224
‘There are four students I haven’t caught so far.’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Shasha, Habidden, Aina, Luke.
These were the students who had encountered Leo and managed to survive.
All the other students who crossed paths with him didn’t get far before falling under Leo’s hand.
Of course, that didn’t mean they had completely escaped Leo’s pursuit.
Tramp… Tramp…
Leo approached the heart of the forest, Mount Edien, with a somewhat relaxed gait.
Leo’s red eyes scanned the traces left behind in the forest.
“They’ve all fled towards the heart of the forest. Not a bad choice.”
Kraaaaaaaang!
Leo swung his sword at the monster lunging towards him.
Bwuak!
The troll split by Leo’s sword tumbled to the ground, sprinkling bl**d everywhere. Although it was a monster with exceptional regeneration abilities, this was beyond its reach.
Mount Edien was a monster infested area.
The deeper you ventured towards the mountain’s core, the more the number of monsters grew.
Moreover, the forest became increasingly dense and labyrinthine, providing numerous places to hide.
Hence, fleeing to the forest’s core to avoid Leo’s pursuit was the best option.
‘Of course, this is assuming they can survive the monsters… but judging by their skills, it might be possible. Now, the question is, what will these four do?’
Even to Leo, the four were quite impressive.
Just successfully fleeing from him was enough to prove they had what it took to enroll in Lumeran.
‘If Celia, Abad, Duran, Warden, or Eliza were here, they wouldn’t have hesitated to eliminate them.’
Those individuals would have disqualified them without a moment’s doubt.
In Leo’s case, he had allowed their escape out of curiosity to see how they’d respond.
Apart from these four, the others had already fallen to Leo’s hands.
‘But there won’t be a second chance.’
The next time he crossed paths with them, he planned to disqualify anyone without hesitation, no matter who it was.
“Hmm?”
Leo, who was following the traces, paused as he saw someone appear before him.
The five people he thought would be fleeing were now standing in front of him.
Luke, who had fled with Aina, shouted.
“Hurry up and run!”
“Just let go of this!”
“Aah!”
Aina’s words startled Luke as he looked confused and let go of her wrist.
“I’m sorry.”
Aina rubbed her wrist while looking at Luke and spoke.
“Don’t worry about me; run away by yourself.”
“Why? We must flee from that person and get as far away as possible…”
“Either way, neither you nor I can escape from that person.”
“Huh? Who is that person?”
“Leo Flove.”
“Hiiik!”
At Aina’s words, Luke gasped.
Leo Flove.
Currently, the most famous hero candidate in the world.
Not only an all-class, but also a legendary figure as the first-ever 1st-year Student Council President at Lumeran!
Taken aback, Luke soon calmed himself and spoke.
“But we should still run.”
“Did you not understand what I said? That person is far stronger than you could imagine.”
She said this with a voice tinged with resignation.
“It’s futile.”
“But we must do our best!”
“I’ll do my best. It’s just that I don’t intend to.”
‘I need to start training again from tomorrow to receive his recognition.’
Aina slightly bowed her head.
‘To gain Leo Flove’s recognition, the only way is to conquer my grandfather’s world and build my strength.’
The Hero Record of Sword Mastery.
Its rightful owner is Aina.
If Aina wishes, she can enter the Hero Record of Sword Mastery at any time.
‘I need to get stronger.’
When Aina’s eyes darkened, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
“You don’t intend to join Lumeran?”
“Yes.”
To Aina, slaying one more demon was more important than studying at Lumeran.
She took this exam with the mindset that admission wasn’t necessary.
“Why not? It’s a pity! With such incredible skills, you’re surely guaranteed admission!”
Upon seeing Luke’s genuinely regretful expression, Aina wore a strange look.
“Why do you want to enter Lumeran?”
“Because I want to become a hero.”
“Why?”
At Aina’s question, Luke scratched his head and grinned awkwardly.
“Well, it’s kind of embarrassing…”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Aina grabbed Luke by the collar and pulled him away.
Kwaak!
A flash of lightning flew past the spot where Luke had been standing.
“Huh?”
Luke looked confused.
“You even consider fighting that person with skills like these?”
Shaking her head, Aina looked towards where the sniper magic had come from.
“Whew~ Quite a reactive young lady. Didn’t expect that!”
Brushing through the bushes, a girl emerged with a sniper-specific magical weapon slung over her shoulder.
She had black hair, brown eyes, and a healthy bronze skin tone.
“From the Southern Mage Tower, I see.”
Looking at the emblem on the girl’s shoulder, Aina murmured softly.
“Correct.”
The girl smiled and aimed the magical weapon at Aina.
“Skilled with sniper magic, are you Juen Tolvina?”
“Figures you’d know.”
The girl grinned with a combatant smile and asked.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Aina Baydna.”
“Granddaughter of the Sword Saint? Wow~ impressive~”
“Whuuut?”
Juen gasped, and Luke wore a startled look, never imagining this girl could be the renowned one.
“So you’re hanging out with a baggage?”
Juen smiled, and Luke scratched his head, not disagreeing as it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Both Aina and Juen were globally renowned candidates, the top prospects for the entrance exam.
“Still, encountering someone I’d like to test my skills against is quite lucky.”
“I don’t particularly have any intention to fight you.”
“Not really my concern.”
Turning to Luke, Juen said,
“Hurry, escape. You don’t want to get involved.”
“Actually, we should all run together.”
“Why?”
“We’re, you know, being chased.”
“Chased by whom?”
“Mr. Leo Flove.”
At Luke’s words, Juen’s face instantly froze.
“What do you mean you’re telling me this now!”
Juen grabbed her hair in frustration.
“Just when I avoided freezing to d*ath from the Ice Witch, now it’s this monster?”
As Juen shivered, a voice called out sarcastically.
“Why are you following me?”
“Tch. I’m not the one following you, you are.”
An argumentative voice came from the bushes as Shasha and Habidden appeared.
Seeing Shasha and Habidden, their eyes narrowed.
“Granddaughter of the Sword Saint, Aina Baydna, and the daughter of the Southern Mage Tower, Juen Tolvina.”
Shasha pulled out and unfurled her magical whip and covered her mouth.
“And one person whose name I do not recognize.”
“Hahaha.”
Luke laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
“Tch. If not for the situation, I could’ve taken you down. Lucky, I suppose.”
“Tch. Don’t make me laugh. That’s what I was about to say. You should leave before the Student Council President shows up.”
Upon Juen’s words, Habidden hesitated.
“Student Council President? Are you also being chased by Elder Leo?”
Habidden asked, and Aina replied.
“You too?”
Shasha folded her whip and muttered.
“It seems all the Freshman Representatives are being targeted by Elder Leo. We have no luck.”
Shasha shrugged.
“Anyways, since we’re in the same boat, why don’t we come up with a plan together to evade Elder Leo?”
“You guys go ahead. I’m good at hiding my presence. I’ll be fine unless it’s a wide-range magic.”
“Elder Leo will see through your techniques.”
“Huh?”
“Furthermore, Elder Leo can use wide-range magic with ease.”
“Have you seen him do it? I’ve only heard rumors about his great magical abilities, but I haven’t heard of him using wide-range magic.”
“To which Shasha, with her arms crossed, grinned.
“That’s because there’s nothing Elder Leo can’t do!”
Shasha’s response made Juen shake her head disapprovingly.
Just then,
“You guys should flee.”
Opening an alternate space, Aina pulled out a new sword.
“I’ll fight.”
At her words, Shasha, Habidden, and Juen frowned.
“Are you being reckless?”
“I don’t flee.”
Her words sufficiently provoked Shasha, Habidden, and Juen.
They were planning to flee, but thinking of Aina, their biggest rival in the exam, standing to fight evoked something else.
The childish pride of teenagers, suppressed by the fear of Leo, began to surface.
“Think you’re the only one with courage? I have some too!”
“Fleeing doesn’t suit my style.”
“Even if it’s Elder Leo, running away too often hurts one’s pride.”
Juen, Habidden, and Shasha flared up.
Seeing this, Aina tilted her head.
“You guys can run away. It’s the better choice.”
“Peck!”
Although Aina’s words were out of genuine concern, they effectively provoked the trio.
Confused, Aina looked at them.
“Why are you acting like this?”
“It’s because of you, Aina.”
“Because of me? What did I do?”
Looking at Aina’s furrowed brows, Luke awkwardly burst out laughing.
“What about you?”
Habidden asked, looking at Luke, who seemed conflicted.
Luke was different from these four.
He was unsure if he could pass into Lumeran.
Just an ordinary boy who had trained alone in the countryside all his life.
But…
“I want to fight.”
The youngest Student Council President in Lumeran’s history.
Someone who, even as a 1st-year, achieved feats comparable to a hero.
Leo was a figure of admiration for Luke.
Hearing Leo’s stories was what drove Luke to challenge the Lumeran entrance exam.
“Would I ever get the chance to see him again in my life?”
This might be his last opportunity.
So a desire to challenge Leo arose.
“I may not be of much help, but I’ll assist.”
“To defeat us independently or to pool our forces and attempt to stop me… Not a bad choice.”
Leo smirked at the examinees who were igniting their fighting spirit.
Shasha, Habidden, Juen winced internally.
The three had only gotten offended by Aina’s actions.
Realizing Leo’s intent, Luke sparkled his eyes filled with admiration and stared at them.
“Ah, so there was a plan behind it all, huh? I just thought you got angry because of Aina’s words.”
“Of course!”
“Together, we’ll stand up against the Elder!”
“Yeah.”
Seeing Luke’s bright, sparkling eyes, the three decided to confidently go with it.
At this point, Aina stepped forward.
“Draw your swords.”
Upon hearing this, the four took on a tense face and lowered their postures.
The moment Leo drew his sword and readied himself for battle,
Each had their designated roles.
Although formed on the spot, they had discussed tactics to confront Leo.
As Aina spoke, Leo smirked.
“Did you just say I should draw my sword? Why should I?”
“Huh?”
Leo raised his hand.
“I don’t think I need to for you.”
A 1-on-1 fight might justify the statement.
However, this was 1 vs. 5.
No matter how strong Leo Flove, a legendary hero candidate in Lumeran’s history, might be…
These were contenders vying for the Freshman Representative role.
“Shouldn’t we make him draw it?”
Juen smirked.
“That’s right.”
Chack!
Juen aimed her sniper-style magical weapon at Leo.
“I’ll make you regret it!”
Whoosh!
A powerful magical power surged.
Rather than a stealth attack, this was a straightforward assault.
As expected, suppressing magical power to avoid detection would diminish the attack’s potency.
Kwang!
A sound akin to artillery fire echoed.
A powerful magic b*llet charged towards Leo, brimming with magical power.
Chheeeaaang!
“…”
With a blank expression, Leo extended magical power from his hand and deflected the b*llet.
Juen’s face stiffened slightly upon seeing this.
“Show me what you’re made of.”
Leo’s eyes flashed.
The five felt their skin crawl.
A glaring gaze from a clearly superior height, looking down on them.
They were overwhelmed by that gaze.
“You’re value, I want to see it.”
![[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")
