Chapter 61
Editor : Amethyst00
Crack-crack-crack-crack—!
The Wind Chain that had been flying toward Leo suddenly veered off in all directions.
Chelsea’s eyes widened.
'Wh-what?! What in the world just happened?!'
The turbulent air currents swirling around Leo had knocked the Wind Chain’s attack trajectory off course.
Leo raised a finger and pointed at Chelsea.
“Wind Bolt.”
“W-Wind Shi—…!”
Boom!
“Kyaa!”
Chelsea was blown backward.
Leo quickly closed the distance to her.
“Wind Sword!”
In desperation, Chelsea used a close-combat wind spell, conjuring a sword of wind and slashing it toward Leo.
Whooosh—!
But a fierce gust encircled Leo, lifting his body lightly into the air.
Carried effortlessly on the flow of wind, Leo was completely unaffected by Chelsea’s magic.
Chelsea’s eyes grew round in disbelief.
'This… this is supposed to be Wind Magic?!'
The idea of wrapping wind around oneself to divert incoming wind magic was something Chelsea had never even considered.
It was reckless—outrageously so.
“Wind Sword.”
Meanwhile, Leo calmly finished his own spell.
His sword of wind reached Chelsea’s throat.
She clenched her teeth.
Total defeat.
Every student in Class 5 looked on with expressions of utter disbelief.
Leo hadn’t relied on knightly martial arts.
He had defeated Chelsea solely with pure wind magic.
“What do you think caused the difference in outcome?”
At Harrid’s question, Chelsea kept her head bowed, unable to answer.
“And you? What do you all think?”
“……”
Even when he asked the rest of the class, no one could respond.
The entire situation was simply too much to take in.
“In terms of raw talent as a pure mage, Chelsea Lewellin is in no way inferior to Leo Plov. In fact, in a duel restricted to wind magic, the normal expectation would be that Leo couldn’t even stand against Chelsea. If this had been a real fight for their lives, Leo would have lost.”
Harrid crossed his arms.
“But this was a contest of technique. And in that, Leo Plov was victorious. The deciding factor was the difference in their understanding of and ability to apply wind magic.”
All attention was fixed on Harrid’s words.
“As students of Lumene—especially those pursuing knighthood or magecraft—you are always taught to seek stronger techniques, more advanced spells, or higher-ranked summons. And so, you tend to focus on acquiring new powers… before ever fully mastering the ones you already possess.”
He punched the air lightly.
“If I gave a simple analogy with a punch: which is deadlier—swinging blindly with brute force, or striking with just the necessary muscles at the precise moment?”
“Using only the needed muscles at the right time is far more lethal.”
Nella’s answer earned a nod from Harrid.
“Exactly. It’s the same with special abilities. You often think that learning more and more techniques means you’re improving, but in truth, that’s nothing more than just piling on power. That’s why what you just saw happened.”
None of the students could argue, not after watching Chelsea—Class 5’s strongest—be defeated by Leo.
“To advance to the next level, honing technique is essential. Just doing that will elevate your abilities dramatically.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good. From here on, you’ll each proceed with individual training.”
“Haaah!”
“S-someone… spare me…”
“U-ugh…!”
“Hey! If you’re gonna throw up, do it in the bathroom!”
“We really have to keep this up for the entire field trip?!”
By midday, the exhausted students of Class 5 lay sprawled on the dorm floor.
“Hey, Leo. You’re the one who made this training schedule, aren’t you?”
Flat on the floor, Carl asked weakly. Leo nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Kaaah! I knew it!”
Having seen Celia and Chelsea train with Leo on weekends, Carl let out a despairing scream.
“Everyone, take the lunch break to rest. I’ll post your mission assignments.”
Harrid pinned a list of missions on the wall of the first floor.
Though completely drained, the students still dragged themselves to check the board out of curiosity.
“Gathering herbs in the Fairy Forest? What the heck! That’s just picking weeds all day! Pass.”
“Goblin extermination? This one sounds good.”
“Training with elf soldiers—I’ll take this!”
Each picked what appealed to them.
“What about you, Leo?”
Carl asked. Leo picked up one of the overlooked missions in the corner.
“This one.”
“Hm? Herb gathering? You seriously wanna do that?”
“Yeah.”
'Perfect for investigating the Fairy Forest on my own.'
It was a dull task others avoided, but for Leo, who needed to scout the forest, it was ideal.
“Well, if that’s what you want… Anyway, Chelsea, how long are you going to sulk?”
Carl sighed deeply at the sight of Chelsea sitting hunched on a chair in the corner.
Though she adored Leo, losing in her strongest area had left her shaken.
Some classmates had tried to cheer her up, but she couldn’t snap out of the shock.
“Leo. Couldn’t you talk to her a bit?”
At Nella’s troubled suggestion, Leo approached Chelsea.
“Chelsea.”
“…Yeah.”
“How about I buy you something delicious for dinner?”
'Seriously? Is he treating her like a little kid who cheers up with food?!'
'Ugh! That guy—does he know anything besides studying and training?!'
The boys groaned in exasperation.
Chelsea, the youngest in class, was often doted on by them like a little sister.
“Something delicious?”
But her eyes sparkled instantly.
“What will you buy me?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Yay!”
“……”
“……”
The radiant smile on her face left the boys stunned.
“…Maybe we should’ve tried consoling her with food, too?”
Tade scratched his head. Carl looked at him in disbelief.
“You think consoling that sly fox with food will actually—gah?!”
“Hm? Carl? What was that? Wanna say it again?”
At some point, Chelsea had stomped down hard on his foot.
“Why the hell does everyone baby her so much?!”
Clutching his foot and rolling on the floor, Carl howled while Chelsea grinned sweetly.
“Because I’m cute?”
“You’re not cute at all!!”
Leo stepped into the Fairy Forest.
["So this is the Fairy Forest… once our people’s homeland."]
Hovering in the air, Kiran muttered in a somber tone, then wrapped his arms around himself.
["Cold! I’m going back!"]
Whack!
["Ow! Why’d you hit me?!"]
“That’s all you’ve got to say, looking at the sanctuary of the fairies?”
["I told you, I hate the cold!"]
Clicking his tongue, Leo walked deeper into the forest.
“Kiran. There’s something I need you to do.”
["Something I need to do?"]
Kiran paused, then smirked proudly.
["At last, Leo, you recognize my true worth. Fine. As your contracted partner, I shall hear your request. What task do you have for the noble Fairy Prince?"]
He grumbled often, but deep down, this was his first contract, and he was curious about Leo’s first request.
“Go pick some herbs and gather them up.”
Leo tossed him a leather pouch for herbs.
["I’m the noble Fairy Prince! And you dare assign me such a menial chore?!"]
“Not gonna do it?”
["Of course not!"]
Kiran tossed the pouch aside with a scoff.
Moments later…
SMACK!
Having been smacked with the pouch, Kiran flitted about the air sulking—while gathering herbs.
Leaving the task to him, Leo ventured deeper, studying the forest.
'They say the once-warm northern lands grew colder after the Age of Calamity, right?'
Originally, ice elementals had lived in the east, but after migrating north en masse, they had made the region their domain.
Fairies, who despised the cold naturally, had no choice but to abandon their homeland in search of a warmer place.
'And once they left, monsters began appearing here…'
Even now, the forest had never been fully purged of them.
'Is something here creating them?'
Though monsters could occur naturally, they were often artificially spawned by Tartaros.
At present, the latter seemed more likely.
["Leo! Look! I gathered a ton!"]
“Oh? Impressive. Well done.”
Leo genuinely admired him.
As expected of a fairy, Kiran had collected bundles of top-grade herbs in no time.
["Hmph! Nothing much for me."]
Though he’d complained at first, Kiran now wore a smug expression at the praise.
Leo stored the pouch in his subspace pocket, and Kiran perched on his shoulder.
Not long after, Leo stopped at a certain spot.
["Hm? Why’d you stop?"]
“…An illusion spell.”
At his words, Kiran stiffened.
["That’s Fairy King magic… but not Father’s."]
'So this belongs to the former king—Grawin.'
The Fairy King during the Age of Calamity, essentially Kiran’s grandfather.
'But the flow of mana suggests it’s only been in effect for about a hundred years…'
Leo frowned.
Grawin had died millennia ago, so why had his magic activated a mere century earlier?
He stroked his chin, parsing the spell type.
'In the Fairy Forest, it’s not strange for remnants of an old king’s magic to remain… but still…'
“Kiran. When were you exiled from Fairyland?”
[About a hundred years ago.]
'Then this barrier was fueled by Kiran’s wings? But why set up a protective spell here—where no fairies remained—using his power?'
Punishment by stripping his wings was one thing, but why tie his strength to such a spell?
'Is there something inside here worth protecting?'
While Leo pondered, the sound of grinding metal echoed—clank, clank, ssshhhhh…
Kiran pinched his nose.
["Ugh! That stench! What is that?!"]
“…Undead.”
Leo narrowed his eyes as a hooded figure emerged.
The undead chuckled darkly.
“What’s a human doing in elf territory?”
“Less strange than an undead like you being here.”
“Heh… arrogant. This land has long been under the influence of Tartaros.”
["What nonsense! This is the sanctuary of us fairies!"]
“Fairies? A pitiful weakling like you calls yourself one?”
["What was that, you reeking corpse?!"]
Crackle—!
Kiran charged, his body glowing with silver mana.
“Wait—!”
The undead tried hastily to defend.
Boom!
But Kiran slammed into him first.
["Ha! Nothing but trash, and you dare to posture?!"]
With one blow, the undead was shattered. Kiran hovered proudly.
“You’re a fairy, and yet your great idea was just ramming headfirst?”
["If it works, it works!"]
Indeed, with fairies being embodiments of life force, they were natural enemies of the deathly undead.
["Well? How’s that for my strength!"]
As he circled boastfully, Leo pointed behind him.
“Look behind you.”
["Huh? Behind—?"]
Whoooom—!
“Even if weak, a fairy is still a fairy, it seems.”
["Ugh! You stink and you’re annoyingly tough!"]
Kiran pretended to gag.
“And even vulgar in speech.”
From within the hood, crimson light flared as a massive greatsword materialized in the undead’s grip.
Leo’s expression shifted.
“Kiran! Fall back!”
["Eh? Wh-whoa!"]
The demon drove the sword into the ground—crimson skeletal blades erupted upward.
Whooosh—!
Leo flared his aura in blazing flame.
Narrowing his eyes, he studied the crimson-dark figure before him.
“…A Death Knight?”