Book 1 Chapter 97

[97]96.

Leo, who had instantly eliminated the group of students targeting him, climbed to the top of the tallest building he could see.

'People wouldn't know. This is the land where Lissina and I first defeated a Legion Commander.'

This city, ruined by greed, was also the place where Kyle and Lissina had, in the distant past, subjugated the Tartarus Legion Commander, the Gluttonous King, Yormungandr.

And it was a monumental land where the terrestrial races, who had lost all their homes except for Gardesron, succeeded in their first recapture.

It was the place where the legend of a great hero, now unrecorded, began.

"Back then, it was just Lissina and me, so calling ourselves great heroes is a bit much, don't you think?"

Leo chuckled, recalling his past life.

"First, shall I look for the Lake of Erdia?"

Leo took out the map of Neigrand, which he had prepared in advance, from his pocket.

Five locations were marked on the map.

And it was possible that the Great Elemental Spirit of Radiance, Luminus, was slumbering in one of these five lakes.

Towards the covenant who had suffered near-fatal damage in the fight against Yormungandr, Lissina had promised.

'I promise, Luminus. When I awaken you again, this world will be filled with light.'

At that time, Luminus had suffered a grave injury that made unavoidable destruction imminent.

Therefore, Lissina had no choice but to seal Luminus in this land.

'Given the long passage of time, the probability of Luminus still slumbering is almost nil.'

Leo took his eyes off the map.

'If, however, she is still asleep, I shall be the one to awaken her.'

***

The students quickly headed for the center of Neigrand.

"Move quickly! There's no reason to fight here right now!"

The outcome of the battle royale would be determined by who quickly secured the central castle ruins, which served as a safe zone.

Even if they were to compete in skill, reaching the central castle ruins first was the priority.

"If the curse activates, we'll be hit without even fighting! The central castle ruins first!"

While this battle royale was a final practical exam, it was still an inter-departmental competition.

Therefore, many students were moving in departmental units.

This party was no exception.

They had encountered various departmental parties on their way here, but there had been no combat.

It was the early stage, and everyone was acting cautiously.

'Fighting here now would only be a disadvantage to oneself!'

Jureden Leusen, third-ranked in the Summoning Department, was convinced of this.

He was the leader of a summoning department party of five.

While the Jureden party was rapidly moving towards the castle walls, they were also diligently preparing for other things.

"There's something edible even in this cursed land."

This battle royale would not end until the last person was determined.

If things went well, it could become a long-term battle.

And in a long-term battle, food was the most important thing.

The Jureden party was preparing for that.

"All the hardship I went through in the Beast Forest for the past month wasn't in vain."

A female student from the Summoning Department grumbled as she picked mushrooms and put them into subspace.

"I know."

They had interacted with uncontracted wild beasts in the Beast Forest.

There, some students had achieved the feat of increasing their affinity to the point where they could issue simple commands to lower-level beasts and spirits without using their spiritual power.

However, what was most helpful now was that they had learned how to survive in the wild.

"Thanks to that, it looks like I won't have to worry about food no matter how remote a place I go to."

"Ugh! Just thinking about it is horrible!"

The students shook their heads as if disgusted.

'Now, if we just arrive and prepare well for a long-term battle…'

At that moment, Jureden's expression changed.

One of the spirits assigned to scout the surroundings had been forcibly recalled.

"It looks like a monster has appeared ahead. Let's get out of here!"

"Okay!"

The Jureden party began to move.

"No?"

"What is it, Jureden?"

But soon, the party members looked at Jureden, whose expression had become serious, with puzzled looks.

"We've been hit again."

"What?"

"Me too!"

Another party member exclaimed in panic.

"Something is approaching at tremendous speed!"

Jureden shouted urgently.

And at the same time…

Fzzt-!

A fierce sparking sound echoed in the ears of the entire party.

Flash!

A powerful golden light burst in front of the Jureden party.

"Durand!"

'Damn it! I've run into the most annoying guy!'

Jureden, grimacing, spoke while wary of Durand.

"Why are you blocking our path?"

"Are you asking because you don't know?"

Durand drew his sword and said.

"It's an inter-departmental competition right now. We've encountered an enemy, so it's natural to fight."

At his words, the female student from the Summoning Department looked bewildered.

"What about the curse? Or what if monsters appear while we're fighting? Fighting here is foolish!"

"You're talking nonsense."

Durand sneered.

"Do you think you and I are on the same level? Whether it's monsters or curses, they're not a big problem for me. Rather than worrying about that, it's more beneficial to eliminate one more competitor before heading to the central castle ruins."

"I thought talking to you would be impossible."

Jureden scoffed.

WHOOSH!

The wind swirled around him.

"But Durand, I admit you're strong, but you seem to be underestimating me too much, don't you? Aren't you underestimating the third-ranked student of the Summoning Department too much?"

"Wasn't the third-ranked student of the Summoning Department Leo Flove? I didn't know because I wasn't interested."

"You bastard!"

KABOOOM!

Wind spirits simultaneously unleashed a gale towards Durand.

ZZZZAP-!

With a swing of his sword, golden currents surged in all directions.

Durand, who had instantly recalled the spirits, twitched his eyes.

'Just lower-level spirits?'

Although Durand was known for his arrogant demeanor, openly belittling his opponents, he didn't misjudge their abilities.

Even if he wasn't interested in Jureden, he knew he was an excellent spirit user.

WHOOSH-!

Jureden looked up at the sky.

A summoning circle emitting powerful energy had been created there.

"There's no point fighting you in the long run! I'll end this in one go!"

Jureden, summoning a high-level wind spirit, smiled triumphantly.

The surrounding party members formed a defensive line, preparing for Durand's attack.

WHOOSH-!

Durand's body was momentarily lifted into the air by the intense wind.

CRACK! CRACK!

Durand, his face contorted, stomped on the ground forcefully.

Durand's feet dug deeply into the ground.

'To have this much of an impact just by summoning…'

"Interesting."

Durand curled his lips and tightened his grip on his sword.

ZAP-!

THUMP-!

His arm muscles bulged as if about to tear his uniform.

Seeing Durand like that, Jureden shouted.

"Destroy him! Alketias!"

WHOOOOSH!

The high-level wind spirit, whose summoning was complete, descended upon Durand like a vortex.

Looking at the raging whirlwind that seemed to tear him apart, Durand's eyes gleamed.

Golden sparks shot from his eyes.

His sword's power was maximized by the Hero's Breath.

'Lightning Strike (雷挌)! Astrape!'

A crescent-shaped lightning sword energy cleaved the descending whirlwind and soared into the sky.

Jureden's eyes widened as he saw this.

"Hoo!"

Durand took a deep breath and pulled out his feet that were embedded in the ground.

"You're quite good. But this is as far as it goes."

"D-damn it!"

Jureden's face contorted.

As Durand approached, emitting an aura, the Jureden party flinched and retreated.

"Please stop there, Durand Moira."

With a clear voice, the Jureden party looked up at the sky in surprise.

"E-Eliza!"

"Sister! You came to save us!"

"Eliza! Eliza! Eliza!"

"Are you going to interfere, Eliza Hergin?"

Durand asked irritably, and Eliza, riding a Wind Wyvern, the highest-tier beast, fiddled with her fingernails and said.

"Since it's an inter-departmental competition, isn't it natural to help students from our department?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Sister! Take me!"

"Eliza! Eliza!"

The students of the Summoning Department continued to chant and praise Eliza.

Although Eliza was always haughty, she had a strong sense of pride in the Summoning Department.

Even though she was boastful, she was active in departmental matters, so she had a very good reputation among the students of the Summoning Department.

Eliza, taking her gaze off her fingernails, looked down at Durand and curled her lips.

"Well, if you insist on fighting because you don't want to run away with your tail between your legs, I won't stop you. Hohohohoho!"

"Hohoho. If you're going to be arrogant relying on these people, you've made the wrong choice, Eliza Hergin."

Durand burst into laughter.

Goooooo-!

The Jureden party began to cautiously observe the situation as the two, who were second to none in arrogance among the first-years, engaged in a battle of wills.

"W-what if we get caught up in this and get hurt?"

"E-Eliza, we should help her, but… it feels like we'll be crushed like shrimp in a whale's fight…"

As the Summoning Department students sweated nervously and backed away.

Durand twitched his eyes and looked at the sky in the opposite direction of Eliza.

"Crk?"

"What is it, Pipi? Is something approaching?"

Eliza, whose Wind Wyvern was sensitive to air movements, looked in the direction Durand was gazing, with a puzzled expression.

At the same time, she maintained her guard against Durand.

After a moment, something was seen flying at tremendous speed.

The moment they realized it…

WHOOSH!

"Kyaaak!"

A student who flew across the sky in an instant.

And Eliza, caught in the aftermath before she could even prepare, fell from her saddle.

Eliza, sprawled miserably on the back of the Wind Wyvern, had her face filled with rage.

Although she hadn't fallen to the ground, falling from the saddle of the beast she was riding was an immense humiliation for a beast tamer.

"Hmph. I didn't expect to meet you this soon! I'll settle this right here!"

He, the fastest in the Knight Department, disappeared in an instant, chasing Leo.

Meanwhile, Eliza, who had climbed back onto the saddle, glared in the direction Leo had disappeared.

"Again! Again! Again! Leo Flove! Is that you!"

"Eek! She's angry! She's angry!"

"E-Eliza! Don't worry about them now, let's head to the central castle ruins…"

"I won't forgive you! I will never forgive you this time! Pipi! Chase Leo Flove!"

"Kya-ak!"

The Wind Wyvern spread its wings wide and soared into the sky at tremendous speed.

And it descended in the direction Leo had flown.

The Summoning Department female student looked bewildered as the three disappeared in an instant.

"That's completely in the opposite direction of the central castle ruins? What are they trying to do?"

Jureden sighed at her words.

"They're the top students of our school. They must have a plan."

"I don't know about Leo, but Eliza and Durand just seem to be chasing Leo without thinking."

"Leave those pickled radishes alone."

"Huh? Pickled radishes? What does that mean?"

"Simple-minded fools."

"Ah! That's perfect!"

The Jureden party burst into laughter.

"Don't you dare say I said that."

"We'll see!"

"Let's move on quickly, before we get caught up in another unnecessary fight."

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