Book 1 Chapter 225
A storm of aura raged towards Leo.
*Wham-!*
A sharp spear flew towards his neck.
And from behind, a sword was swung at a precise angle.
'Not bad for a hasty combination.'
He let out a slight laugh as he looked at Aina and Habiden, who were pressuring him.
The movements of the two had clearly become faster.
'Did Shasha summon a familiar and grant them a blessing?'
*Thump-! Thump-!*
“……!”
“……!”
Leo stretched out his hands and precisely grabbed Aina and Habiden by their wrists.
The eyes of the two, caught suspended in mid-air, widened.
“You should learn how to respond to situations like this in advance too.”
*Wham-! Bang-!*
“Ugh?”
“Gasp?!”
Leo slammed the two into the ground with brute force.
They were helplessly plunged into the ground by his rough strength.
After subduing the two, Leo twisted his neck.
*Wham-!*
A powerful sniping magic swept past where Leo's head had been.
It was Juen's sniping, who had concealed herself.
Leo looked in the opposite direction of the sniping magic.
'Did they find my location?'
Juen's face turned pale.
She had thought she had perfectly suppressed her presence and erased the residual mana, but Leo had precisely grasped Juen's location.
'They're a complete monster…'
Juen, startled for a moment, quickly ducked her head.
*CRASH-!*
Juen, who had been sitting on the tree, noticed that the upper part of the tree was gone.
She cautiously raised her head.
The top of the tree had been blown away.
'Sniping magic?!'
Juen gritted her teeth and tried to stealthily move to another location.
“If your position is revealed, you shouldn't maintain stealth. You should quickly rejoin your allies. There's nothing easier to deal with than a lone mage.”
“……!”
Juen turned her head in astonishment at the voice that came from behind.
'When did they…!'
*Spark-!*
Sparks flew from Leo's hand.
*Fizzzzzzzz!*
“Aaaargh!”
Juen screamed as she was electrocuted by lightning magic.
It was then.
*Wham-!*
Luke lunged towards Leo.
*Thump-!*
Leo, grabbing the sharply swung sword, immediately swung his fist.
*Whoosh-!*
“……!”
Luke hastily enveloped his arm in aura.
*Thwack-!*
Luke blocked Leo's punch and felt his mind go hazy for a moment.
*Wham-! Thud-!*
Luke, who had been lifted into the air, flew away and rolled several times on the ground.
'Clumsy. Both swordsmanship and aura manipulation.'
Leo took his eyes off Luke and looked back towards Juen.
She had already disappeared again.
'Good ability.'
As Leo let out a small laugh, Aina and Habiden, who had fallen to the ground, staggered to their feet.
Juen, who had rejoined the party in the rear, spoke tauntingly.
“You said you could easily subdue us without even drawing your sword, but that doesn't seem to be the case?”
“It seems we can endure it more than you thought, Leo-senpai.”
Habiden agreed with a laugh.
“Why don't you draw your sword?”
Shasha also said indignantly.
It was true that Leo's overwhelming power was intimidating.
However, they also felt that they could endure it for now.
Luke, whose arm had been broken in the process of blocking the attack just before, also got up with groans.
Leo let out a small laugh as he looked at the five, their fighting spirit ignited.
“Oh, really?”
*Swish-!*
The students tensed as they saw Leo draw his sword.
“Then I guess I'll get serious too.”
***
“Wh-what happened.”
“The moment he drew his sword, it was instantaneous…”
Aina, Shasha, Habiden, Juen, Luke.
The audience's excitement had reached its peak when the five fought Leo together.
A fierce battle between the strongest of the second-years and the candidate representatives of the freshmen.
It was clearly the main event of this entrance exam.
But the moment Leo drew his sword, the match was decided in an instant.
Most of the audience couldn't even understand what had happened.
Arga, watching from the stands, crossed his arms.
“It's over.”
Arga's blue eyes reflected Leo, who was captured on the screen.
'The black rabbit continues to get stronger.'
It was a level of strength far beyond what he had seen at the Azonia entrance exam half a year ago.
Of course, Arga had also become incomparably stronger compared to that time.
Only one thing.
He had trained like a madman with the sole aim of catching up to Leo.
Leo's latent power, encountered again after half a year, was no different from then.
No, it had only grown stronger.
Goosebumps rose all over his body.
The unique battle-lust inherent in beastkin was fully displayed.
His tail stood stiffly, and his ears perked up.
Arga, intoxicated by the excitement, trembled.
“Gyaah-! Meeting the black rabbit is the greatest fortune of my life!”
His eyes sparkled.
A goal to pursue.
A reason to become stronger.
For Arga, that was Leo.
“Alright! As soon as the entrance exam is over, I'm going to spar and roll around!”
Eiran flinched at Arga's words, unable to contain himself.
“Spar and roll?”
“What strange fantasies are you having again?”
“N-no! I wasn't imagining anything?!”
Roonia, who looked at his shocked friend with disbelief, shook his head and looked at Leo.
'Leo, what on earth are you thinking?'
The difference in power was obvious from the start.
'Is he trying to crush the spirit of promising juniors?'
Even with the age difference between seniors and juniors, they were only a year or two apart.
For those facing Leo, it was an emotion close to despair.
It was literally crushing their spirits.
'Perhaps the first-years of Lumelun this year will remain an unremarkable generation.'
***
*Stumble-!*
Aina struggled to get to her feet.
She was the most skilled among them in dual abilities.
'A monster.'
But Aina's eyes were filled with despair.
She had to somehow gain the recognition of the man before her.
Only then would she gain the right to exact revenge as the true successor of the Sword Saint.
But Leo wasn't looking at her at all.
If so, she had to make him look at her with her skills… but she didn't have the confidence.
Literally overwhelming.
*Roar-!*
Mana swirled from Leo's hand.
“Ugh!”
Aina hastily deployed her Aura Armor.
*Boom!*
She was sent flying weakly by the explosion.
“Ugh… it’s completely unfair.”
Juen, lying on the ground, struggled to lift her head.
“Swordsmanship, magic, summoning. All at a monstrous level…!”
In their eyes, Leo was a perfect being without flaws.
There was no room to penetrate.
That fact was enough to instill despair.
“Is it over? Shall we end it then?”
Leo said coldly and raised his hand.
It was when Aina, Shasha, Habiden, and Juen had resigned expressions.
*Rustle-*
“Not yet… not yet.”
Luke got to his feet.
He was in the worst physical condition among the five.
Despite his inferior skills, Luke desperately tried to do his part and repeatedly charged at Leo.
Even when he fell, he got up several times to block Leo's path.
That's why his condition was so dire.
With every ragged breath, a *shhh-shhh-* sound of escaping air could be heard.
“I can fight.”
Leo said as he looked at Luke, who was gripping his sword.
“You've already reached your limit. If you push any further, you could die of exhaustion.”
It was as Leo said.
His aura had long been depleted, and the physical blows he had sustained were significant.
His stamina had also reached its limit.
He had only managed to get up using his willpower.
“All of you are outstanding.”
Leo said calmly.
“If you receive a good evaluation in this fight, you might be able to enroll. Even if you fail, with your level, you'll pass next year without any problems. You were just a little unlucky.”
As Leo said, they were all skilled enough to pass.
The students' hearts softened at Leo's gentle words.
Aina, on the other hand, gritted her teeth.
For her, whose goal was not enrollment, such comfort was entirely unnecessary.
She felt only despair.
And Luke…
“You're not giving up.”
Leo looked at Luke, who was still trying to face him.
Compared to the other four, he was truly weak.
But he was the most persistent.
“Why aren't you giving up?”
“This might be my last chance.”
He felt overwhelming despair and keenly experienced the insurmountable gap in skill.
Luke knew better than anyone that his current actions were meaningless.
Even so, he did not give up.
'I'm different from others. I won't be able to enroll in Lumelun. Then I won't be able to meet Leo-san again.'
To Luke, Leo was an object of admiration.
Despite being only a few years older, he had achieved great feats, like a hero in a story, multiple times.
'I want to know. How much longer can I fight against Leo-san?'
Luke gripped his sword and smiled.
“Isn't overcoming your limits… a lesson of Lumelun?”
Leo's eyes widened slightly at the smile.
He was reminded of someone who could smile like that while foolishly clinging to the impossible.
“Do you want to be a hero?”
“……Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to help many people.”
“Why do you want to help?”
Luke blushed at Leo's question.
Hesitating, Luke replied.
“Well… because it’s cool to be a hero like that.”
The observers looked dumbfounded at Luke's awkward smile.
To want to be a hero for such a ridiculous reason?
“Because it's cool?”
Leo burst into laughter, and Luke lowered his head, embarrassed.
Wanting to save many people was a grand ideal.
The reason for dreaming such a grand dream was because it was cool.
It was an absurd reason.
But Leo did not ridicule him.
Leo knew of a fool who fought against the destruction of the world simply because the world was in danger.
'If the world is in danger, shouldn't I naturally save it?'
It was himself who had participated in that great and absurd journey.
“What's your name?”
“Luke Elda.”
“I'll remember it.”
Luke's eyes widened at Leo's words.
The others were the same.
Leo pointed his sword at Luke.
*Gooooo-!*
An aura, incomparable to anything before, surged.
Luke's face turned pale.
But he soon composed himself and gripped his sword again.
Leo, seeing Luke, let out a small laugh, his eyes flashing.
*Crack-!*
Leo's sword strike descended towards Luke.
Luke's sword broke, and he promptly fainted.
Leo let out a small laugh as he looked at the junior who had fought to the end without breaking.
*Crackling-*
The cracks in the world had already begun to form.
“The exam is over.”
The un-conquered Hero Record can be closed by an external will.
Leo, sheathing his sword, spoke to the four people watching him and Luke with a dazed expression.
“Then I'll see you at school, juniors.”
Leo waved his hand lightly.
'Did he even anticipate the exam time?'
Aina gritted her teeth.
'In the end, he went easy on us!'
Even so, she was nowhere near his level.
Her gaze fell on Luke, who was unconscious before Leo.
Anyone could see.
That this boy had received Leo's recognition.
'Why?'
Along with that question, a bright light enveloped her vision.
“Hmph. He went easy on them.”
Halind muttered with a sneer.
“That’s right. He even anticipated the exam time. Heh heh! As expected, the future of the Summoning Department!”
“Yura-senpai, you're talking nonsense. Leo-student is the future of the Magic Department.”
“Oh? Are you rebelling?”
“It's not rebellion, I'm just stating the facts. It seems my explanation is too difficult for Yura-senpai. Alright, then I'll adjust to Yura-senpai's level…”
“It’s not rebellion, it’s a challenge.”
Yura laughed menacingly and grabbed Ren by the collar.
Halind pointed with his chin and said coldly.
“Handle them.”
Other professors subdued the two.
Halind, creating a scene where Lumelun professors were holding chairs and kneeling, looked at the profiles of the five who had faced Leo.
“What do you intend to do? After all, it's true that Leo went easy on the five of them.”
“Yes. But it would be funny to say they didn't try their best on the exam when they were so thoroughly crushed.”
Halind, with a nonchalant expression, flipped to the last page.
There was a photo of Luke.
“Sedgen might have liked him, saying he was excellent.”
Persistence, the refusal to give up, was one of the values Sedgen valued most.
Of course, it wasn't something Halind gave much score to.
“What about this examinee?” Aine asked.
While Aina, Shasha, Habiden, and Juen were guaranteed to pass, Luke's situation was ambiguous.
His ability to fight against Leo to some extent was greatly influenced by the four people he had teamed up with.
“What do you think?”
“…He's unrefined. His swordsmanship is crude compared to other candidates, and his aura manipulation skills are also lacking.”
Aine evaluated coldly.
“However… he definitely has talent.”
At that, Halind rested his chin.
He tapped the desk a few times and drew a triangle over Luke's photo.
It meant pending.
Halind, who stood up, left the examination hall.
Aine let out a sigh of relief as he watched him go.
'At least the freshmen weren't wiped out.'
Only 53 people had passed the exam so far.
Only 53 out of thousands of students had survived.
But fortunately, there were a whopping 724 students on hold.
'The cream of the crop will be selected at the professors' meeting.'
Sedgen would also be included then.
Aine sighed as he looked at the students whose fates were divided.
'I hope the second-years don't become intimidated.'
***
Cracks were appearing in the world of heroes.
The students and second-years had all returned to their original worlds.
But Leo stood alone.
'What is this?'
Feeling a sense of bewilderment, Leo looked around the quiet forest.
There was no sign of monsters.
It was as if the forest was holding its breath.
Leo frowned and turned his head.
And he met a giant, crimson eye floating in the air.
Leo felt his heart freeze.
The power emanating from the crimson eye was weak.
It was as if it had no power.
But it possessed a clear 'will'.
The moment he grasped what consciousness resided in the eye.
*Wham-!*
Leo's bright vision was enveloped.
In an instant, Leo was standing in the center of the examination hall.
Leo stood frozen, staring blankly.
“Leo?”
Kal approached with a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong? Why are you sweating so much?”
“No, it's nothing.”
He wiped the sweat dripping down his chin.
That crimson eye from just now.
'That was definitely… Erebus.'