Book 1 Chapter 651

The day after the entrance ceremony.

Students began to pour into the central hall of the clock tower, literally.

As the dormitory was shared by all students, the dormitory building itself couldn't help but be bustling.

Naturally, the most visible were the freshmen.

The freshmen, who had shown a droopy atmosphere at the entrance ceremony yesterday, had recovered and regained some energy by the next day.

Seeing the freshmen gathered with their classmates, chattering away, Luke wore a tense expression.

"Luke. Why do you look so tense?"

Harvey, a classmate and rival in the Knight Department, asked with a puzzled look.

Luke replied with a trembling voice.

"Well, well, they're the juniors. As a senior, I have to set an example… Haa… I'm nervous!"

Seeing Luke's helplessness, Harvey frowned.

"As I always say, Luke. You are the representative of our year. If you show that kind of attitude, they'll look down on you."

"B-but. How should I say it? To have juniors follow me, I have to set an example, right?"

"Hmph. Whether it's an example or not, simply advancing to the second year makes you qualified to be a senior."

Harvey scoffed and called out to a passing freshman from the Knight Department.

"Hey, you."

"Yes!"

Seeing the freshman stand at attention with a tense face, Harvey pointed at Luke.

"Do you know who this person is?"

"He is Luke Elda, the representative of the second-year students!"

"What do you think of him?"

"I respect him! And I respect Harvey senior too!"

"Alright, you can go."

"W-work hard…"

"Hiss!"

"W-work hard!"

"Yes! Thank you!"

Seeing Luke unintentionally use honorifics, Harvey glared at him, making Luke jump and change his tone.

The freshman looked touched by his words and ran off to the students he had befriended overnight.

"I talked with Luke senior and Harvey senior! Luke senior told me to work hard!"

"Ooh ooh!"

"Lucky you!"

"Should I try talking to him too?"

"It feels hard to approach him!"

Seeing the lively first-years, Harvey chuckled.

"Your words of encouragement made them so happy. Have confidence."

"Th-thank you."

Luke looked touched.

Seeing Luke like that, Harvey smirked.

"I can't stand for you, the representative of our year, to be looked down upon."

"Yeah. I'll become someone more fitting of a year representative than before…"

"Soon, that position will be mine."

"……."

"Clean your neck and wait, Luke."

"Hey, clean my neck and wait? Such a chilling phrase…"

"What's wrong? Luke."

"Aina! Harvey told me to clean my neck and wait!"

At that, Aina's face stiffened.

Then, she glared at Harvey with sharp eyes.

"That's absolutely unacceptable."

"Luke…"

Luke looked slightly touched.

"I'll be the one to clean Luke's neck."

"……."

Luke could only remain silent.

"Why is the atmosphere like this?"

"The representative of our year shouldn't be making such a sad face on the first day."

Juen and Sasha approached Luke.

"Aina, Harvey, and you told me to clean my neck and wait."

"Considering you're from the Knight Department, your words are a bit scary."

"Right?"

"Yeah. I'll make a hole in your forehead."

"That's scary too."

"Oh my. Saying you'll cut off a neck or make a hole in a forehead? You all speak so harshly. You should soften your words a bit."

Sasha, covering her mouth with a fan, said in a gentle tone.

"How will you soften them?"

As Juen squinted his eyes, Sasha put on a cheerful expression.

"An execution."

"You seem to be the most chilling one?"

'Why do these guys speak so harshly?'

Luke pouted, looking at his friends who were always eyeing him.

The first-years watched the second-years from a distance with envious eyes.

Just then.

Clack- clack-

The sound of high heels could be heard.

The first-years' gazes turned towards the source of the sound.

"Whoa! It's Iliana senior."

"Wow!"

"She's so pretty."

The appearance of Iliana, one of the top talents among the third-years, drew gasps from all around.

They were already known as the greatest golden generation in Lumerin history.

Excluding the top students of that golden generation, there was almost no one to compare to Iliana in terms of skill, making her a natural object of admiration for the freshmen.

"But I heard she's a bit frivolous, or rather, people say she's flighty?"

"Whoa? I heard that rumor too."

"Is it a false rumor?"

"It must be a false rumor! How could someone who looks so refined have such rumors about her?"

The freshmen murmured, tilting their heads.

As they chattered, their eyes met Iliana's.

The freshmen froze for a moment, unsure of what to do.

Iliana gave them a gentle smile.

That smile made the freshman boys blush for a moment.

Watching them, Iliana, who softly swept her hair aside, headed towards the cafeteria.

Chelsea, who had just left the dormitory and saw that sight, had an indescribable expression.

Then, she approached Nella, who had come out of the Knight Department's area, and asked.

"Nella unnie. Why is she acting like that? Did she eat something wrong last night?"

"I don't know. She was saying strange things about having a secret weapon to win the dormitory battle, and now she's acting like this in the morning?"

Nella looked very worried.

"Did she hit her head in yesterday's fight with the seniors? She didn't seem to have any external injuries."

"If she sustained a strong impact to the head, how should she be treated?"

Nella, who possessed healing aura, was not only the representative healer of the third-years but also a master of healing arts.

After pondering Nella's question for a moment, Nella said.

"A strong impact to the head would work… Should I try hitting her once with my morning star?"

"… If you do that, you might kill her, Nella unnie."

"Right?"

Unaware that her friends were making such chilling remarks, Iliana went to the cafeteria and looked around.

Then, she spotted Leo dining at one table and her eyes gleamed slightly.

"So, you're saying this ring popped out of the subspace of your cloak, which has no rivals?"

"Yeah."

In response to Kal's question, Leo took a sip of coffee from his mug and nodded.

Kal, examining the ring in his hand, admired it.

"Wow~ It's really pretty, isn't it? I'd believe it if you said it was a work of art."

It was a silver ring whose beauty seemed about to flow down at any moment.

A small sapphire was embedded in it.

A barely visible magic circle was engraved within the sapphire.

A beautiful flower was embroidered on the inside of the silver ring as well.

It was indeed a work of art, as Kal said.

"This alone could buy off a decent noble."

"Because Dweno made it."

"Ah, no wonder. It's a ring made by Dweno-nim."

Kal nodded as if he understood and then clucked his tongue.

"It's something that could buy off a decent country. Oh, I'm too scared to hold it."

Kal said jokingly and returned the ring to Leo.

Leo placed the ring on his palm and stared at it intently.

"Is it a ring with a special meaning?"

Kal asked carefully.

He recalled Luna's confession from before.

Leo chuckled at his words.

"It's just one of the magical rings that Luna had."

Luna possessed countless magical artifacts besides her magical staff.

This ring, named Seolhwa, was one of them.

"It's simply a ring that increases the power of ice-based magic. It was one of Luna's last mementos. That's why it was kept in my cloak."

"Oh? Then you can use it."

"Most of Luna's magical items were powerful but difficult to use."

These items were made by Dweno according to Luna's request.

"For this ring, only an ice mage could bring out its full performance."

Leo could fully utilize the ring's original performance even if he used it.

However, that would halve the power of other elemental magic.

For Leo, it was actually a minus factor.

'It must have been someone like Luna who could use these magical rings and maintain their full magical power.'

"It would be a good ring for Chloe to use."

"If it's a memento, isn't it precious?"

Kal asked cautiously, and Leo chuckled.

"It's a fake obtained as a reward for conquering the Hero's World anyway. The real ring disappeared a long time ago."

Leo flicked the ring into the air and then caught it.

"There are very few mementos left by our friends that have been passed down to later generations."

The mementos left by his dear friends all burned away with him at their final moments.

"Why isn't there anything left by you and the Great Heroes?"

"Huh?"

"It's here."

Kal pointed downwards with his finger.

"The world."

"You're being unusually serious."

"I'm a hero now too. I have to be serious when it's time."

Leo burst out laughing at Kal's words.

"Actually, even if I wanted to give it to Chloe, I can't. This ring only works when it's with me. When it's in someone else's hand, it's just an empty shell."

"Hmm. That's a shame."

Kal crossed his arms.

"Is it because you have Dweno's mana?"

"Perhaps."

Items made by Dweno react to Dweno's power and briefly return to their most brilliant state.

This ring is also likely to be influenced by that.

It was when Leo and Kal were eating.

"President, Kal. Good morning."

Iliana, carrying her tray, greeted them with an elegant smile.

"Good morning."

Leo smiled and greeted her back.

"Did you eat something wrong? Why are you greeting so sweetly in the morning?"

"Huh? Did I? Hehehe."

Seeing Iliana covering her mouth with a soft smile, Kal furrowed his brow.

"Why are you imitating Nella? Oh, I'll take one."

Kal poked a sausage on Iliana's tray with his fork and ate it.

Iliana, who would normally have glared with both eyes and charged at him, gave him a pitying smile.

"Kal, are you very hungry? Do you want more?"

"……."

At Iliana's question, Kal made a displeased face and rubbed his arm vigorously.

"Ugh, goosebumps."

Seeing Kal like that, Iliana burst into laughter and ate her meal demurely.

Then, she chatted with Leo.

"I'm looking forward to today's combat class. I heard it's a joint class with the first and second-years."

"You've already confirmed that."

"Yeah. I saw it on the central hall bulletin board?"

Leo looked at Iliana, who was acting like a model student, with a strange expression.

"Where's Nella? Nella!"

Kal stood up from his seat and frantically looked for Nella.

"Kal is being so noisy this morning."

Iliana shook her head with an exasperated expression.