Duran’s lightning-charged ball streaked toward the goalpost.
“Wind Shield!”
Chelsea quickly invoked a defensive spell in that critical moment.
A potent gust of wind surged from Class 5’s goalpost.
The ball, originally hurtling at incredible speed, momentarily slowed down.
Yet, its momentum remained formidable.
It merely snagged the ball for a brief instant.
Due to the lightning aura enveloping the ball, it couldn’t be hastily grabbed.
Even if seized, it would undoubtedly pierce through Chelsea’s defensive magic, sailing into the goal before any other student could intervene.
“What a futile effort!” Duran jeered, while Leo shouted,
“Karl! Prepare for what I told you!”
“Ah! If only I weren’t cleaning the bathroom!”
Karl harnessed his mana.
Karl was an earth-elemental mage.
Earth attributes excelled in defense and weight manipulation!
A faint brown magical aura radiated from Karl’s form.
Utilizing defensive magic to shield his body and gravity manipulation to decrease his weight, Leo grabbed Karl’s hand and propelled him toward the goalpost.
He intended to physically block it.
Boom! Whoosh-!
Karl’s body hurtled toward the goalpost.
Thud-! Squeeeeak-!
Simultaneously, the ball managed to penetrate Chelsea’s defensive magic.
Thanks to Leo’s momentum, Karl reached the goalpost ahead of the ball, now lightened by magic.
“It’s futile! The ball will enter the goalpost with you!” Duran mocked.
However, just before the ball collided with him, Karl increased his body weight to the maximum using magic.
Additionally, Chelsea hastily cast a protective spell on Karl.
Thump-!
“Ugh!”
Smack-!
Only Karl, who had been struck by the ball, entered the goal, and the ball rebounded.
If the ball is caught before hitting the ground, the attacking team retains possession; if not, the attacking team loses the right to continue.
Tap-! Rollrollroll.
The ball skidded across the ground.
Beep-!
“The attacking right goes to Class 5!”
“Great job, Karl!”
“We won’t forget your sacrifice for the class!”
Class 5 erupted in cheers, having narrowly defended their goal thanks to the combined efforts of Leo, Chelsea, and Karl.
Karl smiled with a hint of sadness, recalling his sacrifice and not the concern of his friends.
“I’m sorry, Karl.”
“It’s alright.”
“It’s just you two, Leo and Chelsea.”
Karl felt moved as Leo and Chelsea approached with apologetic smiles.
“That was impressive. What kind of strategy was that?”
Nella, who approached for treatment, asked Chelsea with a languid tone, and Chelsea replied with a wide smile.
“The operation name is ‘Friend Shield’! It’s a defense strategy predicted and devised by Leo oppa for situations like this!”
“To use friends as tools for victory. What a splendid judgment.”
Karl felt like crying.
Meanwhile, Iliana, who held the ball, swung her arms in a circular motion.
“Alright! Alright! Let’s aim for an additional score…!”
Swish!
A whip-like object extended from Class 1, snatching the ball from Iliana’s hand.
“Ohhhhh! Howl!”
“So sexy!”
“The successor of Snake Spear, as expected!”
In an instant, the morale of Class 1, who regained the attacking rights, skyrocketed.
Iliana, who alternately stared at her own hands and the ball taken by Class 1, lowered her head and raised both hands apologetically to Karl.
“Sorry, it got snatched away.”
“Return my sacrificeeeeeee!”
***
“Oh ho! What brings you to the training ground at this hour, Senior Ain!”
“What else could it be? I came to observe the combat training class.”
Ain and Ren met in front of the training ground.
“Hehe! I see. Well, currently, Selia, Duran, and Chen Shia are in the middle of the class! As a professor specializing in knight studies, you want to see how proficient the aces of the knight studies are in combat!”
“I came to observe all knight studies students, Ren. It’s not like I came here to openly watch someone like you.”
“I also came to survey all magic studies students.”
Professor Ren shrugged his shoulders.
The relationship between the two was not just that of fellow teachers.
Both were Lumeren graduates who had known each other since their school days.
Their relationship hadn’t been particularly close; instead, they shared a kind of ‘ill-fated’ connection as students from different departments.
The addition of Professor Yura of the Summoning department to this mix resulted in what was commonly referred to among professors and current students as a perfect “explosive combination.”
“When I heard you were taking the first-year class, I was genuinely surprised.”
“It’s indeed the first time both of us are responsible for lower-year students.”
“Come to think of it, Senior Ain, you were Professor Sedgen’s first batch student, right? How was he back then?”
“He was exactly the same as he is now. He cared deeply for the students in his class. Professor Hallind, on the other hand, has changed a lot since those days.”
“By the time I reached my fifth year, he was already known as the ‘Wall of Lamentation.'”
The two professors entered the stadium, lost in their memories of their school days.
And they were taken aback.
“Bastelaro? Right from the first class?”
“Quite unconventional.”
The two professors brightened up when they realized that both Class 1 and Class 5 were playing Bastelaro.
“The score is 1-0, Class 5 is in the lead.”
An unexpected outcome.
Class 1 had all their star players on the field.
It wasn’t planned, but Class 1 was an elite group, filled with students who had scored highly on their entrance exams.
It was a match between the top and bottom-ranked classes.
Although a few months later, entrance exam scores would lose their significance, the gap was evident now.
“Leo and Chelsea. Iliana and Tade. And Nella… These could be Class 5’s star players, but not the rest of the team.”
Ain observed with interest.
“Impressive.”
Ren, who had been watching the game, exclaimed.
“Student Leo is clearly a natural leader.”
“I sensed that from the very beginning, at the entrance ceremony.”
Class 1 was dominating Class 5 by relying on their individual skills.
In contrast, Class 5 prioritized teamwork.
At the center of it all was Leo.
He predicted the opponent’s movements moment by moment and occasionally used quick thinking to counter Class 1’s attacks.
Ren wore a regretful expression.
‘He’s only using aura!’
It would have been great if he could use magic too, but Leo was sticking to aura.
Of course, he had no other choice.
While Leo excelled in interpreting spells, his mana pool was limited.
So, his primary combat ability had to be aura.
Ren looked at Ain with a concerned expression.
As expected, Ain was also observing Leo.
But unlike the anxious Ren, Ain appeared quite satisfied watching the match.
Ren felt frustrated and thought to himself,
‘Student Leo! Please use magic too~!’
Ren looked at Leo with eager anticipation.
Meanwhile, the match had entered its latter half.
Bastelaro required the use of all abilities, which meant that stamina consumption was immense.
Originally, matches lasted an hour, but for first-years, twenty minutes was the limit due to their stamina.
Then, Selia’s impressive attack shook the net of Class 5.
“Selia! You’re incredible! I’m falling for you!”
“Big sis! Please adopt me as your little sister!”
The Class 1 students cheered.
Selia had scored by breaking through the defense of three Class 5 students guarding the goal.
“Is she… a beast…?”
Karl, who had taken a direct hit from the ball, muttered in exhaustion before collapsing and fainting.
“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
Selia too, found herself completely drained after exerting all her strength.
“We’ve managed to bring down three players, and there’s little time left! If we can block this attack, we can counterattack and win! We need to make a comeback!”
Selia shouted with great effort.
Class 5, which had maintained a narrow lead, suddenly lost their advantage, and the atmosphere turned grim.
On the other hand, Class 1’s morale was soaring.
Chloe, positioned at the back, glared at Class 5.
Undoubtedly, the most outstanding performance in this game came from Chloe.
While she had allowed an initial surprise score, Chloe’s defense had been flawless afterward, effectively shutting down Leo and Chelsea, the linchpins of Class 5’s offense.
Despite their various attempts to breach the defense, Chloe remained an impenetrable barrier.
Observing Leo as he prepared to attack, Chloe made a silent vow: ‘I will not be defeated.’
After their first magic class, Chloe couldn’t help but take notice of Leo.
She had never considered herself inferior to anyone in magic.
She believed that her skills in interpreting magical formulas surpassed even Abad, who was regarded as the most formidable wizard among her peers.
In fact, she was correct.
A prodigy in spellcraft, she had been recognized as one of the all-time greats at the Northern Magic Tower.
That was Chloe Muller.
Yet, from the very first class, she found herself falling behind in magical interpretation when it came to Leo.
‘I absolutely cannot allow myself to lose to Leo Plov.’
Chloe clenched her fist, a determination burning in her eyes.
With Selia absent, Class 1’s defense had a gaping hole.
“Attack! If we don’t score this time, we’ll surely lose!” Iliana shouted.
Chelsea intercepted Duran, who was rushing to mark Leo.
Other players tried their best to create a one-on-one situation between Leo and Chloe.
With agility and finesse, Leo weaved his way through Class 1’s formation, closing in on the goal.
Without Selia the restraining force, and with Chelsea immobilizing Duran, it was almost impossible for anyone to stop Leo at this point.
However, Class 1 had their own source of belief.
Chloe positioned herself in front of Leo.
“You won’t get past me.”
“Sorry, but in a one-on-one situation, I think I could,” Leo replied.
At Leo’s words, Chloe smirked.
Zzzap!
Leo’s eyes twitched.
Suddenly, ice formed in the air, and ice fragments materialized.
Four ice pieces, mirroring Chloe perfectly, blocked Leo’s path as if they were living statues.
“Impossible! Ice clones? Using such advanced spellcraft? Even my brother can’t do that!” Chelsea exclaimed in astonishment.
“It’s not just a mere clone!”
Magic circles expanded around the ice clones.
Each of them was akin to a skilled wizard.
“To use such a spell at this age? You’re a genius,” Leo praised.
Chloe’s eyes twitched.
“Are you mocking me now?”
‘He even aced the magic theory test!’
Chloe sneered at Leo with a determined gaze.
“You’ll never break through my defense! So just give up!” Chloe asserted.
“True, I can’t breach this with my aura ability,” Leo responded with a grin.
“With my aura ability, though.”
Whoosh!
‘Magic?’
Chloe was taken aback.
She hadn’t anticipated that he would employ magic in this critical moment.
Leo’s form multiplied.
‘Illusion magic? How basic!’
Though caught off guard, Chloe knew she could easily counter simple illusion magic.
While using magic to attack other players was against the rules, targeting magical illusions was allowed.
‘Which one is the real Leo?’
Distinguishing the genuine Leo among the basic illusions seemed like a straightforward task for Chloe.
She concentrated her mana on her eyes, scrutinizing the illusions.
In that instant, Chloe’s expression stiffened.
‘I can’t discern which one is the real Leo!’
Not knowing which was real made her hesitant to launch an attack hastily.
But there was an even more astounding revelation.
‘This magic…!’
As Chloe was in shock, Leo swiftly scored a goal.
So astonished that she forgot to respond, Chloe slumped to the ground.
Leo had executed a flawless illusion magic that rendered it impossible to identify the real one.
The magic he had just employed was something Chloe was familiar with.
However, she couldn’t employ it herself.
Because what Leo had used wasn’t conventional human magic.
Chloe gazed vacantly behind her.
As the illusion dissipated, leaves fluttered through the air.
A magic system that was fundamentally distinct.
‘Elf’s… Star magic?’
Mirage.
The magic Leo had employed was a creation of the ancestor of constellations, Luna.
Cliche Novel 