Swoosh-!
The flames converged at the tip of the sword.
Leo’s fire burned even more intensely.
Leo, surrounded by flames, charged forward.
‘Now is the moment!’
Howl thrust his spear as he entered striking range.
Ssssh-!
A thick green aura erupted from the spear’s tip.
The aura extended like a living anaconda, targeting Leo’s neck.
Leo attempted to deflect Howl’s attack with his fiery aura.
Roar-!
In an instant, Howl’s aura changed direction like a live snake.
‘I anticipated this.’
Unfazed, Leo charged at the vulnerable Howl.
Howl’s technique was challenging to handle from a distance but left him exposed up close.
“You’ve fallen into my trap!”
Howl exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Ssssh-!
“…!”
Howl’s aura continued to extend.
“Snake Prison!”
Snap-!
The aura coiled around like a snake capturing its prey, constricting Leo tightly in an instant.
Cheers erupted at the incredibly precise aura control.
Ain, who had been observing, curled the corner of his mouth.
“Fire aura has the disadvantage of being weak in defense but strong in attack, just like a double-edged sword.”
The same held true for poison aura.
So it was naturally subdued by the fire aura.
‘Howl has certainly acquired a skill to compensate for this weakness by focusing intensely on aura control training.’
Ain looked at the silent Leo.
‘But there’s no way Leo Plov would charge in without thinking.’
“How about that, Leo! I’ll take you down with this! And then…”
Howl clenched his fist and turned his gaze to Selia, who looked surprised.
‘Selia! I’ll prove that I am your equal…’
“It’s an impressive technique. But the finish is lacking.”
“What!”
Boom! Swoosh!
Howl’s aura surrounding Leo expanded and exploded, scattering in all directions.
Roar! Swoosh!
The flames enveloping Leo flared up fiercely.
Leo, in a sword-swinging stance, stared at the frozen Howl.
“Fire is not to be underestimated until it’s extinguished.”
“Kuh!”
Howl readjusted his grip on his spear.
Boom! Bang!
In an instant, flames erupted from Leo’s toes.
Aura Step.
Roar! Swoosh!
The tip of Leo’s sword, transformed into a flaming projectile, had already reached Howl’s throat.
“The winner is Leo Plov.”
Ain declared flatly.
Cheers erupted.
“Wow! Wow! Leo won!”
“…Did he really have that much skill in actual combat?”
Chelsea joyfully jumped from her seat, while Tade mumbled in disbelief.
Karl, who was serving popcorn to a guest, also whistled in celebration.
“Who was it that said first-years would be weak in real combat?”
“Howl was great too, but the elemental disadvantage was too much.”
“Indeed, there’s a reason why this year’s first-years are getting attention.”
The upperclassmen assessed the duel between the two and exclaimed in amazement.
As Leo sheathed his sword, Howl dropped his head and knelt.
“I was completely defeated. There was an overwhelming difference in skill. I underestimated someone like you… it’s completely humiliating.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect you to have such a level of technique either.”
A level of aura control achieved through tremendous effort had surprised even Leo.
“If your aura had been a bit stronger, I might have suffocated and fainted. I underestimated you as well, so we’re even.”
Leo smiled and extended his hand.
“It was an impressive technique.”
With a bewildered expression, Howl grabbed Leo’s hand and stood up.
Leo, who helped Howl up, patted him on the shoulder and left the arena.
‘Leo Plov… indeed, he isn’t standing next to Selia for nothing.’
Howl muttered as he exited the arena.
The Class 1 Knight department students stood in front of him.
“Howl! That was close!”
“Argh! It was the perfect opportunity for revenge for cleaning the bathroom!”
“What kind of monster is that? He doesn’t have any weaknesses in real combat either!”
The Class 1 students consoled Howl.
“Elegance! Howl, it was a magnificent match! If it weren’t for the elemental disadvantage, you could’ve easily defeated Leo Plov! So don’t be discouraged!”
“Professor Sedgen, please refrain from making biased comments, even if he’s your student.”
As he watched Professor Sedgen shouting loudly, Professor Ain pressed his temples and said, “Quite the display.”
Seeing the unexpected hospitality, Howl awkwardly scratched his head.
Then, he tensed up when he noticed Selia approaching him.
Selia smiled warmly at Howl.
“You did quite well. You looked impressive.”
“What? Oh! Uh! Um! Yeah!”
Howl answered awkwardly, his face turning red.
‘Howl is surprisingly innocent despite his looks.’
‘Selia seems rather oblivious when it comes to this sort of thing.’
‘But shouldn’t she realize by now?’
It was then that the first-year students showed a subtle smile.
“Leo, well done. When did you train your aura like that?”
As Selia approached Leo, Howl clenched his fist.
‘Leo Plov! You are my new goal!’
The tenacious boy resolved to catch up with Leo.
Watching Howl steel his resolve, the first-year students snickered and ate popcorn.
Leo, having won his first duel decisively, sat on one side and watched the remaining matches.
“5th class Iliana Raden, step forward.”
“Yah~ha! Who’s my opponent?”
“10th class Chen Shia, step forward.”
“Ah!”
Iliana, who had walked forward confidently, was startled when she found out she’d be fighting Chen Shia.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”
Chen Shia and Iliana exchanged greetings.
‘I’ve grown a lot too! I could even be the top of the class!’
Aura shimmered from Iliana’s body as she tightly gripped her rapier.
Swish-!
Chen Shia, a martial artist, had no weapons.
Instead, a blue aura flickered at her fingertips, and droplets began to form.
Her aura trait was water.
The droplets that formed on her fingertips wove together like silk, creating a wave-like pattern.
As Chen Shia’s hand moved gracefully, as if dancing, the wave elegantly solidified at her fingertips.
“Huff!”
Iliana took a deep breath and pointed her rapier at Chen Shia.
“Charge!”
Her body was propelled forward as if her aura exploded.
Watching the furious charge, Leo sighed.
“That fool.”
Boom-!
“Woah!”
Thud, thud, thud!
Iliana’s fierce charge not only was easily blocked by Chen Shia but was also reflected back at her.
Iliana tumbled miserably, her eyes rolling.
“Chen Shia, wins.”
It was a match where overwhelming power was clearly evident.
But nobody had high expectations for Iliana, a mage knight, as the match was highly unfavorable for her.
Chen Shia politely bowed and left the dueling field.
Iliana weakly raised her clenched fist and shouted, “I still put up a good fight against Chen Shia! I didn’t lose my spirit!”
“Could you keep it down? It’s embarrassing.”
“Yeah, just pretend you fainted. Please.”
When the students of the Class 5 Knight department spoke coldly, Iliana’s face fell.
“Class leader! They say I’m embarrassing!”
While watching Iliana complain, Leo spoke.
“Your hasty temperament is the problem. You know Chen Shia’s skill level.”
“I know! That’s why I charged so fiercely! My swordsmanship alone couldn’t break through, so I had to show some spirit!”
“It’s quite the boast.”
Watching Iliana assert herself proudly, Leo shook his head.
Iliana was also one of the top students in the grade, so it wasn’t an exaggeration.
‘Her opponent was just too good. This is a knight exam, so if she could use magic, it might be different. If she had been more cautious, she wouldn’t have lost so embarrassingly.’
While shaking his head, Leo’s eyes met with Chen Shia, who was sitting with the 10th class.
Waving with a smile, Chen Shia received a wave back from Leo.
‘I thought it before, but Chen Shia really has the best balance among first-year knight students.’
Selia and Duran had aura traits specialized for attack.
In contrast, Chen Shia’s aura trait, water, was well-balanced for both offense and defense.
Leo thought about Chen Shia’s skill level while watching the other students’ duels.
It was evident that even students who were at the lower end until the admission had improved noticeably.
Among them, there were cases where a student, who was far superior in skills to themselves, was defeated.
Amid the intermingling of highs and lows, those who ranked at the top in the entrance exam proved that they were in a different class.
Selia, who had swiftly overpowered her opponent, elegantly brushed her hair aside and approached Leo.
“How was it?”
“You’ve grown.”
“Of course.”
Selia narrowed her eyes.
“Leo, I’m going to take the position of grade representative in this exam.”
Confidently declaring, Leo smirked.
“Take it if you can.”
At those words, Selia chuckled and returned to Class 1.
Watching from the side, Iliana said,
“He’s popular.”
“Jealous?”
“No, like I told Nella, I’ll pass on that kind of popularity.”
***
Midterm exam season had arrived.
After the final written test in linguistics, the students of Class 5 crowded around Chelsea.
“Hey! Hey! Chelsea! Show us the answer sheet!”
“I want to see it first!”
“Karl, your grades are probably going to be low anyway, right? So look later!”
“That’s not true!”
The competition to be the first to glimpse Chelsea’s answer sheet, who had achieved the highest score in the written exam among Class 5, was more intense than expected.
Chelsea, observing her classmates surrounding her, playfully waved the test paper.
“Who should I show it to first?”
“Sister Chelsea! Show me first!”
“Big sister! Me first!”
“You look beautiful today, Sister!”
Class 5 was clinging to Chelsea, the youngest member of the class.
“Ho ho ho.”
Seeing her classmates, Chelsea covered her mouth and burst into laughter.
“It’s not like the scores are going to change just because you act this way now that the exam is over.”
Sitting by the window at the back of the class, Leo rested his chin on his hand and commented, prompting a relaxed smile from Nella.
“Nevertheless, people naturally want to know their test scores a bit sooner, don’t they?”
In response to those words, Leo nodded and stashed his writing tools in his bag.
“All that’s left for me is the joint practical exam in Heroics and Combat. But you still have Magic and Summoning left, right?”
Leo had passed the Knight Department duel exam with a 5-win streak.
Among the five duels, his most formidable opponent had been Howl, whom he faced on the first day.
Not only Leo but also Selia, Chen Shia, and Duran had all achieved a 5-win streak.
In Nella’s case, there was one loss.
“If you hadn’t run into that unfortunate Duran, you could have had a perfect record too, Nella!”
Chelsea, who had handed out the test papers to her classmates, embraced Nella and remarked.
Nella, who had been one of the top contenders for a flawless winning streak, had encountered Duran in the third duel and ended up with one loss.
“I’m content because I performed well against Duran.”
Gently patting Chelsea’s head, Nella smiled.
“By the way, Leo, how’s your preparation for the Summoning practical going?”
“It’s progressing well.”
“You hardly ever attend practice, do you?”
Tade, a Summoning major, inquired with a puzzled expression.
The Summoning practical exam was one of the major events of the first semester for the first-year students at Lumeren.
In response to Tade’s question, Leo grinned.
“I’m putting in the effort in places you can’t see.”
“Typical of you, Leo. So confident, aren’t you? So, what’s your goal?”
Chelsea asked with gleaming eyes, to which Leo responded as if it were a matter of fact.
“First place.”
Cliche Novel 