Chapter 096
Chapter Title: A Chaotic Chase
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After swiftly eliminating the group of students who had targeted him, Leo climbed to the top of the tallest building in sight.
‘People probably don't know. This is the land where Lisinas and I first defeated a Legion Commander.’
This city, ruined by greed, was also the place where, in the distant past, Kyle and Lisinas had subjugated a Legion Commander of Tartaros, the Gluttony King Jormungandr.
It was the monumental land that the terrestrial races, who had lost all their territories except for Gardsrone, first succeeded in reclaiming.
The place where the legend of the Great Hero, now lost even to records, began.
“Though, it was just me and Lisinas back then, so calling us 'Great Heroes' is a bit much.”
Leo chuckled, recalling his past life.
“Should I start by looking for Lake Erdiana?”
Leo took out a map of Neigrang he had prepared beforehand.
Five locations were marked on the map.
And in one of these five lakes, the Great Spirit of Radiance, luminous, might be slumbering.
Lisinas had made a promise to her contractor, who had suffered near-annihilation in the battle against Jormungandr.
‘I promise you, luminous. When I awaken you again, this world will be filled with light.’
At the time, luminous was so grievously wounded that annihilation seemed inevitable.
Therefore, Lisinas had no choice but to seal luminous in this land.
‘So much time has passed, the chances of luminous still being asleep are almost zero, but…’
Leo looked up from the map.
‘If she is still sleeping, then I'll have to be the one to wake him.’
***
Students were rapidly heading toward the center of Neigrang.
“Move quickly! There’s no reason to fight here now!”
The tide of the battle royale would turn depending on who secured the central castle ruins, the safe zone, first.
Even if they were to test their skills, reaching the central ruins was the priority.
“If the curse activates, we’ll take damage without even getting to fight! The central ruins come first!”
While this battle royale was a final practical exam, it was also undeniably an interdepartmental competition.
Therefore, many students were moving in department-based units.
This party was no exception.
They had encountered several other department parties on their way, but there had been no combat.
It was still the early phase, so everyone was acting cautiously, reading the situation.
‘Fighting here now would only be a detriment to yourself!’
Jureden Lusen, ranked third in the Summoning Department, was certain of it.
He was the leader of a five-person Summoning Department party.
As Jureden's party moved quickly toward the castle walls, they were also steadily making other preparations.
“So there are edible things even in this cursed land.”
This battle royale wouldn't end until only one person remained.
It could very well turn into a long-term battle.
And in a prolonged fight, the most important thing was food.
Jureden's party was preparing for that.
“Looks like all that hell we went through in the Forest of Mythical Beasts for the past month wasn't for nothing.”
A female student from the Summoning Department grumbled as she picked mushrooms and placed them in her subspace.
“Tell me about it.”
They had interacted with wild, uncontracted mystical beasts in the forest.
There, some students had managed to increase their affinity to the point where they could give simple commands to low-level mystical beasts and spirits without using spiritual power.
But what was most helpful now was that they had learned how to survive in the wild.
“Thanks to that, we won't have to worry about food no matter what remote place we end up in.”
“Ugh! Just thinking about it is horrible!”
The students shook their heads as if fed up.
‘Now, if we can just get there and prepare for a long battle…’
Suddenly, the color drained from Jureden's face.
One of the spirits he had sent out to scout the area had been unsummoned.
“I think there’s a monster up ahead. Let’s get out of here!”
“Right!”
Jureden's party began to move.
“Wait.”
“What is it, Jureden?”
But seeing Jureden's expression turn grave, his party members looked puzzled.
“Another one got taken out.”
“What?”
“Me too!”
Another party member shouted in alarm.
“Something’s approaching at an incredible speed!”
Jureden yelled urgently.
At that same moment…
*Fzzzzzzzzzt-!*
The sound of fierce sparks crackled in the ears of the entire party.
*Flash!*
An intense golden light erupted in front of Jureden's party.
“Duran!”
‘Dammit! We ran into the most troublesome guy of all!’
Scowling, Jureden eyed Duran warily and spoke.
“Why are you blocking our path?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
Duran said, drawing his sword.
“This is an interdepartmental competition. It’s only natural to fight when you encounter an enemy.”
At his words, the female student from the Summoning Department looked dumbfounded.
“What are you going to do if the curse activates? Or if monsters show up while we’re fighting? Fighting here is just plain stupid!”
“What a foolish thing to say.”
Duran scoffed.
“Do you think you and I are on the same level? Whether it’s monsters or the curse, neither is a significant problem for me. Rather than worry about such things, it’s more advantageous to eliminate at least one more competitor before reaching the central ruins.”
“I knew it would be impossible to talk sense into you.”
Jureden snorted.
*Whoooosh!*
Wind swirled around him.
“But Duran, I admit you’re strong, but don’t you think you’re underestimating me a little too much? Aren't you looking down on the third-ranked student of the Summoning Department?”
“Wasn’t the third-ranked student in the Summoning Department Leo Flove? I wasn’t interested, so I didn’t know.”
“You bastard!”
*Kra-ka-ka-ka-kak-!*
Wind spirits unleashed a gale all at once toward Duran.
*Kzzzzzzzt-!*
As Duran swung his sword, a golden current of electricity whipped out in all directions.
Duran, having instantly unsummoned the spirits, twitched his eye.
‘Just low-level spirits?’
Duran was famous for his arrogant attitude and blatant disregard for his opponents, but he didn't misjudge their skills.
Even if he wasn't interested in Jureden, he knew the boy was an excellent spirit user.
*Vwiiing-!*
Jureden turned his gaze to the sky.
A summoning circle, radiating powerful energy, was forming there.
“There’s nothing to be gained from a prolonged fight with you! I’ll end this in one blow!”
Having summoned a high-level wind spirit, Jureden smiled triumphantly.
His party members formed a defensive line in preparation for Duran's attack.
*Whoooosh-!*
Duran's body was momentarily lifted into the air by the fierce wind.
*Thud-! Thud-!*
His face hardening, Duran stomped hard on the ground.
Both of Duran’s feet sank deep into the earth.
‘Just the summoning alone has this much of an effect…’
“Interesting.”
Duran curled his lips into a smirk and tightened his grip on his sword.
*Fzzzzzt-!*
*Flex-!*
The muscles in his arm bulged as if they would tear through his uniform.
Seeing this, Jureden shouted.
“Get him! Alketias!”
*Whoooooooosh!*
The fully summoned high-level wind spirit became a tornado and descended upon Duran.
Watching the raging tornado plummet toward him as if to tear him apart, Duran's eyes flashed.
Golden sparks flew from his eyes.
The power of his sword was maximized by the Brave Hero's Breath.
‘Lightning Strike! Astrape!’
A crescent-shaped sword aura of lightning bisected the descending tornado and shot up into the sky.
Jureden's eyes widened at the sight.
“Hoo!”
Duran took a deep breath and pulled his feet from the ground.
“Not bad. But this is as far as you go.”
“D-dammit!”
Jureden's face twisted in despair.
As Duran approached, his aura flaring, Jureden's party flinched and backed away.
“That’s enough, Duran Moira.”
At the clear voice, Jureden's party looked up at the sky in surprise.
“E-Eliza!”
“Sister! You came to save us!”
“Eliza! Eliza! Eliza!”
“Do you intend to interfere, Eliza Hergin?”
Duran asked irritably, but Eliza, mounted on her top-tier mystical beast, a Wind Wyvern, simply fiddled with her nails and replied.
“Since this is an interdepartmental competition, isn’t it natural to help students from my own department?”
“Yes! Yes! Sister! Take me!”
“Eliza! Eliza!”
The Summoning Department students continued to chant Eliza’s name in praise.
Eliza was always haughty, but she was also a student with immense pride in the Summoning Department.
Despite her show-off attitude, she was proactive in department affairs, making her very popular among the Summoning Department students.
Lifting her gaze from her nails, Eliza looked down at Duran and curled her lips into a smirk.
“Well, if you insist on fighting because you hate the idea of tucking your tail and running, I won’t stop you. Hahahahaha!”
“Hahaha. If you’re acting so cocky because you have this lot backing you up, you’ve made the wrong choice, Eliza Hergin.”
Duran burst out laughing.
*Gwoooooo-!*
As the two, who were second to none among the first-years in terms of arrogance, engaged in a battle of wills, Jureden's party began to sneak glances around nervously.
“H-Hey, aren’t we going to get caught in the crossfire and get hurt?”
“W-We should probably help Eliza, but... I feel like we’ll be the shrimp whose back gets broken in a whale fight…”
Just as the Summoning Department students were breaking out in a cold sweat and backing away…
Duran’s eye twitched, and he looked up at the sky in the opposite direction from Eliza.
“Krr?”
“What’s wrong, Pipi? Is something coming?”
Seeing her Wind Wyvern, which was sensitive to movements in the wind, look in the same direction as Duran, Eliza wore a puzzled expression.
All the while, she didn't let her guard down against Duran.
A moment later, something could be seen flying toward them at an incredible speed.
The moment they registered it…
*Whoosh!*
“Kyaaaaah!”
A student shot through the air in an instant.
And before she could even prepare, Eliza was caught in the aftershock and tumbled from her saddle.
Sprawled wretchedly on the Wind Wyvern's back, Eliza's face flushed with rage.
She hadn't fallen to the ground, but for a mystical beast summoner, falling from the saddle of one's own mount was a great humiliation.
“Hmph. I didn’t expect to meet you so soon! I’ll settle this right here, right now!”
He, the fastest in the Knight Department, chased after Leo and vanished in an instant.
Meanwhile, Eliza, who had scrambled back onto her saddle, glared daggers in the direction Leo had disappeared.
“Again! Again! Again! Leo Flove! It’s you!”
“Eek! She’s mad! She’s really mad!”
“E-Eliza! Forget about them for now and let’s head to the central ruins…”
“Unforgivable! I will absolutely not forgive him this time! Pipi! Chase after Leo Flove!”
“Kyareuk!”
Spreading its wings wide, the Wind Wyvern soared into the sky at tremendous speed.
And it descended in the direction Leo had flown.
As the three of them vanished in an instant, the female Summoning Department student wore a bewildered expression.
“That’s the complete opposite direction from the central ruins, isn’t it? What are they thinking?”
At her words, Jureden sighed.
“They’re the top students of our academy, for crying out loud. They must have a plan.”
“I don’t know about Leo, but it looks like Eliza and Duran just chased after him without a single thought.”
“Just leave those simpletons be.”
“Huh? Simpletons? What does that mean?”
“Simple-minded, ignorant, and reckless.”
“Oh! That’s perfect!”
Jureden's party burst into laughter.
“Don’t tell them I said that.”
“We’ll see how you behave!”
“Let’s get moving. Before we get caught up in another pointless fight.”