Book 1 Chapter 202

201

"There's one thing I'm sure of," Karl said with a meaningful smile.

"What is it?"

Chelsea looked at Karl with a puzzled expression, and Karl gave him a thumbs-up.

"The desserts sold in Seirun are inferior to those from Lumern."

At his words, the students of Class 5 nodded in agreement.

"That's true."

"It's not that they're not tasty… but compared to our school, they fall short."

Nod- Nod-

Iliana nodded, and Nella gave her characteristic languid smile.

The Rusean match, which had been going on for a week already.

The students of Lumern had become somewhat accustomed to the harsh cold of Seirun.

However, there was something they hadn't gotten used to, and that was the desserts provided by Seirun.

And desserts were a matter of great importance to the students, especially the female students.

"Why is there such a difference in quality?"

Watching Chelsea, who was tilting her head and picking at a cookie, Karl said,

"In Lumern, all the cafes and bakeries start competing from the moment they open, right?"

"Right."

"And even after opening, they have to continue competing. That naturally makes them pay even more attention to new menus and flavors. Seirun's chefs might be the best, but since they don't have to compete here, there's bound to be a difference."

As Karl explained the market logic, the female students nodded, exclaiming, "Ohh-! Ohh-!"

"Thanks to that, not only the Seirun students but also the elf spectators are buying up the desserts we prepared," Karl said, jingling his coin purse with satisfaction.

"I envy you, Lumern students, for being able to eat such delicious things every day," said Eiran, who had come to meet Leo, eating a cookie with a happy expression, her ears fluttering like wings.

"I thought so before, but I can't help but admit it," Lunia said, cupping her cheeks and nodding.

"So, what brings you here?" Chelsea asked with a puzzled expression.

"I heard that the chess master representing Lumern this year is a first-year student?"

The event this time was Battle Chess.

Amidst the attention of all the spectators.

Rumble-rumble-

A small tower began to rise on the battlefield.

At the top of the tower were a desk, a chair, and chess pieces.

The Rusean match was a place where both schools competed in strength and wisdom.

Chess could be said to be the game that determined the best in brain sports.

It was natural for Lunia to feel curious that a first-year student was participating in such an event.

"Was her name Chloe Müller?"

Karl nodded at Lunia's question.

"That's right."

"How good is she to have surpassed Torua Yan, a fifth-year student? Chess has always been a close match, so it's surprising for a first-year to participate. Or is this a generational shift to prepare for the future?"

Seeing Lunia's curiosity, Karl said,

"Leo said she's really good."

"Leo? Is Leo good at chess?"

"At the chess representative selection, Leo beat senior Torua."

Lunia's eyes widened.

"And Chloe beat Leo."

"Wow," Lunia exclaimed, shaking her head in amazement.

"Just how good is she?"

"Leo said she plays as well as anyone he knows."

"Who is that?"

"He didn't tell me who," Karl said, shaking his head.

"By the way, where did Leo go?"

Lunia asked with a puzzled expression, and Karl shook his head.

"I don't know. He said he wanted to watch from the very last seat in the spectator stands?"

"Why would he go all the way there when there are good seats?" Lunia asked, looking unable to comprehend.

***

"Please take care of me."

"A first-year student as an opponent. I was looking forward to Torua Yan, so this will be boring," said Markia, the fifth-year representative of Seirun, sighing as she sat down after bowing to Chloe.

Chloe sat opposite her.

A moment later, with a bright light, chess pieces appeared on the floor of the chessboard.

Whirr-!

Along with that, the battlefield below the tower began to shine.

A giant square appeared, and a checkered chessboard began to form.

"Ooooh."

"It's finally starting."

The battlefield was twice as wide as a normal chessboard, and there were more types of pieces.

Chloe, as if familiar, began to arrange the white pieces.

"She seems familiar with Elf Chess."

"I'm from the north."

"Oh?"

The rules of chess vary subtly by race.

Among them, Elf Chess is famous for being the most complex.

But for someone from the north, an elf territory, she would undoubtedly be familiar with Elf Chess.

"In that case, it might not be as boring as I thought," Markia said with a satisfied smile.

Stomp- stomp-

Students from Lumern and Seirun walked onto the center of the battlefield.

Carrying helmets and weapons symbolizing chess pieces, they moved to their respective positions.

This was Seirun's Battle Chess.

Furthermore, Elf Chess is characterized by the implementation of all sorts of terrains.

The advantage of pieces changes depending on the terrain.

Also, pieces don't die in a single attack, and so on.

Literally, the game contained strategic elements incomparable to normal chess.

Students from each school, assigned to pieces, lined up.

After the students exchanged greetings, they moved to their positions on the vast chessboard, and the serious match began.

Tap- Clack!-

Chloe, playing black, made the first move.

Accordingly, the Lumern student moved on the giant chessboard.

***

"It must be fun to see them fighting each other," Leo, sitting at the highest point of the spectator stands, let out a hollow laugh while looking at the giant chessboard.

Certainly, if chess matches unfolded in this way, it would be a thrilling spectacle.

However, Leo couldn't focus on the chess match.

'Why didn't Luna's world react to me?'

What had happened a few days ago kept replaying in his mind.

Even with the spectators gathered for the Rusean match, the back seats were very quiet.

Thanks to that, he could be lost in thought alone.

Leo glanced down at the bracelet on his arm.

'Could that Luna's page also be broken? But according to Seirun's vice-principal, it was a hero's world that was conquered not long ago?'

"What are you doing instead of watching the match, Leo Flove?"

Someone spoke to Leo.

Turning his head, Leo looked at Reven, who sat beside him, with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you here instead of in the VIP seats?"

"I want to talk with you."

Reven spoke, looking at the Lumern students, unlike Leo.

"I heard Nerzia summoned you."

"Yes. She asked me to transfer to Seirun."

"As expected."

Reven burst into laughter.

"So? What did you answer?"

"I said no."

"Why? Nerzia is a greedy child. She must have promised you the best support?"

"I didn't feel the need to go."

"You really are a peculiar child."

Reven shook his head, laughing.

"As Nerzia said, the reason Lumern has been evaluated as lagging behind Seirun for the past few years is largely due to my dereliction of duty."

Reven took a deep breath.

"When I first met you, I said I was disappointed in the students."

Reven was disappointed in the students who didn't dream of anything more than being heroes.

"And through meeting you, I realized that I was disappointed based on my own assumptions."

Unlike before, Reven looked at the Lumern students with warm eyes.

Leo chuckled, looking at Reven.

"Your expression has changed a lot."

"Has it?"

"Yes. A moment ago, you looked like the King of Wisdom."

Lisinas used to look at children with the same eyes as Reven.

"I've been wondering for a while, Leo Flove."

"Yes."

"Are you truly an ordinary boy?"

As Reven asked, Leo smiled.

Fzzzt-

At that moment, gray sparks flew from Leo's body.

"……!"

"……?"

Both Leo and Reven looked shocked.

[Hero Record Open.]

A familiar message appeared above Leo's eyes.

"What?"

Leo's face contorted in shock.

[Luna's World. Chapter: Juggernaut-Zegdiak Battle.]

Whoosh-!

"……!"

In an instant, Leo disappeared, and Reven's eyes widened.

"What……!"

Waaaaaaah-!

Reven's astonishment was drowned out by the roar of the crowd filling the stadium.

Reven stood up and looked around.

'Teleportation? No. There was no magic fluctuation. That light just now… it resembled the light when entering a hero's world!'

Reven's face was filled with confusion.

'But there are no Hero Records here…'

Rumble-rumble-rumble-!

Reven felt the ground shake with his keen dragon senses.

Reven's face darkened.

'What is it?'

The spectators hadn't noticed yet.

However, heroes, professors, and some students dispatched to guard the Rusean match throughout the stadium realized something was amiss.

Thud- Thud- thud-

At that moment, streams of water fell from the sky.

Drip-drop-! Whoooosh-!

Everyone froze at the sudden downpour.

Reven's face was filled with shock.

"Rain…?"

This was the northernmost part of the continent.

A land where rain never fell.

Yet, a heavy rain was pouring down now.

As everyone was startled.

CRASH-!

Lightning struck the sky.

And with that, dark clouds began to gather.

Hummm-!

Their faces turned pale as they saw the giant dark red emblem forming in the sky.

The hero candidates all learned and knew what that emblem symbolized.

The demon queen Silathuna.

That terrifying monster was about to reveal itself here.

***

"Hel Kaiser, really." Silathuna brushed her hair back as she appeared from among the dark clouds.

"He made a big fuss like he was going to come out, but then."

Although she had the appearance of a beautiful woman, she was a cruel and terrifying commander of Tartarus.

A terrifying great demon that had existed since before the Age of Calamity.

"He messed up his plan and dumped it on me? It's not the first time that guy has been rude, but it's annoying."

The man beside her said to Silathuna's annoyed words,

"Your Majesty. Then, why not just ignore the rude Lord Commander's words?"

"That's true. But."

Silathuna looked down at Seirun and flicked her tongue.

"I have an even greater desire to crush those insects."

The warlike Silathuna had wanted to attack the Hero Academy for a long time.

But she had been restrained by the Lord Commander and the Giant King.

This time, however, the Lord Commander did not stop her actions.

For Silathuna, there was no longer any reason to hold back.

"My legion, let's show these presumptuous insects."

Silathuna smiled cruelly.

"What true despair is."