Chapter 318 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 318
Chapter Title: Woreden's Challenge
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"It's Woreden!"
"Woreden is here to save us!"
Cheers erupted from the Harmony Dormitory side.
Nella, who was facing off against Leo, glanced at the dormitory students and muttered softly.
"I don't think Woreden is exactly here to save us…"
As soon as she finished speaking, Woreden raised his hand.
Fwoosh-!
A massive sphere of fire materialized above Woreden's hand.
It was his specialty.
Spirit Arts utilizing magical formulas.
"Ooooh!"
"Woreden! Woreden!"
The Harmony students shouted Woreden's name at the top of their lungs.
Whoooosh!
"Woreden! Woreden… Wore…"
But their cheers soon died down as they realized something was wrong.
"…"
"…"
At some point, everyone fell silent, staring at Woreden.
Amidst the silence, a Knight Department student from Harmony spoke.
"Hey."
"…Yeah?"
"…Doesn't that look like it's getting way too big?"
"You think so too? That's what I was thinking…"
Watching Woreden's sphere of fire grow endlessly in power, every student except Leo began to break out in a cold sweat.
"Nah. It can't be."
"Right. There's no way he'd use a large-scale, wide-area attack with so many allies around. Hahahaha."
Just as the Knight and Magic Department students were forcing awkward smiles.
The Summoning Department students bolted without a moment's hesitation.
"What are you doing? Run!"
"That guy wouldn't think twice about using a wide-area attack without caring about us!"
The Summoning students, who had studied with him for a year, knew Woreden's personality all too well.
Their reaction sent the Knight and Magic students scrambling in terror.
Nella sighed as if she had expected this and prepared to move.
But she paused, looking at Leo, who hadn't budged an inch.
"You're not going to dodge?"
At her question, Leo grinned and pointed with his finger.
"Should we run that way?"
He was pointing to where the Harmony students were evacuating.
The horrified Harmony students shouted.
"Hey! Don't come over here! Stay away!"
"Go that way! Over there!"
"Hey! You're telling them to come toward us just to save yourselves!"
As the Harmony students pointed at the Noblesse students and yelled, the Noblesse students began to cry out in protest.
Leo chuckled at the sight and looked at Woreden.
"Don't mind me."
At Leo's words, Nella leaped toward the Harmony students.
At the same time, Woreden's massive flame engulfed Leo.
Seeing the immense, ferocious blaze, Leo readjusted his grip on his sword.
Vwoom-!
A gray aura swirled around him.
Condensing the aura into his blade, Leo's eyes flashed as he swung his sword.
Swish-!
A sinister sound of air being sliced rang out.
Fwhump-!
With it, Woreden's flames split in two.
Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom-!
A massive explosion followed, and a wave of fire poured down like a waterfall.
The surging tide of flames crashed onto the ground.
For a moment, Leo's eyes twitched.
'A fusion of fire and earth spirits?'
Contrary to his expectations, this wasn't Spirit Arts using a magic formula for an explosion.
Woreden had meticulously prepared an attack that would deal additional damage to Leo, whose specialty was the fire attribute.
Gurgle-! Pshhhh-!
The flames that seeped into the ground then erupted upward like a fountain.
The entire area instantly transformed into a sea of lava.
At Woreden's gesture, the fire and earth spirits moved.
Kra-ka-ka-ka-kak-!
The surrounding students, who were evacuating, screamed in horror at the sight of a lava wave as high as a tsunami.
"Aaaah! We're going to be swept away!"
"Run! Run!"
It was like a natural disaster.
Woreden was, quite literally, in perfect control of the nature around him.
Leo narrowed his eyes as the wave of lava rushed toward him.
"What a monster."
Splash-!
With those words, Leo was swallowed by the lava.
***
[Ah! Incredible! Woreden Tiden of Harmony Dormitory! Is this truly the level of Spirit Arts we can expect from a second-year student!]
Runba Tes, a fourth-year from the Summoning Department who always served as the commentator for official events, shouted with spittle flying from his mouth in an excited tone.
[Professor Sedjen, the head professor for the second years! What are your thoughts on student Woreden's Spirit Arts!]
[Elegant!]
[Ooh! A rare compliment from Professor Sedjen, one of Lumerne's most capable professors!]
"…He says 'elegant' all the time. What is that guy even talking about?"
As Reina muttered with her chin propped on her hand, a beautiful female student beside her answered, gently twirling her hair.
"Runba has always been good at embellishing things."
Elena was assisting Reina, the current headmaster, in her capacity as acting chairwoman.
Habiden, the acting mayor of Lumeria City and vice president of the student council, sat next to Reina, fast asleep with an eye patch on and his head tilted back.
The royalty seated in the same area as VIPs stared at the scene with bewildered expressions.
[Please, tell our audience about student Woreden's excellence!]
[Audience members! Student Woreden is one of the proud disciples that I! Sedjen! Have raised with my utmost effort!]
[…Um… I believe student Woreden was not under your guidance during his first year…]
[What does that matter! He is under my guidance now, so he is a disciple I have raised! Now! Student Woreden! Hurry up and punish that detestable Leo Flove… Mmph! Mmph!]
[Pro-Professor Sedjen! As a commentator, you must remain neutral…]
[Hurry up and take down Halind's lackey, Leo Flo—! *Click*—]
The broadcast cut out for a moment.
The audience members all wore expressions of disbelief.
[We apologize for the brief broadcasting issue.]
Halind's cold voice echoed.
By then, Professor Sedjen was being dragged away by other professors.
The audience currently included royalty and influential nobles from various nations as honored guests.
And a major incident like this had just occurred.
Anywhere else, it would have caused an uproar, and indeed, the first-years were watching with anxious eyes, worried about what might happen.
But the third, fourth, and fifth-years were unfazed.
"It seems my son is disliked by the professors, isn't he?"
"Oh, come on! Disliked? I adore him."
Yura beamed, massaging Reina's shoulders.
"Senior Reina, this is the finest black tea, cultivated with my magic."
Ren poured black tea into Reina's cup with an elegant gesture.
And with a light clap of his hands, Anna approached with a miserable expression.
"These are cookies I baked myself."
"Oh my, thank you."
"…Professor Ren. Everyone is staring."
"Assistant Professor Anna. Remember this. Hospitality is also necessary for the boundless advancement of magic."
'You don't even bother with hospitality when we have esteemed guests, let alone glance their way,' Anna thought with a deep sigh.
"Hey! Carlo! What took you so long!"
"…How am I supposed to get to the Isle of Beasts and back in ten minutes?"
Yura's assistant professor, Carlo, brought over fruits procured from the Isle of Beasts with a tearful face.
"Senior Reina, don't eat those cookies. Try these fruits. You know the fruits from the Isle of Beasts are a Lumerne specialty, right?"
"Oh my. Thank you."
Hohohohoho— Reina, who had been laughing with her hand over her mouth, tilted her head.
"But why are you all doing so much for me?"
"It's just a cute junior expressing her feelings for a respected senior she hasn't seen in a long time."
"Cute…?"
As Yura spoke with a flirtatious charm, Assistant Professor Carlo made a strange face.
Of course, he quickly lowered his head under Yura's murderous glare.
"That's right. I have not forgotten you for a single moment since your graduation, Senior Reina."
"…Professor Ren. That sounds a little dangerous."
Anna sighed deeply, but Ren paid her no mind.
"So, what is it you want?"
"It's a discussion about the advancement of magic and student Leo's future."
"Senior Reina, Leo must choose the Summoning Department. Of course, you were in the Knight Department, but I believe he shouldn't be swayed by such things! Look at Leo! He has the blood of the Jerdinger family, yet he's the contractor of a phoenix!"
"Hmm. Both of your opinions have merit."
Reina smiled sweetly.
"By the way, I'm suddenly craving the ice cream they sell in Lumeria City."
The moment Reina's words fell, Yura and Ren sprinted away without a backward glance.
Watching them, Ain muttered.
"A disgrace to Lumerne's professors."
Neither Anna nor Carlo could deny his words.
Reina, who was thoroughly enjoying making her juniors work, watched the magic screen with sparkling eyes.
"Anyway, that boy, Woreden, is quite something."
"He would have been the strongest of the second-years if it weren't for Leo. He wasn't called a monster and famed for nothing."
"Hmm, even I, who have stepped back from the front lines, have heard of him."
Reina nodded, looking at Woreden standing in the middle of the surging lava.
"Of course…"
Ain stared intently at the screen and said.
"Your son is an even bigger monster."
As he finished speaking, a collective gasp rippled through the audience.
In the middle of the sea of lava.
There stood Leo.
And perched upon his arm was a beautiful firebird.
***
Bubble— bubble—
The lava boiled.
In the midst of it, Leo stood calmly.
'It's not working.'
Woreden narrowed his eyes.
Leo stood nonchalantly in the middle of the lava, without a single scorch mark on him.
Watching this, Woreden let out a small laugh.
'Leo Flove.'
Woreden clenched and unclenched his large hands.
Woreden Tiden.
The country of his birth was a desert nation in the southern part of the continent.
Dolian, a nation known for its spirit contractors, a country where everything was run by their power.
He was born into the lowest class of Dolian society.
But in Dolian, where those with talent for spirit contracting were favored, Woreden quickly rose to the upper class.
However, as a result, he naturally became a target of caution.
There were even those who tried to kill him to check his rise.
But by the time he turned fourteen and summoned a high-level spirit.
The ruling class of Dolian could no longer see Woreden as a simple threat to their positions.
They considered him the strongest spirit contractor and an indispensable talent for Dolian's future.
That was why Woreden had craved strength even more.
The reason was simple.
One who is merely strong is a target of caution.
But the strongest is an object of reverence.
For Woreden, who had climbed to the highest echelons of Dolian society by his own strength since childhood, power was not just a source of pride but a means of survival.
When he first enrolled at Lumerne, he had no doubt that he would become the best in his group, as he always had.
But…
'Leo Flove appeared.'
Before he knew it, the man had far surpassed him.
The first wall Woreden, who had never doubted his own strength, had ever faced.
He had to admit it.
The monster before him was superior.
But even so, Woreden never stopped yearning to be the strongest.
Fwoosh-!
Fueled by Leo's spiritual power, Piora unleashed an even more intense flame.
Woreden could feel Leo seizing control of his flames.
'If someone other than me is the strongest.'
Fwoosh—
A massive sphere of fire targeted Woreden.
'I will simply stake my all and challenge that strongest.'
Whoooosh—!
Spiritual power surged from Woreden's body.
Seeing this, Leo's eyes twitched.
R-r-r-rumble-!
The earth trembled.
Kra-ka-ka-ka-boom-!
The crust of the earth overturned as if the land itself were enraged.
Groooowwwwwwl!
The earth let out a roar.
A massive giant of earth swung its arm.
The giant seized Piora's flames.
Kra-ka-ka-ka-ka-boom-!
The ground shook, and Piora's flames scattered in all directions.
It was like a natural catastrophe unfolding.
—Uoooooooh!
The very ground Woreden stood on rose up.
A massive giant of earth roared toward the heavens.
Seeing this, Leo's eyes widened.
This was completely unexpected.
"A Great Spirit?"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 819 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/legendary-hero-is-an-academy-honors-student
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━