Book 1 Chapter 101

"Guaaaaah!"

"That ogre is throwing rocks! Take it down first!"

Seeing the ogre roaring and throwing chunks of the castle with both hands, a student from the Knight Department urgently shouted to a student from the Magic Department.

Just as the magic student was about to hurriedly cast a spell.

Fwoosh-!

Celia, who had climbed onto the castle wall, assumed a thrusting pose.

Phoenix Breath - Flame Wing.

Flames, spread wide like a bird's wings, flew towards the ogre at tremendous speed.

Crackle!

"Grrr?"

As the wings of flame brushed past him, the ogre tilted its head.

Then, the ogre's head fell from its neck.

The severed part was cauterized by the immense heat, so no blood flowed.

Wobble-! Thump!

The ogre's massive body fell, crushing nearby monsters.

But Celia's attack was not over.

The Flame Wing, which had soared into the sky like a gliding bird, dove towards the ground.

Boom! Whoosh-!

The aura's flames exploded, sweeping through the surrounding monsters.

Watching the monsters scream as they burned, Celia took a deep breath and sheathed her sword.

Seeing this, the magic student made a disgusted face.

"No way. How can an aura skill be more powerful than magic!"

Meanwhile. Duran was making an impact on the opposite castle wall.

"They're coming from the sky again!"

Cannibal crows, flying monsters, attacked.

Seeing this, Duran used Aura Step to ascend the inner watchtower.

Then he raised his sword to the sky.

Flash! Crackle-!

Golden currents emanating from Duran's sword instantly turned the flock of cannibal crows, which were targeting the ground from the sky, into roasted meat.

Seeing this, Kal, who was in the same squad as Duran, shook his head in amazement.

'Even if he's unlucky, I have to admit his skill is top-notch!'

Thinking this, Kal supported the students around him.

Kal's abilities, aiming for support, shone brightly in the current situation.

He quickly supplied potions and identified the priority targets for attacks, informing the students.

And he was the first to rush to any student in need.

He literally created a situation where Duran and the entire squad could focus solely on combat.

'Hmph. He's useful for a commoner.'

Duran snorted and descended from the watchtower.

The Lumeren students were skillfully fending off the monster's onslaught.

Meanwhile, in front of the castle gate, Emio's squad was in action.

An hour had already passed since the battle began.

The Lumeren students were repelling the monster's onslaught to an overwhelming degree.

"See! I told you it was nothing!"

Emio, with a triumphant expression, created four giant magic circles in the air.

Emio was an all-around mage who freely manipulated the four elemental magics.

Emio's magic swept away the monsters approaching the castle gate.

Click-!

Emio, with his feet on the castle wall, rested his staff on his shoulder and wore a bored expression.

"Fighting against mere monsters while relying on the castle walls is so tedious!"

"Emio! Shall we go out and deal with some monsters?"

A Knight Department student, invigorated, asked, gripping his bastard sword tighter.

"Shall we?"

The battle was so one-sided that some first-year students were even feeling bored.

At that moment, Chloe, a member of the same squad, said.

"Our objective is to defend the castle walls, as always."

"Chloe, I'm the leader. Are you ordering me now?"

"How is this an order? It's about following the plan."

"I make the plans! You just follow my orders!"

Chloe's expression turned cold.

At Chloe's icy demeanor, Emio flinched and stepped back.

But he bristled at being outdone.

"What are you so afraid of that you have to hide? If we fought outside the castle walls, we would have dealt with the monsters long ago!"

"The demon beasts haven't even shown their faces yet. Don't you understand what that means?"

"Hmph. It's ridiculous to be afraid of a few wild demon beasts…"

Zeeeeeeeng-!

As Chloe and Emio were arguing in front of the castle gate.

A giant summoning circle began to be drawn in the sky.

Seeing this, the first-year students flinched and looked up at the sky.

"What… what is that?"

"That size is a summoning circle? What in the world is being summoned?"

"Is the school finally here to save us?"

One student's words were met with nods from everyone.

"Well, it's already been an hour."

"I wanted to earn more merit."

Some students expressed regret, making assumptions.

Whoosh-!

A huge, dark blue arm with a menacing appearance pierced through the summoning circle.

Crash-!

The giant hand grabbed the monsters on the ground.

Gulp!

The squeezed monsters turned into bloody messes.

The unidentified giant hand returned to the summoning circle.

A moment later, a giant head emerged from the summoning circle.

It had a triangular head with horns.

A giant mouth, occupying half of its head, voraciously chewed on the monsters it had just snatched.

Crunch- crunch-

The monster's face turned towards the monsters filling the castle grounds.

Heehee-!

The monstrous face drew a grotesque smile.

Finally, the giant demon beast emerged beyond the summoning circle.

A giant demon beast with smooth, dark blue skin.

The Lumeren students had learned about this demon beast.

The highest-tier demon beast of Tartarus.

"Gigantes?"

***

After the anomaly occurred.

Lumeren announced to the spectators that they were informing them of the situation and would rescue the students as quickly as possible.

At that time, the outsiders,

Especially the parents, were in a serious mood.

Some cried out to save their children immediately, while others shouted that they would go rescue them themselves.

The situation worsened with the uncontrolled, serious atmosphere.

But then…

"Ooh ooh!"

"You're doing great!"

An hour later, everyone was cheering.

Seeing this, Elena twirled her hair and put on a listless expression.

'They were in such a panic just a moment ago. The crisis hasn't changed, so why are they so excited?'

The anomaly was still ongoing, and Lumeren had not rescued the first-year students.

However, as the first-year students successfully defended against the monster onslaught, the atmosphere instantly reversed.

'What's so great about that in the first place? For Lumeren students, that's the least they should do, isn't it?'

Elena rested her chin indifferently.

'Ah, boring.'

Boredom flickered in Elena's eyes.

"Senpai! Pant! Pant! You're here!"

"What is it, Lil?"

"Senpai, the professors are looking for you."

"Hmm, I know. Tell them I'll go if I'm needed."

Elena was a dungeon raider.

She was reserve personnel to be deployed as additional support.

"What? Aren't you going to the waiting room?"

"If I go to the waiting room, I'll have to fight Hark senpai, is that okay?"

"Umm! E-Elena senpai, it would be better if you stayed here!"

Seeing Elena's mischievous smile, Lil said urgently.

"By the way, the first-year students are handling it well."

"As Lumeren students, that's the basic, isn't it?"

"That's true."

While the spectators were amazed by the first-year students' performance, for Elena and Lil, who were second and third-year Lumeren students, it wasn't particularly impressive.

"At any rate, I was worried at first, but it's a relief."

"Oh my? Do you think this incident will end like this?"

"What?"

"The enemy has boldly caused such an incident during Lumeren's official event. And the first-year students in Naygrong are still isolated. This is definitely not on a scale that will end like this."

Elena, who had crossed her legs and rested her chin, smiled sweetly.

"In the worst case… all the first-year students there might die."

Lil felt a chill at her words.

At that moment, a giant summoning circle was captured on the magic video.

Wooooooaaaahhhh-!

Everyone's faces turned ashen as they saw the giant giant demon beast that had appeared.

"G-Gigantes!"

Everyone was stunned.

Only Elena, who had foreseen this situation, said calmly.

"See, it's just starting now."

***

Thump-! Roar-!

Wooooooaaaahhhh-!

At the roar of the giant, about 8 meters tall, that had set foot on the ground, the monsters began to flee in fear.

Gigantes, one of the highest-tier demon beasts, was a terrifying monster that instilled fear in all living things.

Gigantes began to chase and stuff the fleeing monsters into its mouth indiscriminately.

The appearance of the terrifying demon beast, which unilaterally preyed on monsters, creatures that threatened humans, plunged the entire first-year class into fear.

Watching the demon beast greedily devour the monsters, some first-year students covered their mouths and gagged.

As the entire first-year class held their breath, praying that the despairing demon beast would not find them.

Halt-!

Gigantes, which had been indiscriminately devouring monsters, stopped moving and began to sniff the air.

Swish-!

Gigantes's head turned towards the inner fortress, with blood and saliva dripping from its mouth.

Seeing this, the first-year students simultaneously thought.

'It's coming!'

Wooooooaaaahhhh-!

Dropping the monster it held, Gigantes let out a roar and charged.

Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump-

As Gigantes's charge shook the earth, the entire first-year class froze.

Crack-! Gulp-!

A giant ice spike shot up.

Blood poured from Gigantes's body, pierced by the ice as it advanced.

Woooo! Woooaaak!

Even so, the terrifying demon beast did not care.

Instead, it began to pound with its fist to break the ice that was piercing its body.

Meanwhile… Chloe, who had climbed onto the castle wall, staggered, breathing heavily.

It was the price of casting a huge magic spell by overexerting herself.

Clenching her teeth and regaining her balance, Chloe shouted.

"What are you all doing! Prepare to fight!"

"What?"

"You're all too scared of the fact that it's Gigantes! But look closely! That Gigantes isn't an adult!"

It was as Chloe said.

A fully grown Gigantes measured nearly 15 meters.

Compared to that, it was definitely smaller.

"If we combine our strength, we can defeat it! We are students of Lumeren Academy! Have you forgotten our school motto?!"

At that cry, the students snapped out of their daze.

Exceed your limits.

It was a single value emphasized to all students of Lumeren.

However, the students who were sitting on the ground did not think of getting up and shouted.

"How can we defeat something like that! It's better to run away!"

"That's right! Now we should scatter and wait for the rescue team, not fight!"

Chloe's squad members, who had been so confident just moments ago, had completely lost their fighting spirit.

"Do you think you'll survive if you run away?"

The students flinched at Chloe's cold words.

If they ran, they would surely be defeated without being able to do anything.

But even so, there were no students who could muster the courage.

It couldn't be helped.

Humans were infinitely weak creatures in the face of despair.

Chloe knew that fact too.

"I'm scared too."

She stood confidently, but her voice trembled, and the hand holding her staff shook.

"But someone taught me. That a hero is someone who bravely faces danger in times of crisis."

Her back was a salvation.

'If I break down in fear here… I won't be able to dream of being a hero again.'

"So, no matter how desperate the situation, I will fight."

With a determined expression, Chloe turned her body.

Crack!

"Guaaaaah!"

Gigantes's wound, which had shattered the ice spike piercing its body, began to heal at an incredible speed.

As its body healed, Gigantes nervously raised the broken ice chunks and threw them at Chloe.

The ice chunk, amplified by Gigantes's strength, transformed into a mass attack with terrifying destructive power.

"Aaaah!"

"Dodge!"

The surrounding students scattered in panic.

'If I dodge, it will be too late!'

Chloe, generating magic power, quickly cast a spell.

BOOM-!

The ice shards, blocked by the shield magic Chloe created, shattered into pieces.

As Chloe defended against the attack, she began to cast the next spell.

At that moment, she saw a crimson flame flickering in the distance.

Fwoosh-! Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang!

The flames soon became a colossal sword strike, mercilessly slicing through Gigantes's back.

Gyaaaaaaah!

Gigantes fell to the ground with a roar.

The smell of burning protein spread everywhere from the flames that burned Gigantes's flesh.

Crash-! Thump! Thump!

The castle grounds were instantly devastated by Gigantes writhing in pain.

Everyone's gaze turned to the high outer castle wall.

Unlike the fiery sword strike that could melt steel, his eyes were chillingly cold.

A boy with white hair flying and red eyes.

Fwoosh-!

Flames flickered around the arm holding the sword.

The moment she saw him, Chloe felt the lingering fear in her heart melt away like ice.

Her trembling hands steadied.

Unconsciously, Chloe smiled and called his name.

"Leo."

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