Editor : Amethyst00



‘Hero Magic already?’

The students looked shocked.

Seeing their reactions, Len spoke.

“Is there anyone who can explain what Hero Magic is?”

Several hands shot up. Len pointed to the first—Chloe.

“Chloe.”

“Yes. Hero Magic refers to the unique spells once used by heroes. Normally, unique spells can’t be learned by others. There are exceptions through inheritance by bloodline or secret school traditions, but even then, they’re still extremely difficult to master.”

Just as Chloe said.

Unique magic was like a symbol that represented each magician.

That made every spell incredibly distinctive and personal.

“However, through the [Hero Skill] reward granted by Hero Records, unique magic can be inherited. When those unique spells are reinterpreted for broader use, that becomes Hero Magic.”

“Correct. Five points for Chloe.”

“Thank you.”

“Simply put, Hero Magic is the ‘mass-produced’ version of the unique magic used by heroes. But the fact that it’s been reinterpreted to be learnable by anyone doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

Len smiled slightly.

Even if it was a diluted version, it was still magic that had once belonged to heroes.

It might not be as powerful as the originals, but it was still strong—and the complexity of the spell formulas was extremely high.

And even if you perfectly understood the structure, it couldn’t be activated without the proper mana affinity.

“Furthermore, not just anyone can learn it.”

A grimoire containing Hero Magic was worth a fortune.

Most magicians would go their entire lives without even seeing one.

That alone showed how exceptional a hero-training academy was for teaching Hero Magic to all students.

Hearing this, the magic students grew excited.

Normally, Hero Magic was studied theoretically at the end of the first-year second semester and practiced starting from the second-year first semester.

They were getting to learn it an entire term early.

That showed just how much expectation Lumene’s Department of Magic had for its current first-years.

As everyone wore proud expressions, Leo commented curiously.

“So the second, third, and fourth years have always lost to Seiren in the Lumeiren Competition, huh.”

The Lumeiren Competition—

The annual interschool competition between Lumene and Seiren.

It wasn’t just a school rivalry—it was a battle of pride between races, drawing enormous public attention each year.

But Lumene had been falling behind recently.

And apparently, the Department of Magic had been one of the weakest links.

At Leo’s words, Chelsea frowned in frustration.

“Yeah. Fifth-years did great thanks to Senior Torua, but the second to fourth years are lagging far behind Seiren’s mages.”

“There’s still Senior Elena in the third year, though, right?”

‘She was one of the top three magic students I’ve ever seen in Lumene.’

Even with a monster like her, their year was losing? That was surprising.

Carl folded his hands behind his head.

“In the third year, only Elena-sunbae stands out. The rest of the lineup supporting her is weak.”

“What about the second years?”

“They’re solid on average, but no one exceptional. It’s disappointing.”

Chelsea smirked confidently.

“But this year’s gonna be different! Once the first-years fight, Seiren’s magicians won’t stand a chance!”

“Yeah! We’ll show Lumene’s strength!”

When Carl shouted enthusiastically, Chelsea gave him a pitying look.

“Carl, are you sure you’ll even survive in Lumene until then?”

“That’s harsh!”

Carl slumped his shoulders.

Eliana, listening nearby, joined in.

“But Seiren’s first-year lineup is no joke either.”

“Mm, true,” Chelsea said, crossing her arms in thought.

A nearby student from another class called out, “Hey, Class Five—you guys had joint lessons with Seiren’s top first-year class during your field trip, right? How were they?”

Carl clicked his tongue.

“They were tough. Especially Lunia El Lunda. That girl’s a monster.”

“A monster?”

“She had insane mana capacity and her spell power was off the charts. Her understanding of magic was on another level, too.”

“The Lunda family’s famous for summoning magic, right?”

“Yeah, but I heard her regular spellwork isn’t bad either.”

Eliana shook her head.

“Her spellwork’s incredible. She’s at least on par with Abad or Chloe.”

That made the other magic students’ faces turn serious.

“Then Chloe’s at a disadvantage, affinity-wise, right?”

Fire and ice—Chloe would definitely be at a disadvantage.

“Then should we let Abad handle Lunia El Lunda instead?”

The conversation drifted deeper into talk about the Lumeiren Competition.

“Let’s save that topic for later. For now, focus on class.”

“Yes, sir!”

The students answered in unison.

“For reference,” Len added, “the reason you’re learning Hero Magic this early is thanks to one of your seniors.”

“Our senior?”

“Yes. Torua. She spoke very highly of all of you.”

‘The current first-years might surpass our generation. They’re exceptionally talented. I’m sure they can handle learning Hero Magic early.’

Torua’s words carried weight among the professors. Despite her eccentric streak, she was known as a genius of magical theory.

The first-years looked moved.

“Torua-sunbae…”

“So she wasn’t just a harsh upperclassman after all!”

“Respect! Respect!”

“Torua! Torua!”

The same students who’d once suffered under Torua’s intense training were now cheering her name.

Torua might’ve been blunt and rough on the outside, but she’d always taken good care of her juniors.

“And so,” Len continued, “starting today, you’ll begin learning Hero Magic.”

“Yeah!”

“We’ll do our best!”

The students cheered, full of motivation, and Len nodded approvingly.

“Before we begin, I’ll assess your magical duel abilities.”

That was why the first class of the semester was held in the practice arena.

Unlike regular spells, Hero Magic couldn’t be learned in bulk.

And not because it was simply difficult—

‘The average magician can master about three Hero Magics.’

That was the Lumene average.

Ordinary magicians often struggled to learn even one.

The ability to wield Hero Magic depended heavily on innate talent.

Magics inherited through bloodline or school shared similar nature, so learning multiple of those was possible.

But learning several completely different types would cause magical rejection in the body.

Among all the magicians Len knew, the one who could wield the most Hero Magics was Elena Zeron.

‘She can use twelve Hero Magics in total.’

That level of talent was nearly impossible without overwhelming genius.

That’s why one couldn’t just learn what seemed compatible.

‘First, you must clearly understand your own strengths and weaknesses.’

By learning a single Hero Magic, one could even compensate for a critical weakness.

That’s how important Hero Magic was.

The mention of a magical duel got the students buzzing.

“Guess it’s time to show what we’ve learned over break.”

“Heh. I’ll show them how much I’ve improved!”

They all brimmed with confidence.

Len asked, “So, who wants to go first?”

“Me!”

“I’ll do it, Professor!”

Hands shot up everywhere.

Len pointed to the most eager hand—belonging to Eliana.

“Eliana, step forward.”

“Yes!”

As she walked up, playful boos rose around the room.

“Boo! Traitor who practiced with the Knight Department during the inter-department matches!”

“Bat-girl!”

It was teasing, lighthearted jeering.

Eliana was friendly and well-liked across the department.

“Hmph! I can’t hear you~! And unlike you guys, I’ve got my classmates!”

“Who are you again?”

“Don’t talk to us.”

Of course, Class Five gave her a cold response.

“Class rep! They’re teasing me again!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Leo comforted the pouting Eliana and said, “Professor Len’s waiting. Go on.”

“Mm.”

Encouraged, Eliana climbed onto the dueling platform.

“So! Who’s my opponent?”

“Me.”

“…Huh?”

A voice came from the practice hall entrance, and Eliana turned in surprise.

The students gasped.

Standing there was none other than Professor Albi.

“I called in the best guest instructor,” Len said with a sly smile.

Albi stood at the center of the arena, looking calmly at the stiff Eliana.

“No need to be so tense. You think I’m going to go all-out against first-years?”

“Heh, ha-ha! Right, of course not!” Eliana laughed awkwardly, scratching her head.

Albi’s voice was quiet but firm.

“Give me your best shot.”

“Yes, sir!”

Eliana straightened her stance sharply.

The other first-years looked tense.

Among all Lumene’s professors, Albi was known as the strongest duelist.

No one wanted to blink and miss even a second.

Even Eliana, usually brash, looked unusually cautious…

“Attack first, win first! Shining Blade!”

Fwish—fwish—fwish—!

Blades of light appeared midair.

The magic students’ faces turned into that familiar “of course” look.

No way Eliana would ever fight cautiously.

Beams of light rained toward Albi.

He murmured a short incantation.

Flash—!

A bright radiance burst from around him, shattering all of Eliana’s spells at once.

The fragments of light scattered like shards of glass.

“Hyaaah!”

But Eliana didn’t stop. She unleashed another barrage.

Chelsea sighed.

“She’s the same as last semester.”

Though she’d improved as a magic swordswoman, as a pure mage, Eliana was still too aggressive—her dueling finesse lacking because of it.

The same was true when she fought as a knight.

Everyone could already see how this would end.

That reckless attacking style always led to one thing—she’d exhaust herself first and lose.

That’s why most students took a defensive approach when dueling her.

But Leo’s eyes gleamed as he watched.

“She’s not just doing the same thing.”

“Huh?”

“Look around.”

The shattered spell fragments were scattered everywhere.

Normally, they would’ve dissipated into mana—but even broken, the spell formulas remained intact.

Albi gave a low, impressed hum.

“Don’t be shocked! Behold, Eliana Raden’s secret move!”

Grinning, Eliana released a surge of mana.

“Shining Rain!”

Fwish-fwish-fwish-fwish—!

The fragments of light scattered throughout the field simultaneously rained down on Albi.

Len let out a small exclamation.

‘Back in the first semester, her excessive aggression was a flaw—but she’s overcome it with even stronger offense!’

He was genuinely impressed.

Eliana, who used to lose by overcommitting, now turned that aggression into overwhelming pressure.

Now, anyone around her level couldn’t simply turtle up and defend.

Even a superior opponent could get swept up in her tempo.

‘Excellent. Still, too aggressive. Half-point deduction.’

Len finished his evaluation—

“Impressive,” Albi said flatly, his magic eye glowing.

Flash—!

Blinding light enveloped him, blocking Eliana’s assault.

“Urgh!”

Her ace attack was stopped cold.

As the light faded, a girl stood before her.

Eliana blinked in confusion.

“Uh… me?”

The students murmured in disbelief.

Only Leo immediately understood.

‘So he can use that spell in a human body…’

He recognized the magic Albi had used.

‘Mirror Force.’

It was the magic of none other than the Fairy King.