Book 1 Chapter 260

260

5000 years ago.

After the age of disaster ended, many races scattered to find new homes.

The elves went north, and the beastmen went south.

And humans settled across the world.

Finally, the dwarves.

They settled in the rugged Drakin Mountains in the east.

And founded the world's largest mining kingdom.

Through the Warp Gate, to the heart of the Drakin Mountains.

We arrived in Dwaronia, considered the dwarven capital.

This city, named after Dweno, praised as the divine blacksmith, has a history of 5000 years.

It was the oldest city in the world.

The students of Rumern, who arrived at the Warp Gate, widened their eyes in astonishment.

The Warp Gate itself was incredibly magnificent.

The walls were all covered in gold, and beautiful jewels adorned the walls everywhere.

"It's amazing."

"This is the wealthiest city in the world…"

Exclamations of admiration could be heard from all around.

Even to the eyes of the Rumern students, many of whom were from prestigious families, the splendor of Dwaronia's Warp Gate was on a level of grandeur they had never seen before.

"Wow, how much is all that?"

Kal mumbled, his mouth agape.

"Look at the ceiling."

"Aren't those great heroes?"

"It's a complete work of art."

On the ceiling, the figures of great heroes were depicted in mosaics, using colorful, shimmering jewels.

Of course, only the Four Heroes.

The portrait of Kyle, recently revealed to have existed, was not yet engraved.

We left the Warp Gate and went out into the plaza.

Sedgen, who had emerged into the plaza, spoke to the students.

"We can't enter Demian until evening."

Sedgen pointed to a huge mountain next to Dwaronia.

It was a mine with a massive hole.

And a grand castle was visible, situated in that hole.

It was Demian, the hero academy of the dwarves.

"Until then, you have free time, so feel free to tour the city."

"Wow!"

The students cheered.

After attendance checks and announcements were finished, only the students remained.

Then, the students began to gather with their close friends.

"How about we gather with our close friends and tour around?"

"Let's do that! Let's do that!"

"Chloe! Let's get together, the girls from Class 1, for the first time in a while!"

Four female students from first-year Class 1 approached Chloe.

Class 1, along with Class 5, had not had a single dropout, so the bonds between the students were very strong.

At the suggestion of her classmates from the first year, Chloe smiled and nodded.

"Should we? But let's not get too excited. We're not here to play. Let's set a meeting time first…"

"You're still the same class president."

"Indeed! That's our class president's charm."

The girls giggled.

"Should we call Celia too?"

"Should we? I'll go and call her."

One of the girls, smiling, was about to go find Celia.

"You guys are from Rumern."

A group blocked their path.

The Class 1 girls' eyes widened.

"Azonya?"

It was as they said.

Ten students in Azonya uniforms stood before the girls.

At the forefront stood a male student who looked to be around 190cm tall.

He was a bear beastman, seemingly armed with solid muscle from head to toe, with wild brown hair and eyes.

The girls instinctively flinched a little at his somewhat belligerent impression.

Chloe stepped forward.

"What business do Azonya students have with us?"

In response to Chloe's question, the wolf beastman spoke.

"My name is Wern Damun."

"Wern Damun?"

"You were ranked 8th among the second-year students of Azonya?"

The girls nodded.

Wern Damun.

8th ranked among Azonya's second-year students.

In other words, he was the 8th best-performing student among Azonya's second-year students.

He was also the largest and strongest student among the Azonya students.

As the students from the rival school, who was a formidable figure, suddenly appeared, the girls looked surprised.

"My name is Chloe Müller."

"I've never heard that name before."

At Wern's words, the girls bristled.

"What? How can you not know Chloe?!"

"Right! She's one of the top students in our school's magic department, competing for first or second place!"

Chloe was a candidate for a globally famous hero.

So, when a student from another hero academy spoke as if he was looking down on her, the girls couldn't stand it.

But despite their reaction, Wern merely sneered.

"I have no interest in mages or summoners."

"Oh my! Oh my! What are you saying?"

"Hmph! If you have no interest in mages and summoners, why did you talk to us!"

"Right! Go away! None of us are in the knight department!"

At first, the girls were intimidated by Wern's size, but they soon wore fierce expressions.

They had been through a lot at Rumern for a year.

They wouldn't be intimidated just because someone was a little bigger or outnumbered.

Moreover, their reactions became even sharper when their departments were disparaged.

However, Wern didn't bat an eye at the girls' reactions.

"Is there anyone among you who is close to Leo Flob?"

At that question, Chloe replied.

"Leo is my friend."

"Good. Come with me."

Wern reached out to grab Chloe's wrist.

*Crack-*

Suddenly, an ice wall shot up in front of Wern.

Wern flinched and retreated, and the other beastmen also looked wary.

"What are you doing?"

Chloe's voice turned as cold as ice.

Seeing Chloe's drastically changed demeanor, Wern narrowed his eyes.

'The claim that she's one of the top two in the magic department seems to be true.'

Beastmen were a race that revered strength.

However, that strength was limited to 'physical' strength.

5000 years ago.

Arion the Brave, whom all beastmen revered, was a man who achieved an astonishing level through the power of his body alone.

Therefore, Azonya trained its students with the goal of becoming the strongest warriors.

In a way, it was similar to Seirun.

Just as one couldn't enter Seirun without learning the magic of the stars,

in Azonya, those who were weak as warriors couldn't enroll.

Given this situation, most Azonya students were indifferent to the top students in Rumern's magic and summoner departments.

Chloe also knew that Azonya students had such a tendency.

That's why she didn't feel particularly bad when he said he didn't know her.

But…

'He's trying to drag me away without any preamble.'

Wern's actions made her very unhappy.

In response to Chloe's question, Wern said,

"I have no ill intentions."

"To suddenly try to drag me away?"

"You just need to be a bait to draw Leo Flob."

"Bait?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes.

"Yes."

Wern smirked.

"I know well about Leo Flob's reputation. I know he is Rumern's strongest warrior."

"And then?"

"But I cannot accept that he is a warrior who has surpassed even our Azonya students!"

"So? Are you going to set a trap to defeat Leo?"

"Hmph! Do you think I would use such a cowardly method?"

Wern scoffed.

"I intend to challenge him to the Rite of the Great Warrior!"

The Rite of the Great Warrior.

While other Rumern students didn't know what it was, the knowledgeable Chloe knew well.

'A traditional Azonya ritual where they compete purely through martial arts.'

It was a sparring match to determine the strongest, using only the power of the body, without borrowing the power of Aura.

And the loser of the Rite of the Great Warrior had to obey the winner's words.

"What would you do with something like that? Leo isn't an Azonya student."

"Hmph. I just want to prove that the truly strong warriors are in Azonya by defeating Leo Flob."

At Wern's words, Chloe crossed her arms.

'So that's why he called me bait.'

She understood.

And…

'This is annoying.'

Chloe's face turned as cold as ice.

'Meaning, you're thinking of me as mere bait to draw Leo in?'

She didn't like the method, but she disliked the intention even more.

By this point, even knowing Azonya's tendency to not pay much attention to mages and summoners, she felt offended.

'They're completely looking down on me, aren't they?'

Chloe let out a scoffing laugh.

If Celia or Duran had seen that smile, they would have flinched.

"Alright. I'll go with you."

"Ch-Chloe."

"He doesn't seem to have malicious intent. If I don't go, it might cause a disturbance, and if a disturbance occurs on the first day, it will be a big problem for the school's prestige."

"Bu-but…"

"Don't worry about me."

"Right. She will be treated politely as bait."

'Still treating me like bait?'

Chloe smiled sweetly.

If the other girls had seen her, their faces would have turned pale, and they would have stopped Chloe.

But unfortunately, all they could see was Chloe's back.

*Rumble!*

The Azonya students surrounded Chloe.

"Let's go. With this, I have gained the opportunity to be the first to defeat Leo Flob. The reward will also be mine."

Wern left with a satisfied expression.

Chloe walked behind Wern, thinking.

'I'll freeze them all and escape.'

Chloe, the always calm honor student.

But the moment she lost her temper, she transformed into the most reckless person among the second-year students.

Unaware of Chloe's state, the faces of the other girls turned pale.

And they ran to ask other students for help.

"Ce-Celia! It's a disaster! A disaster!"

Then they spotted Celia and Duran and shouted in panic.

"What's wrong?"

As Celia asked with wide eyes, the girls shouted.

"Chloe has been kidnapped by Azonya students!"

"What?"

Celia's face hardened.

"Who was kidnapped?"

Then, a chilling voice was heard from behind.

The girls who turned around smiled brightly.

Duran and Haul, who were also from Class 1, were there.

Haul's face was contorted menacingly, and Duran was his usual expressionless self.

However, his eyebrows twitched, indicating his displeasure.

"Explain in detail."

At Celia's words, the girls explained the situation.

After hearing the story, Celia, with a hardened expression, said,

"I'll go and tell the professors right away."

"Hmph. How cowardly, Celia Zeidinger."

"What?"

"The intention of those Azonya guys is clear."

Duran popped his knuckles.

"They kidnapped Chloe Müller under the pretext of luring Leo Flob? This is a clear challenge to us."

"So?"

"Reporting to the professors and having them resolve the issue would be like avoiding their challenge."

"So? Are you going to start a war between schools?"

"That's also a good idea."

"Chloe followed them quietly to avoid escalating the situation. We need to avoid making the incident bigger as much as possible."

"Disappointing, Celia Zeidinger."

"What?"

"It's not just a matter of school pride. They've messed with Chloe Müller, whom you and I recognized as our class president."

Duran looked at Celia with an expressionless face.

"If we tell the professors, we won't be able to beat them up."

At Duran's words, the girls whispered.

"Hmm, so to interpret it… 'How dare they mess with my friend! I can't forgive them!' is it?"

"It seems so."

"Come to think of it, Duran, despite being grumpy, does subtly look out for us."

"Shut up."

Duran replied expressionlessly to the girls' murmurs.

Meanwhile, Celia, who had been pondering Duran's words, crossed her arms.

And she nodded.

"Yes. You're right."

"You finally understand."

Duran said with a satisfied expression.

"Include me too."

Just then, someone jumped from the roof with a *plop*.

It was Chen Xia.

"This is a Class 1 matter, Chen Xia."

"But Chloe is my friend too, isn't she? Besides, she's the head of our dormitory now. I think I'm involved."

"Hmph. If that's the case, I won't stop you."

Duran crossed his arms.

Seeing that, Haul asked,

"What's the plan?"

"First, we find the Azonya students."

Duran replied.

"And then?"

"We'll beat them up thoroughly and then ask where that guy named Wern is."

Chen Xia said with a grin.

"What if they don't know?"

"We find the next Azonya student and repeat the process."

Watching Celia run her hand through her hair as she answered, Haul thought to himself.

'What bad luck to be targeted by all three of them at once. That Wern guy is also pitiable.'