Book 1 Chapter 920

920.

Clatter, clatter, clatter-

The sound of the lower-class skeletons' teeth clashing echoed eerily.

Sinister beings, unable to rest even in death, resurrected by necromancy.

Regardless of the era, lower-class skeletons were the most basic soldiers of the Necrolord's army.

One lower-class skeleton is not very scary.

Even a soldier with a weapon can easily subdue it.

However, their tireless nature and their immense numbers, fitting for basic soldiers, made them threatening undead.

It was the same now.

A troop of about 100 skeletons, wielding crude weapons, threatened the hero candidates.

Skeleton Mages, higher-ranked than lower-class skeletons, continuously regenerated the broken lower-class skeletons.

Clack-!

A skeleton, which had just been broken and then regenerated to hold a shield, clashed its teeth as if sneering.

Crunch-!

At that moment, the red-haired elf in front of it flashed her eyes and charged at the skeleton.

"How dare you!"

Thump-!

Ferocity imbued her fiery red eyes.

"Just split already! You're disgusting!"

Squelch-!

She charged and stomped directly on the shield.

The skeleton staggered from the impact.

Lunia, still standing on the shield, kicked the skeleton's head, *pow*-!

The skeleton's head shot straight up and then *thunk*-! landed on someone else's head.

"Ouch! What was that for!"

Illiana, who was holding a sword and fending off skeletons, shouted in protest.

"It wasn't intentional!"

"Well, then it can't be helped."

Illiana nodded at Lunia's words and swung her sword.

Squelch-!

Illiana's sword, like a flash of light, sliced through the skeleton's joints.

Clean swordsmanship, without any unnecessary movements.

Damian's third-year student, Smith Digness, admired Illiana's swordsmanship, which displayed optimal efficiency.

"That's incredibly efficient swordsmanship!"

"Hmph! How about it? The swordsmanship of the Light-Speed Swift Blade Illiana-nim!"

"…What? That terrible naming sense?"

"What did you say?!"

Illiana's eyes flared up.

But the four Damian students nearby nodded as if agreeing with Digness's opinion.

Currently, Lunia was grouped with Illiana and five Damian students.

"T-these guys, ganging up on me unfairly… Lunia! Lunia! Isn't Light-Speed Swift Blade a super cool name?!"

"Is this the time to be arguing about that!"

Lunia roared fiercely.

Whoosh-!

Flames erupted from Lunia's fist.

Boom! Whoosh-!

As Lunia swung her fist at the skeleton in front of her,

The skeleton shattered into pieces with an explosion.

Watching this, one of the female third-year Damian students flinched.

"Wasn't Lunia El Lundoa a Beast Mage?"

"Yes, she was."

"But she looks like a berserker no matter how you look at her now?"

"It seems she's quite angry about this situation where we have to fight monsters while our mana is suppressed."

Illiana shrugged.

"Seriously! Leo, that guy, no matter what, he has to have some limits!"

Lunia let out a furious roar.

At her shout, Illiana moved quickly.

The lower-class skeletons, which formed a group with the intermediate undead Skeleton Mage, would continuously regenerate unless the Skeleton Mage was dealt with.

Therefore, dealing with the Skeleton Mage quickly was the top priority.

Normally, it would have been ended with a single magic spell, but now, due to the mana restrictions imposed by Leo, it wasn't easy.

Digness crushed a skeleton with a shield as large as his own body.

The other Damian students also formed a formation, following behind Illiana and Lunia.

The current party formation had Illiana at the very front, with Lunia directly behind her.

The five Damian students, led by Digness, covered the rear, pushing back skeletons that attacked from the left and right.

Digness glanced at Lunia and admired her inwardly.

'To be able to fight this well even with such weak mana.'

Lunia was extracting maximum efficiency with minimal magical power.

The reason she, a Beast Mage, stood at the front was also due to the efficiency of magical power.

Sending out spells also consumed magical power, so she chose close combat instead.

Even so, it's a tactic difficult to choose without basic physical combat skills.

'Indeed. There was a reason she became a hero despite being in the same year as us.'

Digness's admiring gaze shifted to Illiana.

She was performing incredibly fast swordsmanship despite not using aura.

It wasn't just simply fast.

'There are no wasted movements in her sword.'

That's why her swordsmanship felt even faster.

When using mana, it was obscured by its flashiness, but now it could be seen clearly.

The solid fundamentals that underpinned Lunia and Illiana's strength.

Not only Digness but also the other Damian students seemed to feel the same, constantly letting out exclamations of admiration.

Growl-!

At that moment, a wave of dark magic echoed.

The Skeleton Mage had used dark magic.

Blackened bone fragments shot towards Lunia like arrows.

Just as Digness moved in a hurry to block the attack.

Whoosh-!

Illiana, who had increased her speed with aura, deflected the arrow aimed at Lunia with her sword.

Clang-!

Digness's eyes widened.

The bright flash disappeared, and Illiana reappeared.

Her body, which had charged with aura deployment, landed gracefully on the ground.

Her hair flowed.

All of it seemed like slow motion.

Even the way she looked at the Skeleton Mage.

Digness, who had been pondering how to describe the sight, nodded.

'Beautiful.'

He wasn't smitten.

It was purely an evaluation, literally.

It was like seeing a strong flower bloom amidst this battlefield where lives were at stake.

Her unwavering appearance was clearly that of a hero.

As Digness admired her strong, elegant, and unwavering figure, like a painting,

"Heheheh! Not a chance as long as I'm here!"

Illiana's boisterous voice instantly shattered the atmosphere.

"Tsk."

While Digness clicked his tongue lightly.

Illiana, who had advanced to the front again, swung her sword without hesitation.

Soon, Illiana reached the Skeleton Mage and swung her sword like a flash of light.

Clang-!

"Huh?"

Illiana tilted her head.

Her sword had bounced off the shield magic cast by the Skeleton Mage.

Clatter, clatter, clatter-!

The Skeleton Mage made a tooth-clashing sound as if sneering.

Seeing that, Illiana chuckled and clashed her teeth together, clatter, clatter, clatter-.

The Skeleton Mage was momentarily flustered by Illiana's unexpected action of mimicking it.

Smiling at the Skeleton Mage, Illiana pointed behind her with her finger.

"Laughing? How dare you laugh!"

Lunia, filled with rage, roared and swung her fist.

Squelch-!

Lunia's fist destroyed the barrier and crushed the Skeleton Mage's head.

However, the Skeleton Mage wasn't immediately incapacitated.

As the Skeleton Mage, still staggering, tried to deploy magic, Digness quickly rushed over and struck its remaining body with his huge shield.

Thwack-!

The Skeleton Mage's body shattered into pieces and scattered everywhere.

Along with that, the lower-class skeletons, having lost their master, also lost their strength and collapsed on the spot.

"I expected this to be a rather difficult battle, but it ended more simply than I thought."

At his words, the Damian students groaned.

"Isn't Rumern's student council president too cruel?"

"It's a test, so we'll do it… but it's too difficult a test."

"Ugh… Just thinking about fighting monsters and navigating this desert makes my stomach churn."

With mana restricted, even lower-class monsters required constant vigilance.

This is because the biggest characteristic of individually weak lower-class monsters is that they appear in groups.

When hundreds of them gathered like this, it was bound to be difficult to deal with.

Especially considering the presence of a Skeleton Mage, there was a high probability of intermediate monsters appearing as well.

Lunia spoke, seeing the Damian students complaining.

"Don't be too pessimistic. We can definitely get through this with our abilities."

Having said that, Lunia subtly gazed beyond the desert horizon.

"And Rumern seems to always have these kinds of tests."

At her words, the Damian students looked at Lunia.

"Seirun and Damian are both hero academies like Rumern. If Rumern can do it, we have to do it too."

At her words, the Damian students gripped their weapons, seemingly energized.

"Yeah. Let's do it! We're all descendants of the indomitable."

"We can't whine over a trial like this!"

The Damian students, firm in their resolve, clenched their fists together, burning with fighting spirit.

Lunia smiled seeing them.

And then, as if making a declaration to Illiana, she said.

"You said these outlandish things are common sense, right? Then we'll face them with composure too."

Lunia's eyes gleamed with a competitive spirit.

But Illiana, hearing those words, frowned.

"What are you talking about? What's common sense about this ridiculous situation?"

"Huh?"

"No matter how much it's Rumern, they wouldn't do something as absurd as restricting mana and throwing us into a desert infested with monsters!"

"…"

"This time, the president crossed the line by a lot. I'll have a word with the president when we arrive!"

Lunia sighed inwardly, watching Illiana grumble with her arms crossed.

'I just can't understand Rumern's idea of common sense.'

Whatever it was, it seemed Leo was at fault this time.

"What? Monsters?"

"Yes."

Leo wore a serious expression at the report from Anyas Beggs, the successor of the Northern Shadow Lord and from the Northern Magic Tower, who had come to report to him.

Anyas spoke, seeing Leo's expression.

"Monsters suddenly appeared, and the shadows did respond, but… it's a strange phenomenon occurring throughout the Ajo Desert, so we couldn't exterminate all of them."

"The test must be stopped then."

The appearance of monsters was an unexpected situation that Leo hadn't anticipated.

"Forgive my insolence, but… Leo-nim. I wonder if the test shouldn't continue."

"Why?"

"The difficulty has certainly increased, but the third-year students are making their way here without difficulty."

Anyas said, summarizing the real-time reports from the shadows spread throughout the Ajo Desert.

"If monsters appeared, I don't know how the second-year students would manage, but the first-year students would have a hard time, wouldn't they?"

"Yes. But the third-year students in the lead group are eliminating the monsters that could pose a threat to the lower-grade students."

Anyas said.

"The shadows are also preparing for any contingency… wouldn't this be a good opportunity to gain practical experience?"

As Leo pondered, listening to Anyas, Melina, who was also listening, spoke.

"I think that's a good idea too. The students will probably just think that Leo-nim gave them another difficult assignment anyway."

With Melina also agreeing, Leo, who had been pondering, nodded.

"Then let's proceed for now. And Anyas, thoroughly prepare for any contingency."

"Yes."

"Melina, investigate this unusual situation further."

"Understood."

Left alone, Leo fell into thought.

'Monsters suddenly? Those Tartaros guys… What kind of trick are they trying to pull now?'

***

Dawn, just before sunrise.

Leo, standing at the entrance of the city that was the stage for this test, found the leading group of students and was impressed.

'They arrived faster than expected?'

He had been consistently receiving reports about the monsters appearing.

Therefore, Leo knew that monsters, which he thought would be difficult to deal with under mana restrictions, had appeared.

Despite this, the third-year students not only defeated all those monsters but also arrived at the test site faster than Leo had anticipated.

Leo showed a slightly satisfied smile.

'It's rewarding to have raised them strongly.'

It was a moment when Leo felt proud of the growth of his future comrades, to whom he would entrust his back.

"Leo, you bastard! Where are you!"

Lunia's sharp voice was heard.

"President! This is too much!"

Illiana's resentful voice was also heard.

Lunia strode up to Leo.

"What kind of situation is it to restrict our mana and throw us into a desert swarming with monsters! Do you know how hard it was?!"

"Couldn't you have easily removed that mana restriction?"

"I could! But it's a test!"

Lunia burst out in indignation, saying she followed because it was a test.

"Lunia's right. No matter what, this is too much."

Ar, who arrived around the same time as Lunia's group, also protested.

Elena, who was with them, came to Leo's side and pinched his cheek.

"Would you care to explain, Student Council President?"

Elena was smiling sweetly, but her eyes weren't.

It seemed Elena had also gone through quite a hardship.

Expecting their reactions, Leo answered calmly.

"Actually, the monster appearance wasn't planned. An unusual situation occurred."

At his words, the students showed surprised expressions.

Chloe, who was listening, felt something was off and asked.

"Then why didn't you stop the test?"

"I initially intended to stop it."

"And?"

"You guys were overcoming it too well."

"…"

"I thought it was a great opportunity to gain practical experience, so I decided to just let it continue. How was it, a good experience, right?"

At his shameless attitude, the students were speechless.

"So, this situation isn't my fault. It's your fault because it happened because you guys were too good."

Lunia thought, looking at Leo who was even shifting the blame.

'Did Luna-nim feel this way too?'

For some reason, Lunia felt a strong urge to punch Leo just once, especially today.