Editor : Amethyst00



‘I’ve shaken him off!’

Emio wore a confident expression.

If he slows down even once, it’ll be hard for him to accelerate again!'

Meanwhile, Emio continued to push forward, gaining speed.

‘This will show the others Leo’s limits…’

“Hi there.”

“……!”

Emio widened his eyes and looked to the side.

There, on a broom, Leo waved casually.

“H-How?!”

“How? I caught up quickly.”

Leo, with a nonchalant expression, summoned his magic.

Crackle!

“This is a little repayment for what you gave me earlier.”

Golden sparks danced from Leo’s hand.

“Lightning Bolt!”

Flash! Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Emio barely dodged in time.

'As expected from a magical tool used by Professor Albi! Looks plain on the outside, but the performance is incredible!'

Grinning, Emio charged magic into both hands. Specializing in electricity, he cast a higher-level version of Lightning Bolt.

“Chain Lightning!”

Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt!

The chain-like lightning swept toward Leo.

Leo dodged lightly, and Emio shouted:

“Useless!”

‘Homing?’

Leo smirked. The spell, normally shocking everything around the target, had been modified into a homing version.

As the Chain Lightning pursued him, Leo lowered his stance on the broom and surged forward.

Crackle! Crack!

‘Ugh! He’s dodging all of that?’

Emio’s eyes darted to the broom Leo was riding.

‘How unfair! How am I supposed to beat someone on that kind of magical tool…?’

“Ice Bolt.”

Leo fired magic forward. Countless shards of ice flew like bullets.

“Where do you think you’re aiming?”

“Where else? Forward, at your Chain Lightning.”

Crackle!

The Chain Lightning Leo fired formed a massive electrical net in midair.

“No!”

Emio’s eyes widened. The Ice Bolt Leo had fired acted as a conductor.

“Ugh!”

Emio desperately tried to stop. If he got shocked now, the match would be over, with Leo victorious.

Whoosh!

Crackle! Crack!

Emio barely stopped in front of Leo’s web of electricity, exhaling in relief.

“It’s not over yet.”

Thwack!

“Gah!”

Leo slammed his fist, filled with aura, against Emio’s magical tool. The system of runes inside trembled violently, and the tool flailed uncontrollably.

“Since I didn’t break it, it can be fixed later.”

Leo grinned and soared into the sky.

“Aaah! Whoa?!”

The out-of-control tool thrashed wildly.

Whoosh!

“Gah!”

It then crashed toward a school building.

“S-sto–p!”

Thud!

Emio collided with the wall and slid down helplessly.

Leo chuckled once at the sight before circling back to the finish line.

“I’ve returned.”

“Leo, it seems you don’t need separate aerial combat training after all.”

Albi praised him with a smile. Associate Professor Anna looked astonished.

‘Oh my, Professor Albi is actually praising him?’

Albi was notoriously stingy with compliments, so Anna was surprised.

“Albi-sunbae recognized Leo’s true value! Of course! There’s no way he wouldn’t notice such brilliance. He acknowledges Leo as a talent needed in the magic department!”

‘This guy’s going overboard again. He shouldn’t be going wild in front of the students.’

Anna sighed, wondering when she could intervene.

Emio, battered and embarrassed from hitting the wall, finally returned.

“I won’t forgive this! Leo! You cheated!”

Emio shouted angrily.

“What rule did I break?”

“Using aura in a magic class?!”

“There was no rule against using abilities outside of magic.”

The students murmured at their exchange.

“He used aura?”

“In a magic class? That seems…”

Gaining confidence, Emio shouted:

“In a magic class, only magic should be used!”

“If this were a standard magic class, I wouldn’t have used aura. But this is a class preparing for the inter-departmental tournament. Most knight students had already prepared countermeasures against aerial attacks from the start of the semester. Flying is not an advantage here.”

“Ugh?”

Emio flinched at Leo’s words, then snapped.

“You’re saying the knight students are better in a magic class?”

Leo sighed deeply.

“I’m saying you should prepare for attacks from the knight students. You lost your mobility as soon as your Wing device was neutralized. That can easily happen in the competition.”

The critical flaw of Wing Magic: if the device breaks, the user loses mobility.

“Even so, this match was unfair! You used Professor Albi’s Wing device!”

“This?”

Leo smirked and looked at the broom in his hand.

“This? It’s just an ordinary cleaning broom.”

“What?”

Leo tossed the broom to the flustered Emio. Emio froze—indeed, it was an ordinary broom.

“I didn’t even know Wing Magic. I've never learned it.”

“What?!”

All the students were shocked.

“You don’t know Wing Magic? That’s basic! How did you even follow him without it?”

“I used Fly Magic.”

“Fly Magic?”

A traditional levitation spell, used since before the Age of Calamity. Though largely replaced by Wing Magic, it still existed.

“N-no way.”

Emio’s face showed disbelief.

“Sure, Wing Magic is easier and faster. It seems superior to Fly Magic—but only superficially.”

Leo shrugged.

“But that’s it. Heavily dependent on tools and limited in technique.”

“As Leo Plov said, Wing Magic is based on Fly Magic. It allow anyone can fly faster with a tool, but that’s all. It prioritizes convenience, so precise control like Fly Magic is impossible.”

The students who had doubted mobility avoided Albi’s gaze.

“Wing Magic improved general mobility for mages, true. But that’s only under normal circumstances. You are not average mages—you are hero academy students.”

The students flinched at Albi’s words.

“And the students you’ll face from other departments are also hero academy students. Don’t assume ordinary methods will work. The real threat isn’t the knights—it’s the summoning department. Summoners and elemental users make Wing-reliant mages easy prey. Now do you understand why mobility is critical?”

“Yes, sir.”

Seeing the magic students meekly answer, Len gestured to Anna.

“From today, we will practice Fly Magic. Len, Torua, and I, along with the assistants, will help you. First, we’ll divide classes based on skill, so we’ll conduct a test. Line up.”

The students formed a line obediently.

Grr!

Emio shot a glare at Leo before heading to the line.

Len approached Albi and Leo.

“Leo will receive guidance in magical combat directly from Albi-sunbae.”

“No test needed?”

“The match showed your mobility perfectly, Leo.”

Len laughed and went to guide the students, but noticed Torua standing beside Leo.

“What are you doing here, Torua?”

“Listening to Professor Albi’s lesson.”

“You already know all this! Stop bothering and teach the underclassmen!”

Len grabbed Torua by the collar and dragged her away.

Seeing the crowded practice hall, Albi spoke.

“We need to move locations.”

With a light wave of his hand, a portal to another space appeared.

‘Fairy magic.’

Leo crossed through the portal and arrived at another magic practice hall.

“What shall we do now?”

“Study on your own.”

“Nothing will be taught?”

Albi sat on a chair, eyes closed.

“For first-years capable of modifying Fly Magic to that extent, I’m not sure what I could teach them.”

Albi had just witnessed how devastating Leo’s spell was.

“You’ve nothing left to learn at a first-year level. I can’t arbitrarily run upper-level classes either. So all I can assign is self-study.”

“Then I have a request, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“May I enter the Lumene Forbidden Library?”

Albi opened one eye and looked at Leo.

“Entry to the Forbidden Library is beyond a professor’s authority.”

“I’m asking you, as a member of the Zeron family, not as a professor.”

“…….”

The Zeron family, one of Lumene’s Three Heroic Noble Houses, wielded absolute influence.

“Why do you want access?”

“There’s a text I want to find.”

“What text?”

“A history of the Hero Records, unknown to the public.”

Albi silently studied Leo’s honest answer, then nodded.

“I’ll write you a recommendation.”

“Oh!”

Leo grinned, pleasantly surprised.

“Of course, even with my recommendation, the entry isn’t guaranteed. You still need the approval of the head of the Zeron family—my older brother, Altec Zeron.”

Albi scribbled on a piece of paper.

“All I can do is arrange it. What happens next is up to you.”

“Aw…”

Leo pouted slightly but knew that just having a recommendation to meet Altec was a huge opportunity. Even most royalty couldn’t meet him easily.

As Leo considered Altec, he recalled:

'Wasn’t he called the Infinity Speller?'

A hero capable of wielding limitless spells.

“Wait, isn’t the head of the Zeron family currently on the southern Tartaros front?”

“Yes, he’s away, but you can meet his proxy.”

“Proxy?”

“Yes. It’s easy; she’s your senior.”

“Who?”

Albi sighed deeply, rare for him.

“Elena Zeron, third-year at Lumene.”

He clicked his tongue, looking exasperated.

"She's my niece."