Book 1 Chapter 37

Go-oh-oh-oh-!

Flames gathered at the tip of the sword.

Leo's flames burned even more fiercely.

Wrapped in flames, Leo charged.

'Now is the time!'

Before entering range, Haul thrust his spear.

Swaeeek-!

A thick green aura erupted from the tip of the spear.

The aura stretched out like a living anaconda, aiming for Leo's neck.

Leo tried to parry Haul's attack with his flame aura.

Hwaak-!

In an instant, Haul's aura changed course like a living snake.

'I expected this much.'

Leo, undeterred, charged at the defenseless Haul.

Haul's techniques were very difficult to deal with at a distance, but he had the drawback of becoming defenseless when the distance was closed.

"You're caught!"

Haul rejoiced.

Jjueuk-!

"……!"

Haul's aura continued to lengthen.

"Snake Prison!"

Kwak-!

As if a snake grabbing its prey, the aura that wrapped around the surroundings tightened around Leo in an instant.

Gasps of admiration poured out from various places at the incredibly delicate aura control.

Ain, who was watching the situation, curled up the corners of his mouth.

'Flame aura, while capable of powerful attacks, has the disadvantage of being weak in defense. It's like a double-edged sword.'

Poison aura also had the same tendency.

That's why it was being overpowered by the flame aura due to the type advantage.

'He focused diligently on aura control training and has acquired a technique that effectively compensates for that weakness.'

Ain looked at Leo, who remained silent.

'But Leo Flove wouldn't have charged in without thinking.'

'How is it! Leo! I'll defeat you with this! And…'

Haul turned his gaze to Celia, who was looking surprised, and clenched his fist.

'Celia! I will surely gain recognition for being your equal…'

"That's an amazing technique? But the finishing move is clumsy."

"What!"

Hwarureuk! Puung-!

Haul's aura, which had enveloped Leo, swelled and exploded, scattering in all directions.

Go-oh-oh-oh-oh-! Hwarureuk!

The flames of the aura wrapping around Leo burned fiercely.

Leo, who had adopted a sword-swinging stance, stared at the frozen Haul.

"Flames should not be underestimated until they are extinguished."

"Keuk!"

Haul readjusted his grip on the spear.

Kkuk-! Peong-!

In an instant, flames exploded from the tip of Leo's foot.

Aura Step.

Hwaak-! Hwarureuk!

Leo's sword tip, shot out like a bullet of flame, had already reached the end of Haul's neck.

"…Winner, Leo Flove."

Ain declared calmly.

Wowowowow!

Cheers erupted.

"Wow! Wow! Brother Leo won!"

"…Did he have this much skill in actual combat too?"

Chelsea jumped up and down with joy, while Tate muttered in disbelief.

Kal, who had been handing out popcorn to guests, also whistled and cheered.

"Who was the one who said that first-year would be weak in actual combat?"

"That kid Haul was also amazing, but the matchup was just too bad."

"Indeed, there's a reason why this year's first-years are getting attention."

The upperclassmen admired the two sparring and exclaimed.

As Leo sheathed his sword, Haul dropped his head and knelt down.

"I was completely defeated. It was an overwhelming skill difference. To be careless against someone with your skill… I'm completely pathetic."

"Well. To be honest, I didn't expect you to have that kind of technique at all."

The aura control ability, which could not be acquired without immense effort, was at a surprising level even for Leo.

"If your aura's power were even a little stronger, I might have suffocated and fainted. I underestimated you too, so we're even."

Leo smiled and extended his hand.

"That was a great technique."

Haul looked at Leo's hand with a dazed expression, then took it and stood up.

Leo, who had helped Haul up, patted him on the shoulder and left the arena.

'Leo Flove… As expected, he's not standing next to Celia for nothing.'

Haul muttered and trudged out of the arena.

Before such a Haul, students from the Knight Department of Class 1 stood.

"Haul! That was a close one!"

"Kekeke! It was a perfect opportunity to get revenge for the bathroom cleaning!"

"What kind of monster is that? He's not weak in actual combat at all!"

The Class 1 students comforted Haul.

"Elegance! Student Haul! That was a great match! If it weren't for the matchup, you could have crushed Leo Flove! So don't be discouraged!"

"Professor Sedgen. Please refrain from biased remarks, even if they are about your students."

Professor Ain said, pressing his temples as he looked at the loudly shouting Professor Sedgen.

Haul awkwardly scratched his head at the unexpected welcome.

Then, he spotted Celia approaching him and tensed up.

Celia smiled sweetly at the stunned Haul.

"You were quite something? It was cool."

"What? Uh! Um! Yes! Yes!"

Haul blushed and replied awkwardly.

'Haul is surprisingly naive for his appearance.'

'Celia is surprisingly oblivious in that regard.'

'But shouldn't he realize by now?'

It was when the Class 1 students smiled subtly.

"Leo, you worked hard. When did you train your aura like that?"

Celia approached Leo and asked.

Haul clenched his fist.

'Leo Flove! I will make you my new goal!'

This persistent boy decided to catch up to Leo.

The Class 1 students clicked their tongues and ate popcorn while watching Haul solidify his resolve.

Leo, who had perfectly decorated his first sparring match with a victory, sat to the side and watched the remaining matches.

"Class 5, Iliana Laden, forward."

"Uraaaat~! Who is it! Who is my opponent!"

"Class 10, Chen Xia, forward."

"Gasp!"

Iliana, who had stepped forward boldly, was surprised to be matched with Chen Xia.

"Please take care of me."

"Yes, please take care of me."

Chen Xia and Iliana exchanged greetings.

'I've grown a lot too! I might even be able to aim for the top spot in admission!'

Iliana, gripping her rapier tightly, had her aura flickering.

Charyuk-!

Chen Xia, a fighter, had no weapons.

Instead, a blue aura flickered at her fingertips, and water droplets began to form.

Her aura specialty was water.

The water droplets formed at her fingertips intertwined like threads, creating a silk-like flow.

As Chen Xia's hands moved like a dance, the flow formed elegantly at her fingertips.

"Hooop!"

Iliana took a deep breath and aimed her rapier at Chen Xia.

"Haap!"

Her aura exploded, pushing Iliana's body.

Leo sighed at the ferocious charge with incredible speed.

"That fool."

Puung-!

"Kueek!"

Udangtangtang! Deguldeguldegul!

Iliana's intense charge was not only futilely blocked by Chen Xia, but her attack was also reflected.

Iliana, who had fallen and rolled on the ground miserably, had her eyes spinning.

"Chen Xia, victory."

It was a match where overwhelming power stood out.

However, since this exam was quite unfavorable for Iliana, a sword saint, no one had high expectations.

Chen Xia, who had clasped her hands, bowed politely and left the sparring arena.

Iliana, clenching her fists with difficulty, raised them to the sky and shouted.

"E-even so, my momentum was good against Chen Xia! I wasn't inferior!"

"Can you be quiet? It's embarrassing."

"Yeah, just pretend to be unconscious. Please."

As the Class 5 Knight Department students spoke coldly, Iliana's face crumpled.

"Class President! The kids are saying I'm embarrassing!"

Seeing Iliana complaining, Leo said,

"Your hasty personality is the problem. You know Chen Xia's skill well, don't you?"

"I know! That's why I charged in with momentum! I didn't have confidence in breaking through with just swordsmanship no matter what, so I had to show some momentum!"

"You should be proud."

Leo clicked his tongue as he watched Iliana declare proudly, with her arms crossed.

Iliana was also a skilled student, arguably in the upper echelons of the entire year.

'The opponent was too bad. It would have been different if she could use magic, but this is a Knight Department exam. Still, if she had been more cautious, she wouldn't have lost so pathetically.'

Shaking his head, Leo's eyes met Chen Xia's, who was sitting on the Class 10 side.

Leo waved back at Chen Xia, who waved at him with a smile.

'I thought so before, but Chen Xia really has the best balance among the first-year knight students.'

Celia and Duran's aura specialties are focused on offensive power.

Conversely, Chen Xia's aura specialty, water, had a well-balanced offense and defense.

Leo observed the sparring of his fellow students while thinking about Chen Xia's skill.

The improvement of students who were in the lower ranks when they entered was noticeable.

Among them, there were cases where they defeated students who were far superior to them.

Amidst the mingling of joy and sorrow, the top students from the entrance exam showed their class.

Celia, who had instantly subdued her opponent, gracefully swept back her hair and approached Leo.

"How was it?"

"You've grown."

"Of course."

Celia narrowed her eyes.

"Leo, I'm taking the representative spot for this year's exam."

Leo smiled as he watched Celia declare confidently.

"Take it all you want. If you can."

With those words, Celia smiled sweetly and returned to Class 1.

Iliana, who had been watching from the side, said,

"You're very popular."

"Are you jealous?"

"No, I told Nella too, but I'll pass on that kind of popularity."

***

Midterm exam period.

After the last written exam, Linguistics class, Class 5 students swarmed Chelsea.

"Hey! Hey! Chelsea! Can I see your answer sheet?"

"I'm going first!"

"Kal, you're at the bottom of the class anyway, right? So look later!"

"There's no such thing!"

The competition to see Chelsea's answer sheet, who had the highest written exam score in Class 5, was more fierce than expected.

Chelsea, seeing her classmates crowding around her, waved her exam paper.

"Who should I show it to first?"

"Sister Chelsea! Show me first!"

"Sis! Me first!"

"You're so beautiful today, Sis!"

Class 5 clung to Chelsea, the youngest in the class.

"Hohoho."

Seeing her classmates like that, Chelsea chuckled with a smug look, covering her mouth.

"The exam is already over anyway, does it make a difference if you do that?"

Leo, who was sitting by the window in the back of the classroom, rested his chin on his hand and said, and Nella smiled languidly.

"Heh heh. Still, it's human psychology to want to know the exam scores a little earlier, right?"

At those words, Leo shook his head and put his writing utensils in his bag.

"I only have the joint practical exam for Heroology and Combatology left, but you still have Magicology and Summonology, Leo?"

Leo passed the Knight Department sparring exam with 5 wins and 0 losses.

The strongest in the five sparring matches was Haul, whom he fought on the first day.

Besides Leo, Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran also achieved 5 wins and 0 losses.

Nella had one loss.

"If only I hadn't met that annoying Duran, Sister Nella could have had a perfect record!"

Chelsea, who had handed out exam papers to her classmates, said as she hugged Nella.

Nella, who was one of the strong contenders for a perfect record, added a loss when she met Duran in the third sparring match.

"I'm satisfied because you fought well against Duran."

Nella smiled as she stroked Chelsea's head.

"By the way, Brother Leo, is your Summonology practical practice going well?"

"It's going well."

"You hardly come to practice separately, do you?"

Tate, who was in Summonology, asked with a puzzled expression.

The Summonology practical exam was traditionally one of the biggest events of the first semester for Lumern's first-year students.

Leo smiled at Tate's question.

"I'm practicing hard where you can't see."

"As expected of Brother Leo. You're full of confidence? So what's your target?"

Leo said as a matter of course, seeing Chelsea ask with shining eyes.

"First place."