Book 1 Chapter 707

707.

*Clack-!*

Training swords, reinforced for practice, crossed.

It was a daily scene in the courtyard assigned to the Knights Department dormitory.

Besides sparring, the courtyard was bustling with students training their bodies.

"To develop your trapezius muscles, you must train like this!"

Amidst it all, members of "The Power," a club composed solely of Knights Department students, were actively helping the first-year male students with their training.

"This trained body! Isn't it cool?"

Meret, a fifth-year Knight Department student, grinned as he showed off his arm muscles.

The first-year male students looked at him with admiration.

"If you train, you can all become like me! As a Knight Department student, physical training is essential! With a body trained like this, you'll be popular with the girls too! Are there any students who want to join our club?"

"Me, me!"

"I want to join!"

The first-year male students eagerly raised their hands.

Celia, watching from afar, asked Niel quietly,

"Niel unnie. Did Meret have a girlfriend before?"

"No."

"Then that's a scam."

"It's not a scam. Thanks to Meret's guidance, quite a few male students have successfully found girlfriends."

"That's a bit sad."

"Well, they brought it upon themselves. The club leaders of The Power have always had muscles for brains."

Niel shook her head lightly, looking at the "prisoners of muscle."

Celia, having finished her spar, unzipped her sweat-soaked workout clothes.

She replenished her fluids and pulled at the collar of her top to let in some air.

But it wasn't enough, and she fanned herself with both hands at the hem.

Niel, whose eyebrows furrowed as she caught glimpses of Celia's slender waist, grabbed the hem of Celia's clothes.

"Young lady, there are many eyes on you."

"Ah."

It was an involuntary action due to the extreme heat.

Celia tidied herself up.

Of course, no one openly stared, even if they could see.

And no one was secretly stealing glances either.

She was the student whom Niel, the top-ranked student in the fifth-year Knights Department, served as her lord.

It was obvious that if anyone were caught peeking, their school life would become difficult.

"By the way, everyone is working hard."

Celia replenished her fluids and looked around the courtyard.

This was literally a training ground.

Every night.

This is how the Knights Department students spent their time with passionate individual training and sparring.

The reason was simple.

It was an atmosphere that naturally formed as the upperclassmen and honor students trained.

"Ugh! I hate this kind of atmosphere!"

Just then, Illyana grumbled and approached.

Illyana, fanning herself as if she had sparred with Chen Sia, pouted.

"We have to endure this heat every day, and it's not even summer yet? It's not like we're doing calisthenics under the moonlight!"

Celia clicked her tongue at Illyana, who was venting her dissatisfaction.

"It's voluntary anyway. If you don't like it, rest."

"Then Sia will drag me out!"

This training atmosphere had formed while Illyana was away on a mission.

Even so, it wasn't compulsory, so if she wanted to rest in the evening, she could take as much rest as she wanted.

But Chen Sia did not allow Illyana to rest comfortably.

'Young Master Leo told me to look out for Illyana.'

"That's because you're being lazy. You brought it upon yourself."

"You spy for the class president!"

Illyana complained to Chen Sia, who approached at that moment.

As Chen Sia smiled at Illyana,

"Wow! Wow! What is that?"

"Huk! Isn't that a Pegasus?"

"I've never seen one before!"

A commotion arose among the first-year students.

"What is it? What's going on?"

Illyana's eyes sparkled as she ran towards the commotion.

A Pegasus was drinking water in front of a small fountain in the courtyard.

"That's Young Master Leo's Pegasus. Why is it here?"

Illyana approached the Pegasus.

"It's dangerous to approach it carelessly."

Celia frowned, and Illyana snorted.

"I've seen the President's Pegasus a few times. And they say Pegasus are favorable to beautiful maidens."

Illyana swept her hair back with a rustle.

"A Pegasus like that wouldn't threaten me, right?"

As Illyana confidently approached the Pegasus after saying that, Celia asked Chen Sia,

"Isn't that just a rumor?"

"It is a rumor."

At that answer, Celia folded her arms and gave a look of pity.

Meanwhile, Illyana, who had approached Ati, carefully reached out her hand.

"Come here?"

Ati, who had been drinking water, approached Illyana at her words.

"Wow! Do I perhaps have talent as a summoner?"

Illyana's eyes sparkled as she saw Ati being more friendly than expected.

'Should I try riding it?'

Illyana had harbored a fantasy of riding a Pegasus since she was young.

Normally, she wouldn't dare, but her opponent was Leo's summon.

'It's so docile. And if something happens, the President will come to help, right?'

Perhaps he was nearby.

And so, Illyana fearlessly climbed onto Ati's back.

Seeing that, other students were horrified.

"Hey! If you ride a Pegasus carelessly…!"

"Ta-da! Look at this!"

To everyone's surprise, instead of getting angry, Ati calmly allowed Illyana to ride on its back.

The three great mythical beasts have strong pride.

Especially Pegasus, who detests anyone they don't acknowledge riding on their back.

While everyone was surprised by the unexpected situation.

Illyana, the instigator of the reckless act, had a proud expression.

Then she spotted a necklace hanging around Ati's neck.

"What is this?"

As she pulled the necklace, a bonus point stamp was attached to the end.

"Why is this here?"

At the moment Illyana was flustered.

Ati kicked the ground and charged into the middle of the Knight Department students.

"Quack!"

Illyana, who had let her guard down, fell off Ati's back.

"Wh-what!"

"Pegasus?!"

"Why is it here!"

The training ground became chaotic due to Ati running around like a mad colt.

But that was short-lived.

The faces of the Knights Department students who had been running away soon turned fierce.

"Hey! Catch it!"

"Catch that Pegasus!"

Fourth and fifth-year students began chasing Ati.

'Aah! They're all chasing me with scary faces!'

Ati ran towards the forest with a happy expression.

'They're chasing me to catch me! What will happen if I get caught!'

Ati, who had rampaged through the Knights Department with runaway fantasies, disappeared into the forest.

The Knights Department students, who had narrowly driven Ati out of their territory, looked dumbfounded.

Although the commotion ended, they couldn't quite understand what had happened.

"What the heck was that!"

***

Rumble-rumble-rumble-!

On a Saturday night.

Despite the curfew, upperclassmen from each department emerged from the dormitories and headed to the central hall.

"What's going on?"

The dormitory supervisor professor on duty, Melina, asked with a smile.

It was an open secret that Melina was a Dragon Lord.

Because of that, there were few students who could boldly demand what they wanted in front of Melina.

"I have something to ask the student council president."

One of those few students.

Elena replied with a smile and looked up at the ceiling, saying,

"Leo-gun! Are you listening? Let's talk!"

At her words, Leo appeared from thin air.

*Tap-*

Leo landed lightly on the floor and asked with a smile,

"Seniors, are you having a good night?"

"Thanks to someone, we're having a very good night."

Elena smirked, her lips curling.

From the Summoning Department, Runba stepped forward.

"Leo. Someone stole all of our dormitory students' snacks, and this was found."

Runba opened his palm, revealing a red feather.

"It's the same for the Magic Department. The dormitory was a mess because of your fairies. To add, although I have quite a wild personality, I don't bully people on a dormitory level."

Elena said in a cold voice.

Following her words, Meret from the Knights Department stepped forward.

"The president's Pegasus wreaked havoc in our Knights Department's training ground! The damage caused is immense!"

Looking at Meret, who looked like he had lost everything in the world and was about to wail, Leo's expression turned a little serious.

'That Ati. Did it cause that much damage?'

"Today is leg day! If this happens, I can't do leg…

"You, step aside."

Niel grabbed Meret by the nape of his neck and pulled him back.

Takon, who stepped up in his place, said,

"We need an explanation. The reason why your summons went wild."

At his words, Leo said with a nonchalant expression,

"They're starting a game."

"A game?"

"Yes. From now on, my summons will roam around at night."

Leo smiled.

"Did you happen to see the summons carrying stamps?"

"We did."

"Those who capture the summons, stamp the stamps accordingly."

At his words, the students looked surprised.

"Of course, the more times you capture them, the higher your chances of winning the inter-departmental competition."

"How can we catch your summons?"

"Whether you catch them with a butterfly net or a snare, do it as you please. They will resist so they don't lose their stamps, but they won't attack."

Having said that, Leo snapped his fingers.

Then, emblems of each dormitory appeared on the wall of the central hall, followed by a scoreboard.

"Currently, the Summoning Department is in first place."

Second place was the Knights Department.

The Magic Department was a close third.

Seeing that, the students began to murmur.

Just then, Elena narrowed her eyes and asked,

"The summons also appear outside the dormitory, right?"

"Yes."

"Curfew?"

"It applies."

"So, from today until the midterm exams end, we can catch the summons while avoiding the professors' eyes?"

"I didn't tell you to break the school rules."

"If you don't get caught, it's not a crime, is it?"

At that, Leo smiled.

"Anything else?"

"We've hidden problems all over the dormitory."

"Problems?"

"Yes. If you solve the problems, you can also earn points."

"It's just like a game."

"That's why I said it. We're starting a game."

Leo shrugged.

"In addition, if you knock down an opposing student during curfew, you'll also get bonus points."

At that, the students from each department looked at each other.

What Leo meant was simple.

The dormitory would become a lawless zone at night.

He was literally pushing them to fight each other.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Leo handed out flags with the emblem of each department embroidered on them.

"Keep them safe."

"Why?"

"The department whose flag is stolen is disqualified."

"Wait, does that mean…"

"We can invade other dormitories?"

At that, Leo nodded.

'That means there's a way to invade.'

The students wore serious expressions.

"Lastly, regardless of the department's victory, we will select an MVP for each grade. The students selected as MVP will become the grade representatives."

At that, Niel raised her hand.

"Yes, Niel-senpai."

"The MVP is the one who obtains the most points, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, is there a prize for the overall first place winner, besides being a grade representative?"

In fact, the position of grade representative no longer held much appeal for the fifth-year students.

Elena was the student with the highest probability of taking first place.

'Or maybe Lil, a fourth-year student from the Summoning Department who is temporarily absent from school due to a mission.'

This was the common thought among the upperclassmen.

"I will grant you one wish, within my capabilities."

"A wish?"

Elena's eyes sparkled.

"This will be fun."

Leo smiled faintly at Elena, whose lips were curling, and said,

"That's all for the announcements."

Leo checked his watch.

It was already less than 10 minutes left of the day.

Leo smiled.

"It starts the moment it turns midnight."