Goooooo-!
Flames gathered at the tip of the sword.
Leo’s fire burned even more fiercely.
Wrapped in flames, Leo charged forward.
‘Now!’
Before Leo got within range, Haul thrust his spear.
Swaaaash-!
A massive, thick green aura burst from the tip of the spear.
The aura stretched out like a living anaconda, aiming for Leo’s neck.
Leo tried to deflect Haul’s attack with his flame aura.
Fwoosh-!
In that instant, Haul’s aura changed course like a living snake.
‘I expected this much.’
Leo didn’t mind and charged toward the defenseless Haul.
Haul’s technique was tricky to handle from a distance, but once the gap was closed, he was left defenseless.
“You fell for it!”
Haul shouted with satisfaction.
Whoosh-!
“……!”
Haul’s aura continued to extend.
“Snake Prison!”
Snap-!
Like a snake capturing its prey, the swirling aura coiled around Leo and tightened instantly.
The delicate aura control was so impressive that gasps of admiration erupted from the spectators.
Ain curled his lips slightly as he watched.
‘Flame aura is powerful for attacks, but it’s weak in defense. Like a double-edged sword.’
Poison aura had a similar nature.
That’s why it was naturally countered by flame aura.
‘He persistently trained his aura control and mastered a technique that compensates for that weakness.’
Ain glanced at Leo, who remained silent.
‘But Leo Plov wouldn’t charge in without a plan.’
‘How about this, Leo! This will take you down! And….’
Haul clenched his fist and turned to Celia, who was watching with a surprised expression.
‘Celia! I will prove that I am your equal….’
“It’s an impressive technique. But your finishing move is sloppy.”
“What?!”
Fwoooosh! Boom-!
The aura binding Leo swelled and exploded outward.
Gooooo-! Fwoosh!
The flames surrounding Leo burned fiercely.
Leo took a stance after swinging his sword, staring directly at the frozen Haul.
“You should never let your guard down until the flames are completely out.”
“Tch!”
Haul gripped his spear tightly.
Clench-! Boom-!
At that moment, flames erupted from Leo’s foot.
Aura Step.
Fwoosh-! Fwoosh!
Leo shot forward like a fiery bullet, and before anyone realized it, the tip of his sword was at Haul’s throat.
“……Winner, Leo Plov.”
Ain calmly declared.
Wooooaaaah!
Cheers erupted.
“Wow! Wow! Leo won!”
“……Did he always have that kind of skill even in real combat?”
Chelsea jumped up and down with excitement, while Tade muttered in disbelief.
Even Karl, who was handing popcorn to a customer, whistled in amazement.
“Who was it that said that first-year kid would be weak in actual combat?”
“Haul was amazing too, but the match-up was just too unfavorable for him.”
“No wonder the first-years are getting so much attention.”
The upperclassmen admired the duel and voiced their thoughts.
As Leo withdrew his sword, Haul dropped his head and fell to his knees.
“It’s a complete defeat. The gap in our skill was overwhelming. I was careless against someone of your level… It was pathetic.”
“I don’t know about that. To be honest, I never expected you to have a technique like that.”
Leo was genuinely impressed. Such aura control required an incredible amount of effort.
“If your aura had been just a little stronger, I might have passed out from suffocation. I underestimated you too, so we’re even.”
Leo smiled and extended his hand.
“It was a great technique.”
Haul looked at Leo’s hand with a dazed expression, then took it and stood up.
Leo patted Haul on the shoulder before leaving the arena.
‘Leo Plov… There’s a reason he stands beside Celia.’
Muttering to himself, Haul left the arena with slow steps.
Before he could leave, first-year Knight Department students from Class 1 blocked his way.
“Haul! That was so close!”
“Ughhh! That was the perfect chance to get revenge for making me clean the bathroom!”
“What kind of monster is that guy?! He has no weaknesses in actual combat!”
The Class 1 students comforted Haul.
“Elegant! Haul! That was an amazing match! If not for the match-up, you could’ve crushed Leo Plov! So don’t be discouraged!”
“Professor Sedgen, please refrain from such biased comments, even if he’s your student.”
Ain rubbed his temples as Professor Sedgen shouted loudly.
Haul scratched his head awkwardly at the unexpected praise.
Then he noticed Celia approaching him, and he tensed up.
Celia smiled at him.
“That was impressive. You were amazing.”
“W-What? Oh! Uh! T-Thanks!”
Haul stammered, his face turning red.
‘For someone who looks so fierce, Haul is actually quite innocent.’
‘Celia, on the other hand, is surprisingly oblivious to these things.’
‘At this point, shouldn’t she have realized?’
The Class 1 students grinned meaningfully.
“Leo, great job. When did you train your aura so much?”
Celia approached Leo and asked.
Haul clenched his fist.
‘Leo Plov! I’ll make you my new goal!’
Determined to catch up to Leo, Haul steeled himself.
The Class 1 students watched Haul’s determination and clicked their tongues as they ate their popcorn.
Leo, having secured a perfect victory in the first duel, sat on the side to watch the remaining matches.
“Iliana Laden from Class 5, step forward.”
“Alright! Who’s my opponent?!”
“Chen Xia from Class 10, step forward.”
“Huh?!”
Iliana, who had stepped forward with confidence, flinched when she saw Chen Xia.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“Uh, yeah, same here.”
They exchanged greetings.
‘I’ve improved a lot! Even the top student should be within my reach now!’
Aura flickered around Iliana as she gripped her rapier tightly.
Shiiiiing-!
Chen Xia, a martial artist, had no weapon.
Instead, a blue aura flickered at her fingertips, forming droplets of water.
Her aura attribute was water.
The droplets intertwined like threads, weaving into a smooth, silk-like wave.
As Chen Xia moved her hands in a graceful dance, the flowing water rippled at her fingertips.
“Hoo!”
Iliana took a deep breath and pointed her rapier at Chen Xia.
“Haap!”
A burst of aura propelled Iliana’s body forward.
Leo sighed at her reckless speed.
“That idiot.”
Boom-!
“Guh!”
Crash! Roll, roll, roll!
Iliana’s fierce charge was effortlessly blocked by Chen Xia and even reflected back at her.
She tumbled across the ground, her vision spinning.
“Chen Xia, victory.”
The match had been overwhelmingly one-sided.
However, since Iliana was a magic swordsman, this test had been unfavorable for her, so few had expected much.
Chen Xia clasped her hands together and bowed politely before leaving the arena.
Iliana struggled to raise her clenched fist toward the sky and shouted.
“But at least I charged in with confidence against Chen Xia! I didn’t back down!”
“Can you shut up? You’re embarrassing us.”
“Yeah, just pretend to be unconscious. Please.”
The students from Class 5 gave her cold looks, making Iliana pout.
“Captain! They’re saying I embarrassed myself!”
Leo spoke as he watched Iliana complain.
“Your impatience is the problem. You know how strong Chen Xia is, don’t you?”
“Of course! That’s why I charged in with confidence! There was no way I could break through with just swordsmanship, so I had to at least show my spirit!”
“What an achievement.”
Leo clicked his tongue at Iliana, who proudly folded her arms.
Iliana was among the top students in her grade.
‘The opponent was just too strong. If she had been allowed to use magic, things might have been different, but this was a knight exam. Still, if she had been more cautious, she wouldn’t have lost so easily.’
Shaking his head, Leo made eye contact with Chen Xia, who was sitting with Class 10.
Chen Xia smiled and waved, and Leo waved back.
‘I thought so before, but Chen Xia has the best balance among the first-year knight students.’
Celia and Duran had aura attributes specialized in offense.
In contrast, Chen Xia’s water aura was well-balanced between offense and defense.
As Leo pondered Chen Xia’s skills, he observed the other duels.
Even students who had been in the lower ranks at admission had significantly improved.
Some even managed to defeat students who had once been far stronger than them.
Despite the mixed results, the top students of the entrance exam proved they were in a league of their own.
Celia, having swiftly subdued her opponent, elegantly brushed her hair aside and approached Leo.
“What do you think?”
“You’ve grown.”
“Of course.”
Celia narrowed her eyes.
“Leo, I’m taking the top spot in this exam.”
Leo smiled.
“Go ahead, if you can.”
At his words, Celia grinned before returning to Class 1.
Iliana, who had been watching from the side, commented.
“You’re popular.”
“Jealous?”
“No, like I told Nella, that kind of popularity isn’t for me.”
***
Midterm exam period.
After the final written exam in linguistics, the students of Class 5 swarmed Chelsea.
“Hey! Chelsea! Let me see your answers!”
“I’m going first!”
“Karl! Your grades are rock bottom anyway, so wait your turn!”
“That’s not fair!”
Everyone was fiercely competing to see Chelsea’s answers first, as she had the highest written exam scores in Class 5.
Waving her test paper, Chelsea smirked at the crowd.
“Who should I show first?”
“Chelsea! Show me first!”
“Sis! Me first!”
“You look especially beautiful today, Chelsea!”
The Class 5 students clung to Chelsea, even though she was the youngest among them.
“Hohoho.”
Chelsea covered her mouth and laughed smugly at her classmates’ antics.
“The exam is over anyway. Does it really matter now?”
Leo, sitting by the window in the back, rested his chin on his hand and spoke.
Nella gave a lazy smile.
“Hehe. But people naturally want to know their scores as soon as possible.”
Leo shook his head and packed his writing materials into his bag.
“I only have the combined practical exam for Hero Studies and Combat Studies left, but you still have Magic Studies and Summoning left, right?”
Leo had passed the knight duel exam with five consecutive wins.
The toughest match had been against Haul on the first day.
Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran also achieved five consecutive wins.
Nella, however, had one loss.
“If I hadn’t faced that annoying Duran, I could’ve had a perfect record too!”
Chelsea, after handing out her answer sheet, hugged Nella and complained.
Nella, one of the top contenders for a perfect record, had lost her third duel against Duran.
“I fought well against Duran, so I’m satisfied.”
She patted Chelsea’s head and smiled.
“By the way, Leo, how’s your summoning practice going?”
“Going well.”
“But you barely show up for practice?”
Tade, a Summoning major, asked curiously.
The Summoning practical exam was traditionally one of the biggest events for Lumerne’s first-year students.
Leo chuckled at Tade’s question.
“I’m training hard where no one can see.”
“That’s so like you, Leo. Always confident. So, what’s your goal?”
Chelsea’s eyes sparkled as she asked.
Leo answered without hesitation.
“First place.”
End Of Chapter
