Book 1 Chapter 177

"Impossible! How can we possibly beat our fifth-year seniors?"

"Professor Sedgen! 'Beyond Limits!' may be our school motto, but this seems a bit too much!"

The first-year students shrieked, clutching their heads.

The reality was that most first-years couldn't even make eye contact with the second-years.

And now, suddenly, they had to face the god-like fifth-years in an exam?

From the first-years' perspective, panic was inevitable.

Even students like Celia, Duran, and Ellie, who were always brimming with confidence, wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

Seeing the panicked first-years, Sedgen spoke.

"I never said you had to win."

"What?"

"As I mentioned before, the midterm exam is graded on a curve."

Sedgen offered a gentle smile.

"While facing fifth-years might be intimidating, simply showing your best will be enough to get good scores on the exam."

Upon hearing Sedgen's words, the first-years regained their composure.

They had been overwhelmed by the thought of facing fifth-years, but Sedgen's words were indeed true.

"R-Right. There's no need to be scared."

"Against the fifth-year seniors, we just need to do our best."

"You know… Professor Sedgen really seems to care about his students."

"Yeah. I feel so much better now."

Seeing the first-years return to a cheerful atmosphere, Sedgen smiled and approached the fifth-years.

Then, he spoke ruthlessly to the forty-seven fifth-year students.

"Crush them."

"Yes."

"Shall we stretch our legs for a bit?"

The fifth-years laughed and began warming up.

Sedgen returned to the first-years and said,

"As I mentioned earlier, the practical midterm exam in the second semester will be graded on a curve. In addition, I will add a special condition."

The first-years looked perplexed.

"The number of fifth-years will be limited to one."

Bastarra was a sport typically played with eight people.

It was a match that consumed an immense amount of stamina.

However, the students did not feel relieved even with the 8:1 ratio.

Instead, they broke out in a cold sweat.

'Then they're really going to go all out, aren't they?'

'Ugh! Fifth-years…!'

Lumen had 500 new students each year.

Among them, only forty-seven had been selected through five years of rigorous training.

This meant that nearly 90% of students had left the school over five years.

These were the true candidates for heroes.

It wouldn't be strange for any of them to become heroes.

For the fifth-years, facing eight first-years was clearly not a disadvantage.

"Furthermore, if the results are not satisfactory, you may form new teams and challenge them again until you achieve satisfactory performance."

At that, the first-years began to murmur.

At that moment, a student from the Magic Department cautiously raised their hand.

"Um… Professor. Wouldn't that take up too much of the fifth-year seniors' time? The fifth-years are all very busy, aren't they?"

During the first semester, they had seen the second, third, and fourth-year students quite often, but they had hardly seen any fifth-years.

This was because all the fifth-years were busy with school classes and external missions.

The thought of those busy fifth-years investing their time for them…

While they felt awkward, they also wondered if it was really okay.

"You don't need to worry about that. The graduating class is free right now anyway. Do you have any other questions?"

No student raised their hand.

"Good. Then, let's form teams."

The first-years began to move quickly to find the optimal teammates.

***

"The first-years are so fresh, I like it."

Torua, with his palm on his eyebrows and standing on tiptoe, observed the first-years and muttered.

"Indeed. They have a freshness that can't be found in anyone else now."

"Right. The muscular idiot from the Knight Department, who has grown so big that he can now be called an old man, is surprisingly self-aware."

"You're talking about yourself, you old hag."

Torua and Jamua looked at each other and smiled brightly.

Ulta, watching them, said,

"You two. You're about to graduate, so stop fighting. It's your last moments of school life, isn't it?"

Ulta spread his arms wide and said,

"Shouldn't we cherish these precious days by confirming our love for each other?"

"Ugh. Just hearing that makes my stomach churn."

"Agreed."

Torua and Jamua scrunched up their faces simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Rhys was lost in thought.

'Is it really the right path to announce Leo as a candidate for student council president?'

Rhys was struggling with how to handle Leo's recommendation for student council president.

From a personal perspective, Rhys would be satisfied if Leo became the student council president.

'But can Leo handle that burden?'

Just being a candidate for student council president as a first-year would be immense pressure.

'If, by any chance, he becomes the student council president, it will be an enormous burden. But even if he doesn't become president, his school life will be complicated regardless.'

A junior who had fallen out of favor with the seniors wouldn't have an easy school life.

This would be the same for Leo, even with his maternal grandfather being Zerdinger.

It wouldn't be good to escalate student matters into family affairs.

'If I were still at school, I could mediate somehow… but I'm graduating this year.'

Rhys couldn't help but worry about his cousin after leaving the school.

To Rhys, Ulta approached.

"Rhys, what's on your mind?"

"Ulta."

Rhys chuckled as he looked at Ulta, who had approached him.

"It's nothing important."

At that, Ulta sighed.

"Rhys. You haven't changed at all since your first year."

"Have I?"

"Yes. Especially when you have worries, you tend to keep them to yourself."

Ulta crossed his arms.

"Rhys. Before being rivals competing for the class representative position for five years, I believe we are friends with whom we can share our innermost thoughts, don't you think?"

"Friends. That's certainly true."

Rhys nodded.

Then, he confided in the person with whom he had fiercely competed for the class representative position for five years about the current matter.

Ulta, listening to Rhys, stroked his chin.

"Hmm. That's a complex problem."

"It is."

"Then isn't there only one conclusion?"

Ulta smiled.

"Isn't it enough to prove that Leo has the makings of a student council president?"

"That may be true. But Leo is still a first-year."

Rhys sighed.

"He's not ready to be student council president yet."

"Who decided that?"

"What?"

Seeing Rhys with a bewildered expression, Ulta said,

"I asked who decided that a first-year is not ready to be student council president, Rhys."

Ulta smiled.

"Rhys, you seem to have forgotten the motto we've heard countless times for five years."

Ulta spread his arms.

"'Beyond Limits.' We have surpassed our limits countless times. We have turned the impossible into the possible."

Even though he always talked about love and said strange things.

This time, he was serious.

"Rhys. Your cousin is already worthy of being the student council president."

Rhys was surprised by Ulta's words.

'Ulta thought that highly of Leo.'

Ulta Regdition.

He was undoubtedly one of the strongest summoners at Lumen.

Although sometimes considered a bit eccentric, he was known for never speaking in vain.

Rhys also knew his close friend's tendencies well.

"Furthermore, the timing is not ideal right now. Lumen is being shaken from both internal and external forces. In fact, the peace of the entire world is fracturing."

Ulta looked at Leo.

"At times like this, we need a strong leader to guide the school."

"And that leader is Leo?"

"Yes."

Ulta curled the corners of his lips.

"So, Rhys, you should watch closely today."

Ulta elegantly crossed his arms.

"Today, you will see Leo's true worth."

***

The practical exam began.

The first-year teams, mustering their courage, bravely challenged the fifth-years.

"Hoi!"

*Thwack-!*

"Gah!"

Iliyana's sword was hit by a ball thrown by a female fifth-year knight student and bounced away.

"We're ahead in points! Hold on! What will happen if you hold on!"

Iliyana urgently shouted.

"Well, of course, you'll be ahead in points. I wasn't particularly interested in defense or offense."

She gave a friendly smile.

"However, first-years, please remember. Bastarra is also a game where you win by 'annihilating your opponent.' Your tactic to confuse my eyes was not bad. But your ability to prepare for more fundamental problems is regrettable."

The team, composed of the aces of Class 5 excluding Leo and Chelsea, was defeated within three minutes of the match.

The other students were shocked to see this.

The Class 5 combination, led by Nella, Iliyana, and Teid, with the supportive Karl and their backup, was undeniably well-balanced and flawless.

Yet, that team was so easily annihilated.

As everyone broke out in a cold sweat, screams erupted from other areas as well.

Since there were many Bastarra teams of fifth-years and first-years, the matches were conducted simultaneously in various locations.

Sedgen, floating in the air, was scoring the first-years.

'Teamwork isn't bad. But the details are a bit lacking.'

*Click-*

He clicked his pen and scribbled on the paper.

Although it looked like a casual assessment at first glance, Sedgen wasn't called the best professor at Lumen for nothing.

He didn't miss a single one of the simultaneously occurring matches on the training grounds.

He meticulously scored the students' strengths and weaknesses.

As Sedgen had said, the fifth-years showed no mercy.

The first-years, who had become slightly complacent with the idea of being able to challenge multiple times, became tense as they witnessed the immense gap between them and the fifth-years.

'Rhys and Ulta haven't stepped forward yet.'

Sedgen nodded as he watched the two, who were observing the situation instead of participating in the matches.

Excluding them, the most striking were Torua and Jamua.

Torua rested his chin and waved his hand lightly.

*Whack-!*

"Ugh?"

"G-Gravity magic?"

"Yes. But if you react late, it's hard to counter."

Torua, who had incapacitated all opponents within five seconds of the match, shook his head.

"Hahaha. Let's see how tough you guys are."

"What? Toughness… Cough!"

A student was sent flying by a ball thrown by Jamua.

"Tsk. You don't train your stamina diligently. You got knocked out by a ball without even aura."

"I… I'm a mage. And I even put up a shield…!"

"Heh. Overwhelming physical force can sometimes surpass magic. Keep that in mind."

"Th-That…"

Jamua, who was simply overpowering them with brute force without even using aura, licked his lips.

"I expected more from you. This is quite disappointing. Aren't you supposed to be the best of your year?"

Jamua taunted the first-years.

However, the first-years could not retort.

How could they retort when they were so easily annihilated by someone who didn't even use aura?

'Oops. Did I discourage them too much?'

Jamua scratched his cheek when suddenly.

"You can look forward to it from now on."

*Clack-*

Someone stood in front of Jamua.

Celia, holding a ball by her side, smiled at Jamua.

"Things will be a little different from now on."

"Hoho, Celia."

Jamua curled his lips as he looked at the students other than Celia.

'Chen Xia, Duran, Howl.'

He noticed the knight department juniors he had been watching.

However, it was slightly disappointing that Leo was not there.

'Where is that guy?'

Jamua, turning his head, spotted Leo standing on an adjacent court.

There stood Leo, Chloe, Chelsea, and Abad.

"Tsk. Leo Flove. He joined the Magic Department."

"Betrayal."

Duran clicked his tongue, and Chen Xia pouted.

"Yes. It's a betrayal."

Jamua also clicked his tongue.

Meanwhile, Torua smiled with satisfaction upon seeing Leo.

"Mmm! Mmm! Leo, you've finally found your path. Yes, magic is indeed the best."

"…I'm still an all-rounder."

"Oh, Leo. It seems you've lost your logical thinking skills by taking knight and summoner classes."

Although Torua himself spoke words that seemed unrelated to logic, Leo dealt with Torua's actions with practiced ease.

"Well, anyway, I came today to show you first-years how vast the world is."

Torua closed his eyes slightly and raised a finger.

*Tap-*

"Gasp!"

Along with it, the first-years in front of Torua staggered under the gravity felt from their bodies and knelt down.

"Fall down obediently."

Torua recited the spell and opened his eyes. He widened them in surprise.

While all the other first-years were kneeling or lying on the ground, Leo stood there without a single flicker.

'Dispel? No, that's not it. How is he standing?'

Torua, feeling the magic being cast, his eyes sparkled.

"What spell did you cast? Did you perhaps dispel my magic array?"

"No."

Leo shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm just withstanding the gravity with my strength."

"With strength?"

"Yes."

Leo smiled.

"Overwhelming physical force can sometimes overcome magic, can't it?"