Chapter 12

【12】11

Leo let the polearm hang as he approached Talatunia.

‘Can that guy really handle a weapon like that while being a swordsman?’

From a distance, Chelsea, who was preparing to support Leo with magic, wore a worried expression.

Even Chelsea thought Leo’s swordsmanship was exceptional.

However, if the weapon changed, the story would be different.

‘I’d rather borrow someone else’s sword…’

While Chelsea was worrying.

Hooong- hooong- hooong-

As he approached Talatunia, Leo spun the polearm skillfully with his fingers.

He felt a considerable weight.

A weapon that would be difficult for someone his age to handle without the help of aura.

But for Leo, who had trained beyond the physical limits since childhood, it posed no significant obstacle.

No, instead, this weight became a weapon for Leo.

Hooong-! Hooong-! Hooongh-hongh-hongh-hongh-!

The polearm that was spinning lightly began to rotate at an alarming speed.

Talatunia opened its mouth wide and charged.

Crack-!

Gathering centrifugal force, Leo let the polearm slip from his hand and caught it by the end of the handle.

Then he swung it widely with one hand.

Bbaak-! Clang!

Kiaaaah!

The axe head of the polearm, swung in a full arc, embedded itself into Talatunia’s head.

The weight of the polearm and the force gained from spinning became a destructive physical force that smashed Talatunia’s head in an instant.

Everyone gasped in shock.

Retrieving the polearm, Leo jumped.

He then slammed the axe into Talatunia’s back using both hands.

Kwak-!

Kiaaah!

A deafening scream.

Talatunia struck its back with its long foreleg.

Thwack-!

Jumping to dodge quickly, Leo stepped lightly.

‘I can’t keep this up for long.’

He checked the state of the weapon quickly.

He had succeeded in landing a hit, but the weapon was damaged after just one attack.

Aura can enhance a weapon’s attack power but also preserve its durability.

“Chelsea!”

“Uh, yes?”

“Use wind magic to send me another contestant’s weapon!”

Shouting as he dodged Talatunia’s attacks, Leo commanded.

“In a situation moving that fast, delicate control is impossible! You could get hurt if something goes wrong!”

“I’ll catch it, just send them quickly!”

“U-what weapon?”

“Any weapon is fine! Hurry!”

Responding to Leo’s urgency, Chelsea received the contestants’ weapons and infused them with wind magic to send them flying.

Whirli-!

A sharp sickle and a heavy b*stard sword flew toward Leo.

“Use whichever one you find comfortable!”

Bbaak-! Dangle!

The axe blade of the polearm that struck Talatunia’s head shattered.

Leo threw back the handle and stepped back, reaching out.

‘If I’m hearing correctly, it’s a sickle and a b*stard sword, right?’

He accurately identified the types of weapons from the sound of them coming toward him.

Kiaaaah!

Talatunia attempted to stab Leo with its forelegs.

Leo jumped and spun in the air to evade the attack.

Clack! Clack!

At the same time, he caught the two weapons perfectly.

A sickle in his left hand, a b*stard sword in his right.

Leo blocked Talatunia’s foreleg aimed at his body with the blade of the b*stard sword.

Zing-!

An overwhelming impact reverberated through his body.

“Ugh!”

Stifling a groan, Leo was sent flying but swung his left hand.

Swish-!

Kiaah!

In that brief moment, Leo sliced off one of Talatunia’s forelegs before being sent sprawling, quickly regaining his stance.

And without hesitation, he charged.

Talatunia’s defensive capability was not that high.

Even weapons without aura could bring it down with sheer strength.

Yet, the reason why the attacks from other contestants didn’t work was simple.

Its recovery speed surpassed the speed of inflicted wounds.

‘Was the Ring of Life such a troublesome item?’

Chuckling lightly, Leo pushed his steps quickly.

He squeezed every ounce of strength from his body, pushing it to its limits.

For the past moments, he had continually surpassed his limits, and his body responded to his will.

Even without using aura, Leo’s movements were astonishing in their own right.

Watching this, the other contestants gaped.

Polearm.

Sickle and b*stard sword.

Claymore.

Dagger.

Longsword.

Spear.

Battle axe.

Each time a weapon broke, Leo used the weapons of the other contestants in turn.

And he wielded them with ghostly skill.

That appearance sent chills down everyone’s spines.

Regardless of the weapon type, he displayed movements akin to divinity.

As if he could handle all the weapons in the world.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he faced Talatunia.

His look evoked memories of a war god.

‘He’s just our age, yet how is he capable of fighting like that with such variety of weapons?’

‘What on earth is his identity!’

The contestants aiming to be knights stared wide-eyed.

Chelsea, who was supporting Leo, also appeared incredulous.

Initially, she thought she would help him with magic.

But Leo moved far too rapidly.

The chaos continued, making it impossible to use magic carelessly.

So she felt anxious.

Yet, those worries paled as Leo stood against that terrifying monster alone.

The Great Hero.

The strength of the man who had led impossible battles to victory multiple times alongside [Hero] Aron at the front lines was more than captivating to everyone’s eyes.

Even in a battle where a small mistake could lead to d*ath, Leo was unyielding.

On the contrary, he found peace of mind.

‘After fifteen years, I was worried, but this sense hasn’t vanished.’

Breathless.

Yet, he couldn’t help but smile.

He relentlessly pressured Talatunia.

In the midst of it, an attack grazed him, tearing flesh from his body.

Even so, he did not stop.

‘Forward! Forward!’

Trials? Wasn’t every moment in the past a trial?

‘If I can’t stop one bug, they’d probably laugh at me in the afterlife!’

This didn’t even count as a trial!

Drip-

“Tch!”

The longsword he held cracked audibly.

The weapon had reached its limit already.

In those five short minutes, several dozens of weapons had already been destroyed.

Just as Leo was about to request the next weapon from Chelsea.

“Leo! I’m ready!”

At Celia’s shout ringing in his ears, Leo smiled wide.

“Ha!”

And with all his strength, he leapt away from Talatunia.

Fwooosh-! Goooooo-!

Along with that, as if making a switch.

Celia, wielding the flame storm imbued with maddening heat, leaped.

A powerful wind was suppressing the heat.

“Enough! d*e! You bug b*stard!”

Kwaaaaaaa-!

As she swung her sword, a storm rich with scorching heat was unleashed.

The powerful storm ripped Talatunia’s body apart.

The smothering heat mercilessly burned Talatunia.

Talatunia thrashed about.

The power of the Ring of Life granted endless life to the spider.

But soon, the destructive power exceeded the restorative power.

Whoosh-!

The flames subsided, and Talatunia faded into ashes.

Thud-!

A golden ring fell to the ground.

[Alby’s World: Prologue – The Forest of Monsters has been conquered.]

A phrase appeared before Leo’s eyes.

Celia slumped down in her spot.

“It’s… over.”

Leaning her head back and letting out a deep sigh, Celia looked at Leo.

Leo, covered in wounds, stood panting.

‘He really managed to hold that monster off for five minutes.’

It was remarkable.

Moreover, he stood proudly despite having endured the most hardship.

Celia, struggling to rise, approached Leo with a smile.

“Leo! You did well…”

“Awesome! Really awesome! You were like a hero from a legend!”

Chelsea hopped excitedly in front of Leo, hands raised.

“Right?”

“Yes. I’m aiming to be a battle mage, so I need to practice close combat. If I enroll in Lumeran, could you teach me?”

Seeing Leo’s battle skills, Chelsea, whose previous grudges had vanished, was busy chattering with excitement.

Celia, approaching her side, added, “I won’t be teaching any skills to a woman of LeWalyn. Hoo-heh- hoo-heh-”

“Why is Zerdinger butting in?”

Celia and Chelsea had a small quarrel.

Ignoring that, Leo moved his body.

His whole body screamed, but he ignored it and picked up the ring that Talatunia had dropped.

As he did, a small golden light burst forth from the ring.

Along with that, a fairy appeared.

Leo’s eyes widened.

A familiar fairy.

It was Silrod, the heir to the Fairy King.

He silently looked up at Leo.

“Hey… Silrod. Do you remember me?”

Leo asked in a slightly trembling voice.

It was the first time he had met Silrod since Luna had died.

But Silrod smiled once in reply and then hid away.

“……”

Leo smiled bitterly.

This was the Hero’s World.

The Silrod that had appeared now was a fake.

‘Seems like he safely became the Fairy King.’

Alby must have obtained the mana eye from Silrod as a reward for defeating Talatunia and reclaiming the Fairy King’s treasure.

Leo looked around.

Before he knew it, cracks began to appear in the world.

The conquered Hero’s World was disappearing.

‘Well then, it’s over.’

Leo took a deep breath.

Soon, the world crumbled with a bright light.

In that fleeting moment.

[Conquest Reward: Pact of the Fairy King]

“What?”

A reward that shouldn’t have been given at all was bestowed.

*

Center of the Continent.

The central city of the world, Lumeria City.

A historical city that had been together with Lumeran for 3000 years.

At the top of that city, an old man stroked his chin.

“Oh? The western region exam seems to have ended.”

“Indeed, Alby. It seems to be over already.”

“That friend is quick with his work.”

Heheh- the old man laughed.

Now well over a hundred years old, there was no one in this world who could dismiss him.

Sword Star Kalyan Beidhan.

He was a hero among heroes who stood at the peak with a sword.

“Let’s see. Oh? You gathered a good number!”

“Is that so? That doesn’t sound like something Alby would do! How many are there?”

“Forty.”

“……”

Kalyan said calmly.

At that, a woman’s eyes trembled.

“Is that… a lot?”

“Of course. It is. I expected about ten.”

Erena grasped her head.

Forty students from the western region.

While a hundred students enroll from other regions, only forty from the western region.

It was obvious that protests from various families in the western region would flood in immediately.

“Don’t be too distressed. It’s better than ten, isn’t it?”

“Well, I guess. It’s better than ten, haha.”

The secretary to the Principal of Lumeran, Erena, forced a smile through clenched teeth.

“Who’s the top student? Celia or Abad? Which one claimed it?”

“Co-valedictorians.”

“Co-valedictorians?”

“Yes. Celia and Abad are co-valedictorians. They say it was impossible to choose between them.”

“Of course.”

Erena’s eyes sparkled.

“And one more thing.”

“Is there another?”

“There’s a recommendation for the freshman representative.”

“Is it from Alby?”

It was surprising for Erena that Alby, who was usually harsh in his evaluations, recommended a freshman representative.

“Is it either Celia Zerdinger or Abad LeWalyn?”

It is usual for the recommendation for freshman representatives to come from the top students.

Seeing Erena look curious, Kalyan answered.

“It’s a guy named Leo Flove.”

“Not Celia or Abad, but someone else?”

Erena’s bewildered expression prompted a smile from Kalyan as he looked down at the report.

<Freshman Representative Recommendation>

Name: Leo Flove (15)

Subject: Knight Studies.

Reason: Heroic Potential.

‘For Alby to specifically mention heroic potential is quite interesting. I wonder what kind of student he is.’

Kalyan chuckled while stroking his beard.

——————