Editor : Amethyst00



Leah clenched her fists tightly as she looked at Aina, who stood blocking her path.

"Aina Beidna."

It was a name she'd grown sick of hearing since the moment she entered Seiren.

"The world wouldn’t shut up about her being the bloodline of the Sword Saint. Just like me."

Just like her, who, as the heir of the Tingel family, had borne the hopes of her entire race.

Aina must have been the same.

So it was impossible not to be conscious of her.

Even after finding out that Luke was Leo's mentee, that didn't change.

An opponent she absolutely had to defeat.

From the time she entered school, countless people around her hoped to see Leah defeat Aina.

"And I guess this person is no different. Seeing as she came to face me."

Leah smirked.

"It's a pain, isn't it? Having someone everyone expects you to defeat."

"What is?" Aina looked puzzled at her words.

"Aren’t you here to defeat me?"

"Nope."

"…"

Leah’s expression froze for a moment.

"Didn’t you just say your opponent was me?"

"Yeah."

"Then you are here to defeat me."

"Nope."

Aina shook her head, leaving Leah speechless.

"I just want to protect Luke from you. You’ve been weirdly obsessed with him from the start."

"Are you declaring yourself Luke Eldar’s personal bodyguard or something?"

"Exactly."

Shhhiiing—!

Aina swung her sword.

Sword aura burst around Leah.

"Luke must never lose to anyone."

Aina's eyes gleamed sharp like blades.

"Not until he loses to me."

Leah could sense an obsession for Luke in Aina that rivaled her own.

"Luke Eldar… is certainly worth defeating."

At first, Leah had only taken interest in Luke because he was Leo’s mentee.

Her feelings toward him leaned more toward jealousy than rivalry.

Then came the end of the first semester.

At the World Summit, she saw Luke for the first time—and she had been stunned.

"Even in the middle of a battle with Aina Beidna, he kept growing stronger."

She could vividly remember Luke pushing past his limits again and again.

It was then that she understood why Leo had chosen him.

"He was amazing during the training camp, too."

So it was only natural that Aina, as a rival from the same school, was keeping such a close eye on him.

"But… but still…"

Leah’s shoulders trembled slightly.

"There’s a limit to how much you can ignore someone! What’s with that attitude like I’m not even worth considering?!"

A surge of ominous magic burst from Leah’s body.

Craack—!

The ground beneath her cracked with a thunderous sound.

"I’ll make sure you remember me after I defeat you!"

Magic gathered in both of Leah’s hands.

"If you want to take down Luke Eldar, you’ll have to go through me first!"

"As long as I’m here, you won’t lay a finger on him! Because I’m the one who’ll defeat him!"

BOOOOM—!

Explosive magic and sharp sword aura collided.

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The ominous clash behind him made Luke break into a cold sweat.

"Why is my name being shouted in their fight?"

"Heh. Looks like they're fighting fiercely to win you over."

"That’s the last thing I want." Luke grimaced.

As a magic swordsman, he could fully grasp how fearsome Aina’s swordsmanship was and how destructive Leah’s magic could be.

Knowing those powers were aimed at him was far from comforting.

"And lately, even Juen, Shasha, and Haviden seem eager to devour me."

It’s not that their relationships were bad.

In fact, they were good.

But the predatory glint in his friends’ eyes always kept him on edge.

And now even Leah, who’d been hostile to him from the moment they met, had joined the fray—it was enough to make Luke feel like dying.

"And now there’s him, too."

Luke nervously swallowed as he looked at Medvez, the first-year representative from Azonia.

A massive figure with bulging muscles.

Of course, size alone didn’t equal strength.

But Medvez wasn’t just large.

"He’s strong."

Every time his muscles twitched, Luke tensed unconsciously.

As he crouched into a low stance, Medvez spoke.

"You look like prey."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you feel no fear watching those two fight?"

"I do."

Just thinking about that deadly power coming at him was terrifying.

"That’s not what I meant."

Medvez looked at Luke with clear disdain.

"Those two powerhouses are giving it their all just to earn the right to defeat you. And all you do is tremble? Pathetic. Truly pathetic."

At those words, Luke took a deep breath.

‘Maybe at least he’ll lose interest in me.’

He wasn’t planning to avoid a fight that came to him.

But right now, Luke’s focus wasn’t on beating the strongest.

"Lumene’s victory."

It seemed Leah, Aina, and Medvez had all forgotten that goal for a moment.

A hundred people in a group battle.

And each of them had been specially chosen from their first-year classes.

"It’s impossible to change the tide of battle alone."

Thinking rationally, wasting strength now would be foolish.

If Medvez lost interest and moved on, that wasn’t a bad outcome for Luke.

"Not bad, but still…"

Luke glanced upward.

Leo hovered in the sky, overseeing the opening match.

"Senior Leo changed the entire battlefield by himself."

The memory of Leo’s overwhelming performance during the second-year dorm battles flashed through his mind.

"It’s laughable to compare myself to someone like him…"

And yet that powerful image wouldn’t leave his thoughts.

That’s when it happened.

RUMMMMBLE—!

The ground began to shake.

The small tremor soon escalated into a violent quake, as if an earthquake had struck.

"W-what’s going on?!"

The first-years, who had formed battle lines and were attacking other schools, looked panicked.

BOOOOM—!

Molten lava burst up from the ground.

The first-years recoiled in horror.

"The ground’s shrinking because of the lava!"

"If you can fly, get in the air—hurry…!"

BUBBLE BUBBLE BOOM—!

A giant monster erupted from the lava.

"A Lava Golem?!"

Cries of shock rang out among the first-years.

The colossal creature began swinging its arms wildly at students in the air.

At the same time, lava sprayed from its limbs, raining down on the ground like fire.

"It’s dangerous to stay airborne!"

"Dammit! We have to fight them while also dealing with a Lava Golem?!"

"And that’s not all! The lava is eating away at the battlefield!"

Panic spread like wildfire.

It became nearly impossible to hold defensive positions and hunt enemies.

Given the situation, the best strategy was now to create chaos and eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.

"Everyone, attack!"

"Ugh!"

"Avoid the Lava Golem if you can! It’ll drain your strength!"

"If we stay here, we’ll get caught up in its attacks."

"Tch! This is bad."

"Luke, let’s get out of here."

Medvez, Leah, and Aina quickly tried to move away from the area near the Lava Golem.

But Aina, upon catching a glimpse of Luke’s face, slightly parted her lips.

"He’s… smiling?"

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"Seiren’s first-year rep is just like that thug elf."

Aru muttered as she watched the battle unfold.

Then she turned to look at the younger students.

"Good movement."

In this chaotic situation, Azonia’s students, with their overwhelming physical abilities, had the advantage.

After all, Azonia was a place where fights broke out every single day—chaos was normal for them.

"The real variable is that Lava Golem."

Aru narrowed her eyes as she folded her arms.

It was rampaging indiscriminately, causing trouble for all four schools.

"Defeating it doesn’t really offer any advantage."

In fact, it would likely just waste strength.

"What would I have done?"

Tilting her head, Aru quickly came to a conclusion.

"I’d have taken it down first."

No deeper reason.

It’s a threat to all four schools.

And if you win while it’s still running wild, there’s no way luck won’t be involved.

"That thing’s unpredictable chaos makes it a literal wildcard."

Even if they won, Aru would be left feeling uneasy.

But she believed she could still defeat her enemies even after taking down the Lava Golem.

And even if she lost because of it, she’d still feel better than winning by chance.

"A victory won by luck has no value. I’d rather lose."

Aru looked around.

She wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

So did the students from Azonia.

And not just Azonia’s.

The other hero academies' students seemed to feel the same.

Everyone had pride in being the best.

Ultimately, you had to overcome every hardship and prove you were the strongest.

The Lava Golem was a threat—but any top-tier first-year could handle it alone.

They just weren’t confronting it because of the risk.

"You’re wicked, Black Rabbit."

Aru pouted slightly as she looked up at Leo, floating in the sky.

bl

"Leo can be brutally harsh sometimes."

Carl shook his head.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Chelsea looked confused.

"He set up the battle in such a way that the first-years can’t easily take down the Lava Golem."

"Yeah. So?"

Carl gave a wry smile.

"Ideally, you want to win with as little risk as possible. But the Festival of Heroes isn’t just about competition between the hero schools—it’s also a celebration, a festival of unity."

Carl glanced at the scrambling first-years, who were too busy dodging responsibility for the Lava Golem.

"The whole world is watching."

"So?"

"This is why heroes can’t understand regular people."

Carl chuckled bitterly and said, "People want heroes."

He looked toward Leo.

"Heroes who believe in themselves, pursue potential, push forward, and overcome their limits."

Then, turning to Chelsea, Carl asked,

"What would you have done in that situation?"

"I’d have trusted my teammates and taken down the Lava Golem."

"Exactly. That’s what people want to see. But first-years are still immature. It’s hard for them to make that call so easily."

Carl narrowed his eyes toward the Lava Golem.

"Leo’s testing them. To see if any of them have what it takes. If any of them are worthy to stand on the same stage as you."

"Ah…"

Chelsea’s expression changed as she finally understood.

"But… why’d you say ‘you’ and not ‘we’?"

She tilted her head.

Carl shrugged.

"Don’t lump a normie like me in with you guys."

"And what category are we in?"

"Monsters."

Chelsea slammed her fist into Carl’s side.

As Carl clutched his ribs and collapsed to the ground, Chelsea looked down at him.

"…Are you giving up on making it to the 3rd year?"

"Ugh."

Carl stood back up with a shake.

"Give up? Hell no. I’ll fight to the bitter end. But still—"

Carl gave a lopsided smile.

"Not everything can be achieved through effort. No matter how much you break your limits, some things just don’t work. I know myself better than anyone."

"…"

"This is as far as I go, Chelsea."

"Carl…"

"But I’ll do my best in a supporting role. So keep using my gear, alright? You’re going to be a hero. Having a hero as a regular customer will be amazing marketing!"

"You damn idiot."

Chelsea let out a small sigh as she looked at Carl, who grinned with a thumbs-up.

"Oh?"

Just then, Carl let out a noise of surprise.

"That Luke kid… he’s charging the Lava Golem!"