Book 1 Chapter 318
318
“It’s Warreden!”
“Warreden has come to save us!”
Cheers erupted from the Harmony Dormitory side.
Nella, who was facing off against Leo, muttered quietly as she watched the dormitory students.
“It doesn’t particularly look like Warreden has come to save us….”
As soon as she finished speaking, Warreden raised his hand.
*Whoosh-!*
A massive sphere of flame was generated above Warreden’s hand.
Warreden’s specialty.
It was spirit magic using magic formulas.
“Ohhh!”
“Warreden! Warreden!”
The Harmony students shouted Warreden’s name loudly.
*Grooooooowl!*
“Warreden! Warreden… Warre….”
But soon, realizing something was wrong, their shouts died down.
“….”
“….”
From a certain moment, everyone fell silent and looked at Warreden.
Amidst this, one of the Harmony’s Knightology students spoke.
“Hey.”
“…Why.”
“…Doesn’t that look too big, no matter how you look at it?”
“You think so too? I think so too….”
Watching Warreden’s sphere of flame endlessly increasing in power, all the students except Leo began to sweat coldly.
“Ah, no way.”
“Right. No matter what, there are so many allies here, so he wouldn’t use a large-scale area attack. Hahahaha.”
It was then that the Knightology and Magicology students forced awkward smiles.
The Summoningology students ran out without hesitation.
“What are you doing! Run!”
“That guy wouldn’t hesitate to use an area attack without caring about us!”
The Summoningology students, who had studied with him for a year, knew Warreden’s personality all too well.
At their reaction, the Knightology and Magicology students also screamed in fright and fled.
Nella, too, sighed as if she had expected it, and tried to move away from her spot.
But she paused, looking at Leo, who wasn’t moving an inch.
“Aren’t you avoiding it?”
At her question, Leo smiled slightly and pointed his finger.
“Should we escape that way?”
Harmony students were evacuating there.
The terrified Harmony students shouted.
“Hey! Don’t come! Don’t come this way!”
“Go that way! That way!”
“Hey! Are you trying to save yourselves by telling us to come your way?!”
When the Harmony students pointed at Noble and shouted, this time the Noble students protested loudly.
Leo, who chuckled at the sight, looked at Warreden.
“Don’t mind me.”
At Leo’s words, Nella threw herself towards where the Harmony students were.
Along with that, Warreden’s massive flame engulfed Leo.
Seeing the huge and fierce flame, Leo re-gripped his sword.
*Vwooom-!*
A gray aura surged.
Leo, who had condensed the aura into his sword, swung it, his eyes flashing.
*Swoosh-!*
An eerie sound of air being cut rang out.
*Fwoosh-!*
With that, Warreden’s flame split in half.
*Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang-!*
With a massive explosion, waves of flame poured down as if water from a waterfall.
The surging waves of flame soon poured onto the ground.
For a moment, Leo’s eyes twitched.
‘Fusion of a fire spirit and an earth spirit?’
Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t spirit magic that manifested an explosive magic formula using spirits.
Warreden was diligently preparing an attack that would deal additional damage to Leo, whose specialty was fire attribute.
*Gulp-! Pwuhahahak-!*
The flame that had seeped into the ground soon surged skyward like a fountain.
The surrounding area instantly became a sea of lava.
As Warreden gestured, the fire spirit and earth spirit moved.
*Kwa-ga-ga-gak-!*
The surrounding students, who were evacuating from the lava that was as high as a tsunami, screamed in horror.
“Aaaah! We’re being swept away!”
“Run! Run!”
It was like a disaster.
Warreden was literally perfectly controlling the nature around him.
Leo narrowed his eyes, seeing the wave of lava engulfing him.
“He’s a monster.”
*Splash-!*
At the same time as he spoke, Leo was swept away by the lava.
***
[Ah! This is amazing! Warreden Tiden of Harmony Dormitory! Is this truly spirit magic at a second-year level?!]
The fourth-year student from Summoningology, Runba Tes, who always took on commentary duties during external events, shouted, spitting excitedly.
[Professor Sedjen, the professor in charge of all second-year students! What do you think of student Warreden’s spirit magic?!]
[Elegant!]
[Ohh! This is a rare high praise from Professor Sedjen, one of the most capable professors in Lumerne!]
“…That guy always has ‘elegant’ on his lips, what is he even saying?”
At Riina’s muttering, who was resting her chin on her hand, a beautiful female student next to her gently twirled her hair and replied.
“Runba is just good at sugarcoating things.”
Elena was assisting Riina, the current principal, in her capacity as acting chairman.
Haviden, the acting mayor of Lumeria City and vice-student council president, was sitting next to Riina, wearing an eye mask and sleeping with his head tilted back.
The royals, sitting in the same VIP guest seats, made bewildered expressions at the sight.
[Please introduce student Warreden’s excellence to the audience!]
[Ladies and gentlemen! Student Warreden is one of my proud disciples, whom I! Sedjen! Have raised with all my might!]
[…Uh… I recall student Warreden wasn’t Professor Sedjen’s student in his first year, though….]
[What does that matter! He’s under my guidance now, so isn’t he my disciple whom I’ve raised! Come on! Student Warreden! Quickly punish that annoying Leo Flobe right now… *Mph! Mph!*]
[Pr-Professor Sedjen! As a commentator, you must remain neutral….]
[Quickly defeat Leo Flobe, Halrind’s minion-! *Clunk-*]
The broadcast was cut off for a moment.
All the spectators made bewildered expressions.
[We apologize for the brief broadcast interruption.]
Halrind’s chilling voice echoed.
Before long, Professor Sedjen was being dragged away by other professors.
Currently, in the stands, royals, including influential nobles from various countries, were also seated as guests.
In such a situation, such a major incident occurred.
It would have caused an uproar elsewhere, and indeed, the first-year students were looking on nervously, wondering what would happen.
But the third, fourth, and fifth-year students were calm.
“My son seems to be hated by the professors?”
“Oh! Hated? I adore him so much.”
Yura smiled brightly and massaged Reina’s shoulder.
“Senior Reina. This is the finest black tea I cultivated with magic.”
Len gracefully poured black tea into Reina’s teacup.
Then, as he lightly clapped his hands, Anna approached with a grim expression.
“These are cookies I baked myself.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
“…Professor Len. Everyone’s staring.”
“Associate Professor Anna. Remember this. Hospitality is also necessary for the infinite advancement of magic.”
‘Normally, when VIPs come, he wouldn’t even glance at them, let alone entertain them.’
Anna let out a deep sigh inwardly.
“Hey! Carlo! Why are you just getting here now!”
“…How can I go to the Isle of Phantasmal Beasts and back in 10 minutes?”
Yura’s associate professor, Carlo, made a tearful face and brought fruits airlifted from the Isle of Phantasmal Beasts.
“Senior Reina, don’t eat those kinds of cookies; please try these fruits. You know that fruits from the Isle of Phantasmal Beasts are a specialty of Lumerne, right??”
“Oh my. Thank you.”
“Ohohohohoho-” Reina, who was laughing while covering her mouth, tilted her head.
“But why are you doing all this for me?”
“It’s a cute junior expressing their feelings to a respected senior they’re meeting after a long time.”
“Cute…?”
When Yura spoke flirtatiously, Associate Professor Carlo made a strange expression.
Of course, he lowered his head at Yura’s menacing gaze.
“That’s right. I have never once forgotten Senior Reina since she graduated.”
“…Professor Len. That sounds a bit like a dangerous remark.”
Anna said with a deep sigh, but Len didn’t mind.
“So, what do you want?”
“It’s about the advancement of magic and student Leo’s future.”
“Senior Reina. Leo must choose Summoningology. Of course, Senior Reina was from Knightology, but I don’t think you should be swayed by that! Look at Leo! The blood of Zerdinger flows in him, and he’s a Phoenix pact-holder!”
“Hmm. Both of your opinions have a point.”
Reina smiled slightly.
“By the way, I suddenly feel like having the ice cream sold in Lumeria City.”
The moment Reina finished speaking, Yura and Len ran off without looking back.
Ain muttered, watching them.
“The disgraces of Lumerne’s professors.”
Anna and Carlo couldn’t bring themselves to deny those words.
Reina, who had been making her long-unseen juniors run around, watched the magic video with sparkling eyes.
“By the way, that kid Warreden is amazing.”
“He would have been the strongest second-year student if Leo wasn’t around. It’s not for nothing that he was called a monster and had such a high reputation.”
“Hmm, even I, retired from the front lines, have heard of him.”
Reina nodded, looking at Warreden standing amidst the surging waves of lava.
“Of course….”
Ain said, staring intently at the video screen.
“But your son is an even bigger monster.”
After that remark, gasps of awe erupted throughout the entire stands.
In the middle of the sea of lava.
Leo stood.
On Leo’s forearm, a beautiful firebird sat.
***
*Boil- Boil-*
The lava boiled.
Amidst it, Leo stood calmly.
‘It’s not working.’
Warreden narrowed his eyes.
Leo stood calmly in the middle of the lava, without a single speck of soot.
Seeing that, Warreden let out a "Hmph" and laughed.
‘Leo Flobe.’
Warreden clenched and unclenched his large hand.
Warreden Tiden.
The country where he was born was a desert nation located in the southern part of the continent.
A country called the land of spirit users, where everything revolved around the power of spirit users, Dorian.
He was born into the lower class of that Dorian.
But in Dorian, where those with spirit user talent were favored, Warreden quickly rose to the upper class.
However, he naturally became an object of wariness.
There were even those who tried to kill him to keep him in check.
But by the time he was 14 and had summoned a high-ranking spirit.
Dorian’s ruling class could no longer simply regard Warreden as a threat to their position.
They considered him the strongest spirit user and an indispensable talent for Dorian’s future.
Therefore, Warreden had yearned for even greater strength.
The reason was simple.
If one is merely strong, they are an object of wariness.
But the strongest is an object of awe.
For Warreden, who had risen to Dorian’s highest class through his own strength from a young age, strength was a source of pride, but before that, it was a means necessary for survival.
Even when he first entered Lumerne, he had no doubt that he would be the best in the group, as he always had been.
But….
‘Then Leo Flobe appeared.’
When he came to his senses, it was the man who had far surpassed him.
The first wall Warreden, who had never doubted his own strength, encountered.
He couldn’t help but admit it.
That the monster before him was superior to him.
But even so, Warreden did not stop his yearning to be the strongest.
*Hwarr-reuk-!*
At Leo’s spiritual power, Piora spat out even more intense flames.
Warreden felt Leo taking away control of his flames.
‘If someone other than me is the strongest.’
*Hwarr-reuk-*
A gigantic sphere of flame targeted Warreden.
‘I will simply stake everything and challenge that strongest one.’
*Gooooooh-!*
Spiritual power surged from Warreden’s body.
Leo’s eyes twitched at the sight.
*Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung-!*
The ground shook.
*Kwa-ga-ga-gang-!*
The earth’s crust overturned as if the land was enraged.
*Grooooooooh!*
A colossal earth giant swung its arm.
The giant gripped Piora’s flames.
*Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang-!*
The earth’s axis shook, and Piora’s flames scattered in all directions.
It was as if a natural disaster was unfolding.
-*Wooooooooooh!*
The ground where Warreden stood rose.
A colossal earth giant roared towards the sky.
Leo’s eyes widened at the sight.
This was completely unexpected.
“A Great Spirit?”