Editor : Amethyst00



Goooooo—!

Flames gathered at the tip of the sword.

Leo’s fire blazed even more fiercely.

Wreathed in fire, Leo charged forward.

'Now!'

Before Leo could get into striking distance, Haowl thrust his spear.

Swaaash—!

A massive surge of green aura burst out from the spear tip.

The aura stretched out like a living anaconda, aiming for Leo’s neck.

Leo tried to sweep away Haowl’s attack with his flame aura.

Fwoosh—!

In that instant, Haowl’s aura shifted its path like a living serpent.

'I expected at least this much.'

Unfazed, Leo pressed forward at the defenseless Haowl.

Haowl’s technique was extremely tricky to deal with from a distance, but once the gap was closed, its biggest flaw was exposed, he was defenseless.

“You’ve fallen right into it!”

Haowl shouted in triumph.

Ssshhk—!

“……!”

Haowl’s aura kept extending further.

“Snake Prison!”

Snap—!

Like a snake coiling around its prey, the aura instantly wrapped around Leo and constricted him tight.

The incredibly delicate aura control drew gasps and exclamations from all around.

Ain, watching the scene, curved his lips into a faint smile.

'Flame aura has the advantage of overwhelming offensive power, but it’s weak on defense. It’s like a double-edged sword.'

Poison aura shared the same trait.

That’s why, against flame aura, poison aura could devour it.

'He’s clearly mastered a technique that makes up for that weakness, after obsessively honing his aura control.'

Ain looked toward Leo, who remained silent.

'But there’s no way Leo Plov charged in without a plan.'

'How’s that, Leo! With this, I’ll bring you down! And then…'

Haowl clenched his fist tightly, glancing toward Celia, who wore a surprised expression.

'Celia! I’ll make sure you recognize me as your equal…'

“That’s an impressive technique. But your finish is sloppy.”

“What!”

Fwoooosh! Boom—!

The aura binding Leo suddenly swelled and exploded, scattering in all directions.

Gooooooo—! Crackle!

The flame aura surrounding Leo flared up fiercely.

With his sword poised mid-swing, Leo stared straight at the frozen Haowl.

“You should never let your guard down until the flame burns out.”

“Kh…!”

Haowl readjusted his grip on the spear.

Crunch—! Boom—!

Flames exploded beneath Leo’s toes.

Aura Step.

Fwoosh—! Crackle!

Like a flaming bullet, Leo shot forward. The tip of his sword was suddenly pressed right at Haowl’s throat.

“…Victor, Leo Plov.”

Ain declared flatly.

Wooooaaaaah!

Cheers erupted all around.

“Wow! Wow! Leo-oppa won!”

“…He really had that kind of strength even in actual combat?”

Chelsea bounced in her seat with joy, while Tade muttered in disbelief.

Even Carl, who had been handing out popcorn, whistled loudly in celebration.

“Who was it that said that freshman would be weak in real combat?”

“Haowl was amazing too, but the matchup was just too bad for him.”

“Yeah, no wonder this first-year batch is drawing so much attention.”

Upperclassmen voiced admiration as they assessed the duel.

When Leo lowered his sword, Haowl dropped his head and sank to one knee.

“A complete defeat. The gap in skill was overwhelming. To let my guard down against someone like you… what an embarrassment.”

“Not really. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to have that level of technique either.”

Even Leo was impressed by the sheer mastery of aura control, something only achievable through immense effort.

“If your aura had been just a little stronger, I might’ve suffocated and fainted. I underestimated you too—so we’re even.”

Leo smiled, offering his hand.

“It was a brilliant technique.”

Haowl stared blankly at Leo’s hand for a moment, then took it and stood up.

Helping Haowl to his feet, Leo patted his shoulder and walked off the arena.

'Leo Plov… There’s a reason he stands beside Celia.'

Haowl muttered under his breath as he trudged away.

Standing in his path were the knight students of Class 1.

“Haowl! That was so close!”

“Damn it! That was the perfect chance to avenge the bathroom cleaning punishment!”

“What the hell is that monster anyway? He doesn’t even have any weakness in real combat!”

Class 1 students comforted him.

“Elegance! Haowl, my boy! That was a splendid match! If not for the bad matchup, you could’ve crushed that Leo Plov! Don’t lose heart!”

“Professor Sedgen. Even if he’s your student, refrain from such biased remarks.”

Professor Ain pinched his temples at Sedgen’s booming voice. Receiving such unexpected encouragement, Haowl scratched his head awkwardly.

Then he noticed Celia approaching and stiffened nervously.

Celia gave him a bright smile.

“Not bad at all. You were amazing.”

“W-what? Uh! Y-yeah! Y-yeah!”

Haowl blushed furiously and stammered his reply.

'He really is innocent despite his appearance.'

'Celia, on the other hand, is surprisingly dense about these things.'

'But at this point, she should at least notice, right?'

The Class 1 students wore faint, knowing smiles.

“Leo, good job. When did you train your aura that much?”

Celia asked as she walked over to Leo.

Haowl clenched his fists.

'Leo Plov! From now on, you’ll be my new goal!'

The relentless boy resolved to catch up to Leo.

Watching Haowl steel his will, the Class 1 students clicked their tongues and munched on popcorn.

Having decorated his first duel match with a flawless victory, Leo sat aside to watch the remaining duels.

“Eliana Raden of Class 5, step forward.”

“Hee-yah! Who’s my opponent?”

“Chen Xia of Class 10, step forward.”

“Eh?!”

Eliana, who had come forward brimming with energy, froze in shock at the sight of her opponent.

“Please take care of me.”

“Yeah, likewise.”

Chen Xia and Eliana exchanged greetings.

'I’ve grown so much too! Even the top entrant won’t be impossible for me now!'

Aura shimmered around Eliana’s body as she gripped her rapier tightly.

Shrrrk—!

Chen Xia, a martial artist, carried no weapon.

Instead, blue aura gathered at her fingertips, forming beads of water.

Her aura attribute was water.

The droplets linked together like threads of yarn, weaving into a silky wave.

As Chen Xia’s hands moved like a dance, the flowing water gathered gracefully at her fingertips.

“Huuup!”

Eliana took a deep breath and pointed her rapier at Chen Xia.

“Haaaap!”

Her aura burst forth, propelling her body forward.

At her furious, lightning-fast charge, Leo sighed.

“That idiot.”

Boom—!

“Guwaagh!”

Crash! Roll roll roll!

Eliana’s fierce thrust was not only blocked effortlessly by Chen Xia, but reflected right back at her.

She rolled across the floor miserably, eyes spinning.

“Chen Xia, victory.”

It was a match where overwhelming skill was undeniable.

But since Eliana, as a magic swordsman, was at a disadvantage in this trial, few had expected much to begin with.

With hands clasped, Chen Xia gave a polite bow and left the arena.

Eliana, struggling, raised a clenched fist toward the sky and shouted:

“S-still! Against Chen Xia, I had good momentum! I didn’t falter!”

“Would you shut up, you’re embarrassing us?”

“Yeah, just pretend you fainted. Please.”

Her classmates from Class 5 shot her cold remarks, making Eliana tear up.

“Class rep! They’re calling me embarrassing!”

Looking at her sulking, Leo spoke.

“Your impatience is the problem. You know Chen Xia’s skill well enough, don’t you?”

“Of course I do! That’s why I charged in with momentum! No way I could break through with swordsmanship alone, so I had to show some spirit at least!”

“Like that’s something to brag about.”

Leo clicked his tongue at Eliana’s defiant stance.

Still, Eliana was strong enough to be counted among the upper ranks of the entire year.

'Her opponent was just too bad a matchup. If she could’ve used magic, maybe—but this is a knightly trial. Even so, if she’d been more careful, she wouldn’t have lost so pathetically.'

Shaking his head, Leo’s eyes met Chen Xia’s across the arena.

She waved with a smile, and Leo waved back.

'Just as I thought before, Chen Xia has the best balance among the first-year knight students'.

Celia and Duran’s aura attributes were geared for offense.

By contrast, Chen Xia’s water aura was evenly balanced between offense and defense.

Thinking on Chen Xia’s ability, Leo continued observing the other matches.

Even students who had ranked low at admission had shown noticeable improvement.

Some even managed to defeat peers who had once outclassed them.

While results varied, the top entrance scorers still proved their clear superiority.

Celia subdued her opponent in an instant, then swept back her hair gracefully and walked over to Leo.

“How was it?”

“You’ve grown.”

“Of course.”

Celia narrowed her eyes.

“Leo, this time I’ll be the one to take the position of year representative.”

At her bold declaration, Leo smiled faintly.

“Go ahead—if you can take it.”

Celia gave a bright smile before returning to Class 1.

Watching beside him, Eliana muttered:

“Popular, aren’t you?”

“Jealous?”

“No. Like I told Nella, I’ll pass on that kind of popularity.”

bl

Midterm exam period.

When the last written exam, Linguistics, ended, Class 5 students swarmed toward Chelsea.

“Hey! Chelsea! Show us your answer sheet!”

“I’ll look first!”

“Carl! Your grades are rock-bottom anyway! You can wait your turn!”

“That’s not fair!”

Competition to peek at Chelsea’s answers, the top scorer in written tests for Class 5, was fiercer than expected.

Looking at the crowd pressing around her, Chelsea waved her test paper teasingly.

“Who should I show it to first?”

“Chelsea-noona! Me first, please!”

“Unnie! Me first!”

“You’re extra beautiful today, noona!”

Despite being the youngest in the class, Chelsea was being clung to by everyone.

“Hohoho.”

Covering her mouth, Chelsea laughed smugly at their antics.

“The exam’s already over—looking now won’t change your score.”

From the back seat by the window, Leo leaned on his hand and remarked.

“Fufu. Still, it’s only natural to want to know your results sooner,” Nella said with a lazy smile.

Leo shook his head and tucked his writing tools into his bag.

“I only have the joint practical exam for Hero Studies and Combat Studies left. But Leo, you still have Magic Studies and Summoning Studies too, right?”

Leo had cleared the knightly duel exam with five straight victories.

Of those five, Haowl on the first day had been the toughest.

Alongside Leo, Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran had also gone undefeated.

Nella, however, had one loss.

“If it hadn’t been for that unlucky matchup with that annoying Duran, Nella-unni could’ve gone undefeated too!”

Chelsea, returning from scattering test papers to classmates, hugged Nella as she said it.

Nella, once considered a strong candidate for a perfect record, had suffered her single loss in her third duel against Duran.

“I’m satisfied since I put up a good fight against Duran.”

Nella smiled as she patted Chelsea’s head.

“By the way, Leo-oppa, how’s your practice for the Summoning exam going?”

“I’m doing fine.”

“But you hardly ever come to practice with us.”

Tade, from the Summoning department, asked with a puzzled look.

The Summoning Studies practical exam had always been one of the biggest events of the first semester for first-years at Lumene.

Leo smiled at Tade’s question.

“I’ve been training hard where you can’t see.”

“As expected of Leo-oppa. So confident! Then what’s your goal for the exam?”

Looking at Chelsea’s shining eyes, Leo answered as though it were obvious.

“First place, of course.”