Chapter 017
Chapter Title: Phoenix Step
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The students split to the left and right, leaving Leo and Duran in the center.
The atmosphere was charged with excitement for the title match: Freshman Representative vs. Top Entrant.
“Who do you think will win?”
“I’m betting on Duran!”
“Yeah, he was famous even before enrolling, right?”
“But he’s the freshman representative. Won’t he have something up his sleeve?”
“Nah. He didn’t even get first place on the exam, right? And I heard he hasn’t even learned Aura Step.”
Every first-year student predicted Duran's victory.
Amid the chatter, Celia asked with a worried tone.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“You don’t trust me?”
“You just learned the theory behind Aura Step a moment ago.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll win.”
Duran pointed to a large tree standing against the far wall of the training ground.
“The rules are simple. The first one to run around that tree and return here wins.”
“Got it.”
The two of them warmed up before the race.
As Leo removed the bracelets from his wrists and ankles, he recalled the theory of Aura Step that Professor Ain had taught him.
Once they finished warming up, the two stood at the starting line, and the student acting as referee raised his hand.
“Ready.”
Leo tensed his muscles.
“Go!”
Both shot forward, kicking off the ground at the same time.
Leo took the initial lead.
Duran scowled at Leo’s back.
‘He’s ridiculously fast.’
“Yeah! He’s fast!”
“Go, Leo!”
Karl clenched his fists and shouted, while Chelsea hopped up and down with delight.
But Celia’s expression remained grim.
‘Duran hasn’t used Aura Step yet.’
For now, both were running on pure physical strength.
Leo’s physical abilities were incredible, enough to make even Celia concede a few points.
So, it was only natural that Leo would be faster without using Aura Step.
But his early lead was all it was.
The moment Duran activated his aura, the distance between them closed in an instant.
Crackle-! Golden sparks enveloped Duran's legs.
It was a lightning aura.
“See you later, slowpoke.”
Duran shot a sneer over his shoulder as he surged ahead.
Rounding the turning point far ahead of Leo, Duran sprinted with incredible speed.
To any observer, Leo’s defeat was certain.
Just then, Leo accelerated toward the training ground wall as if he had exploded.
“Aura Step? Didn’t they say the freshman rep couldn’t use it?”
“Was that a lie?”
The students murmured amongst themselves, and Celia’s eyes went wide.
‘No way, how does that monster learn things so fast!’
While she was screaming internally, Leo showed no signs of slowing down, even as the wall drew dangerously close.
*Fwoosh-!*
“Wait, can he not stop?”
“He’s going to crash!”
The students shrieked as they watched Leo hurtle toward the wall at a terrifying speed.
*Thwack-!*
Just then, Leo focused strength into his legs and leaped.
With both feet planted against the wall, he looked up at Duran’s back.
*Crack-!*
Leaping with enough force to crack the wall, Leo used the momentum to chase after Duran.
The students who witnessed it were stunned.
Duran glanced back at their reaction, and his face hardened.
He saw Leo flying toward him like a bullet.
‘This bastard!’
Though startled by the unexpected pursuit, he quickly regained his composure.
‘He lost his acceleration when he landed!’
Duran was maintaining his speed, so he wasn't worried about being caught.
Leo kicked off the ground again and started running.
Now that he had activated Aura Step, his speed was incomparable to before.
But the distance to Duran wasn't shrinking.
They were about halfway to the starting line.
“You can do it, Leo!”
“Go, Duran! Run!”
The students were now split, cheering for their favored runner.
Celia bit her lip lightly.
‘It’s no good. He can’t catch up.’
Leo knew that as well.
*Fwoosh-!*
At that moment, a flame flickered at the tip of Leo’s foot.
‘The technique Professor Ain used to walk on air earlier.’
He recalled the demonstration Professor Ain had shown them.
Copying it perfectly now was impossible.
After all, Leo was just a beginner at Aura Step.
But he could still draw from Professor Ain's method.
Activating Phoenix Breath, Leo concentrated his aura at the tips of his toes.
*Fwoosh-!*
And then…
‘I kick off the ground!’
*Thwack-! Boom!*
The students flinched at the sudden explosive sound.
Celia’s jaw dropped.
‘Phoenix Step? Leo shouldn’t have learned that yet, right?’
*Boom-! Boom-!*
A series of small explosions echoed.
With each one, Leo began to accelerate at an incredible rate.
Burning through the little aura he had in his body, Leo caught up until he was right behind Duran.
“Tch? This bastard!”
“See you later, slowpoke.”
Leo grinned and kicked off the ground with all his might.
*BOOM-!*
“Leo Flove!”
Duran’s eyes widened as he yelled, chasing closely behind Leo.
The gap didn't widen, but he couldn’t catch up to Leo, who had now gained serious momentum.
Leo’s fiery aura and Duran’s lightning aura streaked through the air as they raced.
And by a hair's breadth, Leo crossed the starting line first.
“Woooooah!”
“That’s insane! He’s so fast!”
The students let out cries of admiration.
“Hah-! Hah-!”
Duran gasped for breath, glaring at Leo.
Leo, too, was bent over with his hands on his knees, sweating profusely and taking deep breaths.
“Whoa! That was awesome! You were so fast! Duran’s supposed to be the fastest guy in our year, and you beat him?”
As Karl gushed, Celia said.
“If it were a long-distance race, he would’ve lost.”
“Huh?”
“Celia’s right. That guy has a much larger aura capacity.”
Leo nodded in agreement with Celia.
“Still, I won. See? Told you I’d win.”
“Jeez, fine. You’re amazing.”
Celia shook her head as she looked at the smug Leo.
“Leo! Here’s some water!”
“Thanks.”
Leo took the water bottle from Chelsea, a gentle smile on his face.
“He’s cool even from a guy’s perspective. He must be popular with the girls. Is this what they call a well-mannered gentleman?”
As Karl marveled, Chelsea shook her head.
“He’s no gentleman.”
“Huh? Why?”
“During the entrance exam, he threatened to burn my butt clean off to get me to cooperate.”
Chelsea’s face was a picture of misery as she pouted.
Hearing this, Karl muttered.
“A perverted gentleman.”
***
“I felt it yesterday, too, but it seems Professor Albi had a good reason for recommending him as the freshman representative.”
Professor Ain murmured from the roof overlooking the training ground.
“Isn’t it a professor’s duty to stop disputes between students, Professor Ain?”
Assistant Professor Claria pointed out with a deep sigh, and Ain chuckled.
“It’s an annual tradition, isn’t it?”
Lumerne gathered select students from various cultures around the world.
Moreover, their social statuses were wildly different.
Because of this, situations like the one that had just unfolded were a yearly occurrence at the beginning of the term.
“I think the bigger problem is that you knew and still didn’t stop it.”
“This year’s first-years have a lot of potential heroes among them. That’s why the academy is paying close attention. As such, I just thought it necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff early in the semester.”
The professors at Lumerne were, in principle, supposed to treat all students equally.
But being human, it was inevitable that they would develop favorite pupils.
Ain, though cold on the outside, was passionate about his students and was highly respected by them even after graduation.
He, too, was proud of his students.
But if there was one regret, it was that none of his disciples had yet risen to the rank of Hero.
“To raise a hero. Claria, you know how much I desire that, don’t you?”
“Of course you would.”
Sighing, Claria took a notebook from her pocket and asked.
“So, what should we do?”
Even if it was an impromptu class, holding a duel without a professor’s permission was a violation of school rules.
“It wasn’t a fight, so just leave it be.”
‘He must have really taken a liking to student Leo.’
Professor Ain, who usually held the school rules in high regard, was turning a blind eye to this incident.
Claria chuckled as she watched Leo chatting with his friends.
***
After class, Leo sat in the student cafe.
In that short time, the story of his race with Duran had spread like wildfire throughout the entire school.
“You’re the center of attention on the very first day, huh?”
Karl said, giving him a thumbs-up. Chelsea, who was sipping a fruit juice through a straw, added.
“Leo’s performance was certainly impressive.”
“Hey, Chelsea Llewellyn. I’ve been wondering, how come you call him ‘big brother Leo’ but you just use my name?”
“Because I want to.”
Chelsea stuck her tongue out.
“You little!”
“If you don’t like it, you can call *my* big brother that too!”
“Just call me by my name. It's fine.”
Celia had cleanly given up.
“Next up is Summoning. None of you are taking that, right?”
Karl asked, pulling out his schedule to check.
“I am.”
The three of them looked at Leo with expressions that said, ‘What are you even going to do with that class?’
Swordsmanship classes taught you skills, and magic classes could improve your ability to counter magic.
For that reason, they were popular as secondary majors, whereas Summoning was useless to anyone without the talent for it.
At their reaction, Leo brought the straw to his lips and muttered to himself.
‘I wonder what their faces would look like if I told them I was taking all three majors.’
After parting with the three, he headed straight for the lecture hall.
On the way, he thought about the reward he had obtained during the entrance exam.
Normally, even if a living World of Heroes was cleared, there was no reward.
‘But I received one.’
Something unusual had happened.
Furthermore, there was another question related to the reward.
‘Why the Pledge with the Fairy King, of all things?’
The rewards one could obtain from a World of Heroes were related to the power held by the world’s owner.
‘Professor Albi is a pure mage.’
Ordinarily, he should have obtained a magic-related ability.
But the reward Leo received was a summoning ability.
The last person recorded in history to have a contract with the Fairy King was none other than Luna.
The Pledge with the Fairy King, which had been severed since the Age of Disaster, had now been bestowed upon Leo.
‘But a pledge alone isn’t enough to form a contract.’
To summon a mystical beast, a catalyst related to it was required.
The summoning catalyst for fairies was a leaf from the World Tree.
All the World Trees were destroyed by Erebos during the Age of Despair.
To make a contract with a fairy now, one needed to go to Fairy Land, where the fairies resided.
‘But Fairy Land is in elven territory, a place humans can’t go. And even if I went, there’s no guarantee I’d be able to meet the Fairy King.’
For now, it was a useless reward.
“You’re taking Summoning, too?”
Someone spoke to him from behind.
He turned with a quizzical look and saw a female student standing there.
‘Let’s see… she’s the top student from the East, right?’