Book 1 Chapter 222

222

"……What in the world is going on?"

Kale let his shoulders slump and made a gloomy face.

"Do you guys think I'm that easy?"

"We apologize, senior."

At Kale's complaint, the test-taker standing at the very front curled up the corners of his mouth.

"But didn't you say it yourself, senior? That you're the weakest in the second year."

Kale was surrounded by eleven test-takers.

The theme of this entrance exam was survival: surviving against the second-year students.

However, the opposite situation could also occur at any time.

There was no law preventing test-takers from attacking second-year students.

Defeating second-year students and surviving was also a method of survival.

And it was natural for the test-takers to target Kale, who had been boasting about being the lowest-ranked among the second-year students.

"Agh! To think that promoting the sale of good luck charms would come back to haunt me like this!"

Kale clutched his head and shrieked.

Seeing Kale like that, the test-takers gripped their respective weapons.

Knights stepped forward, while mages and summoners took positions in the rear.

Seeing their formation, Kale crossed his arms.

"Can't we settle this peacefully?"

At Kale's words, the test-taker who appeared to be the party leader shook his head resolutely.

"We refuse. We will defeat you, senior, and enter Lumern."

Even as he said that, he cheered internally.

'As expected, this person is nothing special!'

Kale had already been advertising that he had the lowest grades among the second-year students and had barely survived.

Thanks to that, the perception that Kale was weak was strongly embedded in the minds of all the first-year students.

If they defeated a second-year student, their chances of admission would clearly increase.

They absolutely did not want to let Kale go.

It was when Kale let out a sigh, "Ehyo!"

"You brought this upon yourself."

At the voice from mid-air, everyone flinched and looked up at the sky.

And there, they froze, seeing a blonde, blue-eyed female student sitting on a staff.

"Chloe!"

Kale waved his hand with a bright expression.

At his words, the faces of the other test-takers turned pale.

Chloe Müller!

She was an absolute powerhouse among the second-year magic students, contending for the top spot with Abbad, and an opponent these test-takers should absolutely never encounter.

At her sudden appearance, the faces of all the test-takers turned pale.

"You guys are finished now! Prepare yourselves!"

At Kale's shout, Chloe sat cross-legged and said,

"Kale. You handle it yourself."

"Huh?"

"If you think about it, these are all seeds you sowed."

Chloe said with a faint smile.

"Hey! Even so, we're friends, can't you help me?"

"No, I can't."

Chloe spoke resolutely and opened the grimoire she carried with her, as if she wouldn't get involved anymore.

Seeing his friend leisurely engrossed in reading, Kale let his shoulders slump.

"And."

Chloe glanced at the test-takers, then smiled faintly.

"If you're underestimated by your juniors, what good is a senior's reputation?"

"Ehyo. Alright. Alright. Can't be helped."

Kale loosened his shoulders and stepped forward.

The test-takers who saw him made tense expressions.

'Anyway, Chloe Müller isn't going to get involved!'

'This is a good opportunity!'

Cheering inwardly, the test-takers tightened their encirclement.

Seeing this, Kale opened his subspace.

Whoosh-! Clatter-!

All sorts of weapons poured out.

The aspiring knight students, who were closing the distance, flinched and trembled.

"Enchant."

As Kale activated the magic, the swords began to move as if they had gained life.

Seeing this, the knights in the front made tense expressions.

Even if he was the lowest-ranked student, he was still a student of Lumern.

They had to be wary.

Meanwhile, the mages in the rear cast their spells.

Seeing that, Kale quickly chanted a dispel spell.

"Oh!"

"The spell has been dispelled!"

Even if it was a simple spell to be used for deterrence, it was surprising for the spells of three mages to be dispelled simultaneously.

As the spells were dispelled, the party leader urgently shouted.

"Hey! Front-liners! Quickly pressure them and stop them from using magic!"

"But what about those spells?"

"Those are just simple enchantment spells! You don't have to be scared!"

Encouraged by those words, one knight charged towards Kale.

"Oops! Too bad, you chose the wrong answer."

Kale grinned and unleashed his magic power.

As alchemy activated, the sword that the charging test-taker swung glowed bright red, then *boom*! it exploded.

"K-ack?"

"It, it exploded?"

"What? Is it a magic sword?"

Confused shouts erupted among the test-takers.

"Hey! You said it was just a simple enchantment spell!"

One of the front-liners shouted at the party leader, as if demanding an explanation.

Although he didn't faint thanks to his aura armor, he took a significant hit.

The flustered party leader flared up.

"It's not a hit that would disqualify you! Just fight back! That's what a front-liner does!"

"You want to use us as shields? And then you'll steal the credit?"

The test-taker who had charged at Kale staggered and shouted, as if questioning him.

Kale, seeing this, stroked his chin.

'Hoo? This might be even easier to handle than I thought?'

If it had been Kale a year ago, he would probably have been defeated in an instant.

Kale was a student who barely got in and barely advanced to the second year.

Always the lowest in the second year.

But even so, he wasn't so weak as to be defeated by these hastily assembled party members.

A year at Lumern.

That one year was enough to transform the boy who dreamed of being a supporter.

'A supporter is someone who assists a hero.'

Click-

Kale pulled out a one-handed crossbow from his subspace.

'To assist also means to guard the hero's back.'

And Kale had watched the backs of countless peers for a year.

'I don't have the ability to stand beside them or the strength to follow. But to be a supporter, I have to stand behind them somehow.'

He was painfully aware of the gap.

He also knew that the difference would widen.

'But still, I have to try my best to keep up. Using everything I can.'

When a hero gets tired and collapses.

To earn the right to support their back and tell them to keep going, they must at least be able to follow in their footsteps.

That's why Kale researched and worked as hard as he could on what he was capable of.

Kale aimed his crossbow at the party leader behind them and pulled the trigger.

"A mage using such crude attacks……"

Boom-!

The enchanted arrow caused an explosion.

It was a special explosive arrow Kale had created with alchemy.

'Of course, the cost per arrow is no joke.'

Kale grinned and loaded the next arrow.

"Tsk!"

Surprised by the unexpected power, the party leader made a flustered expression and focused more power into his shield magic.

Ping-! Thwack-!

And this time, the arrow that flew was futilely deflected by the shield magic.

This one was just a normal arrow.

It was a trick to deplete their magic power.

"Alright, here's a question. Will the next one be an explosive arrow? Or a regular arrow?"

Kale smirked and loaded an arrow.

And he shot an arrow at one of the flustered members of the backline.

KWAANG-!

"The answer is an explosive arrow!"

"Hey! Front-liners! Block it properly!"

"Are we your shields?!"

Cracks began to form in the hastily assembled party.

'These guys' biggest weakness is their cohesion.'

One of the biggest characteristics of Lumern test-takers was their pride.

They were all talented enough to challenge the Lumern entrance exam.

As such, their pride in their skills was also strong.

Since they believed they were the best at a young age, it was unlikely their teamwork would be good.

'This kind of problem persists until the early first semester at Lumern.'

Since he had experienced it firsthand, Kale exploited that gap.

'If a party collapses like this, it's uncontrollable.'

Kale took out a potion bottle from his pocket.

Using enchantment magic consumed his magic power rapidly.

Even after drinking the potion, he continued to "cook" the opposing party with alchemy magic.

Chloe, taking her eyes off the grimoire, watched him and smiled faintly.

'Yes, Kale. With your strengths, you would have definitely advanced to the second year.'

Most second-year students thought Kale advanced due to luck, but that wasn't the case.

If only considering written exam scores, it was true that Kale barely made it.

However, in terms of practical combat, Kale was skilled enough to easily remain a second-year student.

Of course, he wouldn't be in the middle ranks, but he was certainly not someone to be easily defeated by test-takers.

'And there isn't really an outstanding test-taker among them either.'

As she was thinking that, Chloe briefly glanced to the side.

Crackle! Smash-!

Ice crystals gathered in mid-air, forming a shield.

Along with that, the magic bullets aiming for Chloe scattered in all directions.

Chloe's eyes narrowed.

'Sniping magic.'

And it was magic of considerable power.

Chloe swiftly surveyed the surrounding area.

'They've perfectly suppressed their presence.'

Thud-

Chloe closed her book and descended from her staff.

Standing in mid-air, Chloe swiftly flew towards where the sniping magic had come from.

KWA-AAK-! SMASH-! CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE! Then, this time, sniping magic flew in from behind.

The barrier magic cracked under the power, which was stronger than before.

Seeing that, Chloe tilted her head.

'I couldn't detect the flow of magic this time either.'

It seemed to be a mage specialized in this field.

Chloe also knew about this type of mage.

'Looks like a magician killer.'

To traditional mages like Chloe, they were a natural enemy.

Indeed, if she kept getting sniped without being able to pinpoint the location, it would be troublesome even for Chloe.

'That is, if I *keep* getting sniped.'

Thump-!

Chloe gripped her staff.

WHOOOOOOSH-!

Chloe's cold magic power surged.

"If I can't pinpoint their location."

Chloe smiled faintly.

"Then I'll just freeze everything."

Chloe's unique magic.

The World of Ice was activated.

The biting cold instantly swept through the vast surrounding area.

CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE-!

Chloe, who had instantly frozen a vast area, glanced at one spot.

'So that's where they are.'

Detecting the magic fluctuations, Chloe quickly headed there.

Kale, watching from afar, clicked his tongue.

"Chloe's a complete monster now, too."

Saying that, Kale looked at the test-takers who had attacked him.

"Alright, then, shall we finish this now?"

Swirl-!

Kale, with a long potion bottle hooked on his finger, grinned.

"I'll show you the terror of a Lumern student."

"Hiiik!"

The test-takers who had rashly attacked shrieked.

Kale easily claimed victory against the test-takers.

***

"Those Lumern kids are quite something too."

Ar looked at the exam with sparkling eyes.

Then, seeing Leo appear on the screen, he clenched his fist tightly.

"There you are! Black Rabbit!"

Ar, whose feelings about Leo had mellowed, was calling Leo "Black Rabbit" again.

"Lord Ar. I have a question."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Why do you call Lord Leo 'Black Rabbit'? Of course, Lord Leo has cute aspects like a rabbit, but wouldn't 'White Rabbit' suit him better just based on appearance?"

"When I first saw him, he was in his rabbit beastkin form, and his hair was black then. So it just stuck."

"L-Lord Leo with rabbit ears……?"

Eiran put her hands on both cheeks, made a flushed expression, and twisted her body.

"I, I want to see it……! Don't you have any pictures?"

"No."

At the resolute words, Eiran despaired.

It was then.

"Hmm. That test-taker is brave."

Runia rested her chin on her hand, making an amused expression.

Ar and Eiran also looked at the screen.

It was typical for test-takers to flee madly whenever they saw Leo.

But this test-taker was different.

The girl standing before Leo gripped her sword with a resolute face.

"That's incredible courage, who is it?"

It was when Eiran expressed her admiration.

Ar's eyes widened.

"Aina Veidna."

That test-taker was a girl Ar knew.

"She's the great-granddaughter of the Sword Saint."