Chapter 37

【37】36

Gooouuuuu!

Flames gathered at the tip of the sword.

Leo’s flames burned even more fiercely.

Leo, enveloped in flames, charged forward.

‘Now’s the time!’

Before entering the effective range, Howl thrust his spear.

Ssqueak-!

A massive, thick stream of green aura erupted from the spear’s tip.

The aura extended like a living anaconda, targeting Leo’s neck.

Leo attempted to repel Howl’s attack with his fiery aura.

Hwaack-!

In an instant, Howl’s aura, behaving like a living snake, altered its course.

‘I anticipated something like this.’

Unperturbed, Leo surged forward toward the vulnerable Howl.

Howl’s techniques were difficult to counter at a distance, but had the disadvantage of leaving him exposed once the distance was closed.

“Got you!”

Howl triumphantly declared.

Zzzuuck-!

“…!”

Howl’s aura continued to stretch.

“Snake Prison!”

Dzz-!

Like a snake grabbing its prey, the aura encircled the surrounding area and instantly tightened its grip on Leo.

The incredible precision of the aura control elicited exclamations of amazement.

Ain, who had been observing the situation, raised the corners of his mouth.

‘The flames-based aura is powerful for offense but has the disadvantage of being weak in defense. It’s a double-edged sword.’

The same tendency was evident in poison-based auras as well.

That’s why flames-based auras were particularly vulnerable to such counters.

‘After focusing so intently on aura control practice, he’s managed to acquire a technique that definitely compensates for his weakness.’

Ain glanced at Leo, who remained silent.

‘But it’s unlikely that Leo Flove would have charged without any strategy.’

“And how’s this, Leo! I’ll take you down with this! And…”

Howl shifted his gaze to Celia, who looked surprised, and clenched his fists.

“Celia! I’ll make you recognize that I’m your equal—”

“An impressive technique, but the finishing blow was clumsy.”

“What?”

Hoowhrrr! Pwooong-!

Howl’s aura enclosing Leo swelled before exploding, scattering in all directions.

Gooouuuuu! Hoowhrrr!

The flames of Leo’s aura roared fiercely, enveloping him.

Leo, poised to swing his sword, fixed his gaze on the frozen Howl.

“Flames must never be taken lightly until they’re extinguished.”

“Gkk!”

Howl gripped his spear more tightly.

Crr-! Pung-!

In an instant, a burst of flames erupted from the tips of Leo’s feet.

An aura step.

Hwaack! Hoowhrrr!

Transformed into a b*llet of fire, Leo’s sword tip reached Howl’s throat in an instant.

“Winner: Leo Flove.”

Ain proclaimed matter-of-factly.

Wowwwww!

Cheers erupted.

“Wow! Wow! Leo-oppa won!”

“…Could he really have been at this level during the practical tests?”

Chelsea jumped around excitedly in her seat while Teid muttered in disbelief.

Kal, who was handing popcorn to a customer, whistled loudly and cheered too.

“Who’s the guy that said that kid from the first-year would be weak at practicals?”

“Howl was impressive too, but the advantage just didn’t work for him.”

“Apparently, there’s a reason this year’s first-years are getting attention.”

Senior students, evaluating the duel between the two, burst into exclamations of admiration.

After sheathing his sword, Leo watched as Howl bowed his head and knelt.

“Complete defeat. The skill gap was overwhelming. To let my guard down against someone of your caliber… I looked completely ridiculous.”

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to possess that level of technique either.”

An aura control ability that couldn’t be achieved without tremendous effort was astounding even for Leo.

“If your aura’s strength had been just a bit stronger, I might have passed out from suffocation. I underestimated you too, so it’s all the same, really.”

Leo smiled and extended his hand.

“What a splendid technique.”

Howl, staring blankly at Leo’s hand, grabbed it and stood up.

Leo gave Howl a pat on the shoulder before leaving the arena.

“Leo Flove… It’s no wonder he’s by Celia’s side.”

Muttering to himself, Howl trudged out of the arena.

In his path stood students from Class 1 of the Department of Knights.

“Howl! That was close!”

“Kreeeuugh! It was the perfect chance for revenge for the restroom cleaning!”

“What the heck is that monster there? He’s got absolutely no weaknesses in actual combat!”

The students from Class 1 consoled Howl.

“Elegance! Howl student! That was an outstanding match! If it weren’t for the disadvantage of elemental strengths, you could have crushed someone like Leo Flove! So don’t be disheartened!”

“Professor Sedgen. Even if it’s about your own student, please refrain from biased statements.”

Ain rubbed his temples while speaking to Professor Sedgen, who had shouted loudly, due to the unexpected hospitality.

Unsettled, Howl scratched his head while noticing Celia approaching him.

Celia gave Howl, who suddenly tensed up upon seeing her, a soft smile.

“Nice work, that was cool.”

“What? Uh! Ah! Ye… Yes?”

Howl, blushing red, responded awkwardly.

‘Howl seems innocent despite his looks.’

‘Celia is surprisingly oblivious to those sorts of things, though.’

‘Still, at this point, he should have noticed by now, right?’

As the students from Class 1 gave subtle smiles, Celia approached Leo and asked,

“Leo, good job. When did you practice that aura control?”

Upon hearing this, Howl clenched his fists.

“Leo Flove! I’ll make you my new goal!”

This tenacious boy decided in his heart to catch up to Leo.

Watching Howl strengthen his resolve, the students from Class 1 clicked their tongues and ate popcorn.

Having flawlessly won the first duel match, Leo sat aside and observed the remaining duels.

“5th class Illiana Laden, step forward.”

“Yah~h! Who’s here! My opponent is!”

“10th class Chen Sia, step forward.”

“Uh!”

Illiana, having boldly stepped forward, was taken aback upon being matched against Chen Sia.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, nice to meet you.”

Illiana and Chen Sia exchanged pleasantries.

‘I’ve grown so much! I could maybe secure the top rank in this year’s class!’

Illiana, tightly gripping her rapier, exuded an aura fluctuating from her body.

Cruuurrk-!

There was no weapon in combatant Chen Sia’s hands.

Instead, blue aura rippled at the tips of her fingers, forming droplets that began to coalesce.

Her aura attribute was water.

The droplets gathered at her fingertips, weaving together like threads, creating a silk-like ripple of water shortly after.

Chen Sia’s hands moved gracefully as if dancing, and the ripple elegantly gathered at her fingertips.

“Hnn!”

Illiana took a deep breath, pointing her rapier at Chen Sia.

“Haa!”

With an explosive burst, the aura propelled Illiana forward.

With an amazing speed and ferocity, Leo sighed.

“That fool.”

Bang-!

“Guuh!”

Thud thud thud! Roll roll roll!

Illiana’s powerful charge was not only stopped but also deflected back at her by Chen Sia.

Lying on the ground in a comical fashion, Illiana’s eyes wildly spun.

“Chen Sia, victory.”

It was a match where overwhelming power was clearly displayed.

But given that Illiana, as a sword-mage, had an inherent disadvantage in this test, no one was overly hopeful for her.

Polite clapping, Chen Sia bowed and left the sparring ground.

Illiana, with great difficulty, raised her clenched fist towards the sky and shouted,

“But even against Chen Sia, I showed good spirit! I didn’t back down!”

“Pffeh, it’s embarrassing, just shut up.”

“Rather, pretend to faint. Please.”

As 5th group students of the Knight Course spoke coldly, Illiana made a grimace.

“Class Leader! They’re saying I’m embarrassing!”

Watching Illiana complain, Leo commented,

“Your impatience is a problem. You know how skilled Chen Sia is, right?”

“I do! That’s why I charged with high spirit! I don’t have confidence that I could breakthrough against her with swordsmanship alone, so at least I needed to show some spirit!”

“Show-off.”

While Leo clicked his tongue at Illiana, who defiantly crossed her arms, he couldn’t help but acknowledge her.

Illiana was an exceptional fighter, one who would likely be ranked high even among all students.

‘She just had a bad opponent. If only she could have used magic, but this is a knight exam. Even so, if she had been more cautious, she wouldn’t have lost so pitifully.’

Shaking his head, Leo met Chen Sia’s eyes, who was seated with her classmates.

Smiling and waving at Chen Sia, Leo also waved back to her.

‘Even before, I’ve thought this, but Chen Sia truly has the best balance among the first-year knight students.’

Celia and Duran have aura properties that specialize in offensive power.

On the contrary, Chen Sia’s water-based aura was balanced for both attack and defense.

Leo contemplated her skills while observing other matches among his fellow students.

Since the start of the year, those initially ranked in the lower tiers had drastically improved their abilities.

Some even managed to defeat those whose skills were clearly superior to their own.

Amidst the highs and lows, the top students from the entrance exam demonstrated a different level.

Celia, who swiftly defeated her opponent, elegantly brushed back her hair and approached Leo.

“How’s it?”

“You’re really improving.”

“Obviously.”

Celia narrowed her eyes with confidence.

“Leo, I’m taking the leading position in this year’s level.”

Declaring this confidently, Celia returned to her Class 1 group.

Witnessing this from the side, Illiana remarked,

“Popular, huh?”

“Jealous?”

“No, I’ve told Nella this before, I don’t want that kind of popularity.”

*

Mid-term Exam week.

The final written test, the Linguistics class, ended, leaving students from Class 5 swarming Chelsea in a rush.

“Yo! Yo! Chelsea, can I see your answer sheet?”

“Let me see first!”

“Kal! Yours will surely be the worst anyway, so let me see first!”

“That’s outrageous!”

The competition to see Chelsea’s answer sheet, known to have the top scores in Class 5, was fiercer than expected.

Chelsea, watching her classmates crowd in front of her, waved her exam paper.

“Who should I show first?”

“Chelsea-onee-sama! Me first!”

“Onee-sama! Show me!”

“Beautiful as ever today, onee-sama!”

The members of Class 5, clinging to Chelsea, who was the youngest in the class.

“Hohoho.”

Chelsea, watching her classmates, broke into a self-satisfied smile, covering her mouth.

“Anyway, does looking at it like this change your score now that the test is over?”

Sitting by the window in the back row, Leo propped his chin on his hand and spoke.

“Still, people naturally want to know their results quicker, right?”

Answered Nella, who gave a lazy smile.

At this, Leo shook his head and put his stationery back into his bag.

“I’m only left with the Hero and Battle Studies practical exams, while you Leo still have Magic and Summoning.”

The knight combat trials were passed by Leo through five straight wins.

The toughest among the five was undoubtedly the first match with Howl.

Other than Leo, Celia, Chen Sia, and Duran also achieved five straight victories.

Nella had one loss.

“If only that unlucky Duran hadn’t faced me, Nella-nee could have achieved a perfect streak!”

Returning after distributing the papers to classmates, Chelsea complained, resting in Nella’s arms.

A powerful contender for total wins, Nella suffered a loss in her third duel when up against Duran.

“Against Duran, you put up a good fight, so I’m satisfied.”

Petting Chelsea’s head, Nella smiled.

“Anyway, Leo-oppa, is your summoning practical exam preparation going well?”

“It’s going well.”

“You hardly ever come for separate practice, though?”

Teid, a student from the Summoning Department, asked curiously.

The summoning practical exam was one of the biggest events of the semester for the first-years in Lumeran Academy.

Smiling at Teid’s question, Leo replied,

“I’m practicing hard in places you can’t see.”

“Still Leo-oppa, so full of confidence? What’s your expected goal?”

Looking at Chelsea’s shimmering eyes, Leo simply replied,

“First place, obviously.”