Chapter 646
Chapter Title: The Seniors' Gambit
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"He's coming!"
"He's breaking through the barriers and traps at incredible speed!"
Hearing the shouts of the magic students, the remaining fourth and fifth-years wore grim expressions.
"Damn it! Aren't we already dealing with the Great Water Spirit, with a ton of summons out?"
"What sin did I commit in a past life to have a monster like that as a junior!"
Whines could be heard from all around.
These weren't just playful complaints.
The fourth and fifth-years genuinely felt like crying.
But their morale didn't crumble as it had before.
It wasn't because they had steeled their resolve compared to earlier.
And it certainly wasn't because they had mentally prepared themselves after experiencing his overwhelming strength.
A fire had been lit within them.
"That Runba! Hogging all the cool moments for himself!"
A fifth-year from the summoning department shouted in frustration.
The fire Leo had ignited in Runba soon spread to the other fourth and fifth-years.
Lil and Elena, the leaders of the fourth and fifth-years.
Their classmates would likely never surpass the two of them, not even in a lifetime.
The same went for Leo.
"Maybe if I reincarnate about ten times, I can beat Leo?"
"Even ten reincarnations wouldn't be enough!"
They were keenly aware of the gap.
Even now, they couldn't imagine standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Leo.
But Runba's words had created a huge ripple in the hearts of the fourth and fifth-years.
'Let's at least earn their respect as seniors.'
This wasn't just about earning respect from Leo.
At some point.
It also included the third-years who had caught up to them from behind.
"They've been getting their heads bashed in by Leo since they enrolled!"
The third-years had to compete directly with Leo.
But unlike themselves, who had set limits after seeing Elena and Lil, the third-years showed no such signs.
Could they stand proudly before such juniors if things continued this way?
When that question arose.
The fourth and fifth-years changed their way of thinking.
They abandoned the complacent thought that they could become heroes by just coasting along.
They also ditched the idea that they would spend their lives just trailing behind Elena and Lil.
Eren, the strategist, shouted.
"Even if it's Leo, Senior Runba has summoned a Great Spirit! This is different from before!"
"Everyone, stay sharp!"
Tacheon chimed in.
The vanguards at the front widened their eyes.
They were filled with the thought that this time would be different.
"Chip away at Leo's mana as much as possible!"
"All we have to do is take the key to win!"
"Let's just go for it!"
"Yeah!"
Morale soared.
Having boosted the fourth and fifth-years' will, Tacheon stood at the forefront.
Just then, Eren approached Niel.
"Senior Niel, is there anything that could fluster Leo?"
"Something to fluster the Young Master Leo?"
"Yes. Like how Leo flustered you with those strange words earlier."
Pondering Eren's words, Niel clenched his fist.
"It's do or die, anyway."
"Oh? You have something?"
Eren's face brightened.
Niel nodded in response.
"This should be enough to fluster him."
With a determined expression, Niel readjusted his grip on his sword and took a deep breath.
At that moment, Leo appeared before them.
*Fwoosh-*
A golden flame erupted from Leo's body before seeping back into him.
"It's that strange aura armor!"
"Is he planning to charge head-on again!"
"He's so tough!"
"Mages! Unleash your prepared spells!"
At Tacheon's command, the magic students released their spells in unison.
"Gravity!"
Leo, who had been charging at a terrifying speed, faltered.
An immense gravity pressed down on him.
'A coordinated spell.'
Leo's eyes narrowed.
The Gravity spell, cast by all the fourth and fifth-years at once, was certainly powerful.
As Leo rapidly reverse-engineered the magic formula, he let out a sound of admiration.
The spell's dispel code was changing in real time.
It was as if they had predicted the speed of Leo's calculations.
It narrowly avoided being deciphered.
Of course, under normal circumstances, he would have used his mana to forcibly overwrite and break the formula.
But unfortunately, he was currently short on mana from having summoned high-level phantasmal beasts.
*Thud!*
Unable to bear the weight, Leo dropped to one knee.
*Craaaack-!*
The ground caved in as if an object of immense weight had been slammed into it.
'Excellent.'
Leo curled his lips into a smile and unleashed his aura.
A tremendous force overcame the gravity.
Seeing this, Eren's face turned pale.
"No way, what kind of brute force is that!"
"Is that even possible?"
Screams erupted from among the magic students.
Leo was moving despite being under pressure that would have not just burst, but completely crushed an ordinary person.
A fifth-year knight student's eyes sparkled at the sight.
"As expected of Leo! A supremely trained body can overwhelm even magic!"
"Is this the time for compliments!"
"Hmph! Don't get excited! Leo must be squeezing out every last bit of his strength right now! We can assume he won't be using any magic attacks or summoning! No area-of-effect attacks! Relax!"
The club president of the body training club, 'The Power,' said confidently.
*Thud, thud, thud, thud!*
Leo began to charge again.
Seeing this, Tacheon spoke.
"If he throws a punch in that state, won't the impact hit us with the same weight he's enduring?"
"That's right!"
"...Wouldn't that count as an area-of-effect attack?"
"...Is that so?"
"Everyone, brace yourselves!"
As he said that, Leo drew his sword and swung it with all his might.
*CR-A-A-A-A-A-ACK-!*
Leo's tremendous sword strike, amplified by the weight of Gravity, descended upon the fourth and fifth-years.
A literal display of overwhelming physical force that transcended even magic.
"Block it!"
"Leo Flove! I am once again moved by your trained physique! However, as the president of The Power, I, Halken Raq, have also long trained my body at Lumerne! The power of my trained body..."
*Smack!*
"Guek!"
Struck by Leo's swinging arm, Halken went flying into the sky.
"Tacheon! Should we dispel the magic?"
A fifth-year magic student asked urgently, but Tacheon shook his head.
"No! Keep suppressing Leo! Summoning department! Use your summons to aim for the key he's holding!"
At his command, the spirits tried to swarm Leo.
At that moment.
*Fwaat-!*
Leo's body felt light again.
Eren's eyes widened.
"What is this?"
"The magic isn't working!"
"Is it a dispel?"
"No! The spell is still active! But it's not affecting him!"
"What does that even mean!"
The Gravity spell was still cast on Leo's body.
But the effect of the magic itself had been nullified.
'Immunity.'
Immunity magic.
It was Luna's magic, which ignored the effects of specific spells.
Having analyzed the magic formula, Leo had used Immunity magic to grant himself immunity to Gravity.
"Is it a spell that grants immunity to the effect itself!"
Eren, who was analyzing Leo, bit his lip hard.
'Oh? You figured that out just by seeing it once?'
Leo let out a sound of admiration and glanced at Eren.
'As expected, the potential of the fourth and fifth-years is formidable. So?'
Leo's lips curled into a smile.
'How do you plan to respond?'
The summons that were attacking Leo were stopped by the magic he used.
"Niel!"
Just then, Tacheon blocked Leo's path and called out to Niel.
Wielding twin swords, Tacheon wore a determined expression.
"It won't be as easy as before!"
"I'm looking forward to it, too. Your teamwork, that is."
Leo was smiling as he looked at Niel.
Niel took a deep breath and pointed his sword at Leo.
"Senior Niel. Are you sure you won't get flustered like before..."
"I won't fall for that trick again! If you have something to say, just say it!"
"Oh? So you and Senior Machel really..."
"Yes! I've decided to date Machel! Happy now?"
"..."
For a moment, Leo looked dumbfounded.
He was momentarily taken aback by Niel's audacity, who had declared it while getting angry.
'Good! I bought some time...'
Niel, who was inwardly cheering, suddenly looked behind him.
And his face contorted.
"Hey! What are you all doing getting flustered too!"
"Hey! How can we not be! Is that for real?"
"Weren't you two sworn enemies?"
"You were fighting right up until last winter break!"
"What on earth happened during winter break!"
A commotion erupted among the fourth and fifth-years.
In that moment, Leo, having regained his senses, charged forward quickly.
*Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak-!*
Just then, a gale-like sword energy blocked Leo's path.
Wielding twin swords, Tacheon stood in Leo's way.
*Fwoosh-!*
Niel's flame aura aided Tacheon.
Leo curled his lips and was about to swing his sword at the two of them.
At that moment.
*Whoosh-!*
"...?"
"...?"
Bewilderment colored the faces of Niel and Tacheon.
Leo furrowed his brow.
He had clearly intended to swing his arm, but he swung his leg instead.
Leo tensed every muscle in his body.
When he tried to swing his right arm, his right leg moved.
His left limbs were just as uncooperative.
On top of that, when he tried to smell something, his vision would shift.
*Fwsh-!*
*Gwoooooo-!*
A fiery aura erupted from Leo's sword.
Seeing that, a magic student screamed.
"What! The sensory disruption magic isn't working on him either?"
"No! He just got used to the scrambled senses!"
"He's a true monster!"
'Sensory disruption magic.'
Normally, it would be blocked by his magic resistance before it could infiltrate his sensory system.
But this time, the magic worked on Leo.
'The effect is sensory disruption... but the form of the magic is Gravity.'
He had only become perfectly immune to the original effect.
The Gravity spell was still active on Leo.
The fourth and fifth-years had exploited this, changing only the effect while leaving the form of the Gravity formula intact.
It was a spell that precisely pierced the loophole in his Immunity magic.
Before that, their ability to modify the formula of a coordinated spell was also brilliant.
'Right. No matter how powerful a spell is, it's still 5,000-year-old magic. If you set your mind to it, you can always find a way to counter it.'
But those who had despaired at the overwhelming and unfair gap would have found it difficult to find a countermeasure so quickly.
'It seems they're properly fired up.'
Leo's lips curled into a smile.
His scrambled senses created a small opening.
Niel and Tacheon didn't miss that small opening and exploited it.
*Slice-!*
The cord of the key hanging from Leo's waist was cut.
*Snatch-!*
"I got it! I got it!"
A fifth-year magic student on a broom, Resian, shouted as he snatched the key out of the air.
"Resian! Run!"
"We'll hold Leo off!"
The fourth and fifth-years blocked Leo's path.
Runba summoned Undine to hold Leo back.
The remaining fourth and fifth-years had executed their plan and achieved their goal.
'Should I chase them?'
The moment Leo thought that.
All the fourth and fifth-years were warped away.
It seemed the faculty had declared that they had passed the test.
Seeing this, Leo nodded.
'The moment they realized their shortcomings and pushed me this far, they had already passed the test.'
Leo's lips curled into a smile.
"Well done."
As a great senior, Leo praised the progress of his juniors and turned away.
***
"You! I won't let you get away with this!"
*Peck- peck- peck-*
Tightly bound in darkness, Undine muttered resentfully.
Piora, perched on her head, was pecking furiously at Undine's head with her beak.
Lariel sighed, a club resting on his shoulder.
"This one is persistent."
"Clearly, she hasn't been beaten enough."
Istar said, flexing his muscles.
"Still squawking? You've got some pride."
Leo, having arrived at the scene, said with a smirk.
"I'll make you regret this! I am the ruler of the great ocean! The deep sea spirit, Undine! My subordinate spirits, who have subdued the fire spirits, will soon come to punish you! It'll be too late for regrets then!"
As Undine shrieked.
A vast number of water droplets began to form around Undine, soon transforming into high-ranking water spirits.
Seeing this, Undine cheered.
"Ahahahaha! My subordinates have arrived! Prepare yourself, Leo Flove!"
-Why is that spirit in such a rough state again?
Elsie suddenly appeared above Leo's head.
Seeing Elsie, Undine shouted.
"What? You! How dare a low-ranking spirit look down on me!"
Undine reacted sharply.
She reacted as if she couldn't tolerate a lower spirit intruding among Great Spirits and the three great phantasmal beasts.
Elsie wore a serious expression in response.
-Are Great Spirits always this obsessed with rank? It would be nice if everyone could just get along.
Elsie, who had been an outcast since birth, wanted to be friends with all spirits, regardless of their rank.
-Spirit of the Deep Sea. You're hated because you treat lower spirits so poorly.
"A low-ranking spirit dares to lecture me?! What are you all doing! Teach that low-ranking spirit a lesson..."
*Thwack!*
"...?"
A club swung by one of the high-ranking water spirits slammed into Undine's head.
For a moment, Undine, unable to comprehend the situation, wore a blank expression.
"What are you..."
*Thwack-!*
"Ugh?!"
*Thud! Thwack-thwack-thwack! Thud! Thud!*
"Kuaaaargh!"
The water spirits didn't utter a single angry word.
As if even the time spent talking was a waste.
They just silently and diligently beat their former master with their clubs.
Watching this, Elsie wore a troubled expression.
-First Istar, and now Undine. Just how badly did they torment the lower spirits for the docile ones to turn out like this?
Watching Elsie, who had succeeded in taking both the fire and water spirits under her command, Kiruan muttered.
-I'm suddenly feeling very grateful to my father.
"All of a sudden?"
-Yeah. If I hadn't been kicked out of Fairy Land, I think I would've ended up like that.
Kiruan, who had been exiled from Fairy Land for his atrocious behavior, engaged in some serious self-reflection.
Seeing that, Leo let out a small laugh.
"You've matured."