Chapter 176
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Combat Studies class.
During the lesson, Leo was lost in thought.
Lisinas had apparently liked him.
‘But she never once showed any of those feelings toward me, did she?’
Lisinas, the King of Wisdom.
Leader of the Erebos Subjugation Force, who held the noble goal of saving the world.
A virtuous black dragon who united the Great Heroes and offered hope to those in despair.
She always presented a flawless image in front of people.
Of course, that wasn't the case with her friends.
She often let her guard down at banquets, especially after a major battle.
On those occasions, they would drink and talk about the future after all the calamities were gone.
‘But even then, she never acted like she liked me, right? So why is she cursing me out for not noticing?’
Leo frowned, recalling a memory from the past.
***
That day, too, a banquet was in full swing.
They celebrated their victory in the main square of Gardsrone.
Many people came to bless the heroes.
Not only the five Great Heroes were present.
Other heroes who had lived through that era were there as well.
A human playing music.
An elf dancing joyfully to the melody.
A dwarf cheerfully pouring drinks.
A beastkin preparing food.
A dragon telling tales of heroism to the children.
The five races had gathered, grateful for the peace they had achieved, and were enjoying themselves.
For this moment, everyone forgot they were living in an age of despair.
Kyle would often watch that hopeful scene from a distance.
And whenever he was alone like that, there were always two people who would approach him first.
The one who approached him that day was Lisinas, who had drunk more than usual.
Her face flushed from the alcohol, Lisinas approached and sat next to Kyle as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Kyle.”
“What is it?”
“What will you do after we defeat Erebos?”
Lisinas had a goal: to save the world and bring back the light.
Luna wanted to make flowers bloom all over the world.
Dweno wanted to spread beauty throughout the world.
Ar-on wanted to create a world where children didn't cry. Unlike them, Kyle didn't have a grand goal.
“I’ll probably just live as a wanderer. I don’t have anywhere to go.”
At his words, Lisinas turned her head to look at Kyle.
“Then.”
Lisinas smiled shyly.
“Would you like to live with me in the dragon’s domain?”
“The dragon’s domain? It sounds stuffy. I don’t think so.”
“Then how about I travel the world with you?”
“That sounds nice, too. But wouldn’t it be difficult?”
“Why?”
“You’ll have to help rebuild the world, won’t you? Besides…”
“Besides?”
“I feel like you’d just nag me constantly. So I’d rather be alone and have some peace…”
*Crack-!*
Lisinas slammed her elbow into Kyle’s temple.
“What? What’s this? Lisinas, are you drunk-fighting right now?”
Luna, who had come over to ask Kyle for a dance, witnessed the scene and looked on with fascination.
“Drunk-fighting?”
“Yeah. Kyle said you get violent when you drink. I didn’t believe him, but it turns out it was true.”
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Yep.”
Luna nodded matter-of-factly at Kyle's words as he rubbed his temple with a grimace.
Lisinas smiled sweetly.
“Kyle.”
“Yeah? Ugh-!”
And then she launched a dropkick straight into Kyle’s solar plexus.
“Just die, you damn bastard!”
The sight of the black dragon viciously stomping on the fallen Kyle was savagery itself.
Watching the scene, Luna crossed her arms and nodded. “Mm! Mm!”
“So violent. So violent.”
Lisinas then grabbed Luna by the hair and yanked.
Before long, Lisinas and Luna were fighting, each grabbing the other's hair.
Watching them, Ar-on took a sip of his drink.
“Why are those two fighting again?”
“Let them be. I suppose it can’t be helped, since all three of them are dense fools when it comes to that sort of thing.”
“That sort of thing?”
“Ah, so it’s four of them.”
As Dweno clicked his tongue, Kyle approached him.
“Agh, seriously, what did I do wrong?”
“From where I’m standing, you deserved it.”
“What did I do wrong?”
Dweno looked at Kyle with an expression of genuine pity.
***
“…”
Recalling that incident, Leo wore a strange expression.
Come to think of it, things like that had happened quite often.
And every time, Dweno would look at him with that lukewarm, pitiful gaze.
‘No. This is still unfair. If she felt that way, why didn’t she just say so?’
“Student Leo.”
“Yes, Professor Sedzen.”
“Are you not enjoying my Combat Studies class?”
Professor Sedzen’s eye twitched.
Sedzen was in the middle of teaching a passionate Combat Studies class on the training grounds.
Moreover, this was a joint class with all ten sections gathered.
And Sedzen himself had been chosen as the lead professor for this joint session.
With midterms approaching, every student was focused on the class, but Leo alone was lost in his own world.
“I was listening intently.”
“Oh? In that case, please explain what I just covered regarding party composition and role assignment for a five-person party with you as the leader.”
“The composition changes depending on the leader’s class. In my case, since I’m an all-class, I can handle any role. Therefore…”
Leo explained the material without difficulty.
After hearing it all, Professor Sedzen took out a handkerchief and bit down on it.
“Grr-! How irritating! But so elegant! That makes it even more irritating!”
“Professor. I think you said your inner thoughts out loud just now.”
“Graaaah!”
Among the first-year students, Leo was the only one who could be so brazen with a professor.
He was a student who didn't even flinch in front of Halind, so his behavior was familiar to the other first-years.
A moment later, the class continued.
“That concludes the theory portion. Since this is a joint class, today we will be playing Bastera.”
Bastera, the traditional sport of Combat Studies.
They had formed teams within their own sections before, but never by mixing sections, so everyone’s eyes lit up.
“Teams with students from other sections. This should be fun.”
“I can finally form the team I’ve been thinking about!”
The students began to move around fluidly.
Among them, the most popular were, of course, the top-ranking students.
The enthusiasm for Leo was particularly fervent.
“Leo! Let’s be on the same team!”
“No! Team up with me!”
“Your team already has a front line. You don’t need Leo, do you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Leo is an all-class! He can handle any position!”
Leo let out a light sigh as he watched the students from other sections bicker.
*Thump- Thump-*
Bouncing the Bastera ball on the ground, Chelsea tilted her head.
“Leo’s been acting a little strange these past few days, hasn’t he?”
“What’s strange about Young Master Leo?”
“You scared me!”
Chelsea flinched as Chen Xia suddenly popped her head into view.
The two smallest girls among the first-years stood out surprisingly well together.
“Chen Xia, what brings you here?”
At Karl’s question, Chen Xia smiled brightly.
“I was thinking of teaming up with Young Master Leo. By the way, has he really been strange lately?”
“He has been spacing out a bit.”
“That’s right. The class president is usually so sharp, but lately, he seems to have his guard down.”
Dade approached with his arms crossed, and Iliana also wore a look of curiosity.
Celia and Chloe, who were approaching to team up with Leo, overheard and joined the conversation.
“I’ve noticed it recently, too. Getting called out in class, of all things.”
Celia looked at Leo with a displeased expression.
“I wonder if something’s bothering him?”
Chloe wore a slightly worried look.
“Who knows! Anyway, now’s my chance! Chelsea! Give me the ball!”
Iliana’s face was full of mischief.
“What are you going to do?”
“When else will I get a chance to hit the class president in the head with a ball!”
Giggling, Iliana tiptoed behind Leo.
Then, she threw the ball straight at the back of Leo’s head while he was busy with team requests.
*Snatch-!*
Without even glancing in Iliana’s direction, Leo caught the ball with one hand.
And still without looking, he accurately threw the ball right back into Iliana’s face.
“Puh?!”
“That idiot.”
“Even if he’s spacing out, did you really think he’d fall for that?”
Karl and Dade looked at Iliana with pity as she returned with a red ball mark on her face.
“Chelsea! They called me an idiot!”
Iliana whined, clinging to Chelsea.
“You are an idiot.”
“So mean!”
Iliana looked heartbroken.
“You all from Section 5 are always so entertaining.”
Chen Xia smiled brightly and stroked her chin.
“But really, I wonder what’s wrong with him?”
“Well, for a boy our age, it’s obvious.”
Karl crossed his arms and nodded sagely. “Mm-hm! Mm-hm!”
“I’d hate to think of you and Leo on the same level, but… go on.”
“It’s a girl.”
At those words, Chelsea, Chloe, and Chen Xia wore peculiar expressions.
Celia crossed her arms.
“I doubt he’d be spacing out over a problem like that.”
“How could a girl possibly understand the heart of an adolescent boy?”
“The way you’re showing off makes me want to hit you.”
Celia narrowed her eyes at the smug Karl.
“Doesn’t he seem like the type to get along with someone older? He’s mature. And he seems to be hanging out with Elena lately.”
As Dade joined the conversation, Karl nodded in agreement.
“I think so, too. In that sense…”
Karl glanced at Chelsea with a look of pity and shook his head.
“A kid like you doesn’t stand a… Oof!”
Without hesitation, Chelsea planted a flying kick into Karl’s side.
It was during this chaotic team selection process.
“For your information.”
Professor Sedzen spoke up.
“Today is the practical exam for the Combat Studies midterm.”
In an instant, the atmosphere among the first-years turned ice-cold.
“What?”
“W-Wait a minute! Professor! A practical exam all of a sudden!”
The entire first-year class looked bewildered by the sudden announcement.
It wasn't strange to have a practical exam during the exam period.
But they couldn't help but be flustered by this surprise test with no prior notice.
Sedzen, who usually doted on his students with a kind smile, curled his lip as he watched the flustered students.
“You are all students of Lumerne. My dear first-years.”
Sedzen crossed his arms.
“Shouldn’t those who aim to be heroes be able to respond to unexpected situations anytime, anywhere?”
Faced with a completely different, overwhelmingly powerful presence from Sedzen, the first-years swallowed hard.
Watching them, Woreden asked with his characteristic deadpan expression.
“So, are our opponents the other first-years?”
“Hmph. Student Woreden. You truly are quite elegant.”
Sedzen gave a satisfied smile at Woreden’s attempt to calmly analyze the situation.
“There is something I must tell you all. This midterm, with the exception of the written test, will be entirely based on ‘relative evaluation.’”
Sedzen crossed his arms.
“This is in contrast to the first semester, where many things were graded on an absolute scale. Do you know why?”
The students hesitated, until Celia raised her hand.
“Go ahead, Student Celia.”
“Isn’t it because all the mediocre ones have already been weeded out?”
“Elegant.”
Sedzen nodded.
“My apologies to the students who were advised to withdraw during the first semester, but… the first semester was a process of ‘filtering out’ potential hero candidates. You must have all felt it, haven’t you? How completely different you are from the first semester. It means only the students with the greatest potential among the new entrants remain.”
At his words, everyone looked at each other and nodded.
“If the first semester was about selecting students with potential for growth, the second semester is about evaluating the value of that potential.”
“How will our potential be evaluated?”
This time, it was Duran who asked.
At the question, Sedzen’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Potential reveals itself the moment one hits a wall.”
Everyone tensed up.
“Because students of Lumerne… those who dream of becoming heroes must be able to ‘surpass their limits.’”
When a professor quoted the school motto, it meant an immense challenge was ahead.
“Your opponents in Bastera will not be other first-years.”
“Then who?”
*Peeeeep-!*
Sedzen blew a light whistle.
With that, someone appeared on the training grounds.
The faces of the first-years hardened at the sight.
“Haha. N-No way.”
“Come on. It can’t be. They’re just here to observe, right?”
They laughed awkwardly, trying to deny it.
But Sedzen cruelly thrust reality upon them.
“Your opponents are the ‘fifth-years.’”
At his words, the first-years stared in utter shock.
Lis, standing at the forefront, smiled at his juniors.
“Let’s have a good match.”