Chapter 052
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The spotlight fell on Leo.
“Congratulations!”
But the atmosphere was strange.
While Class 5 was generally celebratory, students from other classes seemed unable to accept it.
Emio Luchan from Class 2, who had placed third in the Magic Department, raised his hand.
“Hold on! I object! How can Leo Flove, who isn’t even in the top three of his major, become the year representative!”
“That’s right! This is strange!”
“Please explain the reason!”
“This doesn’t make any sense!”
Complaints erupted from all over.
Just as Artian was flustered by the reaction, Halind spoke up.
“I will explain the scoring criteria.”
“First, for Dual Class students, major-specific rankings are not taken into account. Due to the nature of Dual Class students, it would not be a fair competition.”
Take a magic swordsman, for example. Their pure aura abilities are weaker than a pure knight’s, and their magic abilities are weaker than a mage’s.
But when the two abilities are combined, they create a tremendous synergistic effect.
“Second, Leo Flove’s score on the Heroics & Combat Joint Practical Exam was the highest among all first-years.”
“What? Weren’t other students’ scores in the Heroics & Combat practical exam also the highest?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Leo Flove surpassed the completion requirements for the World of Heroes.”
The students who didn't know this stared at Leo with wide eyes.
“In the process, he defeated Chubarn. Does that explain Leo Flove’s score now?”
No one could refute it.
It would be strange to complain about giving the top spot to a student who had achieved an impossible feat.
“You defeated a Chubarn? Just the two of you? Are you out of your mind?”
“Didn’t Professor Halind say that anyone who fought a Chubarn would be expelled, no questions asked! Aren’t you scared?”
As Dade and Iliana asked urgently, Leo sipped his drink and said, “There was no other way to escape the Hero Dungeon.”
“Wow! You’re insane. Seriously insane! I think this sometimes, but are you really not in your right mind?”
Leo grinned at Iliana, who was shaking her head in disbelief.
Meanwhile, the teaching assistants unveiled a bulletin board with the rankings.
Students swarmed in front of the board.
“Ah…! It’s higher than I thought!”
“N-No way! My grade is that low?”
Cheers and groans mixed in the air.
Watching the scene, Chelsea remarked, “It’s just like Professor Halind said. A lot of the kids who were in the lower ranks have shot up. Conversely, many of the top-ranked students have dropped.”
It was just as Halind had predicted at the beginning of the semester.
Of course, among the very top students, the only one whose rank had changed was Chloe, who had caused trouble during the midterm exams.
Still, in terms of actual skill, she remained one of the best among the first-years, so no student would dare underestimate her.
“Kids grow up fast, you know. If you let your guard down, you never know when the ones below you will catch up.”
“Hmph. That won’t happen. By the way, Leo. You sound like such an old man. You’re our age too, you know.”
Leo just smiled brightly at Chelsea’s remark as Karl approached.
“I went to see the other classes’ reactions. They’re all going crazy about you, Leo.”
“Well, it’s understandable.”
Mm-hmm! Chelsea nodded her head.
After that, the party began in earnest.
Leo enjoyed the party, picking out food from the buffet.
With students gathered from various regions, the food was just as diverse.
“Eastern food is so delicious!”
Karl said cheerfully as he placed a pork cutlet on his plate.
“You’re right.”
As the two enjoyed the party, Professor Ren, watching from the professors’ table, swirled his wine listlessly.
“Professor Ren. You don’t seem very happy.”
Ren’s assistant professor, Anna, asked with a puzzled look, and Ren clicked his tongue.
“Assistant Professor Anna, how could I possibly enjoy this party?”
“But your favorite student, Leo, became the year representative. Wasn’t that what you hoped for?”
“Of course, I’m happy. But for me to purely enjoy that happiness, student Leo must become a Magic Department student.”
“It certainly is a shame.”
Assistant Professor Anna licked her lips, also glancing toward Leo.
Half a semester had already passed since the first-years had enrolled.
There were many students in the Magic Department, but if one were to pick the three who stood out the most, it would undoubtedly be Abad, Chloe, and Leo.
‘Abad and Chloe have limitless potential.’
In all her life as a mage, she had never seen people with such talent.
Honestly, from a teaching perspective, it was a joy.
Whatever she taught, they understood and absorbed it instantly.
‘It feels like polishing a raw gemstone.’
As an educator, there was nothing more rewarding.
‘On the other hand, Leo is…’
Anna shivered slightly.
‘If Abad and Chloe are raw gemstones with limitless potential… Leo’s depths are unfathomable. Too deep.’
When Leo learned something in class, he didn’t just make it his own and stop there.
He reinterpreted it to suit himself before absorbing it.
The Magic Department professors marveled at it, calling it talent.
But to Anna, teaching Leo didn’t feel like polishing a raw gem.
‘It feels like I’m polishing an already perfect gem to make it shine even brighter.’
Sometimes, the sheer depth of his unfathomable power sent shivers down her spine.
Of course, that didn’t mean she didn’t want him in the Magic Department.
On the contrary, she wished he would choose the Magic Department quickly.
If that formidable power, terrifying even now, were dedicated solely to magic, what kind of results would it yield?
“Sob! Why did the heavens grant student Leo the useless, tacked-on talents of swordsmanship and summoning!? Waaah! Professor Anna! What am I to do about this?”
‘This man is drunk again, isn’t he?’
Anna wanted to scream.
Ren was a lightweight. And when he got drunk, his mood swings were severe.
The problem was that he would then say things without hesitation that would cause an uproar if other professors heard them.
‘This is why they call them geniuses! They don’t care what others think.’
Seeing Professor Ren hugging a wine bottle and crying, Anna knew she had to stop him quickly.
“He’ll probably choose the Magic Department soon.”
“And why is that?”
“Think about Leo’s closest classmates. They’re Chelsea and Karl, aren’t they?”
“...!”
Ren’s head snapped up.
“Anna! You’re a genius! Yes! There was such a way! I just need to have those two persuade student Leo.”
“P-Persuade him? Professor Ren! Wait a minute!”
“Hahaha! Why did I worry for so long when there was such a simple solution!”
“Forcing a major is against the rules! If a professor instigates something like that, it won’t end with a simple disciplinary action!”
“I’ll call those two over right now and…”
“Hey! You idiot! Listen to me!”
Anna rushed over to cover Ren’s mouth.
“Why are you stopping me? This is a golden opportunity to prevent student Leo from wasting his time on useless things!”
“What do you mean, a useless waste of time?”
Anna’s face turned pale.
The one person she absolutely didn’t want to see had arrived.
“Ah, Professor Ain. You’re here.”
“Good to see you, Senior Ain.”
“I just heard something interesting.”
Ain chuckled.
“Student Leo gets along well with the Magic Department students. That itself is proof that he will choose the Magic Department.”
“Are you judging his major based on mere friendships? How childish. Isn’t it the duty of an educator to provide a place where a student can best utilize their talents? Leo Flove is an individual who belongs in the Knight Department more than anyone else.”
“I understand you covet student Leo. But think objectively. The ability to see things more accurately is a mage’s skill… Oh, my mistake. I suppose a knight with muscles for brains wouldn’t be able to see it clearly. Can’t be helped. As a mage with foresight, I will explain to you, step by step, why student Leo must join the Magic Department.”
“For someone who claims to have the foresight of a mage, you don’t seem to have predicted that talking so rudely would get you hit by me.”
Anna looked up at the ceiling and lamented.
‘We’re doomed.’
With a cold smile, Ain grabbed Ren by the collar.
Regardless, Ren was busy laying out his own logic.
“What are you two doing? Aren’t you ashamed, in front of the students?”
Looking at Yura, who asked in disbelief, Ain said, “We were discussing Leo Flove’s choice of major.”
“Leo?”
‘Looks like these guys are dreaming again. Leo belongs in the Summoning Department.’
Yura looked at her senior and junior professors with great pity.
‘It’s only natural for a kid who summoned a phoenix to join the Summoning Department, right?’
As Yura clicked her tongue and looked at them with a lukewarm expression, Ain and Ren narrowed their eyes.
Of the three, the most unhinged and ambitious professor for her department was Yura.
‘Why is this woman looking at me with such an annoying expression?’
‘Senior Yura is plotting something unpleasant again.’
Ain and Ren muttered internally.
Meanwhile, the other professors who witnessed the three’s nerve-wracking standoff shook their heads with expressions that said, ‘There they go again.’
Just then, Professor Sedjen elegantly tapped a wine glass with a spoon, drawing the students’ attention.
“Everyone, your attention please. Are you enjoying the party?”
“Yes!”
“Excellent! Then, as promised, I will make an announcement regarding the destination of your school trip.”
The students’ eyes lit up.
“It goes without saying, but a school trip is not simply for play. It is to broaden your horizons in places you have not normally been.”
Professor Sedjen pointed to the side with a flamboyant gesture.
An assistant brought over a bulletin board covered with a cloth.
Seeing it, Professor Sedjen snapped his fingers.
*Snap!* *Flutter!*
In time with the sound, the assistant whisked the cloth away.
On the board was a map of the continent.
“Does he really have to be so dramatic about it?”
“You know Professor Sedjen loves this kind of thing.”
Leo chuckled and agreed with Karl’s murmur.
“Each class can decide which region they wish to visit.”
At those words, a clamor arose from each class.
“The East! Let’s go to the East!”
“What? No way. Did you forget I’m from the East?”
“How about the South? I want to see what a desert is like.”
“Ew! It’s just hot, isn’t it? Let’s go to the cool North instead!”
As the students instantly grew noisy and started bickering, Duran raised his hand.
“Oh! Student Duran! Do you have a question?”
“You said it was to broaden our horizons, Professor. But I believe some first-year students may have already visited various regions depending on their circumstances. Is this school trip simply for the consideration of students who haven’t had such experiences?”
Duran was right.
While there were students like Leo who had never left their own country, there were also many who had been to various nations and experienced different cultures. Quite a few had traveled to multiple regions.
As a significant number of students nodded at the question, Professor Sedjen let out a chuckle.
“An excellent question, student Duran!”
Professor Sedjen spread his arms wide.
“Indeed, some among you may have visited every region since you were young! For such students, it cannot be said to be broadening their horizons! Lumerne would never present you with such a trivial experience!”
The students began to murmur.
If it wasn’t just about going to another region, what else could there be?
Sedjen approached the continental map and slapped the northern region. *Thwack!*
“The place you will be going is not the domain of humans!”
The students gasped in surprise at his words.
“Th-Then! Could it be!”
“Yes! Another race! It is the domain of the Elves!”
A roar of excitement erupted from the students.
“Ooooh!”
“Awesome!”
“This is Lumerne for you! To think we can go to the Elven domain!”
Duran, too, looked a little stunned, but the corners of his mouth curled up.
Watching the scene, Leo blinked.
‘Times really have changed.’
In the past, there were no barriers between the races, but the current era was different.
Fundamentally, all races interacted, but they couldn't freely come and go from each other's territories.
‘Were there wars between the races in the past?’
In fact, humans and elves had a bad relationship.
It was something unimaginable in the era Kyle had lived in.
‘Well, I guess the old days are unimaginable from the perspective of this era.’
“Hey! Chelsea! Have you ever been to the Elven domain?”
“Of course not!”
“I’m so excited! Which country are we going to?”
“Leo! Which country do you want to go to?”
In response to Karl’s question, he pointed at the map.
“There.”
“Huh?”
“I want to go to Elsalvekia.”
Elsalvekia.
A small nation among the elven countries.
And this country had something special.
[Fairy Forest]
Now, it was merely an old place name.
Despite its name, Fairy Forest was no longer inhabited by fairies.
It was said that the fairies left after the Age of Calamity ended.
But until then, this place had been a sanctuary for fairies.
‘The chance to go came sooner than I thought.’
Leo clenched his fist.
As a summoner, Leo held a pact.
The Pact of the Fairy King.
‘I don’t think the fairies would have abandoned their sanctuary so easily. And even if they truly did abandon it…’
Leo’s eyes gleamed.
‘There’s a high probability they left something behind related to the Fairy King.’