642.
The movements of the freshmen chasing Kal were extremely reckless.
Initially, upon witnessing Kal’s magic that had felled Vito, all the students grew tense.
However, when they noticed Kal not using magic after laying traps, the freshmen became more aggressive in their pursuit.
‘The effects of his great magic remain!’
Kal was already a globally renowned figure.
A young prodigy who had ascended to the position of a hero.
Moreover, a completely new type of hero that the world had never seen before.
Throughout the winter break, his name was constantly featured in newspapers worldwide.
Simultaneously, truths about Kal were revealed, including his academic performance in school and prowess in magic.
Thus, the first-years had a general knowledge of Kal.
When Kal used great magic, they thought it contradicted their prior knowledge of him.
However, seeing Kal no longer using magic, the freshmen quickly started chasing after him.
The first-year students, who had just entered Lumeran, were all full of dreams.
None of them had not been called geniuses in their childhood, leading them to believe they were the best.
‘If I can successfully snatch the key from senior Kal, my school life would be smooth sailing!’
Most first-years viewed this as an opportunity to claim the rookie title, which would capture the attention of professors and upperclassmen.
And then…
Kooom!
“Kyyyyyeaaaah?!”
Amidst the explosions erupting from all sides, a female student from the Department of Summoning clutching her head collapsed and screamed.
It was an outwardly festive atmosphere, but their coordinated play to catch Kal was chaotic.
All students chasing Kal were caught up in the explosion, deemed combat incapable.
The female summoner, with tears brimming in her big eyes, tried to stand while tightly embracing her summoned horned rabbit, Horn Rabbit.
Kal appeared in front of the female student, aiming a crossbow at her.
“Hold still, sweetheart.”
“Hiiiik!”
At Kal’s appearance, the female student began sobbing and hiccupping.
“Huuuuuuhh! I give up! Please don’t sh**t!”
In terror, the female freshman summoner, a small-framed girl with big, beautiful, and cute eyes, began trembling and crying, evoking a protective instinct.
“Aww, I’m weak against these kind of things.”
Kal licked his lips, casually placing the one-handed crossbow on his shoulder.
“I won’t have you disqualified, now go back quickly.”
“Yes…”
Sniffling, she turned around and walked the opposite way. Kal watched her leave, then turned around himself.
‘Hmph!’
While the girl was walking, her eyes suddenly changed.
“I’ve fallen for it!”
Her plan using her allure had succeeded brilliantly.
Even Horn Rabbit, nestled in her bosom just a moment ago, now had a sharp look in its eyes.
“I stabbed it!…”
While the plan could be considered underhanded, who cares?
“It’s their fault for falling for it!”
She released Horn Rabbit towards a defenseless opponent.
And just as she turned around with a grin…
The girl’s head was suddenly tilted back.
“Huh? How…?”
Kal smirked.
“Horn Rabbit would have enough power to block even if I shot you with this crossbow. I waited for you to let your guard down so I could deal with you more easily.”
“But… you said you were weak against this kind of thing just now…”
“Ah, that? Of course, it’s a bluff.”
With a shrug, Kal watched Ferena disappear after being declared combat incapable, and adopted a strict expression.
“In the Lumeran where intrigue abounds, the clumsy ones do not survive.”
“I’ll see about that!”
Ferena shouted, glaring up.
Kal smiled, waved his hand, and muttered to himself.
“Ferena Herkin. Unlike her sister Eliza, she’s a venomous snake that doesn’t care about means or methods.”
Despite personality differences, Eliza preferred taking on opponents head-on.
But Ferena is the type who will use every available means to achieve her goal.
Kal already had a head full of information about the freshmen.
Approaching Kal half-heartedly was Ferena’s fatal mistake.
“Hmph.”
Kal clenched his jaw, having already left around 200 freshmen combat incapable.
“Wow, even though I’m the weakest of the third years, I run rampant among the first years.”
After briefly appearing triumphant, Kal headed towards the base.
He had already used all the traps he had set.
‘Now to take care of the supplies.’
And just then…
He flinched upon sensing the killing intent from afar and slid on the ground.
Whooosh! ZIIIiiing!
As an Oera-infused arrow whizzed over his head, Kal dryly swallowed.
“Finally decided to move, huh.”
Millia Rolle.
Number one threat on Kal’s list of freshmen.
The reason Kal chose Millia as threat number one was her weapon.
‘Her bow!’
With her bow as her main weapon, Millia can deliver overwhelming ranged attacks.
‘Her range is longer than Juen’s!’
To be sure, there are differences in power and rate of fire.
The problem was that from Kal’s perspective, Millia, who can fire sniper shots from beyond recognition range, was a worse matchup than Juen, who excels in power and rate of fire.
‘And besides… she’s a strategist!’
Even though she had countless chances to attack so far, Millia had been carefully observing Kal.
Now, she had attacked him at the most inconvenient moment.
From the information Kal had on her, Millia was known to be exceptionally intelligent.
‘And!’
With a powerful leap, Kal ran at full speed through the bushes.
Whooiiish! Crack!
An arrow narrowly swept past Kal. Upon seeing the arrow, Kal quickly took out a crimson cloak from his pocket and draped it around himself.
KUUAAANG!
An enormous explosion sounded.
The explosion-inducing arrows were not Millia’s natural abilities.
‘No, it’s correct… she just spent a fortune!’
Millia Rolle.
She was none other than the heir to the Rolle Guild, which dominated the southern continent’s commercial circles.
‘And she doesn’t hesitate to rely on item power!’
Lumeran students generally have strong pride.
Because of this, even in tests where tool usage was allowed, they usually prefer to take the test purely based on their own abilities.
But Millia was different.
To the extreme, she pursued efficiency.
In a situation like this, she actively uses tools.
To Kal, she was an extremely difficult opponent to deal with.
Avoiding being swept up in the explosion, Kal quickly moved wearing his transparency cloak.
‘Hmmn…?’
Millia frowned upon seeing Kal escape her attack and disappear.
“Thought I’d be able to land a hit once.”
She believed she could at least deliver some amount of damage, even if not a critical injury. But Kal had dodged every one of Millia’s sniper shots.
It was quite astonishing.
What Millia didn’t know…
Kal had been running away from Duran’s sword, more dangerous and faster than her arrows, throughout the winter break.
The special training he did with Duran included the following advice:
“Expect no counterattacks. Expect none at all in blocking. Just dodge!”
Thanks to that intensive special training with Duran, Kal had reached a level where he could sense and move before the killing intent arrived.
The surprised Millia lightly traced her upper lip with her tongue.
“I see, it needs to be this good to be worthy prey.”
Millia rapidly headed towards where she had last seen Kal.
Even with the transparency cloak, footprints and traces could still be left behind.
Upon reaching where Kal had been, Millia focused Aether energy in her eyes.
She heightened her vision to the maximum and chased after the tracks Kal had left.
Finding out the direction Kal had gone, a smile formed on Millia’s lips.
“Alright, let’s pay you back just as you’ve done.”
BOOM!
An explosion went off.
KA-KOOM! KABOOM! KA-KOOM!
Explosions kept happening continuously.
While Kal was teasing the freshmen with guerrilla tactics…
Millia had set up a trap zone using magical mines identical to the ones Kal had created throughout this area.
The reason was extremely simple.
To make Kal’s situation more difficult.
As Millia listened to the continuing sound of explosions like the melody of music, she ascended to the top of a tall tree with an Aether step.
BOOM!
Using a telescope, she looked at where the explosions were occurring.
Kal was moving fast.
“That’s amazing… truly befitting senior Kal.”
Millia murmured after lowering her telescope.
“Fantastic.”
Millia had respected Kal since before he ascended to the position of a hero.
Though she was born into a family that led a top guild, she was, at heart, a commoner.
And Kal, a commoner as well, had climbed to the position of Acting Student Council President of Lumeran.
Beyond that, he had endured countless trials with skills so low he could’ve been expelled at any moment.
While others dismissed Kal’s survival as mere luck, Millia thought differently.
“If mere luck were enough to survive, there would be no reason for Lumeran to be the best hero academy.”
She could see that he had achieved everything through sheer hard work and determination, capturing her attention.
Even more than the dazzling Leo Flove.
Eventually, Kal succeeded in ascending to the position of a hero.
In this era, everyone has a hero they aspire to be like.
For Millia, that person was Kal.
She had become a true fan.
That was why she wanted to see him up close.
The sight of him overcoming crises and trials.
Even Kal’s antics as he teased foolish classmates rushing recklessly towards him were impressive.
“But what I truly wanted to see is the senior overcoming adversity.”
Originally, hunting was Millia’s hobby.
The sight of prey squirming gave her peculiar pleasure.
“Even in a one-on-one fight… I wouldn’t have been able to stand against that person.”
No matter how much Kal had attained his position as a hero beyond physical prowess, he was still a hero recognized by the gods.
And also a third-year student who had survived three years in Lumeran.
It goes without saying that she, a mere freshman, could not have beaten Kal.
“I would’ve ended up being the one hunted.”
However, Kal now had to face hundreds of foes.
That was why Millia could make Kal her prey.
Watching Kal, Millia’s lips curled upwards.
“That’s our senior’s base.”
With a mischievous chuckle, Millia headed toward Kal’s location.
“Really thought I was going to d*e there!”
Kal shuddered.
“If it weren’t for Duran’s extra training, I would’ve been finished long ago.”
Shaking his head, Kal turned around.
Click-click.
There, a girl was advancing into the cave.
“Millia Rolle.”
“Wow, you know who I am? What a great honor.”
Millia beamed brightly.
Watching her, Kal scratched his head absent-mindedly.
And just as he was about to swiftly leap—
Zing!
“Khuh!”
The arrow fired by Millia embedded itself in Kal’s thigh.
Already drawing her bow, Millia said apologetically,
“I’m sorry, Senior Kal. I hurt you… oh, it’s so regrettable. I’ve wounded the Senior I respect.”
“…”
Kal let out a hollow laugh at Millia who looked truly apologetic, trembling her shoulders.
“Seems enjoyable to you?”
“…”
“Just laugh.”
At Kal’s words, the twisted expression on Millia’s face turned into a curve.
Watching her, Kal who had painfully stood up, said,
“You’re a weirdo. A weirdo who likes hurting others.”
“Yes, I admit it. I am a weirdo. But it’s not something I do to just anyone. I enjoy giving harm to what I like.”
Millia’s eyes sparkled.
“How does it feel? Getting caught in your own trap? How does it feel being the prey? But please don’t misunderstand. I truly respect Senior Kal. I wouldn’t stand a chance in a one-on-one fight. I’m not asking this to mock Senior Kal.”
Millia’s face flushed red.
Genuinely blushing Millia made Kal mutter under his breath.
‘Wow, this girl’s messed up.’
Even after experiencing everything in Lumeran and encountering all kinds of people…
Without a doubt, this is the first time he’s met someone as messed up as Millia.
Kal shook his head and inserted his hand into his bosom.
He pulled out the key and forcefully threw it at Millia.
The key flying at her head, Millia swiftly tilted her neck and dodged.
“I could hunt Senior Kal! What an honor!”
At Millia’s words, Kal smirked.
“Sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve won.”
“Ah… Senior Kal always finds a way! There was a secret move to overcome the situation!”
Millia smiled brightly as if she had known all along.
“But even so, isn’t that a state where you’d be beaten by the remaining first-years?”
“Hmm, them? I’ve taken care of them long ago.”
“Huh?”
Kal’s smirk made Millia widen her eyes.
“What…?”
“Your trap, it was useful.”
“!”
‘Did you read it all?’
The moment Millia’s eyes widened,
Whack!
Something smacked the unguarded back of Millia’s head.
It was the key Kal had thrown.
Kal caught the returning key with a grin and immediately leaped toward the side of the cave.
Covered by the transparent cloak, Kal vanished into an underground tunnel with an ‘Hmph’.
At the same time, Kal winked at Millia.
“You weren’t bad, junior.”
At the moment Kal disappeared into the tunnel,
Flash! Kuoooom!
The explosive potions that Kal had set up throughout the cave started detonating all at once.
Watching the explosions heading towards her, Millia slumped down.
‘Turns out, I was the prey. I’ve been played from the start.’
Kuooom!
Millia covered her cheeks with both hands.
‘Truly amazing!’
With Millia as the last one, all the freshmen were eliminated by Kal.
![[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")
