Chapter 274
Chapter Title: A Harsh Critique
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274
“Healer! Healer!”
“Eget’s arm is twisted at a weird angle!”
A commotion erupted among the Damian students.
“Well then, shall I go take a look at the weapons?”
Of course, Leo paid no mind to any of that and approached the weapons Eget had on display.
“To do that to someone and be so calm about it.”
Ar clicked her tongue as she watched Eget being carried away on a stretcher.
Meanwhile, the eyes of the Azonia students watching Leo were filled with confusion.
“How can he have that much strength with arms like those.”
“Eget’s strength was the real deal…!”
The Azonia students, who hated to lose any contest of strength, had challenged him, yet only five had won.
And aside from Ar, all of them were students bigger than Leo.
“It’s technique.”
Just then, the tiger beastman, Borman, spoke.
“Technique?”
“Yes. Leo Flove’s inherent strength is impressive, but his technique for focusing that strength must also be at an incredible level. That’s how he was able to unleash such an explosive burst of power in an instant.”
“Ooh.”
“As expected of Borman!”
“To see right through it!”
“I’ll be able to have a great match with him!”
Borman blocked Leo’s path.
“That was an impressive match, Leo Flove. Your technique for controlling your strength was magnificent!”
Leo looked up at Borman.
“Your outstanding technique! And my strength! Aren’t you curious to see which is superior?”
Borman pointed to the steel table.
Looking at Borman, Leo asked Ar.
“Could you ask your friend if he can step aside?”
“I’ve never been friends with a muscle-head like him.”
“Come! Leo Flove! Let’s settle this with an arm-wrestling match!”
Hearing Borman’s words, Ar crossed her arms and said.
“You’d be better off stepping aside before you get hurt.”
“Ooh! Ar, are you worried about me?”
Borman’s face filled with emotion.
“But I, Borman, a man among men, have sworn never to back down from a challenge until the day I become a man worthy of you! Now! Stop hiding and step forward! Leo Flove!”
“A man worthy of you?”
“I petted him at the beginning of the semester, and now he’s going around saying things like that. Well, it’s all thanks to my charm, of course.”
Leo gave the preening Ar a pathetic look before speaking to Borman.
“If you want to show off your strength, there’s plenty of stuff back there to show it off with, isn’t there?”
Leo pointed a finger at Eget’s weapons.
“Hmph, that’s true. But it won’t be easy for you to handle those with your strength, will it?”
‘Does this idiot really think the Black Rabbit beat Eget with technique?’
Ar stared at Borman with a look of disbelief.
Leo had defeated Eget with pure, unadulterated physical strength.
‘The Black Rabbit was a monster who’d passed the Lumerne entrance exam without even using Aura, after all.’
And he had become the freshman representative under those circumstances.
Beating out all of Lumerne’s formidable second-years to become the representative, without even using Aura—that alone should have been enough to guess the extent of his raw power.
‘Then again, the kids at our school don’t pay much attention to students from other schools. *Sigh*!’
While she was sighing deeply, Borman followed Leo to Eget’s weapons.
And he reached for a giant two-handed sword.
Borman, lightly lifting the two-handed sword that boasted a hefty weight with just one hand, spoke.
“Excellent. I don’t specialize in swords, but this weight… I can feel that it’s definitely a superior weapon…”
Borman turned his head toward Leo and was startled.
“Wait! The weapons displayed here are the heaviest ones Eget has ever made!”
Since Eget, the smith, had been carried away, Leo hadn’t heard the explanation of the weight classes and was reaching for the battle axe that boasted the most massive weight.
*Clasp-!*
But Leo lifted the giant battle axe without any difficulty.
“It’s made of Adamantium.”
Leo examined the battle axe.
Watching Leo, Borman froze.
“Does that still look like technique to you?”
Ar asked, snickering at Borman.
‘With a body like that, he has physical strength on par with mine?’
“L-Lifting it is one thing! You have to be able to swing it like this!”
Borman swung the two-handed sword with all his might.
*Whoosh-!*
The heavy sound of it cleaving the air echoed.
Wielding the super-heavy greatsword—a weapon that could barely be handled even with Aura—as if it were nothing, Borman gave a bold grin.
“Well, how about that! Leo Flove!”
Looking at Borman’s triumphant expression, Leo lifted the battle axe with one hand.
And…
*Swish-!*
Leo swung the battle axe.
A sharp sound, as if slicing through something, was heard.
A single swing, concise yet filled with power and destructive force.
Seeing that, the color drained from Borman’s face.
Ar, too, stared at Leo with surprised eyes.
‘The force was perfectly concentrated on a single point.’
It was the movement of someone who perfectly understood the weapon’s characteristics.
After that, Leo began swinging the battle axe through the air as if testing it.
At his perfect movements, the Azonia students’ eyes widened.
“Oooooooh…!”
Just then, Eget, who had been carried away on a stretcher, came running back.
And seeing Leo perfectly wielding the super-heavy battle axe he had created, he shed tears of joy.
“To think someone could wield a weapon I made so perfectly!”
*Grab-!*
Eget rushed over to Leo as he was placing the battle axe back on the display stand and said.
“Leo Flove! It seems I’ve misunderstood you! You are the man worthy of a weapon made by me, Eget! Just say the word! I will craft a custom-made weapon just for you!”
Looking at the excited Eget, who was grabbing his hands and shaking them wildly, Leo said.
“You made it well.”
“Of course! I’m the best at making super-heavy weapons among the second-years! You must have been satisfied with the perfect balance of my weapon!”
“The balance was a mess.”
“W-What did you say?”
“The advantage of a super-heavy weapon like this is its weight. The heavier it is, the more destructive power the weapon carries.”
Leo wore an indifferent expression.
“But your battle axe focused too much on increasing the weight. That’s why the balance is a mess.”
“Nonsense! I distributed the weight perfectly! The balance of my weapon is perfect! Look! To maximize its destructive power, I made the parts where force is applied heavy and the handle light!”
“Sure, it might be perfect in terms of maximizing the weapon’s destructive power. But it shows no consideration for the person swinging it. You. Can you perfectly wield the weapon you made?”
Eget flinched at Leo’s question.
“We’re going to be entrusting our lives to the weapons you make. And yet you’d deceive us? Is making something that just looks flashy on the outside the spirit of a descendant of Dweno?”
Hearing Leo’s words, Eget dropped to his knees.
He placed his hands on the floor and cried out as if sobbing.
“Y-You’re right. I can’t wield that weapon perfectly! I focused so much on increasing its destructive power that I made a weapon even I can’t handle properly… Yes! I only balanced the weight to make it look flashy on the outside! I… I made trash! And if I made trash, then I’m trash too!”
Crying out, Eget put all of his weapons into his subspace.
The Azonia students, who had been enjoying looking at the weapons, wore startled expressions.
“I’m throwing all this trash into the furnace!”
Watching Eget’s back as he fled the grand hall in tears, Leo muttered.
“There’s no need to dispose of the other perfectly fine items.”
“The other items were perfectly fine?!”
“Of course. He’s a guy with exceptional skill in making weapons. Any weapon he made within the scope of his own usability would be perfect.”
“Why didn’t you tell him? What a waste.”
“He wouldn’t have listened even if I did.”
Leo shook his head.
“Dwarves aren’t the kind of race you can reason with.”
Saying that, Leo looked over the other items.
Starting with that, situations similar to Eget’s began to occur one after another.
As if to prove his claim that he could perfectly handle any weapon.
Leo handled every item made by the Damian students perfectly.
And he pointed out every single flaw in the weapons they had made.
“The mana output is too high. You won’t be able to use it for long like this.”
“An orb that helps summon the four great spirits? It’s so half-baked it can’t properly assist with any of them.”
“Perfect? You keep insisting it’s perfect, but does this look perfect to you? Apologize to the ore.”
With every one of Leo’s words, the Damian students, looking shocked, would burst into tears and leave the grand hall.
Finally, just as Leo was about to critique the weapon of the 56th Damian student.
“Student Leo. I understand you’re incredible, but please stop mentally breaking our students.”
Depetto approached and stopped Leo.
Leo looked around.
“The thing I made is trash…”
“Great ore! I’m sorry! I’m sorry for making you into this!”
Some despondent Damian students were staring blankly into space, while another was prostrated before a piece of ore, apologizing.
The other Damian students avoided Leo’s gaze when he looked at them.
Before long, Leo had become an object of fear.
There is nothing more terrifying for a creator than to have the flaws in their own creation pointed out perfectly.
Even if the criticism is valid, the blow to the creator is immense.
Looking at the Damian students who were trembling as they watched him, Leo said.
“Shall I stop here?”
‘Just what is this student’s identity?’
Depetto stared at Leo with a dumbfounded expression.
The Damian students Leo had broken were all high-achievers.
Of course, being students, it was only natural they had shortcomings.
The Damian students acknowledged that fact.
The problem was that Leo, a fellow student, had pointed out those shortcomings so accurately and mercilessly.
Seeing Depetto staring at Leo as if he’d had enough, Ar asked.
“Did you really have to go this far?”
“A smith I once knew used to say this.”
Leo said calmly.
“That a smith is the one who decides a hero’s final moments.”
“The one who decides a hero’s final moments?”
“Yes. He said that in a fight, the last thing a hero can rely on is their weapon. That’s why he said they must never be overconfident in their own skills.”
Leo looked at the weapons.
“His argument was that while one must strive for perfection, a perfect weapon can never exist.”
“Meaning one must constantly strive for improvement. Those are good words.”
Hearing Leo’s words, Depetto nodded.
The younger one is, the more likely they are to have blind faith in their own skills.
‘Young artisans, in particular, have a strong tendency for that.’
Being stubborn and having immense pride in what they create is a racial trait of dwarves.
‘But it’s also the racial trait one must be most wary of. As Student Leo said, the things we make decide a hero’s final moments. Indeed, Student Leo seems like he will be a good stimulus for the Damian students.’
Depetto glanced at his students, who were crushed on the floor.
‘Though this is a bit too much.’
It was then.
“You brought these imitation-like things again!”
“What I make is none of your business!”
Just then, a commotion erupted at the hall’s entrance.
Depetto let out a deep sigh and covered his face with his hands.
“What’s going on?”
Ar perked up her ears and headed toward the commotion.
A large crowd had already gathered around.
Leo spotted the Damian student at the center of the commotion and tilted his head.
‘A female Dweno?’
The dwarf he had met yesterday, Driana, was arguing with other Damian students.
“You think you can tarnish the name of the Godly Smith with such pathetic skills?”
“Hmph! I’d say making half-baked original creations is what really tarnishes the Godly Smith’s name!”
“What did you say!”
An enraged Damian student kicked the weapon box Driana had brought.
*Crash!*
Swords spilled out of the weapon box.
The other hero academy students who saw this wore surprised expressions.
The swords were all identical in appearance.
And the sword’s appearance was that of a very famous blade.
Leo picked up a sword that had rolled to his feet.
‘This is…’
It was a sword Leo knew.
The first sword Dweno had ever made for Ar-on.
[Wolf Fang.]
The sword Ar-on used in his early days, its existence confirmed in historical texts as well as the Hero Record—the most famous sword in the world.
Looking at the sword, Leo then looked at Driana.
‘A replica, huh.’
Tilting his head, he drew the sword from its sheath.
*Shing-!*
He was surprised by the feel of the blade.
Compared to the real Wolf Fang, it was no exaggeration to call this thing pathetic.
That was only natural.
The object of comparison was Dweno, after all.
But judging it purely as a sword, it was excellent.
‘It seems she’s not just a female Dweno in personality alone.’
Leo looked around.
‘But why do the Damian students hate her?’