Book 1 Chapter 216

Zerdinger trainees start their day early in the morning.

The very fact that one has been selected as a Zerdinger trainee is proof of considerable aptitude and talent as a knight.

However, no matter how talented one is, if one does not strive in a place where peers of similar skill levels gather, it is easy to fall behind.

That is why Martina started her day earlier than the other trainees.

Martina, with a disheveled face, got up from her spot, yawned widely, and got out of bed.

Then, she shook her soundly sleeping roommate, Carin, awake.

"Hey, Carin. Wake up."

"Mmm?"

Carin, who had been burrowed under the blanket, poked her head out and stretched like a cat.

And then, with a jolt—! She got up, washed her face, and finished preparing to go out.

When they went outside, Austin, Julan, and Valerie were also waiting.

All of them were part of Leo's knight order.

After these five trainees became Leo's knights, they started waking up earlier than other trainees to train.

For the five who deeply felt they were insufficient to be Leo's knights, it was a natural decision.

Especially since yesterday, they had been even more fired up with motivation.

'Young Master Leo has accepted us.'

Among the trainees, there were many whose skills surpassed these five.

They had worried about tarnishing Leo's reputation and had tried to leave the knight order, but he said he would take the five he had chosen with him.

Martina clenched her fist.

'Let's work even harder to become knights worthy of Young Master Leo.'

It was then, as Martina was steeling her resolve.

"Oh, it looks like they're going to train?"

"Are the hero candidates really different?"

"Hehehe. They must have been in a big hurry. Especially if they said something like that to Young Master Leo."

Other trainees, who normally wouldn't be up, chuckled as they watched Martina and the others.

"Why are they like that so early in the morning?"

Carin grumbled.

"Ignore them."

Austin said calmly.

"Exactly. They're the top-ranking kids. The very fact that they're up at this ungodly hour, when they normally wouldn't be, is just to make a good impression on Young Master Leo."

Julan smiled broadly, agreeing with Austin.

Thus, Leo's knight order headed to their designated training spot.

And seeing Leo already there, the five wore extremely flustered expressions.

"Young Master Leo?"

"Ah, it's still earlier than our agreed training time, isn't it?"

Austin and Carin asked with bewildered faces.

"You're here?"

Perhaps due to the cold air of the early winter morning, breath plumed from his mouth.

The five trainees hastily stood before Leo.

Looking at the trainees, Leo said,

"Starting today, I'm going to awaken your abilities."

At Leo's words, the trainees stood at attention.

"Yes, sir!"

"You said you wanted to acquire skills worthy of being my knights, didn't you? Then, you just need to follow my training well."

"Understood!"

Leo's knights replied with vigor.

"The goal is to pass the Lumen admission exam this year."

"Yes, sir! We'll work hard—!"

The trainees, who had been enthusiastically shouting, paused.

Then they looked at Leo with confused faces.

"L-Lumen admission?"

"How can *we* get into Lumen?"

It was an impossible suggestion.

Students who enter Lumen are literally a chosen few.

The hurdles are so high that only a very small number of top-ranking students among Lumen trainees can pass.

But Lumen admission!

Seeing their bewilderment, Leo said,

"You can all handle aura, can't you?"

"Yes."

"I passed the exam without even being able to handle aura."

'But Young Master Leo is special!'

All the knights, almost instinctively, rebelled against the words of the Leo they admired.

But it wasn't wrong.

Leo also knew that his words were preposterous.

Yet, Leo shamelessly used himself as an example.

"Do you know this saying?"

"Which one?"

"Make it happen, even if it seems impossible."

'Those are incredibly terrifying words.'

The five knights, including Martina, shivered.

Leo's eyes truly looked like they could make the impossible possible.

Of course, everyone could intuitively sense that they themselves would be the ones suffering in that process.

As everyone swallowed hard, Leo folded his arms.

"Of course, if you're not confident, you can quit. Even then, I won't abandon you, the ones who chose me."

Leo continued calmly.

"I will guide you to become stronger. But if you enter Lumen, you can ascend to even greater heights."

At Leo's words, the trainees flinched and trembled.

"I made the offer because I believed you had the potential."

Watching Leo speak calmly, the knights felt their hearts pound.

Simply becoming Leo's knight had made them overjoyed.

But Lumen?

This was the Age of Heroes.

Therefore, everyone dreamt of being a hero at least once.

The five were no different.

But training as Zerdinger trainees, they naturally came to realize.

That they could not become heroes.

Yet, Leo's words made it seem as if they could dream again the dream they had long discarded.

"I will do it."

Martina said with determination.

"I will follow Young Master Leo."

Starting with Martina, the other trainees also ignited their resolve.

"I will do it too!"

"Me too!"

"Please train us!"

"We beg you!"

Seeing their expressions, Leo smiled.

"Good, that's a good attitude."

Leo nodded and said,

"Then, shall we all start with body modification?"

"?"

At the words "body modification," the five looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

They should have realized it then.

They should have run away at that moment.

***

Two weeks had passed since Leo's training began.

And Celia was climbing a mountain on the Zerdinger estate.

"Just how much does he plan to torment his knights to come all the way to this back mountain to train?"

Celia clicked her tongue.

On the day the five ignited their resolve for Lumen admission.

Leo packed his bags and left Zerdinger Castle.

The reason was simple.

For training.

He had obtained permission from Zis, the overall manager of the trainees, and set off on a training journey with the five.

Following Celia was none other than Niel, a 4th-year student in Lumen's Knight Faculty.

As Celia's knight, she had followed her lord to assist her in leaving their home.

And upon hearing that Leo intended to make all of his knights Lumen entrants, her interest was piqued.

"But even for Young Master Leo, can he really turn five trainees with mid-tier grades into Lumen entrants?"

Niel tilted her head.

In fact, Leo's achievements were almost legendary even among upperclassmen.

The unprecedented All-Class.

His performance in the Gigantes subjugation during the first semester.

Furthermore, in the second semester, he confidently seized the position of student council president.

But even so, this declaration was utterly preposterous.

As a former Zerdinger trainee herself, Niel knew well.

She knew how vast the difference was between mid-tier students among trainees and Lumen entrants.

If it were Leo himself, perhaps.

But Niel thought it was impossible to raise others to that level in a few months.

"Moreover, I doubt if it'll be more efficient than the training at the Zerdinger training grounds."

Hearing Niel's words, Celia said,

"Niel unnie, you still don't know much about him."

"Huh?"

"He's the kind of person who does what he says he'll do."

Celia shuddered.

Celia knew very well how harsh Leo's training was.

Immediately, she and Chelsea had been the most tormented by Leo for a year.

Of course, more recently, they had adapted somewhat to Leo's training intensity.

But in the early days, they had suffered from muscle aches every weekend.

And thanks to that, Celia was able to maintain her position as the top student in the Knight Faculty for a year, despite having strong competitors like Chen Xia and Duran.

As the two searched the mountain, a scream of 'Kuaaaaaaaak!' echoed in their ears.

Hearing the sound, the two looked at each other and quickened their steps.

Celia and Niel, who ran towards the sound, were speechless at the sight before them.

"Swing it. If you don't swing it, you die."

Leo, speaking with an expressionless, terrifying voice.

And Austin shouted, 'Wooohhh!' as he swung his bastarda.

A huge rock that was falling towards him and his head was cleanly sliced in half.

Julan was trapped in a gigantic water droplet, sputtering 'kekekekekekekek-'.

Carin, trapped in the abyss of darkness, was screaming 'Kyaaaaaaak!' while Valerie, whose entire body was wrapped in chains, was being battered by a golem created by Leo.

Finally, Martina was crawling on the ground, crushed by immense gravity.

"…….What is this? This hell?"

Niel muttered in a dazed voice, and Celia covered her face, shaking her head.

"I knew this would happen."

It was a scene beyond Niel's imagination, but for Celia, it was a perfectly predictable sight.

And Celia hated her own imagination.

Because she had been tormented by Leo so much that she could imagine such a thing.

As Celia let out a sad laugh, Leo, who spotted the two, approached.

Even while he did so, the trainees' training did not stop.

"…….I don't really want to ask, but I'm curious. What exactly are you doing?"

At Celia's question, Leo said,

"Body modification."

At the extremely peculiar word, Celia narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you modifying their bodies?"

"To awaken each of their talents."

"Talents?"

"Yes."

Leo himself knew best that entering Lumen was not easy with just effort.

Even in Leo's judgment, all five would have difficulty passing the Lumen entrance exam with their current abilities as 'knights'.

But Leo was still confident that the five would pass the entrance exam.

The reason was simple.

Leo had the eyes of a great hero and an All-Class.

And through those eyes, he saw that his knights had other talents besides their talent as knights.

"Austin has talent as a magician."

Leo pointed to Austin, who was swinging his sword in a near-death state.

That sword was one that sealed aura abilities.

"The sword has a cutting magic spell formula written on it, created by Austin himself."

That's why Austin had to study magic spell formulas until his head ached for ten days out of the past two weeks, without any other training.

And he was forcibly awakening his magical power in a life-or-death crisis.

"Julan and Carin have talent as spirit users. That's why they're trapped in water and darkness to awaken their innate spirit affinity."

Of course, they weren't just trapped in water and darkness.

That place was a space full of spirit power, created by the power of spirits.

It was optimal for awakening dormant spirit power.

"…….What about Martina and Valerie?"

When Niel asked with a wry face, Leo shrugged.

"They don't have talent as mages or summoners. So, they're awakening their aura characteristics."

"Aura characteristics?"

"Yes, Valerie's aura characteristic is very rare. It's 'Accumulation,' just like Senior Hark."

Leo grinned.

Hearing that, Niel made a surprised expression.

"Really?"

"Yes. The difference is that Senior Hark accumulates power through 'sleep,' while Valerie accumulates power through 'impact.' So, she needs to build up her stamina, which is why she's tied up and being beaten like that."

"Brutally simple."

"Training is best when it's brutally simple. You know that, don't you?"

Celia, watching Leo smile, hugged herself and shivered.

"What about Martina?"

"Martina is purely strengthening her physical body."

She doesn't have magical talent like Austin, nor spirit arts talent like Julan and Carin.

Nor does she possess a special aura characteristic like Valerie.

She only had the talent of a pure knight, nothing more.

"…….She probably doesn't feel good about it."

Niel wore a sympathetic expression.

Others had hidden talents, but she didn't.

Niel, having lived as a Zerdinger trainee and a Lumen student, knew well how big a shock that fact could be.

Because she alone wasn't special.

At Niel's words, Leo chuckled.

"Yes. But she'll be fine."

"Why are you so confident?"

At Celia's question, Leo smiled.

"Because she knows how to overcome her limits."

Overcome your limits.

That was also Lumen's motto.

She was different from the other trainees.

Austin, Carin, Julan, and Valerie were discovering new abilities through Leo's discernment and rapidly developing them.

As a result, they were showing rapid growth.

But Martina was different.

She had no other way than to strengthen her existing abilities.

However, Martina was keeping up with Leo's hellish training without falling behind.

She grit her teeth and, when faced with a wall, she didn't hesitate to crash into it.

"That's the greatest virtue for becoming strong."

Leo said, gritting his teeth and watching Martina, who was overcoming his gravity magic and shakily getting back on her feet.

"She will get stronger. She will."

At those words, Celia hummed and looked at Martina.

Celia and Martina were the same age.

As such, they had trained together.

'She's definitely a hard worker.'

She wondered if that characteristic of a hard worker would blossom after meeting Leo.

"But if you focus on these other abilities, won't your abilities as a knight not develop? They're still Zerdinger trainees, after all."

When Niel made a regretful expression, Leo picked up a rolling stone from the ground.

"Don't worry about that."

Then he released the spirit arts and magic that were tormenting the trainees.

The trainees, regaining their freedom for a moment, flinched and trembled.

Towards them, Leo unhesitatingly threw the stone he had picked up.

Whoosh—!

Thwack—!

"Screech!"

Carin, hit in the shoulder by the stone, screamed and rolled on the ground.

She had instinctively defended with aura, but it hurt like hell.

"This is how I launch surprise attacks to improve their aura control abilities. Carin! Can you handle it?"

"You! I'll kill you someday!"

Despite Carin's enraged shout, Leo smiled and threw another stone at Carin.

"Aaaargh!"

'He's a devil. This person is a devil.'

Niel was convinced inwardly.

"So, why did you come looking for me? I told you not to look for me for about a month."

Leo asked, throwing stones at his knights.

Amidst the trainees' screams, Celia said,

"A notice came from Lumen."

"From Lumen?"

"Yeah. Several of the second-year promotion candidates have received a summons to the Rodren Empire."

"That must include you and me, then?"

"It's not just that."

Celia handed Leo a list.

Receiving it, Leo scratched his cheek.

"A comprehensive exam, huh… But they're gathering *these* members?"

"Yeah."

Leo muttered, looking at the name of the professor in charge of the exam.

"It looks like we're the test objective."

"Huh?"

"I think they intend for us to apprehend the prospective entrants."

"Oh, come on. Even if it's a Lumen entrance exam, would they do such a thing?"

"Exactly, exactly."

Niel said with a laugh.

Watching Niel, Celia nodded.

It was no exaggeration to say that the skill difference between entrance examinees and second-year students was like heaven and earth.

Especially now, Lumen's second-year students were a golden generation, one of the best in Lumen's history.

Even excluding Leo.

The top-class second-year students, led by Leo and Celia, were not at a level that entrance examinees could handle.

"The professor in charge of the exam is Professor Halind, after all."

Leo said with a nonchalant expression.

"If I were Professor Halind, I'd probably do this."

Lumen's Wall of Weeping.

The absolute terror of the students.

Having experienced Halind for a year, Leo was certain.

Hearing Leo's words, Celia and Niel looked at each other.

"Then what will you do if you meet your knight order in the exam?"

At Celia's question, Leo said calmly,

"I'll defeat them with all my might."

There was no mercy in Leo's dictionary.