Chapter 35

【35】34

After the class had ended, after-school hours had begun.

Leo headed toward the Hero’s Tower located in the central area of the academy, where the Student Council was housed.

Upon reaching the front of the Hero’s Tower, Leo looked up at the towering building.

“d*mn, it’s ridiculously tall.”

Leo marveled.

“You’re just a first-year, aren’t you?”

“What brings you here?”

“Oh my, how cute.”

Upperclassmen passing by noticed Leo and whispered in evident surprise.

The Hero’s Tower was a place frequented by the older students.

First-years, possessing the instinctive fear that younger students have toward their experienced seniors, usually avoided areas where upperclassmen were often seen.

“Uh… Leo-kun?”

Hearing someone call his name, Leo turned his head.

There stood Toulas, a fifth-year student from the Department of Magic.

“What brings you here?”

“I have business with the Student Council President.”

“With Ris?”

Toulas tilted his head in thought before nodding.

“Would you like to come with me?”

Toulas then took Leo inside the Hero’s Tower.

“So, Leo-kun, when do you plan to quit your other majors?”

“I have no intention of quitting my other majors.”

“Leo-kun, as I’ve mentioned before, time is limited. I know you excel in multiple majors, but from what I see, you’re best suited for magic.”

Though disgruntled, Toulas did not press further, as he recalled the lecture he received from the professors previously.

Leo marveled at the interior of the Hero’s Tower.

At the entrance, countless portraits of heroes were hanging on the walls—each one a graduate of Lumeran.

The facilities were incomparably better than those of the first-year building. While the first-years’ building was not exactly lacking in quality, the Hero’s Tower was nothing short of overwhelming.

Together with Toulas, Leo boarded a floating magic-powered elevator, which quickly ascended to the upper floors.

They arrived at the level used by the Student Council.

“Hello, Vice President. Who’s this first-year?”

“This is Leo-kun.”

“Leo? Is that the famous representative of the first year?”

An upperclassman from the Student Council, a third-year, brightened up.

“Yeah. He’s here to see the president.”

“Already interested in the Student Council in your first year? That’s admirable.”

The council member smiled and walked away with some documents.

Overall, the atmosphere within the Student Council was bustling and busy.

“By the way, wasn’t the midterm exam project for the first-years about developing Unique Magic?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any ideas in mind?”

“A magic formula system based on non-attribute magic.”

“Non-attribute magic-based? That’s a concept I haven’t heard before. Could you explain it?”

“Magicians have dominant magical attributes, right?”

“Yeah. And that’s why the concept of opposing attributes exists; even if someone manages all attributes, they still can’t use opposing attributes simultaneously.”

“Exactly. I want to utilize non-attribute magic to freely handle all attributes, increasing practicality.”

“An interesting idea, but it’s absurd.”

Torua chuckled.

“Whenever people don’t attempt something, it’s usually for a reason.”

“I understand,” Leo responded with a smile and a nod.

“But it’s always better to aim for something special, right?”

Toulas, with his arms crossed, laughed lightly.

The junior standing before them was clearly not just skilled in magic formulas.

‘For a mage, trying new things is always important. This is truly unfortunate.’

To have juniors with such potential was a rare occurrence.

‘Talent like this needs clear direction from the start. I will have to discuss this seriously with Professor Ren.’

Determined to develop magic students, Torua approached the door of the Student Council President’s office.

Knock knock—

“Come in.”

Creak—

“Hey, Ris. Leo wanted to see you, so I brought him.”

“Leo?”

Ris, seated in the office while working with a quill pen, stood up with a warm smile.

“Alright, Leo. What do you need?”

“Student Council President.”

“You can call me ‘Big Brother’ when we’re in private.”

With a smile, Ris encouraged Leo, who then nodded.

“Then, Big Brother Ris, I have a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“I’d like to enter the Forbidden Library.”

“I don’t know why you want to enter the Forbidden Library, but students aren’t allowed there.”

While munching on a snack that was close by, Toulas added his own comment.

“Does even the Student Council President not have the authority?”

“Unfortunately, even I cannot override that.”

With a smile, Ris rested his chin on his interlaced fingers.

“Of course, there is a way for students to enter, though.”

“What is that?”

“By conquering the Hero Dungeon.”

“The Hero Dungeon?”

“That’s right. The custom is for those who recover pages from the Hero Dungeon to directly return them to the Hero Record.”

“Even then, the books inside the Forbidden Library cannot be read carelessly. So you might as well give up.”

Toulas muttered.

In summary, a first-year would have no reason to enter, and even if they did, it would be difficult to obtain desired information.

‘Then I’ll have to sneak in.’

It’s human nature to do something you’re told not to.

Unaware that Leo had reached such a conclusion, Ris and Toulas looked at Leo with meaningful smiles.

“How are your exam preparations coming along? Nervous about your first test?”

“I’m doing alright.”

Replied Leo calmly to Ris’ question.

“Will that suffice? You’re aware that the class representatives at Lumeran are reassigned with each exam, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you think there are quite a few people targeting your position?”

While munching on cookies, Toulas added, “Because this is still early in the semester, it’s not as apparent, but being the representative of your year here at Lumeran has many advantages.”

Being the representative of the year meant something significant even among the already elite students of Lumeran.

Not only did they represent Lumeran in various internal and external events, but the benefits associated were substantial. Essentially, they were the face of their year’s cohort.

Decisively, the position as year representative was also the stepping stone closest to the next presidency of the Student Council.

“Do you know that your cohort is highly anticipated in the upper echelons of Lumeran? Do you think you can keep the position of year representative with all these outstanding students targeting you?”

“I’m not particularly interested in the representative’s position, but…”

Leo smirked.

“I have no intention of ceding the top spot.”

“Your confidence is impressive. I’ll look forward to it.”

Ris smiled satisfactorily.

*

The first grade examination since enrollment was enough to put the students on edge.

However, on the other hand, the first-years were also quite looking forward to this test.

Seated in the audience seats of the training ground near the first-year classroom building, Chelsea tapped her legs as she spoke.

“Professor Halind’s story turned out to be true. They’ve changed unrecognizably in just a few months.”

Swirling her staff in the air, she muttered softly.

The runic language imbued with magical energy unfurled in the air and quickly completed its magical formula.

Watching this, classmate Teid whistled.

“You’re always fast.”

“High-speed casting is my specialty. Of course, you’re right—it’s impressively fast.”

As predicted by Professor Halind, the skills of the first-years had sharply improved.

Even Chelsea, who had received excellent education since childhood as part of a hero’s family, had noticeably grown.

The freshmen were experiencing a strange sense of confidence and excitement about where they stood now.

“Speaking of which, I’m a bit worried about Brother Leo.”

Chelsea, looking over the training ground, sighed.

“That’s true. There are quite a few people targeting Leo.”

Since it was early in the enrollment period, most major classes primarily focused on theory-based education.

And during these classes, none shone brighter than Leo.

An all-around good student, recognized by every teacher.

But even for Leo, there was an apparent weakness.

“Since Lumeran exams have a large practical application component, I wonder if he’ll be okay?”

Aural, mana, and spirit power—all fundamental forces were weak.

In particular, Leo was simultaneously pursuing three majors.

Normally, students who dug deep into one subject would undoubtedly show a greater disparity compared to him.

For this reason, quite a number of students rated Leo as merely theoretical—good in theory, but weak in practice.

“Of course, middle-upper class students won’t stand a chance against Brother Leo, but those at the top might find it tough.”

“Maybe it’s time he chose one specialization.”

As Teid muttered,

Professor Ain, standing in the middle of the training ground, announced,

“The practical examination for the first-year Knights Division will begin now.”

The voice imbued with aura resonated across the vast training grounds.

Cheers and applause immediately erupted in various places.

Though there were still two weeks until the examination period, the practical test for the Knights Division had begun today.

The training grounds near the first-year classroom building were crowded with students who came to watch the Knights Division’s practical exams, including not only the first-years but also upperclassmen.

“Does Calvin really plan to make a business out of this?”

“Where there’s a crowd, there’s money. That’s his philosophy.”

Chelsea, speaking incredulously, made Teid grin.

True enough, Calvin had gone out to sell snacks.

“Mr. Sedgen.”

Calvin approached Professor Sedgen, floating snack stands around him using levitation magic.

“What is it, Calvin?”

Professor Sedgen, looking at Calvin with an indifferent expression, didn’t seem pleased to have a student from Professor Halind’s class approach him.

“Would you like some popcorn and a drink?”

“Hmph, do you really think I’d buy from you? Go sell to Halind and your classmates in your own class.”

Sedgen’s sarcastic tone left Calvin looking disheartened.

“I thought, given that you’re someone with leadership qualities who knows how to boost the morale of your team, you’d buy. But I was mistaken.”

“Hmph. If you think I’d fall for such a blatant scheme, young man, you’re very much mistaken.”

As Sedgen expressed his disbelief,

“Professor! Are you buying us popcorn?”

“Wow! It looks delicious!”

Students from Calvin’s own class cheered from one side.

Hearing this response, Sedden’s ears perked up.

“Isn’t Professor Sedgen the type who leads with leadership qualities and boosts morale?”

Currently, all students in Class 1 were out cheering under the supervision of Sedgen.

Encouraged by the cheers of his students, Sedgen’s lips curled back into a grin.

“Since the students want it, I suppose there’s no choice. Go ahead and distribute it.”

“Sure!”

“Get the caramel-coated ones.”

“Thank you!”

After finishing the transaction, Calvin politely handed popcorn and drinks to the students of Class 1.

He sneakily slipped jerky to a few students who had responded positively earlier.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s cheer elegantly! Class 1, Fighting!”

“Class 1, Fighting!”

Thus, the atmosphere among the Class 1 students heated up as they cheered with great enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Calvin, sitting by himself in a corner, sighed as he observed Chloe quietly reading a black magic book.

“Chloe.”

“…”

“Hey, Chloe!”

“Hm?”

Chloe lifted her head.

Seeing his exhausted face, Calvin sighed.

“Take a break. You’re going to collapse like this. Sometimes you need to know how to enjoy things.”

“No time for that.”

Chloe frowned, refusing him.

Worrying about his friend, Calvin scratched his head and pulled out a fatigue recovery potion from his pocket.

“I didn’t bring money.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sharing it out of concern for my friend.”

“Hey, here’s popcorn and a drink!”

“Alright! Sure! We’ll get back to it after a break, got it?”

With a wave, Calvin rushed over to a senior who had placed an order.

Watching Calvin’s retreating back, Chloe cracked a faint smile and took a sip of the potion.

At that moment,

“The first sparring match. Ain Neif from Class 1 versus Leo Flove from Class 5. Step forward!”

‘Leo.’

Clenching her fist tightly as she looked at Leo, Chloe thought,

‘Absolutely no losing.’