Book 1 Chapter 26

【26】25

Seeing Leo's special physical training, Karl simply ran away.

Chelsea, who had trained with Leo on the first day, felt that something was very, very wrong.

But it was already too late to turn back.

Celia, who initially refused, gave up and began training with Leo.

Fortunately, she had already experienced it, so it was more bearable than the first time.

"I-Is this really effective?"

"It is. Leo's training is unnecessarily systematic despite being brutal."

Celia replied with a vacant expression to Chelsea, who asked on their way back to the girls' dormitory.

Then she gave Chelsea a malicious smile.

"Welcome to hell, Chelsea Llewellyn."

At that smile, Chelsea looked terrified.

"It seems you can handle it if you're chatting?"

"Don't make me laugh! You devil!"

When Leo said with a laugh, Celia grabbed Leo's collar with trembling arms and shook him.

Thus, for some, a sweet weekend.

For others, a hellish weekend passed, and it was the second week at Lumerne.

Karl asked Chelsea, who was hunched over her desk, trembling her limbs.

"Chelsea, are you alive?"

"No… I feel like I'm going to die."

"Here. I went to Sumeria yesterday and got you the best pain relief patch."

"For me?"

"Yeah, we're classmates."

Karl handed Chelsea a pain relief patch good for muscle recovery.

Chelsea accepted the patch with a slightly touched expression.

Karl held out his palm to Chelsea's face.

"What's the meaning of this hand?"

"I'll sell it to you at a special 30% discount. Because we're friends."

"Go die."

Chelsea threw the patch at Karl's face and said coldly.

Karl chuckled and placed the patch on Chelsea's desk.

"Still, hang in there. If you aspire to be a battle mage, you have to do it, right?"

"Want to do it together? I'll ask Leo oppa if you can join."

"Oh, no. I'm good."

Karl smiled awkwardly and shook his head, then whispered to Leo.

"Why didn't you go easy on them?"

"I *was* going easy on them?"

"That was going easy?"

Karl vowed never to train with Leo again.

"By the way, what kind of person do you think our homeroom professor will be?"

Karl sat in his chair, clasped his hands, and put them behind his head.

"I hope it's a pretty female professor."

*Creak-*

No sooner had he finished speaking than the classroom door opened, and a shabbily dressed middle-aged man walked in with an attendance roster.

Seeing him with dark circles under his eyes, the startled students quickly returned to their seats.

The man stood at the lectern, casually placed the attendance book down, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his name on the blackboard.

*Tap- tap-tap.*

The faces of the students in Class 5 turned pale as they confirmed the name on the blackboard.

"Nice to meet you. I am Harlind Edmon, your homeroom professor."

He was the most famous person among Lumerne teachers.

A teacher who mainly taught upper grades like 4th or 5th year students!

His nickname was The Wailing Wall!

The professor who expelled the most students at Lumerne!

That was Harlind Edmon.

At the unusual reactions of his classmates, Leo quietly asked Karl, who was sitting in the front.

"Is he a famous professor?"

"Not just famous, he's been a professor at Lumerne for nearly 20 years."

Karl whispered in reply and gulped.

"Many of his disciples have become heroes, but just as many seniors have been expelled. He usually takes homeroom for upper grades, so why is he homeroom for freshmen…!"

Harlind opened the attendance book.

"I will now call attendance. Karl Thomas."

"Yes, yes!"

"Illiana Raden."

"Here."

Despite merely calling attendance, the students in Class 5 showed tense reactions.

Among the 45 students, Leo's name was called last.

"Leo Plov."

"Yes."

*Thud-!*

Harlind closed the attendance book and said with a tired face.

"Some of you may be wondering why I'm taking homeroom for the first year."

He casually shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and spoke with a lack of enthusiasm.

"This batch, your admission test scores are, on average, higher than your seniors'. So you are highly anticipated by the Lumerne administration."

The students, who had been unaware of this fact, looked surprised.

And at the news of being anticipated, the classroom atmosphere instantly brightened.

Just then, a female student raised her hand.

"What is it? Illiana Raden."

"Did professors in other classes also not usually teach first-year students?"

"That's right."

"Is homeroom professor assignment random?"

"No, each chose the class they wanted, and I chose yours."

Harlind was not only famous for expelling many students but also a competent professor who had nurtured many outstanding students.

Upon hearing that such a professor had chosen them, the students of Class 5 couldn't help but feel excited.

"Is there a special reason why you chose our class!"

"Because among the ten classes, your average admission test score is the lowest."

The excited atmosphere instantly deflated.

"Do you know why I expel the most students? Illiana Raden."

"Ah, no."

"It's for efficiency."

Professor Harlind looked at Illiana with emotionless eyes.

"It's better to filter out hopeless students early and focus on teaching those with potential. Don't you think so too?"

Tears welled up in Illiana's eyes as she received Harlind's gaze directly, a gaze that made even Lumerne's formidable 5th-year students tremble.

It was a moment when all the students in Class 5, except Leo, held their breath and watched Harlind's expression.

The one who saved Illiana was a woman in her mid-twenties wearing glasses, who opened the classroom door and entered.

"Oh dear! Professor Harlind. How can you scare the students on the very first day!"

She sighed deeply and stood next to Professor Harlind.

"Hello everyone in Class 5! I'm Sena Tillia, your assistant homeroom professor."

With light brown hair and a bright personality, Professor Sena appeared to be the complete opposite of Harlind, the homeroom professor.

"Everyone! You don't have to think Professor Harlind is too scary! Even though he speaks like this, he actually cares deeply about his students…"

"Sena Tillia. Follow me outside."

Professor Sena, who was reassuring the students, was called out.

"You haven't changed since you were a student. How many times have I told you to fix that frivolous personality?"

"I'm sorry! I'll correct it! I won't do it again!"

Through the slightly open classroom door, Sena could be seen, pale and bowing frantically.

"I like our assistant homeroom professor."

"Me too. At least the assistant homeroom professor has a good personality, so we can breathe and live."

Chelsea said with a laugh, and Karl also nodded.

The other students seemed to feel the same, and the atmosphere relaxed a little.

A moment later, the two professors returned to the classroom and stood in front of the blackboard again.

"A moment ago, I said I'm taking your class because your average admission test score is the lowest, right?"

"Y-Yes…"

As the students answered in deflated voices, Professor Harlind looked bored.

"At Lumerne, admission test scores become meaningless in three months."

The students' eyes widened.

"Whatever education you received before entering Lumerne, Lumerne teaches beyond that. That's why the grades of Lumerne freshmen fluctuate greatly. It's common for top-ranked students' grades to hit rock bottom, and the opposite is also true."

Professor Harlind slammed the lectern!

"Right now, one of you could be the top student in the grade during the midterm exam."

The atmosphere in the entire class stirred.

"But remember this fact. Conquering the world of heroes is certainly the privilege of hero cadets, but it is also a duty. Does anyone know why it's a duty?"

Chelsea raised her hand.

"Chelsea Llewellyn, answer."

"Because you could lose your life."

"That's right."

Professor Harlind said coldly.

"In my 20 years of teaching at Lumerne, I have attended the funerals of many students."

Gulping sounds could be heard here and there.

"As long as you are Lumerne students, you cannot refuse to conquer the world of heroes. It's a matter of risking your life. I only want to send students who have the ability to survive there. Students who cannot."

Professor Harlind spoke forcefully.

"I will expel them before they die a dog's death. This is why I have taken on you, who have the lowest average score."

After saying that, Professor Harlind handed the attendance book to Sena.

"That's all I have to say. Starting now, we will begin Combat Studies, so change into your gym clothes and come to the training ground."

Professor Harlind swiftly left the classroom.

"Then everyone! See you at the training ground!"

Sena smiled at the students and then left the classroom.

The students grabbed their gym clothes from the lockers at the back of the classroom and headed to the changing rooms.

"He doesn't seem like someone who's just scary."

Karl, who had entered the boys' changing room, spoke.

"Right. If you think about it, Professor Harlind is also one of the most respected professors at Lumerne."

A classmate walking beside him said.

'His name was Taede, right?'

While Leo recalled the name, Taede continued.

"He's the one with the lowest student mortality rate among his assigned students."

The number of students who die at Lumerne each year is not small.

It's not because the academy drives them into dangerous situations.

On the contrary, Lumerne prioritizes student safety.

However, deaths still occur because the path students pursue is that of heroes.

A hero is one who plunges into trials to save people.

Conquering the hero's world and hero dungeons.

In addition to solving incidents occurring all over the world.

Life at Lumerne Academy is inevitably always fraught with danger.

"Professor Harlind scared the students from the beginning to remind us of that fact. So let's work hard from now on."

It was then that everyone nodded seriously at Taede's words.

"Oh my? So you were the type who looks skinny when you wear it?"

A soprano voice was heard through the open window.

*Squeals!* The voices of chattering female students were heard.

Come to think of it, the girls' changing room was right next to the boys' changing room.

The boys made solemn expressions at the voices coming from outside the window.

Then they gathered in the center of the changing room and lowered their voices.

"Who do you think looks skinny when they wear it?"

"Illiana?"

"No, that was Illiana's voice just now."

They debated with an incomparably serious atmosphere compared to a moment ago.

"Maybe Nella."

Just then, when Karl mentioned Nella Kaven, a slender beautiful girl, the boys gasped in admiration.

"That makes sense!"

"Indeed! Nella seems like she has an unexpected charm."

Leo shook his head at the utterly uselessly serious conversation of adolescent boys.

'These kids must really be hero cadets.'

Anyone seeing this might wonder what kind of hero candidates they were.

But Leo knew someone who seriously debated such topics even when lives were on the line.

A hero.

And not just any hero, but a great hero.

None other than [Divine Blacksmith] Dwenor.

'Why is that kind of guy respected and still remembered, but I'm forgotten?'

Leo felt wronged once again.

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