Book 1 Chapter 563
563.
“So, what's the name of the competition?”
As the detailed schedule coordination concluded.
Ar, with her arms crossed, tilted her head and asked.
“Now that you mention it, we haven't decided on the important name yet.”
Lunia agreed with Ar’s words.
Everyone’s gaze subtly turned to Leo.
Everyone present knew that Leo was the one who came up with the idea for this large-scale event.
Receiving the gazes of all the students, Leo said nonchalantly.
“We can just pick something roughly.”
At his words, Lunia made a flabbergasted expression.
“No matter how you look at it, does 'picking something roughly' make any sense?”
But Leo, the person concerned, remained indifferent.
“Leo. Aren’t you the student council president of Lumerne? You must be leading this event as the student council president, but you haven't even thought of a name?”
When Driana asked, a little curiously, Leo replied.
“Our school has many capable students. Both seniors and juniors.”
“What does that mean?”
Chelsea, seeing Driana’s puzzled expression, reached for a cookie on the tea table and said.
“It means there are many people good at being exploited.”
*Crunch*—Chelsea said, biting into a cookie.
“Everyone was scrambling to come to Dragonia after Leo oppa. Lumerne is utter chaos right now with event preparations.”
‘Leo! Take me!’
‘No! Me!’
‘What if you’re not there!’
‘What about you then!’
Chelsea shook her head, recalling the scene of classmates and seniors alike crowding into the student council office, clamoring.
At Chelsea’s words, students from other schools shook their heads.
‘Surely we’ll be busy with the competition too, but Lumerne must be really something.’
After all, it was a public event.
It was only natural to prepare grandly to avoid embarrassment.
“By the way, that’s unexpected. I thought Elena Zeron would definitely oppose this because it’s troublesome.”
At Hardin’s words, Chelsea shook her head.
“Senior Elena is the most actively tormenting the students. Of course, she herself is suffering from the heaviest workload.”
Elena’s basic premise for pushing students is, ‘I’m working this hard, so what about you?’
“Surprising, that Elena?”
Hardin of Seyrun is in the same year as Elena.
If Elena reigned as the strongest of her generation in Lumerne, then Seyrun had Hardin.
Moreover, having clashed in the Luse War since their first year, he knew Elena to some extent.
‘That monstrous woman is willingly working under someone else.’
Elena was called the Queen or Witch of Lumerne, but Hardin thought "tyrant" suited her more than "queen."
That’s how Elena lived, doing whatever she wanted, however she wanted.
Even if she had shown an overwhelming presence, working under someone else was hard to imagine for her.
“Lately, when I see Senior Elena, I get a little worried.”
Chelsea said with a sigh.
She always maintained a calm expression, but Elena's workload was extraordinary.
“It’s fine. That much won’t kill her.”
Hearing Chelsea’s words, Leo said nonchalantly.
“You’re supposed to do tough things when you’re young. That way, it’ll become blood and flesh later when you’re fully grown.”
“Black Rabbit. You’re young too.”
“Leo, isn’t Elena Zeron older than you in the first place?”
Ar and Dorveman made dumbfounded expressions.
“How can he sound exactly like those old High Smith geezers?”
“Wow, Driana. Look at this. I just got goosebumps.”
Driana and Marigold also winced.
Leo chuckled at their reactions.
“Wouldn’t it be good to experience that life is a real battle in this competition?”
“Lumerne Student Council President, we know you’re great. No matter what anyone says, you’ve already reached the position of hero, which is our goal. But still, I’ve attended Damian for five years, you know.”
As Marigold scratched her cheek and spoke, Dorveman chuckled.
“Leo, I’m not dismissing your words, but even if we look like this, we’ve been through all sorts of hardships. We’ve already felt to the bone that life isn’t easy.”
Leo merely smiled at those words.
But the faces of Lunia and Chelsea, who knew Leo’s true identity, had turned pale.
‘What in the world is he planning this time?’
“By the way, Black Rabbit. If you’ve entrusted all the student council duties, what do you do in your free time, Black Rabbit?”
To Ar’s question, Leo didn’t answer, only smiled.
*Clap!*
At that moment, Melina clapped her hands to draw attention and said with a smile.
“Let’s stop the trivial talk here. How about naming the competition ‘Festival of Heroes’?”
At her words, the students exclaimed in admiration.
“That sounds excellent, Dragon Lord.”
Dorveman replied courteously, and Melina smiled gently.
“Good. Then, until the Festival of Heroes opens, let’s handle the detailed matters through organic cooperation between the schools. With that, I will conclude this meeting.”
***
That night.
Leo stood in the training ground of his assigned accommodation in Dragonia.
Silently, beneath the star-filled night sky, Leo drew his sword.
Since he took his first steps, Leo had been relentlessly pushing himself.
When he was young, to awaken the power of all classes.
Later, to regain the power of his previous life.
As a result of such relentless effort, he was rapidly recovering the power of his previous life.
Recovering the power of his previous life.
That was Leo’s very first goal.
But after meeting Berkhia, Leo was pushing himself even more harshly.
*Shring—! Wooong—!*
A resonance arose from Leo’s sword, and a gray aura flared up.
Seeing this, Leo closed his eyes.
‘Focus.’
All of Leo’s senses gathered at the tip of his sword.
A silent night.
But from a certain moment, nothing could be heard.
When he opened his eyes, only the sword, glowing gray in the pitch-black darkness, met his gaze.
It wasn’t a hallucination.
It was a phenomenon that occurred because all his senses were solely concentrated on the sword.
*Clack—*
Leo, holding the sword with both hands, brought it before his face and pointed the blade forward.
Along with that, someone appeared before his eyes.
It was a beast-human warrior wielding a sword.
Arion.
In the pitch-black space, only Leo and Arion stood.
Leo’s appearance had also transformed into Kyle.
Arion lowered his stance.
Leo kicked off the ground towards Arion.
*Kwa-ga-ga-gak—!*
Aura scattered from Leo’s swinging sword.
Fragments of aura, swirling so chaotically they were invisible to the eye, lashed out as if to rip Arion’s body to shreds.
At that moment, Arion’s sword moved smoothly.
*Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang—!*
It sliced through the golden aura and the gray aura.
It didn’t work.
He had expected as much.
‘Of course, the opponent is Arion.’
It was clear that in this era, Leo would undoubtedly be the strongest pure warrior.
No, even after the Age of Catastrophe, no one would have surpassed Leo.
Neither his disciples Berkhia and Bihal.
Nor the heroes of creation, Lumerne and Azonia.
Their pure warrior skill could not surpass Leo’s.
It had to be.
Leo could skillfully wield all weapons.
As such, he was adept at all kinds of unorthodox moves.
His epithet, “Hero Who Survives,” was not earned for nothing.
‘Then as now, experience is the yardstick that determines a warrior’s skill.’
The number of battlefields he had crossed was different.
The number of times he had risked his life was different.
Quite literally, his fundamental experience was different.
From that perspective, Leo’s skill as a warrior was higher than Arion’s.
*Chae-eng—!*
At that moment.
Arion’s sword deflected Leo’s sword.
Feeling the heavier weight of Arion’s sword, Leo opened a sub-space.
*Hwoosh—!*
Leo, gripping a massive battle-axe, rotated his body, putting his weight into it.
*Kwang—!*
Arion blocked the battle-axe, bounced back, and landed on the ground.
Arion shifted into beast form.
‘But I am weaker than Arion.’
Leo’s skill as a warrior was outstanding, but Arion’s overall martial prowess was overwhelming.
This wasn’t merely about having stronger physical power.
Leo maximized his combat ability by switching weapons in real-time according to the situation.
Arion didn't have such an ability.
‘More accurately, he doesn’t need to do what I do.’
One uses multiple weapons because one cannot overcome limits with a single weapon.
That is a kind of trick.
Conversely, Arion is not like that.
He had surpassed limits with a single weapon.
That was why Arion, as a martial artist, was stronger than Leo.
Suddenly, Leo gripped his sword again.
The gray aura surged as if it would ignite.
‘The essence of the pure mana characteristic is power unconstrained by anything, wasn’t it?’
That was why Leo was an all-class user.
He could manifest countless abilities.
Leo’s unique magic, "Bible," was also a magic system born thanks to this mana characteristic.
He increased the number of powers he could use.
Based on that, he strengthened his own power.
This was how Leo had trained himself since his Kyle days.
That was why Leo’s abilities were as vast as the sea.
But…
‘It’s not deep, it’s shallow.’
To others, it might have felt deep.
Literally, what he had accumulated was different.
But when compared to his friends, it was a different story.
‘Being unconstrained by anything also means being infinite.’
That meant Leo too could become infinitely stronger.
And that was proven at the very last moment of his past life.
With the power inherited from his comrades, Leo overcame Erebos, an immortal being.
But that was, after all, borrowed power, not his own.
‘So I achieved an incomplete victory and closed my eyes.’
*Clench—!*
Leo’s hand tightened.
In this life too, Leo intended to win.
He had no intention of losing even a little bit from the start.
‘But there’s no law saying it won’t end like my past life.’
There’s no guarantee that this life too won’t overcome Erebos based on someone else’s sacrifice.
‘I can’t tolerate that.’
Leo charged towards Arion.
Arion also rushed forward to meet him.
‘So I must surpass him. This guy!’
The pinnacle of martial arts that Leo knew.
Not just Arion.
Luna, and Ricinas too.
As a magician, as a summoner, he must definitively surpass his comrades who stood at the peak in their respective fields.
*Clack—!*
Suddenly, Leo’s sword was sliced off and flew into the sky.
Arion’s sword was already touching Leo’s neck.
Arion, whose eyes met Leo’s, his lips moved.
‘Amazing, it’s Kyle after all!’
The moment Leo gave a wry smile at those words.
“Amazing! It’s the Black Rabbit after all!”
An excited voice was heard.
Suddenly, the pitch-black darkness vanished, and they returned to reality, where starlight poured down.
Ar, who had rushed towards Leo, her eyes shining brightly.
“You seem even more amazing! Black Rabbit! Let’s have a match right now… *Nyaaahk*?!”
“What do you mean, interrupting training, you silly cat.”
Lunia roughly pulled Ar’s excited tail.
Ar, grabbing her backside and squatting, shed a tear.
Seeing that, Leo chuckled and patted Ar’s head as if pressing down.
“It’s okay, I was just about to finish.”
At Leo’s words, Ar made a languid, cat-like expression.
Watching that, Lunia muttered to herself.
‘Just now… that was definitely Lord Kyle.’
From the first time she saw Leo, Lunia had felt an oddness.
Especially because she often felt an unfathomable depth, despite his maturity.
Now, she knew what it was.
It was Leo’s true self, having shed the mask of his current life.
Seeing Ar making a languid expression, Leo chuckled and gently massaged Ar’s chin.
At that, Ar’s throat made a *gororong-gororong* sound.
At that moment.
Ar made a ‘Hot!’ expression and then, with a flushed face, shouted.
“Don’t treat me like a cat!”
“But you are a cat.”
“Anyone would say you were a kitten, wouldn’t they?”
Lunia and Driana said mercilessly.
“Ugh!”
Ar rolled on the floor irritably.
*Thump! Thump!* sounds were made, but regrettably, no one here was scared by such things.
“Anyway! Have a match with me!”
At Ar’s words, Leo said.
“I have somewhere to go tonight. Training ends here.”
Leo chuckled and looked down at his aura.
The gray aura surged.
‘First, I need to gain the power to kill Erebos even with a sword.’
Leo’s power was definitely Erebos’s natural enemy.
But in his past life, while he could inflict fatal wounds on Erebos, he couldn’t completely kill him.
The reason was that Leo only had one means to completely destroy Erebos.
‘Innocent.’
The unique magic Luna left to Leo.
The essence of pure magic.
‘If it’s a power that can be realized through magic… then aura should also be able to manifest the power of purity.’
The moment that happened, Leo’s aura would become a blade capable of killing primordial evil.
But to do that, he had to overcome his limits as a martial artist.
And Leo clearly knew what that limit was.
Leo subtly turned his head.
He had awakened from the mental world, but for some reason, Arion’s illusion remained.
Watching Arion smile gently at him, Leo muttered to himself.
‘I’ll surpass you soon, so don’t make that ‘you can do it’ expression. You learned useless things from Ricinas.’
Leo clicked his tongue and lightly flicked his sword.
*Hwoosh—!*
Suddenly, the gray aura scattered.
“Huh?”
Ar instantly looked confused.
“Why?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Ar shook her head.
‘Just now, when the Black Rabbit’s aura scattered, it seemed to momentarily turn pure white? Did I see it wrong?’