Chapter 200
“A first-year student, and not even a Seiren student, is using Lampas? Who on earth is that?”
A voice filled with astonishment rang out from the audience.
A woman with silver hair and golden eyes stood prominently at the highest point of the crowd.
“He is the student that was chosen to be the student council president by his seniors.”
“Didn’t you underestimate Leo Plov’s worth and act like a fool, Nergia?”
Lieven sighed softly.
Nergia, Seiren’s vice principal sent from Dragonia, seemed very young from Lieven’s perspective.
“Isn’t that sword the one you gifted?”
“Yes. I was surprised he handled it so skillfully.”
The longsword Leo received as a gift was crafted by Nergia.
It was a sorcery sword that could serve as both a top-tier weapon and the highest-grade staff for a magical knight using Sorcery of the Stars.
Its value was so high that one wouldn’t dare ask its price.
“Even so, I wonder how the spell caused it to overload with just one use.”
Sorcery staffs had various effects depending on the spells engraved upon them, such as shortening casting time or increasing power.
The more powerful the staff, the more challenging it was to wield.
If handled perfectly, however, the sorcery’s power would be immense.
‘It’s not surprising he used Lampas. Even Lunia, our top first-year student, can use it.’
Lampas was one of the most fundamental sorceries within Sorcery of the Stars.
It wasn’t based on the sorcery left by Luna, like other spells, but was passed down directly from Luna’s subsequent disciples.
Created by the Poet herself, its power was extraordinary.
Thus, it was a spell every Seiren student aspired to master.
However, its power came with a price—it consumed vast amounts of sorcery power and was extremely complex.
Thus, it was a spell typically beyond the reach of first and second-year students.
‘It seems Leo Plov might not have enough mana to use Lampas right now.’
If it were solely a matter of constructing the spell, it might have been a different story.
With Leo’s current mana, wielding Lampas would be difficult.
Yet, the fact that he cast such a powerful spell at all was no ordinary feat.
To the point that the sword made from dragon bone must have been strained momentarily.
Nergia turned to Lieven and said, “Sir Lieven, can we really not bring Leo Plov to Seiren? You’re at retirement age now. I’ve heard you’ve been away from home for a while, so I believe it’s better for someone like me to take over.”
“If you want Leo Plov, why don’t you join us at Lumene?”
“That won’t work. I can’t abandon Seiren’s students.”
Nergia was a dragon recruited to actively guide students to become heroes.
“Then do your best to persuade him.”
‘I’m not sure if my words will have any effect.’
Leo, who had just dispatched the Cyclops, tried to close in on the leading group.
Up to this point, it had been difficult.
The Seiren students were consistent with applying pressure whenever he tried to speed up.
However, the Cyclops’ appearance created a momentary gap in that defense.
Seizing the opportunity, Leo sprinted towards the leading group.
Just then.
“That’s it, Leo Plov.”
“We won’t let you advance any further.”
Two Seiren students, a girl and a boy, blocked Leo’s path.
“Who are you?”
“Heh. I’m Karin Tina.”
“And I’m Alice Tina. You’ve heard of us, haven’t you?”
The two elves, who appeared to be siblings, blocked Leo’s path.
“No. This is the first time I’ve heard of them.”
“What? You haven’t heard of the Tina siblings?”
“We were promoted to the advanced class this semester. We’re ranked 4th and 5th in the year. How can you not have heard of us?”
Karin and Alice looked flustered.
“Yeah.”
Karin clenched his fists as he watched Leo nod naturally.
“Huh! You arrogant brat! You didn’t even research the students from your rival school!”
“Get ready! I’ll make sure you’re out of here!”
Leo let out a light sigh as he observed the twins’ angry expressions.
“Leo, what are you doing? Why aren’t you going?”
“They’re in the way.”
Chelsea, who had approached with a puzzled expression, swung her staff in response to Leo’s words.
Crash-crash-crash-!
A massive gust of wind swept over Karin and Alice.
At that moment, Karin used barrier sorcery to deflect Chelsea’s attack.
Chelsea’s eyes narrowed at the sight.
“Not bad, huh?”
Flash! – crash-crash-!
In that split second, Alice used sorcery.
Fragments of light rained down from above, targeting Leo and Chelsea.
Whioooosh-!
However, the light fragments were quickly blown away by another strong gust of wind.
Thump- thump-
Abad approached Chelsea.
“The Lewellin siblings.”
Karin smirked.
“You must know about us, the Tina siblings, right?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of you.”
When Abad answered with a smile, Alice scolded Karin.
“This is all your fault! You’re the reason we’re in this mess! I shouldn’t have teamed up with you!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Haven’t you considered that the Lumene students don’t know about me because of you? And have some respect for your older brother, why don’t you?”
“You’re not older if you were born 30 seconds earlier!”
“I’m telling Mom!”
Chelsea said seriously, eyeing the Tina siblings flaunting their skills, “If we leave them alone, won’t they self-destruct?”
“I don’t think so. They’re genuinely skilled.”
As the 4th and 5th ranked students at Seiren, their abilities were formidable.
“Leo, we’ll handle the siblings. You go on ahead.”
“Leo, you’ve got this!”
“Alright, then.”
Leo smiled and left the rest to them.
As Abad had anticipated, Karin reacted swiftly, but Chelsea managed to block his interference.
“Alright then, show us what you’ve got.”
When Abad smiled softly saying this, Alice flinched, blushing.
“Um, yeah. Sure thing.”
“Ew.”
Alice kicked Karin.
Leo immediately resumed his pursuit of the leading racer.
Leo wasn’t the only one escaping the chaos.
Flash-! Crash-crash-crash-!
Leo moved through the beams of light spreading in all directions.
He narrowed his eyes as he focused on the half-elf boy holding the sorcery staff.
‘Luca Eneres?’
The 3rd-ranked student in the first year at Seiren, after Lunia and Eiran, and one of the three class representatives.
Despite the cold weather, Luca’s attire remained light.
It were as if he didn’t feel the chill.
Crash-
In an instant, the ground around Luca began to freeze.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you pass. If you do, Eiran will struggle.”
Crash-!
In a fleeting moment, the ground from where Luca stood to where Leo was positioned froze solid.
But Leo didn’t miss that fleeting moment.
Leo jumped and narrowed his eyes at Luca, who was smiling awkwardly.
‘It’s not sorcery. It’s spiritual power. But he doesn’t seem to be summoning the spirit. I sensed it during the school trip too… What is this guy?’
Luca was indeed using spiritual power.
But it wasn’t power gained from a contract with a spirit.
He was literally channeling the power of the spirit directly.
[Could it be that he is under the protection of a Great Spirit?]
‘The protection of a Great Spirit?’
[Yes. I have heard from other spirits. There is someone who inherited the power of one of the Great Spirits. That person can wield the spirit’s power.]
‘Now that I think about it, I remember reading about this in a book long ago.’
Leo narrowed his eyes as he recalled the book from his past life.
‘Does this mean this guy inherited the power of the Great Spirit of Ice?’
‘That seems highly likely.’
Leo clicked his tongue.
The cold, biting weather.
If Luca were indeed under the protection of the Great Spirit of Ice, this place must feel like a living room to him.
‘It won’t be easy to get through.’
Just as Leo was pondering this, a voice cut through.
“What are you doing here, Leo Plov?”
A deep voice sounded, and Walden, a large boy who had turned his head, stood there.
“I’m having a rough time.”
“Huh.”
Walden, snickering at Leo’s words, summoned a fire spirit.
Flutter-!
Instantly, the fire spirit was absorbed into Walden’s fist.
Spirit Armor.
It was a high-level spirit technique that infused the spirit’s power into the body.
Whoosh-!
Walden charged at Luca without hesitation.
Swoosh-! Crash-!
Without missing a beat, he swung his fist at Luca, who was considerably smaller than him.
A massive explosion and flames engulfed the area.
It was Walden’s specialty—a spirit explosion that earned him the nickname “monster” among students from the South.
Woooooow-!
Even the upperclassmen of Lumene were astonished by Walden’s blow.
But Luca withstood the attack and, in response, froze Walden’s right arm, which had just delivered a punch.
“Hmm.”
Walden looked at his frozen arm and exhaled.
“Close combat with him is too reckless.”
Luca smiled as he spoke, and Walden curled his lips in a smirk.
Flutter-! Sizzle—–
He then used his firepower to melt his frozen arm.
“I’m sure it’s reckless.”
“You seem to be a spirit master specialized in close combat, given your use of Spirit Armor… But it won’t work on me.”
Whoooshk-!
In that instant, Walden charged at Luca once more.
“…!”
Oblivious to Luca’s freezing spell, Walden slammed his thick arm into Luca’s neck.
Punch-! Thwack-! Thunk-!
Sizzle——
Walden used the fire spirit to melt his arm, which had begun to freeze again.
“It’s simple. Who’s getting taken out first? Me from your freezing, or you from my attacks?”
Walden smirked.
“Get up, Luca Eneres.”
“Cough. Cough. Indeed…”
Luca coughed up blood and wiped his mouth with a troubled expression.
“I think I picked the wrong opponent.”
“I’ll handle this one. Go ahead, Leo Plov.”
“Oh, okay. Don’t overdo it.”
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”
While the sarcastic Walden confronted Luca, Leo, now free of obstacles, began sprinting at incredible speed to catch up with the leading group.
Some students who had managed to avoid the pandemonium earlier were now in front of Leo, adding to the number of students he had to overtake.
The Seiren students continued to obstruct Leo’s path, presenting new obstacles at every turn.
‘I’ve lost too much time. If this keeps up, there’ll be too big a gap between me and the leading group.’
As Leo swiftly overcame all obstacles and closed in on the leading group, he wondered about the three at the front who had faced no hindrances.
With their speed, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were already nearing the finish line.
‘Could Duran and Eliza have overtaken Eiran?’
Given their pace, it was possible they had caught up with Eiran and were competing among themselves.
The other two Seiren racers seemed unable to escape the persistent interference of the Lumene students.
As Leo raced toward the finish line, he heard Duran and Eliza’s frustrated shouts from afar.
“Don’t run away!”
“Fight back!”
Leo glanced at Duran and Eliza, who were pursuing Eiran with intense determination, feeling bewildered.
‘Why are they still here?’
Contrary to expectations, the three hadn’t progressed as far as he thought.
At that moment, Eiran, fleeing from Duran and Eliza, spotted Leo and ran toward him in desperation.
“Leo! Please save me!”
Eiran, utterly terrified, hid behind Leo.
“… What is this situation?”
“I-I don’t know! The Lumene racers won’t leave me alone…!”
As Leo comforted the sobbing and frightened Eiran, he turned to Duran and Eliza, who had arrived.
“Why are you so eager to catch her?”
“Get out of the way, Leo Plov. I need to duel with her. She clearly ignored me.”
“I’ll handle it, Duran Moira.”
‘Why are they talking like they’re dueling again?’
Leo clicked his tongue at his impatient classmates.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. She’s not the type to ignore people.”
“Then why didn’t she even glance at us?”
When Eliza crossed her arms and frowned, Leo responded coldly, “I believe you were mistaken.”
At Leo’s words, Duran and Eliza looked at Eiran, who was trembling and hiccupping.
The elf, who appeared unusually weak, seemed like a victim to anyone observing.
There was no sign of her deliberately ignoring them.
Duran and Eliza’s faces flushed with embarrassment.
“I guess we were mistaken.”
“I’m sorry. I got angry for no reason.”
Duran and Eliza quickly apologized.
Seeing this, Eiran, still trembling in fear, cautiously emerged from behind Leo.
“Oh, no. I think my attitude made you misunderstand.”
“Well, let’s compete fairly from now on,” Eliza said with a forced smile to lighten the mood.
Eiran smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
Her innocent demeanor tugged at Duran and Eliza’s consciences.
Leo nodded as he observed the scene.
“Okay, then I hope the misunderstanding is resolved.”
“Huh?”
Leo seized Eiran and snatched her headband that symbolized her role as a racer.
“Ah!”
Eiran gasped in surprise.
“Eliminated.”
Leo smiled and patted Eiran on the shoulder.
“We’re enemies right now.”
“B-but… I trusted Leo…”
Eiran’s face was streaked with tears.
“Leo Plov! How could you be so cruel?”
“How can you be so heartless to someone who trusted you and asked for help?”
Duran and Eliza scolded Leo.
“There’s no such thing as being heartless in a competition.”
Leo smiled faintly and turned toward the finish line.
“I’ll go ahead. It’ll be a bad look if I get caught by the others chasing me now.”
Leo sprinted toward the finish line without hesitation.
“Ugh… This is too much, Leo.”
“Please don’t cry.”
“Don’t cry, okay?”
Duran and Eliza, flustered, sat on the ground and tried to comfort Eiran, who was sobbing.
