That’s…”
“Go warm up.”
At Albi’s words, Chloe drooped her shoulders and started warming up off to the side.
“Abad Lewellin.”
“Yes.”
“At your level, there’s nothing I’d really call a weakness.”
Abad smiled softly at that.
He was weaker than Chelsea in close combat, and weaker than Chloe in spell power.
But as an all-around fighter, Abad was the strongest first-year mage.
“Help Chelsea.”
“Yes.”
“You too, Leo. Help Chloe with her training.”
“Understood.”
After assigning tasks, Albi closed his eyes.
Leo and Abad approached Chloe and Chelsea, who were each preparing.
“Come to think of it.”
Leo paused at Abad’s words.
“Is this the first time we’ve talked like this, just the two of us?”
Abad smiled.
Half the term had passed, but Leo and Abad hadn’t really interacted.
They weren’t in the same class and didn’t even take magic lessons together.
“Yeah.”
“My little sister always seems to rely on you. She tells me you’ve helped her a lot.”
“I’ve enjoyed school thanks to Chelsea, too.”
Abad smiled gently at that answer.
“In this [Department Competition], I’m going to defeat you.”
At this calm, quiet declaration, Leo looked a little surprised.
“I’ve thought about you since the entrance exam.”
Back then, Leo hadn’t even come close to Abad’s skill.
“I thought you were an outstanding knight, but after the semester began, you turned out not to be. You stood out in both magic and summoning.”
Abad fixed his gaze on Leo.
“I found it fascinating that someone like you existed. Before I knew it, you were already way ahead.”
“I’m honored you think so.”
“That’s not just my opinion. It’s what everyone says. Actually, I’m grateful you exist. If you weren’t here, there wouldn’t have been anything for me to aim for, and school would have been boring.”
Abad smiled like a gentle spring breeze.
“In this [Department Competition], you’re my goal.”
‘He really is good-looking—even as a guy, I can see why he’s the most popular among the first-year boys.’
Celia always said Abad was too smooth for her taste, but he really was the most popular boy.
Still, Leo didn’t dislike Abad at all.
At Leo’s words, Abad bowed with the grace of a challenger, then went to help Chelsea.
Watching him walk away, Leo chuckled.
“This popularity thing is a problem.”
* * *
“What did you talk about with Abad?”
“He said he’s going to beat me in the [Department Competition].”
“Celia and Duran are really fired up too.”
“They’ve been like that since the start of the semester.”
Chloe added, “At the last class president meeting, I heard Chen Xia and Eliza are after you, too.”
“….”
“Walden is always quiet and indifferent to others, so probably not him.”
“He did say he’d beat me in last week’s summoning class.”
“Really?”
Chloe covered her mouth and grinned.
“What’s with that look?”
“I was just thinking how popular you are as the year representative!”
Leo grinned at Chloe teasing him with a silly smile.
“What about you? Aren’t you aiming for me in the [Department Competition]?”
“Hm? Not really.”
“That’s strange. During midterms, you got obsessed and were up all night cramming with dark circles down to here.”
“Hey! Why are you bringing that up now!”
Chloe shrieked and tried to kick Leo, but he dodged with a smirk.
“Leo. I’m going to beat you in the next practical exam!”
“Stop copying me!”
As Leo mimicked her tone, Chloe angrily waved her spellbook at him.
“Huff, huff—”
Eventually, Chloe was the first to tire out, and as she fixed her hair, she said,
“Just so you know, my goal is still you.”
“Huh?”
“But first, I have to get my grades back up to match my status as top northern entrant.”
“Good, good for you.”
“Hmph!”
Chloe turned her head.
“Anyway, I guess I should train my close combat skills, like Professor Albi said. I’ll help you stretch.”
Leo helped Chloe with her stretches.
He pushed down on her back while she sat in a split, lifted her up back to back—doing whatever helped her stretch best.
“Ahhh, that feels good.”
Chloe, lying across Leo’s back, mumbled as he moved her this way and that.
“You sound like an old man.”
At that, Chloe tugged Leo’s hair lightly.
“So, even if you’re a mage, you learned at least some martial arts, right? What weapon did you use?”
“I started with swordsmanship, of course.”
“Want to try swinging a wooden sword?”
Leo pulled a wooden sword out of subspace and handed it to Chloe.
Chloe drew the sword and took her stance.
‘Oh? That’s actually pretty good.’
Leo was impressed by her proper form.
Chloe loved reading, so she’d read all the sword manuals—her stance was perfect.
“Haap!”
Whoosh—!
She swung the sword.
Leo nodded in approval.
“A classic klutz, huh?”
Chloe pouted.
“Wouldn’t it be better to use magic for mobility and escape chaos quickly?”
“That works, but you still need to be ready for close combat.”
“Huh?”
“Here, hold the sword like this.”
Leo moved up and put his hand over Chloe’s.
Their breaths almost touched, and Chloe froze.
“Use your wrist, gently like this. Tense your core.”
“…!”
When Leo’s hand touched her waist, Chloe’s shoulders twitched like a startled cat.
“Isn’t this a bit steamy for a lesson?”
At the voice behind them, Chloe jerked away from Leo.
Leo turned to look.
“Hey there, cute juniors.”
Sitting there, legs crossed on her staff, was Elena.