Chapter 96
Nine first-year students quickly gathered around Leo.
‘Three from the Knights Department, two from the Summoning Department, four from the Magic Department… That’s quite a lot.’
“Jebin!”
“Nivea! That’s great! What luck! I can’t believe we met up this early!”
Jebin spotted Nivea, a female student from the Magic Department who was part of his usual group, and brightened up.
‘I don’t think I’ve done anything to make anyone hold a grudge.’
At Leo’s words, Nivea scoffed.
“Hah! Don’t make me laugh! Do you know how many times the other students have suffered because of you?”
“What kind of suffering did I cause?”
“You always get favoritism from the professors because you’re the ‘All Class’ this, ‘All Class’ that! Because you’re always showing off, the magic classes keep getting harder! Do you not know how to be considerate of others?”
“Yeah! Even in summoning class, you always have to act like you’re better than everyone, so we get stuck with harder assignments every day!”
“In knight class, we have to do grueling training all the time!”
Leo listened to the stream of complaints and let out a laugh.
“If you’re unhappy about it, you should complain to the professors.”
At those words, the students flinched.
“And do you really think one person can change the pace of an entire class? Ever considered that you’re just not keeping up?”
“What!”
Nivea bristled at Leo’s words.
“Before I came to Lumene, I was always at the top of my academy! There’s no way I can’t keep up here!”
“If you’re not keeping up, that’s just proof enough. Doesn’t it embarrass you to blame others for your own shortcomings?”
“Ugh! Shut up! [Chain Lightning]!”
Crackle—!
A chain of lightning shot from the tip of her wand, flying toward Leo.
As the chain of lightning closed in, Leo waved his hand and deflected the magic.
Whoosh! Snap! Crackle!
The deflected spell exploded, sending fierce sparks flying everywhere.
“H-How?!”
“The spell may be powerful, but its structure is simple. That’s why it’s easy to dispel. Didn’t you learn this in the first class?”
Leo curled his lips into a smirk.
“Don’t rely too much on the activation formula.”
“Ugh! Don’t act so high and mighty! You’re just a bumpkin from a backwater kingdom!”
Nivea, worked up, began firing off spells indiscriminately.
“Everyone, attack! Who cares if he’s the class representative, he’s just a first-year like us! If we attack together, he won’t be able to do anything!”
“A first-year like us?”
At Jebin’s shout, Leo burst out laughing.
“If you were proper Lumene first-years, maybe I’d have a hard time. But I don’t think I’ll lose to people who blame others for their own failings.”
“What did you say?!”
“You bastard!”
The Magic Department students all fired magic at Leo, while the Knights Department students gripped their weapons and circled him to apply pressure.
The Summoning Department students summoned their spirits.
Whoosh—!
Leo created flames in his hand.
“[Fire Wall].”
Boom—!
A soaring wall of flame neutralized the incoming magic.
The Magic Department students pressing Leo retreated in shock.
“No way! Our magic just—!”
“Don’t be scared! That kind of strong magic must use up a lot of mana! He’s just flailing!”
Encouraging his classmates, a Knights Department student quickly changed his grip on his spear and charged at Leo.
Whoosh—!
A swift thrust.
It was a lightning-fast attack, but Leo easily grabbed the spear shaft on the spot.
Grab—!
“Urgh!”
With his attack so easily blocked, the student frantically tried to recover his spear.
But the spear wouldn’t budge.
Instead, as Leo added force, the student was dragged forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
‘Wh-What kind of strength is this?!’
He didn’t know, but when it came to pure physical strength, Leo was the best in the Knights Department.
Buzz—!
Aura flickered in Leo’s right hand, the one not holding the spear.
Leo swung his fist at the face of the student being dragged toward him.
“Gah!”
Crash!
Desperately, the student protected himself with [Aura Armor].
But the boy’s head rang from the impact.
Thud—!
“Gah!”
Leo followed up by kicking him in the stomach.
Whoosh! Thud!
“Urgh!”
The boy crashed into a tree and collapsed miserably to the ground.
“Found an opening!”
A burly boy suddenly ambushed Leo from behind.
Wielding a giant two-handed sword, the student grinned with confidence.
“You’re out, Leo Plov!”
Grab—!
“……!”
Leo reached out and caught the tip of the massive blade.
The attacker, shocked as his strike was stopped, tried to recover his sword.
But the sword caught in Leo’s grip didn’t budge at all.
Crack—!
Instead, as Leo squeezed, cracks started to appear in the blade.
“No way! That sword is infused with [Aura]!”
“[Aura] isn’t invincible, you know.”
Crunch—! Crack!
“……!”
Fragments of the shattered two-handed sword scattered everywhere.
“You should’ve prepared for your attack to be blocked and had a backup plan.”
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
Leo immediately kicked the boy in the side.
Crash!
“Argh!”
The hapless student tumbled across the ground.
Light burst from the bodies of the two struggling Knights Department students, and they disappeared.
[Teleportation magic.]
That meant they’d been eliminated from the Department Competition.
Rumble—!
Suddenly, the ground moved as if alive and wrapped itself around Leo like a snake.
At the same time, a large bubble of water formed over his face.
Bubble—bubble—
“Yes!”
“We’ll suffocate him and get him eliminated!”
The two students from the Summoning Department who’d summoned spirits cheered.
Crack! Pop—!
But the earth holding Leo crumbled into clods, and the water bubble burst uselessly.
“No way! Our spirit arts—!”
Brushing the water from his hair, Leo looked at the devastated spirit users.
“If you form a contract with local spirits like this, you should’ve expected a more skilled spirit user might take control.”
Leo dusted the dirt from his body and asked,
“So, what’s next?”
They unconsciously stepped back.
‘Is there really this much of a difference?’
“Nothing?”
Fwoooom—!
Leo stirred up his [Aura].
“Then, you’re ready, right?”
“W-Wait! Leo! Hold on!”
Jebin shouted in panic, his face white.
“W-We’re sorry! If we get eliminated now, we’ll be expelled! Please, just this once, let us go!”
“Y-Yeah! Please forgive us!”
“I-I didn’t want to fight you, Leo! They pressured me into it!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You were the most eager!”
Their will to fight crumbled completely.
“L-Leo! You don’t have to eliminate us, do you? Huh?”
Nivea spoke in a trembling voice.
Looking at her, Leo replied,
“Honestly, leaving people like you alone isn’t a threat, and eliminating you doesn’t benefit me.”
At those words, the students’ faces brightened.
“Th-Then!”
“But tell me something.”
Leo’s face turned cold.
“If the situation were reversed, would you have let me go?”
The students’ faces filled with despair.
Shing—!
“This might be your last fight as students of Lumene. So face me like real Lumene students.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not leaving Lumene!”
Jebin, cursing, used [Wing Magic] to quickly flee the battlefield.
“You coward!”
“Damn it! Run!”
Watching his classmates scatter, Leo sighed.
Just surviving the final practical exam doesn’t guarantee a high score.
‘A real hero knows when to fight, even when they’re destined to lose.’
They’d just thrown away their last chance.
“It’s better to abandon the illusion that you can escape.”
Leo smiled coldly.
* * *
With the Department Competition underway, most Lumene students dropped into Neigrang were thrown into panic.
“Monsters? Hey! Don’t bring them over here!”
“My beloved classmate! Let’s deal with the monsters together! We agreed to work as a team, right?!”
“Hey! That was during a normal Department Competition! This time, it’s an exam—ugh! Get away from me!”
A student, chased by monsters native to Neigrang, rushed toward a classmate from the same department.
“Wait! There’s a curse here—bleeugh!”
“[Sensory Disruption Curse]… Ugh! I’m dizzy!”
Students fell victim to curses spread all over Neigrang.
“Bring it on!”
“Just what I wanted! Let’s fight!”
Students fought fiercely with each other.
“Please! We’re in the same class! Please, party up with me!”
“Ah! B-But you’re from a different department…! Let go!”
Others clung desperately to their classmates.
With the sudden addition of the final practical exam, the Department Competition became total chaos.
The pressure from the final exam was so intense it upended all pre-made strategies.
Watching through broadcast magic at Lumene, the eighth class’s homeroom professor, Artianne, spoke gravely.
“I wonder if this isn’t too harsh for the students.”
“That’s naive, Professor Artianne.”
At Harrid’s words, Artianne shrank back.
“This Department Competition might look like a solo battle, but strictly speaking, it’s a situation where the students could’ve formed teams and cooperated.”
“Politics and diplomacy are just as important for a hero. Cooperation beforehand is also part of being prepared.”
Picking up from Harrid, Professor Sedgen watched the students through the broadcast magic and said,
“But things in life never go as planned. That’s what the principal was aiming for. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this Department Competition a test of how students handle emergencies.”
“Even so, it’s too harsh. Shouldn’t we guide them in a more stable way?”
As a new professor who hadn’t come from Lumene, Artianne still hadn’t adjusted to Lumene’s relentless educational policy, which demanded constant trials from its students.
“In an ordinary school, yes. But Professor Artianne, this is Lumene.”
“Yes?”
“The students we raise here are hero candidates. And a hero is someone who overcomes adversity.”
Sedgen’s face grew serious.
“If they can’t overcome trials like this, forget about becoming heroes—they might not even survive the Lumene curriculum.”
He sighed deeply.
“That’s why we must constantly test our students’ potential, to prevent that outcome.”
The teachers fell silent at Sedgen’s words—he’d seen more students die than anyone.
“Professors.”
“Secretary Elena, what is it?”
The principal’s secretary, Elena, arrived where the first-year professors had gathered.
“There’s something urgent the assistant professors need to do. May I take them with me?”
“What could be so urgent for the assistant professors?”
When Harrid asked, Secretary Elena smiled.
“We need extra staff because of the lockdown.”
“All right, assistant professors, it’s school business. Please go help.”
With Sedgen’s permission, the assistant professors followed Elena out of the training grounds.
“What’s wrong, Harrid?”
Sedgen asked, watching Harrid stare intently at Elena.
“It’s nothing,” Harrid replied, shaking his head.