Chapter 12 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Hero's Mettle
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Leo lowered his polearm and approached Talatunia.
'That kid's a swordsman. Can he really handle a weapon like that?'
Chelsea, who was preparing to support Leo with magic from a distance, wore a worried expression.
Even to her, Leo's swordsmanship was incredible.
But it was a different story with a different weapon.
'It would be better to borrow someone else's sword…'
While Chelsea worried.
*Whoosh- Whoosh- Whoosh-*
As he walked toward Talatunia, Leo twirled the polearm, rolling it between his fingers.
It felt considerably heavy.
A weapon difficult to wield for someone his age without the help of aura.
But for Leo, who had trained beyond his physical limits since childhood, it was no great obstacle.
In fact, this very weight became a weapon in his hands.
*Whoosh-! Whoosh-! Whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh-!*
The lightly spinning polearm began to rotate at a terrifying speed.
Talatunia lunged, its maw wide open.
*Fwip-!*
Leo, having built up centrifugal force, let the polearm slide through his hand until he gripped the very end of the shaft.
Then, with one hand, he swung it in a wide arc.
*Crack-! Splat!*
*Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!*
The axe head of the polearm, swung at full force, embedded itself in Talatunia's head.
The combination of the polearm's weight and the rotational force unleashed a devastating physical blow that instantly shattered Talatunia's head.
While everyone watched in astonishment.
Leo retrieved the polearm and immediately jumped.
He then brought the axe down on its back as if striking with both hands.
*Crunch-!*
*Kieeeeek!*
A scream tore through the air.
Talatunia jabbed at its own back with its long forelegs.
*Fwoosh-!*
Leaping away to swiftly dodge the attack, Leo landed with light steps.
'This won't last long.'
He quickly checked the weapon's condition.
He had succeeded in landing a significant blow, but the weapon was damaged after a single attack.
Aura not only enhanced a weapon's offensive power but also preserved its durability.
"Chelsea!"
"Uh, yes?"
"Use your wind magic to send the other examinees' weapons to me!"
Leo shouted while dodging Talatunia's attacks.
"I can't control it that precisely while you're moving so fast! You could get hurt!"
"I'll catch them myself, just send them quickly!"
"Wh-which weapons?"
"Any weapon will do! Hurry!"
At Leo's urging, Chelsea took the examinees' weapons and sent them flying on the wind.
*Swoooosh-!*
A sharp curved sword and a heavy bastard sword flew toward Leo.
"Use whichever one you're more comfortable with!"
*Crack-! Snap!*
The axe blade of the polearm, having struck Talatunia's head, broke off.
Leo tossed the shaft aside and stepped back, extending his hand.
'Judging by the sound, a curved sword and a bastard sword?'
He accurately identified the types of weapons by the sound of them cutting through the air.
*Kiaaaaaaak!*
Talatunia tried to impale Leo with both its forelegs.
Leo jumped into the air, spinning to evade the attack.
*Thwack! Thwack!*
Simultaneously, he caught both weapons perfectly.
A curved sword in his left hand, a bastard sword in his right.
Leo used the flat of the bastard sword to block Talatunia's foreleg as it aimed for his body.
*Clang-!*
A tremendous shock vibrated through his body.
"Kuh!"
Leo gritted his teeth against a groan as he was thrown back, swinging his left hand.
*Slice-!*
*Kieaa!*
In that brief moment, Leo had sliced off one of Talatunia's forelegs. He was sent flying but managed to right himself.
Without hesitation, he charged back in.
Talatunia's defense wasn't particularly high.
Even a weapon without aura could cut it, provided enough force was used.
The reason the other examinees' attacks had been ineffective was simple.
Its regeneration was faster than the rate at which they could inflict wounds.
'Was the Ring of Life always this troublesome?'
Leo let out a dry laugh and moved with quick steps.
He squeezed every ounce of strength from his body, pushing himself to the limit.
After continuously surpassing his limits for so long, his entire body responded to his will.
Even without using aura, Leo's movements were simply godlike.
The other examinees watched, their mouths agape.
A polearm.
A curved sword and a bastard sword.
A claymore.
A dagger.
A longsword.
A spear.
A battle axe.
Each time a weapon broke, Leo used another examinee's weapon in succession.
And he wielded each one with demonic skill.
The sight was nothing short of electrifying.
Regardless of the weapon type, his movements were close to divine.
As if he could wield every weapon in the world.
He confronted Talatunia without a shred of hesitation.
He was reminiscent of a god of war.
'He's our age, at best. How is it possible to fight like that with so many different weapons?'
'Just what is that guy's identity?'
The eyes of the examinees aiming to be knights widened in disbelief.
Chelsea, who was supporting Leo, also wore a look of incredulity.
At first, she had planned to help him with magic.
But Leo moved too quickly.
The chaotic melee continued, making it impossible to cast spells carelessly.
So she had watched with a knot in her stomach.
But her worries were for naught, as Leo faced the terrifying monster all by himself.
The Great Hero.
The prowess of the man who had fought on the front lines alongside the [Brave Hero] Ar-on, leading impossible battles to victory time and again, was more than enough to captivate the eyes of the crowd.
Despite being in a battle where the smallest mistake meant death, Leo was relentless.
In fact, his mind grew calm.
'I was worried after fifteen years, but it seems this feeling hasn't faded.'
He was out of breath.
And yet, a smile crept onto his face.
He relentlessly pushed Talatunia back.
In the process, an attack grazed him, tearing his flesh.
Still, he didn't stop.
'Forward! Always forward!'
A trial? In the past, wasn't every single moment a trial?
'If I can't even stop a bug like this, those guys will laugh at me from the afterlife!'
This barely even counted as a trial!
*Crack-*
"Tch!"
He heard the longsword in his hand begin to fracture.
The weapon had already reached its limit.
In the short span of five minutes, dozens of weapons had been broken.
Just as Leo was about to ask Chelsea for the next weapon.
"Leo! I'm ready!"
At Celia's shout in his ear, Leo grinned.
"Hup!"
He leaped with all his might, distancing himself from Talatunia.
*Fwoosh-! Whoooooooosh-!*
As if trading places with him.
Celia, holding a Flame Storm imbued with an insane amount of heat, leaped forward.
A powerful wind was suppressing the heat.
"That's enough! Die! You wretched bug!"
*Kwaaaaaaaaaaa!*
As she swung her sword, the storm containing a fiery explosion was unleashed.
The powerful gale tore Talatunia's body to shreds.
The suffocating inferno mercilessly burned its body.
Talatunia thrashed about.
The power of the Ring of Life granted the spider infinite vitality.
But soon, the force of destruction overwhelmed the power of recovery.
*Fwoosh-!*
The flames died down, and Talatunia vanished, leaving only a pile of ash.
*Clink-!*
A golden ring fell to the ground.
[Albi's World: Prologue - The Monster Forest has been cleared.]
A message appeared before their eyes.
Celia collapsed to the ground.
"It's… it's over."
Tilting her head back, Celia let out a deep sigh and looked at Leo.
Covered in wounds, Leo stood panting.
'He really held off that monster for five minutes.'
It was astonishing.
And despite having fought the hardest, he was still standing tall.
Struggling to her feet, Celia smiled and walked toward Leo.
"Leo! You did great…"
"Amazing! That was truly amazing! You were like a hero from the epic tales!"
Chelsea ran up to Leo, jumping up and down with her hands raised.
"You think so?"
"Yes! I'm aiming to be a battle mage, so I need to practice close-quarters combat. If you get into Lumerne, would you teach me?"
Having witnessed Leo's battle, Chelsea's earlier resentment from the test had vanished, and she chattered on in excitement.
Celia approached them and said.
"I have no skills to teach a Llewellyn girl. Shoo, shoo."
"Why is a Jerdinger meddling?"
Celia and Chelsea began to bicker.
Ignoring them, Leo moved his body.
His entire being screamed in protest, but he ignored it and picked up the ring Talatunia had dropped.
As he did, a small golden light burst from the ring.
With it, a fairy appeared.
Leo's eyes wavered.
A familiar fairy.
It was Silroad, the heir to the Fairy King.
He silently looked up at Leo.
"Hey… Silroad. Do you remember me?"
Leo asked, his voice trembling slightly.
It was their first meeting since Luna's death.
But Silroad simply smiled once without a word and vanished.
"..."
Leo gave a bitter smile.
This was the World of Heroes.
The Silroad that had just appeared was an imitation.
'It seems he safely became the Fairy King.'
Albi must have received his Mystic Eyes from Silroad as a reward for defeating Talatunia and recovering the Fairy King's treasure.
Leo looked around.
Cracks had already begun to form in the world.
The cleared World of Heroes was disappearing.
'Anyway, it's over.'
Leo took a deep breath.
Presently, the world collapsed in a flash of bright light.
In that fleeting moment.
[Clear Reward: Pledge of the Fairy King]
"What?"
A reward that should have been impossible to receive was given.
***
The center of the continent.
The world's central metropolis, Lumeria City.
A historic city that had stood alongside Lumerne for 3000 years.
At the very top of the city, an old man stroked his chin.
"Hoh. It seems the exam in the western region is over."
"As expected of Lord Albi. It seems he's finished already."
"That fellow is always quick with his work."
The old man chuckled heartily.
Though he was well over a hundred years old, there was no one in this world who could disregard him.
The Sword Saint, Kalian Veydean.
A hero among heroes who had reached the pinnacle with the sword.
"Let's see now. Hoh? He passed quite a few!"
"Is that so? That's unlike Lord Albi! How many?"
"Forty."
"..."
Kalian said nonchalantly.
At his words, the woman's eye twitched.
"Is that… a lot?"
"Of course, it is. I expected about ten."
Elena clutched her head.
Forty students accepted from the western region.
Other regions were admitting a hundred, but the west only had forty.
It was as clear as day that protests would soon flood in from all sorts of families in the western region.
"Don't worry so much. It's better than ten, isn't it?"
"True. It is better than ten. Hahaha."
Elena, the secretary to Lumerne's headmaster, forced a laugh through gritted teeth.
"Who took the top spot, Celia or Abad?"
"They're co-valedictorians."
"Co-valedictorians?"
"Yes. Celia and Abad are co-valedictorians. He said it was impossible to determine who was superior."
"I see."
Elena's eyes sparkled.
"And one more thing."
"There's more?"
"There's a recommendation for the freshman representative."
"From Lord Albi?"
For the notoriously critical Albi to recommend a freshman representative was nothing short of astonishing to Elena.
"Is it Celia Jerdinger or Abad Llewellyn?"
Usually, the freshman representative was chosen from the top-scoring students.
Kalian answered Elena, who had asked with intrigue.
"He says it's a Leo Flove."
"Someone other than Celia and Abad?"
Seeing Elena's perplexed expression, Kalian smiled faintly and looked down at the report.
Name: Leo Flove (15)
Major: Knight Studies.
Reason: The makings of a hero.
'For Albi of all people to single him out and call him hero material. I wonder what kind of student he is.'
Kalian stroked his beard and chuckled.
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