Book 1 Chapter 317
“What?”
Abad’s expression hardened as he received news from the rear detachment via magic communication.
“Leo appeared there? How many people besides Leo?”
-It’s just Leo! Emio has already been dealt with!
Abad fell into thought upon hearing the communication.
‘Why did Leo, who was supposed to be attacking other dorms, show up at the rear of our base?’
“What’s the probability that Kal Thomas’s information is wrong?”
Duran, who was listening to the conversation nearby, asked, and Abad shook his head.
“No. That’s impossible. I watched Kal gather information. The information was reliable.”
“The information about our movements might have been leaked in reverse…”
Duran’s eyes sharpened as he was about to answer.
Flash-! Crackle-!
As Duran drew his sword, a powerful golden flash erupted.
Roar-!
With a thunderous sound, golden sparks shot from the sword, adorning the sky.
Fwoosh-!
Lightning orbs, spread out like a net, engulfed the incoming ice spears.
The ice spears evaporated from the intense heat emanating from the lightning.
The male students of Noble gasped in admiration at the sight.
“As expected of Duran.”
“The power is like a full-fledged area-of-effect spell!”
“Kyaaaaaa!”
“Duran, you’re so cool!”
Duran, standing engulfed in lightning orbs, was indeed impressive.
But Duran’s movements weren't over.
Crackle-!
Golden currents wrapped around Duran’s feet.
Using his Orbs Step, Duran dashed through the air at incredible speed.
“Don’t you think it’s dangerous for a mage to be on the front lines like this?”
Duran raised his sword and grinned at the platinum-haired girl.
“Chloe.”
Flash-
Duran’s lightning orbs swirled.
Chloe’s blue eyes followed the trajectory of Duran’s sword.
Crack-!
For a moment, an ice barrier appeared.
Duran’s eyes twitched.
‘Did I expect Chloe to use a magic like this? If she were to use magic with this much defense, there would have been some indication?’
He felt no movement of mana.
‘Is this a familiar that the magic department was supposed to create this time?’
The moment he thought that.
Screech-!
Chloe’s mana fluctuated.
“Frost Nova.”
As soon as the incantation was complete, a cold icy wind swept through.
Just as Duran was about to be swept away by the wind.
Roar-!
A Wind Wyvern grabbed Duran’s arm and ascended into the sky.
Duran used the momentum to quickly board the Wind Wyvern’s back.
Crackle-!
Duran raised his hand.
‘Greatsword?’
In Duran’s hand was a massive two-handed sword.
‘I heard that the knights department handles secondary weapons… so Duran’s is a greatsword.’
Even within the same category of swords, the way a longsword and a two-handed sword are wielded is completely different.
‘The characteristic of a two-handed sword is.’
Chloe concentrated her mana.
‘Immense destructive power compared to a longsword.’
Flash-! Crackle-!
As Duran raised his two-handed sword, lightning struck the sword from the sky.
Waves of golden current surged.
Seeing this, Chloe raised her mana.
Hum-!
Intricate runes were woven into the air.
“Ice World.”
Crackle-!
Crack-!
As soon as Chloe’s chant ended, absolute zero cold enveloped Duran.
Fwoosh-!
Duran grimaced and retracted his attack.
The other students of Noble, in panic, escaped Chloe’s magical influence.
At the same time, the students of the magic department recited their spells for a counter-attack.
But before that, Chloe quickly retreated from the battlefield.
“Surprise attacks are truly terrifying.”
Abad clicked his tongue.
Abad then opened his palm.
A magic circle unfolded.
“Instant Contract.”
As the magic spell was recited, powerful mana erupted in the surrounding area.
“What kind of magic is that? It looks like a contract spell.”
“Familiar contract magic.”
“Familiar contract magic?”
“It’s magic that forms a widespread contract with the animals in the surrounding area.”
This was also magic created for the magic department’s assignment this time as a presentation spell.
It was the creation of familiars using magic artificial engineering, as instructed by Ren.
Abad, with advice from Ren and Tina, prepared a spell for his assignment that modified the basic magic bestowed upon familiars to temporarily grant its effects to surrounding animals.
It wasn't creating familiars, but a spell that arbitrarily commanded hundreds of familiars.
Abad, being an all-rounder, could provide powerful ranged support like Chloe or fight on the front lines like Chelsea.
While they might seem all-rounded, most all-rounded mages often end up being mediocre.
However, Abad, with his overwhelming talent, grew into an ideal all-rounded mage with virtually no flaws.
Therefore, he believed that pre-battle intelligence gathering was necessary to gain an advantage.
That’s how the “Instant Contract” magic, which could artificially create a large number of familiars in the vicinity, came to be.
‘What a desirable magic.’
Eliza’s eyes sparkled.
Various ways to utilize this magic in summoning came to Eliza’s mind, a student of the summoning department.
While Eliza was looking with an intrigued expression.
“…Everyone from Glory is at the base.”
Abad’s words surprised the Noble students.
“Is Kal’s information wrong?”
“No. The information should be correct. However, Glory probably anticipated the leak and devised a plan.”
“Then what about Leo Flob? Isn’t he defending the base?”
Eliza frowned her delicate brows.
In response to her reaction, Abad said.
“Currently, the only Glory student fighting other dorm students outside is Leo.”
At that, all the Noble students’ eyes widened.
“Leo is on a mission to hunt other students alone. He’s completely been dealt with.”
“H-how can it be possible for Leo, even as Leo, to hunt dozens of other students alone?”
As one of the Noble students asked in a flustered voice, Duran, who had returned, said.
“……Besides the dorm leaders and top-ranked students, who else can stop Leo Flob?”
The Noble students’ eyes widened.
“You seem to be mistaken. Let me make it clear now.”
Sparks flew from Duran’s body.
“He’s not just someone who possesses the abilities of all classes.”
Eliza scoffed and summoned a magical beast, mounting it.
“He’s a flawless monster who perfectly understands and uses the abilities of all classes. Rushing at him relying on numbers will only make you sacrifices. There is only one way to stop him.”
Crackle-! Fwoosh-!
“Overwhelming power!”
Duran charged forward, and at the same time, Eliza’s Wind Wyvern also sprinted.
***
“I suspect Kal has seen through our entire plan.”
Before the test began.
Chloe gathered the Glory students and said.
“So, we will all defend the base.”
Chloe looked at Leo.
“So, Leo, you get us the kill points against students from other dorms.”
Chloe said with a smile.
“The more you rampage alone, the more the students from other dorms will think you’re not the king. Of course, Warden, Duran, and Eliza will target you…”
Chloe’s plan was one that required trust.
“You won’t be defeated by them.”
Trust in their strongest card.
***
Clang-! Whoosh-!
Nella blocked Leo’s sword.
The other students couldn’t even dare to block Leo.
The dispatched detachment was mainly composed of mid-tier students with good mobility and stealth capabilities.
Most of the top-ranked students had gone to the front of the Glory dorm to attack head-on with the dorm leaders.
Emio, one of the skilled individuals capable of responding to Leo’s attacks, had already been declared dead and returned due to complacency.
In other words, Nella was the only one who could somewhat stop Leo here.
However, most students were in shock.
“There’s no opening!”
“Even so, he’s the same second-year…!”
Among the second-years, no one doubted that Leo was the strongest.
But not many students expected the gap between Leo and regular students to be this large.
It was literally a one-sided massacre.
And there was no room to find an opening.
Overwhelming power.
The second-years shuddered, feeling as if they were facing fifth or sixth-year students.
“This is… the youngest student council president.”
One student muttered as he was engulfed by Leo’s flames.
Clang-!
Nella, engulfed by Leo’s flames, gritted her teeth.
“Is this your first time fighting like this?”
“I suppose… In the first year, we were just class president and vice-president. We only had light sparring.”
Nella, answering with difficulty, unleashed her orbs.
Whoosh-
Leo’s flames engulfed Nella.
But Nella deliberately threw herself into Leo’s flames.
Her healing-attribute orbs healed the damage inflicted by Leo’s attack.
Seeing that, Leo said.
“It’s not a good choice.”
“What?”
Leo quickly responded to Nella’s attack, which attempted a surprise suicide.
Leo had dealt with countless enemies attempting suicide.
This trait was particularly prominent in enemies with excellent recovery abilities.
Just as Leo was about to finish Nella, who was gritting her teeth.
Rumble-!
The ground shook.
Leo distanced himself from Nella.
And he looked up at the sky.
“You’re the first to arrive.”
Leo smiled.
Seeing him, his opponent descended to the ground.
Thud-
He landed on the ground and opened his mouth.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment, Leo Flob.”
Warden’s eyes glinted.
***
After finishing their test schedule, the first-year students quickly headed to the first-year assigned spectator seats.
The first-years, who had taken their seats by class, all wore expressions of relief.
As it was their first test in Lumern, they had prepared to the best of their ability.
And regardless of the results, they were reveling in the sense of liberation that the test was over.
Amidst this.
The test site was quickly cleaned up, and a magic screen appeared so it could be seen from the spectator seats.
The guests in the spectator seats gasped in admiration, watching it.
“We’ll be able to vividly see our child’s performance.”
“They will bring honor to our family!”
The parents of the second-year students said in excited voices.
Pushing through such a crowd, a woman with black hair was heading to the front row.
Seeing such a woman, some people narrowed their eyes.
“Oh my, she came alone without any escorts.”
“She must be from an insignificant family.”
“There are no seats here, so if you came late, you should sit in the back. Why did you come?”
Amidst the murmurs, a woman who appeared to be the wife of a noble family, passing by the woman, covered her mouth with a fan and said.
“The front row seats are not for just anyone. They are reserved for Lumern graduates only.”
At those words, the black-haired woman smiled gently.
“Yes, I know.”
“What?”
The middle-aged woman’s eyes twitched.
“…Senior Reina?”
A voice called out cautiously from behind.
Turning her head, Reina smiled brightly upon seeing a face she hadn’t seen in decades.
“Ren! It’s been so long!”
“You were indeed Senior Reina!”
Ren smiled brightly and approached Reina.
The people around them looked surprised at the reaction.
“Why didn’t you come earlier to cheer for student Leo?”
“You know him. He’s not endearing. He’s not the type to get motivated even if I cheer for him.”
Reina smiled.
Seeing Reina like that, Ren smiled and escorted her.
“Well then, let’s go. For the future of student Leo, I have something important to tell you, his mother, Senior Reina.”
The surrounding parents who heard their conversation were horrified and quickly turned their gazes away.
They felt the need to be cautious, having spoken carelessly about the mother of Lumern’s unprecedented all-class, youngest student council president.
Of course, Reina didn’t pay much attention to their reactions.
“Excuse me, Ren, the spectator seats are over there.”
“I have something important to tell Senior Reina in a quiet place where no one else is around.”
“Are you trying to take a married woman to a secluded place now?”
“It’s that important of a conversation.”
Reina looked baffled when.
“How dare you try something like this.”
Yura appeared from behind and choked Ren with her arm.
“Oh my, Yura, it’s been a while too.”
“It has been a while, Senior Reina.”
Ren struggled to break free from Yura’s arm and said.
“Let go of these gorilla-like arms! As a professor, I need to have a very important meeting with the parent, Senior Reina!”
“……Try dying with these gorilla-like arms choking you!”
“You two are still the same.”
Reina, as if accustomed to the fierce bickering of her two juniors, chuckled and clapped her hands.
Contrary to the surrounding parents who were worried about a fight breaking out.
It was a unique composure that only Lumern graduates could possess.
At that moment.
“…Reina Zedinger?”
“Oh my. Ain?”
Reina spotted her classmate Ain and her eyes lit up.
“It’s been a really long time!”
“……I just remembered an urgent errand.”
Ain tried to leave without looking back.
“Hey! Are you going to ignore your classmate you haven’t seen in ages?”
“Let go.”
Ain, caught by Reina by the scruff of his neck, was sweating.
Seeing Ain like that, Reina, with half-closed eyes, said.
“If you keep acting so cold, I’ll tell the kids what happened after the first-semester midterm exam in the first year.”
Ain’s eyes widened as he looked at Reina, and the movements of Yura and Ren, who were busy fighting, stopped abruptly.
“……You truly are a woman whose nickname ‘The Witch of Flames’ suits you, Reina Zedinger.”
“That’s a nickname I haven’t heard in a while.”
Seeing Ain sigh deeply, Reina replied with a bright smile.
At that moment.
Just then, Leo’s image was magnified on the big screen.
Ain’s eyes narrowed as he saw Warden standing opposite Leo.
“A big match.”