Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 243

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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243

After Leo left the annex.

Jane tried to stop Leo with a flustered expression.

“W-wait a moment. Leo-nim. If you wander around carelessly….”

“I told you to call me senior, didn’t I?”

“That’s not what’s important right now!”

Jane blocked Leo’s path.

“This is the Imperial Palace of Shan. No matter how much Leo-nim… no, senior is the Student Council President of Lumern, wandering around carelessly could cause big problems.”

“That could be the case.”

Leo stopped walking and nodded his head.

Seeing Leo like this, Jane thought he had given up and let out a sigh of relief.

“But retreating like this doesn’t suit my temperament either.”

Leo passed by Jane and walked through the annex courtyard.

“You say something too!”

Jane urgently looked at Fritz and said.

To this, Fritz adjusted his glasses and said.

“I can’t stop him when senior says he’s going to do it.”

Fritz followed behind Leo.

“Of course, finding Chen Xia senior in this darkness would be impossible.”

The Imperial Palace of Shan was dark despite being the center of the empire.

It wasn’t that there were no lights, but everything except necessary places was blacked out.

A characteristic of the Shan Empire, called the Shadow Empire.

Since Shadows are guardians of darkness, they exert their most powerful strength when in darkness.

As such, their ability to hide their bodies in darkness is also very excellent.

At Fritz’s words, Jane sighed.

“Of course. So shouldn’t we stop him from wasting energy on useless things?”

Hearing the two’s conversation, Leo stopped walking.

“You all seem to think I can’t find Chen Xia?”

Fritz stepped forward and bowed politely.

“If we’ve offended you, I apologize. But heroes and shadows live in completely different worlds.”

Jane crossed her arms and pouted her lips.

“It’s not because senior lacks ability. Shadows are beings who live in darkness. Finding a shadow in darkness isn’t easy. Especially if it’s Sia-nim, it’s impossible. She’s someone even fellow shadows find hard to locate.”

At the two’s words, Leo let out a “hmm” sigh.

During his time as Kail.

When Leo executed traitors, it was mostly during nights shrouded in darkness.

The nights during the Age of Calamity were much deeper and more dangerous than now.

It was a time when moving at night itself was extremely difficult.

‘That’s why it was perfect for executing traitors.’

Foolish traitors who thought the night was on their side showed openings.

‘So that method has continued until now.’

“Are you saying you’re familiar with darkness?”

“Rather than familiar… darkness is on the side of shadows.”

Jane crossed her arms and pouted her lips.

“Is that so?”

Leo chuckled and advanced into the darkness.

“Then I should be able to find her surprisingly easily.”

When executing traitors during the Age of Calamity.

Darkness was not Leo’s ally but his enemy.

All kinds of curses and traps spread by traitors and Tartaros exerted even more powerful force in darkness.

Leo had navigated through darkness incomparable to the present.

Fritz and Jane looked at each other before following behind Leo.

Step- step-

Leo approached one of the many entrances to the imperial palace.

An entrance where only pitch-black darkness was visible.

It was an entrance that would instinctively make one reluctant to approach, but Leo approached it without concern.

Swish-

Then a shadow revealed itself in front of Leo.

Seeing this, Leo asked.

“May I not enter?”

“There was no order from His Majesty to prevent your entry, however.”

“However?”

“If you seek to find the Princess, His Majesty’s order was to confine you in darkness.”

At those words, Jane’s shoulders trembled.

“Confine in darkness? That’s a test!”

Fritz also narrowed his eyes.

“A test?”

“It’s a trial for Shadow Candidates to be recognized as Shadows.”

“Oh?”

Leo exclaimed in admiration.

“That sounds interesting.”

Jane and Fritz looked at Leo with surprise.

“It could be dangerous, Leo senior. It’s completely different from what Leo senior has learned at Lumern until now….”

Ignoring Fritz’s attempt to dissuade him, Leo stepped into the darkness.

Fritz and Jane followed behind Leo in confusion.

Thud- thud-

Footstep sounds echoed throughout the quiet corridor.

Thud- thud- thu-d- thu—d-

But soon even the sounds were swallowed by the darkness.

‘Is it magic.’

In the darkness where not an inch was visible, Leo activated his mana.

‘Light.’

But no light burst forth.

The magic had definitely activated.

Before it could emit light, it was swallowed by the darkness.

‘Indeed.’

Leo faced the darkness before his eyes directly.

‘Perfect darkness.’

It was one giant labyrinth.

The darkness robbed sight, senses, and hearing.

Unless one became one with the darkness and revived their senses, they could never escape.

‘So this is why they said darkness was on their side. Others would have had quite a hard time, wouldn’t they?’

Darkness like an abyss brings fear.

But Leo moved his steps without hesitation.

In the Labyrinth of Darkness.

Even though all his senses were taken away, Leo’s steps were unhesitating.

Whoosh-!

Leo’s sharp senses spread throughout the entire darkness.

Quickly subduing the entire darkness.

He clearly felt the exit of the labyrinth.

Thud- thud-

“No…!”

Breaking through the darkness, they emerged into the corridor of the Imperial Palace.

The Shadow who had stood before Leo moments ago wore an expression of shock.

“How…!”

The time it took Leo to break through the darkness was just over 10 seconds.

‘I thought I escaped immediately, but it took longer than I expected.’

He thought he had escaped the moment he recognized the labyrinth, but it took longer than anticipated.

‘My senses have dulled considerably.’

Clenching and unclenching his palm, Leo turned around and asked.

It was while the Shadow was still in shock.

Fritz and Jane simultaneously emerged through the darkness.

And upon discovering Leo, their eyes widened.

“Didn’t you enter the Labyrinth of Darkness?”

“I went in and came back out.”

“Th-that’s impossible!”

Seeing Leo break through the darkness much faster than themselves, both wore expressions of shock.

“I don’t think this is the end of the test.”

Leo smiled slightly.

“What should we do now?”

***

‘Just where are this person’s limits?’

Fritz thought as he followed behind Leo.

Jane was also following Leo with disbelieving eyes.

Fritz was a Shadow of Lumern.

More precisely, he was a Shadow Candidate of the Jeron Family.

Originally, he was meant to be the Shadow serving Elena, the heir of Jeron.

Growing as a Shadow, there was only one thing he desired.

To become the Shadow of a perfect hero.

And Elena was the person closest to the perfect hero Fritz had envisioned.

But last year.

After seeing Leo, his thoughts changed.

The conquest of the Chedmothers incident.

The subjugation of Gigantes.

The conquest of the Progenitor of the Starry Skies’ Heroes’ World.

Even becoming the youngest Student Council President.

Truly the appearance of the perfect Hero Candidate he had dreamed of.

Fritz, who immediately became Leo’s devotee, immediately told Elena.

That he wanted to become Leo Flobe’s Shadow.

The proud Queen of Lumern, who was initially surprised, burst into laughter seeing Fritz like that.

‘I knew you would say something like that.’

Though he was a Shadow raised by Jeron, Elena readily released Fritz.

Though initially surprised, she soon saw it as an opportunity.

And the newly appointed Lumern Principal from the Shadows.

Through Riina’s proposal, he gained the qualification to take the entrance exam and passed.

He thought he had grown close to Leo that way, and actually met him.

He was an even more perfect image of a hero than he had imagined.

But now.

Moving in the darkness, he didn’t seem like a Hero Candidate at all.

‘A Shadow Candidate like us… no.’

Fritz broke out in cold sweat.

‘He’s the perfect Shadow itself.’

What on earth was this?

The person closest to being the most perfect hero moved closest to being the most perfect Shadow.

Heroes who live in light and Shadows who live in darkness cannot coexist.

That’s what he had always thought…

‘How can such a person exist?’

Fritz looked at Leo’s back with disbelief.

Jane felt the same way.

The darkness spread before them continued to block Leo’s path.

Even to test Leo’s strength, Shadows pointed their blades at Leo from within the darkness.

But…

Swoosh-!

“Urgh?”

The Shadow of Shan, subdued in the darkness, widened his eyes and looked up at Leo.

And seeing Leo’s eyes shining in the darkness, he felt chills run down his spine.

‘I can’t escape from those eyes.’

If the Hero Candidate before him were to hunt him?

‘I’d be helplessly defeated in the darkness!’

The Shadow couldn’t understand.

How could a Hero Candidate move better than a Shadow in the darkness?

When he subdued the seventh Shadow, Leo muttered.

“At this rate, there’ll be no end.”

Not all Shadows are as powerful as heroes.

Just as only a few heroes can get their names on the Hero Record.

Only a few Shadows possess power approaching that of heroes.

But that didn’t mean the Shadows blocking Leo’s path were weak either.

“I don’t know how you move like a Shadow, senior, but as long as we’re trapped in darkness, we can’t find Chen Xia.”

At Jane’s words, Leo made an indifferent expression.

“If you two weren’t here, I think I could find her quickly.”

“What? Are you saying we’re in the way?”

“To state the facts, yes.”

“What!”

Jane flared up at Fritz’s words.

“Accept it, Elle Jane. Leo-senior possesses skills that far surpass ours as a Shadow too.”

Jane gritted her teeth.

“That’s… strange.”

Jane clenched her fists tightly.

“Heroes are heroes… Shadows are Shadows… they live in different worlds. That’s why Sia gave up her dream.”

But there was an existence before them that denied that fact.

Both as a hero and as a Shadow.

An existence beyond common sense that far surpassed them.

If they acknowledged such an existence, what would become of themselves who had lived as Shadows until now?

What would become of Chen Xia, who gave up her dream of being a hero?

Seeing Jane hang her head low, Leo spoke.

“I’ve heard that talk from the Principal and Emperor to the point of being sick of it.”

Leo turned his gaze into the darkness.

“But from my perspective, heroes and Shadows are the same. They’re just like two sides of a coin.”

Fritz and Jane looked at Leo.

“Anyone who tries to protect the world is a hero. So from my perspective, you’re Hero Candidates too.”

“…!”

Fritz and Jane’s eyes widened.

They had never thought about it that way.

“Then… then…”

Fritz’s body trembled.

“The reason you told us to call Leo senior… is because you acknowledge us as Hero Candidates?”

“What have you been listening to this whole time?”

“Ah! How can such a great being exist?! To truly acknowledge even Shadows as Hero Candidates!”

Fritz shouted with a moved expression.

Then he pulled out a notebook from his pocket and began writing something.

“What the hell is that?”

Jane squinted and checked the contents of Fritz’s notebook.

“I’ve been recording Leo senior’s deeds. Especially since he just left behind great words of wisdom, I naturally have to record them, don’t I?”

“Recording?”

“May I take a look?”

Fritz, who had returned to an expressionless face, handed the notebook to Jane.

Jane’s face changed strangely as she received it and read.

[The great Leo senior said that even Shadows can become heroes. Ah, how can such a great person exist? I cannot dare measure the capacity of this person.]

Flip-

[Today I saw Leo-nim for the first time. Leo-nim has pure white hair like snow and red eyes that seem ready to burst into flames at any moment…]

[When fighting with that arrogant Shadow of Shan, Leo-nim grabbed my wrist. I shouldn’t wash this wrist for a while.]

[Leo-nim…]

[Leo-nim…]

“Are you a pervert?”

Jane made a disgusted expression looking at Fritz, who had recorded the situation when he saw Leo and every single action of Leo’s with almost fanatical obsession.

“What kind of content is it?”

Leo also looked at Fritz’s recorded contents.

Whoosh-

And without hesitation, he burned it with flame aura.

“Aah!”

Fritz knelt down in despair in front of the notebook that had turned to ash.

‘What a strange fellow.’

“Is the reason you’re going to bring Sia-nim also because of that? Because you think of her as a Hero Candidate?”

“That’s one reason. But she’s being arrogant. Such a small thing saying she’s stepped into darkness, that she can’t become a hero. Where does she get off trying to give up without even trying?”

Leo chuckled.

“I want to show her. That people who don’t give up can become heroes.”

“… You’re just like Kail-nim, whom the Progenitor of the Starry Skies spoke of when he appeared in Seirun last winter.”

When everyone gave up, it was Kail who absolutely never gave up.

The Progenitor of the Starry Skies had said such words at that time.

“He did say that.”

Leo chuckled and disappeared into the darkness.

Watching his retreating figure, Jane took a deep breath and kicked the butt of Fritz, who was still lying on the ground in despair.

“How long are you going to stay like that? You need to help the senior you respect so much!”

At those words, Fritz got up and adjusted his glasses.

“I know without you telling me.”

The two Lumern students’ eyes gleamed in the darkness.

“We eliminate as much as possible those who interfere with senior.”

“We need to eliminate as much as possible those who interfere with senior.”

The two glared at each other sharply.

“Don’t copy me.”

“Don’t copy me.”

***

Leo, who broke through the darkness, instantly found Chen Xia.

And he said.

“I came to get you.”

Leo spoke to his friend who had turned away from him.

Swoosh-

But soon Chen Xia disappeared into the darkness.

Seeing this, Leo’s eyes stirred.

For a moment, he lost track of her presence.

All that remained was the Shadow standing beside Chen Xia.

The Shadow approached to stop Leo.

At that moment, the Shadow’s eyes widened.

“No!”

Because Leo had also disappeared into the darkness.

The Shadow who had served the House of Shan for a long time could tell what it was.

‘Shadow Stepping?’

A technique passed down only to the royalty of Shan.

Leo, who had no connection to Shan whatsoever, had used it.

It was also the reason why the emperors of Shan were called the kings of shadows.

‘This is impossible!’

While the Shadow made an expression of shock.

Leo narrowed his eyes as he pursued Chen Xia through the darkness.

‘So the royalty of Shan are definitely descendants of Bihar.’

The form had changed a lot, but what was currently hiding presence and moving through the darkness was definitely the technique Leo had taught Bihar.

‘Well, the basic framework was created by Arron and I just modified it.’

Finding Chen Xia, who had deliberately hidden in the darkness, was a burdensome task even for the current Leo.

‘She’s more familiar with darkness than I am.’

Chen Xia was excessively specialized in assimilating with darkness.

‘This is going to be quite troublesome to find her?’

He understood why Shau had made such bold claims.

But soon Leo smiled.

‘If she’s assimilated with darkness, I just need to subdue the darkness itself.’

Leo’s senses quickly permeated into the darkness.

Just as the darkness began to rapidly come under Leo’s perception.

Swish-!

A small killing intent was felt.

At that moment, Leo tilted his head back.

Slash-!

“Oh?”

Leo stopped walking.

The man who had swung his sword was looking at Leo with admiration.

Age-wise, he was in his late teens.

But somehow he had a strong mature image.

He had black hair and black eyes, similar in height to Leo, and was looking at Leo as if finding him interesting.

“I’ve seen that face before.”

The man’s eyes gleamed.

“Leo Flobe, right? The Lumern student called the greatest Hero Candidate.”

Leo wiped the blood flowing down his cheek and narrowed his eyes.

“What are you?”

“My name is Chen Sian.”

Sian introduced himself with a gentle smile that reminded one of someone.

“A man who will become a great Hero someday.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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