Book 1 Chapter 324

324

A turret installed by Glory to protect its barrier.

Iliana, who popped out of the turret, crossed her arms and burst into laughter, "Uhahahahaha!"

"As long as I'm here, our Glory's walls can never be breached!"

Imitating a valiant hero from a story, Iliana looked at the retreating students from other dorms with a smug expression.

Then, suddenly noticing the quiet surroundings, her expression paused.

'Strange? A tackle should have come by now?'

Surprised by the unusual reaction, Iliana looked at her fellow dorm students with a puzzled face.

Standing on the barrier, they were all looking at one place.

Iliana turned her head to that spot, her face bright, and waved her hand.

"Oh! Class rep! Did you intercept the kids who attacked our rear well?"

Seeing Iliana happily greet him, Leo smiled faintly and returned to Glory's base.

Watching Leo, the Glory students murmured.

"Celia, Abard, Chelsea, all three at once…"

"What happened to Waraden, Duran, and Eliza, who went to the rear?"

"I heard from the scout team… they were declared dead?"

"So, he single-handedly got five top-tier students from the year declared dead?"

"Leo's power was that much?"

Everyone looked disgusted.

Iliana, who heard those words, also looked surprised.

'The class rep dealt with all the dorm heads alone?'

Of course, he didn't deal with them all at once.

But even so, his victory against three people alone was already thrilling.

***

Buzzing-

"…To think he was that overwhelming."

"An all-class like the Hero of the Beginning…"

"Does it even make sense to handle a Phoenix and a fairy simultaneously?"

Astonished voices erupted from the stands.

When Leo and Waraden first started fighting seriously, the shouts were of excitement.

The battle between the Phoenix, one of the three great mythical beasts, and Titaum, the great earth elemental.

The unexpected big match was enough to excite not only the students but also those who came from outside.

But the subsequent turn of the battle was shocking.

An overwhelming power that no one had anticipated.

The combat ability Leo displayed was, quite literally, shocking.

Especially in the stands where the first-year students were gathered, everyone wore shocked expressions.

Sasha clenched her lips and her fists.

A secret only she knew.

'…A Phoenix… a fairy… and even a Pegasus.'

Aty, the Pegasus, who had contracted with the imperial family of the Rodren Empire for generations.

Sasha knew that Aty had contracted with Leo.

Contracting with just one of the three great mythical beasts is a dream unimaginable for an ordinary mythical beast tamer.

But he had contracted with all three mythical beasts.

It was nothing short of shocking for Sasha.

Juen also gritted his teeth.

'What on earth is that person?'

Mages are usually specialized in one field.

But Leo had nothing of the sort.

'He freely uses star magic and even dragon language magic…'

And Leo's unique magic, the Bible.

It was a magic that created a huge stir in the magical academia last year.

He possessed everything ideal that a mage could dream of.

It was enough to make one feel intimidated to have such a senior in the year above.

Harviden also seemed to be thinking similarly, wearing a grim expression.

Luke clenched his fists tightly.

'Senior Leo.'

It wasn't just the first-years.

The third, fourth, and fifth-years were also shocked by Leo's skill.

Even students who secretly resented Leo being the student council president were speechless.

The professors were no different.

Leo's true ability, finally revealed, was enough to bring tremendous ripple effects to everyone involved with Lumeren.

"…This is serious."

Ain muttered in a firm voice.

Reina also looked at the screen with unusually serious eyes.

Reina herself was the previous owner of the Flame Storm that Celia used.

Therefore, Reina knew better than anyone what it meant for Flame Storm to be broken.

'The sword won't be broken or anything.'

Flame Storm was a sword made of flames.

If the owner's will was revived, it would regain its original form.

'But it's not easy for a extinguished ember to flare up again.'

Reina sighed.

'And the other kids…'

Celia probably wasn't the only one broken.

"It's almost as if he's trying to break his peers."

Reina said, responding to Ain's murmur.

"He probably is trying to break them."

"…Why? The Leo I know isn't a student who tries to break opponents. He has no reason to."

"That's right. Leo isn't that kind of kid."

Reina rested her chin on her hand.

And squinted her eyes.

"But wouldn't there be a reason to break them?"

"A reason to break them?"

"Yes."

Reina made an 'hmm' sound, organized her thoughts, and then spoke.

"My son was unnecessarily mature, so he was a kid who never showed any cuteness from a young age."

Ain focused on Reina's words.

"So, from a young age, he was very considerate of those around him. School life would have been the same. He might not have been hiding his power but rather has been considerate of his peers all this time."

An endless potential that keeps revealing itself.

If other students had known there was such a gap, would they have been able to compete with Leo?

'No, they wouldn't have.'

Ain squinted her eyes.

"But he couldn't have been considerate forever. He showed his true abilities for the first time to his peers who had always genuinely clashed with him."

"Indeed. Is he showing the gap to test the other students?"

"Exactly."

Reina smiled faintly.

"There are things professors can't teach. You know that well, don't you?"

"When you taste despair from the person you set as your goal… then you truly see things."

"Yes. That's right."

Reina wore a nostalgic expression.

"It's like you. After the first-year midterms, you were completely crushed by me and cried your eyes out, didn't you?"

"…"

Ain's face became miserable.

Reina and Ain.

A secret only the two of them knew.

Ain, who ranked second in knight studies upon entering first year, also ranked second in the first semester midterms, falling behind Reina.

Unable to accept it, he requested a duel on the day the midterms ended and tasted the bitter taste of defeat.

He was so frustrated then that he cried his eyes out.

"I wasn't completely defeated. I was defeated by a narrow margin."

"Hmm. Shall I tell Yura and Len?"

"Kk…!"

Ain gritted his teeth, seeing Reina threatening him with his dark past.

"You're… still a witch, Reina Zeldinger."

"It's Reina Flov now. Don't worry. I won't tell the juniors."

Ain sighed deeply, watching Reina burst into laughter.

And looked at the screen.

'It's okay to despair. It's okay to be broken. Because having continuous opportunities is a student's privilege. But.'

Ain's eyes sank.

'Don't lose your goal.'

***

"Huff-! Huff-! I-I almost died."

Kal wiped his heart.

And looked at the devastated interior of Noble's base with a disgusted expression.

"Eliza. Th-thank you! If you hadn't come, Kal might have been defeated."

"W-we… did our best, you know."

"…"

The Noble dorm students spoke hesitantly, looking at Eliza, who had chased away Chen Sia.

Because Eliza, with her head down and an unusual expression, looked like she was about to explode at any moment.

Just then, Kal dusted off his bottom and stood up.

And shivered as if he had gotten goosebumps.

Chen Sia, relentlessly targeting him, was terror itself.

"Wow~ Thank you, Eliza. Really, if it wasn't for you…"

Whoosh-!

"D-don't be mad. I'll guard properly… Eliza?"

Kal flinched, seeing Eliza turn sharply towards him and walk over.

Then he hesitated, looking at Eliza's trembling hand.

"Did you… fight Leo?"

"Yes."

Eliza said, her head bowed low.

"Waraden, Duran, and I. The three of us fought Leo Flov."

"The three of you?"

"Wow…"

"Unexpected. The three of you ganging up on one person."

The Noble students exclaimed in admiration.

Just then, Duran walked in, thud-thud.

The Noble students looked flustered at Duran's unusual atmosphere.

"What's wrong?"

"What on earth happened?"

The two, who were always so confident, were silent.

The Noble students couldn't help but be flustered when the two, who should have said something about allowing Chen Sia's intrusion, remained silent.

Amidst this, Kal cautiously opened his mouth.

"Did you… get defeated by Leo?"

The Noble students looked dumbfounded at Kal's question.

"Hey, Kal. No matter how great Leo Flov is, Duran, Eliza, Waraden. Does it make sense for them to be defeated when these three teamed up?"

"That's right."

"…"

"…"

But despite the other Noble students' words, Duran and Eliza remained silent.

At that, the Noble students' faces hardened.

"Hey, no way."

"Right?"

It was then that everyone wore shocked expressions.

"Everyone gather."

Abard, who had returned to the base, called the Noble students.

Everyone gathered with bewildered faces.

"We need to change our strategy."

Abard said, looking around at the Noble students.

"Avoid fighting Leo as much as possible. Fighting Leo now will only give points to the Glory dorm."

Hearing Abard's words, the Noble dorm students looked at Duran and Eliza.

The two who should have reacted most strongly to Abard's words were silent.

Subsequently, the dorm students who had participated in the battle returned one after another.

And upon hearing about Leo, everyone wore shocked expressions.

The fact that Leo had won both times, despite the two dorm leaders' concerted attack, was literally shocking.

"He handles a Phoenix and a fairy?"

"Such a cheating defensive magic that nullifies a three-person concerted attack…"

"He overwhelmed Abard and Celia?"

It was an unbelievable story.

But it was true.

Then Kal, who had been deep in thought, spoke.

"You said Leo went alone to raid the rear special unit at first, right?"

"That's right."

Abard nodded.

"Chen Sia invaded our base to find the King. All other students have entered base defense mode."

Kal, who was contemplating, said.

"This makes it certain. Glory's King is Leo."

Abard smiled faintly.

"Reason?"

"If he had remained at the base, he would have had to face you, which would have been a greater risk. So, by sending him to the front line, he would have avoided suspicion of being the King. Moreover."

Kal made a serious expression.

"If Leo is rampaging alone like that, the probability of him being the King is even higher."

"Why? Isn't it more dangerous the more he rampages?"

One Noble student asked with a puzzled expression.

"It is dangerous. But the more he does that, the less likely people will think he's the King. I think Leo performed a kind of show of force."

Kal looked at Abard.

"Abard immediately strategized to avoid Leo. If the dorm leaders avoid Leo? Then no student will face Leo. They'll just be unilaterally defeated."

Kal took a deep breath.

"Leo intends to thoroughly crush us."

"Why is he suddenly acting like this after hiding his skills all this time?"

Duran asked, his face distorted.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't imagine winning against Leo.

It would probably be the same even if the dorm leaders teamed up.

If there was such an overwhelming power difference.

Even with four people, victory could not be guaranteed.

'We'd need at least five people.'

That was the estimated skill difference between Leo and themselves that Duran came up with.

But…

'They don't just have Leo Flov. There's also Chloe and Chen Sia.'

The balance of power had long been broken due to Leo's presence alone.

In such a situation, winning against Glory was almost impossible.

Kal responded to Duran's words.

"Perhaps there was a change of heart? I don't know what kind of change. But it's certainly clear that he's taking us seriously."

Kal made a serious expression.

"The dorm leaders I know are sly, avoiding things, rude, and annoying."

He looked at Abard, Duran, and Eliza.

"But at least they weren't people who avoided challenges."

Kal put emphasis in his voice.

"You knew the distance was far, didn't you? It's just gotten a bit further! But you're giving up just because of that? No! From the start!"

Kal shouted as if he felt wronged.

"Hey! Even I, the lowest ranked second-year, am thinking of defeating Leo, so why are you guys giving up and making a fuss! Aren't you worse than me right now!"

Duran's face distorted, and Eliza, whose shoulders were trembling, whipped her whip, wrapped it around Kal's neck, and pulled him over.

"What did you, a mere Kal, just say?"

"Hiiieeeek? F-forgive me…!"

Kal, his spirit broken by Eliza's sharp demeanor, pleaded.

Seeing that, Abard burst into laughter.

"The last-place student is thinking of defeating the first-place student?"

"Yep. Of course, if I fought him directly, it would be suicide, but."

Oof- Kal, having escaped Eliza, said.

"I don't think it's impossible for you guys."

"…Leo Flov has no weaknesses. He was a truly flawless monster. You think we can win against such a monster?"

As Eliza replied in a weak voice, Kal exclaimed in admiration.

"…You surprisingly had a girlish side to you. Acting like a delicate beautiful girl just because you got thoroughly beaten once."

"…I'll kill you."

"Stop! Stop! If I die, our dorm is over!"

Kal screamed.

Abard calmed the red-faced, huffing Eliza, and Duran crossed his arms.

"…Are you confident?"

"Of course not."

Kal shrugged and grinned.

"But if we leave Leo like this, it's obvious we'll lose, isn't it? So, let's try to defeat the flawless monster once."