Chapter 225
Chapter Title: The Test and the Gaze
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225
A storm of aura raged toward Leo.
*Fwoosh-!*
A sharp spear flew at his neck.
And from behind, a sword swung at an exquisite angle.
‘Not bad for a makeshift combo.’
He smirked, looking at Aina and Habiden as they pressed in on him.
The two had gotten noticeably faster.
‘Did Sasha summon a phantom beast to give them a blessing?’
*Grab-! Grab-!*
“……!”
“……!”
Leo reached out, precisely snatching Aina’s and Habiden’s wrists.
Caught in midair, their eyes widened.
“You’d do well to learn how to handle situations like this in advance.”
*Fwhoosh-! Slam-!*
“Keuk?”
“Gah?!”
With brutal force, Leo slammed them into the ground.
Overwhelmed by his raw power, they were helplessly driven into the floor.
Having subdued the two, Leo tilted his head.
*Fwoosh-!*
A powerful sniper spell grazed the spot where his head had just been.
It was a shot from the concealed Juen.
Leo looked in the opposite direction from where the spell had come.
‘He found my position?’
Juen’s face went pale.
She thought she had perfectly erased her presence and the remnants of her mana, yet Leo had pinpointed her exact location.
‘He’s a complete monster…’
Juen flinched and ducked her head in a hurry.
*Craaaack-!*
Perched in a tree, Juen noticed the space above her had suddenly become empty.
She cautiously raised her head.
The top of the tree was gone.
‘Sniper magic?!’
Gritting her teeth, Juen tried to move to a new hiding spot.
“If your position is compromised, you shouldn't maintain stealth but quickly rejoin your allies. There's nothing easier to deal with than a mage who's isolated.”
“……!”
Startled by the voice behind her, Juen whirled around.
‘When did he…!’
*Crackle-!*
Sparks flew from Leo’s hand.
*Bzzzzzzzt!*
“Kyaaaaah!”
Juen screamed as she was electrocuted by a Lightning spell.
Just then.
*Fwoosh-!*
Luke charged at Leo.
*Grab-!*
Leo caught the sharply swung sword and immediately threw a punch.
*Whoosh-!*
“……!”
Luke hastily shrouded his arm in aura.
*Thwack-!*
Blocking Leo’s fist, Luke felt his mind go blank for a moment.
*Fwoosh-! Thud-!*
Luke’s body went airborne before he crashed to the ground, tumbling several times.
‘Unskilled. Both his swordsmanship and his ability to handle aura.’
Leo tore his gaze from Luke and looked back toward Juen.
She had already vanished again.
‘She’s got good abilities.’
As Leo smirked, Aina and Habiden, who had been knocked to the ground, staggered back to their feet.
Juen, who had rejoined the party at the rear, spoke tauntingly.
“You said you could easily handle us without drawing your sword, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it?”
“You seem more manageable than we thought, Leo-sunbae.”
Habiden chuckled in agreement.
“Why don’t you draw your sword?”
Sasha chimed in, provoked.
It was true that Leo’s overwhelming power was intimidating.
But they also felt they could hold their own.
Luke, whose arm had been broken while blocking the earlier attack, also pushed himself up with a groan.
Seeing the five of them burning with fighting spirit, Leo let out a smirk.
“Is that right?”
*Shing-!*
The examinees tensed as Leo drew his sword.
“Then shall I get serious too?”
***
“Wh-what just happened?”
“The moment he drew his sword, it was over in an instant…”
Aina, Sasha, Habiden, Juen, and Luke.
When the five had joined forces to fight Leo, the crowd’s excitement had reached its peak.
A fierce battle between the strongest of the second years and the top first-year candidates.
It was sure to be the main event of this year’s entrance exam.
But the moment Leo drew his sword, the match was decided in an instant.
Most of the spectators couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.
In the audience, Ar crossed her arms.
“It’s over.”
Ar’s blue eyes were fixed on Leo, who was captured on the screen.
‘The black rabbit just keeps getting stronger.’
He was on a completely different level from when she’d seen him half a year ago during the Azonia entrance exam.
Of course, Ar herself had also grown incomparably stronger since then.
It was the result of training like a madwoman with a single-minded goal.
To catch up to Leo.
But the Leo she met again after half a year was as formidable as ever.
No, he was even stronger.
Goosebumps covered her entire body.
The battle-crazed nature unique to beastkin was on full display.
Her tail stood stiff, and her ears perked up.
Intoxicated with excitement, Ar trembled.
“Ughhh-! Meeting the black rabbit is the greatest luck of my life!”
Her eyes sparkled.
A target to chase.
A reason to become stronger.
For Ar, that was Leo.
“Alright! As soon as the entrance exam is over, we’re gonna fight and roll around!”
Unable to contain herself, Ar bounced on her feet. Hearing her, Eiran flinched.
“R-roll around?”
“What kind of weird fantasy are you having now?”
“N-no! I wasn’t imagining anything at all!”
Lunia shook her head, dumbfounded by her friend’s startled reaction, and turned her gaze to Leo.
‘Leo, what on earth are you thinking?’
The difference in their power was clear from the start.
‘Are you trying to break the spirits of these promising juniors?’
Even if they were seniors and juniors, they were only a year or two apart.
For those facing Leo, it was a feeling close to despair.
Their spirits were literally being broken.
‘This year’s Lumerne first-years might just end up being a mediocre generation.’
***
*Stagger-!*
Aina struggled to her feet.
She was, without a doubt, the most skilled among them.
‘He’s a monster.’
But Aina’s eyes were filled with despair.
She had to be acknowledged by the man before her, one way or another.
Only then would she earn the right to seek revenge as the true successor of the Sword Saint.
But Leo wasn’t looking at her at all.
If that was the case, she had to make him see her through her skill… but she had no confidence she could.
It was, in a word, overwhelming.
*Fwoosh-!*
Mana swirled in Leo’s hand.
“Ugh!”
Aina hastily deployed her Aura Armor.
*Boom!*
She was sent flying helplessly with the explosion.
“Ugh… this is totally unfair.”
Juen, collapsed on the ground, barely lifted her head.
“Swordsmanship, magic, summoning. He’s a monster at all of them…!”
In their eyes, Leo was a flawless, complete being.
There were no openings to exploit.
That fact alone was enough to instill despair.
“Is that it? Shall we end this, then?”
Leo spoke coolly and raised his hand.
Just as Aina, Sasha, Habiden, and Juen wore expressions of resignation.
*Rustle-*
“Not… not yet.”
Luke pushed himself to his feet.
Among the five, he was in the worst condition.
Despite his lack of skill, Luke had stubbornly charged at Leo, trying to do his part.
He got up again and again after being knocked down, blocking Leo’s path.
It was only natural that his condition was the most wretched.
Every time he took a ragged breath, a wheezing sound escaped him.
“I can still fight.”
Watching Luke tighten his grip on his sword, Leo spoke.
“You reached your limit long ago. If you push yourself any further, you could die from exhaustion.”
Leo was right.
His aura had been depleted long ago, and the physical damage he’d sustained was significant.
His stamina had also reached its limit.
He was standing purely on willpower.
“You are all exceptional.”
Leo said calmly.
“If you receive a good evaluation in this fight, you’ll likely be admitted. Even if you fail, at your level, you could easily pass next year. You were just a little unlucky.”
As Leo said, they were all skilled enough to pass.
Leo’s gentle reassurance eased their minds.
Aina, however, gritted her teeth.
For her, who wasn’t just aiming for admission, such comfort was useless.
She only felt despair.
And as for Luke…
“You’re not giving up.”
Leo looked at Luke, who was still trying to face him.
Compared to the other four, he was truly weak.
But he was the most tenacious.
“Why won’t you give up?”
“Because this might be my last chance.”
He had felt overwhelming despair and keenly realized the insurmountable gap in their skills.
Luke knew better than anyone that his actions now were meaningless.
Even so, he didn’t give up.
‘I’m different from the others. I probably won’t get into Lumerne. Then I’ll never get to meet Leo-ssi again.’
To Luke, Leo was an object of admiration.
A person who, despite being only a few years older, had achieved great feats worthy of a hero from a story, time and time again.
‘I want to know. How much longer can I fight against Leo-ssi?’
Luke tightened his grip on his sword and smiled.
“Pushing past your limits… isn’t that Lumerne’s motto?”
Seeing that smile, Leo’s eyes widened slightly.
He was a little… no, very surprised.
It reminded him of someone who could smile like that while foolishly clinging to an impossible task.
“Do you want to be a hero?”
“…Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to help a lot of people.”
“And why do you want to help them?”
At Leo’s question, Luke’s face turned red.
After a moment of hesitation, he answered.
“Because… being a hero like that is cool.”
As Luke smiled awkwardly, the onlookers wore expressions of disbelief.
He wanted to be a hero for such a ridiculous reason?
“Because it’s cool?”
When Leo burst out laughing, Luke lowered his head, embarrassed.
Wanting to save many people was an incredibly grand ideal.
To dream such a grand dream simply because it was cool.
It was an absurd reason.
But Leo didn't mock him.
After all, Leo knew a fool who fought against the world’s destruction simply because the world was in crisis.
‘If it’s in danger, shouldn’t you obviously save it?’
And he himself had been part of that great, yet absurd, journey.
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Luke Elda.”
“I’ll remember it.”
At Leo’s words, Luke’s eyes widened.
The others reacted the same way.
Leo pointed his sword at Luke.
*Gwoooooooh-!*
An aura incomparable to anything before raged forth.
Luke’s face turned deathly pale.
But he soon steeled himself and readjusted his grip on his sword.
Seeing him, Leo smirked, and his eyes glinted.
*Crack-!*
Leo’s sword strike descended upon Luke.
His sword broke, and Luke passed out on the spot.
Watching the junior who fought back without breaking until the very end, Leo smirked.
*Crack-crack-*
The world around them began to fracture.
“The exam is over.”
An uncleared Hero Record could be closed by an external will.
Sheathing his sword, Leo spoke to the four who were staring blankly at him and Luke.
“See you at the academy, juniors.”
Leo gave them a light wave.
‘He even calculated the exam time?’
Aina gritted her teeth.
‘So he was holding back after all!’
And yet, she couldn’t even come close to his level.
Her gaze shifted to Luke, unconscious before Leo.
Anyone could see it.
That boy had earned Leo’s acknowledgment.
‘Why?’
As that question filled her mind, a bright light engulfed her vision.
“Hmph. He held back.”
Halind snorted and muttered.
“He did. To think he even calculated the exam duration. Fufu! As expected of the future of the Summoning Department!”
“Yura-sunbae. You’re spouting nonsense. Student Leo is the future of the Magic Department.”
“Oh? Is that defiance?”
“It’s not defiance, I’m merely stating a fact. It seems my explanation is too difficult for you, Yura-sunbae. I understand. Then, to match your level…”
“That’s not defiance, you’re picking a fight.”
Yura smiled viciously and grabbed Ren by the collar.
Halind gestured with his chin and said coldly.
“Take care of it.”
Other professors subdued the two.
After creating the bizarre scene of Lumerne professors kneeling in a corner holding chairs, Halind looked over the files of the five who had faced Leo.
“What are your thoughts? In any case, it’s a fact that Leo held back against those five.”
“Yes. But after crushing them so thoroughly, it would be ridiculous to say he didn’t do his best in the exam.”
Halind nonchalantly flipped to the last page.
It was Luke’s photo.
“Sedzen would have praised him for being excellent.”
An unyielding spirit was one of the qualities Sedzen valued most.
Of course, it wasn’t something Halind rated very highly.
“What should we do about this examinee?”
Ain asked.
While Aina, Sasha, Habiden, and Juen were guaranteed to pass, Luke’s case was ambiguous.
His ability to hold his own against Leo to some extent was largely due to the influence of the four he had partied with.
“What is your assessment?”
“…He is immature. His swordsmanship is crude compared to the other candidates, and his skill in handling aura is lacking.”
Ain gave a cold evaluation.
“But… his talent is undeniable.”
At those words, Halind rested his chin on his hand.
After tapping the desk a few times, Halind drew a triangle over Luke’s photo.
It meant ‘pending.’
Halind rose from his seat and left the examination hall.
Watching him go, Ain let out a sigh of relief.
‘At least we avoided a situation where all the freshmen were wiped out.’
Only 53 students had passed the exam outright.
Out of thousands of students, only 53 had survived.
Fortunately, however, there were a whopping 724 students on the pending list.
‘The gems will be sorted from the stones during the faculty meeting.’
Sedzen would be part of that.
Ain sighed as he looked at the examinees, whose fates hung in the balance.
‘I just hope they don’t get intimidated by the second-years.’
***
The World of Heroes was fracturing.
The examinees and the second-years had all returned to their original world.
But Leo stood there all alone.
‘What’s this?’
Feeling a sense of unease, Leo looked around the silent forest.
There was no sign of monsters.
It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Frowning, Leo flinched and turned his head.
And he met the gaze of a giant, crimson eye floating in the air.
Leo felt his heart freeze.
The power emanating from the crimson eye was faint.
It was practically nonexistent.
But it possessed a clear ‘will.’
The moment he realized what consciousness dwelled within that eye.
*Fwoosh-!*
Leo’s vision was engulfed in a bright light.
He found himself standing in the middle of the examination hall.
Leo stood there, frozen solid.
“Leo?”
Kal approached him with a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong? Why are you sweating so much?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
He wiped the sweat trickling down his chin.
That crimson eye just now.
‘That was definitely… Erebos.’