CH 36

Wuuu Wuuuu-!

The sword's tip gathered a blazing inferno, flames dancing in anticipation. Leo's fire burned more intensely as he charged, his body enveloped in a fiery aura.

'Now!'

Slash-!

Howl, seeing the impending attack, thrust his spear forward, causing a colossal green aura to erupt from its tip.

The aura stretched out like a living snake, its sights set on Leo's neck.

Undeterred, Leo attempted to defend himself with his own aura of flames.

DRRRRR-!

In an instant, Howl’s aura changed its course, snaking around Leo like a predator closing in on its prey.

'I expected this much.'

Leo didn't care and charged at the defenseless Howl.

The precision and control displayed by Howl were awe-inspiring, and the onlookers couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

"Gotcha!" said Howl with joy.

WUUUU-!

“… … !”

Howl's aura continued to lengthen.

“Snake Prison!”

BAM-!

The aura that wrapped around him like a snake grabbing its prey tightened Leo tightly in an instant.

Exclamation poured out here and there at the incredibly delicate aura-control.

Ain, observing from the sidelines, smirked knowingly. He knew that the flame aura was a powerful tool, capable of inflicting great damage but also vulnerable to attacks. 

It was like a double-edged sword, and Poison Aura displayed similar characteristics, making it susceptible to the flames.

'After dedicatedly focusing on Aura Control training, he acquired the skills to compensate for his weakness.'

Ain looked at Leo who was silent.

'But Student Leo wouldn't have charged without a plan.'

'How is it! Leo! I'll knock you down with this move! and...' Howl turned his gaze to Celia, who had a surprised expression on her face, and clenched his fists.

'Celia! I want to be acknowledged as your equal....'

"What a fantastic technique! But the execution is a bit clumsy."

"What!"

WORRRR! BAM-!

Suddenly, Howl's aura expanded and burst open, sending flames in all directions.

WUUUUU-! WORRRRR!

Leo's aura blazed even hotter, and assuming a sword-swinging stance, he faced Howl, who was frozen.

"You need to stay alert until the flame is completely extinguished."

“Kuk!”

Howl held his ground, clutching his spear tightly.

BANG-! 

In an instant, sparks exploded at Leo's toes.

[Aura step.]

Wooosh-! BAM!

Sparks flew as Leo's flaming sword shot forward like a bullet, the tip touching Howl's neck before he had time to react.

“… … Winner, Leo Flove,” declared Ain, calmly.

Whoaaaaaa!

Cheers poured out.

"Yay! Yay! Brother Leo won!”

“… … Did he have that level of skill?”

Chelsi's excitement was palpable as she bounced up and down in her seat, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle before her. Meanwhile, Tade muttered some nonsensical words under his breath.

Whii! 

Karl, selling popcorn, couldn't contain his enthusiasm either. He let out a whistle of approval and cheered along with the rest of the crowd.

“Who said that the first year would be weak in real combat?”

“Howl was impressive too, but the compatibility was really bad.”

"I could understand why the freshmen are getting so much attention this year."

The senior students erupted into a flurry of exclamations as they critiqued the sparring match. It was clear that they were thoroughly impressed by the skill on display.

When Leo withdrew his sword, Howl dropped to his knees and said, “It’s a complete defeat. It was an overwhelming skill gap. To be careless against a talented person like you... … It's completely rude.”

"Well, to be honest, I never expected you to have that level of skill either."

Howl’s aura control ability was completely unexpected even to Leo, who knew firsthand the effort required to attain such mastery.

"If your aura had been a bit stronger, I might have passed out from suffocation. I also underestimated you, so we're in the same boat."

With a smile, Leo extended his hand, which Howl stared at blankly before taking it.

Leo lifted Howl to his feet, patting him on the shoulder before making his exit from the arena.

'Leo Flove... he wasn't standing next to Celia for anything, after all.' muttered Howl, trudging out of the arena.

"Howl, what a waste!"

"Ugh! That was the perfect chance to get revenge for cleaning the bathroom!"

"What is that monster doing? Isn't combat supposed to be his weakness?"

Standing before Howl were the students of Class 1 from the Knights Department, who comforted Howl.

“Elegant, Student Howl! You were impressive. If it weren't for the compatibility issue, you could have taken down someone like Leo Flove! Don't be discouraged!”

“Professor Sedzen. No matter how much he’s a student you are in charge of, please refrain from biased words and actions,” said Professor Ain, seeing Professor Sedzen screaming loudly.

Howl, feeling a bit embarrassed by the unexpected show of kindness, scratched his head nervously.

Suddenly, Celia appeared before him, causing Howl to become even more flustered. However, her kind smile quickly put him at ease.

"That last technique you used was really impressive," Celia complimented him.

"What? uh! eww! huh! huh!"

Howl stumbled over his words in response, his face turning red with embarrassment.

'Howl's not what he seems, he's actually pretty naive.'

'She's like, totally clueless about it.'

'But come on, shouldn't she have caught on by now?'

The Class 1 students watched the exchange between the two with subtle smirks.

“Yo, Leo, you've been putting in work. When'd you train your aura like that?” asked Celia, as she approached Leo.

Howl clenched his fists. 'Leo Flove, you're my new target now!!'

The tenacious boy Howl was determined to catch up with Leo.

Watching Howl strengthen his will, the Class 1 students clicked their tongues and ate popcorn.

Having emerged victorious in his first sparring match, Leo took a seat to the side and began to observe the rest of the battles.

“Class 5 Illyana Laden, forward.”

“Finally! Who is it? My opponent!”

“Chen Xia, forward.”

"Uh!"

Illyana, brimming with enthusiasm, was taken aback by the formidable Chen Xia.

“Please take care of me.”

“Yes, please.”

As the two exchanged greetings, Illyana thought, 'I've improved a lot too! It's worth trying to compete with the top student!'

Soon, an aura shimmered from Illyana's body as she gripped her rapier.

SHUSH-!

However, Chen Xia, a skilled martial artist, possessed no weapons. Instead, she channeled her water attribute into her fingertips, causing droplets of water to form and weave together in silky waves.

Chen Xia's fingertips gracefully formed waves as her hands moved in a dance-like manner.

“Whoooo!”

With a deep breath, Illyana aimed her rapier at Chen Xia and charged forward, her aura exploding with energy.

“Haap!”

Leo couldn't help but sigh, watching Illyana charging with incredible speed.

“That fool.”

BAM-!

“Eh!”

Dang-Tang-Tang!

Chen Xia effortlessly blocked Illyana's intense charge, causing the attack to be reflected back at her. 

Illyana's eyes spun around in confusion before she collapsed onto the floor.

“Winner, Chen Xia.”

It was a match in which overwhelming power stood out.

However, no one had high expectations because this match-up was quite unfavorable to the magic swordsman, Illyana.

Chen Xia respectfully bowed and left the arena, clasping her hands together in a polite gesture.

Meanwhile, Illyana shouted as she raised her hand in a fist to the sky, "Yeah, I had some good momentum going against Xia!! It would have gone well if I hadn't got caught!"

“Shh, girl, it’s embarrassing, be quiet?”

“Yeh, you’d better pretend to faint. please."

Illyana burst into tears when the Class 5 Knight Department students spoke to her coldly.

"Class Rep, these kids say I'm an embarrassment!"

Looking at the complaining Illyana, Leo said, "Your impatient personality is the problem. You know Chen Xia's skills well, right?"

“I know! I know! That's why I came in with some serious force! I can't rely on just swordsmanship, gotta show some fire! Proud of myself, for real.”

Leo clicked his tongue and watched as Illyana shouted confidently with her arms crossed, despite the situation.

She was a talented student who could be considered at the top of the entire class.

'The opponent was too bad. I'm not even sure if she knows how to use magic, but this is a test for the Knight class. Still, if she had been more careful, she wouldn't have lost so easily.'

Shaking his head, Leo locked eyes with Chen Xia, who was sitting in Class 10 and waved at her. 

Chen Xia smiled and waved back.

'I've thought about it before, but Xia has the best balance among the first-year Knight students.'

While Celia and Duran had specialized in attack power with their aura characteristics, Chen Xia's water attribute was well-balanced for both offense and defense.

Leo thought about Chen Xia's skills as he watched the other classmates sparring.

Prior to admission, students who ranked lower showed notable improvement in their skills, with some even managing to defeat those who were far ahead of them.

Despite the various emotions surrounding the exam, the top students showcased a level of skill that set them apart.

Celia, who effortlessly overpowered her opponent, approached Leo with a graceful hair flip.

"How did I do?"

"You've definitely grown."

"Of course."

Celia narrowed her eyes and said, "Leo, I'm gonna snag that freshmen rep spot with this exam."

Seeing Celia proudly proclaiming it, Leo grinned.

"Take it if you can."

At those words, Celia smiled and went back to Class 1.

Illyana, who was watching from the side, said.

“He sure is popular.”

"Do you envy it?"

"Nah, I already told Nella I'm not chasing that kinda popularity."

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ 

It was the midterm exam period and after the heroics class, the last written test, the Class 5 students rushed over to Chelsi. 

"Hey! hey! Chelsi! Show me the answers!”

“Let me see it first, Chelsi!”

"Karl, you know you're gonna fail anyway, so just chill and look at it later."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

The competition to see the answers of Chelsi, who had the highest written test score in Class 5, was fiercer than expected.

Chelsi waved her test papers while her classmates crowded around her. “Who shall I show it first?”

“Chelsi! Show me first!”

"Chelsi! Me! Me.”

"Hey, Chelsi, you're looking real nice today!"

Class 5 clung to Chelsi, the youngest in the class.

“Ho-ho-ho.”

Upon seeing her classmates' excitement, Chelsi covered her mouth with a proud expression and burst into laughter.

“Anyway, the test is done already. Looking at the answers ain't gonna change nothin',” said Leo, who was seated at the back of the class by the window, resting his chin on his hand. 

Nella gave a reply with a languid smile. "Yeah, but it's natural to wanna know how you did, right?"

At that, Leo shook his head and packed his writing utensils into his bag.

"The only test left is the joint practical for heroics and combat science for most. Leo, you still got magic and summoning, right?"

In the Knight sparring test, Leo emerged victorious with a 5-0 score.

The strongest in the five fights was Howl on the first day.

In addition to Leo, Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran also won all five matches.

In Nella's case, there was one loss.

“If it wasn’t for that damn Duran, even Nella would have been able to win five matches!”

Chelsi, who had been throwing test papers among her classmates, said as she cradled Nella in her arms.

Duran, who was one of the strong contenders for the match, added 1 defeat to Nella in the third match.

"I'm happy with how I did against Duran though."

Nella smiled as she stroked Chelsi's hair.

"By the way, Brother Leo, how's the practice of summoning class going?"

“It’s going well.”

“You rarely come to practice, don’t you?”

Tade, a student of the Summoning Department asked with a puzzled face.

The Summoning Practical exam has been one of the biggest events of the first semester Lumeln students for generations.

Leo replied to Tade's question with a laugh, “I’m practicing hard in an invisible place.”

“As expected of Brother Leo. Always full of confidence. So, what place are you aiming for?”

Looking at Chelsi who asked with her eyes shining, Leo said as if it were natural.

“No. 1.”