Book 1 Chapter 224

'There are four people I haven't caught yet.'

Leo narrowed his eyes.

Shasha, Haviden, Aina, Luke.

These are the students who have encountered Leo and survived.

All other students who couldn't escape far were eliminated by Leo.

Of course, they weren't completely out of Leo's pursuit.

Thump- thump-

Leo approached the center of the forest, Mount Eddien, with a seemingly relaxed gait.

Leo's red eyes scanned the traces left in the forest.

'All four are fleeing towards the center of the forest. Not a bad choice.'

ROOOAR-!

Leo swung his sword at the monster that lunged at him.

SPLASH-!

The troll, split by Leo's sword, collapsed on the ground, scattering blood.

Even though it was a monster with excellent regenerative abilities, it was hopeless when caught like this.

Mount Eddien is a monster-infested area.

And the more you approach the center of the mountain, the more monsters there are.

Moreover, the forest becomes more complex and dense, providing many hiding places.

Therefore, fleeing to the center of the forest to escape Leo's pursuit was the best choice.

'Well, that's assuming they can survive against the monsters… Looking at their skills, it seems possible. 'Now, the question is how these kids will perform from now on.'

Even in Leo's eyes, the four were outstanding enough.

Just succeeding in escaping from Leo was enough to qualify them for admission to Lumene.

'If it were Celiana Abad, Duran, Warden, or Elija, they would have been eliminated without mercy.'

They, being thorough, would have likely eliminated them without a moment's hesitation.

Leo allowed their escape out of curiosity to see how they would react.

Everyone else besides those four had already been eliminated by Leo.

'But there won't be a second time.'

He intended to eliminate anyone he met next without mercy.

"Huh?"

While tracking the traces, Leo stopped as he saw the people who appeared before him.

Five people, who he expected to be running away, appeared before Leo.

***

Luke, who had been fleeing with Aina, shouted.

"Hurry up and run!"

"Let go of this for now."

"Ah!"

At Aina's words, Luke let go of her wrist with a flustered expression.

"Sorry."

Looking at Luke, Aina touched her wrist and said.

"Don't mind me and just run away by yourself."

"Why? We need to run away and get further away from him…"

"We can't escape from him, you or I."

"What? Who is he?"

"Leo Flov."

"Gasp!"

At Aina's words, Luke gasped.

Leo Flov.

The most famous hero candidate in the world right now.

Not only is he all-class, but he's also a legendary figure who became the first student council president in Lumene as a freshman!

Luke, who had been flustered, calmed down and said.

"Still, let's run away."

"Didn't you understand what I said? He's much stronger than you think."

She said in a voice of resignation.

"It's futile."

"We still have to try our best!"

"You try your best. I have no intention of doing so."

'To be recognized by him, I have to start training again from tomorrow.'

Aina slightly lowered her head.

'To be recognized by Leo Flov, I have no choice but to conquer my grandfather's world and build up my strength.'

The Sword Saint's Hero Record.

Its rightful owner is Aina.

Aina can enter the Sword Saint's Hero Record anytime she wishes.

'I need to get stronger quickly.'

It was when Aina's eyes calmed down.

"Do you have no intention of entering Lumene?"

"Correct."

For Aina, killing one more demon was more important than studying at Lumene.

She took this exam with the mindset that whether she entered or not didn't matter.

"Why? It's a shame! With such great skills, you're sure to be admitted!"

Looking at Luke, who was genuinely regretful, Aina had a strange expression.

"Why do you want to enter Lumene?"

"Because… I want to become a hero."

"Why?"

At Aina's question, Luke scratched his head.

And he laughed awkwardly.

"Well, it's a rather embarrassing reason…"

WHOOSH-!

Suddenly, Aina grabbed Luke by the collar and dragged him.

CRUNCH-!

A flash of light passed through the spot where Luke had been standing.

"Huh?"

Luke had a flustered expression.

"How dare you think of challenging him with such skills?"

Aina shook her head and looked towards where the sniping magic had come from.

"Whew~ What a good reaction, miss?"

A girl, pushing through the bushes, appeared with a sniper-magic specialized magic weapon on her shoulder.

Black hair, brown eyes, and a healthy brown complexion.

"From the Southern Magic Tower, I see."

Aina muttered, looking at the emblem on her shoulder.

"Correct."

The girl smiled and aimed the magic weapon at Aina.

"If you're skilled in sniping magic, you must be Juien Torvina?"

"You recognize me?"

The girl asked with a combative smile.

"Then, what's your name?"

"Aina Beidna."

"The Sword Saint's great-granddaughter? Wow~ Amazing~"

"Huh?"

Juien exclaimed in admiration, and Luke looked surprised.

He never imagined this girl would be that famous person.

"But you're with a burden."

Juien smiled, and Luke scratched his head.

He didn't refute it because it wasn't entirely wrong.

Aina and Juien.

Both were top prospects for this entrance exam, famous students worldwide.

"Anyway, it's lucky to meet someone I wanted to test my skills against."

"I have no intention of fighting you."

"That's none of my business."

Juien said, looking at Luke.

"Run away quickly. If you don't want to get caught up in it."

"…I think we should run away together."

"Why?"

"We're being chased right now."

"Chased? By whom?"

"Mr. Leo Flov."

At Luke's words, Juien's face hardened.

"Why are you telling me this now!"

Juien tore at her hair.

"After barely escaping death from a run-in with that ice witch, now I have to deal with that monster?"

It was when Juien shuddered.

"Why are you following me?"

"Hmph. You're the one following me, aren't you?"

Bickering voices could be heard.

Shasha and Haviden appeared, pushing through the bushes.

Seeing the three, Shasha and Haviden narrowed their eyes.

"The Sword Saint's great-granddaughter, Aina Beidna. And Juien Torvina, daughter of the Southern Tower Master."

Shasha took out a fan from her pocket and opened it, covering her mouth.

"And one person I've never heard of before."

"Hahaha."

Luke laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hmph. If the situation were different, I would have defeated you. You're lucky."

"Hmph. Don't make me laugh. That's what I should be saying? We should leave quickly before the student council president arrives."

At Juien's words, Haviden flinched.

"Student Council President? Are you guys also being chased by senior Leo?"

At Haviden's question, Aina said.

"You too?"

Shasha folded her fan and muttered.

"It seems the top candidates for the freshman representatives have all become targets of senior Leo. How unlucky."

Shasha shrugged.

"Since we're in the same situation, shall we brainstorm together on how to shake off senior Leo?"

"You guys do it yourselves. I'm good at disappearing. As long as it's not area magic, I won't get caught."

"Your skills won't work on senior Leo."

"What?"

"And senior Leo can easily use area magic."

"Did you see? I've heard rumors that Leo Flov's magic abilities are amazing, but I've never heard that he uses area magic."

"Well,"

Shasha crossed her arms and her eyes sparkled.

"There's nothing senior Leo can't do!"

Juien shook her head at Shasha's reaction.

Just then.

"You guys run away."

Aina opened an interdimensional space and drew a new sword.

"I'm going to fight."

At those words, Shasha, Haviden, and Juien frowned.

"Why are you doing something so reckless?"

"I don't run away."

Those words were enough to provoke Shasha, Haviden, and Juien.

While they were already thinking of running, Aina, whom they considered their biggest rival before the exam, was thinking of fighting back.

The immature pride of adolescent boys and girls, suppressed by the fear of Leo, began to rear its head.

"You think you're the only brave one? I am too!"

"Being chased doesn't suit my taste."

"No matter how much it's senior Leo, it's humiliating to just keep running."

Juien, Haviden, and Shasha were provoked.

Aina tilted her head, watching them.

"You guys should run away. That's better."

"As if!"

She said it out of genuine concern, but it successfully provoked the three.

Aina looked confused.

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

"I think it's because of you, Aina."

"Because of me? What did I do?"

Seeing Aina furrowing her brow, Luke let out an awkward "hahaha."

"What are you going to do?"

Haviden asked, and Luke hesitated.

Luke was different from these four.

He had no confidence in passing Lumene.

He was an ordinary boy who had trained alone in the countryside his whole life.

But…

'I want to fight.'

The youngest student council president in Lumene history.

A person who achieved accomplishments comparable to a hero as a freshman.

Leo was an object of admiration for Luke.

He decided to challenge the Lumene entrance exam after hearing Leo's story.

'Will I ever have the chance to see him again other than today?'

This might be his last chance.

If so, he wanted to challenge Leo at least once.

"I don't know if I'll be helpful, but I'll help too."

***

"Instead of being picked off one by one, they decide to join forces to stop me…"

Leo chuckled, looking at the students burning with fighting spirit.

"Not a bad choice."

Shasha, Haviden, and Juien inwardly flinched.

The three of them had simply reacted out of pique at Aina's actions.

Hearing Leo's words, Luke's eyes lit up, and he looked at the three with admiration.

"Ah, so that was your intention? I thought you just reacted to Aina's words."

"Of course, of course."

"Let's join forces and fight against senior."

"That's right."

Watching Luke with shining eyes, the three decided to become shameless.

Just then, Aina stepped forward.

"Draw your sword."

At her words, the four people lowered their stances with tense faces.

The moment Leo drew his sword and entered a combat stance.

They had to act according to their assigned roles.

Even though it was a hastily formed party, they had discussed how to counter Leo.

At Aina's words, Leo chuckled.

"Draw my sword? Why would I need to do that?"

"Eh?"

Leo raised his hand.

"I don't think I need to draw my sword to deal with you guys."

"……!"

If it were 1:1, they would have accepted those words.

But now it was 1:5.

Even if the opponent was Leo Flov, who was evaluated as one of the top hero candidates in Lumene's history.

They were also evaluated as top freshman representatives.

"Don't you think we should make you draw it?"

Juien smirked.

"That's true too."

*Snap*

Juien aimed her sniper-specialized magic weapon at Leo.

"I'll make you regret it!"

Gooooo-!

Powerful magic swirled.

This was an all-out battle, not a stealth attack.

Naturally, the power of this was stronger than suppressing magic to avoid detection.

BOOM-!

A sound close to bombardment, rather than sniping, echoed.

A magic bullet imbued with powerful magic flew towards Leo.

CLANG-!

"……!"

Leo, with a blank expression, repelled the magic bullet with mana in his hand.

Seeing that, Juien's face hardened slightly.

"Show me."

Leo's eyes flashed.

The five felt goosebumps all over their bodies.

A gaze that clearly looked down on them from an immeasurably high place.

They were overwhelmed by that gaze.

"Your worth, I mean."