84.
“Does this make any sense?”
“That’s not something like aura amplification…”
All the students looked at Leo with expressions of exasperation.
‘Leo Flove…!’
Duran gritted his teeth, and Celia felt goosebumps all over her body.
‘Is this Leo’s flame?’
Everyone was surprised, but the person most astonished was Leo himself.
‘This is way too effective!’
Though Leo had been freely using Aron’s breathing technique, since it was originally a Beastman skill, there were aspects that didn’t quite fit him.
As a result, the actual aura amplification effect was lacking compared to Aron.
In that situation, after modifying the breathing technique Ain had taught him to better suit himself, this was the result.
Chiiiiik-!
It was as if his hands were being cooled, with steam rising from them.
Previously, when he had pushed his firepower beyond its limits, he had suffered burns.
‘This is like my arm is completely charred.’
Leo sheathed his sword while enduring the pain.
“Showoff!”
“Hey, Leo! How did you do that? Is there a trick to it?”
“Teach me too!”
Just as the Department of Knights students were excitedly asking questions one after another…
Tubbeck- Tubbeck-
Ain hurried over and inspected Leo’s arm, furrowing his brow.
“Nella, come treat Leo’s hand.”
“Huh? Ah! Yes!”
Nella, who possessed the healing aura, rushed over urgently.
“I’m going to the infirmary, so you all continue practicing on your own.”
“This is way more effective than I thought.”
“Your arm’s in this state, and yet you’re smiling?”
In the infirmary, as Leo gave a hollow laugh, Nella rolled her eyes.
Nella used her healing aura to treat the burns on Leo’s arm.
“Thanks, Nella. Your skills have improved.”
“It’s not fully healed. I just did an emergency treatment, so make sure you go to the infirmary for thorough care.”
“You’ve worked hard, Nella.”
“No, this is part of my job.”
Nella shook her head and gave her characteristic languid smile.
“Leo.”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Were you aware of the [Hero’s Breath] from before?”
At the sharp question, Nella was surprised, and Leo smiled meaningfully inside.
‘Impressive, spotting it after just one glance?’
“Yes.”
“Where did you learn it?”
“I saw it in a book when I was young.”
“Did you master it through self-study?”
“Yes.”
“Did you modify the technique arbitrarily based on what I taught you today?”
“That’s correct.”
As Leo calmly replied, Ain could feel cold sweat trickling down his back.
‘Truly, a kid with no end. It’s astonishing enough that he mastered the originally unteachable [Hero’s Breath] through self-study, and now he’s modified it to suit himself.’
“Was the recoil from the aura amplification originally part of the problem?”
“Yes, though not to this extent.”
The effectiveness of the newly modified breathing technique was exceptional, but so was the recoil.
“Wasn’t the method I taught unable to manifest your aura?”
“That’s correct.”
“Judging by your aura manipulation, it seems similar to that of Beastmen. The method tailored for humans wasn’t suitable for you.”
Just as Ain said, when Kail first taught him about aura, his mentor was a Beastman mercenary.
Though he might not have been able to learn it properly otherwise, Kail’s talents and senses made it easy for him to master the technique without much difficulty.
‘Indeed, the professor of Lumeran has quickly identified the issue.’
“Leo.”
“Yes.”
“From this point on, it would be better for you to not use the [Hero’s Breath].”
“Because of the side effects?”
“Correct. Straining yourself this much to use your strength is not good for you.”
Ain sighed deeply.
“There’s a person I know who lost their strength through overexertion.”
As Ain muttered bitterly, Leo replied,
“I’ll exercise restraint, but I can’t promise anything.”
Leo gave a sly smile.
“Surpass your limits. Isn’t that our school motto?”
Ain looked into Leo’s eyes.
‘This isn’t mere recklessness.’
Leo’s eyes were like those of someone who had overcome countless adversities.
Unable to help it, Ain burst into laughter and said,
“If you’re that confident, I look forward to seeing the results.”
After the Department of Knights lesson ended.
Leo immediately headed towards the Department of Magic class.
Since today was a practical session, he didn’t go to the regular classroom but to the magic practice area.
While walking out from the training ground, Leo met a female student.
“Chloe? What brings you here to the classroom building this time?”
“I came back for something I left.”
As usual, Chloe approached with two thick magic books in her arms.
“Is your Department of Knights class over?”
“Yeah. Good timing. Let’s go together.”
“Erm… shall we?”
‘Whoa! It’s been a while since I’ve walked alone with Leo!’
Chloe felt a bit of tension for some reason and took a deep breath.
‘Chloe, don’t be nervous! Walking with Leo is no big deal, so why would you feel nervous?’
As the real Chloe was walking, Leo asked,
“Aren’t two magic books heavy? Give one to me, I’ll carry it.”
“Are you sure? It’s heavy.”
“It’s heavy alright.”
“If you say so, I won’t refuse.”
As Chloe handed a book over with a smile, their hands briefly touched.
‘Aah! Our hands touched!’
Chloe’s face turned red as she awkwardly turned her head.
‘Oh no! Why am I acting like such an idiot? I’m just unintentionally focusing on it and now it’s making me more nervous!’
Gritting her teeth, Chloe made a firm fist.
‘Alright! I’ll have a normal conversation to ease this awkward atmosphere!’
“Today’s weather is quite nice, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s very hot.”
“…”
As Leo squinted at the bright sun, looking up at the sky, Chloe accidentally hit her forehead with the magic book.
‘Why did I start talking about the weather!’
Feeling the atmosphere getting even more awkward, Chloe was flustered when…
“The atmosphere is great, juniors.”
The voice from behind made Chloe jump and look back.
There, Toluah was lying on a floating carpet in the air.
“Tol-Toluah Senior?”
“Hello, Chloe.”
“Do you know me?”
“Of course, Chloe Mueller! The names of outstanding juniors are remembered by this senior.”
“I’m honored!”
“Hehe, indeed, you are a good junior.”
Toluah smiled and extended her hand to pat Chloe’s head.
“Compared to the cute junior Chloe here, you Leo…”
Toluah made an extremely dissatisfied expression.
‘What’s this? Does she dislike Leo?’
The unusual atmosphere made Chloe slightly tense.
“Anyway, when do you plan to come over to the Department of Magic? You keep being isolated because you can’t decide.”
“It’s because I’m the one isolating the whole grade!”
“You don’t have any friends?”
“No, many. Like Chloe and I are close friends.”
Watching the two bicker, Chloe gave an awkward smile.
“Senior Toluah, you seem close with Leo.”
“Obviously! He’s a junior of the Department of Magic, right?”
“Who says I’m in the Department of Magic?”
“You.”
“Isn’t forcing departmental transfer against the school rules? Our instructor, Professor Halind, is also on my side.”
“Tsk. Sneaky brat.”
Toluah clicked her tongue.
Even the usually unconstrained Toluah was just an ordinary student in front of Halind.
“By the way, I heard you interpreted the spell of Ancestral Star Cloud this time? How did you manage that? I tried to interpret it, but gave up halfway.”
“I heard that too. It’s a famous magic system, and the Magic Tower has been studying it for a long time.”
“Chloe, you’re from the Northern Magic Tower, right? I read the northern interpretation and found it interesting compared to the southern ones. Would you like to discuss it?”
“Sure!”
“That’s the spirit. Come, on.”
Toluah enthusiastically offered her floating carpet, and Chloe excitedly climbed on for a lively discussion on magic.
With their immense knowledge and shared interests, their conversation flowed well.
‘Magicians never change, back then or now.’
Unconsciously deep in their discussion, both Chloe and Toluah realized they were almost at the practice area.
“Hmm. We’ve already arrived without even hearing Leo’s interpretation. So what magic was it? The magic conference hasn’t disclosed it yet, so this senior is almost going mad out of curiosity, junior.”
With the magic staff, Toluah poked Leo’s side.
Chloe also looked at Leo with curious eyes.
Upon seeing this, Leo conjured magic from his hand.
A single blooming flower appeared in his hand, and Toluah and Chloe could only blink in surprise.
“It was a flower-creation magic.”
Smiling, Leo handed the flower and the magic books over to Chloe and then entered the practice area.
“Looks like you have unexpected boldness.”
Toluah burst into giggles and winked at the embarrassed Chloe, with her ears turning red.
“Go get ’em cute junior.”
*
The students gathered in the practice area looked very tense.
That was because the great Toluah senior was there.
“Leo, did Jaman Senior show up in your Department of Knights class?”
“No, she didn’t come today.”
Chelsea had a puzzled expression.
“It’s so hot today. It’s like southern weather.”
Toluah, who had been reclining on her magic carpet, muttered slightly.
As soon as she said that, Kal swiftly stepped forward.
“I’ve got a parasol! Senior!”
“Hm?”
“And here’s some orange juice.”
Creating shade with the parasol, Kal took out orange juice from his bag and handed it to Toluah.
“You’re very thorough.”
Toluah, impressed, placed her mouth on the straw with a grin.
Then Kal, rubbing his hands together, said,
“Five silver pieces.”
“Here you go.”
Toluah paid the price of the paid service with a smirk, as if she had expected it.
“I sometimes envy Kal’s audacity.”
As Chelsea crossed her arms, Leo suppressed a laugh. Toluah tilted her head.
“Hmm, something still feels lacking. Chelsea, can you come over for a moment?”
“Me?”
Chelsea approached Toluah.
“Can you create a cool breeze?”
“Yes?”
“Here’s five silver pieces.”
Ding~
Chelsea reluctantly caught the five silver pieces that flew over her palm with a sour face.
“Your tip. Now please create a nice breeze.”
Reluctantly, Chelsea created a cool breeze.
Toluah started randomly ordering around the juniors using five silver pieces here, five silver pieces there.
“Because of my guilt, I couldn’t just order the first-year students around, but now that I’ve paid their service fee, I can make them do anything.”
Toluah’s satisfied smile irritated everyone present to glaring at Kal.
‘This is because of your useless antics, idiot!’
It was a painstaking thing for aspiring magicians to consume mana under the scorching sun.
Kal turned his head around with a slightly sheepish expression.
Toluah’s demands became increasingly absurd.
She would ask them to draw incomprehensible magic arrays on the ground or create bizarre statues.
Right when she was about to take her eccentricities to the extreme, a voice came calling,
“What do you think you’re doing, Toluah Yan?”
Everyone flinched and turned in the direction of the voice.
Everyone’s faces filled with astonishment.
The instructor who appeared at the practice area was not Ren.
Toluah’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected arrival.
The person who had unexpectedly graced the class?
It was none other than Professor Alby.
![[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")
