Editor : Amethyst00



“Grrroooaaar!”

“That ogre’s throwing rocks! Take that one down first!”

A knight department student shouted urgently toward a magic department student as an ogre roared and hurled castle rubble with both hands.

Just as the magic student hurried to chant a spell—

Fwoosh—!

Standing atop the wall, Celia took a thrusting stance.

[Phoenix Breath – Flame Wing.]

Flames spread like wings of a bird and shot toward the ogre at incredible speed.

Craack!

“Guh?”

The ogre tilted its head when the flaming wings brushed past.

Then its head fell from its neck.

The wound, seared by overwhelming heat, didn’t even bleed.

Stagger—! Thud!

The ogre’s massive body collapsed, crushing monsters nearby.

But Celia’s assault wasn’t finished.

Like a bird swooping down, the Flame Wing that had soared into the sky dived back to the ground.

Boom! Whooosh—!

The aura flames exploded, sweeping through the surrounding monsters.

As the monsters screamed, burning alive, Celia exhaled deeply and lowered her sword.

A magic student watching wore a shaken expression.

“No way. How can an aura skill have more firepower than magic!”

Meanwhile, on the opposite wall, Duran was showing his strength.

“They’re coming from the sky again!”

Man-eating crows swooped down from above.

Seeing them, Duran stepped with aura, leaping onto the inner watchtower.

He raised his sword toward the sky.

Flash! Crackle-crackle-crackle—!

Golden lightning burst from his sword, instantly roasting the flock of crows aiming for the ground.

Carl, who was in the same team as Duran, clicked his tongue.

‘He’s an annoying bastard, but his skill is undeniable!’

Thinking so, Carl supported the other students.

Carl’s talent as a support shone brilliantly in this situation.

He swiftly distributed potions, identified priority targets for attack, and guided the students.

And whenever someone needed aid, he was the first to rush in.

In short, he created an environment where Duran and the entire team could focus solely on fighting.

‘Hmph. Not bad for a commoner.’

Duran scoffed as he descended from the tower.

The Lumene students were holding back the monster onslaught magnificently.

Meanwhile, in front of the gate, Emio’s team was in action.

An hour had passed since the battle began.

The students of Lumene were repelling the overwhelming assault of monsters almost effortlessly.

“See! I told you it’s nothing!”

Wearing a triumphant expression, Emio conjured four massive magic circles in the air.

He was a versatile mage who freely wielded the four elements.

Emio’s spells swept through the monsters approaching the gates.

Thud—!

He set one foot on the wall, resting his staff on his shoulder with a bored look.

“Fighting mere monsters while hiding behind walls is dull to death!”

“Emio! Want to go out there and clean some up?”

One knight student, hyped up, adjusted his bastard sword and asked.

“Maybe we should?”

The battle was so one-sided that some first-years were already growing bored.

That’s when Chloe, part of the same team, spoke.

“Our goal is to defend the walls, nothing more.”

“Chloe, I’m the team leader. Are you ordering me right now?”

“How is that an order? I’m telling you to follow the plan.”

“The plan is mine to make! You just follow my orders!”

Chloe’s expression turned ice-cold.

Her chilling aura made Emio flinch and step back for a moment.

But realizing he’d lost ground in willpower, he bristled.

“Why cower inside like cowards? If we’d fought outside the walls, the monsters would already be finished!”

“The higher beasts haven’t even shown up yet. Don’t you see what that means?”

“Hmph. Scared of a few wild beasts, how pathetic—”

Vrrrrrrm—!

As Chloe and Emio quarreled at the gate, a massive summoning circle began to form in the sky.

The first-years froze, staring up.

“W-what’s that?”

“That size… a summoning circle? What could it be calling?”

“Maybe… maybe the academy’s finally sending help?”

Everyone nodded at one student’s words.

“Yeah, it’s been an hour already.”

“Damn, I wanted to rack up more achievements first.”

Some even voiced disappointment.

Flaaash—!

A massive, pitch-dark blue arm burst through the summoning circle.

Crash—!

The gigantic hand snatched up the monsters on the ground.

Squelch!

The crushed monsters became nothing but bloody pulp.

The mysterious hand retreated back into the circle.

Moments later, a colossal head emerged.

An inverted triangular head with horns.

Half its face was taken up by a giant maw, gnawing greedily on the monsters it had just seized.

Crunch—crunch—

The monstrous face turned toward the battlefield teeming with monsters.

Grin—!

Its savage features twisted into a grotesque smile.

At last, the enormous demonic monster stepped through the summoning circle.

A giant with sleek, dark-blue skin.

The Lumene students recognized it instantly.

A top-tier monster of Tartaros.

“Gigantes?”

bl

After the abnormal event broke out.

Lumene had announced to the spectators that they would rescue the students as quickly as possible.

At that time, the audience—especially the parents—were distraught.

Some wept, demanding their children be saved immediately, while others shouted that they would go rescue them themselves.

The unrest spiraled out of control.

But then…

“Woooah!”

“They’re doing amazing!”

Now, an hour later, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Elena twirled her hair with a bored expression.

‘They were panicking just a moment ago. The crisis hasn’t changed—so what’s there to be happy about?’

The abnormality was ongoing, and the first-years were still isolated inside Neigrang.

Yet the moment the students successfully defended against the monster assault, the mood flipped instantly.

‘What’s so impressive about that? For Lumene students, that much is only natural.’

Elena propped her chin on her hand with disinterest.

‘Ugh, boring.’

Her eyes dulled with boredom.

“Sunbae! Huff, huff! You’re here!”

“What is it, Lyl,”

“Sunbae, the professors are looking for you.”

“Mm, tell them I’ll come if I’m needed.”

Elena was a dungeon raider—an extra reserve meant to be dispatched if necessary.

“Huh? You’re not going to the waiting room?”

“If I go there, I’ll probably end up fighting Hark-sunbae. You sure about that?”

“U-uh! No, Elena-sunbae, it’s best if you stay here!”

Seeing Elena’s mischievous smirk, Lyl hurriedly spoke.

“Anyway, the first-years are handling this well.”

“As Lumene students, that’s the bare minimum.”

“Well… true.”

The crowd might be marveling at the first-years, but for second- and third-years like them, it wasn’t remarkable.

“Still, at first I was worried, but it’s a relief.”

“Oh my? Do you really think this incident will just end here?”

“…What?”

“The enemy had the audacity to stir up chaos during an official Lumene event. And the first-years in Neigrang are still isolated. There’s no way it ends on this scale.”

Crossing her legs and propping her chin, Elena smiled faintly.

“In the worst case… every single one of those first-years might die.”

Her words made Lyl shiver.

At that moment, the magic projection captured a massive summoning circle forming.

Uwooooooohhhh—!

The giant beast emerged, and faces in the crowd went pale.

“G-Gigantes!”

Shock spread like wildfire.

Only Elena, who had foreseen this, spoke calmly.

“See? Now the real show begins.”

bl

Thud—! Boom—!

Uwooooooohhhh—!

As the towering giant—at least 8 meters tall—set foot on the ground, its roar sent monsters fleeing in terror.

Gigantes, one of the highest-ranked demonic monsters, was a monster that drove all living beings into sheer dread.

It began chasing down the fleeing monsters, shoving them into its maw indiscriminately.

A monster that devoured monsters, the very creatures that threatened humans—its horrific presence drenched the first-years in terror.

Several gagged at the grotesque sight.

Holding their breath, all prayed the despairing monster wouldn’t notice them.

Sniff—!

Suddenly, Gigantes stopped and sniffed the air.

Whip—!

Its massive head turned toward the inner castle, blood and drool dripping from its maw.

All the first-years thought the same thing at once.

‘It’s coming!’

Uwooooooohhhh—!

Hurling aside the monster in its hand, Gigantes charged.

Thud—thud—thud—thud—

The ground shook with every step, freezing the students in place.

Crack-crack-crack-crack—! Slam—!

A massive spear of ice burst upward.

Momentum drove the beast onto the spike, blood gushing from its body.

Uwoargh! Uwaaaaahhh!

Yet the terrible monster didn’t falter.

Instead, it hammered the ice skewering its body, trying to shatter it.

On the wall, Chloe staggered, gasping for breath.

It was the price of overexerting herself with a grand spell.

Grinding her teeth, she steadied herself and shouted.

“What are you all doing?! Get ready to fight!”

“What?”

“You’re all too scared by the name Gigantes! But look closely—it isn’t even full-grown!”

She was right.

A fully matured Gigantes grew close to 15 meters tall.

This one was clearly smaller.

“If we join forces, we can defeat it! We’re students of Lumene Academy! Did you forget our school’s motto?!”

At her cry, the students jolted back to themselves.

Go beyond your limits.

It was the value drilled into every Lumene student.

Yet many still shouted from the ground.

“H-how can we fight that?! Better to run until the rescue squad gets here!”

“She’s right! This isn’t the time to fight—it’s time to scatter and survive!”

Even Chloe’s teammates, so confident moments ago, had lost their will.

“You think you’ll survive if you run?”

Her cold words made them flinch.

They all knew—fleeing meant certain death.

But courage didn’t come easily.

Humans were fragile before despair.

Chloe knew this truth as well.

“I’m scared too.”

Though she stood tall, her voice trembled, and her staff shook in her grip.

“But someone once taught me—heroes are those who stand firm against crisis.”

Her back gave them strength.

‘If I falter here… I can never dream of becoming a hero again.’

“That’s why—even in despair, I will fight.”

Resolute, Chloe turned.

Craack!

“Groooaarrr!”

Gigantes shattered the ice spike piercing its body, the wound rapidly healing.

Once its body was whole, it grabbed a chunk of ice and hurled it at Chloe.

Boosted by its monstrous strength, the ice became a deadly projectile.

“Aaahhh!”

“Dodge!”

The students scattered in panic.

‘Too late to dodge!’

Summoning her mana, Chloe quickly cast a spell.

Boom—!

The ice chunk shattered against the barrier she raised.

As Chloe tried to chant again—

She saw crimson flames flicker on the far side.

Fwoosh—! Craaashhhh!

The flames turned into a massive sword strike, cleaving across Gigantes’s back.

Uwaaaaaaahhh!

The monster roared, collapsing onto the ground.

The smell of charred flesh spread as fire consumed its body.

Crash—! Thud! Thud!

Its thrashing devastated the ruins.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the top of the outer wall.

Unlike the searing heat of his flames, his gaze was cold as ice.

A white-haired boy with crimson eyes.

Flicker—!

Flames danced along the arm holding his sword.

In that instant, the lingering fear in Chloe’s chest melted away like ice.

Her trembling hands stilled.

Unknowingly smiling, Chloe called his name.

“Leo.”