Chapter 192
Chapter Title: The Knight of Undine
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192
A giant, three-meter-tall knight appeared before them.
The wind spirit, clad in pale, silvery-gray armor, was armed with an axe and shield befitting its size.
It had an incredibly heavy and imposing appearance.
But both Leo and Ril knew.
That the spirit before them would move with incredible speed, contrary to its appearance.
*Whoosh—*
The moment they thought it, the spirit charged toward Ril at a tremendous speed.
*CRACK—!*
The swung axe was blocked by Leo's sword.
*WHOOSH—!*
A wind strong enough to scatter the surrounding dust and dirt in all directions blew.
Having blocked the attack, Leo felt as if the powerful wind pressure would send him flying.
*Stab—!*
Leo's feet dug into the ground.
Forcibly resisting the wind with his aura, Leo curled the corner of his lip and put more strength into his sword.
*Fwoosh—!*
Flames of aura erupted from Leo's sword.
*WHOOOOSH—!*
The swirling wind instantly caused the firepower of the flames to surge.
As Leo manipulated his aura, the flames engulfed the giant wind spirit.
*Rumble—!*
The flames swelled in an instant, as if inflating.
Seeing this, Leo swung his sword.
The wind spirit was sent flying as if tied by a rope and slammed into the ground.
“Excellent, Leo.”
Ril, impressed by the sight, summoned a spirit.
*Fwoosh—*
What she summoned was a fire spirit.
Ril was known for specializing in wind spirits, but that didn't mean she was only proficient with them.
In the Age of Calamity, multi-elemental spirit users were very rare.
But in the current era, where they inherited the powers of past heroes through the Hero Record, they had become more common.
For instance, Woreden, considered the strongest spirit user among the first-years, could freely handle spirits of the four main elements.
*Rumble—*
The ground changed shape, rising up from the floor to imprison the wind spirit.
A small hole was left in the center of the earthen dome.
Ril sent the fire spirit she had summoned into it.
*Vmmm—*
In that moment, Ril unleashed her spiritual power.
‘Trait Bestowal.’
A spirit art that grants a spirit a trait it doesn't possess.
Of course, she couldn't bestow completely incongruous traits, like granting a water spirit the trait of fire, but even spirits of the same element possessed various derivative abilities depending on the individual.
Trait Bestowal was a spirit art that temporarily granted such an ability.
‘The ability she just bestowed… is it explosion?’
The moment he thought that.
The earthen prison was completely sealed.
And with that.
*BOOM—!*
A massive explosion sent clods of earth flying in all directions.
*Pat-pat-pat-pat—*
Amidst the rain of dirt.
The powerful wind spirit had vanished without a trace.
‘And she didn't even use particularly strong spirits.’
Leo was impressed.
The fire and earth spirits Ril had used were, at best, intermediate-level.
Even considering the synergy from combining the spirits, defeating a high-level wind spirit so easily was astounding.
“That was amazing.”
“Flames need air to burn.”
Ril said with a nonchalant expression.
“Since your flames were already burning, Leo, I just sealed the space and made it explode.”
Deprived of the air needed to maintain its form, the wind spirit was instantly unsummoned.
‘Her split-second decision-making, combat sense, and ability to handle spirits. I see why Elena cherishes her as a junior.’
While Leo was marveling.
Ril crossed her arms.
“Still, how infuriating! Attacking us from hiding!”
Ril looked around, her expression somewhat angered.
“And what's more, our opponent hasn't withdrawn their killing intent.”
Ril, speaking in a firm voice, did not retract her spiritual power.
She was on standby, ready to summon a hero at any moment.
‘Elsie.’
[Did you call, Leo.]
‘A Great Spirit is dominating this entire area.’
[I see.]
‘Do you know how powerful a Great Spirit is within the domain it controls?’
[Well. I've never created my own domain.]
Great Spirits have one authority in common.
And that is domination.
The ability to bring lesser spirits under their command and control them.
Elsie also possessed the authority of domination.
But she had never once brought a spirit under her command.
Being a young spirit born in the Age of Calamity, she'd had no time to build a faction or create a domain.
‘So there’s no way to know how strong it is. In that case, why is it hostile toward us?’
*Rumble—!*
Just then, the ground began to shake.
This time, earth spirits began to be summoned.
“Ugh? A spirit user who can continuously summon such powerful spirits?”
Ril was startled.
“I think it would be best to retreat for now.”
Ril nodded at his words.
“We have no choice.”
Having made a quick decision, Leo and Ril left the ruins of Jerodia Castle.
A short while later.
Once they found a spot far from the castle, there were no more signs of the spirits pursuing them.
“We were given a mission to escort a VIP, but to be obstructed like this... It's a bit perplexing.”
Ril's words sent Leo deep into thought.
‘Is the VIP a Great Spirit?’
If so, it wouldn't be strange.
Considering Lumerne's influence, inviting a Great Spirit to the academy was certainly possible.
‘But why is it attacking us?’
He couldn't figure out the reason.
Judging by the killing intent, it was serious.
‘But for a Great Spirit, the attacks are weak.’
It was as if it were testing Leo and Ril's capabilities.
‘I can't discern its intentions.’
Leo, who had been narrowing his eyes at the distant walls of Jerodia Castle, raised his sword.
*Swish— Clang!*
A sharp metallic clang rang out.
Leo narrowed his eyes at the man who had appeared in a surprise attack, swinging a curved sword.
“Hoh.”
As the man let out a sound of admiration.
*CRACK—!*
A giant war hammer descended upon the man's torso.
*Whoosh—!*
The man swiftly jumped to evade the attack.
*WHOOSH—!*
Leo stared, dumbfounded, at the war hammer that had grazed the tip of his nose.
He had known it wouldn't hit him based on the distance and trajectory, but it was incredible control.
The sight of Ril, who wasn't even in the Knight Department, controlling such a heavy hammer with pure physical strength was nothing short of astonishing.
“Senior Ril, you're not a Spirit Knight, are you?”
“No. I can't wield aura.”
“But the way you swing that hammer is extraordinary.”
“I come from a military family. I've never neglected my combat training, even from a young age.”
Seeing this, Leo understood why Elena and Harke called her a "monster girl."
If she combined this battle hammer with her spirit arts, Ril could be active on the front lines.
‘She’s an all-rounder.’
Vanguard, rearguard, supporter.
She was a spirit user who could fill any position in a party.
*Thud—!*
Ril slammed the head of her hammer onto the ground and glared at the man who had attacked them.
“Who are you? Are you the spirit user who attacked us?”
“Kuh~ Fierce. So fierce. Kids these days are on another level.”
The man shook his head and sheathed his curved sword.
Then he took off his hat and grinned.
“Who am I? I'd think this face would be answer enough.”
Leo, staring blankly at the confidently smiling man, asked.
“Who are you?”
At those words, the man staggered and then shouted.
“Hey! How do you not know my face! I'm a celebrity who's in the papers all the time!”
“I only read the world news section of the paper.”
“You! The second-year representative! You know my face, right?!”
At the question, Ril, whose eyes had widened, soon wore an apologetic expression.
“I'm sorry. I also only read the world news section.”
“You guys! You're hero candidates! Shouldn't hero candidates at least know the faces of their recently active seniors? Or what? You think you don't need to because you're year representatives? Is it your youth? The youthful arrogance that you can surpass the seniors who came before you? Still, that's too arrogant! You should at least know who your targets to surpass are!”
The man, pounding his chest in frustration, shouted.
“My name is Jin Karon!”
“Huh?! The Knight of Undine?!”
Ril wore a shocked expression.
Undine.
The name of the current Great Spirit of Water, the Spirit of the Deep Sea.
She was regarded as the most powerful of the existing Great Spirits, and the vast ocean was her domain.
It had been 1000 years since her birth.
But during that time, she was also a spirit who had never formed a contract with anyone.
However, there was one hero she had bestowed her blessing upon, and that was Jin Karon.
Because Jin was a Spirit Knight chosen by the lofty Great Spirit, the world called him the Knight of Undine.
And he was a graduate of Lumerne, a man whose name was listed in the Hero Record.
“It's an honor to meet you, Senior! I am Ril luce, a second-year at Lumerne. It is an honor to meet a great hero whose name is in the Hero Record.”
At the appearance of someone who could be considered a senior from her own department, in a sense, Ril hurriedly and crisply showed her respects.
“Mm! Yes. Yes!”
Jin crossed his arms in satisfaction and nodded.
“Now, the unprecedented all-class who became the first-year student council president. What about you? You must have at least heard of the fame of a graduated senior like me, right?”
“May I speak frankly?”
“Of course. Speak frankly, and then show me respect like this girl here.”
“This is the first I'm hearing of you.”
Seeing Leo scratching his cheek, Jin's face stiffened.
“I don't know much about the heroes of the current era.”
“Ah, but still, that Ain fellow must have talked about me, right? I'm the only one from our graduating class who made it into the Hero Record!”
Jin and Ain were classmates.
“Not once.”
Leo had never once seen Ain talk about his classmates.
Jin, whose face had been twisting at Leo's words, finally nodded.
“Right. He was the one everyone said would be the first hero from our class. He's probably just jealous that I became a hero first.”
Watching Jin chuckle, Leo thought of Ain.
‘…Given Professor Ain’s personality, it’s more likely he doesn’t even give him a second thought.’
He could tell the man before him was incredibly skilled.
But he also seemed to have an endlessly flippant personality.
‘Did he judge that there was nothing for us to learn from this man?’
Leo sent a slightly pitying gaze toward Jin.
Jin, who had been preening, crossed his arms.
“Anyway, you two. Why did you go over there?”
“We received a mission.”
“A mission for a first and second-year. Impressive. What kind of mission?”
“We cannot disclose that.”
Ril said, not letting her guard down.
Even if he had revealed his identity, it wasn't guaranteed.
From Ril's perspective, Jin was still a suspicious person.
‘Geez. Such wary juniors.’
Jin muttered to himself before speaking aloud.
“Looks like it's a mission related to the Jerodia Castle ruins, right? In that case, I recommend you give up.”
“Why is that?”
“Because right now, a Great Spirit has taken up residence in those ruins.”
Ril's expression turned to one of surprise at his words.
Jin glanced at Leo.
‘Oho? Look at this one. Did he already notice?’
Jin made a meaningful expression.
‘Then again, he didn't become the first-year student council president for nothing. He is the contractor of the Phoenix, after all.’
Jin looked at Leo with sharp eyes and said.
“The spirit residing there is the Abyss Spirit.”
Ril flinched at those words.
The Abyss Spirit.
The Great Spirit of the dark element in the current era.
And like Undine, it was a spirit that had never taken a single contractor.
“As you know, Undine is picky about her 'tastes.' That's why she has no contractor, but the Abyss Spirit is a little different.”
Jin clicked his tongue.
“That thing hates people.”