Alert!: this chapter has been translated by Mangademon / demonicscans.org, this is a premium translation, not mtl
Leo lowered the polearm and approached Talatunia.
'That guy's a swordsman, but can he handle a weapon like that?'
Chelsea, who was readying her magic to support Leo from afar, looked worried.
Even Chelsea acknowledged that Leo’s swordsmanship was extraordinary.
But changing weapons was a different matter.
'It might be better for him to borrow someone else’s sword...'
While Chelsea fretted,
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Leo twirled the polearm with his fingers as he approached Talatunia.
The weapon felt heavy.
For someone Leo’s age, it was a weapon that would be difficult to handle without the aid of Aura.
However, Leo, who had trained beyond his physical limits from a young age, found it manageable.
No, the weight of the weapon actually became an advantage for him.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The polearm, which started spinning lightly, began rotating at a terrifying speed.
Talatunia lunged with her jaws wide open.
Whip!
Leo, who had been building centrifugal force, slid the polearm in his grip and caught it by the handle’s end.
With one hand, he swung it wide.
Thwack! Squelch!
Screeeeeech!
The axe head of the polearm embedded itself in Talatunia’s head with a full swing.
The weight of the polearm, combined with the rotational force, unleashed destructive power that shattered Talatunia’s head in an instant.
As everyone stared in shock,
Leo retrieved the polearm and leapt.
With both hands, he slammed the axe into Talatunia’s back.
Crunch!
Screeeeech!
A piercing scream echoed.
Talatunia used her long front legs to strike at her back.
Whoosh!
Leo quickly leapt away to avoid the attack, lightly stepping back into position.
'I can’t use this for long.'
He quickly checked the weapon’s condition.
Although he had landed a solid hit, the weapon was already damaged from just one strike.
Aura not only enhanced a weapon’s power but also preserved its durability.
"Chelsea!"
"Huh? Yes?"
"Use wind magic to send me other examinees’ weapons!"
Leo shouted as he dodged Talatunia’s attacks.
"I can’t precisely control the magic in such fast-moving situations! You might get hurt!"
"I’ll catch them myself, just send them!"
"W-What kind of weapon?"
"Anything will do! Just hurry!"
Pressed by Leo, Chelsea grabbed weapons from other examinees and sent them with wind magic.
Whoosh!
A sharp scimitar and a hefty bastard sword flew toward Leo.
"Use whichever one you’re comfortable with!"
Thud! Crack!
The axe blade of the polearm that had struck Talatunia’s head broke.
Leo threw the handle backward, stepped away, and reached out.
'Judging by the sound, a scimitar and a bastard sword?'
He accurately identified the types of weapons by the sound they made as they flew.
Screeeeech!
Talatunia thrust her front legs at Leo.
Jumping into the air, Leo spun to dodge the attack.
Tap! Tap!
At the same time, he caught both weapons precisely.
In his left hand was the scimitar, and in his right, the bastard sword.
Leo used the blade of the bastard sword to block Talatunia’s incoming leg.
Clang!
The impact reverberated through his body.
"Guh!"
Stifling a groan, Leo was flung backward but swung his left hand.
Slash!
Screeeeech!
In that brief moment, Leo severed one of Talatunia’s front legs before being pushed back and steadying his stance.
Without hesitation, he charged again.
Talatunia’s physical defense wasn’t particularly high.
Even without Aura, a weapon with enough force could cut through her.
However, the reason other examinees’ attacks failed was simple.
Her regeneration was faster than the speed at which wounds could be inflicted.
'Was the Ring of Life always such a troublesome item?'
Leo smirked dryly and quickly stepped forward.
Pushing his body to its limits, he poured all his strength into his movements.
Having surpassed his limits countless times, Leo’s body responded seamlessly to his will.
Though he wasn’t using Aura, Leo’s movements were almost otherworldly.
The other examinees stared, mouths agape.
Polearm.
Scimitar and bastard sword.
Claymore.
Daggers.
Longswords.
Spears.
Battle axes.
Every time a weapon broke, Leo switched to another examinee’s weapon.
And he wielded each one with mastery.
His movements were awe-inspiring.
No matter the weapon, he handled it with near-divine skill.
Without hesitation, he faced Talatunia head-on.
It was as if he could master every weapon in existence.
To the onlookers, he resembled a god of war.
'He’s our age, yet he can fight like that with such a variety of weapons?'
'Who is that guy?!'
The aspiring knights among the examinees were wide-eyed.
Even Chelsea, supporting Leo, looked incredulous.
At first, she had planned to use magic to help him.
But Leo moved too quickly.
The chaotic battle made it impossible to use magic recklessly.
So she could only watch anxiously.
Yet, despite her worries, Leo fought the fearsome monster alone.
The heroism.
The strength of the man who had led impossible battles to victory alongside Aron, the Hero, was more than enough to captivate everyone watching.
Even in a battle where a single mistake meant death, Leo was unflinching.
In fact, he seemed at ease.
'It’s been fifteen years. I was worried, but this instinct hasn’t faded.'
His breath caught in his throat.
Even so, he couldn’t help but smile.
He relentlessly pressured Talatunia.
Along the way, attacks grazed him, tearing his flesh.
But he didn’t stop.
'Forward! Forward!'
A trial? Every moment in the past had been a trial!
'If I can’t stop a bug like this, they’ll laugh at me in the afterlife!'
This wasn’t even worth being called a trial!
Crack—
"Tch!"
The sound of the longsword cracking reached his ears.
The weapons had already reached their limit.
In just five minutes, dozens of weapons had broken.
As Leo was about to ask Chelsea for another weapon—
"Leo! We're ready!"
Celia’s shout reached his ears, and Leo smiled.
"Hah!"
He leapt away from Talatunia with all his strength.
Flash! Whoooooosh—!
In a seamless transition,
Celia leapt forward, holding her Flame Storm imbued with intense heat.
The overwhelming heat was being restrained by a powerful wind.
"That's enough! Die, you wretched bug!"
Bang!
As she swung her sword, a storm carrying blistering flames was unleashed.
The powerful storm tore Talatunia’s body apart.
The suffocating flames mercilessly burned her flesh.
Talatunia writhed in agony.
The Ring of Life granted her infinite vitality.
But soon, the power of destruction surpassed the power of regeneration.
Whoosh—!
The flames subsided, and Talatunia turned to ashes and disappeared.
Thud—!
A golden ring fell to the ground.
[Albi's World: Prologue—The Forest of Demonic Beasts has been conquered.]
A message appeared before their eyes.
Celia collapsed to the ground.
"It’s... over."
Tilting her head back, she let out a deep sigh and looked at Leo.
Covered in wounds, Leo was standing, panting heavily.
'He really held off that monster for five minutes.'
It was astounding.
Even after enduring the most hardship, he stood proudly.
Celia, struggling to her feet, smiled as she approached Leo.
"Leo! You did grea—"
"Amazing! That was incredible! You looked just like a hero from the legends!"
Chelsea ran up to Leo, raising both hands and jumping up and down.
"Did I?"
"Yeah! I’m aspiring to be a battle mage, so I need to practice close combat. If we both get into Lumerne, could you teach me?"
Having witnessed Leo’s fight, Chelsea’s earlier animosity from the test had completely dissipated, and she couldn’t stop talking in excitement.
Celia, who had walked over, interjected.
"A Zerdinger has no techniques to teach a Lewallin woman. Shoo—shoo."
"Why are you interfering, Zerdinger?"
Celia and Chelsea began a small argument.
Ignoring them, Leo moved.
His whole body screamed in pain, but he pushed through 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.
It was Sylrod, the heir of the Fairy King.
Sylrod silently looked up at Leo.
"Hey... Sylrod. Do you remember me?"
Leo asked in a slightly trembling voice.
It was the first time he’d seen Sylrod since Luna’s death.
But Sylrod didn’t answer. He simply smiled once before vanishing.
"......"
Leo smiled bitterly.
This was the Hero’s World.
The Sylrod that appeared here was fake.
'So, he safely became the Fairy King.'
Albi must have received the Evil Eye as a reward from Sylrod after defeating Talatunia and recovering the Fairy King’s treasure.
Leo looked around.
The world was beginning to crack.
The conquered Hero's World was disappearing.
'Either way, it’s over.'
Leo took a deep breath.
Soon, the world collapsed in a bright light.
At that moment—
[Conquest Reward: The Fairy King’s Vow]
"What?"
A reward that should never have been given appeared.
***
The center of the continent.
The central city of the world—Lumeria City.
A historic city that had stood with Lumerne for 3,000 years.
At the city’s peak, an old man stroked his chin.
"Hoho. It seems the Western Region exam is over."
"As expected of Albi. It’s already finished."
"That friend is efficient, as always."
The old man chuckled.
Though well over 100 years old, there was no one in this world who could disregard him.
He was the Sword Saint, Kalian Baydan.
A hero among heroes, who had reached the pinnacle with the sword.
"Let’s see. Hoho? Quite a few passed!"
"Really? That’s unlike Albi. How many?"
"Forty."
"......"
Kalian said it casually.
At his words, the woman’s eyes twitched.
"That... is considered many?"
"Of course. It’s a lot. I expected about ten."
Elena clutched her head.
Forty entrants from the Western Region.
While other regions admitted one hundred, only forty were admitted from the West.
It was clear that protests would flood in from every family in the Western Region.
"Don’t be too upset. Isn’t forty better than ten?"
"Well, that’s true. It’s better than ten. Haha."
Elena, the principal’s secretary at Lumerne, forced a laugh through gritted teeth.
"Who’s the top scorer? Celia or Avad? Which of the two?"
"It’s a tie."
"A tie?"
"Yes. Celia Zerdinger and Avad Lewallin are tied. It was too close to call."
"I see."
Elena’s eyes sparkled.
"And one more thing."
"There’s more?"
"There’s a nominee for the student representative."
"Albi nominated someone?"
Elena was astonished that Albi, known for his harsh evaluations, had nominated a student representative.
"Is it Celia Zerdinger or Avad Lewallin?"
Usually, the representative nominee was chosen from among the top scorers.
Curious, Elena asked, and Kalian replied.
"It’s Leo Plov."
"Not Celia or Avad, but someone else?"
Looking at Elena’s bewildered expression, Kalian smiled and glanced at the report.
Name: Leo Plov (15)
Department: Knight Department.
Reason: A born hero.
'For Albi to personally label him a hero. I’m curious about this student.'
Kalian stroked his beard and chuckled.
End Of Chapter
