Editor : Amethyst00



The ball wrapped in Duran's lightning aura flew toward the goal.

“Wind Shield!”

At that moment, Chelsea urgently cast a defensive spell.

From Class 5’s goalpost, a powerful wind gusted forth.

The ball, which had been flying at tremendous speed, suddenly slowed down.

But its momentum hadn’t vanished.

It had merely been held back for a fleeting instant.

With lightning aura wrapped around it, the ball couldn’t be recklessly caught.

Even if someone tried, it would surely pierce through Chelsea’s barrier and fly into the goal before anyone else could touch it.

“It's pointless!”

As Duran sneered, Leo shouted:

“Carl! Get ready like I told you!”

“Damn it! If only it weren’t for bathroom cleaning duty!”

Carl released his mana.

He was an earth-attribute mage.

Earth attribute specialized in defense and weight.

Faint brown mana burst out of his body.

Leo grabbed Carl’s hand in which had been lightened by gravity spell, then hurled him toward the goalpost.

It was a plan for a human shield.

Whoosh! Thud—!

Carl’s body shot toward the goal.

Swoosh—! Crackleee—!

At the same time, the ball pierced through Chelsea’s shield.

But with his body lightened by gravity magic and boosted by Leo’s throw, Carl reached the goal faster than the ball.

“It's useless! You’ll just end up in the goal along with it!”

Duran sneered.

But just before impact, Carl used magic to massively increase his body’s weight to the maximum.

On top of that, Chelsea hastily cast a shield on him.

Thud—!

“Guuhk!”

Splat—!

Only Carl, struck by the ball, flew into the goal. The ball itself bounced back.

If caught before it hit the ground, possession would remain. If not, possession would switch.

Tap—! Roll, roll, roll…

The ball rolled on the ground.

Bweeeep—!

“Possession goes to Class 5!”

“Kyaaah! So cool, Carl!”

“We’ll never forget your sacrifice for the class!”

Thanks to the teamwork of Leo, Chelsea, and Carl, Class 5 barely managed to defend.

Carl gave a sorrowful smile as his classmates celebrated only his sacrifice without worrying for him.

“Sorry, Carl.”

“You okay?”

“Leo, Chelsea… you’re the only ones who care.”

Seeing them approach with guilty smiles, Carl was touched.

“That was awesome. What’s this strategy called?”

Nella, approaching to heal him, asked languidly. Chelsea grinned brightly and replied:

“Operation Friend Shield! Leo-oppa predicted this situation and came up with the plan!”

“To use a friend as a tool for victory… a fine decision indeed.”

Carl wanted to cry.

Meanwhile, Eliana spun the ball in her hands.

“Alright! Alright! Let’s push for another goal—!”

Swoosh—!

From Class 1’s side, something like a whip lashed out and snatched the ball from Eliana’s hands.

“Ooooohhh! Haowl!”

“So sexy!”

“As expected of the successor to the Snake Spear!”

In an instant, Class 1 snatched back possession, and their morale soared.

Eliana stared blankly at her empty hand, then at the ball taken away. She pressed her palms together toward Carl and bowed her head.

“Sorry, I lost it.”

“Give me back my sacrificeeeeee!”

bl

“Oh-ho! What brings you to the training ground at this hour, Ain-sunbae?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I came to observe the combat class.”

Ain and Len met at the entrance to the training ground.

“Fufu! I see. Well, Celia, Duran, and Chen Xia are in class there right now! As the professor of the Knight Department, you’d want to see how your aces fare in battle!”

“I came to observe all the Knight Department students, Len. Not to ogle certain ones like you.”

“I’m observing all the Magic Department students too.”

Professor Len shrugged.

The two weren’t simply senior-junior as professors.

Both were graduates of Lumene, and had known each other since school days.

Not through good ties, but through the “bad blood” of different departments.

And with Professor Yura of Summoning added to the mix, their trio was notoriously known among both faculty and students as a “perfect bomb combination.”

“Still, I was surprised when I heard you two were assigned to first-years.”

“It’s the first time either of us has taken lower years.”

“Come to think of it, Ain-sunbae, you were Professor Sedgen’s very first student, weren’t you? How was it back then?”

“The same as now. He doted on his students obsessively. Professor Harrid, though… he’s changed a lot since those days.”

“By the time I was in fifth year, he was already known as the ‘Wall of Lamentation.’”

Recalling their school days, the two professors entered the training grounds.

And were surprised.

“Bastera? On the very first class?”

“Bold move.”

When they realized it was Class 1 and Class 5 playing, both professors’ eyes lit up.

‘Score’s 1 to 0, with Class 5 in the lead.’

An unexpected outcome.

Class 1’s aces were all out on the field.

It wasn’t intentional, but Class 1 had gathered the highest entrance exam scorers, making it an elite class.

The first-place versus last-place classes.

Sure, entrance scores would mean nothing in a few months, but right now the gap was undeniable.

‘Leo and Chelsea. Eliana and Tade. And Nella… they’re Class 5’s aces, but the others aren’t.’

Ain’s expression grew intrigued.

“Impressive.”

Professor Len admired as he watched.

“Leo is undoubtedly a natural leader.”

“I sensed that at the entrance ceremony already.”

Class 1 used their superior individual skills to overwhelm.

In contrast, Class 5 played through teamwork.

At the center of it all was Leo.

Every moment, he predicted the enemy’s moves and sometimes used quick wits to counter Class 1’s attacks.

Len’s expression turned regretful.

‘He’s only using aura!’

It would be better if he used magic too, but Leo relied solely on aura.

It couldn’t be helped.

Though his ability to interpret spell formulas was exceptional, his mana reserves were low.

Thus, his main combat power had to be aura.

Len glanced anxiously at Ain.

Ain too was watching Leo closely—but with a satisfied look, unlike Len’s worried one.

Frustrated, Len shouted inwardly:

‘Leo! Use magic too!’

His heart aching, Len fixed his eyes on Leo.

Meanwhile, the match entered its second half.

Bastera, requiring full use of abilities, consumed enormous stamina.

Normally, matches lasted an hour, but for first-years, twenty minutes was the limit.

Just then, Celia’s ferocious attack shook Class 5’s goal net.

“Celia! You’re amazing! I think I’m in love!”

“Big sis! Please take me as your little sister!”

Class 1’s students cheered wildly.

Celia had broken through three Class 5 defenders guarding the goal with their bodies and scored.

“A-a monster…?”

Carl, struck directly by the ball, muttered with a stricken face before collapsing unconscious.

“Huff—! Huff—!”

But even Celia, who had given her all, was utterly exhausted.

“I knocked down three, and there’s little time left! Block this attack and counter—we can win! We must turn it around!”

She shouted desperately.

Class 5’s morale, having lost their slim advantage, plummeted.

Class 1’s spirits, meanwhile, soared to their peak.

From the back, Chloe’s eyes locked onto Class 5.

The brightest star of this match was Chloe without question.

Though she had allowed a surprise score early on, afterward she had completely shut down Leo and Chelsea, the core of Class 5’s offense.

No matter the tricks, none could get past her.

Now, watching Leo ready an attack, Chloe vowed:

‘I will not lose.’

Since the first magic class.

Even when she tried not to, Chloe found herself conscious of Leo.

She had never once thought herself inferior in magic to anyone.

Not even to Abad, hailed as the strongest mage among their peers.

In spell formula interpretation, she believed herself superior.

And in truth, she was.

A prodigy hailed as one of the greatest in history by the Northern Mage Tower.

That was Chloe MĂźeller.

Yet in their very first class, she had fallen behind in magical interpretation.

‘I cannot lose to Leo Plov.’

Chloe clenched her fists tightly.

With Celia down, Class 1’s defense was riddled with holes.

“Attack! If we don’t score now, we’ll lose for sure!”

Eliana shouted.

Chelsea blocked Duran, who tried to mark Leo.

Other teammates scrambled to set up a one-on-one between Leo and Chloe.

Leo darted through Class 1’s formation, racing for the goal.

With Celia out and Duran tied up by Chelsea, no one remained to stop him—except Chloe.

She blocked his path.

“You’re not getting through.”

“Sorry, but if it’s one-on-one, I think I can.”

At his words, Chloe smirked.

Crackle—!

Leo’s eyes twitched.

In midair, ice condensed, forming four identical ice dolls of Chloe that moved like living puppets to block his way.

“No way! Ice clones? She’s using such a high-level spell? Even my brother can’t do that much!”

Chelsea gasped.

“These aren’t mere clones!”

Magic circles spread around each ice double.

Each one functioned like a magician on its own.

“At that age, to use a formula like this? A genius indeed.”

Leo admired.

Chloe’s eyes twitched.

“Are you mocking me?”

‘Says the one who got first place in magic theory exams!’

Her gaze sharpened as she glared at him.

“Either way, you can’t get through me! Give it up!”

“True, with only my aura I can’t break this.”

Leo smiled faintly.

“With aura alone, anyway.”

Fwoooosh—!

‘Mana?’

Chloe froze.

She hadn’t expected him to use magic now.

Leo’s figure split into multiple bodies.

‘Illusion magic? Cheap trick!’

Though caught off guard, Chloe could counter illusions easily.

Directly attacking with magic was foul play, but striking at illusions was fair.

‘Which one’s the real one?’

For Chloe, finding the truth amid simple illusions should have been easy.

She focused mana into her eyes to discern.

And her face stiffened.

‘I can’t tell which is fake!’

Without knowing the real one, she couldn’t risk an attack.

But more shocking was something else.

‘This magic… it’s…!’

While Chloe reeled in shock, Leo slipped past her and tossed the ball lightly into the goal.

Too stunned, Chloe even forgot to react, collapsing to the ground.

A perfect illusion spell—indistinguishable from reality.

It was a spell Chloe knew.

But one she could not use.

Because the magic Leo had just used was not human magic.

Blankly, Chloe looked back.

As the illusions faded, leaves scattered.

A magic system fundamentally different.

“Elven… Star Sorcery?”

[Mirage].

What Leo had used was a spell created by Luna, the Poet of the Star.