Book 1 Chapter 96

There were nine first-year students who quickly gathered around Leo.

'Three from the Knight Department, two from the Summoner Department, four from the Magic Department… quite a lot.'

"Jebin!"

"Nivea! That's great! You're lucky to join this early!"

Jebin's face lit up when he spotted Nivea, a female student from the Magic Department who was part of his usual group.

"I don't think I've done anything to earn anyone's resentment."

Nivea scoffed at Leo's words.

"Hmph! You're hilarious! You think it's only been a day or two that other students have suffered because of you?"

"What kind of suffering have I caused?"

"You get preferential treatment from the professors, being called 'All Class' and all! Because you needlessly show off, the magic class content is just getting harder! Don't you have any consideration for others?"

"That's right! In summoner class too, because you're always showing off, we get tons of difficult assignments every day!"

"We have to do tough training every day in knight class too!"

Leo, who had been quietly listening to the barrage of complaints, let out a hollow laugh.

"If that's your complaint, you should protest to the professors."

The students flinched at his words.

"And do you think it's even logical for the class progress to change because of just me? Haven't you considered that you simply can't keep up with the class pace?"

"What are you saying!"

Nivea retorted at Leo's words.

"I was always at the top of my class at the academy I attended before enrolling in Lumern! It's absurd to say that I can't keep up with the class pace!"

"You can't keep up because you're not capable. Aren't you ashamed to blame others for your own shortcomings?"

"Ugh! Shut up! Chain Lightning!"

Zzzzzzt-!

A chain of lightning shot out from the tip of her staff towards Leo.

As the chain of lightning reached just before his face, Leo flicked his hand and repelled the magic.

Whoosh! Crack! Bang bang bang!

The deflected magic exploded, sending fierce sparks flying in all directions.

"H-how?"

"Even though the power is strong, the structure of the incantation is simple. That's why it's easily dispelled. Didn't you learn that in the first class?"

Leo's lips curled upwards.

"Don't rely too much on the activation formula."

"Ugh! Stop showing off! You bumpkin from a remote kingdom!"

Nivea, provoked, started firing magic indiscriminately.

"Everyone attack! What difference does it make if he's the class representative? He's still just a first-year like us! If we attack him with this many people, he won't be able to handle it!"

"Just a first-year?"

Leo burst into laughter at Jebin's cry.

"Certainly, if you were a proper Lumern first-year, I would have had a hard time too, but I don't think I'll lose to you guys who blame others for your own shortcomings."

"What did you say!"

"You punk!"

The magic students simultaneously fired magic at Leo, while the knight students circled him, weapons in hand, applying pressure.

The summoner students summoned spirits.

Whoosh-!

Leo conjured flames in his hand.

"Fire Will."

Roar-!

A wall of fire rose up, nullifying the incoming magic.

The magic students who were pressuring Leo recoiled in terror.

"I-impossible! Our magic… so easily nullified…!"

"Don't be scared! Such powerful magic must consume a lot of mana! He's just flailing!"

The knight student, who had rallied the students, quickly stepped forward, readjusted his grip on his spear, and charged at Leo.

Whoosh-!

A swift thrusting attack.

It was a lightning-fast attack, but Leo caught the shaft of the spear without much difficulty.

Thump-!

"Cough!"

When his attack was so easily blocked, he desperately tried to retrieve his spear.

However, the spear wouldn't budge.

Instead, as Leo applied force, he was pulled in like a puppet with cut strings.

'Wh-what kind of strength is this!'

He didn't know it, but in terms of pure physical strength, Leo was the best in the Knight Department.

Woooong-!

Leo's right hand, not holding the spear, shimmered with aura.

Leo swung his fist towards the face of the student being pulled towards him.

"Gasp!"

CRASH!

He hurriedly protected himself with Aura Armor from Leo's attack.

However, the male student felt his head ringing.

THWACK!

"Cough!"

Leo followed up with a kick to his abdomen.

WHOOSH! THUD!

"Cough!"

The male student, sent flying and crashing into a tree, fell to the ground pathetically.

"Opening found!"

A large male student ambushed Leo from behind.

Holding a massive two-handed sword, the student smiled a triumphant smile.

"You're out, Leo Flob!"

Thump-!

"……!"

Leo reached out and grabbed the tip of the enormous blade of the two-handed sword.

The male student, startled when his attack was blocked, tried to retrieve his sword.

However, the sword in Leo's hand showed no signs of moving.

CRACKLE-!

Instead, as Leo applied more force, cracks began to appear on the sword's surface.

"I-impossible! It's a sword imbued with aura!"

"Aura isn't invincible, you know?"

CRUNCH! CRACK!

"……!"

Shards of the shattered two-handed sword scattered in all directions.

"You should have prepared for your attack being blocked and had a follow-up plan."

THWACK!

"Cough!"

Leo kicked the male student squarely in the side.

CRASH!

"Cough!"

The male student, sent flying helplessly, also fell to the ground feebly.

A bright light emanated from the bodies of the two struggling knight students, and they vanished.

Teleportation magic.

It signified their elimination from the department competition.

RUMBLE!

At that moment, the ground moved as if it were alive, wrapping around Leo's body like a snake.

Along with that, water droplets formed around his face, and a water bubble the size of his head covered Leo's face.

Gurgle- Gurgle-

"Good!"

"We'll suffocate him and eliminate him!"

The two summoner students who had summoned spirits cheered.

CRACKLE! BANG-!

However, the ground holding Leo turned to dirt and scattered, and the water bubble burst futilely.

"No way! Our spirit, our spirit magic…!"

As he looked at the bewildered spirit masters, Leo said, shaking the water off his head.

"If you've only made a basic contract with the spirits in this area, you should have anticipated being overpowered by a more skilled spirit user, shouldn't you?"

Leo asked, brushing off the dirt from his body.

"So, what's next?"

They unknowingly took a step back.

'Is the difference really this great?'

"Nothing?"

GooOOO-!

Leo unleashed his aura.

"Then, are you ready?"

"W-wait! Leo! Just a moment!"

Jebin shouted urgently, his face pale.

"W-we were wrong! If we're eliminated like this, we'll be expelled! Please, just give us one chance!"

"R-right! Forgive us!"

"I-I didn't intend to fight you! Leo! They pushed me into it!"

"Don't be ridiculous! You were the most enthusiastic participant!"

Their will to fight shattered, they quickly collapsed.

"L-Leo! You don't need to eliminate us anyway, right? Huh? So, um…"

Nivea said with a trembling voice.

Looking at Nivea, Leo said,

"Indeed, it's not like you're a threat if I leave you alone, nor is there any benefit to me if I eliminate you."

At his words, the arguing students' faces brightened.

"S-so!"

"However…"

Leo's expression turned cold.

"If the situation were reversed, would you have spared me?"

The students' faces were filled with despair.

Sssshing-!

"This could be your last fight as Lumern students. So, fight like Lumern students."

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm staying at Lumern!"

Jebin, spitting out curses, quickly retreated from the battlefield using Wing Magic.

"You cheapskate!"

"Damn it! Run!"

Seeing his fellow students scattering in all directions, Leo sighed.

Simply surviving the final practical exam doesn't automatically guarantee a high score.

"A hero must fight even when they know they might lose."

They had essentially thrown away their last chance.

"You should abandon the illusion that you can escape."

Leo smiled coldly.

***

When the department competition began, most of the Lumern students dropped into Neigrang fell into a panic.

"Monsters? Hey, don't herd them this way!"

"My dear fellow department members! Let's deal with the monsters together! We agreed to work together!"

"Hey! That's for a normal department competition! This time, it's about the exam… Ah! Get away from me, seriously!"

A student charging at a fellow department member while being chased by monsters inhabiting Neigrang.

"Wait! A curse is active here… Ugh!"

"Sensory confusion curse… Ugh! I'm so nauseous!"

Students falling victim to curses spread throughout Neigrang.

"Come on!"

"As you wish! Let's fight!"

Students fiercely fighting each other.

"Please! We're in the same class! Please form a party with me!"

"Ah, um, you and I are in different departments…! Let go of this!"

A student clinging to a classmate.

The department competition was utter chaos, with the sudden addition of the final practical exam.

The pressure of the final exam was so immense that it overturned any existing strategies.

Artian, the homeroom teacher of Class 8, who was watching the events unfold through Lumern's broadcast magic, spoke with a serious expression.

"I'm not sure if it's not too harsh on the students."

"That's a naive thought, Professor Artian."

At Halind's words, Artian flinched and hunched his neck.

"While this department competition might have seemed like a series of individual battles at first glance, strictly speaking, it was a situation where students could have formed teams and cooperated."

"For a hero, politics and diplomacy are important virtues. Therefore, cooperation beforehand can also be considered part of preparedness."

Professor Sedjen, taking over Halind's words, looked at the students reflected in the broadcast magic and said,

"But the world never goes according to plan. The principal intended this. It's no exaggeration to say that this is a test of their ability to cope with unexpected situations during the department competition."

"Still, it's too harsh. Shouldn't we guide the students through a more stable method?"

As a new professor not from Lumern, Artian couldn't adapt to Lumern's educational policy of constantly forcing trials upon the students.

"In a normal school, that would be the case. But Professor Artian, this is Lumern."

"Yes?"

"The students we are raising are hero candidates. And a hero means one who overcomes trials."

Sedjen said with a serious expression.

"If they can't even overcome such trials, they won't become heroes, let alone survive Lumern's curriculum; they might even lose their lives."

He sighed deeply as he said that.

"To prevent that, we must constantly test the students' potential."

At Sedjen's words, who had witnessed more student deaths than anyone else, all the professors fell silent.

"Professors."

"Secretary Erena, what is it?"

Secretary Erena, the principal's secretary, approached the first-year professors.

"There's something urgent I need the assistant homeroom teachers to do. May I take them?"

"What is this sudden task for the assistant homeroom teachers?"

When Halind asked, Secretary Erena smiled faintly.

"We need to dispatch personnel due to the current lockdown order."

"Understood, assistant homeroom teachers. Please do your best, as it is for the school's sake."

Once Sedjen's permission was granted, the assistant homeroom teachers followed Secretary Erena out of the training ground.

"What's wrong, Halind?"

Sedjen asked Halind, who was staring intently at Erena. Halind shook his head.

"No, it's nothing."