Chapter 568
Chapter Title: The King of Wisdom's Specialty
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568.
Liden stared in disbelief at Chelsea, who was confidently facing Lisinas right before him.
‘What is this? Chelsea Llewellyn… Does she feel no fear?’
Chelsea's act of blocking Lisinas seemed utterly reckless.
Even if it was a fake, her opponent was a Great Hero.
Even though she was praised as part of Lumerne's golden generation, compared to Lisinas, she was nothing more than a firefly under the moonlight.
‘How… how can she stand against him?’
Liden clenched his fists.
Though questions flooded his mind, Liden quickly moved his friends to a safe distance from the fight's aftermath.
"Aren't you going to stop them?"
"They can't escape anyway."
Lisinas gave a broad smile.
"It's more worthwhile to fight an opponent with spirit than one who's too terrified to fight properly."
As he said that, Lisinas's eyes narrowed.
"And I have a reason to scold her, too."
‘Maybe I shouldn't have called him ugly.’
Chelsea's expression clouded over.
Watching Chelsea, Lisinas raised his hand.
*Flash—!*
Countless particles of light formed in the air.
Seeing this, a gust of wind billowed out from Chelsea's body.
*Fwoooosh—!*
The particles of light became a rain of light, pouring down on Chelsea.
Seeing it, Chelsea flinched and manipulated the wind.
‘This is on a completely different level from Iliana's magic!’
Chelsea screamed inwardly, thinking of her school friend who specialized in light magic.
‘The attack itself is simple! Straight lines!’
Chelsea's eyes darted around.
Her mobility enhanced by her unique magic, Hot Gale, Chelsea swiftly dodged Lisinas's offensive spell.
*Flash—!*
A bead of cold sweat formed on Chelsea's forehead as a flash of light grazed past her face.
‘Just touching it would be a fatal blow.’
At a glance, it didn't look much different from the most basic attack spell, Magic Missile.
But the power it contained far surpassed that of most high-level magic.
*Whoosh—!*
Chelsea's body shot up into the sky.
"Gasp!"
And what Chelsea faced in the sky was a beautiful white finger, thrust right in front of her nose.
The owner of the sculpture-like hand was none other than Lisinas.
A flash erupted from Lisinas's fingertip.
Chelsea hurriedly threw her head back.
*Flash—! Kra-ka-ka-koom—!*
A tremendous flash of light and a deafening explosion echoed from behind her.
The shockwave that erupted at the same time sent Chelsea flying.
*Whoosh—!*
"Kugh!"
"You seem confident in your speed, little girl."
Just before she hit the ground, Chelsea barely managed to regain her balance, her shoulders trembling at the voice that came from behind her.
When she turned her head, Lisinas was there.
"But if you rely too much on speed, you'll quickly hit your limit when facing someone faster than you."
*Grab—!*
*Thwack—!*
"Keok?!"
"Just like now."
Grabbing Chelsea's hair, Lisinas mercilessly kneed her in the solar plexus.
Chelsea's body flew into the air before crashing to the ground.
At that moment.
*Whoosh—!*
"......!"
Chelsea's body turned into wind and scattered.
"A clone?"
Lisinas's eyes widened slightly.
"Wind Breaker!"
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-kak—!*
The blade of wind Chelsea fired swept over Lisinas.
"That's right. There are plenty of people faster than me. But my strength isn't speed!"
Chelsea's greatest strength was her freedom, unrestrained like the wind.
Her specialty was using that freedom to fight with unpredictable movements.
Seeing Lisinas walk out unharmed from the thick cloud of dust, Chelsea gritted her teeth.
‘I have to hold on longer!’
There was no chance of winning.
Even if he was a fake, he was an illusion created by Leo.
An illusion crafted by the one who knew the King of Wisdom, Lisinas, better than anyone in the world.
‘It's no exaggeration to say he's Lisinas himself!’
The reason she had gone out of her way to call Lisinas ugly was to steel herself.
A desperate struggle to muster courage by denying he was real.
But that changed nothing.
The courage she'd squeezed out barely allowed her to move, but the fact remained that her opponent was a powerhouse who could finish her whenever he pleased.
Even so, Chelsea had to fight.
‘I don't know what Leo wants to see from me.’
But it was clear he had sent her here with them to show those dragons something.
‘In that case, I have to do what I've learned.’
The things she learned while admiring and following Leo.
The things she came to understand after meeting Ar-on and Luna.
Now was the time to put into practice the countless things Chelsea had seen and accepted.
There was no time to despair over the overwhelming difference in power.
Chelsea took a deep breath.
And...
A beautiful voice flowed from Chelsea's lips.
The surrounding wind resonated with Chelsea.
*Fwhooooooosh—!*
Lisinas perceived the wind being drawn toward Chelsea and let out a soft "hmm."
‘My voice no longer reaches the wind spirits easily.’
The wind grew ever stronger.
And yet, the area around Chelsea was surprisingly calm.
Watching Chelsea command the wind, Lisinas murmured.
"It's like Luna's magic."
The sight of the girl, still too young to be called a hero, was captivating.
"Excellent."
A gentle curve formed on Lisinas's lips.
"Let's see if you can dodge this, too."
Lisinas's shadow shot up like a blade.
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-kak—!*
Slicing through the air, blades of shadow rained down on Chelsea.
*Whoosh—!*
Chelsea manipulated the wind to evade the blades of shadow.
Her movements were reminiscent of the wind itself.
Chelsea calmly dodged the attacks, closing the distance to Lisinas.
As Chelsea swung her staff, a massive blade of wind swung toward Lisinas.
"Too reckless. Is that foolhardiness?"
Lisinas asked Chelsea.
But Chelsea had no time to answer his question.
Lisinas's eyes met Chelsea's as she gritted her teeth and squeezed out her courage.
And he saw the deep fear dwelling in her eyes.
‘Ar-on…’
The face of a friend naturally flashed through his mind, and Lisinas's smile deepened.
*Kra-ka-koom—!*
The shadows tore through the surroundings.
*Kra-ka-koom—!*
The surrounding earth was destroyed, crumbling away.
"Ugh..."
Chelsea lay fallen on the ground, letting out a groan.
Her body, ravaged by Lisinas's magic, wouldn't obey her.
She had lost her grip on her staff long ago.
Gritting her teeth, Chelsea tried to push herself up.
"It's no use. I've severed most of your tendons."
*Step... step...*
Lisinas said as he walked toward Chelsea.
To face him, Chelsea tried to force her unmoving body to rise.
Her appearance reminded him of someone else.
‘...Kyle.’
"Ugh..."
Lisinas extended his hand toward Chelsea, who was groaning and struggling to get up.
*Vwoom— Flash—!*
A bright light erupted from Lisinas's hand.
The moment Chelsea saw it and squeezed her eyes shut.
Lisinas, crouching down, gently placed his hand on Chelsea's head.
"Excellent."
"Huh?"
Chelsea opened her eyes and looked up.
There, she saw Lisinas with a smile so beautiful it could make one lose their senses.
*Vwoom—!*
A soft, warm light flowed from Lisinas's hand, enveloping Chelsea's body.
Chelsea's wounds healed in an instant.
Lisinas carefully helped Chelsea to her feet.
"That must have hurt. I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be convinced if I wasn't serious."
The overwhelming charisma from just moments ago was gone.
Now, all that remained was a comforting warmth that would put anyone at ease.
Seeing this, Chelsea gave a hollow laugh.
"Right... The idea that I could dodge your attacks, Lisinas, was absurd to begin with. It was all an act."
"That's right. Of course."
*Pinch—*
"I can't forgive you for calling me ugly, though."
"Ow! That hurts! It hurts, Lisinas!"
"I'm pinching you to make it hurt, you cheeky little lady."
Lisinas laughed elegantly behind his hand, but his fingers showed no mercy.
As if that wasn't enough to quell his anger, he then pinched both of Chelsea's cheeks with both hands.
After flailing in the air, Chelsea was finally released and cradled her bright red cheeks with a pained expression.
Just then, the Wisdom students approached.
"Lisinas..."
Liden, at the front, didn't know what to do.
Looking at Liden, Lisinas spoke.
"Are you the children who will succeed me?"
The Wisdom students couldn't answer his question.
Chelsea, whom they had secretly looked down on, had faced Lisinas head-on and even earned his approval.
But they had been too panicked to do anything.
In fact, it was Chelsea who had taken the lead in that situation.
Lisinas smiled warmly at the silent Wisdom students.
"It seems you have something to be ashamed of?"
"...Yes."
"Then that's a relief."
"Huh?"
Liden, who had answered in a voice so small he sounded like he wanted to crawl into a hole, looked at Lisinas with wide eyes.
"Being ashamed means you know what you need to reflect on. Why not reflect so you won't be ashamed next time?"
"Ah..."
"Lisinas."
The Wisdom students were moved.
They knew this place was an illusion.
But the Lisinas before them was close to the ideal they had always imagined.
The moment Lisinas gave a benevolent smile.
The space distorted.
It seemed the illusion was coming to an end.
"It seems it's time for us to part."
Lisinas patted Chelsea's head.
"Keep doing what you're doing, Chelsea Llewellyn."
"Ah, yes!"
As Chelsea replied with a flushed face, the entire space was sucked into darkness.
‘Are we waking from the illusion now?’
Liden felt a sense of regret.
‘Even though it was an illusion, I wanted to talk with Lisinas a little more...’
*Thwack—!*
"......?"
Something smacked him on the head, and Liden looked around with a dazed expression.
*Thwack—! Thwack! Thwack!*
"Gack? Guk?!"
The blows to his head grew stronger.
"S-stop! P-please, sto...p...!"
Just as Liden's consciousness began to fade from the beating he couldn't even resist.
"Who gave you the right to spout such arrogant nonsense about guiding someone?"
A beautiful voice, somehow filled with spite, could be heard.
"He's the hero I chose. Try to covet him again, and it won't end this lightly."
Hearing these incomprehensible words as his mind faded, Liden lost consciousness.
***
*Thwack—!*
"Keok?"
"Get up."
Driana's small hand mercilessly smacked Liden's head.
It was a small, cute hand, but true to a dwarf's, it felt like being hit with a hammer.
His senses snapping back, Liden shot up.
"You up?"
Leo approached the Wisdom students.
"How was the test?"
At his question, the Wisdom students hung their heads low.
"We were foolish, Leo Flove. Too narrow-minded and arrogant."
"Don't beat yourselves up over it. Everyone's like that."
Leo chuckled.
"Even the King of Wisdom was once called a fool, right? What's important is that you learn."
"......"
Liden let out a hollow laugh.
‘Instead, I'm the one being guided. To think I tried to guide someone like him.’
Liden, feeling ashamed of his earlier self, spoke.
"I'm learning a lot from you."
"There's a chance to learn even more."
"What?"
Leo gestured to Driana with his eyes.
Driana took a few sheets of paper from her clothes and handed them out to the Wisdom students.
Seeing them, Siren looked puzzled.
"What's this?"
"A contract. There's an inter-academy competition for hero academies called the 'Festival of Heroes' being held in Lumerne. If you come, you'll be able to meet many hero candidates."
The Wisdom students' eyes widened at Leo's words.
"See the wider world and broaden your horizons. That's what you need right now."
"You're giving us an opportunity like this?"
To the surprised Liden, Driana personally unfolded the back page and said.
"Just sign here."
At her words, Liden closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
‘Our positions have completely reversed.’
If this goes through, we'll be the ones being guided.
For the Wisdom students, who aim to be guides, this is a disgrace.
But.
‘This will surely be a stepping stone for my growth.’
Thinking so, Liden signed without hesitation.
The other Wisdom students signed with much the same feeling.
At the same time, Driana snatched the contracts from the Wisdom students' hands.
*Clap, clap, clap—*
Just then, the sound of clapping came from behind them.
Turning their heads, the Wisdom students' eyes widened before they knelt and bowed their heads.
"We greet you, Lord!"
As the Wisdom students greeted her in unison, Melina burst into laughter.
"There's no need to be so formal, everyone."
Melina walked in front of the students and spoke.
"I believe the many things you've learned today will be a great source of strength for you in the future."
At her words, the Wisdom students felt ashamed and couldn't raise their heads.
Melina looked at Leo.
*—Are you satisfied now?*
*—Yes! Thank you so much, Leo!*
Leo and Melina conversed in their minds using magic.
‘This person… is truly a comrade of Lisinas.’
Leo's appearance, teaching the Wisdom students, was reminiscent of Lisinas.
It couldn't be helped.
They were bound to resemble each other.
‘As expected, Leo's only guide could be Lisinas.’
Melina, who was smiling faintly, suddenly felt a doubt.
*—By the way, Leo.*
*—What is it?*
*—Why did you make the Wisdom students sign a contract just to invite them to the Festival of Heroes?*
*—Ah. I just tried using that damn lizard's specialty.*
*—...*
Hearing Leo's answer, Melina felt an unexplainable sense of unease.
"Miss Driana, may I see the contracts?"
And she snatched the contracts from Driana.
After checking the contents of the contract, Melina wore a blank expression.
*—Leo.*
*—What is it?*
*—This is just a slave contract, isn't it?*
*—That's right. It's a busy time, and I've acquired some excellent labor.*
*—Isn't this fraud?*
*—Move your opponent, then stab them in the back. It's Lisinas's specialty. From now on, make sure to add education on contract writing to the Wisdom curriculum.*
*—...And this nude model clause?*
*—That Driana. I knew there was a reason she insisted on writing the contract herself.*
Leo clicked his tongue.
"Give it, give it back."
Meanwhile, Driana took the contracts back from Melina and hugged them tightly to her chest.
She looked as if she were embracing a precious treasure.
Melina looked at the moved expressions on the Wisdom students' faces and muttered to herself.
*—This… this can't be Lisinas's way.*
*—Have you ever seen Lisinas commit fraud?*
*—...*
*—I've seen it a lot.*
At Leo's reply, Melina silently looked up at the sky.
‘My body is already past adulthood and growing old. Why do I feel like I'm just now becoming an adult?’
It was a day Melina felt she had lost something precious.