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Chapter 12




【12】11
Leo extended the polearm and approached Talatunia.
'Can that guy, who is a knight, handle such a weapon?'
Chelsea, who was preparing to support Leo with magic from a distance, wore a worried expression.
Even to Chelsea, Leo's sword skills were impressive.
But the story would be different with a different weapon.
'He might as well borrow someone else’s sword...'
While Chelsea was worried.
Whoosh- Whoosh- Whoosh-
As Leo approached Talatunia, he curled his fingers and made the polearm spin.
It felt quite heavy.
For someone Leo's age, it would be difficult to handle without the help of aura.
But for Leo, who had trained beyond the limits of his body since he was young, it was no obstacle.
In fact, the weight became an advantage for Leo.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-! Whoosh-Whoosh-Whoosh-Whoosh-!
The polearm, which had been spinning lightly, began to rotate at a terrifying speed.
Talatunia opened its mouth wide and charged.
Snap-!
Gathering centrifugal force, Leo let the polearm slip from his hand and grabbed the end of the handle.
Then he swung it with one hand.
Thud-! Clang!
Kiaaaaaaaah!
The axe of the polearm, swung with full force, embedded itself in Talatunia's head.
The weight of the polearm and the power gained from the rotational motion turned into a destructive physical force, instantly shattering Talatunia's head.
Amid the shock of everyone.
Leo, having retrieved the polearm, immediately jumped.
And he plunged the axe into Talatunia's back with both hands.
Crack-!
Kiaaaah!
A piercing scream.
Talatunia stabbed its long front legs into its own back.
Whoosh-!
Leaping quickly to avoid the attack, Leo took a light step.
‘I can’t use this for long.’
He quickly checked the condition of the weapon.
He had successfully landed a critical hit, but the weapon was damaged by a single attack.
Aura not only enhances the attack power of a weapon but also preserves its durability.
“Chelsea!”
“Y-Yes?”
“Use wind magic to send the other examinees' weapons to me!”
While avoiding Talatunia's attack, Leo shouted.
“In such a fast-moving situation, precise control is impossible! You might get hurt!”
“I’ll catch it, so send it quickly!”
“What kind of weapon?”
“Any weapon will do! Hurry!”
At Leo’s urging, Chelsea used wind magic to send the examinees' weapons.
Whirr-!
A sharp scimitar and a heavy bastard sword flew toward Leo.
“Use whichever one you like!”
Thud-! Clang!
The axe blade of the polearm, which had struck Talatunia’s head, broke.
Leo threw the handle part behind him, stepped back, and extended his hand.
‘If I hear it, it’s either a scimitar or a bastard sword, right?’
He accurately determined the type of weapon by the sound it made as it flew.
Kiaaaah!
Talatunia tried to stab Leo with its front legs.
Leo jumped and spun in the air to avoid the attack.
Thud! Thud!
At the same time, he caught both weapons.
In his left hand, the scimitar; in his right, the bastard sword.
Leo blocked Talatunia’s front leg, which was aiming for his body, with the blade of the bastard sword.
Clang!
A tremendous impact shook his body.
“Gah!”
Suppressing a groan, Leo was pushed back and swung his left hand.
Swish-!
Kiaaaah!
In that brief moment, Leo cut off one of Talatunia’s front legs and regained his stance.
Without hesitation, he charged forward.
Talatunia’s defense was not particularly strong.
Even a weapon without aura could cut it if enough force was applied.
However, the reason other examinees’ attacks were ineffective was simple.
The recovery speed was faster than the speed of inflicting damage.
‘Is the Ring of Life this troublesome?’
Leo chuckled bitterly and quickly moved his feet.
He pushed his body to its limits, squeezing out all his strength.
His body responded to his will, having surpassed its limits many times over the past years.
Even without using aura, Leo’s movements were a marvel.
The other examinees gaped in awe at the sight.
Polearm.
Scimitar and bastard sword.
Claymore.
Dagger.
Longsword.
Spear.
Battle axe.
Every time a weapon broke, Leo used the next one from the other examinees.
He handled each weapon with ghostly skill.
His movements were almost divine, regardless of the type of weapon.
It was as if he could handle every weapon in the world.
He faced Talatunia without a moment’s hesitation.
‘He’s just our age, yet he can fight like this with so many different weapons?’
‘What is that guy’s true identity? ’
The eyes of the examinees, who aimed to become knights, widened.
Even Chelsea, who had been supporting Leo, wore an expression of disbelief.
At first, she thought of using magic to help.
But Leo moved too quickly.
The chaotic battle continued, making it impossible to use magic recklessly.
She worried.
But Leo faced the terrifying monster alone, making her worries seem insignificant.
Great Hero.
The resilience of the man who, alongside the [Hero] Aron, had led impossible battles to victory on the front lines many times was enough to captivate people.
Even in a battle where a small mistake could mean death, Leo was relentless.
On the contrary, he felt at ease.
‘After fifteen years, I was worried, but this feeling hasn’t disappeared.’
His breath was short.
Yet he laughed.
He relentlessly pursued Talatunia without stopping.
Midway through, his flesh tore from a grazing attack.
But he didn’t stop.
‘Forward! Forward!’
A trial? Wasn’t every moment in the past a trial?
‘If I can’t even stop this bug, they’ll mock me in the afterlife!’
This is nothing compared to a trial!
Crack-
“Tch!”
The sound of a crack appeared in the longsword he was holding.
The weapon was already at its limit.
In just five minutes, dozens of weapons had broken.
Just as Leo was about to ask Chelsea for the next weapon.
“Leo! I’m ready!”
At Sylia’s shout in his ear, Leo smiled.
“Suck!”
He leaped with all his might, moving away from Talatunia.
Boom-! Roar-!
At the same time, Sylia, holding a Flame Storm filled with intense heat, leaped.
The heat was being suppressed by a powerful wind.
“Enough! Die! You bug!”
Kaaaaaaah!
Swinging her sword, a scorching storm was unleashed.
The powerful storm tore Talatunia’s body to shreds.
The suffocating heat mercilessly burned Talatunia’s body.
Talatunia writhed.
The Ring of Life granted the spider infinite life.
But soon, the power of destruction surpassed the power of recovery.
Sizzle-!
The flames died down, and Talatunia turned into a pile of ashes and disappeared.
Thud-!
A golden ring fell to the ground.
[Albi’s World: Prologue - The Monster Forest has been cleared.]
Text appeared before his eyes.
Sylia collapsed on the spot.
“It’s... over.”
Tilting her head back, Sylia sighed deeply and looked at Leo.
Leo, covered in wounds, was panting and standing.
‘He really held off that monster for five minutes.’
It was incredible.
Moreover, despite suffering the most, he stood tall.
Sylia, struggling to get up, approached Leo with a smile.
“Leo! Well done...”
“You were amazing! Really amazing! You were like a hero from a legend!”
Chelsea approached Leo, raised both hands, and jumped up and down.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m a battle mage aspirant, so I need to practice close combat. If you get into Lumere, will you teach me?”
Seeing Leo’s battle, the grudge Chelsea had during the exam was gone, and she was excitedly talking.
Sylia, approaching her, said,
“Lumere’s women don’t have techniques to teach. Huh- Huh-”
“Why is Zerdingger butting in?”
Sylia and Chelsea had a small argument.
Ignoring them, Leo moved his body.
His entire body screamed in pain, but he ignored it and picked up the ring Talatunia had dropped.
A small golden light burst from the ring.
With it, a fairy appeared.
Leo’s eyes wavered.
A familiar fairy.
Silord, the successor to the Fairy King.
He silently looked up at Leo.
“Hey... Silord. Do you remember me?”
Leo asked in a slightly trembling voice.
It was the first time they met since Luna’s death.
But Silord laughed once and disappeared without answering.
“...”
Leo smiled bitterly.
This was the world of heroes.
The Silord who appeared now was a fake.
‘He must have become the Fairy King safely.’
Albi must have obtained the Magic Eye from Silord in exchange for defeating Talatunia and returning the Fairy King’s treasure.
Leo looked around.
Cracks had already begun to appear in the world.
The conquered world of heroes was disappearing.
‘Well, it’s over.’
Leo took a deep breath.
Soon, the world collapsed in a bright light.
In that moment.
[Clear Reward: Oath of the Fairy King]
“What?”
A reward that shouldn’t have been given was given.
***
In the center of the continent.
Lumere City, the central city of the world.
A historical city that has been with Lumere for 3000 years.
At the top of the city, an old man stroked his chin.
“Hmm. It seems the exam in the western region is over.”
“Indeed, Duke Albi. It seems to be over already.”
“That guy is quick with his work.”
The old man laughed.
Though he was well over a hundred years old, no one in this world could ignore him.
Sword Star Kalian Vaidan.
A hero among heroes who had reached the pinnacle with his sword.
“Let’s see. Hmm? Quite a few!”
“Really? That’s unusual for Duke Albi! How many?”
“Forty.”
“...”
Kalian said calmly.
The woman’s eyes trembled.
“Is that... a lot?”
“Of course. It’s a lot. I expected about ten.”
Elena clutched her head.
Forty new students from the western region.
While a hundred students are admitted from other regions, only forty from the western region.
Protests from all the families in the western region would surely rain down.
“Don’t be too upset. It’s better than ten, isn’t it?”
“True. It is better than ten. Hahaha.”
Elena, the secretary of the Lumere principal, gritted her teeth and laughed.
“Who is the top student, Sylia or Abad?”
“Joint top.”
“Joint?”
“Yes. Sylia and Abad, joint top. They couldn’t be distinguished.”
“Indeed.”
Elena’s eyes sparkled.
“And one more thing.”
“Another one?”
“There’s a recommendation for the new student representative.”
“From Duke Albi?”
Albi, who was usually harsh in his evaluations, recommending a new student representative was surprising to Elena.
“Is it Sylia Zerdingger or Abad Rualin?”
Usually, the new student representative is chosen from the top students.
Kalian answered Elena, who asked with interest.
“His name is Leo Flaubert.”
“Not Sylia or Abad, but someone else?”
Seeing Elena’s bewildered expression, Kalian smiled and looked down at the report.
<New Student Representative Recommendation>
Name: Leo Flaubert (15)
Subject: Knighthood.
Reason: A hero in the making.
‘For Albi to specifically say he’s a hero in the making. I’m curious about what kind of student he is.’
Kalian stroked his beard and laughed.
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