He had searched for the lake where Lumineus was sleeping, but all four attempts had been in vain.
'Is the lakeside at the ruins the last one?'
Leo had already wasted several hours in the city area.
And while wandering around the city area, he had been caught in various curses multiple times.
Leo, who had been hit by a wide variety of curses, was still in perfect condition.
'After all, I know all these curses.'
Leo chuckled at another curse that had been activated around him.
Having experienced every curse to the point of exhaustion in his previous life, Leo knew all the methods to dispel them.
The current curse was one that disrupted the nervous system.
'This one doesn't even need to be dispelled.'
A curse where moving his left arm would make his right foot move, and moving his right arm would make his left leg move.
The nervous system curse was one of the most finicky curses, but Leo had grasped all the disrupted nerves and moved accordingly.
'Anyway, this kind of curse will dispel itself over time.'
Although his strength had weakened, his experience as a great hero had not disappeared.
Leo, who had calmly dealt with the curse, turned his head toward the ruins.
"Should we head over there now? The others must be having a great time fighting."
Most students had likely already left the city area and were engaged in the full-scale inter-departmental competition at the ruins.
"Hmm?"
He stopped and looked up at the sky.
His sharp senses had detected something.
'A wide-area curse?'
Leo furrowed his brow.
It was a new curse.
'If the range is the entire Negrang?'
It was an incredibly powerful and massive curse.
'The land itself is cursed.'
He felt something was off.
The land of Negrang had been cursed due to the influence of the Hero Dungeon long ago.
The curses that were troubling the students were already in place.
'But a new curse now? And this curse...'
Leo's face stiffened as he identified the curse.
'The Curse of Disconnection.'
It was a curse that Tartarus often used in large-scale battles.
The curse itself had no direct effect on people.
Its effect was isolation from the outside world.
In other words, it was a powerful barrier-type curse that isolated an entire area.
"Damn it!"
Leo, who was aware of a traitor within Lumern, immediately understood the situation.
'I need to join up with the others quickly!'
He summoned his aura and kicked off the ground.
Bang-!
Raising a tremendous cloud of dust, Leo began running toward the castle walls.
***
At that time.
The students in the castle also grasped the severity of the situation.
A student who had been eliminated during the inter-departmental competition did not teleport to Lumern but instead suffered severe injuries.
A massive number of monsters had gathered around the castle, and demons had started appearing inside.
"Wind Spear."
Kwaaah!
The wind spear brutally pierced the Minotaur.
The Minotaur screamed in pain and swung his battle axe wildly.
"Kyaah?"
A student from the Knight Department, who had been trying to stop the Minotaur, screamed.
Abad, seeing this, cast a spell.
"Wind Breaker."
Kwagagagagak! Bang!
Creak-!
The Minotaur, swept away by the blade of wind, was slammed into a building wall, let out a final scream, and died instantly.
Sssss!
"Th, thank you! Abad!"
The female student blushed as she thanked Abad.
Abad, who had raised his hand to the female student, looked seriously at the outside of the castle walls.
'This is a completely abnormal situation. We need to combine our forces to defend, not just for the inter-departmental competition.'
But it was impossible to hold the castle walls as they were.
Demons were appearing inside the castle walls as well.
'Even if the school is trying to resolve the situation, it's difficult to expect immediate help with no communication to the outside world.'
Abad's mind raced.
'With no idea how long we need to hold out, our forces are too scattered.'
Having thought this far, Abad turned his head.
The inner castle of the ruined palace came into view.
The inner castle, which could be considered the last stronghold, had only one entrance.
It had the advantage of concentrating forces, but the disadvantage was that the entrance was also the exit, making it impossible to escape.
'But in this situation, there's no place to run anyway.'
The moment they abandon the castle in this cursed land, it's over.
'Now is the time to concentrate our forces.'
"Everyone, let's head to the inner castle."
"What?"
"Our forces are scattered. We need to regroup in one place."
"But, Abad! Defending the inner castle is a last resort."
"That's true for a regular siege. But this isn't a regular situation."
Abad raised his staff and fired a signal spell toward the inner castle.
Piiing-! Bang-!
A bright light burst over the inner castle.
"With this, the quick-witted ones will head to the inner castle! Everyone, retreat as calmly as possible!"
Following Abad's words, the students began retreating to the inner castle.
Abad remained at the front, helping the students retreat and then fell back himself.
As Abad had thought, not only he but also the leader-level students guarding each gate had realized that this couldn't continue.
Taking Abad's signal as a cue, the remaining students quickly began heading to the inner castle.
Once all the students were inside, the students guarding the inner castle gate hurriedly barricaded it.
Creak-! Bang!
"Magicians! Reinforce the gate with magic!"
The gate was securely sealed with magic.
"Form an air defense! I saw a wyvern-like demon for the first time!"
"Knight Department students, defend the castle walls!"
Despite being teenagers, they all proved to be hero candidates by quickly combining their efforts to prepare for the defense.
Meanwhile, students gathered in front of the castle walls.
"What? Where's Leo?"
Celia asked, looking flustered, and Chen Xia replied.
"Master Leo went to the outskirts, not the center."
"Why did he go there?"
Abad looked puzzled, and Eliza clicked her tongue.
"He must have his own thoughts. I don't know what he's thinking, but he's good at escaping. He won't be eliminated."
The other students agreed with her.
"Still, I'm worried. To join us here, he has to break through that monster force."
Abad muttered, and Chelsea said.
"Don't worry, brother. Leo will make it here on his own."
"Right, let's put Leo aside for now and focus on understanding the situation. Let's share our information first."
Following Celia's words, the students shared what they knew.
After sharing the information, Jureddan wiped cold sweat and said.
"So, we're isolated in the heart of Negrang due to an abnormal situation? Plus, we're under attack from monsters and demons."
The surrounding students swallowed hard.
At that moment, a student from the Summoning Department raised his hand and said.
"It could be an abnormal situation, but it could also be a sudden event prepared by the school, right?"
"It would be nice if it were an event! But the condition of the injured students is serious! Normally, eliminated students should teleport to Lumern, but they're here!"
Karl, who had come to help the healers, shouted.
As a dedicated supporter aspirant, Karl had studied emergency treatment for the injured.
A female student from the Summoning Department said.
"Could it be a test of our ability to respond to sudden situations? Actually, this inter-departmental competition has been strange from the start! They made us do a battle royale and suddenly announced a final exam on the same day."
Some students nodded in agreement.
"Besides, there are a lot of guests from outside this time. The probability that this is an event they prepared is high."
"Indeed, if we perform well here, we'll make a good impression on the real power players from various countries."
A few students' eyes sparkled at this.
Karl, frustrated, shouted.
"You guys! Did you see the injured students?"
"I didn't see them."
"There are more than a few who might have died if it weren't for Nella! Even if Lumern suddenly causes trouble, they wouldn't go this far! Think about it seriously!"
"What do you mean?"
The female student from the Summoning Department frowned.
"It's not the time to fight! Whether it's a real situation or one intended by the school, it's serious! We need to treat it as a real situation and respond accordingly! Strategy first."
Hearing Celia's words, Chloe raised her hand.
"First, we should use the castle walls to our advantage for defense..."
"No. I think now is the time to attack."
Emio cut Chloe off.
"If we all work together, we can exterminate the monsters and demons gathered around the castle."
"Attacking recklessly is absolutely not an option."
Chloe shook her head, and Emio flared up.
"Why not? Staying here and only defending will take longer to resolve the situation. What do you think, everyone?"
A few students agreed with Emio.
Duran sneered at the sight.
"Without understanding the situation, abandoning the castle walls' advantage will surely earn us a good evaluation from the professors."
"Right. In this situation, defense is the better choice than attack."
Celia also agreed with Chloe, making Emio grit his teeth.
'Are you just favoring her because she's in the same class?'
Emio glared at Chloe.
'What's so great about her? A mage who only studies is useless on the battlefield!'
In the Magic Department, it was said that if Chloe had done her part, Emio wouldn't have placed third, a mocking statement.
So Emio didn't think highly of Chloe.
However, most students were in favor of defense.
"First, we need to divide into teams and assign roles."
Currently, there were 96 students capable of fighting, excluding the injured.
"I think we should divide into five teams to focus on the castle gates and walls. What do you think?"
Everyone agreed with Celia.
"Those who have received command training since childhood, raise your hands."
Four people, including Celia, raised their hands.
All four were from hero noble families and had received formal command training.
"One more. Anyone willing to lead a team."
"I'll do it."
"I'll do it."
Chloe and Emio raised their hands simultaneously.
"Put your hand down. Chloe."
"Chloe is better at it."
Celia said, and Emio snorted.
"Chloe is from the Magic Tower. She's been locked up there studying since childhood. I, from a military family, am more suited to command."
"Then you lead the team. Emio."
Chloe smiled and yielded.
She had raised her hand only because there were no other volunteers, so she stepped back willingly.
Emio looked smug, and Celia sighed.
Once the team leaders were decided, the teams were formed.
Once the defense preparations were complete, Celia sternly reminded everyone.
"Remember, our goal is to hold out. We absolutely must not leave the castle walls to attack the monsters!"