Editor : Amethyst00



“Lucky me, going first.”

Leo smirked faintly as he stepped forward.

The content of the Knight Department’s practical exam was simple.

To win five duels.

The moment one secured five victories, the exam was passed.

Of course, depending on the opponent and the way the duel unfolded, detailed scores would be marked, so victory and defeat were not the absolute condition for grades.

But regardless, what mattered was to win and clear the test quickly.

Naturally, Leo’s goal was an undefeated sweep.

“Lucky to go first? So you don’t even see me as a threat!”

Haowl, Leo’s first opponent, laughed as he spoke.

Haowl Neif.

He was from a heroic noble family of the Kingdom of Tool in the southern continent.

Compared to the Zerdinger family, their fame was lesser, but it still carried the title of a heroic lineage.

In particular, he wielded the ever-changing spear technique called Snake Spear.

Among the Class 1 Knight Department students, he was ranked third, after Celia and Duran.

Haowl licked his lips and pulled a spear from his subspace bracelet.

It was a long spear, one and a half times the length of a normal spear.

Seeing that, Leo also drew his sword from his waist.

“As explained earlier, victory is decided when one side renders the other unable to fight. Treat this as a real battle.”

Professor Ain ended the brief explanation and stepped back.

There would be no “out of bounds” calls.

The entire training ground was the battlefield.

Facing one another, Haowl licked his lip.

“I’ve been waiting for this. Ever since your class beat us in Combat Studies at the start of the term, I’ve been wanted payback.”

“You’re still hung up on that?”

Leo asked with a faint smile, and Haowl gave a cold grin.

“A Neif never forgets humiliation.”

“Cleaning the bathrooms was that hard to swallow?”

“Grr! Do you know how much the other classes mocked me for that?”

Haowl clenched his fist tight.

“I’ll repay that disgrace today, Leo Plov!”

Swish—!

Gripping his spear again, Haowl lowered his stance.

It was a posture reminiscent of a snake about to strike.

Seeing it, Leo let his sword hang loose.

“Leo. I heard how amazing you were during the entrance exam.”

Haowl’s lips curled upward.

“But you’ve been lagging behind since the very start compared to other students! They say you couldn’t even awaken your aura during the exam! Can you possibly stop this strike?”

Crack—! Whoosh—!

The tip of Haowl’s spear darted straight for Leo’s chest.

Tremendous speed!

Normally, a spear thrust was linear.

Which meant, no matter how fast, with prediction it was easy to dodge.

'But the Snake Spear begins after that!'

The Neif family’s spear thrust twisted like a living serpent, its tip shifting mid-flight.

That was why dodging carelessly could spell disaster.

'The moment you dodge, you’ll be cornered!'

Most students, once they allowed the first exchange, would fall to Haowl without being able to do anything.

But Leo was not “most students.”

Thud—!

“……!”

Haowl’s eyes widened.

Leo had grabbed the shaft of the spear just before it reached him.

“You heard about me from the others, right? Didn’t Celia from your own class tell you anything?”

Leo grinned coldly.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Leo lifted Haowl—spear and all—straight into the air.

Haowl, who had braced with aura, glared wide-eyed as Leo hoisted him up with sheer strength.

“They said I was crazy strong, didn’t they?”

Crash—!

With a slam, Leo hurled Haowl onto the ground.

Of course, Haowl used aura armor just before impact to minimize the damage.

Regaining his stance, he chuckled dryly.

“Of course I heard. I was just a little surprised your strength was greater than expected.”

Bzzzt—!

The spear shaft glowed green.

“But raw strength doesn’t erase your fundamental weakness!”

Haowl’s green eyes flashed.

Leo quickly released the spear.

Ssshh—!

Smoke rose from the ground where Haowl’s aura touched.

'Poison aura? That’s a rare trait.'

Leo looked amused.

It was an aura attribute overwhelmingly advantageous in prolonged battles.

No wonder Haowl was so confident.

'But you’re still far from enough.'

“You keep talking about my weakness.”

Leo smirked.

“But aren’t weaknesses meant to be overcome?”

Fwoom—!

Flames burst from Leo’s body, pushing back Haowl’s poison aura.

Seeing it, Haowl grinned crookedly.

'True, flame aura is poison’s weakness! But unless it’s Celia’s level, I can overturn the matchup any time!'

Fwoosh—!

Even more venom spewed from Haowl’s body.

Leo’s flames rose in turn.

'It’s useless! Unless you’re Celia’s level!'

Whoosh—! Crackle!

As the poison thickened, the flames only grew fiercer in response.

As time passed, Haowl’s face stiffened.

'Celia… unless he’s… at that level…?'

His face went pale as his gaze met Leo’s burning red eyes.

'Impossible! His fire power’s at Celia’s level?!'

Leo’s reputation had come from the beginning of the term.

And in duels that tested comprehensive combat ability, he hadn’t shown his true power yet.

So for this exam, with the overall first-year strength rising, most predicted Haowl’s victory.

But as if to mock those expectations, Leo pressed with overwhelming flame aura.

Watching from the sidelines with arms crossed, Celia’s expression hardened.

'When did he…?'

She was one of the few who had bet on Leo’s victory.

But even she hadn’t expected him to raise his flame aura’s output to this level.

Duran, watching beside her, smirked.

“Haowl won’t be enough.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. He hasn’t lost yet.”

A classmate protested, but Duran sneered.

“Can’t you see? He’s already disadvantaged in affinity, and now he’s being crushed in strength too. Do you really think Haowl has a chance?”

“He still has the Snake Spear. Affinity isn’t everything.”

“Hmph! You think Haowl’s technique can overwhelm Leo Plov?”

“He’s our class’s number four, after all.”

“Being fourth in our class means nothing.”

Crackle—! Sparks burst from Duran’s body.

“The one to defeat him will be me.”

“You? Unlikely.”

Celia smirked coldly.

“Taking his side just because you’re close? Celia Zerdinger.”

“I’m not taking sides. The one who’ll beat Leo is me. You can’t even beat me.”

“Ridiculous. I’ll prove who’s superior right now.”

“Fine. I’ll crush you.”

Crackle! Whoosh!

Duran, who sought to topple anyone above him, and Celia, who carried unshakable pride in being the best—their relationship was notoriously terrible.

“Hey, hey! Don’t fight each other! We’re supposed to be cheering for Haowl, remember? Quit flaring your aura already!”

A classmate panicked, but the tension showed no sign of cooling.

“If you two fight here, it won’t end with just writing a reflection letter.”

At that moment, Chen Xia smiled, stepping in to stop them.

At his words, Duran snorted and walked away, while Celia elegantly brushed back her hair.

“Your class is sure spirited.”

“This isn’t about spirit. I just want to smash that insufferable face of his.”

“Isn’t that the definition of spirit?”

Since Professor Sedgen forbade duels between classmates, Celia and Duran never had the chance to settle things.

“And you, Xia. You say that, but don’t you want to fight Leo too?”

“Of course I want to duel him. But he’s not my only goal.”

“Then?”

“I want to fight you as well, Celia. And Duran too. My goal is to defeat all three.”

“Then you’re the one with the most spirited of all.”

Celia sighed as Chen Xia’s black eyes gleamed brightly.

Students watching nervously relaxed only when the confrontation passed without incident.

“Leo sure is popular.”

Nella muttered in her usual languid tone, and Eliana beside her shook her head.

“If that kind of popularity, I’ll pass.”

“Haaap!”

As Leo’s blazing aura swept forth, Haowl frantically stepped back using aura step.

He had to create distance somehow.

But Leo didn’t allow it.

'I must stop him!'

He swung his poison-laced spear at the approaching Leo.

Fwoosh—!

But Leo’s flames burned away all the venom.

Not only was he losing in affinity, he was also being overwhelmed in raw strength.

A clear disadvantage.

“Damn!”

The shock of such a miscalculation pressed on Haowl.

But he quickly calmed himself, lowering his stance.

'Unexpected, but I can’t just fold here!'

His eyes sharpened like a snake eyeing prey.

'I already prepared a countermeasure!'

Since childhood, Haowl had been called a genius.

Yet he hadn’t taken first place in the entrance exam.

He felt regret, perhaps, but not humiliation.

'Because that monster Walden was there!'

No one from the south didn’t know Walden.

That terrifying strength was enough to call him not a genius, but a monster.

But among the Knight Department, Haowl believed he was the best.

And indeed, he was one of the strongest first-year knights.

But he could not claim to be the strongest.

'Celia Zerdinger! Chen Xia! Duran Moria!'

From the moment he first saw them, he knew those three were above him.

For Haowl, who had always been the best in martial arts, it was a crushing shock.

Especially Celia.

Against her, he felt not only outmatched in skill but also overwhelmed in affinity.

'Against Xia or Duran, I could at least plan a strategy! But against Celia, I only felt helpless!'

At the start of the term, she was an insurmountable wall.

But after months of relentless effort, Haowl had devised a countermeasure against her.

'I had intended to save it for a duel with Celia. But this works out even better!'

Haowl’s eyes gleamed.

'A perfect chance to test my new technique! And Leo Plov! I refuse to lose to you!'

Whoosh—!

He spun his spear in a dazzling whirl.

'Especially you, who hangs around Celia—I’ll never lose to you!'

He erased the thought that Leo was weaker.

Now he regarded him as equal to the ones he aimed for.

'I thought he was just some gloomy guy, but he’s got decent eyes.'

Leo was focusing all his power carefully and deliberately to bring Haowl down.

'Looks like he’s worked hard to overcome his bad matchup, huh?'

Haowl’s gaze, though fixed on Leo, also looked past him toward something else.

'Celia, huh.'

Leo saw through it easily and smirked.

The boy before him was burning with the spirit of challenge.

'That challenge… I’ll accept it.'