Book 1 Chapter 130

Iliana scowled at her doppelganger, her eyes filled with apprehension.

'Is this Professor Alby's magic?'

It was a well-known fact that Alby could wield fairy magic with the power of his all-seeing eyes.

Even the aggressive Iliana couldn't rashly charge at a magic she had never seen before.

As Iliana remained wary, her doppelganger's lips curled upwards.

"Are you mocking me? This clone is mocking me right now!"

Iliana, bristling, pointed her finger.

However, seeing her own clone generating magic, Iliana, flustered, prepared to counter the spell.

Flash-!

"Huk?"

Iliana was startled by the magic that was activated.

The clone had used Iliana's signature spell, 'Shining Blade.'

As she watched the rain of light blades, Iliana, momentarily taken aback, grinned.

"Is this a mirror imitation?"

Iliana activated Shining Blade herself, negating the clone's attack.

"It looks like an illusion spell, but that won't work on me!"

Iliana, with a confident expression, shouted and unleashed her magic.

The duel had somehow become Iliana vs. Iliana.

The students watched the duel with excited faces.

In reality, the duel between Alby and Iliana was not exciting at all.

It was a fight where the outcome was obvious.

However, when Alby used an unknown magic to create a clone identical to Iliana, the winner became unpredictable.

Brilliant light magic adorned the dueling arena.

The two Ilianas moved swiftly, launching magic at each other.

A moment later, the magic department students wore confused expressions.

"Which one is the real Iliana?"

Alby's magic was astonishing.

As if mocking their assumption that it was merely high-level illusion magic, the clone possessed the same magical power and used the same spells as Iliana.

It was believable that there were two real Ilianas.

Amidst this, Kal mumbled,

"Perhaps the prettier one is the clone?"

"Indeed!"

"Then that one is the real one!"

"Hey! Do you want to die! We look exactly the same, so how can one be prettier?"

Iliana bristled at her classmates who had accurately identified the fake.

"You idiot! Don't mind them and focus on the duel!"

"Ah!"

Iliana, startled, focused on the battle.

The clone was becoming increasingly difficult to handle.

'She's using the same magic as me, so why is there such a difference? Is the clone created by Professor Alby stronger than me?'

Such thoughts naturally arose.

At that moment.

The clone activated a certain spell.

Iliana was startled to see the magic pouring down on her.

'Shining Rain?!'

It was her unique magic that Iliana had perfected during the vacation.

As the magic rained down on her, Iliana squeezed her eyes shut.

As she braced for the impact, the clone and the magic disappeared simultaneously.

As the winner was decided, Iliana, her strength depleted, sank to the ground.

"Excellent."

Alby said impassively.

But Iliana, knowing that this was high praise, blushed slightly and looked embarrassed.

"Th-thank you."

"Next person, please come up."

Iliana left the dueling arena.

After that, the magic department students went through the same process as Iliana.

As the students' defeats repeated, the first one to win against a clone was Chelsea.

"That's amazing. Even though she used the same magic as us, she felt like she had higher overall stats."

"Huh? What are you talking about? She had the same power as me."

Chelsea looked puzzled at Kal's words.

The surrounding students were bewildered by Chelsea's reaction.

Most students thought Alby's clone was stronger than them.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Abad defeated Alby's clones one after another.

Seeing this, the magic department students were astonished.

"She's winning more easily than Chelsea."

"They call Celia, Sia, and Duran the Monster Trio in the Knights Department, shouldn't we call them that too?"

The students whispered.

"Krrg!"

Meanwhile, Emio, who had ranked third in the magic department in the first semester's midterm exams, had sparks flying from his eyes.

'What's the difference between them and me!'

All students except one finished their duels.

The last remaining student, Leo, walked onto the dueling stage under the gaze of the students.

"I wonder how the class president will do."

Chelsea looked at Iliana's mumbled words with a natural expression.

"Of course, Leo-oppa will win! He was the only one who passed the Vice Principal's magic at the opening ceremony, right?"

"That's true."

As Chelsea and Iliana were chatting, Emio, who was overhearing them, snorted.

"Don't you know Leo Flob's true strength is unleashed when he's all-class? In this duel where most magic department students have been eliminated, there's no way Leo Flob can defeat Professor Alby's clone solely through magical combat."

Chelsea scowled.

"Leo-oppa's magical combat ability is also incredible. And you were thoroughly defeated by Leo-oppa in the flying magic duel last semester."

"That was an exam where we competed in flying magic. While there was a clash of power, he even used Aura."

Emio said with conviction.

"I will not lose to him in a pure magic duel."

Chelsea looked at Emio, who displayed strong confidence, with a look of pity.

'It's not something to brag about, winning against Leo-oppa in a pure magic duel when he's not even a pure mage… And I think Leo-oppa would win even in a pure magic duel.'

As the students predicted the outcome, Ren straightened his posture and focused on Leo.

'I wonder how much he's grown during the vacation.'

Seeing this, Anna let out a deep sigh.

'Professor Ren's obsession with student Leo has only deepened during the vacation.'

During the vacation, Ren and Anna stayed at school and prepared classes to help Leo switch to the magic department.

Although Anna couldn't return home and was held by Ren, she realized anew how much of a genius Ren was.

The subject Ren prepared for the second semester was magic combat.

Of course, it wasn't just a simple magic combat class.

'A class that teaches how to defeat knights and summoners with magic.'

It was a declaration of war from the magic department to other departments, aiming to unequivocally demonstrate the superiority of magic, with Leo as the focus.

When Ren first explained his plan, Anna's head spun.

She tried to persuade him somehow, but Ren wouldn't listen.

'I don't intend to belittle student Leo's all-class talent! No! In fact, I have completely misjudged student Leo's talent during the first semester!'

It was remarkable that Ren, who was never compromising when it came to magic, acknowledged another talent and stepped back.

'But my belief that magic suits student Leo the best remains unchanged! No! I've become even more convinced after the end of the first semester! Only magic can make student Leo Flob complete! Therefore, student Leo's main focus must be magic!'

When Ren, a theoretical professor, was preparing for practical magic combat, Anna doubted whether the class could truly captivate Leo.

If theory is the main focus, then practice is bound to be slightly inferior.

However, after seeing Ren's preparation process, her opinion changed.

'Even a mage like me is captivated. Professor Ren is truly a genius.'

Ren's thorough class preparation continued throughout the vacation.

The problem arose about a month after the vacation began.

Anna shivered as she recalled that time.

***

That day, as usual, Anna stopped by the department office before heading to Ren's professor's office and found a letter addressed to Ren, the first-year magic department professor.

"Where is this from?"

Anna, holding the letter with a puzzled expression, checked the sender.

"Seirun Academy?"

Anna, with a surprised expression, headed to Ren's professor's office.

"Welcome, Associate Professor Anna. Are you enjoying your lesson preparations again today…?"

"Do you think preparing lessons you can't even go home for is enjoyable?"

"Heh heh. You're not being honest. I've already figured out that you enjoy helping me with my lesson preparations. Associate Professor Anna. You're still a mage at heart."

Seeing the boastful Ren, Anna couldn't deny it and let out a deep sigh, handing him the letter.

"A letter arrived."

"Where is it from?"

"From Seirun Academy."

"Seirun?"

Ren looked surprised to receive a letter from Seirun, a rival school.

Then, after reading the letter, he burst into laughter.

'Why is this guy acting like this again?'

"As expected, student Leo is suited to be a mage! Look at this! Associate Professor Anna! This is a letter from Seirun acknowledging and praising student Leo's magical talent! It says we should teach the student who will become a great mage in the future! Hahahaha! As expected of our Lumere's rival! Their eye for talent is sharp!"

"Well, student Leo did interpret the magic of the Nebula's progenitor."

Although it hadn't been officially announced yet, the magic of Luna that Leo had restored was causing a great stir in the elven magic world.

Anna read the letter Ren handed her with admiration.

Then, she saw the latter part that Ren had missed and her face turned pale.

"Heh heh heh! I'm curious about the latter part. Associate Professor Anna. Give me the letter."

"P-Professor. You shouldn't read this… It's not particularly important… So! Let's prepare for the lessons! Yes?"

Anna desperately tried to prevent Ren from seeing the letter.

"What's in it that you're so flustered?"

"N-no! Professor! You mustn't see it!"

Anna frantically shook her head.

However, the letter inevitably ended up in Ren's hands, and Anna covered her face with both hands as she watched.

As Ren read the letter with his face, his expression gradually disappeared.

After reading to the end, Ren burst into laughter.

Fwoosh-!

The letter in his grasp burned away.

"Are these darn elves insane?"

The harsh words coming from Ren, who was known for his usual gentleness, were unimaginable.

He was a person who never lost his composure.

But the content of the letter was enough to enrage him.

Anna shivered from the killing intent radiating from Ren's eyes.

The content of the letter was simple.

They wanted to invite Leo Flob to Seirun as an exchange student.

The problem was the duration.

At least one semester.

In other words, they wanted him to study at Seirun for half of his first year.

Studying at another school for an entire semester would completely change the curriculum.

Furthermore, the letter stated, 'Student Leo Flob possesses an outstanding understanding of star magic, and only by studying at Seirun can his magical abilities be properly brought out.'

"So what? Are you telling me to transfer him? Heh heh. Interesting. Very interesting."

"P-Professor. Please calm down. Calm down."

Anna tried to quell Ren's anger as much as possible.

Ren was the type of person who didn't express his anger outwardly, even when he had a reason to be angry.

But once he lost his temper, he became reckless.

The rude demand to hand over the student he considered his greatest treasure was enough to push his anger to the limit.

"Don't worry, Associate Professor Anna. I'm being extremely rational. Heh heh heh."

But for some reason, Ren was calm.

"Isn't this also because student Leo is too outstanding? Heh heh heh, Seirun has a good eye."

Ren smiled faintly and said coldly.

"I'll change the lesson content. Internal enemies are not important right now. We will completely crush those Seirun bastards in the upcoming Lucé battle."

With veins popping on his forehead, Ren flashed a menacing smile.

This was not simply a matter of his prized student being taken away.

It was as if Seirun had thrown down a gauntlet to Lumere.

As a Lumere graduate with great pride, Ren could never tolerate this.

In that case, shouldn't he respond appropriately?

"Heh heh heh. I'll make the faces of Seirun's magic teachers look like slime scraped on the ground."

***

Anna let out a deep sigh as she recalled the events of the vacation.

'Later, when there was a request from Azonia to transfer student Leo, he actually destroyed his professor's office.'

While Anna was recalling the events of the vacation, Leo stood still, facing Alby.

The other students looked puzzled at Leo's stance.

At that moment, Alby's all-seeing eyes glowed, and Mirror Force was activated.

'Mirror Force. A magic that creates a clone identical to the enemy.'

It was considered the strongest among illusion spells.

Of course, it was a spell that wouldn't activate if the target was a being far superior to the caster.

'However, against a weak opponent, it creates an exact replica of oneself, like a mirror.'

And Mirror Force draws out the power of the cloned target to its limit.

That's why most first-year students lost to their clones.

The clone's ability to utilize magic was better than the 'real' person.

It was a magic that displayed almost invincible power against opponents weaker than oneself.

The completed clone of Leo generated magic.

Flash-!

The students were horrified by the magic formations woven in the air.

"Is that… star magic?"

"Wait! Leo can use star magic that proficiently?"

The star magic poured down on Leo, leaving the students astonished.

Leo chuckled as he watched the magic engulf him.

Ziiiing-!

Magic appeared in Leo's eyes.

Crack-!

The sound of the magic formations being destroyed echoed loudly.

The magic, which had reached right in front of Leo, was instantly nullified.

"How did he block it?"

"There was no sign of him casting a spell."

The students murmured.

"What the heck? Leo, how did you do that?"

Kal looked astonished, and Chelsea looked incredulous.

"He dispelled the magic."

"What?"

Kal was shocked.

Abad and Chloe also looked at Leo with surprised eyes.

'Alby-senpai's Mirror Force is a magic that replicates the target. The magic used by the clone is ultimately one's own magic. Therefore, it can be dispelled so easily.'

It was a skill that any skilled mage could perform.

The problem was that the standard for a skilled mage was at the professor level, meaning mages like Ren or Alby.

And Leo, a mere first-year student, was doing it.

'Ah… it's understandable why Seirun is after Leo. With such talent, anyone would covet him!'

Ren's body trembled with exhilaration.

'Student Leo will go down in Lumere Magic Department history as the greatest mage! I will make him so! I will never let him be taken away, whether by Seirun or Azonia!'