Book 1 Chapter 993

993.

Returning to her dormitory room, Illyana sat at her desk and opened a book.

"Make time for each other, hmph. Hmph."

A romance novel purchased in Lumina City.

If Chelsea or Chloe had seen her, they would have told her to study that hard.

Unfortunately, she found reading books like this much more fun than studying.

As Illyana was reading the book with sparkling eyes.

Knock-knock-

A knock was heard.

Without looking away from the book, Illyana waved her hand.

Click-

"Come in."

Since the only person likely to visit her room was Nella, Illyana let the guest in without even looking towards the door.

Stomp- stomp-

"What are you looking at so intently?"

"Winning a man's heart… Huh?"

Answering to a familiar voice, Illyana paused and turned her head.

And what she met was a pair of red eyes shining like jewels.

"President?!"

Illyana, startled, jumped up from her seat.

"Why are you in my room, President! You shouldn't enter a lady's room without permission!"

"You told me to come in?"

"Ah, I did tell you to come in."

Nodding, Illyana shouted.

"No! But this is a girls' dormitory! How did you get here!"

"The student council president's room has a door that can go anywhere in the dormitory."

"Ah, right. I forgot because you haven't misused it."

Mmm! Mmm! Illyana, nodding in understanding, tilted her head.

"But why did you come to my room, President?"

Seeing Illyana asking with curiosity, Leo said.

"Illyana, let's go somewhere."

"Huh?"

At those words, Illyana paused and then her expression turned tense.

"Are we going alone?"

"Yes."

"Then it's a date?!"

"Not exactly."

"Date~ Date~ A date alone with the President~"

Illyana, not listening to Leo's continued words, hummed and approached the closet.

And she said to Leo.

"President. Wait outside for a moment."

"Why?"

"Are you going to watch a lady like me change clothes?"

Illyana, with half-closed eyes, pushed Leo's back and sent him out of the room.

"So it's a date…"

"Yes, yes. I'll be ready soon."

Illyana, whose tension was high, didn't listen to Leo's words.

Left alone, Illyana quickly found and put on a pretty winter outfit.

Even though it was winter clothing, the pretty ones were thin.

Normally, she would have bundled up tightly, saying warmth was best, but if she was going somewhere alone with Leo, did the cold matter?

'I hope it snows a lot. So we can watch the snow together in a good atmosphere.'

Thinking of a romantic situation, Illyana let out a squeal.

And a moment later.

Whooooosh!

Illyana screamed amidst a terrifyingly raging blizzard.

"It's coooooooooolldddddddddd!"

"That's why you wore such thin clothes."

"I thought it was a date!"

Illyana pouted.

The place where Leo and Illyana had come was the frozen sea in the northwestern part of the continent.

For Illyana, who had worn thin clothes to look pretty, she couldn't help but scream at the immense cold.

"President! It's coooooollldddd!"

Illyana clung to Leo.

There was no sinister intention.

It was just a desperate attempt to escape the cold even a little.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have lost their life to this cold, no matter how much they wore.

Seeing Illyana pouting, Leo sighed and took off his coat, wrapping it around her.

Illyana sniffled and fastened the coat.

"This coat is incredibly warm."

"It's made of phoenix feathers."

Leo, who uses Zerdinger's fire aura, was not greatly affected by the cold even without a coat.

"By the way, why did you want to go somewhere alone? I thought it was a date."

"That's why you should listen to what people say until the end."

"Ouch-!"

Leo flicked Illyana's forehead.

Illyana rubbed her forehead and pouted.

"But why did we come here?"

"We're going to scout the surrounding area. There might be a hero's dungeon."

By now, Illyana had become the fastest in Lumern.

As such, she was perfect for large-scale reconnaissance missions.

"Ah. So you need the 'Lightning Sword' Illyana!"

As Illyana chuckled with a "Hmph," Leo nodded.

"Yes."

"Hmph! Leave it to me, Illyana!"

Illyana hit her chest and smiled brightly.

"The President trusts and relies on me! It makes me feel motivated!"

'If I said I brought you because you looked the most free, you'd get upset, right?'

Leo gave a wry smile as he watched Illyana, her face full of pride and burning with motivation.

It was true that Illyana was brought because she was specialized in reconnaissance missions, but she also looked more free than Chelsea, Eliza, and Duran.

Leo told Illyana the reconnaissance area and began searching his own zone.

'Luna and Seirun…'

Walking on the frozen sea, Leo recalled the story Lunia had told him.

It was a bewildering story for Leo as well.

It wasn't surprising that Seirun, the hero of creation, had appeared in the present world.

But the fact that she appeared with Luna was a bewildering story.

As he thought of Seirun, Leo remembered a few months ago, Azonia and Damian.

He remembered when he met those two.

When they were leaving, their eyes met Erebus.

Leo stopped walking, thinking of Erebus, who showed no signs of appearing.

The snow-white hair fluttered in the blizzard blowing from the vast frozen sea.

Leo narrowed his eyes, which seemed to burn, and activated his super senses.

First, finding the entrance to the hero's dungeon was the priority.

"Lulu~ Lala~"

Illyana walked on the frozen sea, humming.

Despite the formidable, deadly cold, she could somehow endure it thanks to Leo's coat and the anti-cold magic.

"Achoo!"

Still, the cold hadn't completely subsided.

"Khung. It's so wide, though."

Illyana sniffled and glared at the frozen sea.

"Will it be over today?"

Looking at the vast search area that made her dizzy, Illyana suddenly remembered something.

"If it's not over today… do I have to stay out overnight with the President?"

Her heart pounded for no reason.

'Come to think of it, Chloe was also trapped in a blizzard with the President the other day.'

She had questioned her about what happened then, but Chloe never answered.

However, judging by her reaction, something definitely happened.

Illyana, who had been indulging in such thoughts with a strange sense of anticipation, shook off her distractions.

'First, let's search.'

Illyana focused her mind.

Among various senses, her sight was maximized.

Illyana was still unskilled in super senses.

Sight was the only sense through which she could obtain transcendental abilities.

However, unusually, she gained sight that was superior to other senses.

As her vision expanded, she began to see the flow of mana, which she couldn't normally see.

Looking around, Illyana's eyes twitched.

'A person?'

In the blizzard, where she couldn't see even a step ahead.

She saw the presence of a person with her eyes.

"Hmm~!"

Illyana, with her arms crossed, narrowed her eyes.

'Suspicious!'

This was the elves' territory, but in this land where not even a single elf, let alone an animal adapted to the cold, could be seen, a moving person.

It was bound to be suspicious.

'A traitor operating within the elf territory? Or a demon?'

Thinking various thoughts, Illyana drew her sword.

And relying on her super senses, she began to approach the person.

At that moment.

The other person beyond the blizzard seemed to have sensed her and began to flee.

"Ah! Stop right there!"

Illyana quickly pursued them.

The opponent's speed was unusual.

Although she started the pursuit, she couldn't close the distance, so Illyana thought.

'Should I call the President instead of rashly pursuing?'

While thinking that, Illyana accelerated.

She couldn't gauge the enemy's strength in the current situation.

But even so, she recalled the reason she had come here.

'The President brought me to search for the hero's dungeon.'

That meant he had considered combat situations.

If he had thought it would be difficult for Illyana, he wouldn't have brought her.

'No, if a combat situation arose, he would have told me not to pursue and to call him.'

But Leo left it to Illyana's judgment.

'Even if the opponent is overwhelmingly stronger than me, the President must have thought I could hold out until he arrived.'

That was Leo's trust in Illyana.

'I will pursue.'

Illyana also had trust in Leo.

Trust that even if the enemy could defeat her in an instant, Leo would arrive and help before that happened.

She had to live up to that trust.

Illyana knew that she disliked studying and training compared to her other friends.

Because she hated difficult things.

Her desire to play and eat comfortably for the rest of her life had not changed since her first year.

But what had changed was that the desire to live up to Leo's expectations, who always affirmed her potential, had become stronger than those desires.

Flash-!

Illyana accelerated instantly.

Before she knew it, she had left the frozen sea and entered the forest.

Flash-!

Illyana instantly closed the distance with the opponent, and her sword cut through the air.

A light sword aura shot out, blocking the escapee's retreat.

Thwack-!

Illyana, blocking the path while the opponent was stopped, said.

"Ho ho ho! You can't escape from Lumern's 'Lightning Sword', Illyana!"

Illyana, covering her mouth and laughing elegantly, said.

"Reveal your identity. Why were you loitering in a place like this, and why did you run away?"

Illyana, pointing her sword at the opponent, carefully examined the opponent's appearance.

She was a girl with striking snow-white hair and red eyes.

About 15 years old?

'She doesn't seem like a bad person?'

Illyana tilted her head.

"Now, if you surrender willingly, there will be no bloodshed."

At those words, the girl drew a dagger from her pocket.

"Huh? Aren't you a good person? Are you going to resist?"

Illyana gave an awkward smile.

She didn't seem like a bad person, but she couldn't completely let down her guard.

'Let's subdue her first.'

Thinking that, Illyana moved.

Woosh-

As she instantly closed the distance, the girl spread her hand, not holding the dagger.

Flash-!

A magic circle unfolded on her palm.

'Star magic?'

And it was original magic used by elves, not the star magic system reinterpreted by Ren.

Illyana, amazed, struck down the star magic that was engulfing her with her sword.

And the moment she tried to grab the girl.

The girl swung her dagger in the air with incredible speed, blocking Illyana's approach.

Not an attack, but a threat.

"Hmm?"

Illyana, who had distanced herself, let out a strained breath.

She was stronger than she had anticipated.

"Hmph. You insolent brat. Do you think I'm easy because I'm going easy on you?"

Illyana warned with a smirk, and the girl, who had been listening quietly, mumbled in a choked voice.

"You weren't planning to go easy from the start, old hag."

"……"

Of course, she hadn't planned to go easy from the start.

Illyana always made sure to win against opponents she could beat.

Even if it was a child less than 10 years old.

But more than that remark, the honorific she heard for the first time in her life stimulated Illyana.

"Hoohoo… Hoohoohoo. Little one. Did I just hear some strange words? You heard wrong, right?"

"I didn't hear wrong, old hag."

"Yes. I understand. I'll tear that insolent mouth of yours!"

Illyana's eyes rolled as she lunged at the girl.

Whoooooosh-!

At that moment, a strong blizzard blew, instantly obscuring Illyana's vision.

"Kgh?!"

The moment Illyana paused.

When the blizzard cleared, the girl's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing that, Illyana let out an enraged roar.

"Where did you go! You damn white-haired brat! Come here right now!"

Shouting as if breathing fire, she maximized her super senses and scanned the surroundings, but.

The girl's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Only Illyana's empty rage echoed.