Chapter 062
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The Seirun student hastily retreated from the fierce blaze of Leo's aura.
“Hmm.”
Leo glanced down at his own hands and smirked.
“You acted all high and mighty, so I had my hopes up. This is more disappointing than I expected.”
“Don't be ridiculous! I'm in the top class of Seirun's upper years!”
“So what?”
“Why, you…!”
Being in the top class of Seirun's upper years meant you were treated as a supreme elite in elven society.
A status that everyone admired and respected.
But he had picked the wrong person to boast to, by a long shot.
Any other student, knowing Seirun's system, would have been impressed, but Leo felt nothing at all.
In Lumerne's first-year knight department alone, there were three other students stronger than the one before him, not even counting himself.
‘Well, those three are outliers, but still. For a Seirun student acting so smug, he’s a bit of a letdown.’
He was even more disappointed because the student had given him a subtle look of contempt for Lumerne just a moment ago.
Just then, the Seirun student chanted in the runic language.
‘Star Magic? He was a magic swordsman?’
A spark of interest lit up in Leo’s eyes.
If he was a magic swordsman, that was a different story.
Besides, he had never seen the Star Magic used by the elves of this era, so a sense of anticipation welled up within him.
‘A mirage.’
He could have easily interrupted the runes, but Leo let him complete the spell to better understand it.
Having created four illusions, the Seirun student spoke.
“Now, the real fight begins.”
“…”
A hint of disappointment flickered in Leo’s eyes.
‘This is the Star Magic of this era?’
Mirage was one of the greatest illusion spells.
A spell so realistic it was impossible to tell what was real.
It was a spell Luna had truly loved to use.
But the mirage before him was different from the one Leo knew.
‘It’s certainly more realistic than other illusion spells… but it’s still crude. They’ve altered the spell formula itself to make it easier to cast.’
He had thought magic would have evolved over such a long time.
But from Leo's perspective, Luna's magic had regressed.
How disappointed would his friend have been if she saw this?
‘She would have cursed him out completely.’
Just as Leo shook his head, remembering Luna’s impossibly eccentric personality…
“For a human like you, this must be magic you've never even dreamed of seeing.”
The Seirun student, thinking Leo was frozen in shock while lost in thought, spoke with a voice full of superiority.
“I know a thing or two about illusion magic myself, you know.”
“Hmph. Human magic is crude compared to our elven Star Magic, but… let’s see what you’ve got.”
At those words, Leo smirked and chanted in the runic language.
Hearing Leo's incantation, the Seirun student’s face twisted.
“Are you mocking me?! There’s no way a human can use Star Magic….”
The enraged student’s face froze.
The spell was complete.
It was the same Mirage spell he had used.
But when he saw Leo’s eight illusions, his eyes widened as if they would tear.
“So, my magic's something like this.”
“N-No way!”
“There are plenty of human mages who can use Star Magic. It seems you need to fix that narrow-minded way of thinking of yours first.”
Leo said nonchalantly.
[Hahahaha! Look at that dumbfounded expression! He looks like a total idiot!]
From Leo's shoulder, Kiruan clapped his hands and laughed in amusement.
‘This kid really is nothing like his father.’
Silroad wasn't the type to enjoy others' misfortune.
“Hmph! That's just a fake you made to look like Star Magic!”
The Seirun student yelled and charged at Leo.
‘This guy just can’t admit when he’s beat.’
Shaking his head, Leo readjusted his grip on his sword.
In an instant, blades of aura erupted from the Seirun student’s sword.
Seeing that, Leo's eyes twitched.
‘All four are real?’
It was an advanced technique, a combination of Mirage and swordsmanship.
‘Strange. His fundamentals are terrible, yet he can use such a powerful, advanced spell so freely.’
Leo clenched his fist.
Right now, that was a technique Leo couldn't use.
To be precise, the spell the Seirun student used was Star Magic, but it was different from the Star Magic Leo knew.
‘Luna was a pure mage, after all.’
Fusing sword and magic.
This wasn't an application Luna would have ever considered.
Therefore, the technique in Leo's eyes was something that was Star Magic, yet not Star Magic.
More accurately, it was a new realm reached by later generations of elves who had endlessly pursued Luna's legacy.
‘I need to correct my earlier assessment. It hasn’t regressed.’
Some mages dislike it when others tamper with the spells they invented.
They consider their magic a kind of artwork.
But Luna wasn’t like that.
‘She was more of a mage than anyone.’
A mage in the truest sense, one who found more joy than anyone in exploring possibilities, experimenting, and bringing them to life.
That was the elf named Luna.
‘If she saw this, she would have been delighted.’
Even though it had changed so much from the Star Magic she herself had used, she would have smiled brightly and called it a new form of progress.
Fwoosh—!
The brilliant blades of aura erupting from the four swords decorated the empty air.
The illusions Leo had created scattered futilely.
The Mirage spell creates illusions that seem real.
It was a spell Luna enjoyed using, but no matter how real they seemed, they were still just 'illusions'.
‘The bodies he created are illusions, but the blades of aura are real.’
Leo stared intently, analyzing the structure of the spell formula.
“Haha! How do you like it! The power of true Star Magic, unlike the fake version you’re using!”
‘Fake? My magic is the very one Luna created.’
It was literally the origin and beginning of Star Magic—the original itself.
Yet here was some kid from the distant future calling it fake. He couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
“What's so funny that you're laughing at me?!”
The Seirun student, thinking Leo was mocking him, flared up.
The scattered illusions fiercely surrounded Leo.
It was as if four mirrors were swinging their swords at him.
Of course, only the blades of aura were real.
Fwoosh—!
Flames of aura gathered in his fist.
‘Well, that’s all there is to it.’
Leo’s red eyes glinted dangerously.
Fwoosh! Craaack!
Leo slammed his fist into the ground.
Flames erupted in all directions, sweeping through the area.
“Keuk!”
The illusions vanished in an instant, revealing the real body.
Leo said coldly.
“A technique without power is just a petty trick.”
“Don't be ridiculous!”
Provoked by Leo's words, the Seirun student created illusions again.
This time, there were eight.
Eight auras manifested.
‘He’s poured every last bit of his mana and aura into this.’
Leo, realizing his opponent was making his final move, smirked.
‘It would be easy to wipe them all out, but…’
Leo’s red eyes darted around.
‘This technique… shall I give it a try?’
Whoom—!
Gathering his mana, Leo quickly deployed a magical formula.
In that time, the eight illusions surrounded Leo.
And they moved in perfect unison, like reflections in a mirror, pressing in on him.
At that moment.
Fwoosh—!
Leo used Mirage.
Unlike before, he made two.
“Hmph! Do you really think you can create a diversion with mere illusions while you’re surrounded?”
At his opponent's sneer, Leo summoned aura to his fist.
Fwoosh—!
Aura also gathered in the fists of Leo’s copies.
Seeing that, the Seirun student’s face hardened.
‘This bastard… no way!’
Leo’s mirages, just like his, used real aura.
‘No! He only has two illusions! Nothing changes….’
In that instant, Leo and his illusions moved.
Watching Leo's illusions move independently, not like mirror images but like two separate people, the Seirun student's eyes filled with shock.
‘Impossible! To handle Aura Mirage at that level, you’d have to be at least in the upper class of the second year!’
After taking care of seven illusions in an instant, Leo raised his fist and said.
“Not bad, this technique.”
Watching the two Leos charge at him, the Seirun student's face turned pale.
“W-Wait...!”
Fwoosh—! Boom—!
As the two fireballs struck him, the Seirun student’s eyes rolled back.
“Wh-Where on earth did you learn… a magic formula taught at Seirun….”
Watching him mutter in disbelief, Leo replied calmly.
“Just now.”
Analyzing a spell's structure and modifying it for his own use.
It was an incredibly complex process, but for Leo, it wasn't that difficult.
He even added his own application to it.
‘It’s a technique that consumes a lot of aura and mana, so I probably can’t maintain it for long right now. Still, it’s brilliant.’
Smirking, Leo turned his gaze toward the bushes.
A moment later, someone emerged.
It was a red-haired girl in a Seirun female student’s uniform.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Lunia El Lundua. I'm a first-year at Seirun.”
“Are you going to attack me like he did?”
At Leo's question, Lunia glanced between her fallen classmate and the student from another school, then let out a deep sigh.
“We came for a mission practical, but an anomaly occurred in the sanctuary, so it seems this friend of mine made a mistake. Of course, his actions were incredibly rude, even for a mistake. I heard about it from our teacher and was in the middle of relaying the message to my friends….”
Lunia trailed off.
Guessing what had happened, Lunia bowed her head.
“I'll apologize on his behalf.”
“Well, an apology is good enough.”
Leo smirked.
Seeing him, Lunia gave a wry smile.
“Please don't think that all Seirun students are like him.”
“I won't. Anyway, since the misunderstanding is cleared up, can I go? I have something to report to my professor.”
“Yes.”
Lunia smiled brightly and said.
“See you around.”
“Yeah.”
As she watched Leo disappear, Lunia kicked the side of the male student passed out on the ground.
“Hey, get up, you bastard! How long are you going to stay knocked out?”
“Gah!”
“Honestly, the guy with the lowest grades in the top class, acting all high and mighty and causing trouble! You idiot! Ugh! This is so embarrassing!”
Lunia, having shed her gentle demeanor from moments ago, growled.
According to Seirun's rules, she had to maintain the neat appearance and proper conduct of a hero candidate in public, so she had no choice but to put on an act.
As Seirun's top student, Lunia was the face of the academy, so she had to be especially mindful of how she appeared to outsiders.
‘Anyway, he accepted my apology so coolly.’
Lunia thought of Leo.
‘Is he interested in me? I guess he could be! I am pretty, after all.’
A smug look on her face, Lunia smiled.
‘He was cute, which is my type. And he was skilled enough to beat this guy. I forgot to ask his name, but we’ll probably meet again in Verchia.’
Humming to herself, a belligerent glint flickered in Lunia's eyes.
‘And I can ask him about that guy, Leo Flove.’
***
“Lunia El Lundua? I've heard that name somewhere before.”
Leo tilted his head as he exited the forest.
“Ah.”
Then, he recalled something and let out a small gasp.
“The heir to the Lundua Family. She's Piora's original contractor, isn't she?”