13
Rumelia City.
This metropolis at the center of the continent is called the center of the world not only for geographic reasons but also for symbolic significance.
One of the warp gates in this Rumelia City started emitting light.
“Dear guests, you’ve arrived at Rumelia City. Please check for any forgotten items and disembark from the gate.”
With the announcement, Leo exited the gate.
The location of the warp gate was at the highlands near the outskirts of Rumelia City.
The moment he exited the gate entrance, the entire panorama of Rumelia City spread out before him.
Hwooowwwooo-!
Leo’s white hair was blown around.
Scenes of a developed, colossal metropolis stretched out before his eyes.
In the far distance, something that looked to be a large lake, almost resembling an ocean, could be seen.
Ordinarily, this lake would be covered in thick water mists, but today, it was exceptionally clear.
Because of this, the massive castle at the far end of the lake, Rumearn Academy, faintly emerged in view.
‘Two days from now, I’ll head there.’
It had already been a month since the entrance examination.
As is usual for entrance exams every year, numerous anecdotes had surfaced.
Among these, the topic of conversation was Leo’s exam from the western region.
Recording only 40 successful applicants had certainly caused a stir for a while.
‘Not my problem.’
Leo was busy preparing for enrollment.
Today, after a month-long preparation, Leo had made his way to Rumelia.
No one from the Flove family had come along with him.
The entrance ceremony at Lumeran was off-limits to outsiders.
‘Go there, learn a lot, and come back.’
“Son, don’t feel upset if we don’t attend, alright?”
Recalling Deid and Reina who had seen him off, Leo smiled.
His parents, although of noble lineage, weren’t fond of extravagance.
‘They’ve decided not to spend on the warp gate when they could divert those funds to the welfare of the domain.’
Leo, too, was in agreement with his parent’s stance.
After stepping out from the warp gate, Leo made his way to the bustling Curauga Street in central Rumelia.
‘Here’s where we agreed to meet, right?’
“Leo! Over here, over here!”
A girl named Celia approached him, swinging her pony-tailed black hair that went down to her waist, and dressed elegantly but functionally.
Celia arrived smiling brightly as she gained the attention of the passersby.
“Long time no see?”
“Never had a reason not to be well. By the way, congrats on being the top scorer.”
“Yes, tied with Butter for first place, but still, it’s first place nonetheless.”
With that, she swept her bangs sideways with grace.
“From now on, try to look at me with a little more admiration.”
“Respect? Hard to do after witnessing you vomiting.”
“Hey!”
Celia scolded, her face beet red.
“Urgh! Seriously! He doesn’t compromise on a single word!”
Celia sighed heavily as she glared at Leo.
“Where’s Uncle Giese?”
“He said he’d be here in the evening. Until then, I intend to go shopping in Curauga Street.”
The Curauga Street area sold items necessary for Rumearn, including uniforms, textbooks, subject-specific educational materials, weapons, staves, and summoning catalysts.
“Did you buy a uniform and textbooks?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we’ll buy them today. Follow me, and I’ll specially guide you.”
Celia first led Leo to a large clothing store on the main road.
Through the glass display window, the Rumearn uniforms could be seen.
The brand labeled [Blessrigger] was visible there.
“Looks expensive.”
“Of course. It’s a store that has been making Rumearn uniforms for a thousand years.”
There were three types of clothing essential for Rumearn.
Costume suits to be worn during events.
School uniforms for classes.
Practical attires for practice sessions.
All these clothes had a minimum specification level.
To meet the specifications, ‘mana cloth,’ a fabric infused with mana, was necessary, and the quality of the uniform was determined by the type of mana cloth, according to Celia’s explanation.
“Furthermore, Blessrigger is renowned for being a premium brand. Even I got custom-made clothes here.”
Having finished the explanation, Celia entered the shop.
Tingling- tingling
“Welcome to Blessrigger.”
A waiting employee greeted warmly and opened the door.
Inside, a few customers were visible, among whom some looked like new students at Rumearn.
While browsing through the display cases, a middle-aged woman appeared.
“Hello, Miss Celia. It’s a pleasure for our shop to have you visit again.”
Gracefully acknowledging her, the lady gingerly inquired,
“Is there something you came for…? Did the tailored uniform fail to meet your satisfaction?”
“No, today we’re here to order a custom uniform for a male student.”
Celia replied while pointing to Leo.
“He’s enrolling this year with me.”
“Oh, is that so? I thought only you were entering from Zerdinger this year. We even had a young nobleman.”
Covering her mouth in surprise, the tailor respectfully greeted Leo.
“My name is Nera, and I’m a tailor here at Blessrigger.”
Leo immediately sensed that she was a wizard.
‘Since one has to handle man-infused fabrics, one must be a wizard. Nevertheless, a wizard working as a simple tailor… the world really has improved.’
“Young master, I’ll take your measurements.”
Nera retrieved a measuring tape and began measuring Leo.
“Which department are you aiming for?”
“Yes.”
“By any chance, what is the attribute of the aura you are practicing?”
Auras are divided by attributes depending on the characteristics of the aura cultivation methods.
The blending of mana cloth changes based on the attribute of the aura.
Enhanced resistance towards antagonistic attributes is one example.
Another would be boosting the same attribute’s power.
Of course, no dramatic effect could be achieved by mana cloth, but even a small advantage would aid someone in the endless competition at Rumearn.
“Please use attributeless mana cloth.”
“Excuse me?”
Nera looked slightly puzzled, and the amused Celia standing to the side raised an eyebrow.
Repeating with a faint grin, Leo requested,
“Please, attributeless.”
Attributeless mana cloth.
This fabric type didn’t carry any attributes; it was simple, unassuming cloth.
Obviously, such a customer requirement doesn’t come often.
“Understood.”
But if that’s what the customer desires, it must be done.
Having taken the measurements and gathering the information, Nera proceeded to the tailoring room.
“Suddenly, why attributeless? Our family’s aura methods will be taught eventually, and it would be better to weave the uniform with flame-attribute mana cloth.”
“Since I’ve done some thinking.”
‘After all, ‘attributeless’ signifies the potential to be anything else.’
Of course, he planned to master the Zerdinger family’s aura methods.
But focusing solely on it wasn’t his goal.
“By the way, don’t I have any money?”
“Would you say such chicanery and frugality? My father, having heard about you, decided that the Zerdinger family would cover all the costs necessary for school life.”
Hearing this, Leo recalled what Reina had said.
“It’s alright. Alright. Even though the older brother is a little stingy, he’s rich enough, and if he behaves stingily, I won’t sit around idly.”
Her words when thinking about the costs of Leo’s admission and necessary fees for clothing and books.
According to his mother, all of the personal assets accumulated during his time in the Zerdinger family were left behind.
Separate from family affairs, the wealth he gained on his own could be claimed, or so they said.
‘Given the mother’s nature, she’d probably overturn things at Zerdinger.’
The head of the family must be well aware of this fact, leading them to extend assistance.
A short while later—true to an elite tailor’s caliber, Nera swiftly returned with the custom uniforms.
After trying them on, some simple adjustments to the measurements were completed.
An hour later, Nera returned with the perfectly tailored uniform and bowed.
“The uniform will be delivered to your accommodation.”
After making the payment under staff guidance, they exited the shop.
“Next, let’s head to buy textbooks?”
Celia led Leo towards the enormous bookstore.
The books to be bought included mandatory textbooks applicable to all students and those specific to majors.
Leo not only bought the required books for the knight specialty but also swept up textbooks for magic and summoning specialties.
“Already preparing for a duel? Very thorough.”
“Wow, wow,” nodded Celia in admiration, prompting Leo to mutter under his breath.
‘These are for me to study.’
Of course, mentioning this would only get him labeled as insane.
In the end, they bought every necessary educational material.
They then spent time sightseeing around Rumelia.
Rumelia was a metropolis with plenty to see.
The tour was enjoyable, and buying street foods along the way was fun.
Watching Celia smile happily while having ice cream, Leo smirked.
‘She’s still very much a kid when you see things like that.’
Celia, as the daughter of the Zerdinger family, had always been conscious of people’s gazes, but spending time with Leo brought out her more girlish side.
With that, as evening approached, Leo and Celia returned to their accommodations.
“Are you here?”
“Uncle!”
In their accommodations, Giese was already waiting.
“How did it go?”
Anxiously, Celia’s hair was tousled by Giese upon greeting her. He then approached Leo.
“Leo, did you have a good month?”
“Thank you, yes.”
“The family council has reached a decision.”
After passing the entrance exam, Giese had proposed that Leo be allowed to learn [Phoenix Breath], a secret cultivation method of the family reserved only for acknowledged family members.
This issue about whether an outsider like Leo should be taught the technique had been sensitive enough.
The discussion had stretched on for a month, and the result was finally out today.
“You’ve been granted the allowance to inherit [Phoenix Breath].”
Hearing this, Celia joyfully exclaimed to Leo,
“Congratulations, Leo!”
Celia, who had trained and taken the exam alongside Leo, believed that he was someone suitable for the Zerdinger family.
However, the opinions of the family elders could have differed.
Hence, she had been anxious, but finally, the allowance was given.
“Even though you’ve left the family, the fact that you are the son of your late sister and the fact that…”
Giese smiled slyly.
“The elders appreciated your clearing the western exam.”
The notorious western exam where only 40 people had qualified had already gained notoriety worldwide.
Giese pulled out a red key and handed it to Leo.
It was an astral space key.
“Open it.”
Following this command, Leo inserted the key into the air and twisted it, triggering an astral space where a single book emerged.
On flipping through it, however, there were no writings yet visible.
‘It’s sealed.’
Leo effortlessly understood the structure of the seal.
“Now drop your bl**d on it.”
Following this, Leo bit his finger to release a drop of bl**d on the page.
In response, letters came to life.
“Now, this book can only be read by you.”
“Understood.”
“Even though Rumearn awaits, wouldn’t it be better to practice this method beforehand?”
“Is that possible?”
“Of course. If you can awaken aura before entering school, there’s nothing better.”
Giese chuckled meaningfully.
“Of course, it won’t be easy.”
Having received [Phoenix Breath], Leo went back to his room.
“Why are you here?”
“Planning aura training now, right? Let me help if you’re stuck.”
“Readily?”
“Of course, you should call ‘Please assist me, Miss.'”
“At least that fellow would call out ‘Lord, Lord.'”
“Hey!”
Annoyed, Celia threw a cushion at her cousin who brought up an embarrassing part of her past.
Of course, Leo dodged it with ease.
Leaning back on the bed, Leo started flipping through the book. Celia frowned in irritation.
“Are you just going to sit there and not help until politely requested?”
Watching Celia dramatically turn her face, Leo smirked and glanced through the book.
‘That is expected.’
Worthy of the family renowned for heroes—this aura method was both complex and extremely powerful.
Leo concentrated as he read the mana maneuver technique in [Phoenix Breath], prompting Celia to let out a derisive snicker.
‘There’s no way it’d be easy.’
Based on Leo’s current abilities, he’d probably find ordinary aura techniques relatively straightforward to master.
‘But Aunt said Leo had reached the mana resonance stage.’
Being able to carry out mana resonance could be considered overcoming the most challenging hurdle in learning aura techniques; it almost amounted to mastering half of it.
However, Phoenix Breath was different.
Not only was mana resonance required, but complex mana maneuvering had to be added.
Only by creating ‘flames’ through this maneuvering could the first level of this technique be crossed.
Talent incarnate Celia herself had taken a whole week to ignite her flames.
Leo would soon be stuck on the issue of mana manipulation techniques.
Celia smiled slyly.
‘Time to settle the debt of my humiliation when you treated me like a maid. Make sure you call me “Miss” for at least two days.’
She had thought this, ready to repay her last humiliation, when—
Hwa—!
Leo’s body burst into flames which then spread and wrapped around him fully.
The flames morphed into a pair of wing-like structures on his back before dispersing.
“Still not easy.”
Mastering the [Phoenix Breath] was about using aura to create wings of flames.
It had taken Celia an entire week to get to this stage.
‘Yet… yet this guy…’
“Miss, this section is where I’m stuck. Any easy tips?”
As Leo pointed to a passage in the book in an utterly unpolite tone, Celia could only…
“Hey, you insane b*stard! Even if you can do it, there’s a limit to common sense! People who accomplish it the first time with just one quick glance don’t exist in this world!”
… shout out loud.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
