Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 8

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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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8

“It’s been a while. Vice Family Head Jis.”

“How have you been? Imperial Court Mage Rojess.”

Jis greeted Rojess Rwallin.

Rojess Rwallin.

He was a cousin of the current Rwallin Family Head and held the position of Imperial Court Mage.

“Avad, Chelsea, and Selia all entering Lumern in the same year. Hahaha! As fellow people of the Empire, this is truly a joyous occasion!”

Avad, the Family Head’s son, was sixteen. Chelsea was fourteen.

From the Empire’s perspective, it was wonderful that three talents representing the nation were entering in the same year.

However, for the two families competing for the position of the Empire’s greatest noble house, this marked the beginning of a blood-drying competition.

“Avad will take first place in the western entrance exam though.”

“Do you have a reason to be so confident?”

“Certainly, Avad and Selia are skilled enough to compete for first place.”

Rojess glanced at Albi, the examiner standing on the platform.

“This exam is exceptional. There are many variables. And Avad has Chelsea.”

He meant that the two siblings would cooperate to defeat Selia.

Chelsea was a skilled fighter ranking in the top five among the applicants.

If she helped Avad, even Selia would be helpless.

‘It’s disadvantageous in many ways… but I can’t say it’s entirely pessimistic either.’

They had a joker card too.

It was when Jis smiled meaningfully while thinking of Leo.

A giant square magic mirror appeared in the air.

Ooooh- The audience gasped in admiration.

It was magic that allowed them to see inside the Hero’s World.

The exam situation would be broadcast through this.

The magic mirror glowed and a screen appeared.

The moment they saw that screen.

“Pfft-!”

Jis burst into laughter without realizing it, while Rojess’s eyes widened.

Though no sound could be heard, a girl with light blue hair was screaming.

Below the girl, who was dangling in the air with her hands and feet bound, a bonfire was blazing.

And a white-haired boy was grinning wickedly while controlling the rope he held made of vines.

***

When Chelsea regained consciousness, she was dangling in the air with both hands and feet bound together.

“Wh-what is this?”

“You’re awake? Now that you are, let me ask. Will you cooperate with me? Or won’t you?”

“You’ll regret not eliminating me and tying me up with such crude restraints.”

Chelsea spoke venomously and summoned her mana.

‘Huh? Why won’t my mana move?’

She felt something suppressing her mana in the surroundings.

“Don’t tell me this is a mana sealing formation?”

“That’s right. I drew it.”

“You were a magic swordsman?”

“No. I don’t have mana right now. So the sealing formation isn’t that strong either.”

“Ugh! I never expected you’d have magical knowledge! But I can easily break a sealing formation without mana!”

“I’m sure you can. But only when you can concentrate properly.”

“What? Hiiiik-!”

Chelsea was horrified by the burning sensation she felt on her bottom.

When Leo lowered the rope, she could feel the presence of the bonfire.

“W-wait! Stop! Kyaaaah! Don’t lower me!”

“So? Will you cooperate? Or won’t you?”

“As if I’d cooperate with someone from Jerdinger as a person of the Rwallin family!”

“Really? I don’t care if your bottom gets completely cooked.”

“Kyaaaah! Stop! Stop it!”

Chelsea struggled.

The burning heat climbed up from her bottom.

She desperately tried to break the sealing formation, but it wasn’t easy.

To deploy a mana sealing formation required considerable magical knowledge.

As such, breaking a sealing formation without mana also required intense mental concentration.

If Chelsea had been a more experienced mage, this method wouldn’t have worked, but her experience was lacking compared to her skill.

Leo had clearly seen through that fact.

Chelsea’s face turned pale.

‘The entrance exam can be watched from outside! If others see me like this!’

There was no greater humiliation than this!

Whoosh-!

The hem of her skirt caught fire!

“Kyaaah! Hot! Stop! Stooop!”

“Swear on your family’s name. That you’ll cooperate.”

“I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it! I’ll cooperate in Rwallin’s name, so please stop!”

Chelsea pleaded with tears welling in her eyes.

‘She’s easy because she’s young.’

Chuckling, he pulled on the vine.

Chelsea, barely freed, sobbed as she put out the fire.

‘S-surely other people didn’t see me like this, right? Yes. They wouldn’t have. They couldn’t have seen. The exam just started, so they would have been showing other people.’

But very unfortunately for her, the scene of Leo and Chelsea was the first to be transmitted through the magic broadcast.

***

‘Hmm.’

Albi sighed with an unmotivated expression.

The Hero’s World currently unfolding was special to him.

The first page of his own heroic tale.

It was the catalyst that led him to the position of hero.

Watching the applicants struggling in that world, Albi thought.

‘They’re all so low-level.’

Albi clicked his tongue in annoyance.

A hero is one recognized by the gods.

So people think heroes are noble and dignified.

But Albi was far from such a general image.

He had a neurotic personality and pursued efficiency.

He disliked inefficiency.

He also disliked bothersome things.

That’s why he created this exam.

Survival in the demon’s secret realm.

Those who survive are strong.

It was an extremely simple yet effective test for separating the wheat from the chaff.

However, it was never an exam that simply gave good scores to those who survived the longest.

‘The applicants are given two choices.’

Eliminating competitors or fighting monsters to survive.

The majority of applicants were choosing to eliminate competitors.

The monsters existing in the Monster Forest were at most orcs, gnolls, and goblins – monsters that weren’t much of a threat to the applicants.

Of course, trolls were dangerous, but their numbers were small, making them difficult to encounter.

So she chose eliminating competitors as the fastest way to climb into the rankings, but that wasn’t the right answer.

‘How utterly foolish.’

The examinees made two mistakes here.

First. They failed to properly assess the information.

Albi had explained the test content.

But he never presented the passing criteria.

In other words, they should have realized that eliminating competitors wasn’t everything and moved more cautiously.

Second. They misjudged the Monster Forest.

This is a forest that many powerful nations couldn’t conquer even with their armies.

Even against low-level monsters, endless fighting would eventually lead to exhaustion.

And in such a situation, they fought each other instead of cooperating.

If this were a real situation, it would be total annihilation.

‘Of course, with overwhelming skill, one could achieve both monster subjugation and competitor elimination.’

Albi curled up the corners of his mouth as he looked at the magic mirror.

Black hair and red eyes.

A girl wreathing her sword in flame aura came into view.

‘Selia Jerdinger. Indeed, just as the rumors say.’

Selia was facing three trolls.

And behind her, a boy with light blue hair was chanting.

‘Avad Rwallin is the same. The Empire has a bright future.’

The two, who were bitter rivals, coincidentally met first upon entering the hero’s world.

These two people, who possessed overwhelming skills to pass this test alone, chose cooperation over competition.

Because they had accurately seen through this test.

‘Those two will be fine. Rather, it’ll be hard to determine who’s superior.’

He wore a satisfied expression.

While thinking those two would definitely be 1st and 2nd place.

The screen changed again.

The examinee reflected in the magic mirror was fighting an orc.

‘Was his name Leo Flobe?’

The examinee first caught on the magic mirror’s screen.

And the examinee who performed the most bizarre actions throughout this test.

Most people treated Leo, who had tied up the Rwallin family’s young lady and tried to burn her over a bonfire, as some kind of madman.

But Albi gave Leo high marks.

‘Regardless of the method, obtaining Chelsea Rwallin’s cooperation is something to evaluate positively.’

So he was looking forward to seeing what kind of performance he’d show in this test.

And what he was showing now exceeded expectations.

No, it was surprising even to him, a hero.

‘He doesn’t have the same power and flashiness as Selia Jerdinger, but…’

The way he cut down orcs with minimal movements even conveyed an unfathomable sense of experience.

‘An unexpected dark horse.’

***

Swoosh-!

“Gwaaaaak-!”

Leaving behind the orc with its heart pierced, Leo spun his body.

His sword was naturally drawn.

The sword swung with centrifugal force precisely blew away the head of the orc that had been targeting his back.

When Leo encountered ten orcs, he immediately charged out.

Orcs are intelligent monsters, so if given a chance, they’ll form formations and attack.

He quickly struck first before that could happen.

While Leo cut down the orcs at the front, Chelsea chanted a spell.

“Wind Arrow.”

She fired the completed magic.

Thwack-thwack-thwack-!

“Guaaaaaaak!”

“Gweeeeek!”

The orcs pierced by magic screamed.

Seven orcs died instantly from the magic.

Leo cleanly slit the throat of the last orc and shook the blood off his sword.

Then he took the lead and walked forward.

Chelsea, following behind him, muttered to herself.

‘Combat is easy.’

Even if she aspired to be a battle mage, a mage was still a mage.

The most efficient tactic was still to leave the front to an excellent warrior and focus on fire support from the rear.

And Chelsea felt she had very good coordination with Leo.

When she was threatened and reluctantly formed a party with Leo, she was resentful, but now after performing three battles, she thought it was a good decision.

It wasn’t just about facing monsters.

He skillfully herded monsters into one place so magic could achieve maximum efficiency.

Magic was area-of-effect attack.

Naturally, the more clustered the enemies were, the greater the effect.

“Not bad, handling orcs so easily without even using aura.”

“I don’t know how to use aura.”

“What?”

“I haven’t learned it yet.”

‘Is it possible to move like that without using aura?’

While feeling doubtful, she also understood why she had been caught earlier.

‘Since he doesn’t use aura, I couldn’t detect his mana.’

Chelsea placed her hand on her waist with a thunk and made a triumphant expression.

“Revealing your secret so easily! How foolish!”

“With your current skill, you can’t subdue me anyway, so no worries.”

“Hohoho! Such bravado.”

“I’m just stating facts.”

Leo said indifferently.

“Honestly, you have remarkable skills.”

“Hm?”

“Strong magical power and you can use various spells too.”

“Praising me honestly won’t get you anything.”

She spoke curtly, but felt good about the sudden praise.

“But that’s the problem.”

“Hm?”

“Your skills are too good, so you’re not properly utilizing the essence of wind magic.”

Chelsea had a combat style of overwhelming opponents with powerful magic.

That’s not the essence of wind magic.

“Our family’s pride is wind magic. How ridiculous, discussing wind magic in front of a Rwallin.”

Chelsea sneered.

Leo’s current statement was unacceptable.

She chanted a spell in runic language while extending her staff toward one spot.

“Wind Break.”

“Graaaaaaah!”

Fierce wind blades flew into the bushes and tore apart a troll that had been hiding and holding its breath.

The troll that fell to the ground writhed and then went limp.

She was showing off with a high-level spell she had cast to demonstrate the overwhelming difference in power.

‘Acting cocky just because you know a little about magic! You must be shocked seeing this!’

Chelsea made a smug expression.

However, Leo showed an indifferent reaction.

“That’s not how you use wind magic.”

The greatest advantage of wind magic is its versatility.

Simply overwhelming with brute force is the worst way to utilize wind magic’s characteristics.

At Leo’s words, Chelsea’s expression turned sour.

And she turned her head away sharply as if she didn’t want to hear it.

‘Well, I guess it would be absurd for me to say this when I can’t even use magic right now.’

Whatever his past life was like, he hadn’t learned magic yet in this life.

Leo, who had chuckled, suddenly stopped walking.

Chelsea’s eyes also widened.

Troll corpses were scattered around the area.

But the state of the corpses was strange.

They were withered and dried up as if their life force had been drained.

“What could have done this? There shouldn’t be any monsters in Monster Forest that drain life force, right?”

Chelsea examined the corpses with a bewildered expression.

Leo, who touched the corpses, narrowed his eyes.

‘Could this be…’

“For now, I think we should prioritize meeting up with Selia and your brother. I think I know what the passing criteria for this test is.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Looking at Chelsea’s surprised expression, Leo muttered in a serious voice.

“Conquering this world.”

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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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