Book 1 Chapter 729
729.
“Waaahhh!”
Iliana was running at incredible speed.
Chasing closely behind Iliana was none other than Chelsea.
“Stop right there!”
“Would you stop if it were you?!”
Glancing back as she ran, Iliana stuck out her tongue cheekily.
Chelsea’s eyes narrowed further as she drew her staff.
She aimed the tip of her staff at Iliana.
However, hitting the fast-moving Iliana was not easy even for Chelsea.
*Swish! Bang-!*
The magic Chelsea shot grazed just above Iliana’s head, narrowly missing her.
Although compressed air exploded and shrapnel flew, Iliana didn’t care and increased her speed further.
“Ugh! Seriously, how long is this leech going to chase me?!”
Iliana put on a fed-up expression.
In truth, if it were a one-on-one fight, Iliana wouldn’t have been running away so one-sidedly.
No matter how much superior Chelsea’s skills were to Iliana’s, Iliana herself possessed skills that made it hard to find an equal among the third-year students in the Knight Department, excluding Chen Xia, Celia, and Duran.
Therefore, even for Chelsea, known as a Knight Killer as a Battle Mage, it was bound to be difficult to subdue Iliana unilaterally.
But for now, she had no choice but to escape, avoiding Chelsea.
This was because Chelsea was not the only one chasing Iliana.
‘I wonder if I’ve lost Abad by now?’
Tonight, Chelsea was teamed up with her older brother, Abad.
Because of this, Iliana had no choice but to flee as soon as she encountered the Lewallin siblings.
*Fwoosh-!*
Iliana, who had been accelerating, shuddered.
*Whoosh-!*
A strong wind blew, and Abad appeared before her.
“Whoa! How did you get ahead of me?!”
Startled, Iliana stopped in her tracks, her expression flustered, as Abad smiled faintly.
“Iliana, you’re honest.”
“Hehehe. Even if you praise me like that, I don’t get anything.”
“You idiot. Does that sound like praise? It means your movements are simple.”
*Chomp-!*
Chelsea, blocking Iliana’s rear, sighed.
“I intentionally cornered you here.”
“Ah! That’s cowardly!”
“Is there such a thing as cowardly in a fight? And what’s cowardly! It’s strategy! Isn’t it your fault for falling for such a simple strategy?”
Chelsea scoffed at Iliana’s protest.
Iliana, looking indignant, drew her sword.
*Screech-!*
Seeing the sharply gleaming sword, Abad also raised his staff.
Just then.
*Fwoosh-!*
“Brother!”
Chelsea cried out in surprise to Abad.
Abad also flinched and swung his staff.
*Poof-!*
The curtain of wind deflected the flame aura, scattering sparks in all directions.
“I found an opening! To show me your back! You have no fear! Abad!”
“Where do you think you’re going!”
As Iliana aimed for Abad’s back, Chelsea, with a furious look, quickly stuck close to Iliana and swung her staff.
*Clang-!*
Iliana’s sharp sword and Chelsea’s staff, armed with blades of wind, clashed.
Seeing Chelsea pressing her, Iliana put more power into it.
*Hook-!*
Chelsea, pushed back by the force, used Iliana’s strength to spring away to re-steady herself.
However, Iliana closed the distance, not wanting to give her an opening.
‘Ugh? She’s gotten faster?’
Chelsea was flustered by Iliana’s speed, which exceeded her expectations.
*Clang-!*
The muscles in her entire body tensed, and all her nerves focused on the tip of Iliana’s sword.
*Clang! Clang! Clang-! Kagangagak-!*
One move, then another.
Every time swords and staffs clashed, sparks flew.
And as the exchange continued, Iliana’s sword grew faster.
“What?”
Finally, a gasp of shock escaped Chelsea’s lips.
Chelsea was also second to none in terms of attack speed.
High-speed chanting was her specialty, and using that high-speed chanting as a basis, she overwhelmed opponents with superior combat skills.
Chelsea’s close-quarters combat was, to put it mildly, like a complex acrobatics routine.
And Chelsea performed it without much difficulty.
The lack of destructive power from her high-speed chanting was compensated by aiming for the opponent’s vital points with swift footwork.
Conversely, the relatively inferior combat skills compared to a knight class were supplemented with magic.
Thus, Chelsea grew stronger by overcoming her weaknesses with greater strengths.
‘If that were possible, it would be the easy path. But if I do it like Chelsea, it only gets complicated for me.’
Iliana pouted as she looked at the astonished Chelsea.
Unlike Chelsea, Iliana didn’t pay much attention to her own weaknesses.
More accurately, she tried not to think about them.
Iliana’s attacks were certainly fast and threatening, but that was all.
‘All I have is speed. I don’t have the destructive power of Celia or Duran, nor the versatility of Xia.’
She only had sheer speed and a reckless charge towards the enemy.
And in a sense, that was one of the elements that held back Iliana’s growth.
While she had few equals in the Knight Department among third-year students, excluding Celia, Duran, and Chen Xia.
As such, even for Chelsea, who was at the top of the Knight Department, Iliana was an easy opponent, posing no threat.
She was so powerless against the top three that she was sometimes jokingly called a “commoner-slayer” in the Knight Department.
No, it wasn’t just the top three.
‘I was also powerless against the top students in other departments.’
*Kaang-!*
Iliana, having widened the distance from Chelsea, caught her breath.
‘I didn’t mind it in my first year.’
After all, she had grown rapidly in her first year.
And then, in her second year.
Iliana sometimes confided in Chen Xia and Chloe.
She felt like the gap between her and the top students was widening.
‘I told Xia and Chloe to be a little more serious about everything.’
It was true.
In reality, Iliana was very frivolous.
Her attitude towards everything, and even her attitude towards combat.
Iliana’s biggest weakness was that kind of simplicity.
‘If I don’t move rashly and think for a long time before moving deliberately, I won’t just charge in blindly.’
‘If I seriously look at my opponent, I can think of various attacks.’
If she followed their advice, she would surely overcome her weaknesses.
But even so, Iliana couldn’t do it.
Because when she thought complicatedly, the speed of her sword slowed down.
She hated that.
In her second year, after much deliberation, Iliana asked Leo for advice.
And Leo’s answer was unexpected.
“Wouldn’t it be best to just keep doing what you’re doing now?”
“Aha! So you mean I’m doing well right now?”
“No.”
“What’s that! You said to keep doing what I’m doing!”
“It’s good to add complex variations to your speed. But from what I see, you’re not the type to do that.”
“Ugh!”
“So, just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Then the gap between me and the others will only widen.”
“Aren’t you fine with being a hero, or not being one?”
“That’s true.”
“Then why are you trying to catch up to the others?”
“I really like my classmates, so I want to keep going with them.”
Iliana said as if it were a trivial matter.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you at least keep up?”
“There will be many dangerous things ahead, won’t there?”
“Ah? I don’t like that… Hmm… Hmm…”
Iliana, with a troubled expression, crossed her arms and exclaimed.
“Hmph! Fine! Then I’ll achieve great deeds and become a hero! I’ll be admired by everyone around me for life!”
Leo burst out laughing at Iliana’s words.
“So, just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Huh?”
“Moving complicatedly also means taking detours to reach your destination.”
Leo smiled faintly.
“Simplicity is definitely your weakness, but it also means you can get to where you want to go quickly.”
“Oh, oh.”
“When you become faster than anyone else, your weakness will become a strength.”
“Great! Then I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing!”
‘After listening to the class president’s advice, I just kept doing what I was doing. Still, it didn’t seem like a path forward.’
So, she decided to just work hard moderately.
After all, the distance between her and the top students would only grow.
And even if she did as she was doing now, it was helpful enough.
While thinking so.
Iliana saw Dweino and Enniha.
A great hero who tried to turn away from the world for his goal.
Enniha, who pushed such a great hero forward.
That scene was a great stimulus.
Her frivolous and light personality remained unchanged.
Iliana was still an immature girl who loved to joke around.
But.
The image of a hero who sacrificed themselves remained etched in her mind.
The simple girl who vaguely thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to just be a hero?”
Learned what a hero is and what it means to become one.
Through Enniha, a hero from 5,000 years ago.
‘Can’t I become a little serious too?’
Iliana, who only wanted to get faster without a clear goal.
Had gained a clear goal.
She learned that even great heroes waver.
Then, wouldn’t her friends also wander in the future?
At that time.
‘Can’t I also push their backs like Lady Enniha?’
Thus, Iliana, who could only move straight forward,
Found her direction and began to run towards it at full speed.
*Flash-!*
Iliana’s sword flashed like lightning.
Seeing Iliana close the distance at incredible speed, Chelsea was astonished and deployed magic.
Her movements can be predicted.
But her speed outstrips that prediction.
Simple, but too fast to respond to.
It was different from Iliana so far.
‘Stay calm.’
The advantage of wind is not just its speed, but above all, its unpredictability.
No one can predict where the endlessly changing wind will go.
No matter how Iliana’s speed increased beyond imagination.
Chelsea had no intention of losing to Iliana.
‘If I lose, I’ll have to see their smug faces until graduation! I absolutely won’t lose!’
She vowed to herself again and again.
Iliana, seeing Chelsea, tightened her grip on her sword.
By now, a few doors could be seen in the long corridor.
Chelsea and Iliana, confronting each other with a door in between, moved simultaneously.
And as the two were about to charge.
*Bang-! Fwoooosh-!*
Suddenly, an explosion occurred from inside the room, and flames poured out.
Chelsea and Iliana, startled by the sudden turn of events, retreated.
“W-what is it? Celia and Abad were fighting in that hallway?”
“This isn’t Zerdinger’s flame. It’s magic-made fire.”
Confused by the sudden situation, Chelsea and Iliana paused their fight and cautiously approached the door.
Looking inside the room, they saw the room inside had been devastated.
Inside the room, Leo was holding his face.
Lil was bowing repeatedly by his side.
Just then, Elena appeared from above the room.
“Huh? Why did it connect to Leo’s room? And…”
Elena looked around Leo’s room.
The doors in the room had all been blown away by the explosion a moment ago.
As they flew off, the spaces beyond the doors connected to various parts of the school.
Students who, like Iliana and Chelsea, were wondering what was happening, appeared, looking into the room.
“…What is this situation?”
It was when Elena tilted her head.
“Ah!”
A shriek of surprise escaped Iliana.
“It’s the stamp!”
Iliana pointed at a stamp lying on the floor.
As everyone froze for a moment.
*Fwoosh-!*
Iliana ran at incredible speed and snatched the stamp.
Starting with that, students began entering Leo’s room from all over the school.
“Hohoho! I’m taking the praise stamp!”
“Catch her! Catch Iliana!”
“Stop right there!”
“Waaah! Celia! Pass!”
Iliana hurriedly threw the stamp to Celia, who was outside the door.
Celia caught it and started running.
“This looks fun.”
“I’ll participate too!”
As Elena and Lil moved to pursue the stamp.
*Grasp-!*
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Leo grabbed them by the scruff of their necks with a menacing voice.
“Get out of the way.”
“Yes!”
“Yes…”
Not only Lil, but even the formidable Elena couldn’t utter a sound and cowered.
In the room, with only Elena and Lil left, Leo sat on what was once a sofa and fell into thought.
‘Iliana barging into my room yesterday, and now suddenly doors connecting to my room from various places in the dormitory.’
There was definitely something wrong with the entire Clock Tower dormitory.
It felt like someone had deliberately opened the entrance to his room.
‘This is impossible with just a high level of magic. It’s the work of someone with an excellent understanding of space.’
Leo narrowed his eyes as he sorted through those in Lumern who might be capable of this.
Even with Lumern’s magic department professors, it would be difficult to control magic to this extent. Besides.
Leo looked at the open entrance.
‘I feel malice.’
It clearly felt like someone intended to mess with him.
Thinking that far, Leo paused.
A sudden thought made Leo’s face contort.
‘Could it be that damned lizard?’