Chapter 642
Chapter Title: A Dangerous Admirer
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642.
The freshmen chasing Karl were incredibly aggressive.
They had all been nervous at first, seeing Karl’s magic take down Vito.
But when Karl didn't use any magic afterward, aside from his traps, the freshmen charged at him proactively.
‘The effects of that grand spell are still lingering!’
Karl was already a world-famous figure.
A hero who had attained his title at a young age.
Moreover, he was a new type of hero, one never seen before.
Throughout the winter break, Karl’s name had been all over the world’s newspapers.
At the same time, facts about him had also become known.
Even details about his school grades and magical abilities.
That was why the first-years had some knowledge of Karl.
When Karl used that grand spell, they thought it contradicted the information they had.
But seeing him no longer use magic, they began their pursuit in earnest.
The newly enrolled first-years at Lumerne were all brimming with dreams.
Having been called geniuses since childhood, each one believed they were the best.
‘If I succeed in snatching the key from Senior Karl, my school life will be set!’
Most of the first-years saw it as a chance to earn the rookie title that would monopolize the attention of the professors and upperclassmen.
And so…
*CRACK-KABOOM—!*
“Kyaaaaaah?!”
As explosions erupted from all directions, a female student from the summoning department grabbed her head, crouched on the ground, and screamed.
Their group was a party in name only.
Their teamwork was a mess, driven by the singular thought of catching Karl.
The students who had spotted and chased Karl were all caught in the explosions and judged unfit for combat.
Tears welled in the large eyes of the female summoner as she hugged her summoned beast tightly, trying to get up.
Karl appeared before her, aiming a crossbow.
“Uh-uh, don't move.”
“*Hic!*”
At Karl’s appearance, the girl burst into tears and hiccuped.
The summoned beast in her arms, a horned rabbit called a Horn Rabbit, also let out whimpers of ‘Kkyu~ Kkyu~’ with a terrified expression.
“Waaaaah—! I lose! Just please don’t shoot!”
The terrified freshman summoner tearfully declared her surrender.
Her small frame and large eyes, combined with her pretty and cute appearance as she trembled and cried, stimulated a protective instinct.
“Ah~ I have a soft spot for this kind of thing.”
Karl smacked his lips and slung the one-handed crossbow over his shoulder.
“I won’t eliminate you, so hurry back.”
“Yes…”
Sniffling, the girl turned and headed in the opposite direction, and Karl turned away as well.
‘Hmph—!’
The girl’s eyes, which had been trudging along dejectedly, changed in an instant.
‘He fell for it!’
Her plan to use her charms had been a resounding success.
The Horn Rabbit in the arms of the girl, Perena, also wore a sharp expression.
‘Stab him!’
It was a cowardly tactic, but so what?
‘It’s his fault for falling for it!’
She released the Horn Rabbit toward her defenseless target.
And the moment she turned around with a smirk…
Perena’s head snapped back.
“How…”
Karl let out a soft laugh.
“Even if I shot my crossbow, a Horn Rabbit could have easily blocked it. I was just waiting for you to let your guard down so I could deal with you easily.”
“B-But you just said you had a soft spot for this…”
“Ah, that? Of course, that was a lie.”
Karl shrugged. He watched Perena disappear after being judged unfit for combat and put on a stern expression.
“In Lumerne, where schemes and trickery run rampant, the naive don't survive.”
“Just you wait!”
Perena shouted, her eyes glaring.
Karl waved with a grin and muttered to himself.
‘Perena Hergin. Unlike her sister Eliza, she’s a viper who doesn’t care about the means to an end.’
Personality aside, Eliza preferred to face her opponents head-on.
Unlike Eliza, Perena was the type to use everything at her disposal.
Karl already had all the information on the freshmen memorized.
For Perena to approach him so carelessly was her fatal mistake.
“Anyway.”
Having already rendered nearly 200 freshmen combat-incapable, Karl stroked his chin.
“Heh~ To think that I, the weakest of the third-years, am completely dominating among the first-years.”
After a moment of smugness, Karl headed for his base.
He had already used up all the traps he had set.
‘First, resupply.’
The moment he thought that.
Karl flinched at the killing intent he felt from afar and slid across the ground.
*WHOOSH—! TH-TH-THWACK—!*
As an aura-infused arrow flew past where his head had been, Karl swallowed dryly.
‘Looks like she’s finally making her move.’
Millia Rola.
The number one person to watch out for among the freshmen Karl had singled out.
The reason Karl had marked Millia as his top threat was because of her weapon.
‘A bow!’
Millia, whose main weapon was a bow, could unleash overwhelming long-range attacks.
‘Her range is even longer than Juen’s!’
Of course, there was a difference in power and rate of fire.
The problem for Karl was that Millia, who could snipe from outside his range of perception, was a worse matchup than Juen, whose strengths were overwhelming power and firing speed.
‘And on top of that… she’s a strategist!’
Even though she’d had plenty of opportunities to snipe him until now, Millia had been observing Karl.
And she attacked at the most troublesome timing.
From what Karl knew, she was an exceptionally intelligent student.
‘Plus!’
Kicking off the ground, Karl sprinted through the underbrush at full speed.
*FWOOOSH! THWACK—!*
An arrow grazed past Karl.
Checking the arrow, Karl quickly pulled a red cloak from his pouch and threw it on.
*KABOOOOM—!*
A massive explosion roared.
An arrow that caused such a huge blast.
It wasn't a power Millia possessed.
‘No, wait, it is a power! The power of her wealth!’
Millia Rola.
She was none other than the heir to the Rola Merchant Guild, which controlled the commercial rights of the southern continent.
‘And she has no qualms about relying on her gear!’
Lumerne students were generally prideful.
That was why, even in tests where using tools was permitted, they usually relied purely on their own skills.
But Millia was different.
As someone who pursued efficiency to the extreme, she actively used tools in situations like this.
For Karl, she was an exceptionally tricky opponent.
Having avoided being caught in the explosion, Karl moved quickly under his invisibility cloak.
***
‘Hmph?’
Millia narrowed her eyes as she watched Karl dodge her attack and vanish.
‘I thought I’d land at least one hit.’
She thought she could inflict some damage, even if not a fatal wound, but Karl had dodged all of her shots.
That was quite surprising.
Millia didn't know.
She didn't know that throughout the winter break, Karl had been running from Duran's sword, which was far more dangerous and faster than her arrows.
What Duran had told Karl during their combat training was this:
‘Don't expect to counterattack. And certainly don't expect to block. Just dodge.’
That special training with Duran had paid off, allowing him to reach a state where he could sense killing intent and move in advance.
Surprised, Millia lightly licked her upper lip.
‘Yes, this is what makes a hunt worthwhile.’
Millia quickly headed to where Karl had been.
Even with an invisibility cloak, he would still leave traces.
Arriving at the spot, Millia focused aura into her eyes.
Pushing her vision to its limit, Millia followed the tracks Karl had left behind.
A smile formed on Millia’s lips as she confirmed the direction Karl had taken.
‘Now, Senior, let’s see you experience exactly what you did to others.’
*BOOM—!*
An explosion occurred.
*KABOOM! CRASH—! KABLAM—!*
Explosions continued to go off one after another.
While Karl had been playing guerrilla warfare and making a fool of the freshmen, Millia had set up her own trap zone in the surrounding area using magic mines, just like Karl had.
The reason for doing so was extremely simple.
It was to put Karl in a difficult position.
Listening to the continuous explosions as if they were a melody, Millia used Aura Steps to ascend a tall tree.
*BOOM—!*
She then looked at the site of an explosion through a telescope.
Karl was moving quickly.
“To break through all those traps… you truly are something else, Senior Karl.”
Millia murmured, lowering the telescope from her eye.
“Amazing.”
Millia had respected Karl even before he had become a Hero.
Though born to parents who led a great merchant guild, she was, at the end of the day, a commoner.
And she couldn't help but be drawn to Karl, who, as a fellow commoner, had risen to the position of acting student council president of Lumerne.
On top of that, he had overcome all sorts of trials with skills so poor he could have been expelled at any moment.
Others dismissed Karl’s survival as mere luck, but Millia was different.
‘If you could survive on luck alone, there would be no reason for Lumerne to be the top hero academy, would there?’
She could see that he had fought for and earned everything he had.
That was what had captured her attention.
Even more so than the brilliantly shining Leo Flove.
And eventually, Karl succeeded in attaining the title of Hero.
Everyone living in this era had a hero they admired.
For Millia, that person became Karl.
She had literally become a fan.
That was why she wanted to see him up close.
To see him overcome crises and trials.
Watching Karl make fools of her blockheaded classmates who underestimated him was also cool.
‘Still, what I want to see is you overcoming a crisis, Senior.’
Hunting had always been Millia’s hobby.
There was a strange pleasure in watching her prey struggle.
‘If this were a one-on-one duel… I wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.’
No matter how much Karl’s value as a Hero was recognized for things other than his combat prowess, he was still a Hero acknowledged by the gods.
Furthermore, he was a student who had survived three years at Lumerne.
There was no way a new freshman like herself could defeat Karl.
‘Far from hunting him, I would have been the one being hunted.’
But right now, Karl had to face hundreds of opponents.
That was why she could corner Karl and make him her prey.
Watching Karl, the corners of Millia’s mouth curled up.
“So that’s your base, Senior.”
With a soft laugh, Millia headed toward Karl’s location.
***
“I seriously thought I was going to die!”
Karl shuddered.
“If it weren’t for Duran’s training, I would’ve been finished long ago.”
Shaking his head, Karl turned.
*Tap— tap—*
A girl was approaching the inside of the cave.
“Millia Rola.”
“Oh my, you know who I am. I’m so honored.”
Millia smiled brightly.
Looking at her, Karl scratched his head vigorously.
And just as he was about to bolt…
*THWACK—!*
“Ugh?!”
An arrow shot by Millia lodged itself in Karl’s thigh.
Having drawn her bow in an instant, Millia spoke.
“I’m sorry, Senior Karl. I’ve gone and wounded you. Ah, to think I’ve injured the senior I so admire.”
“…”
Karl let out a hollow laugh as he watched Millia, who was trembling her shoulders with a genuinely apologetic expression.
“You seem to be enjoying this.”
“…”
“Just smile already.”
At Karl’s words, Millia’s twisted lips curved into a smile.
Looking at her, Karl struggled to his feet and spoke.
“You’re a pervert, aren’t you? The kind who enjoys hurting others.”
“Yes, that’s right. I am a pervert. But it’s not just anyone. I find it enjoyable when I hurt the things I like.”
Millia’s eyes sparkled.
“How was it? How did it feel to be caught in a trap in return? How does it feel to be the prey? Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I truly respect you, Senior Karl. In a one-on-one fight, I probably wouldn’t have stood a chance. I’m not asking to mock you.”
A blush spread across Millia’s face.
Watching the genuinely shy Millia, Karl muttered to himself.
‘Wow, her eyes are crazy.’
He had gone through all sorts of experiences and met all kinds of people at Lumerne.
But he could say with certainty that Millia was the first person he’d met who was this unhinged.
Karl shook his head and put a hand in his pocket.
He then took out the key and threw it at Millia with all his might.
Millia dodged the key flying at her head with a sharp tilt of her own.
“To think I could hunt you, Senior Karl! It’s an honor!”
At Millia’s words, Karl let out a smirk.
“Sorry, but.”
“Yes?”
“I won.”
“As expected of you, Senior Karl! To have a trump card to overcome this situation!”
Millia smiled brightly, as if she had believed it all along.
“But even so, in your state, you’ll be taken down by the remaining first-years, won’t you?”
“Ah, them. I dealt with all of them a while ago.”
“What?”
As Karl grinned, Millia’s eyes widened.
“What does that…”
“Your traps. I put them to good use.”
“...!”
‘He read that far ahead?’
The moment Millia’s eyes widened.
*SMACK—!*
Something struck the back of the defenseless Millia’s head.
It was the key Karl had thrown.
*Snatch—!*
Catching the returning key, Karl grinned and threw himself toward one side of the cave.
Diving into a tunnel that had been covered by an invisibility cloak, Karl gave Millia a wink.
“Not bad, junior.”
The moment Karl entered the tunnel.
*FLASH—! KRA-KA-KA-KA-BOOOOM—!*
The explosive potions Karl had set up throughout the cave began to detonate all at once.
Watching the explosion rush toward her, Millia sank to the ground.
‘I was the prey. From the very beginning, I was just dancing in the palm of his hand.’
*KRA-KABOOOOM—!*
Millia covered her cheeks with both hands.
‘He’s so cool!’
With Millia’s defeat, the entire freshman class was annihilated at Karl’s hands.