Editor : Amethyst00



[Grrrrrrraahhh!]

[He's coming! Fall back! Fall back!]

[Waaaah! Don't come this way! Go over there!]

[Hey! That's dirty! Not fair!]

[Aaaaargh!]

The front-line vanguard that had stepped forward to stop Leo was being utterly decimated.

The professors watching the horrific scene unfolding before their eyes instinctively covered their faces.

The expressions of the professors from the knight department, particularly those in charge of the 4th and 5th years, were especially grim.

Leo, without rest, burst out Howling and stripped away the seniors’ will to fight, and like a typhoon, he drove them into a corner.

The 4th and 5th years, overwhelmed by Leo's terrifying momentum, could only flounder helplessly.

Even in the midst of that, as expected of those who had advanced to the upper years in Lumene, they were still managing to hold Leo back somehow.

The previously noted weakness of the 4th and 5th years—lack of unity—hadn't become a significant issue yet.

'For now.'

Harrid looked at Leo on the screen.

Leo's current fighting style was distinctly different from how he had fought before.

'No matter the situation, he never loses his cool. He finds and exploits weaknesses.'

Yet now, Leo was aggressively pressing the opponent to the point of seeming savage.

'He's blatantly exposing his tactics.'

In reality, dealing with an opponent who charges headlong is relatively simple.

All one has to do is narrowly evade the attack and land a critical blow to the exposed flank.

The 4th and 5th years would likely plan their strategy on that idea.

But what if that strategy failed?

'Then it'll come down to how well they can coordinate.'

When one fails to overcome an opponent with a clear strategy, two things happen.

'They either rally themselves and try again or they start to waver.'

With a strong leader, they could regroup and reorganized.

But if no such leader existed?

'As soon as disagreement arises, cracks will start to form.'

And that's exactly what Leo was aiming for.

'For now, the 4th and 5th years still have composure.'

Other than the initial surprise attack, none had been fatally incapacitated despite Leo's relentless assault.

They were crying and begging Leo not to come their way, but if things were truly dire, they wouldn't even be able to cry out.

'It won't be long before they hit a real wall.'

Thinking that far, Harrid turned his head.

On the screen, the freshmen were searching for Carl.

bl

"Wow~ I've totally made it to the top, haven't I!"

Standing at the center of one of the many uninhabited islands on Lumeria Lake, Carl laughed as he looked up at the blue sky.

"Hundreds of Lumene freshmen going on a massive raid just to catch me, huh. As expected, it's me. I'm definitely worthy of being called a hero."

Twirling the key in his hand like a pencil, Carl suddenly dropped to one knee and slammed his hand to the ground.

"Worthy of being called a hero, my ass! This is just getting ganged up on!"

Even though they were just freshmen, none of them were untalented—every single one was a genius from Lumene!

And not just one, but as many as five hundred of them!

During the entrance exam back when Carl was a 2nd-year, he'd had to face off against underclassmen trying to take him down, but never in groups this large.

'And to be fair, those guys back then weren't even students yet—they were just examinees!'

There's a huge difference between students who pass Lumene's entrance exam and those who don't.

'The professors said they wanted us to identify and address the students' weaknesses, but honestly, the biggest weakness of freshmen is obvious.'

Carl sighed deeply in despair.

'Overconfidence in their own skills. And blind faith in their credentials.'

No matter how naturally gifted they are, they're still inexperienced rookies.

All 1st years had a narrow view of the world.

'Leo was an exception to that though. But that guy is a complete irregular and outright cheat, so he doesn't count.'

Plopping down cross-legged, Carl rested his chin on his hand and analyzed the current situation.

'The reason Professor Harrid chose me, of all people, must be because I seem easy to beat from the freshmen's perspective.'

Even though he earned the title of hero, Carl's raw combat power wasn't particularly high.

There would be some freshmen who believed they had a good shot against him.

Carl looked around.

'The terrain's in my favour. It's not an open battlefield, so I have lots of options to prepare. But still…'

Carl let out a dry chuckle.

'Maybe I could handle up to 100 people, but 500?… Isn't that just cruel?'

Grumbling internally, Carl threw the key in his hand as far as he could.

It soared through the air, flashed with light, and landed back in his palm.

"Hmph. So I can't hide or throw away the key somewhere."

Nodding, Carl stood up.

"Well, technically I don't have to beat all 500. It's just a game of tag, isn't it?. I just have to not get caught, right? Besides, this is Island #1, right?."

All the islands on Lumeria Lake, except the Sacred Beast Island, were numbered by the students.

Island #1 was the largest.

"That means I have plenty of time to prepare."

Spinning the key around his finger, Carl grinned.

"Alright, time to show the freshmen what Lumene's all about! Mwahahaha!"

With an evil laugh, Carl disappeared into the forest.

bl

"First, let's find Xia-sunbae."

On a beautiful sandy beach.

Luke looked back at the other 2nd-years as he admired the Lumeria Lake and spoke.

Aina, staring into the dense forest, nodded at his words.

Currently, all the 2nd years were on the beach of an uninhabited island.

Despite being a lake, this island had a beach.

"Wow~ The seniors were right. They said Island #6 is perfect for playing in the water, right?."

Juen looked around in awe.

Haviden squinted at Juen.

"You're being awfully carefree. We're up against Chen Xia-sunbae."

"I know, I know. I was just saying!"

Juen squinted back at him.

Next to him, Shasha stared into the forest and murmured,

"By the way. It looks like night in there."

Even though the sun was at its peak, the forest was pitch-dark due to the thick canopy blocking out the sunlight.

"This is bad."

El Jane muttered seriously, prompting a puzzled look from Aina.

"Is there any problem?"

The one who answered was Fritz, the Shadow from the Magic Department.

“There is a problem. And a very big one.”

"Huh?"

"Because our opponent is Chen Xia-sunbae."

"Ah."

Aina’s eyes widened at understanding Fritz’s words.

Luke, still confused, asked.

"Aina, what do you mean?"

"Darkness is the shadow's battlefield."

"Ah…"

Luke's face grew grim.

Other 2nd-years looked puzzled.

"Xia-sunbae may be the princess of Xian, but… is she really that serious a threat?"

"Compared to Celia-sunbae or Duran-sunbae, she should be easier to handle, wouldn't it?"

Though they were in the Knight Department, Celia and Duran had wider area attacks than most magic students.

Compared to those two, Chen Xia seemed less intimidating.

Not because Chen Xia was weaker than Celia and Duran, but because her aura was more defensive in nature.

El Jane scoffed at their comments.

"You only say that because you don't understand how terrifying shadows are in darkness."

Being newly promoted 2nd-years, they had likely never witnessed a true shadow battle.

"Now I understand what the professors meant when they said we need to work on something."

Haviden narrowed his eyes.

Juen nodded.

"A fight with the Hero Hunter."

Normally, 2nd-years wouldn't face someone like the Hero Hunter.

But for them to experience this right at the start of the semester…

"I have a feeling our 2nd year's going to be rough."

Shasha sighed and folded her folding fan.

Aina spoke up.

"Standing around won't help. For now, Let's search Xia-sunbae."

The others nodded.

"Form formation! Be ready to counter ambushes anytime, anywhere!"

"El! Fritz! Form a scout team!"

The 2nd-years began preparing swiftly.

Luke, meanwhile, stared into the dark forest and shivered.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…"

bl

"As expected, we 3rd-years are truly competent. You guys found us so quickly."

Elena clapped her hands with a smile.

Seated cross-legged atop her staff, she calmly looked at the 3rd-years surrounding them.

"It is surprising."

Celia stepped forward.

"I didn't expect you to wait so openly. I thought you'd go for guerrilla tactics… or perhaps, is this a trap?"

As Celia looked around warily, Elena widened her eyes.

Resting her elbow on her knee and chin in her hand, she pouted.

"We were wondering what our seemingly perfect 3rd-year juniors lacked… So that's it. I guess your target shines a bit too brightly."

Looking over them with disapproval, Elena muttered.

"So bright it blinds you."

As the confused 3rd-years tilted their heads at those words.

"Now, this is what you're after, right?"

Elena pulled a key from her bosom.

"Come take it if you can."

Flash!

"Oh my?"

A bolt of lightning surged.

"A bit too aggressive, aren't you?"

Before she knew it, Duran had reached right in front of Elena, stretching his hand out toward the key.

Just as Duran smirked and tried to snatch the key from Elena’s hand.

WHAM!

'When did—?!'

Duran’s face stiffened slightly at the giant mass of metal filling his vision.

CRACK! SMASH! CRUNCH! CRASH!

A battle hammer slammed Duran's face with terrifying force.

He crashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.

Crackling with aura armor, Duran slowly stood up.

But his legs gave out, and he stumbled.

THUD!

Everyone looked at the wielder of the battle hammer.

"You cannot touch Elena-sunbae or the key without my permission."

The normally gentle and kind Lyl spoke in a cold, emotionless voice, causing the 3rd-years to gulp.

Her presence was overwhelming.

As Lyl overpowered them with sheer pressure—

"Our Lyl is so reliable! isn't she?"

Glomp!

"W-Whaaaa?!"

Elena hugged Lyl from behind, placing both hands on her chest.

"Um… Elena-sunbae? I'm trying to show the juniors the dignity of a senior, and— eeeek?!"

"Oh? I think flustered Lyl is even cuter than dignified Lyl."

Lyl looked like she was about to cry.

The 3rd year male students coughed awkwardly and turned their gazes here and there.

Elena, resting her chin on Lyl’s shoulder and chuckling, then widened her eyes as she saw that, and soon glanced down and muttered.

"Looks like we've found a safe place to store the key."

"A safe place?"

Lyl tilted her head. Elena grinned wickedly at the 3rd-years.

"Did you know? Lyl looks slim in clothes, but she's actually amazing."

With a witch-like smile, Elena suddenly slipped the key into Lyl's uniform top.

"Gah?! S-Sunbae!"

As Elena pulled her hand out, Lyl backed away, clutching her chest in panic.

Elena looked at Lyl and smiled brightly.

“With this, the male students will absolutely not be able to touch the key.”

"Huh? Will that really work?"

Lyl looked doubtful.

The boys were speechless.

"Of course it will."

Giggling, Elena floated back up on her staff.

"Now then, Lyl. I'll leave the vanguard to you."

"I'm not confident, but I'll do my best."

"So dependable."

Elena ascended high into the sky.

VROOOOM—!

Lyl's aura began to surge.

"3rd-years."

Thud!

Clutching her battle hammer in both hands, Lyl spoke in a low voice.

"Let me show you the terror of a senior."