Book 1 Chapter 568

Ridden stared at Chelsea, who was confidently facing Lisinas right in front of him, as if he couldn't believe it.

'What is this? Chelsea Lewalyn… Is she fearless?'

Chelsea's act of blocking Lisinas seemed reckless.

Even if he were a fake, his opponent was a great hero.

Even if praised as a golden generation in Lumern, compared to Lisinas, it was like a firefly under the moonlight.

'How… How can she confront him?'

Ridden clenched his fists.

Despite the questions overwhelming his mind, Ridden quickly moved his friends to a safe distance from the fight's aftermath.

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

"You won't be able to escape anyway."

Lisinas chuckled deeply.

"It's more worthwhile to fight an opponent who is motivated than one who is paralyzed with fear and can't fight properly."

As he said that, Lisinas's eyes narrowed.

"I have a reason to teach her a lesson, too."

'Did I really have to say he was ugly?'

Chelsea's face blurred.

Seeing the blurry Chelsea, Lisinas raised his hand.

Flash-!

Countless specks of light appeared in the air.

Seeing that, the wind swirled around Chelsea as if her body were swelling.

Fwosh-!

The specks of light turned into a rain of light and poured down on Chelsea.

Seeing that, Chelsea flinched and manipulated the wind.

'This is nothing compared to Iliana's magic!'

Recalling a school friend whose specialty was light magic, Chelsea let out a scream.

'The attack itself is simple! Straight line!'

Chelsea's eyes moved rapidly.

With her unique magic, Hot Wind, deployed, Chelsea's mobility increased, and she quickly evaded Lisinas's attack magic.

Flash-!

A flash narrowly grazed her cheek, and cold sweat formed on Chelsea's forehead.

'Even a touch would be fatal.'

At first glance, it looked no different from Magic Missile, the most basic attack magic.

However, the power contained within it far surpassed that of ordinary high-level magic.

Whoosh-!

Chelsea's body shot upwards into the sky.

"Gasp!"

And in the sky, Chelsea was met with a white, beautiful finger thrust right in front of her.

The owner of the sculpted hand was none other than Lisinas.

A flash of light twinkled from Lisinas's fingertips.

Chelsea hastily tilted her head back.

Flash-! BOOM-!

An enormous flash and a deafening explosion erupted behind her.

At the same time, a shockwave that swept over Chelsea blew her away.

Whoosh-!

"Ugh!"

"You seem confident in your speed, little one."

Chelsea, who barely regained her balance just before crashing to the ground, flinched at the voice from behind her.

When she turned her head, Lisinas was there.

"But if you rely too much on speed, you'll quickly hit your limit when facing someone faster than you."

Grab-!

Thwack-!

"Ack?!"

"Like now."

Lisinas, grabbing Chelsea's hair, mercilessly struck her solar plexus with his knee.

Chelsea's body shot up and slammed into the ground.

At that moment.

Whoosh-!

"……!"

Chelsea's body turned into wind and scattered.

"A clone?"

Lisinas's eyes widened slightly.

"Wind Breaker!"

WHOOOSH-!

Chelsea's wind blades swept over Lisinas.

"That's right. There are plenty of opponents faster than me. But my strength isn't speed!"

Chelsea's greatest strength was her freedom, unconstrained like the wind.

Her greatest skill was fighting opponents with unpredictable movements based on that freedom.

Seeing Lisinas walk out of the thick dust completely unharmed, Chelsea gritted her teeth.

'I have to hold on longer!'

There was no chance of winning.

Even if he was a fake, he was an illusion created by Leo.

An illusion created by the one who knew Wisdom King Lisinas best in the world.

'It's no exaggeration to say he is Lisinas himself!'

The reason she deliberately called him ugly was to brace herself.

A desperate struggle to somehow squeeze out courage by denying he was real.

But still, nothing changed.

She could barely move with the courage she'd squeezed out, but the fact that he was a strong opponent who could end her anytime he wished remained unchanged.

Even so, Chelsea had to fight.

'I don't know what Leo oppa wants to see in me.'

But he had clearly sent her here with him to show something to those dragons.

'Then I have to do as I've learned.'

What she learned from admiring and following Leo.

What she learned from meeting Arion and Luna.

It was time to put into practice the countless things Chelsea had seen and absorbed.

There was no time to despair at the overwhelming power difference with her opponent.

Chelsea took a breath.

And…

A beautiful voice flowed from Chelsea's lips.

The surrounding wind resonated with Chelsea.

WHOOSH-!

Lisinas, sensing the wind being drawn into Chelsea's surroundings, let out a thoughtful hum.

'My voice doesn't seem to reach the wind spirits well anymore.'

The wind grew even stronger.

And yet, it was surprisingly quiet around Chelsea.

Watching Chelsea consume the wind, Lisinas muttered.

"It's like Luna's magic."

The sight of the young girl, too young to be called a hero yet, captivated his eyes.

"Magnificent."

Lisinas's lips curved into a gentle arc.

"Let's see if you can dodge this too."

Lisinas's shadow shot up like a blade.

WHOOOM-!

Cutting through the wind, the shadow blades poured down on Chelsea.

Whoosh-!

Chelsea dodged the shadow blades by manipulating the wind.

The movement was reminiscent of the wind itself.

Chelsea calmly dodged the attacks and closed the distance with Lisinas.

As Chelsea swung her staff, a giant wind blade was unleashed towards Lisinas.

"That's too reckless. Is that bravado?"

Lisinas asked Chelsea.

But Chelsea didn't have time to answer.

Lisinas's gaze met Chelsea's, who was gritting her teeth and squeezing out her courage.

And he saw the deep fear dwelling in her eyes.

'Arion…'

The name of her friend naturally flashed through her mind, and Lisinas's smile deepened.

WHOOM-!

The shadow ravaged the surroundings.

WHOOM-!

The surrounding land was destroyed and crumbled.

"Ugh…"

Chelsea groaned, lying on the ground.

Her body, which had been ravaged by Lisinas's magic, wouldn't obey.

Her staff had been out of her hands for a long time.

Gritting her teeth, Chelsea tried to get up.

"It's no use. I cut most of your tendons."

Thump- thump-

Lisinas walked towards Chelsea as he spoke.

To face such a Lisinas, Chelsea tried to force her unresponsive body to rise.

In that sight, the image of someone else surfaced.

'…Kyle.'

"Ugh…"

Lisinas reached out towards Chelsea, who was struggling to get up with a groan.

Vroom- Flash-!

Bright light burst from Lisinas's hand.

Seeing that, Chelsea squeezed her eyes shut.

Lisinas, who had crouched down, gently placed his hand on Chelsea's head.

"Magnificent."

"What?"

Chelsea opened her eyes and looked up.

There, she saw Lisinas with a breathtakingly beautiful smile.

Vroom-!

A soft, warm light flowed from Lisinas's hand, enveloping Chelsea.

Chelsea's wounds healed instantly.

Lisinas carefully helped Chelsea to her feet.

"It must have hurt a lot, right? I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd fall for it unless I was serious."

The overwhelming charisma she had felt just moments ago was gone.

Now, all that was felt was a warmth that naturally eased the hearts of those who saw it.

Seeing that, Chelsea gave a hollow laugh.

"Well… it's absurd that I could dodge Lisinas-nim's attacks. It was all an act."

"That's right. Of course."

Squeeze-

"But I can't forgive you for calling me ugly."

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts, Lisinas-nim!"

"I'm pinching you because it hurts, you impudent little lady."

Lisinas, with his hand covering his mouth and a cultured smile, was still merciless.

As if that didn't calm his anger, a moment later, he pinched both of Chelsea's cheeks with both hands.

Chelsea, flailing in the air, was finally released and touched her bright red cheeks with a tearful face.

At that moment, the students of Wisdom approached.

"Lisinas-nim…"

Ridden, at the forefront, seemed unsure what to do.

Seeing the hesitant Ridden, Lisinas said.

"Are you the children who will follow in my footsteps?"

To this question, the Wisdom students could not answer.

Chelsea, whom they had secretly looked down on, had boldly faced Lisinas and even received his acknowledgment.

But they were in a panic and could do nothing.

In fact, Chelsea was the one who led Ridden in that situation.

Seeing the silent Wisdom students, Lisinas smiled faintly.

"Is there something to be ashamed of?"

"…Yes."

"Then that's fortunate."

"What?"

Ridden, who answered in a voice as if he wanted to crawl into a rat hole, looked at Lisinas with wide eyes.

"Being ashamed means you know what you need to reflect on. Shouldn't you reflect on it so you won't be ashamed next time?"

"Ah…"

"Lisinas-nim."

The Wisdom students were moved.

They knew it was an illusion.

But the Lisinas before them was close to the ideal Lisinas they imagined.

As Lisinas smiled benevolently, the space distorted.

It seemed the illusion was over.

"It's time to part ways now."

Lisinas patted Chelsea on the head.

"Just keep being yourself, Chelsea Lewalyn."

"Ah, yes!"

As Chelsea replied with a flushed face, the entire space was swallowed by darkness.

'Am I waking up from the illusion now?'

Ridden felt a sense of regret.

'Even though it's an illusion, I wanted to talk more with Lisinas-nim…'

Thwack-!

"…?"

Something struck his head, and Ridden looked around with a bewildered expression.

Whack-! Whack! Whack!

"Ugh? Ugh?!"

The intensity of the blows to his head grew stronger.

"Stop! Please, stop…!"

Just as Ridden's consciousness was blurring as he was beaten without being able to resist properly, a beautiful voice, filled with malice, was heard.

"Who do you think you are, talking nonsense about leading or not leading?"

"He's the hero I chose. If you dare to covet him again, you won't get away with just this."

As his consciousness blurred, Ridden lost consciousness, hearing inexplicable words.

***

Thwack-!

"Ugh?"

"Wake up."

Dryana's small hand mercilessly struck Ridden's head.

Though her hand was small and cute, it felt like being hit on the head with a hammer, befitting a dwarf.

Ridden's senses sharpened, and he jumped up.

"You're awake?"

Leo approached the Wisdom students.

"How was the test?"

To this question, the Wisdom students lowered their heads.

"We were foolish, Leo Flove. We were too narrow-minded and arrogant."

"Don't blame yourselves too much. Everyone is like that."

Leo chuckled.

"Even that Wisdom King was called foolish, wasn't he? The important thing is to learn."

"…"

Ridden let out a hollow laugh.

'I'm being guided by someone I thought I would guide. I was going to guide someone like this.'

Feeling ashamed of his past self, Ridden said.

"I'm learning a lot from you."

"There are opportunities to learn even more."

"What?"

Leo gestured to Dryana.

Dryana took out a few sheets of paper from her pocket and handed them to the Wisdom students.

Shiren looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"What is this?"

"A contract. This time, there's a 'Festival of Heroes,' a competition for hero academies, being held in Lumern. If you come here, you can meet many hero candidates."

At Leo's words, the Wisdom students' eyes widened.

"See the wider world and broaden your horizons. That's what you need right now."

"You'll give us this opportunity?"

To the surprised Ridden, Dryana personally flipped to the back page and said.

"Just sign here."

At those words, Ridden closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'My position has completely reversed.'

In this case, they would be in a position of being guided.

This was humiliating for the Wisdom students who aimed to be guides.

But.

'It will surely be a stepping stone for my growth.'

Thinking so, Ridden signed without hesitation.

The Wisdom students also signed with similar feelings.

At the same time, Dryana snatched the contracts from the Wisdom students' hands.

Clap clap clap-

At that moment, the sound of applause was heard from behind.

The Wisdom students turned their heads, their eyes widened, and they knelt down, bowing their heads.

"We greet our Lord!"

As the Wisdom students spoke in unison, Melina let out a laugh.

"You don't have to be so stiff, everyone."

Melina walked in front of the students and said.

"I believe that the many things you've learned today will be a great strength to you in the future."

At those words, the Wisdom students felt ashamed and couldn't lift their heads.

Melina looked at Leo.

-Are you satisfied now?

-Yes! Thank you so much! Leo-nim!

Leo and Melina conversed in their minds using magic.

'This person… is indeed Lisinas-nim's companion.'

Leo's appearance, teaching the Wisdom students, reminded her of Lisinas.

It was only natural.

They could only resemble each other.

'Indeed, Leo-nim's guide can only be Lisinas-nim.'

Melina, who had been smiling faintly, suddenly felt a doubt.

-But Leo-nim.

-Why?

-Why did you have the Wisdom students sign contracts when inviting them to the Festival of Heroes?

-Ah. I tried out the specialty of that damn lizard once.

-…

Hearing Leo's answer, Melina felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Dryana-yang, show me the contracts."

And she snatched the contracts from Dryana.

Upon confirming the contents of the contracts, Melina wore a dazed expression.

-Leo-nim.

-Why?

-This is just a slave contract.

-That's right. It's a busy period, and I've secured excellent labor.

-Isn't this fraud?

-Impress the other party and then backstab them. That's Lisinas's specialty. Make sure to include education on contract writing in the Wisdom curriculum from now on.

-… What about this nude model clause?

-Dryana, I knew something was up when she insisted on writing the contracts herself.

Leo clicked his tongue.

"Give it to me, give it back."

Meanwhile, Dryana snatched the contracts back from Melina and held them tightly.

Her appearance was as if she were holding a precious treasure.

Looking at the Wisdom students with touched expressions, Melina muttered inwardly.

-This… This can't be Lisinas-nim's way.

-Have you ever seen Lisinas commit fraud?

-…

-I have, a lot.

At Leo's answer, Melina looked up at the sky in silence.

'I'm already old, if not aging. Why do I feel like I'm growing up?'

Melina felt like she had lost something precious today.