Chapter 222

222

“……What is this situation?”

Kal slouched his shoulders and wore a gloomy expression.

“Do you really think I’m that easy to handle?”

“Sorry, senior.”

At Kal’s complaint, the lead applicant at the forefront curled up the corner of his mouth.

“But didn’t you say it yourself, Senior? You’re the weakest of the second years.”

Kal was surrounded by eleven applicants.

The subject of this year’s entrance exam was survival – to survive against second-year students.

However, the opposite situation could also arise.

There’s no rule that applicants can’t attack second-year students.

Knocking out second-year students and surviving would also fall under the category of survival.

It was only natural that the applicants would target Kal, who had been rumored to be the weakest among the second years.

“Yeow! I didn’t expect things to come around like this after advertising the passing talismans!”

Kal grabbed his head and let out a scream.

The applicants each grabbed their weapons as they watched Kal’s reaction.

Knights stepped forward while wizards and summoners took their positions at the rear.

Kal crossed his arms as he looked at them.

“Could we resolve this peacefully?”

The applicant who seemed to be the party leader shook his head firmly in response to Kal’s question.

“Unacceptable. We will knock you out, Senior, and enter Lumeran.”

Even while saying this, he was inwardly thrilled.

‘Sure enough, this person is nothing special!’

Kal had already publicized himself as the one who barely managed to survive among the second years with the lowest grades.

As a result, the image of Kal being weak was deeply embedded in the minds of all the first-year students.

Defeating a second-year student would definitely increase their chances of admission.

To them, they absolutely couldn’t let Kal go.

As Kal sighed, “Ah…,” a voice came from the air.

“You brought this on yourself.”

Everyone jumped and looked up at the sky.

They froze after seeing a blond-haired, blue-eyed female student sitting leisurely on a staff.

“Chloe!”

Kal lit up and waved.

At his words, the faces of the other applicants turned deathly pale.

Chloe Mueller!

Among the students of the second-year Department of Magic, Chloe was one of the absolute strongest, rivaling even Abad. She was precisely the person the applicants wished not to encounter.

The faces of all the applicants went pale at her unexpected appearance.

“You’re done for. Accept your fate!”

As Kal called out, Chloe said while crossing her legs to sit comfortably.

“Kal. Handle it yourself.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, it’s all because of the seeds you’ve sown.”

Chloe smiled and said.

“Hey! No matter what, you’re my friend – can’t you help out?”

“Nope.”

Chloe resolutely declined and opened the grimoire she always carried, evidently disengaging herself.

Watching her calmly delve into her book, Kal slouched his shoulders.

“And…”

Chloe glanced briefly at the applicants and smiled.

“Wouldn’t it ruin your senior’s reputation if you underestimate us?”

“Ah… yeah. Guess I need to handle this, huh.”

Kal sighed, loosened his shoulders, and stepped forward.

Seeing this, the applicants tightened their expressions.

‘Anyway, Chloe Mueller isn’t going to interfere, right?’

‘This is a good opportunity!’

They closed in on Kal with renewed confidence, narrowing the circle.

At this, Kal opened an extra-dimensional space.

Whirr! Zzzzrrr!

A variety of weapons came pouring out.

The aspiring knight applicants, who were closing the distance, trembled involuntarily upon seeing this.

“Enchant.”

When Kal triggered the magic, the swords seemed to gain life and began moving.

The knights in the front row tensed their expressions as they observed this.

Even if he was the lowest-ranked student, he was still a Lumeran student.

They needed to tread carefully.

Meanwhile, the wizards in the rear began casting their spells.

Seeing this, Kal quickly recited the Dispel magic.

“Huh?”

“The magic activation was cancelled!”

Even the simple magical suppression spells used would be surprising when three wizards’ magic was simultaneously Dispeled.

The party leader hurriedly shouted after seeing the magic cancel.

“Hey, frontline! Rush in and stop them from using magic!”

“But what about their magic swords?”

“That’s just basic Enchant magic! There’s nothing to fear!”

Taking courage from this, one knight charged at Kal.

“Whoa! Unfortunately, you chose the wrong option.”

Kal smirked and generated mana. The gold alchemy triggered, and the sword swung by the charging applicant began glowing brilliantly before exploding with a loud bang.

“Yeeek?”

“The sword… It exploded?”

“What? Is that… a magical sword?”

Confused cries erupted among the applicants.

“Hey! He said it’s just simple Enchant magic!”

An applicant from the front line complained to the party leader.

Though he did not faint or get paralyzed from the Aura Armor, he had taken quite a hit.

The party leader flared, surprised by their reaction.

“We haven’t taken a disqualification-worthy blow yet! Just continue resisting! That’s the role of the front line, isn’t it?”

“Why are you using us as shields when you’re the one who wants to take the credit?”

Kal watched the protesting applicant who had been pushed back.

‘Hmm? Maybe this is easier to handle than I thought.’

A year ago, Kal would’ve been quickly defeated.

Kal was a student who barely managed to pass and squeaked into the second year with the same effort.

Always the weakest of the second years.

But even so, he wasn’t someone these hastily formed party members could defeat.

A year at Lumeran was plenty of time to transform a boy who dreamed of being a supporter.

‘A supporter is someone who assists the hero.’

Click!

Kal pulled out a one-handed crossbow from the extra-dimensional space.

‘Assisting means supporting the hero’s back, as well.’

And during this year, Kal had witnessed numerous classmates supporting each other’s backs.

‘I don’t have the ability or strength to stand on an equal footing with them. But if I want to be a supporter, I need to stand behind them at least.’

Kal knew the gap keenly.

He also knew that this gap would widen.

‘But I’ll try to catch up as best as I can. Using everything I can.’

To earn the right to prop up the hero’s back and encourage him when he’s exhausted, he at least needed to be able to follow at their heels.

Therefore, Kal diligently studied and worked hard on everything he could do.

Kal aimed his crossbow at the party leader behind him and pulled the trigger.

“A wizard using such a clumsy attack…”

BOOM!

The magic-enchanted arrow exploded.

It was a special explosive arrow made by Kal using alchemy.

‘Of course, this one’s not cheap either.’

Kal smiled as he loaded the next arrow.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected power, the party leader tensed his shield magic even more.

Ping! Tick!

The next arrows hitting the shield magic harmlessly bounced off.

This time they were merely ordinary arrows, used to deplete the magic.

“Now, here’s a question. Next arrows, explosive arrows or regular ones?”

Kal grinned mischievously as he loaded an arrow.

And with the next shot, he targeted a person among the confused rear line.

BOOM!

“The answer is explosive arrow!”

“Hey, front line! Block it properly!”

“Are we your shields?”

The hastily formed party started to fracture.

‘Their biggest weakness is cohesion.’

One of the main characteristics of Lumeran applicants was pride.

They’re all talented individuals challenging the Lumeran entrance exam.

As such, their pride in their abilities was strong.

Young as they were, they believed themselves to be the best, so naturally, they wouldn’t have smooth cooperation.

‘This problem persists until the early part of the first semester at Lumeran.’

Since Kal had experienced it firsthand, he seized this opportunity.

‘The party will be uncontrollably demolished.’

Kal pulled out a potion bottle from inside his clothes.

Even though he had used the enchantment magic, it swiftly drained his mana,

Continuing with alchemy magic after drinking the potion, Kal kept dealing with the opposing party.

Chloe, who had diverted her gaze from her grimoire, smiled as she observed the scene.

‘So, Kal. Your strengths would’ve been enough to promote to the second year.’

Although most of the second years thought Kal advanced by luck, that’s not the case.

It’s true that he barely passed when only considering the written exams.

However, considering practical combat ability, Kal was a top-class talent even after becoming a second-year student.

He certainly wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated by the applicants, even though he wasn’t in the mid-tier in terms of grades.

‘There aren’t truly excellent applicants among them, either,’

Thinking this, Chloe briefly glanced to the side.

CRACK! SSSS!

A cluster of ice formed in the air, creating a shield.

Simultaneously, the magic bullets aimed at Chloe scattered in all directions.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Sniping magic.’

And it was a powerful magic at that.

Chloe quickly scanned the area all around.

‘Footsteps perfectly hidden.’

Closing her book, Chloe descended from her staff.

Chloe hovered in the air then flew towards where the sniping magic had originated.

CRASH!

SNAP! WHISHH!

This time, a sniping magic came from the back with even more power, causing cracks in her barrier magic.

Seeing this, Chloe tilted her head.

‘I still couldn’t catch the flow of mana this time.’

Apparently, she was dealing with a mage specialized in this kind of magic.

‘A Mage Killer, it seems.’

To traditional wizards like Chloe, they were a kind of natural enemy.

If she continued to get sniped like this without being able to pinpoint the origin, it would indeed be troubling for Chloe.

‘If this continues and I get sniped…’

SWISH!

Chloe grasped her staff.

GOOOO!

Chloe’s cold mana swirled.

“If I can’t pinpoint the location…”

Chloe smiled faintly.

“I’ll just freeze everything then.”

Chloe’s unique magic.

An icy realm was activated.

A wave of severe cold quickly swept through the vast area.

SNAP! CRACK! CRACK!

In an instant, Chloe froze a vast region and glanced at a certain location.

‘There it is.’

Chloe quickly moved there after sensing the wave of mana.

Kal, watching this from afar, clicked his tongue.

“Chloe has fully become a monster now.”

After saying this, Kal looked at the applicants lunging at him.

“Alright, then, let’s wrap this up.”

SWIIIISH!

Holding a long potion bottle between his fingers, Kal smirked.

“I’ll show you the terrifying power of Lumeran students.”

“YIKES!”

The applicants who had charged boldly screamed.

Kal swiftly gained the upper hand against the applicants.

*

“The students from Lumeran aren’t bad.”

Ar was looking at the exam with shining eyes.

When he spotted Leo on the screen, he tightly clenched his fists.

“He’s here! The Black Rabbit!”

Ar’s feelings toward Leo had not subsided, and he was now calling him “Black Rabbit” again.

“Ar-sama, I’m curious about something.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Why do you call Leo-sama ‘Black Rabbit’? Sure, Leo-sama does have some cute rabbit-like aspects, but judging by appearance, wouldn’t ‘White Rabbit’ fit better?”

“The first time I met him, he had a rabbit beast-form with black hair, so the nickname stuck.”

“Rabbit ears on Leo-sama…?”

Eiran placed her hands on her cheeks and blushed, twisting her body.

“I want to see… did you capture any pictures?”

“No.”

Eiran looked disappointed at his firm response.

At that moment,

“Hmm. That applicant is quite brave.”

Lunia rested her chin on her hand and wore an interested expression.

At her words, Ar and Eiran also looked at the screen.

Typically, when faced with Leo, all the applicants would run away frantically.

But not this time.

The girl standing in front of Leo firmly grasped her sword with determination.

“Such courage! Who is that?”

Eiran marveled.

Ar’s eyes widened.

“Aina Bedena.”

Ar recognized the applicant.

“She’s the great granddaughter of the Sword Saint.”