Book 1 Chapter 100
【100】99.
“This is another bust.”
Leo grumbled upon arriving at the fourth lake.
He had been searching for the lake where Luminous was sleeping, but all four attempts were in vain.
‘Is the last one by the lake near the castle ruins?’
Leo had already wasted several hours in the city area.
And while wandering around the city area, he had been subjected to curses multiple times.
Other students would have been eliminated by now, but Leo, despite being hit by various curses, was perfectly fine.
‘Because I know all these curses.’
Leo chuckled at another curse activated nearby.
Having experienced countless curses to the point of tedium in his previous life, Leo knew all the methods to remove all kinds of curses.
The current curse was one that disrupted the nervous system.
‘This doesn't even need to be dispelled.’
A curse where if the left arm moves, the right foot moves, and if the right arm moves, the left leg moves.
Nervous system curses are very tricky, making them one of the most annoying curses, but Leo understood all the disrupted nerves and moved accordingly.
‘Anyway, these kinds of curses will resolve themselves over time.’
Even if his strength had weakened, his experience as a great hero had not disappeared.
Leo, calmly dealing with the curse, turned his head towards the castle ruins.
“Shall we head over there now? The other guys must be having a blast fighting, right?”
Most students had probably already left the city area and were engaged in the full-scale interdepartmental competition near the castle ruins.
“Huh?”
He stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
Something was caught by his sharp senses.
‘Area-of-effect curse?’
Leo furrowed his brows.
It was a new curse.
‘Considering the range, it covers all of Neigrang?’
It was an extremely powerful curse of enormous scale.
‘The land itself is cursed.’
He felt something strange.
It had been a long time since Neigrang became a cursed land due to the influence of the Hero Dungeon.
What was bothering the students were the curses already in place.
‘But a new curse now? Moreover, this curse is…’
Leo’s face hardened as he identified the nature of the curse.
‘Curse of Isolation.’
It was a curse Tartaros enjoyed using in large-scale battles.
The curse itself had no effect on people.
Its effect was isolation from the outside.
In other words, it was a powerful barrier-type curse that isolated an entire specific area.
“Damn it!”
Leo, aware that there were traitors within Lumerun, understood the situation at once.
‘I need to quickly join the others!’
Leo generated aura and kicked the ground.
Kwaang-!
Raising a tremendous cloud of dust around him, Leo began to run towards the castle wall.
***
At that time.
The students in the royal castle also understood the seriousness of the situation.
Students eliminated during the interdepartmental competition were not teleported to Lumerun and sustained serious injuries.
A massive number of monsters gathered around the castle, and magical beasts began appearing inside the castle.
“Wind Fang.”
Kwooooeoeoeoeoe!
The wind fang brutally pierced the minotaur.
Screaming in pain, the minotaur wildly swung its battle axe.
“Kyaaak?”
A student from the Knight Department who was blocking the minotaur nearby screamed.
Seeing that, Avad chanted a spell.
“Wind Breaker.”
Kwagagagak! Kwang!
Kkeureuk-!
Swept away by the blade-like wind, the minotaur was slammed into the building wall, let out a death rattle, and died instantly.
Saaraaa!
“Th-thank you! Avad!”
The female student blushed and greeted Avad.
Avad, raising a hand to the female student, looked out beyond the castle wall with a serious expression.
‘This is a complete anomaly. It’s not an interdepartmental competition, but a situation where we need to combine forces to defend the castle.’
However, it was impossible to defend the castle walls like this.
Magical beasts also appeared inside the castle walls.
‘By now, the school must be trying to resolve the situation, but… with communication to the outside cut off, we can’t expect immediate help.’
Avad’s mind raced.
‘We don’t know how long we have to hold out, but our forces are too scattered.’
Having thought that far, Avad turned his head.
The inner castle of the ruined royal palace was visible.
The inner castle, which could be called the last stronghold, had only one entrance.
It had the advantage of concentrating forces, but conversely, the disadvantage was that the entrance was also the exit, making escape impossible.
‘But in this situation, there’s nowhere to run no matter where we go.’
The moment they abandoned the castle in this cursed land, it would be over.
‘Now is the time to concentrate our forces.’
“Everyone, let’s go to the inner castle.”
“What?”
“Our forces are scattered. We need to gather in one place.”
“B-but Avad! Defending from the inner castle is a last resort.”
“That’s for a normal siege. And this isn’t a normal situation.”
Avad raised his staff and fired a signal flare spell towards the inner castle.
Piiing-! Pung-!
A bright light burst above the inner castle.
“This way, the quick-witted ones will come to the inner castle! Everyone retreat as calmly as possible!”
At Avad’s words, the students began to retreat to the inner castle.
Avad remained at the front, helping the students retreat as he moved backward.
Avad was not the only one who thought of heading to the inner castle.
The leader-level students guarding each gate also looked at the endlessly pouring monsters and thought that things couldn’t continue like this.
Just in time, starting with Avad’s signal, all remaining students quickly began to head to the inner castle.
Once all the students were inside, those guarding the inner castle gate frantically sealed it off.
Kiiiiiik-! Kung!
“Mages! Reinforce the gate with magic!”
The gate was firmly sealed with magic.
“Form an air defense network! There was a Wyvern-type magical beast we hadn’t seen before!”
“Knight Department students, secure the top of the walls!”
Although they were still teenagers, they all quickly joined forces and began preparing for defense, as if to prove they were all hero candidates.
In the midst of this, students gathered in front of the castle wall.
“What? Where’s Leo?”
When Celia asked with a flustered face, Chen Xia replied.
“Young Master Leo went to the outer area, not the center.”
“Why did he go there?”
When Avad looked puzzled, Eliza clicked her tongue.
“He must have his own thoughts. He’s someone whose thoughts are unfathomable, but he probably hasn’t been eliminated. He’s someone who escapes so well it's annoying.”
Other students agreed with her words.
“Still, I’m worried. To join us here, he’d have to break through that monster horde.”
Chelsea said at Avad’s murmur.
“Don’t worry, big brother. Leo oppa will come just fine on his own.”
“Right, let’s worry about Leo later and first figure out the situation. Let’s start by sharing our information.”
At Celia’s words, the students shared the information they knew.
After sharing information, Juredun said, sweating profusely.
“So, we’re isolated in the middle of Neigrang due to an anomaly? And we’re being attacked by monsters and magical beasts.”
The surrounding students gulped.
At that moment, a student from the Knight Department raised a hand and said.
“It might be an anomaly. But couldn’t it also be seen as an unexpected situation prepared by the school?”
“It would be great if it were an event! But to see it as simply an unexpected situation prepared by the school, the condition of the injured kids is serious! Originally, eliminated students should be teleported to Lumerun, but they’re here!”
Karl, who had just helped the healers, shouted.
As an aspiring professional supporter, Karl had also diligently studied emergency treatment for the injured.
At Karl’s words, a female student from the Summoning Department said.
“Couldn’t that also be testing our ability to respond to unexpected situations? In fact, this interdepartmental competition has been strange from the start! They made us do something like a battle royale. And then suddenly called it a final exam on the day itself.”
Students who agreed nodded their heads.
“Plus, there were so many external guests this time, right? So there’s a high probability it’s an event they prepared.”
“Certainly, if we perform well here, we’ll make a good impression on the influential figures from various countries.”
At that, several students’ eyes sparkled.
Seeing this, Karl shouted in exasperation.
“You guys! Did you see the injured kids?”
“No, we didn’t.”
“There aren’t just one or two kids who might have died if Nella hadn’t been there! No matter how unexpectedly Lumerun throws events at us, they wouldn’t go this far! Think seriously!”
“What did you say?”
The female student from the Summoning Department frowned.
“Now is not the time to fight! Whether it’s a real situation or one intended by the school, it’s serious! So we need to respond as if it’s a real situation! Tactics come first.”
Listening to Celia, Chloe raised her hand.
“First, to make the most of the castle walls and defend…”
“No. I think now is the time to attack.”
Emio cut Chloe off.
“If we all combine our strength, we can subjugate the monsters and magical beasts gathered at the castle.”
“Rashly attacking is absolutely out of the question.”
When Chloe shook her head, Emio flared up.
“Why? Rather than being cooped up here just defending, wouldn’t sweeping them away first end the situation faster? What do you guys think?”
Several students agreed with Emio.
Seeing this, Duran scoffed.
“If we abandon the advantage of the castle walls without even understanding the situation, the professors will surely give us a good evaluation.”
“Right. In this situation, defense is the correct choice rather than offense.”
As Celia also agreed with Chloe’s opinion, Emio gnashed her teeth.
‘Is she taking sides just because they’re in the same class or what?’
Emio glared at Chloe.
‘What makes someone who only copies assignment answers better than me! A mage who only researches is useless on the battlefield!’
In the Magic Department, there was a mocking rumor that if Chloe had done things properly, Emio wouldn't have been 3rd.
Because of this, Emio did not view Chloe favorably.
However, the majority of students were in favor of defending.
“First, we need to divide into teams and distribute roles.”
Currently, excluding the injured, there were 96 students capable of combat.
“I think we should divide into five groups and be responsible for the gates and walls. What do you guys think?”
Everyone agreed with Celia.
“Then, those who have received command training since childhood, raise your hands.”
At that, four people, including Celia, raised their hands.
All four were from heroic noble families and had officially received command training.
“One person is missing. Is there anyone else who can be a leader?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’ll do it.”
Chloe and Emio raised their hands simultaneously.
“Put your hand down, Chloe.”
“Chloe is more skilled.”
Emio snorted at Celia’s words.
“Chloe is from the Magic Tower. I think I’m more suited to command than Chloe, who was cooped up in the Magic Tower studying since she was young, as I’m from a military family.”
“Then you be the leader, Emio.”
Chloe smiled and yielded.
She had raised her hand because there were no volunteers, so she readily stepped back.
Emio made a triumphant expression, and Celia sighed.
Once the leaders were decided, they formed teams.
Once the preparations for defense were complete, Celia earnestly warned them.
“Remember this, everyone. Our objective is solely to hold out, not to go outside the castle walls and attack the monsters!”