Editor : Amethyst00



Click-click-click-click—

The eerie clatter of a low-ranking skeleton's teeth echoed through the air.

Cursed beings, unable to sleep even in death, resurrected through necromancy.

Throughout the ages, low-ranking skeletons had always been the most basic soldiers in the Legion of the Lich King.

A single low-ranking skeleton wasn't very frightening.

Even an armed soldier could easily subdue one.

However, the fact that they didn't tire and their overwhelming numbers made them a menacing undead force.

And that was the case now.

A troop of about a hundred skeletons wielding crude weapons and armor was threatening the aspiring heroes.

Meanwhile, a higher-tier skeleton magician continued reviving the broken low-ranking skeletons.

Click—!

A skeleton with a shield that had just been revived clacked its teeth, almost as if mocking them.

Crack—!

At that moment, a red-haired elf's eyes flared as she charged toward the skeleton.

"You little—! Where do you think—!"

Thud—!

Her burning red eyes were filled with ferocity.

"Keep mocking me, and I'll shatter you!"

Crack—!

Charging forward, she stomped down on the skeleton's shield.

The impact made the skeleton stagger.

While standing on the shield, Lunia delivered a swift kick to the skeleton's head with a Bang—!

The skeleton's skull soared straight up and promptly fell on someone's head.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

Eliana, who had been fending off skeletons with her sword, shouted in protest.

"That wasn't on purpose!"

"Well, in that case, I guess it can't be helped."

Nodding at Lunia's words, Eliana swung her sword.

Crack—!

Her blade slashed through the skeleton's joints like a flash of light.

A clean and efficient sword technique.

Third-year Damien students Samith and Dignes were impressed by Eliana's swordsmanship.

"That's incredibly efficient swordplay!"

"Hah! Impressed? Behold the sword of the Lightning Swiftblade Eliana!"

"…What? That name is terrible."

"What was that?!"

Eliana flared up.

But the four nearby Damien students all nodded in agreement with Dignes.

Currently, Lunia was grouped with Eliana and the five Damien students.

"Y-you jerks! Ganging up like cowards… Lunia! 'Lightning Swiftblade' sounds cool, right?!"

"Is now really the time to argue about that?!"

Lunia shouted fiercely.

Whoosh—!

Flames burst from Lunia's fist.

Boom! Whooosh—!

She punched the skeleton in front of her, and with an explosion, it shattered into pieces.

Watching this, one third-year female student from Damien shrank back.

"Wasn't Lunia El Lunda supposed to be a summoner?"

"She is. Technically."

"Then why does she look like a berserker right now?"

"I guess she's pretty pissed about having to fight monsters with her mana sealed."

Eliana shrugged.

"Seriously! Leo, that jerk! There's a limit to how far he can go!"

Lunia let out a roar of fury.

In response, Eliana quickly sprang into action.

As long as the mid-tier skeleton magician remained, the low-ranking skeletons would keep regenerating.

So taking down the magician quickly was top priority.

Normally, one spell would've done the job, but Leo's mana restrictions made that impossible.

Dignes crushed a skeleton with a shield as big as himself.

The other Damien students formed ranks and followed behind Eliana and Lunia.

Eliana led the front, with Lunia close behind.

The five Damien students, led by Dignes, protected the rear, repelling skeletons attacking from the sides.

Dignes glanced at Lunia and admired her internally.

'Even with her mana so limited, she can still fight like this?'

Lunia was drawing out maximum efficiency with minimal mana.

As a summoner, she stood at the front lines for exactly that reason—close-range attacks used less mana than casting spells.

Still, that strategy wouldn't be possible without strong physical fundamentals.

'I see… There's a reason she became a hero even though we're in the same year.'

Dignes then turned his attention to Eliana.

Even without using aura, her swordsmanship was blazingly fast.

But it wasn't just speed.

'Her sword has no waste.'

Which made her moves feel even faster.

When she used mana, the finesse had been overshadowed by flair, but now it was all crystal clear.

Both Lunia and Eliana's strength came from solid fundamentals.

Not only Dignes, but the other Damien students were also continually impressed.

Whoooom—!

Just then, a wave of dark energy echoed out.

The skeleton magician had cast dark magic.

A shard of blackened bone flew toward Lunia like an arrow.

Dignes hurried to block the attack—

Flash—!

—but Eliana, boosted by aura, deflected the arrow with her sword.

Clang—!

Dignes' eyes widened.

As the bright flash faded, Eliana stood revealed, landing softly.

Her hair fluttered, and the way she stared down the skeleton magician looked like something out of a slow-motion scene.

Dignes nodded in awe.

'Beautiful.'

Not in a romantic sense—pure admiration.

It felt like witnessing a flower blooming fiercely on a battlefield where lives were at stake.

That unshakable presence—undoubtedly heroic.

Strong, elegant, unwavering, like a living painting.

While Dignes was awestruck—

"Heh! Not a chance while I'm around!"

—an obnoxious voice from Eliana shattered the mood.

"Tch."

Dignes clicked his tongue lightly.

Eliana, already moving again, charged the skeleton magician and swung her blade without hesitation.

She reached the magician and slashed—

Clang—!

"Huh?"

Eliana tilted her head in confusion.

Her sword had bounced off the magician's barrier spell.

Click-click-click-click—!

The skeleton magician clicked its teeth mockingly.

Seeing this, Eliana snorted and started clicking her own teeth.

Her unexpected imitation startled the magician.

Eliana smirked and pointed behind the magician with her finger.

"Laughing? What the hell are you laughing at?!"

With a furious shout, Lunia slammed her flaming fist forward.

Crash—!

Her punch shattered the barrier and crushed the magician's skull.

But that wasn't enough to end the fight.

As the magician staggered and tried to cast again, Dignes rushed in and slammed his massive shield into its body.

Smash—!

The magician burst apart, its remains scattering in all directions.

At the same time, the now-masterless skeleton soldiers lost power and crumbled.

"I thought this battle would be much tougher, but it ended easier than expected."

At that, the Damien students groaned.

"Isn't the Lumene student council president too ruthless?"

"I get that it's an exam, but this is just cruel."

"Ugh… The thought of traversing this desert while fighting monsters makes me sick."

With mana restrictions, even low-tier monsters posed a real threat.

Especially since the biggest threat of low-tier monsters was how they attacked in swarms.

A group numbering in the hundreds would naturally be difficult to handle.

And the presence of a skeleton magician meant that mid-tier monsters were likely to appear as well.

Watching the complaining students, Lunia spoke.

"Don't be too pessimistic. With our abilities, we can get through this."

She then glanced out past the desert horizon.

"And it seems Lumene always gives these kinds of tests."

At her words, the Damien students looked at her.

"Seiren, Damien, and Lumene are all hero academies. If Lumene can do it, so can we."

Encouraged, the Damien students tightened their grips on their weapons.

"Yeah, screw it. Let's go! We're the descendants of Unyielding!"

"No way we're whining over a trial like this!"

Fired up, the students bumped fists and reignited their resolve.

Lunia smiled at the sight.

Then, as if making a declaration, she said to Eliana:

"You said this kind of absurdity is the norm here, right? Then we'll face it head-on too."

Her eyes gleamed with a competitive fire.

But Eliana scowled at the comment.

"What are you talking about? Since when was this kind of insanity normal?"

"Huh?"

"Even Lumene doesn't normally throw students into monster-infested deserts with mana restrictions!"

"…"

"This time, the class president seriously crossed the line. I'll give him a piece of my mind when we get back!"

Arms crossed, Eliana grumbled.

Lunia sighed internally.

'I really can't understand what counts as normal at this crazy Lumene.'

Whatever the case, this time it really did seem like Leo had messed up.

bl

"What? Monsters?"

"Yes."

Leo's expression grew serious at the report from Anya Becks, heir to the Northern Shadow Lord and the Northern Mage Tower.

"Monsters suddenly appeared. The shadows responded, but since the phenomenon spread across the entire Azo Desert, we couldn't eliminate them all."

"Then we'll have to cancel the test."

Monster appearances were an unexpected disruption, even for Leo.

"With all due respect, Leo… perhaps we should continue the exam."

"Why?"

"Though the difficulty increased, the third-years are reaching the location without major issues."

Anya continued while reviewing real-time reports from shadows stationed throughout the desert.

"If monsters appeared, second-years might manage, but first-years would struggle."

"Yes, but the third-years in the lead are taking care of monsters that pose a threat to lower years."

She added, "The shadows are prepared for emergencies. This could be a valuable opportunity for real combat experience."

As Leo hesitated, Melina, who had been listening nearby, spoke up.

"I agree. It's a good suggestion. The students probably think you just gave them another brutal task anyway."

With Melina's support, Leo nodded.

"Alright, we'll continue the test for now. Anya, stay fully prepared for emergencies."

"Yes."

"Melina, investigate the cause of this phenomenon."

"Understood."

Once alone, Leo fell into thought.

'Monsters, all of a sudden? Those Tartaros bastards… what are they up to this time?'

bl

Just before dawn.

Leo stood at the city gate where the final exam took place and spotted the lead group of students approaching.

'They made it faster than I expected.'

He'd been receiving consistent monster reports.

He knew some of them would be hard to handle with mana restrictions.

Yet the third-years had defeated them all and arrived even earlier than he predicted.

Leo allowed himself a proud smile.

'It's been worth raising them well.'

Just as he basked in pride for his future comrades—

"LEO, YOU JERK! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Lunia's furious voice rang out.

"Class president! This was way too much!"

Eliana's resentful voice followed.

Lunia stormed up to Leo.

"Throwing us into a desert full of monsters with mana restrictions?! Do you know how hard that was?!"

"You could've broken the restriction, couldn't you?"

"I could have! But it's an exam!"

Lunia shouted, fuming.

"She's right. This was excessive."

Aru, who had arrived with a group similar to Lunia's, also protested.

Elena, who was with them, came over and pinched Leo's cheek.

"Care to explain, President?"

She smiled sweetly, but her eyes didn't.

Clearly, Elena had a rough time too.

Leo responded calmly, having expected this.

"Actually, the monster appearance wasn't part of the plan. It was a freak incident."

The students looked surprised.

Chloe, sensing something off, asked,

"Then why didn't you stop the exam?"

"I was going to."

"And then?"

"But you all handled it so well."

"…"

"I figured it was a great opportunity for real combat, so I let it continue. Wasn't it a great experience?"

His shameless answer left the students speechless.

"So really, this wasn't my fault. It's your fault—for doing too well."

As Leo even shifted the blame, Lunia thought to herself,

'Is this how Luna felt?'

For some reason, she had a powerful urge to punch Leo—just once.