Editor : Amethyst00



After swiftly eliminating the group of students who had targeted him, Leo climbed to the top of the tallest building in sight.

‘No one else would know. That this was the land where Lysinas and I first brought down a Legion Commander.’

This city, destroyed by greed, was also the place where Kyle and Lysinas had once defeated Jormungandr, the King of Gluttony, Legion Commander of Tartaros.

It was the first land reclaimed by the surface races, who had lost everything but Godthrone.

The place where the legend of a Great Hero, now not even left in records, had begun.

“Back then it was just Lysinas and me, so calling us Great Heroes is a bit much, I guess.”

Leo burst into laughter, recalling his previous life.

“Well, should I start by looking for Lake Erdhiana?”

He pulled out the map of Neigrang he had prepared in advance.

Five spots were marked on it.

And in one of those five lakes, the Great Spirit of Brilliance, Luminus, might still be slumbering.

During the battle with Jormungandr, the elemental had been gravely wounded, nearly to the point of erasure. To that Lysinas had made a promise.

‘I promise, Luminus. When I wake you again, the world will be filled with light.’

At the time, Luminus had suffered a wound so deep there was no avoiding dissolution.

Thus, Lysinas had no choice but to seal Luminus into this land.

‘So many ages have passed that the chance of Luminus still being asleep is almost nothing.’

Leo lifted his eyes from the map.

‘But if still asleep… then I’ll have to be the one to wake her.’

bl

The students moved quickly toward the center of Neigrang.

“Hurry up! There’s no reason to fight here!”

Whoever seized the central fortress first—the safe zone—would dictate the flow of the battle royale.

Even if they clashed in strength later, reaching the central fortress first was the priority.

“If the curses activate, you’ll take damage without even fighting! First, the central fortress!”

Though this battle royale doubled as the final practical exam, it was still an inter-department tournament.

So many students were moving in department-based parties.

This party was no exception.

They had encountered several other parties along the way, but no fights had broken out.

At this early stage, everyone was acting cautiously.

‘Anyone who fights here only puts themselves at a disadvantage!’

Jurgen Loussen, third rank in the Summoning Department, was sure of it.

He was the leader of a five-member Summoning Department party.

While heading quickly toward the fortress walls, Jurgen’s party was also preparing in another way.

“Even in this cursed land, there’s food worth gathering.”

This battle royale wouldn’t end until only one was left.

It could very well turn into a long war.

And in a long war, the most important thing was food.

Jurgen’s party was making preparations for that.

“All the hell we went through in the Beast Forest this past month wasn’t wasted after all.”

A Summoning Department girl grumbled as she plucked mushrooms and stored them in subspace.

“Yeah.”

In the Beast Forest, they had interacted with untamed beasts.

Some students had achieved enough affinity that, even without expending spiritual power, they could give simple commands to low-grade beasts and elementals.

But the greatest benefit was learning how to survive in the wild.

“Thanks to that, we won’t have to worry about food even in the middle of nowhere.”

“Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me shiver!”

The students shook their heads as if traumatized.

‘Once we reach it and finish preparing for the long haul…’

Suddenly Jurgen’s face changed.

One of the elementals he’d sent out to scout had been forcibly unsummoned.

“There’s a monster up ahead! Let’s get out of here!”

“Right!”

The party began to move.

“Huh?”

“What is it, Jurgen?”

Seeing Jurgen suddenly grow tense, the others looked confused.

“Again.”

“What?”

“Me too!”

Another party member shouted in alarm.

“Something’s coming at incredible speed!”

Jurgen yelled urgently.

And at that moment—

Crack crack crack crack crack!

A fierce sparking sound rang in all their ears.

Flash!

A powerful golden light burst before the Jurgen party.

“Duran!”

‘Damn it! We ran into the worst one!’

Jurgen scowled, eyes wary of Duran.

“Why are you blocking our way?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Duran drew his sword.

“This is the inter-department tournament. Meeting enemies means fighting them. That’s only natural.”

At that, the Summoning Department girl looked dumbfounded.

“What if a curse activates? Or monsters show up mid-fight? Fighting here is just stupid!”

“Foolish.”

Duran sneered.

“Do you think I’m at the same level as you? Monster or curse, neither is much trouble for me. Rather than worry about that, it’s better to reduce competitors before reaching the fortress.”

“As expected, I thought we couldn’t communicate with you.”

Jurgen snorted.

Whoooosh!

Wind swirled fiercely around him.

“Duran. I admit you’re strong, but aren’t you underestimating me a little too much? Ignoring the Summoning Department’s third rank?”

“Wasn’t Leo Plov third in the Summoning Department? I wouldn’t know, I don’t care enough.”

“You bastard!”

Crash!

Elementals of wind blasted furious gales at Duran.

Crackle!

As Duran swung his blade, golden electricity surged in all directions.

The elementals were instantly unsummoned. Duran’s eye twitched.

‘Only low-ranking elements?’

Arrogant as he was, Duran wasn’t so foolish as to misjudge skill.

Even if he hadn’t paid much attention, he knew Jurgen was an exceptional elemental summoner.

Vmm—!

Jurgen lifted his gaze skyward.

A massive summoning circle was forming, radiating tremendous power.

“Dragging this out won’t help me. I’ll finish this in one strike!”

Summoning a high-ranking wind elemental, Jurgen smiled triumphantly.

His party braced themselves, forming a defense.

Whoooosh—!

The raging wind lifted Duran off the ground.

Boom! Boom!

Duran’s face hardened as he stomped down, his feet driving deep into the earth.

‘Just the summoning alone causes this much force…’

“Interesting.”

Duran smirked, tightening his grip on his sword.

Crackle crackle—!

Muscles bulged under his uniform as though to tear it apart.

Seeing that, Jurgen shouted:

“Finish him, Alcetas!”

Whooooshhhh!

The high-ranking wind elemental became a tornado and crashed down on Duran.

As the cyclone bore down to rip him apart, Duran’s eyes blazed.

Golden sparks leapt from his eyes.

The Brave’s Breath amplified his blade’s power to the extreme.

‘Lightning Strike! Astrape!’

A crescent-shaped slash of lightning cut through the cyclone cleanly, soaring skyward.

Jurgen’s eyes flew wide.

“Haah!”

Duran exhaled, pulling his feet free of the ground.

“Not bad. But this is the end.”

“D-damn it!”

Jurgen’s face twisted.

As Duran advanced, aura flaring, the party flinched and shrank back.

“That’s enough, Duran Moira.”

At the ringing voice, Jurgen’s party gasped and looked up.

“E-Eliza!”

“Noona! You’ve come to save us!”

“Eliza! Eliza! Eliza!”

“Here to interfere, Eliza Hergin?”

Duran asked irritably. Eliza, mounted on a Wind Wyvern, idly played with her nails as she replied.

“In an inter-department tournament, helping my department’s students is only natural, isn’t it?”

“Unni! Take me instead!”

“Eliza! Eliza!”

The Summoning Department students cried out her name like worshippers.

Eliza, proud and haughty as ever, was also known for her strong devotion to her department.

She often boasted, but she always stood up for Summoning Department students, earning great respect.

Finally glancing down at Duran, Eliza smirked.

“Well, if you insist on fighting even when you should tuck your tail and run, I won’t stop you. Hohohoho!”

“Fufu… If you think relying on these fools gives you an edge, Eliza Hergin, you’ve chosen poorly.”

Duran laughed.

Vmmm—!

The clash of pride between two of the most arrogant first-years made Jurgen’s party glance nervously around.

“Th-this isn’t good. We might get caught up in it…”

“S-shouldn’t we help Eliza…? But we might just end up crushed like shrimp between whales…”

The Summoning students sweated nervously, backing away.

Duran’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly turned toward the sky opposite Eliza.

“Krur?”

“What is it, Pipi? Something’s coming?”

Sensitive to wind movement, the Wind Wyvern looked the same way. Eliza frowned in puzzlement, but didn’t drop her guard.

A moment later, something came flying at tremendous speed.

The instant they noticed—

Wham!

“Kyaaaa!”

A student shot across the air.

Eliza was caught in the shockwave before she could react, thrown from her saddle.

Slamming against the wyvern’s back, her face twisted with fury.

She hadn’t crashed to the ground, but for a summoner to be tossed from her own mount was a grave humiliation.

“Heh. Didn’t expect to meet so soon! Let’s settle this right here!”

The fastest in the Knight Department vanished in pursuit of Leo.

Climbing back into the saddle, Eliza glared dagger-eyed toward Leo’s path.

“Again! Again! Again! Leo Plov, was it you?!”

“Eek! She’s mad—she’s really mad!”

“E-Eliza! Forget them, we need to get to the fortress…”

“Unforgivable! This time I’ll never forgive you! Pipi, after Leo Plov!”

“Kraaa!”

With wings flaring wide, the Wind Wyvern shot into the sky at blinding speed, diving after Leo.

As the three vanished, a Summoning girl stared blankly.

“That’s completely opposite the fortress… What are they even doing?”

Jurgen sighed.

“Well, she’s the top of our department. I’m sure she has a plan.”

“Maybe Leo does, but Eliza and Duran just looked like they chased him without thinking.”

“Let those meatheads be.”

“Huh? Meatheads?”

“Simple-minded idiots.”

“Oh! Perfect!”

The party burst into laughter.

“Don’t you dare say I was the one who said it.”

“Depends on how you act!”

“Let’s move quickly, before we get dragged into another pointless fight.”