Book 1 Chapter 737
737.
Ding-dong-daeng-dong-
The magic department's class ended, and the bell signaling the end of the exam rang out.
“Well done.”
Alby collected the test papers with his characteristic sharp expression.
As soon as the exam ended, Karl collapsed onto his desk as if falling face down.
“Ugh…”
Chelsea poked Karl, who looked as if his soul was about to leave his body, with her finger.
“He's dying.”
Seeing Chelsea make an openly pathetic expression, Karl mumbled.
“What's the point of being a hero if you have to be ground down by school exams?”
“How appalled would others be if they knew that someone who reached the position of a hero was suffering so much just because of a school exam?”
Chelsea clicked her tongue.
Abbad, who came and pulled up a chair next to Karl and sat down, made a puzzled expression.
“Since you were specially hired as a hero anyway, isn't it okay to neglect your grades?”
“Brother, that sounds like a problematic statement.”
“I think so too.”
Chloe, who had finished grading, approached.
Students flocked around Chloe.
“Chloe! Show me your test paper!”
“Me first!”
The students didn't hesitate to engage in fierce physical struggles to get Chloe's test paper.
“As expected, Chloe got 100 points again this time!”
“Amazing!”
Exclamations poured out from everywhere.
“Truly amazing, aren't you? You got perfect scores on all the written exams for this midterm, right?”
“In our school, practical skills are more important than written exams, anyway.”
Chloe and Abbad had always competed for the overall first place in the magic department.
“And this time, there's a strong competitor.”
Chloe smiled faintly and looked at Chelsea.
While Chloe and Abbad fiercely competed for first place, Chelsea had always taken third.
However, upon becoming a third-year, Chelsea also entered the competition for first place.
Chelsea made a V-sign with her fingers at Chloe's gaze.
“Hey, you heavenly beings. Could you not talk about such things in front of me and go somewhere else?”
When Karl spoke with a depressed face, Abbad made a puzzled expression.
“It seems like you're particularly stressed about this exam. Is there a specific reason you're so obsessed with your grades?”
It wasn't like Karl would suddenly make statements about a student's duties.
In response to Abbad's question, Karl smiled sadly.
“Professor Halind said that if I neglect my grades just because I was specially hired, things would get 'interesting'.”
“Oh dear.”
As Abbad made a sympathetic expression, Chelsea's eyes sparkled.
“Karl, try messing up the next exam just once. I'm curious to see what will happen to you.”
“Chelsea. Don't tease your friend.”
“Sorry, Karl.”
When Abbad reprimanded her, Chelsea immediately apologized.
“Anyway,”
Chloe made a puzzled expression.
“Illiana is quiet, isn't she?”
Today's major exam marked the end of the tests.
But Illiana, who should have been the loudest, was quiet.
Everyone looked towards Illiana with puzzled faces.
Illiana, who was sitting right in front of Leo, was looking at Leo, hands clasped, and praying.
Leo, resting his chin on his hand, was looking at Illiana with a bewildered expression.
“Leo, big brother, what is that idiot doing now?”
“She says she's praying.”
“Praying?”
As Chelsea, with a puzzled expression, drew closer, Illiana's muttering could be heard.
“Lord Kyle. Please. Grant me your divine protection.”
Saying so, Illiana, eyes wide open, checked the answer to one of the multiple-choice questions.
“Good! This one's correct too!”
Seeing Illiana cheer with clenched fists, Chelsea crossed her arms.
“What are you doing?”
“I'm grading, of course.”
“No, I get that. But why are you sitting Leo-oppa down and praying to Lord Kyle?”
At her words, Illiana made a sad expression.
“You see, for this exam. After hunting students every night and pouring all my energy into solving exam problems, I ended up not having enough time to study, you know?”
“You don't study normally anyway. You cram a few days before the exam.”
It was a cold remark, but Illiana didn't mind.
“So I didn't have time to cram for the multiple-choice section of the exam, and I had no choice but to go all-in on the subjective questions.”
“Multiple-choice questions are easier, so wouldn't it be better to study the multiple-choice exam scope?”
“Chelsea is a fool.”
“Who are you calling a fool, you fool.”
“Class president! Chelsea is trying to hit me! Class president! Help me!”
Seeing Chelsea grab her collar with an expressionless face, Illiana desperately called out to Leo.
“Just this once, let her off.”
“Tch.”
When Leo said this with a smile, Chelsea clicked her tongue and let go.
Illiana, freed from Chelsea's grasp, spoke.
“Anyway! I have a secret weapon for multiple-choice questions.”
“Secret weapon?”
Illiana made a significant expression and then pulled a pen out of her pencil case.
“The pen the class president used!”
“…Does studying with that make you memorize things better?”
“Hmph, your way of thinking is low-dimensional.”
At those words, Chelsea looked at Leo.
As Leo shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'do as you please,' Chelsea, without hesitation, rushed at Illiana, grabbed her arm, and put her in an armbar.
“H-hand, surrender. Surrender. I won't mess around.”
Thump, thump, thump-
Illiana hit the floor and barely escaped Chelsea's grasp.
With her dangling arm hanging loose, Illiana pointed at the tip of the pen.
“Look here. There's a number written on it, right?”
“So?”
“The number that comes out when I roll the pen becomes the answer.”
“…This is truly idiotic.”
As Chelsea frowned, Illiana made a serious expression.
“Chelsea. Don't underestimate Lord Kyle's divine protection.”
“What?”
“This pen is the one the class president, Lord Kyle's successor, used. And during the exam, the class president, Lord Kyle's successor, was even behind me. Protected by Lord Kyle, I'm invincible in multiple-choice questions. All the multiple-choice questions I guessed with this pen were correct.”
“…”
Chelsea made a blank expression.
Illiana, who had placed the pen on her hands as if it were a sacred object, lifted the pen, her eyes sparkling brightly.
“Worship Lord Kyle! Then you shall be saved in exams!”
“Oh, that's a good idea, isn't it? Should I try selling it?”
Just then, Karl approached, showing interest, and Illiana hugged the pen carefully to her chest and waved her hand dismissively.
“Peddlers, begone! Shoo! Shoo! If you touch this pen with such irreverent thoughts, Lord Kyle's sacred divine protection will be defiled!”
“But when you think about it, isn't that Leo's divine protection?”
“As I said earlier, the class president is Lord Kyle's successor. As his successor, it's fine to consider him the same as Lord Kyle!”
‘…Strangely close to the truth.’
Karl let out a hollow laugh inwardly.
“Alright! Then, shall I grade the subjective questions I solved? Hehe! I think I'll get better scores than I expected?!”
Feeling good that all her guessed questions were correct, Illiana graded the other questions.
A moment later.
Thud-
“I got them all wrong.”
Seeing Illiana despair, with her palms and knees on the floor, Chelsea made a pathetic expression.
***
The war between the dorms also concluded.
The overall victory was claimed by the Summoning Department.
It was a triumph that edged out the tied Knight and Magic Departments by a small margin.
At the center of it all was, of course, Lil, the dorm representative.
And it was also Lil who won the MVP award.
“Tsk, Lil… That monster.”
Eleana, sprawling on the sofa in Leo's room, made a rare sullen expression.
Seeing Eleana like that, Leo said,
“You seem quite upset, don't you?”
“Oh? When we're alone, you don't even treat me like a senior anymore?”
As Eleana squinted her eyes, Leo let out a small laugh.
Eleana, with crossed legs, nervously loosened her tie and unbuttoned a few top buttons.
It was quite a provocative sight, but it wasn't done with any particular ulterior motive.
It was purely because she was so upset that she got angry, and her uniform felt unnecessarily stifling.
Eleana glared at Leo once, scoffed, and then looked at the documents.
The reason Eleana, despite intentionally aiming for MVP, was pushed aside by Lil was simple.
During the exam period, she couldn't fully focus on the department war.
Once she realized that the power called 'Unmelting Ice' actually existed.
Leo mobilized everything he could to find its existence.
Among those, he singled out places where suspicious incidents had occurred.
And Leo enlisted Eleana's help to investigate those materials.
Eleana was, in many ways, someone who easily surpassed the level of a student.
Her skill.
And the power she possessed as the vice-head of the Zeron family.
Furthermore, since she knew Leo's true identity, it was easy to ask for her help.
The situation was that Lisinas was in charge of moving the Shan Empire and the shadows.
Having heard that the fragments of Erebus had revived, Eleana also couldn't just focus on school matters.
Still, being grumpy meant being grumpy.
Especially since the MVP prize was quite substantial.
Seeing Eleana, who didn't even look at him, perhaps out of spite, Leo said,
“Once everything is done, I'll grant you one wish, so cheer up.”
At those words, Eleana glanced at Leo.
Then she smiled faintly and straightened her posture.
Leo, who was gazing intently at Eleana, now smiling sweetly as if her mood had improved, casually remarked,
“Still a child, after all.”
At those words, Eleana frowned and looked at Leo.
Ignoring Eleana, Leo was concentrating on the documents.
Slam-
The door opened and someone appeared.
Eleana's eyes widened slightly as she recognized the person's face.
‘The King of Wisdom…’
She had already heard and knew the story.
Moreover, as Eleana also knew Leo's true identity,
She had expected to meet him soon.
‘No, I have actually met him.’
She had seen Lisinas possessing Chloe's body.
Of course, she didn't know Lisinas's existence back then.
Meeting him in person like this made her nervous.
‘She is beautiful.’
Eleana, who had mumbled to herself, stood up.
And then she politely greeted.
“Greetings to the Great King of Wisdom, I am Eleana Zeron.”
“Ah, I've heard a lot about you.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“Hmm? Shall I?”
Lisinas smiled faintly and sat on Leo's sofa.
“You're still young, but you possess great power. I look forward to your future.”
“You flatter me.”
Eleana smiled faintly.
Lisinas smiled faintly, seeing Eleana who was not intimidated at all in front of her.
“However, you're a little different from what I heard.”
“…Leo… No. How did Lord Kyle speak of me…?”
“He said you were an incorrigible troublemaker, didn't he?”
Hearing that, Eleana glared at Leo.
“It's the truth.”
Leo smiled nonchalantly.
Lisinas, clicking her tongue at the sight, said,
“Anyway, I've found the most suspicious place.”
“Where is it?”
“It's the Kingdom of Debian.”
“…Indeed.”
“As expected.”
At Lisinas's words, Leo and Eleana nodded.
***
The land of death ruled by the Necrolord.
The Grand Commander of Tartarus.
And currently, the last remaining Legion Commander from the time of Erebus.
Now that the Monster Queen and the Giant King have been subjugated.
The Necrolord's will soon became the will of Tartarus.
That Necrolord was currently outside his territory, having gone out to meet someone.
Crack-crack-crack-
The land, devoid of any vitality, froze solid.
The Necrolord curled the corners of his mouth and gazed at the being before him.
“Greetings to the great old god.”
A polite greeting.
However, an ominous aura of death flowed from the Necrolord's body.
Whoosh-
Black flames erupted from the Necrolord's body.
“There is no place for you in this era.”
The Necrolord said, looking at the silent, forgotten evil god,
“Return to the flames of destruction.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a chilling cold swept in.
Kwagagagagagak-!
The cold and flames collided.
The flames of destruction and the ice of eternity clashed, devastating the surrounding area.