Editor : Amethyst00



“What a mess.”

Leo, who had come to Magic Class, clicked his tongue.

The lockdown announced in the morning was enough to turn the entire school upside down.

Even though quite some time had passed since breakfast, the students were still in a frenzy over the lockdown.

“I understand everyone’s unsettled by the sudden situation. But don’t mind that—focus on preparing thoroughly for the Inter-department Tournament.”

Len spoke in a flat voice.

“As you all know, the Inter-department Tournament is attended by outside dignitaries.”

The noisy atmosphere instantly shifted.

Outside dignitaries.

Literally, it meant the powers of various nations.

Attending Lumene didn’t mean everyone would become a hero.

But just by attending from the Hero Academy, one’s chances of rising to high positions in the future increased greatly.

“Today we’ll practice the Fly spell again, just like last time.”

At Len’s words, the students’ faces grew tense.

The Fly spell was easy in terms of difficulty, but mastering its usage was very hard.

Especially since Lumene’s magic students were far more accustomed to Wing spells, it was even harder.

“And the four who passed in the first class, come forward.”

At the call, Leo, Chelsea, Chloe, and Abad stepped forward.

Len pulled out his staff and swung it through the air.

Shaaa—!

An entrance appeared in the air.

“You four will receive instruction from Albi-sunbae.”

Leo and the others immediately stepped through the space into the next practice ground, where Albi awaited.

All the students stared at them enviously.

‘What’s the difference between me and those guys?! Damn it!’

While Emio ground his teeth inside, the four crossed over to where Albi was.

They entered a practice field far too large for just four people.

The four approached Albi, who sat in a chair at one side.

“Professor Albi. Professor Len sent us here.”

At Chloe’s words, Albi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

“Chloe Müller. What do you think your weakness is?”

“…Excuse me?”

At the sudden question, Chloe thought for a moment before answering.

“The strength of my spells?”

“…Among the four of you, your spells are probably the strongest, though?”

“Stronger is better, isn’t it?”

“Chelsea Lewellin. What do you think your weakness is?”

“My close-combat ability!”

“Even for a battle mage, your close-combat skills are excellent, though?”

“It’s not enough! I think I should at least be able to knock down any ordinary Knight Department student!”

Yap—! Chelsea shouted, pumping her fist into the air. Albi sighed at the sight.

“Len’s teaching philosophy is to maximize each student’s strengths. Following that, you’ve each polished what you’re best at in Lumene.”

At his words, Chloe and Chelsea both nodded.

“But focusing too much on one thing isn’t good either. Chelsea Lewellin, your biggest weakness is the power of your spells.”

“But Professor, I’m a battle mage!”

“Don’t be mistaken, Chelsea Lewellin. A battle mage is a mage who fights on the very front lines of the battlefield. Not a knight. Regardless of your position, you’re still a mage.”

“Ugh…”

“What’s the mage’s fundamental role?”

“To change the flow of battle!”

“With your current ability, do you think you can change the flow of battle while fighting at the front?”

“…No, sir.”

Albi crossed his arms.

“Then make that your training goal.”

“What specific training should I do?”

“You should practice multi-casting.”

“Multi-casting?”

Chelsea made a doubtful face.

She was already practicing it plenty. Chanting was her greatest specialty to begin with.

“I’m not talking about ordinary multi-casting.”

Albi raised both hands.

In his right hand, a Fireball completed itself.

And in his left hand…

“Hellfire?”

The strongest spell of the flame element was conjured.

Casting different-element spells of similar power at the same time was relatively simple.

But casting a low-level spell and a high-level spell simultaneously was hard.

Because their outputs differed, even the basic structure of their formulas was completely different.

Naturally, the greater the gap between the spells, the harder it became.

“If your goal as a battle mage is to become a hero, you must be able to do this easily.”

At Albi’s words, Chelsea swallowed dryly.

“Begin practice.”

“Yes, sir!”

Answering briskly, Chelsea dove into training.

Albi’s gaze turned to Chloe.

“Chloe, you already know your weakness without me saying it, don’t you?”

“My weakness in melee combat.”

“Correct. In fact, melee is a problem for all mages except battle mages. The Wing spell was developed to give mages mobility, to avoid melee. But the fundamental problem remains. Especially you, Chloe—you’re a textbook mage.”

“Ugh!”

At his words, Chloe flinched.

A textbook mage who only ever studied spells.

Of course, as a Lumene student, she had basic physical training, but that was all.

“Start studying martial arts to prepare for melee combat.”

“In magic class?!”

“Today’s class is a special one for the Inter-department Tournament.”

“S-such a thing…!”

“Go warm up.”

Slumping her shoulders, Chloe started warming up at the side.

“Abad Lewellin.”

“Yes, sir.”

“At this stage, you don’t really have any particular weaknesses.”

At that, Abad smiled faintly.

Though Chelsea beat him in melee, and Chloe surpassed him in spell power, in terms of overall combat ability, Abad was the strongest among the first-year mages.

“Help Chelsea.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Leo, same for you. Help Chloe with her practice.”

“Understood.”

After assigning tasks, Albi closed his eyes again.

Leo and Abad approached Chloe and Chelsea, who were preparing their practice in the middle of the training ground.

“Come to think of it.”

At Abad’s words, Leo stopped walking.

“This is the first time we’ve spoken one-on-one, isn’t it?”

Abad smiled.

Half the semester had already passed, but Leo and Abad had hardly interacted.

They weren’t in the same class, nor did they take the same magic lessons.

“True.”

“My sister’s always in your debt. It seems you’ve helped her a lot.”

“I’ve enjoyed school life thanks to Chelsea too.”

At Leo’s reply, Abad smiled gently.

“In this Inter-department Tournament, I plan to defeat you.”

At the quiet and calm declaration of war, Leo looked slightly surprised.

“I’ve been thinking about you since the entrance exam.”

Back then, Leo was nowhere near Abad’s level.

“I thought you were an excellent knight, but once the semester began, I saw otherwise. You stood out in both magic and summoning.”

Abad’s gaze locked on Leo.

“The fact that someone like you exists is fascinating. Before I knew it, you were already far ahead.”

“I’m honored by the evaluation.”

“It’s not my evaluation. It’s the world’s. Honestly, I’m grateful you exist. Without you, there would’ve been nothing worth aiming for, and school would’ve been dull.”

Abad smiled like a gentle spring breeze.

“In this Inter-department Tournament, I’ll set you as my goal.”

‘Even as a guy, I can see he’s handsome. No wonder he’s the most popular boy among the first-years.’

Though Celia complained he was greasy like butter, Abad was indeed the most popular male student in their year.

At any rate, Leo didn’t dislike him after talking like this.

At Leo’s words, Abad gave a dignified bow, like a challenger, and walked toward Chelsea.

Watching his back, Leo let out a dry chuckle.

“Well, being popular has its problems too.”

“What did you talk about with Abad?”

“He said he’s going to defeat me in the Tournament.”

“Celia and Duran are also fired up.”

“They’ve been like that since the start of the semester.”

At Leo’s casual response, Chloe added:

“From what I heard in the last class rep meeting, Chen Xia and Eliza are aiming for you too.”

“….”

“Walden doesn’t talk much or care about others, so maybe not him.”

“He told me during last week’s Summoning class he’ll defeat me.”

“Really?”

Chloe covered her mouth and smirked.

“What’s with that grin?”

“Oh, just thinking it must be nice to be so popular as grade representative!”

As Chloe teased with a wide grin, Leo gave a faint smile.

“And you? Aren’t you aiming for me in this Tournament?”

“Me? Not really.”

“That’s odd. You’re the one who, during midterms, obsessed over that weird book to beat me, until your dark circles were all the way down here.”

“Hey! Why are you bringing that up now?!”

Chloe’s face turned crimson as she screamed and kicked, but Leo dodged nimbly.

“Leo! This time’s practical exam, I’m definitely going to beat you!”

“Stop copying me.”

Annoyed by Leo mimicking her tone, Chloe swung her grimoire wildly at him.

“Huff—! Huff—!”

But Chloe soon tired first, and while fixing her hair, she said:

“Anyway, let me be clear. My goal being you hasn’t changed.”

“Hm?”

“It’s just that I need to restore grades fitting for the Northern Entrance Top Ranker first.”

“Good, that’s admirable.”

“Hmph!”

Chloe snapped her head to the side.

“Anyway, right now I need to improve my close combat ability, just like Professor Albi said. Help me with stretching.”

Leo helped Chloe with her stretches.

He pressed her back while she did splits, or lifted her up back-to-back.

“Ahhh, feels good.”

Chloe mumbled as she swayed on Leo’s back.

“Are you an old man or something?”

At that, Chloe tugged lightly on Leo’s hair.

“So, even as a mage, you’ve learned basic martial arts, right? What weapon did you train with?”

“Mostly swordsmanship.”

“Then swing this wooden sword a bit.”

Leo pulled a wooden sword from subspace and handed it to Chloe.

She held it and took her stance.

‘Oh? Not bad.’

Her form was neat.

Because Chloe loved reading, she had studied fencing manuals as well, so her stance was solid.

“Haaap!”

Whoosh—!

She swung the sword.

Leo nodded.

“Classic clumsy body.”

Chloe pouted.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just use magic to boost mobility and escape close combat quickly?”

“That’s an option, but you should still prepare for close combat.”

“Huh?”

“Here, hold the sword like this.”

Leo approached and placed his hand over Chloe’s.

So close that she could feel his breath, Chloe’s lips parted soundlessly.

“Use your wrist smoothly, like this. Put strength in your waist.”

“…!”

When his hand touched her waist, Chloe’s shoulders trembled like a startled cat.

“Quite a steamy atmosphere for a lesson, isn’t it?”

At the sudden voice behind them, Chloe flinched and jumped away from Leo.

Leo turned his head.

“Hello, my cute juniors.”

There sat Elena, legs crossed, perched on her staff.