Book 1 Chapter 411
"You little punk…!"
Rement's eyes flared at Luke's words.
"It's just the beginning now? Where did you get off spouting such insolent nonsense!"
His opponent was a first-year flunked-out student from Rumern.
Someone insignificant who should have been expelled from the school long ago.
Rement felt like his insides were burning just from being hit by Luke's unexpected blow and rolling on the ground.
On top of that, seeing Luke talk as if he were about to counterattack made him feel like he was half losing his mind.
Grrrrumble-!
As the floor began to shake, Luke gripped his sword tighter.
CRASH-!
A wave of earth surged towards Luke like a colossal tidal wave.
The power and scale were different from the magic Rement had used so far.
Luke lowered his stance and gripped his sword tighter.
'There's no room to dodge!'
It was clearly different from the attacks up to this point.
An attack surely meant to annihilate him.
Luke tightened his grip on his sword.
'If there's no room, I have to make it!'
He concentrated his aura to a single point at the tip of his sword.
Flash-!
SWOOSH-!
As he swung his sword, a silver flash glinted.
CRASH-!
And with that, the tidal wave of earth swallowed Luke.
"Nothing special."
It was as Rement contorted his face.
WHOOSH-!
"What?"
Luke charged towards Rement, breaking through the thick dust.
CLANG! CRACKLE-!
Luke's attack, armed with silver aura, struck Rement's shield magic.
THWACK-!
Luke was sent flying back.
"You punk! What trick did you use!"
Rement shouted excitedly and began to unleash magic.
BOOM! CRASH!
***
"Impossible."
"He can use that kind of aura?"
"What in the world is going on!"
The entire first-year student body was abuzz with Luke's unexpected movements, whom they had always looked down upon.
"Wow, he was hiding that?"
"Hmm. As expected, he had a trump card."
Juwen's eyes widened, and Shasha covered her mouth with her fan, squinting her eyes.
Haviden, arms crossed, scoffed.
"That much is obvious."
Aina simply stared at Luke with a blank expression.
"Wow, I didn't expect it to end so easily since he's the class representative, but to think he was hiding such a trump card."
In the second-year spectator seats, Iliana exclaimed in admiration while eating popcorn.
"But his use of strength is a bit clumsy."
"His control over his strength is bound to be clumsy. It's his first time using that much power."
"Oh! Class Representative!"
Iliana waved at the reply from behind.
Leo reached for Iliana's popcorn.
Despite Iliana's desperate defense against the sudden raid, Leo managed to snatch a handful of popcorn, making her pout.
As Leo sat down, Chloe tilted her head.
"If he had that much strength, was there a need to let him carry the label of a flunk-out?"
"He needed to suppress his strength for a long time due to the peculiarity of his training method."
Leo said, bringing the stolen popcorn to his mouth.
"Luke's background is unusual compared to other hero candidates. He learned everything on his own."
"In that regard, he's a bit like you, young master Leo."
'He's completely different from me.'
Leo was complete from birth except for his vessel.
But Luke was different.
Literally a blank slate.
He couldn't even properly handle his vessel.
He only learned proper aura cultivation methods after coming to Rumern.
Even with Luke's special mana characteristics and outstanding talent, he was at a disadvantage compared to other Rumern students when his vessel was not yet complete.
'Even if he had trained using normal methods, he would have shown amazing growth. But he wouldn't have achieved such explosive growth.'
Therefore, Leo focused on creating Luke's vessel through extreme methods.
It was clear that this method was an incredibly difficult path for Luke himself.
'Especially when he started so far behind, and everyone else was running so fast, and he was stuck in place…'
Of course, Luke could have chosen an easier path to rapid growth if he had wanted.
But it was Luke himself who walked the difficult path to the end.
"He has only just acquired a vessel, however."
Leo smirked as he looked at Luke.
"Even the strongest first-years now might be in trouble if they underestimate him."
'He always had good eyes. And good observation skills. Plus, he had combat sense.'
Leo had merely created a large, white canvas.
How that white canvas would be filled was now up to Luke.
***
BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!
"I'll finish this!"
Rement, his eyes bloodshot, roared.
Rement, who had half lost his sanity, was unleashing magic.
However, despite the countless spells pouring down, not a single one hit Luke.
Luke's eyes moved rapidly, tracking the trajectory of the magic.
'My body is light. And I don't get tired.'
Leo had sealed not only his mana.
He had also sealed Luke's physical abilities.
In that state, he had trained his body to its limits every single day.
He had run madly every day, but it always felt like he was in the same place.
Days of stagnation, unable to make even a little progress.
But those days of stagnation felt like they were for this moment.
Luke's body did not stop progressing even while moving.
It was as if all the hardships of the past days were for this moment.
Everything he had trained diligently every single day was now being rewarded.
THWACK-!
Luke stepped on a giant rock spear flying at him and leaped.
WHIRL-! He spun and deflected the rock arrows flying from the sky.
SCRAPE-!
Rement's attacks were relentless.
Seeing Luke evade and block all attacks, Rement's forehead veins bulged.
"Ha! Are you trying to drag this out with me?! You'll get tired or get hit by magic before then!"
It was true.
No matter how untiring Luke was, and no matter how well he read the trajectory of magic.
Rement was not standing still either.
As Luke read the trajectory of Rement's magic and moved, Rement also grasped Luke's movements and patterns, launching increasingly complex attacks.
Rement Morrock.
He was from a prestigious magical family and ranked third in the first-year magic department.
He possessed an overwhelming amount of magic power compared to other students.
'If this becomes a prolonged fight, I'm at a disadvantage.'
Even though he had unlocked the seal and gained incomparable mana, Luke's mana amount was not overwhelming.
For knights, aura was fuel to be burned.
The moment all their mana was depleted, their physical abilities would plummet.
'Closing the distance with Rement won't be easy either.'
He had tried to close the distance several times but failed each time.
Rement was blocking his approach with countless protective spells.
Rement hadn't earned his spot as third in the Rumern Magic Department, where talented individuals gathered, by chance.
He was rich not only in magical skill but also in combat experience.
He was well-versed in fighting against knights who wielded aura.
'If I even get grazed by an attack or get tired, it's my loss.'
Luke's silver eyes turned to Rement.
Luke's eyes glowed silver.
WHOOSH-!
Seeing Luke suddenly change direction and charge at him, Rement smirked.
'Foolish!'
He was momentarily flustered by Luke's sudden, dramatic surge in abilities.
He was also enraged by being hit by an attack, even if it was for a moment.
But Rement quickly regained his composure.
'There's no way I can lose to Luke Elda!'
Rement's attacks were overwhelming Luke.
'He's quite fast, but that's it!'
Rement was also aiming for the top spot in his year.
For him, a traditional mage, the most difficult opponents were Haviden and Aina from the Knight Department.
Both were knights who moved with incredible speed and overwhelmed their opponents.
Rement had anticipated battles with them.
The element he primarily wielded was earth.
And the specialty of an earth mage was defense.
'The moment you enter my domain, you're finished.'
Rement's eyes glinted.
THWACK-!
At that moment, Luke broke through the countless defensive spells and entered Rement's domain.
CRASH-!
Rement's magic activated, targeting Luke.
WHOOSH-!
At that moment, Luke quickly distanced himself from Rement.
SCRAPE-!
The magic erupting from the ground targeted Luke, but Luke deflected it all with his sword.
THWACK-!
Luke, who had pushed off the ground, instantly appeared behind Rement.
WHOOSH-!
And he launched an attack from a blind spot.
"It's useless! This magic has no blind spots!"
Rement's roar filled the air as magic was unleashed again, targeting Luke.
Luke once again escaped Rement's domain.
Attacks were impossible; he could only evade and defend.
It felt like being trapped in a swamp.
It was as Rement was smiling triumphantly.
STILL-!
Luke's movements stopped.
Seeing Luke suddenly stop, Rement, who had been unleashing magic, faltered for a moment.
Then, he smirked.
"Giving up? I'm sorry, but I have no intention of letting you go easily, you who humiliated me…"
"Going."
Taking a deep breath, Luke gripped his sword tighter and lowered his stance.
"What?"
The moment Rement scowled.
THWACK-!
'Disappeared?'
The moment Rement was shocked.
Luke's movements were detected by his detection magic.
'No, he's moving even faster!'
Rement concentrated his mana into defensive magic and expanded his domain further.
ZZZZZ-!
The moment Luke stepped into Rement's domain, his mana reacted.
RUMBLE-!
All sorts of earth magic erupted from the ground, covering Luke.
While deflecting and evading all that magic, Luke rapidly closed the distance with Rement.
"Foolish! Do you think increasing your speed a little will let you reach me!"
Rement sneered.
At that moment.
WHOOSH-!
Luke broke through Rement's first line of defense.
Seeing that, Rement's face stiffened slightly.
'No, he can't reach me.'
Rement poured even more mana.
RUMBLE-!
The surging earth tried to grab Luke.
At that moment.
Flash-!
Luke's silver eyes flashed, and silver light rained down.
CRASH-!
Sharp sword energy cleaved the magic in two.
Rement's face was filled with shock.
Luke had been using his mana, which was almost non-existent during the first semester, to its maximum potential.
Thanks to that, he had gained fine mana control, and that control had maximized the efficiency of his mana.
He constantly practiced how to achieve the maximum effect with minimal mana.
Seeing Luke break through the second line of defense, Rement squeezed out all his remaining mana.
"Not yet!"
WHOOSH-!
A massive magic circle formed around him.
All the magic he could use materialized, targeting Luke.
At that moment.
WHOOSH-!
'He's getting… faster?!'
A silver flash reached Rement's nose.
THWACK-!
Luke kicked off the ground with his left foot.
"Wait…"
Using his left foot as a pivot, Luke kicked Rement in the abdomen with his right foot.
"Ga…"
CRASH-!
"Gah?!"
The aura concentrated at the tip of Luke's foot instantly pierced through all of Rement's shield magic.
BOOM-!
Rement, hit head-on by Luke's attack, flew back and crashed into the wall.
CRUNCH-! THUD-!
With his eyes rolled back, the unconscious Rement fell to the ground.
"Hoo."
Luke exhaled and stood in place.
"Victory, Luke Elda."
Mel smiled and declared Luke the winner.
"Oooooooh!"
Cheers erupted from the upperclassmen.
"His ability to read attack trajectories and evade is almost an art."
"His eyes are incredibly sharp. I like it."
A completely unexpected victory.
Furthermore, the process by which Luke defeated Rement was a spectacular sight.
Applause poured from the upperclassmen.
In contrast, most of the first-years looked at Luke with disbelief.
"I-Impossible."
"That flunk-out…"
"Wait. Defeating Rement means he's one of the top fighters among the first-years, doesn't it?"
"I've been openly ignoring and mocking him this whole time… How?!"
Some of the first-years' faces turned pale.
"That's not all he's got."
"That's right. He didn't use 'magic'."
Juwen spoke, and Shasha squinted her eyes.
Then, Juwen stood up.
"Good luck, number one in the magic department."
"I'll win."
Juwen scoffed and headed towards the waiting room.
Meanwhile, Aina also stood up.
Haviden, who was nearby, said.
"Luke Elda is on your mind, isn't he?"
Aina still hadn't taken her eyes off Luke.
"Not at all."
Aina replied briefly and headed towards the waiting room.
Haviden scoffed as he watched her go, then looked at Luke and muttered.
"He's become worth defeating."