The Seirun student hastily retreated from the fiercely burning aura flames of Leo.
"Hmm."
Leo looked down at his hand and smirked.
"I thought you were going to be really impressive. I'm a bit disappointed."
"Don't laugh! I'm from Seirun's Advanced Class 1!"
"So what?"
"Ugh!"
Being in Seirun's Advanced Class 1 means being treated as an elite in the elf society, a position that everyone admires and respects. However, he had come to the wrong place entirely. If it were another student, they might have known about Seirun's system and found it impressive, but to Leo, it meant nothing. Even among the first-year knight students at Lumern, there were three students, excluding Leo, who were stronger than the Seirun student in front of him.
'Well, those three are exceptions. Still, for someone who's boasting about being from Seirun, this is a bit disappointing.'
His disappointment was even greater because the Seirun student had just given him a look that seemed to belittle Lumern.
At that moment, the Seirun student chanted in Runic.
'Star magic? Was he a Mage Swordsman?'
Leo's eyes sparkled.
If he was a Mage Swordsman, that would be a different story. Moreover, he had never seen an elf use star magic in this era, so he felt a sense of anticipation.
'An illusion.'
Leo could have easily blocked the runes, but he let the magic complete so he could understand it.
After completing four illusions, the Seirun student said,
"This is the real deal."
"..."
A hint of disappointment crept into Leo's eyes.
'Is this what star magic is in this era?'
Illusion was one of the best illusion spells, a spell that created a realistic illusion that made it impossible to discern what was real. It was a spell that Luna often used. However, the illusion in front of him was different from what Leo knew.
'While it's more realistic than any other illusion spell... it's still crude. They must have simplified the spell formula to make it easier to use.'
He thought that magic had developed over a long period of time. However, from Leo's perspective, Luna's magic had regressed.
If his friend had seen this, how disappointed would they have been?
'They would have cursed like crazy.'
Thinking of Luna's eccentric personality, Leo shook his head.
"You've probably never even seen a spell like this before, human."
The Seirun student, thinking that Leo was stunned by his spell, said in a superior tone.
"I can use illusion spells too, you know?"
"Hmph. Human magic is crude compared to our elves' star magic, but... let's see how it goes."
With that, Leo smirked and chanted in Runic.
The Seirun student's face contorted when he heard Leo's incantation.
"Are you mocking me! A human can't use star magic..."
The Seirun student's face hardened in anger.
The spell was completed.
It was the same Illusion spell as his own. However, when he saw eight illusions of Leo, his eyes widened in shock.
"What, is this the extent of your magic?"
"It's impossible!"
"There are plenty of human mages who can use star magic. You should probably work on your narrow-minded thinking."
Leo said indifferently.
[Ha ha ha! Look at that dumbfounded face! He looks so stupid!]
Kieran, perched on Leo's shoulder, clapped his hands and laughed.
'This guy really doesn't resemble his father at all.'
Silord was not the type to enjoy others' misfortune.
"Grgh! That's just a fake, made to look like star magic!"
The Seirun student shouted and charged at Leo.
'This guy doesn't know when to admit defeat.'
Shaking his head, Leo adjusted his grip on his sword.
Suddenly, a torrent of aura blades erupted from the Seirun student's sword.
Leo's eyes twitched when he saw it.
'All four are real?'
It was an advanced technique that combined illusion and swordsmanship.
'Strange. His basics are poor, yet he can use such a powerful advanced spell freely.'
Leo clenched his fist.
He couldn't use that technique himself.
To be precise, the spell the Seirun student used was star magic, but it was different from the star magic Leo knew.
'Luna was a pure mage.'
Combining sword and magic was not something Luna would have thought of.
Therefore, the technique Leo saw was something that was star magic but not quite star magic.
It was a new realm that the elves of later generations had reached by endlessly chasing after Luna.
'I need to revise my earlier assessment. It hasn't regressed.'
Some mages dislike altering the spells they invent.
They consider their magic a kind of art.
But Luna was different.
'She was more of a mage than anyone else.'
A mage who found joy in exploring possibilities and experimenting to bring them to life.
That was the elf named Luna.
'She would have been delighted to see this.'
Even though it was different from the star magic Luna herself used, she would have smiled brightly, calling it a new advancement.
Whoosh!
Four brilliant aura blades filled the air.
The illusions Leo created were scattered uselessly.
Illusion is a spell that creates realistic illusions.
It was a spell Luna often used, but no matter how realistic, it was still an illusion.
'The illusions this guy created are illusions, but the aura blades are real.'
Leo scrutinized the spell structure.
"Ha! How about it! The power of real star magic, unlike the fake star magic you use!"
'Fake? My magic is the very magic Luna created.'
It was the origin and the beginning of star magic, the original itself.
But the fact that a distant descendant was calling it fake made him chuckle.
"What's so funny that you're mocking me!"
The Seirun student, thinking that Leo was mocking him, flared up.
The illusions scattered around him fiercely surrounded Leo.
It was as if four mirrors were swinging swords at him.
Of course, the aura blades were real.
Whoosh!
Flame aura gathered in his fist.
'Well, that's all there is to it.'
Leo's red eyes glinted dangerously.
Whoosh! Bang!
Leo slammed his fist into the ground.
The flames that erupted in all directions swept through the area.
"Ugh!"
The illusions quickly dissipated, revealing the real body.
Leo said coldly,
"A weak technique is nothing more than a trick."
"Don't laugh!"
Angered by Leo's words, the Seirun student created more illusions.
This time, there were eight.
Eight auras manifested.
'He's poured all his mana and aura into this.'
Leo smirked, recognizing that his opponent was making a final move.
'Sweeping this away will be easy, though.'
Leo's red eyes moved quickly.
'Should I try this technique?'
Whoosh!
Leo quickly cast a spell, raising his mana.
Meanwhile, the eight illusions surrounded him, moving in unison like reflections in a mirror, pressuring him.
At that moment,
Whoosh!
Leo used Illusion.
This time, there were two.
"Tch! Do you think you can confuse me with illusions while surrounded?"
Leo raised aura in his fist in response to the other's sneer.
Whoosh!
Aura gathered in the fist of Leo's clone.
The Seirun student's face hardened when he saw it.
'This guy... no way!'
Leo's illusions, like his own, used real aura.
'No! His illusions are only two! It doesn't change anything...'
Suddenly, Leo and his illusions moved.
The Seirun student's eyes widened in shock as he saw Leo's illusions move differently, like two separate people, not reflections in a mirror.
'Impossible! To handle Aura Illusion at this level, you need to be at least in the second-year advanced class!'
After quickly dispelling seven illusions, Leo raised his fist and said,
"Not bad, this technique?"
Seeing two Leos charging at him, the Seirun student's face turned pale.
"Wait...!"
Whoosh! Bang!
Two flames struck the Seirun student, making his eyes bulge.
"Wh-Where did you learn... the spell structure of Seirun's magic...?"
Leo said calmly, looking at the student's disbelieving face.
"Just now."
Understanding the spell structure and modifying it to use himself
It was a very complex process, but not difficult for Leo.
He even applied it.
'This technique consumes a lot of aura and mana, so I can't maintain it for long, but it's excellent.'
Smirking, Leo turned his gaze to the bushes.
A moment later, someone emerged from the bushes.
It was a red-haired girl in a Seirun girl's uniform.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Lunia El Lundar. I'm a first-year at Seirun."
"Are you going to attack me like him?"
In response to Leo's question, Lunia looked at her fallen classmate and the student from another school, then sighed deeply.
"We came here for a mission practice, but a disturbance occurred in the sanctuary, and this friend must have misunderstood. Of course, his behavior was extremely rude even before the misunderstanding. I was listening to the teacher and passing on the story to my friends when..."
Lunia trailed off.
Lunia bowed her head, guessing what had happened.
"I'll apologize on behalf of this friend."
"Fine, an apology is enough."
Leo smirked.
Lunia smiled bitterly at Leo.
"I hope you don't think all Seirun students are like this friend."
"I don't. Anyway, since the misunderstanding is cleared up