Book 1 Chapter 36

【36】35

"Lucky you, going first," Leo said, chuckling and stepping forward.

The practical exam for Knightology was simple.

It was a duel where the goal was to win five matches.

The exam was passed the moment one achieved five wins.

Of course, the final score was determined by detailed evaluations based on the opponent and the nature of the duel, so victory or defeat was not the absolute requirement for passing.

However, winning and passing the exam quickly was still important.

Naturally, Leo's goal was to remain undefeated.

"Lucky to go first? You don't even consider me, do you?"

Haul, Leo's first opponent, said with a laugh.

Haul Snape.

He hailed from a heroic family of the Kingdom of Tuhl in the southern region of the continent.

Though his fame was lower than Zerdinger's, he still held the title of a heroic family.

He was particularly skilled in the ever-changing spear technique, the Snape Spear.

In fact, among the first-year Knightology students, he was ranked third in skill, behind Celia and Duran.

Haul, sticking out his tongue, drew a spear from his spatial bracelet.

It was a glaive, about 1.5 times longer than a normal spear.

Seeing this, Leo also drew his sword from his waist.

"As we discussed beforehand, the winner is the one who incapacitates the opponent. Approach this duel as if it were a real battle."

Ain, having finished the brief explanation, stepped back.

There were no ring-outs or external judgments.

The entire training ground was, quite literally, the dueling arena.

Facing each other, Haul flicked his tongue.

"I'm looking forward to this. Ever since your fifth class lost to ours at the beginning of the semester, I've been wanting to get revenge."

"You're still holding onto that?" Leo asked with a chuckle.

Haul smiled coldly.

"People from the Snape family never forget humiliation."

"Did you hate cleaning the toilets that much!"

"Grrr! Do you know how much the others in our class teased me!"

Haul clenched his fist tightly.

"I will avenge that humiliation! Leo Flove!"

*Chaaak-*

Haul, gripping his spear anew, lowered his stance.

It was a ready position that resembled the attack posture of a snake.

Seeing Haul in that pose, Leo loosened his sword.

"Leo, I know about the impressive performance you put on during the entrance exam."

Haul curled his lips.

"However, you are clearly behind other students from the start! I heard you couldn't awaken your Aura during the entrance exam either! Can you really defend against this attack!"

*Kwaak-! Shwiiik-!*

Haul's spear tip aimed for Leo's chest.

Incredible speed!

A normal spear thrust is linear.

Therefore, no matter how fast, it's easy to dodge if you predict it.

'But the Snape Spear is just beginning then!'

The spear thrust of the Snape family's technique moves like a living snake.

Therefore, one is easily caught if they try to dodge carelessly.

'The moment you dodge, you'll be cornered!'

Any normal student would normally lose to Haul after the first exchange, unable to do anything.

However, Leo was a student who transcended the ordinary.

*Teup-!*

"…!"

Haul's eyes widened.

Leo had grabbed the shaft of the spear just before it reached him.

"You heard about other students, but didn't you hear about me, your classmate Celia?"

Leo smiled chillingly.

*Hwaak-!*

"Huh?"

Leo lifted Haul, spear and all, straight into the air.

Haul, who had been bracing for an Aura attack, widened his eyes seeing Leo lift him with pure physical strength.

"You're strong!"

*Hwaak-! Kuaang-!*

Leo slammed Haul onto the ground.

Of course, he minimized the damage by using his Aura Armor just before impact.

Haul, regaining his stance, chuckled.

"Of course, I heard. I was just a little surprised by how strong you are."

*Woong-!*

The spear shaft glowed green.

"But your brute strength doesn't solve your fundamental weakness!"

Haul's green eyes glinted.

Leo quickly released the spear.

*Chiik-!*

A small puff of smoke rose from the ground where Haul was standing.

'Poison Aura? That's a unique attribute.'

Leo showed an amused expression.

It was an Aura attribute that was overwhelmingly advantageous in prolonged battles.

It made sense that he was so confident.

'But you're still far from it.'

"You talk about my weakness."

Leo chuckled.

"Aren't weaknesses meant to be overcome?"

*Hwaaleuk-!*

The flame Aura emanating from Leo's body pushed back Haul's Poison Aura.

Seeing this, Haul grinned.

'Indeed, an Aura with a fire attribute is a weakness for me! But unless it's someone like Celia, I can overturn the elemental advantage!'

*Hwaak-!*

A more powerful poison erupted from Haul's body.

In response, Leo increased his firepower.

'It's useless! Unless it's someone like Celia!'

*Hwaaak-!*

*Hwaareureuk!*

As if competing, the more the poison intensified, the fiercer the flame's firepower became.

As time passed, Haul's face grew increasingly grim.

'Not like Celia… if…'

Haul's face, now pale, met Leo's red eyes.

'Impossible! Celia-level firepower?!'

Leo had only shown his potential at the beginning of the semester.

Furthermore, he had never truly displayed his full strength in duels that assessed overall combat ability.

Therefore, most people predicted Haul's victory in this exam duel, where the overall skill level of the first-years had rapidly increased.

However, as if mocking those predictions, Leo pressed Haul with his powerful flame Aura.

Celia, watching from the side with her arms crossed, wore a surprised expression.

'When did he get this strong?'

Celia was one of the few who had predicted Leo's victory.

However, she hadn't expected Leo to raise his flame Aura's firepower to this extent.

Duran, watching the scene, chuckled.

"It seems Haul won't be enough."

"Are you sure he's lost already?" A first-year Knightology student chided.

Duran scoffed.

"Are your eyes just for show? He's already at a disadvantage in terms of elemental advantage, and he's completely outmatched in strength. Do you think Haul has a chance?"

"Even so, Haul still has the Snake Spear. Elemental advantage doesn't decide victory or defeat."

"Hmph! Do you think Haul can overwhelm Leo Flove with his technique?"

"He's our class's number four."

"Whether Haul is fourth in our class or not is irrelevant."

Sparks crackled from Duran's body.

"I am the one who will defeat him."

"You? I don't think so?" Celia scoffed.

"Are you defending him because you hang out with him? Celia Zerdinger."

"I'm not defending him. I'm the one who will defeat Leo. You can't even defeat me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Let me show you who's superior right now."

*Paajijik!*

*Hwaareuk!*

Duran and Celia, who had strong pride in being the best, had an extremely bad relationship, as they both aimed to surpass anyone above them.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you two doing fighting amongst yourselves! You should be cheering for Haul?! Huh? Hey, hey! Stop generating Aura!"

A first-year student frantically tried to break them up, but they showed no signs of calming down.

"If you two fight now, it won't end with just a letter of apology."

Then, Chen Xia intervened with a smile, trying to dissuade them.

At her words, Duran snorted and walked away, while Celia elegantly swept her hair back.

"The first years are full of fighting spirit."

"It's not exactly fighting spirit. I just want to beat up the face of that annoying guy."

"Isn't that fighting spirit?"

Professor Sedgen had forbidden duels between classmates, so Celia and Duran never had a chance to settle their scores.

"Speaking of which, Xia, you want to fight Leo too, don't you, saying things like that?"

"I do want to fight with Master Leo. But Master Leo isn't my only goal."

"Then?"

"I want to fight with Miss Celia, and I want to fight with Mr. Duran as well. And my goal is to defeat all three of them."

"In the end, you have the strongest fighting spirit."

Celia sighed, looking at Chen Xia, whose dark eyes sparkled.

The surrounding students, who had been watching the tense exchange between the top Knightology students with nervous faces, let out sighs of relief when nothing happened.

"Leo is quite popular."

Nella said in her usual languid voice, to which Iliana beside her shook her head.

"I'd refuse that kind of popularity."

***

"Haaap!"

Haul hastily performed an Aura step to escape Leo's flame Aura.

He had to create distance somehow.

But Leo didn't allow Haul to create distance.

'I have to stop him!'

He swung his spear, imbued with Poison Aura, at Leo, who was approaching him.

*Hwaareureuk-!*

However, Leo's Aura completely burned away Haul's poison.

Not only was he at a disadvantage in terms of elemental type, but he was also outmatched in power.

It was a clear inferiority.

"Kch!"

The bewilderment stemming from a complete misjudgment of his opponent pressed down on Haul.

But he quickly regained his composure and lowered his stance.

'It's unexpected, but I can't just take it lying down!'

Haul's eyes turned like a snake eyeing its prey.

'I already have a plan!'

Haul, who had been called a genius since childhood, did not take the top spot during the entrance exam.

However, while he may have had regrets, he felt no resentment.

'Woreden or anyone else! It was because that monster was there!'

There was no one from the southern region who didn't know about Woreden.

His awe-inspiring power was enough to call him a monster, beyond a genius.

However, he believed himself to be the best among the Knightology students.

In fact, he was one of the top-ranked first-year Knightology students that year.

But he couldn't claim to be the strongest.

'Celia Zerdinger! Chen Xia! Duran Moria!'

The three who were called the best of their cohort.

He knew from the moment he first saw them that those three were a step above him.

For Haul, who had always been the best in martial arts, this was an immense shock.

Especially with Celia, the gap was despairing.

Not only was he inferior in skill, but he was also overwhelmingly outmatched in terms of elemental advantage.

'I could formulate strategies against Chen Xia or Duran! But against Celia, I only felt powerlessness!'

At the beginning of the semester, she was an insurmountable wall.

However, after months of relentless effort, he had devised a countermeasure against Celia.

'I intended to keep it hidden in preparation for my duel with Celia! But this is good!'

Haul's eyes flashed.

'A good opponent to test out my new technique! And Leo Flove! I cannot lose to you!'

*Hwiriririk-!*

He spun his spear magnificently.

'To you, who are close with Celia!

He had already erased the thought from his mind that his opponent was weaker than him.

He viewed Leo as an equal to those he aimed for.

'I thought you were just a gloomy fellow, but you have quite decent eyes, don't you?'

He was carefully, and surely, gathering his strength to defeat him.

'You must have worked incredibly hard to overcome the disadvantageous elemental type, right?'

Although Haul's eyes were clearly on Leo, he was also looking at something else behind him.

'Celia.'

Leo, who easily saw through this, smirked.

The boy before him was burning with a fighting spirit.

'I accept that challenge.'

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