Chapter 109

【109】108.

The audience cheered for Leo, who had displayed an overwhelming skill.

‘Thought I wouldn’t stand out.’

Leo sighed as he looked at the bl**d on his body.

He had inadvertently been covered in bl**d and flesh fragments as the Cyclops exploded in d*ath moments ago.

Cheered by the audience, Leo followed the instructions of the hosts and left the arena.

He was led to a waiting room inside the Colosseum.

As he entered, he found other entrance candidates who had already finished the Monster Carnival gathered there, chatting.

Upon spotting Leo, covered in bl**d, they all stopped talking abruptly.

Since these candidates had completed their Monster Carnival earlier, they had just witnessed Leo’s impressive performance.

They all looked at him with caution in their eyes.

To the Azonia candidates, Leo was a powerful competitor.

“Is there somewhere I can clean up?”

The host who guided Leo spoke.

“You can clean up in your room.”

“Where do I go to reach my room?”

“You must hear the words of the teacher overseeing this entrance ceremony before going to your room.”

‘This way, I’ll attract attention.’

Since there was no one else as bloodied as Leo, his current state drew even more attention.

‘I should just stay quiet and stay in the corner.’

Leo sat alone in a corner of the expansive waiting room.

‘And anyway, water manipulation? Never thought of that.’

He looked at his hands as he recalled what happened moments before.

‘This is quite unexpected; I managed to use water manipulation through polymorph.’

What is now known as the “Hero’s Breath” of Aron.

Of course, it is much different from the “original” used by Aron, and the free water manipulation ability has disappeared.

However, when Leo used the water manipulation ability while polymorphed, it worked.

‘Well, in my case, there was no significant physical change.’

Polymorph is a magic that changes the outer appearance, not the fundamental essence.

Although it appeared that Leo was a hybrid Beastman activating water powers through breath, he was just human beneath all appearances.

The water transformation only applied to his outer appearance. Leo’s body was not enhanced by it.

Consequently, the aftereffects of Aron’s breath when pushed to its limits still remained.

As Leo contemplated the “Hero’s Breath,” Ar was watching him from afar.

‘No matter how I think about it, I didn’t imagine things!’

Ar could not but be intrigued after briefly witnessing Leo’s water manipulation in the arena.

The Beastmen have continuously researched water manipulation for a long time.

Water manipulation was the most powerful weapon granted to the Beastman species.

Being able to freely manipulate water was one of the Beastmen’s greatest aspirations.

But throughout history, there was only one Beastman who could do so.

‘[Hero] Lady Aron!’

Ar stood up with her ears and tail alert, her catlike eyes widening.

‘Even Lady Aron’s ability to freely use water manipulation only exists in documents!’

Currently, among the remaining Hero Records of Aron, there are none related to ‘Battle.’

Hence, the fact that Aron could freely manipulate water exists only in documents.

Regarding this, opinions among Beastmen are divided between real and fake.

Of course, Ar believed that Aron could freely manipulate water.

‘Of course Lady Aron could do anything!’

To the young girl who had listened to Aron’s hero stories since childhood, Aron was a great hero who could do anything.

She even took her name from “Aron.”

‘I have to ask him once!’

Ar approached Leo sitting in a corner of the waiting room.

“Black Rabbit, there’s something I want to ask you…!”

“Hey.”

However, someone approached Leo before Ar could.

As Leo looked up from his seat, he saw a muscular wolf Beastman boy over 180cm standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

“What is it?”

“Seems impressive.”

The boy grinned as he observed Leo.

“I thought you were definitely a coward for staying in the corner. You’ve made an impression.”

The boy, with gray hair and fierce golden eyes, introduced himself with a warlike smile.

“My name is Dion Den. What’s yours?”

“Kyle.”

“Kyle? Sharing the name with the Hero of Beginning? That’s unique.”

“What do you want with me?”

“Something simple. I was worried if there were only weaklings, but now that I’ve seen someone with your skill, I can relax.”

He chuckled.

“Thanks to you, it seems I won’t have a boring school life.”

“Musclehead. You’re talking nonsense again.”

Ar crossed her arms and approached with a disdainful look.

“Hey, it’s Ar.”

Dion expressed indifference.

“Every time I see you, your body’s frailness is unmatched.”

“Hmph! There’s no need to overly increase muscle. Look, this flexible and beautiful posture.”

“Yeah. Always as unimpressive as ever.”

“Who’re you calling unimpressive?!”

“I don’t have much interest in you, my childhood friend. I know how strong you are. I want to compete with new powerful opponents.”

The grinning wolf Beastman boy was truly a Beastman who pursued strength.

“Then, after me, you can have a conversation with him! I also have something to ask the Black Rabbit!”

“What?!”

“Because I was talking to him first.”

“Hey, no cutting in, please.”

“I met this guy earlier.”

“What does that matter? Follow the order!”

As the two Beastmen glared at each other without backing down, Leo spoke.

“You two seem close.”

“I’m not friendly with this poop-dog who only knows how to fight?!”

“What makes you think I’d be friendly with a dumb cat like you?!”

“Everyone, gather.”

Someone entered the waiting room and gathered the entrance candidates.

“Let’s gather first.”

As Leo headed for the gathering, Ar missed her chance to speak and kicked Dion.

“Because of you, I’ve missed the chance to have a conversation! Anyway, you’re no help! No help!”

“Hmm! Your calm demeanor as a strong one pleases me even more!”

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Once the school starts, the world will shift its focus from Lumeran to us!”

“Stop ignoring me!”

As he ignored her words, Ar hit Dion’s back hard.

“It’ll just hurt your hand.”

Indeed, her hitting him with her bare hands only resulted in pain due to his firm muscles.

Seeing Dion mocking her, Ar stood with a cold expression and raised her claws.

As she frowned, Dion grabbed her wrist to block her attack.

“You cursed cat!”

“What? You cursed wolf!”

Ar glared at him and fiercely pushed his face away with her foot.

“Over there! What are you two doing instead of gathering?”

They eventually got scolded by a vice teacher.

*

After the Monster Carnival.

The entrance candidates received a rough explanation about the desert marathon that would take place tomorrow.

The rules were simple.

Start from Azrek, cross the great desert, and reach Azonia located in the middle of the desert.

This was the condition for admission.

At first glance, it seemed very simple.

However, crossing the desert between Azonia and Azrek was no easy feat.

“The Azrek Great Desert is one of the harshest places on the continent.”

The candidates looked at Vega with admiration as he explained the desert marathon in the waiting room.

The male was currently the most recognized Beastman hero.

He was a genuinely powerful hero who had been active on the front lines not long ago.

“So let me give you one piece of advice.”

Everyone swallowed nervously and listened to Berge.

“Don’t make the foolish mistake of confusing foolhardiness with courage.”

A sense of tension spread among the students after those words.

A few of them were gritting their teeth.

“This is my last chance….”

“I just got through the free class, and they tell me to quit?”

“Come on, how did I get this far!”

Like Lumeran, Azonia has an age limit for enrollment.

And there were many repeaters who were nearing that age limit.

For them, the word ‘quit’ was equivalent to abandoning the dream of becoming a hero.

“Recommended candidates, come forward.”

At those words, five boys and girls stepped forward.

The gazes of students who passed the free class turned toward them.

‘We worked hard to pass the free class, and those guys…!’

The decisive difference between the students who reached this place by passing the free class and the entrance candidates.

It’s because they are evaluated as having such overwhelming skill that they don’t need the free class.

But knowing that, it’s inevitable that the students who worked hard to pass the free class would find the recommended candidates unpleasant.

Especially the fact that all of them came from famous aristocratic families further upset the other entrance candidates.

Among them, Berge, with his arms crossed, looked down at the recommended candidates.

‘A, Father! As always, the pressure is no joke! He’s more intense than usual today…’

‘The honorable Mr. Berge! What a powerful pressure indeed!’

Ar, who had seen him frequently since childhood, was also on edge.

The other two Beastmen were no exception.

Only Leo calmly stared at Berge.

Seeing this, Berge spoke as he stared fixedly at Leo.

“You who haven’t attended the free class will have no acquaintances among other candidates. Introduce yourselves.”

At that, the entrance candidates began introducing themselves one by one.

The first to introduce herself was a fox Beastman wearing glasses.

“I’m Stea Ruall. My specialty is magic. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Late Vega. An elementalist.”

The bear Beastman grinned confidently.

“I’m Ar Tune. Let’s all do our best.”

“Kyle. Nice to meet you.”

Some students looked astonished at the introduction.

The name of the Great Hero is so famous that there are cases where people name their child after taking a few letters, but it’s rare to use the exact name.

Not to mention, Kyle is treated like a fairy tale character, so it’s even rarer for someone to take that name.

After the introductions of the first four recommended candidates ended, all eyes turned to Dion.

Dion grinned coldly, showing his fangs.

“If you’re weak, don’t hinder others and quit early.”

The expressions of the entrance candidates stiffened.

A few assistant teachers startled, and Berge narrowed his eyes.

“Though Dion has the skill to say that, can he handle the consequences?”

Berge likes the strong,

But being merely strong isn’t enough.

The first condition Berge recognizes is the ability to take responsibility for one’s words.

With that one sentence, Dion was practically making enemies of all the entrance candidates who passed the free class.

Ar shook her head, unable to control her childhood friend.

After the introductions, Berge spoke.

“Good. Are there any candidates with questions?”

No one raised their hand.

“Then, dismiss. If you go down that hallway, you’ll be assigned a room.”

As Berge spoke, the students who passed the free class exited the waiting room.

All ignored the entrance candidates disdainfully.

Seeing this, the entrance candidates exchanged glances, sighed lightly, and shrugged.

They had expected it, so they didn’t show signs of bad mood.

As the entrance candidates were about to leave the waiting room,

“Kyle.”

“Yes.”

“I want to have a separate interview with you.”

‘Interview? What is it?’

Even though he was being called by a teacher, presumably a professor at Lumeran, Leo had a slightly tense expression.

Meanwhile, Ar frowned.

‘Might the interview take long?’

Feeling her opportunity continually missed, Ar headed to her dormitory.

‘I’ll visit him later, anyway.’

Ar, who wanted to know Leo’s secret at all costs.

As the students left, the deputy teachers also left the waiting room for control.

Once only the two of them remained, Berge said seriously.

“Kyle, I’ll ask you, just in case.”

“Yes.”

‘Might I have exposed the fact that I’m from Lumeran?’

Leo was tense.

When Berge asked.

“Could you be Reina’s son?”