Book 1 Chapter 919

Leo, perched on the mast of the sky ship, the Dragon Ship, gazed out over the empty deck and fell into thought.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Elena asked, levitating with magic and crossing her legs in mid-air.

"Were none of the second or third-year students at Lumern flustered?"

"No."

"Hmm."

"Isn't that natural, though?"

"Why?"

Elena said, lightly twirling her hair with her fingertip.

"Because there's one ill-intentioned old man at Lumern who worries about how to torment students more effectively."

"Is there such a nasty person? That's terrible."

Elena shook her head at Leo, who calmly accepted her words, and said,

"Anyway, it's because of him that the kids have developed resistance."

"Hmm. Indeed… It's rewarding to raise them strong."

Leo nodded with satisfaction.

"Now, we can use more drastic methods."

"……."

At those words, Elena thought,

'It would be better for my well-being to just graduate quickly.'

She had considered postponing her graduation, but the Archdemon's skills at tormenting hero candidates were becoming more wicked by the day.

'…Come to think of it, I'm getting a job at Arhi after graduation?'

Separate from affection, Leo was a remarkably wicked superior.

"The chairman said," Leo said as Elena pondered her future again.

"He doesn't accept returns."

Seeing Leo speak so calmly, as if he could read her mind, Elena scowled.

"He has no intention of letting me go easily either."

But at Leo's next words, Elena's eyes sparkled.

"What does that mean? Are you saying you'll keep me forever?"

Leo pushed away Elena's face as she leaned in close and said,

"It means I'll exploit you."

Even at Leo's words, Elena smiled broadly, seeming pleased.

Seeing Elena like that, Leo said,

"By the way."

"Yes?"

"Why are you here?"

Leo had warped the Dragon Ship and abandoned all the students on board in the middle of the desert.

He had used Dragon Speech magic in the process.

It was a magic that sealed mana, a magic created by Lisinas by reinterpreting Tartarus's curse.

It was a Dragon Speech magic of the highest difficulty, and it was Leo who had cast this spell in the surrounding area.

Elena would have been included in the target, of course.

Yet, Elena had calmly followed the Dragon Ship and was by Leo's side.

"Of course, I broke Leo-gun's magic and followed."

Elena shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

Leo stroked his chin and descended from the mast to the deck.

Elena still levitated with magic and followed closely behind Leo.

Originally, this exam was managed and supervised by the third-year students.

In the first place, the hero academies entrusted the first-year students' exams to the students themselves.

This was because the hero academies knew that the current third-year students were the core that would lead the next generation.

Currently, all hero academies have third-year students as student body presidents.

And whether by fate or coincidence, they all became successors, inheriting the will of the Great Heroes.

The hero academies, which had been nurturing heroes for thousands of years, intuitively realized.

That a great current of change was coming to the world itself.

And that the current third-year students were at the forefront of it.

That's why they decided to entrust the evaluation of the first-year students who would follow them to the third-year students.

However, Elena had quickly intervened.

Since she had forcefully participated, she had to be fair now that she was involved.

He had no intention of overlooking her circumventing the rules.

'She must have come prepared for this, so she shouldn't have any complaints.'

Leo cast magic on Elena again.

Thud-

Elena, whose magic was restricted, fell to the deck.

"Do you want to jump down on your own, or should I throw you?"

Even though it took time to break the magic once, she could release it anytime if she wanted to.

Elena didn't.

It was because she wanted something else.

Elena looked up at Leo and spread her arms.

"Leo-gun, carry me and throw me!"

Leo let out a hollow laugh at her words and picked Elena up.

Elena, held in a princess carry, let out a delighted scream, "Kya-!"

"Don't act spoiled like that."

Despite his words, Elena leaned her face against Leo's chest, clearly happy.

Reaching the railing, Elena escaped Leo's embrace and perched on the railing.

"See you later, Leo-gun!"

Waving goodbye, she dove without hesitation.

Leo shook his head, watching her.

"Sometimes, Elena-yang seems to have a childish, innocent side."

"Childish and innocent, what? She's just acting her age."

Melina, who appeared from behind, clicked her tongue at Leo's words.

"Still, compared to your wild days, aren't you much cuter now?"

"Cute, sure."

Leo replied curtly and asked,

"So, is the preparation done?"

"Everything's done. The shadows will block the students."

Leo nodded at Elena's words.

"It's bothersome that there are no monsters in this area. They're always gone when you need them."

Leo grumbled lightly and then curled his lips upward.

"Surely, no one will arrive later than the first-years, right?"

Leo vowed to give those who did a fun time.

***

"Ughhhhh!"

Ar suddenly shivered.

Chloe, who had fallen with her, looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"No. I just felt a chill."

Ar looked around warily.

Eiran looked at Ar with concern.

"Ar-yang. You're not suffering from heatstroke, are you?"

"I'm not that weak!"

Ar stood up abruptly and lifted her chin.

"Anyway, it's a relief that my falling speed slowed down just before hitting the ground. Otherwise, I would have really died."

"Even so, you would die if you really fell."

"At least the black rabbit has some conscience as a human!"

Recalling Leo, Ar gritted her teeth, then slumped down and mumbled with her tongue sticking out.

"But it's really hot."

Ar mumbled and looked at Eiran and Chloe.

"Why are you guys so fine?"

To Ar's question, Eiran pondered and said,

"Isn't it because of our mana characteristics?"

The power passed down through generations of the Ersar family was similar to the power wielded by fairies.

The power of verdant vegetation, full of life.

As such, they could maintain their freshness in any climate.

In fact, unlike Lunia, who was an elf yet detested extremely cold weather, Eiran was not greatly affected.

"Chloe-yang would also be resistant to heat as she uses ice magic."

"That's right."

Her mastery of ice magic to the extreme made her resistant to cold and also allowed her to emit a strong chill that could overcome the heat.

In contrast, Ar, who was born and raised in the desert, was surprisingly weak to heat.

She was strong against the cold.

Normally, she blocked the heat with her aura, but now, with her mana restricted, she was experiencing the desert's scorching heat in full.

Ar looked up at the sky with resentment.

"Why on earth is the black rabbit doing such a wicked thing!"

"I expected this much."

Chloe muttered resignedly and shrugged.

"Why do you think his nickname is Archdemon?"

"Is Leo-nim's nickname Archdemon?"

"It's what the Lumern students call him as a joke."

"It suits him! Archdemon!"

Ar chimed in with Chloe's words with a spiteful expression.

After finishing her grumbling, she said,

"First, let's focus on getting to the exam site as quickly as possible."

"Yeah. Knowing the black rabbit's personality, if we arrive later than the first-years, he'll definitely torment us!"

"What? Leo-nim wouldn't do that!"

Eiran's eyes widened as she defended Leo.

"The black rabbit would do exactly that!"

"Eiran trusts Leo too much."

"Leo-nim is kind."

"Kind? Ki-i-i-nd?"

Ar bristled.

She remembered being captured by Leo and trained when they went to Seirun.

Eiran flinched at Ar's fiery reaction.

"Stop the chatter. Do you know roughly where we are?"

To Chloe's question, Ar pulled out a map.

"Wait a moment. I'll figure out the exact location."

"What is this?"

"A map of the Azo Desert."

The southern part of the vast continent is famous for its deserts, but not all terrains are desertified.

Each desert region has a name, and the desert chosen as the exam site was named the Azo Desert.

Ar unfolded the Azo Desert map, checked the time on her watch, and determined the sun's position. Then, she took out a semi-circular mechanical device from her bag.

"What is this?"

Eiran asked with a look of wonder, but Chloe, who had read many books and was knowledgeable, explained instead.

"It's a surveying instrument that determines your location. But I heard it's difficult to use, can you operate it?"

"Hmph. Any Azo student should know how to handle it. Especially since the Azo Desert is an area where compasses are useless and teleportation magic doesn't work, so you need to be proficient in this kind of navigation…"

"That's amazing!"

Chloe was impressed.

The device Ar was using was very complex, and Chloe only barely understood its operating principle.

"Wow! Ar-yang! You're amazing! I thought you were clumsy at everything except physical labor!"

"Heh? Huh?"

Ar, who had been puffing her chest out at Eiran's pure admiration, suddenly changed her expression.

"Are you saying I'm a strong idiot?"

"Um… No. I didn't say you were an idiot…"

Eiran looked flustered.

Seeing that, Ar narrowed her eyes.

"You perverted elf!"

"I'm not a pervert!"

"Hmph! Then show me what's in your bag!"

"What? Why my bag all of a sudden?"

"If there are no strange novels in your bag, I'll admit you're not a pervert!"

"Looking in someone's bag is an invasion of privacy!"

Eiran protested, hugging her bag tightly to her chest.

Just then.

"Hey guys~ Can you catch me?"

A voice came from the sky.

At the voice, Ar looked up at the sky.

And spotting Elena falling, she moved quickly.

Swoosh-!

Ar leaped high, caught Elena in mid-air, and landed on the ground.

"Thanks, Ar."

Elena, who had landed comfortably thanks to her, patted Ar's head.

"You haven't moved yet?"

"I was checking our current location."

"Hmm. Then, after we've figured out the location, shall we move together?"

"That's a good idea. Leo wouldn't just let us find the exam site easily."

Being thrown into the desert with restricted mana was a sufficient trial, but Leo was not the type of person to be satisfied with such a trial.

"What kind of obstacles will there be?"

"Who knows."

Elena opened her palm.

Woong-!

A minuscule amount of mana emanated.

It was mana allowed for minimal combat.

"How merciful."

Elena said with a hint of sarcasm and retracted her mana.

"I think since the first-years' assignment is to conquer the Book of Shadows, the shadows will probably interfere with our path."

"That's highly likely. There are no monsters in this Azo Desert."

Ar nodded in agreement.

"Um…"

At that moment, Eiran opened her mouth.

As all attention focused on her, Eiran carefully pointed a finger at a sand dune.

"Are those… Sand Goblins?"

At her words, everyone's gaze turned to the sand dune.

As Eiran said, about 20 Sand Goblins were approaching with hostility.

"You can't be serious, they released monsters in an area where there are no monsters? What a wicked…"

Ar was aghast.

Chloe put her hand on her head and shook it, while Elena glared at the sky, grinding her teeth.

"Does this damn human not know moderation?"