The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 217

Chapter 217

When the news of Lumene’s Unified Entrance Exam spread across the continent, confusion erupted in many regions.

Traditionally, Lumene’s entrance exam was divided into five regions: West, North, East, South, and Central.

Exams were conducted separately in each region.

However, the Unified Exam marked a complete departure from this tradition.

Candidates were understandably confused as the regional exams were abolished and replaced with the Unified Exam.

There were no restrictions on who could take each region’s entrance exam.

Once the exam location was set, candidates would travel to that region and take the exam.

However, candidates were responsible for covering their own expenses to attend the entrance ceremony, including warp gate and accommodation fees.

With the shift to the Unified Exam, expenses were expected to be higher than before.

While prestigious families could absorb these costs without issue, many students came from common backgrounds.

Naturally, these students voiced their discontent.

However, a new announcement quickly alleviated their concerns.

Lumene would cover the warp gate and accommodation fees for all students taking the entrance exam.

Students only needed to present their exam ticket issued by their region.

So although the cost to Lumene was substantial, they remained unconcerned.

With the financial burden removed, the number of applicants increased.

The number did not surge dramatically, though, as the Lumene entrance exam was notoriously difficult.

Every year, countless students failed to survive the exam due to insufficient skills.

Moreover, the exam was broadcasted in real-time, ensuring that no one would risk their life or face global embarrassment due to poor performance.

With the entire continent focused on the exam, the capital of the Lordren Empire, Roland, was selected as the exam location, capturing worldwide attention.

Amidst the uproar, six people arrived at the Zerdinger family training ground.

Leo and his knights had returned.

“T-the training ground!”

“We’re back!”

Carin, Julan, and Valerie cheered, clinging to the training ground’s main gate.

Carin and Julan even kissed the gate in their excitement.

Austin, observing this, said with determination in his eyes, “What are you doing in front of Leo?”

“Leo doesn’t really care about things like this.”

“That’s right, Austin.”

As expected of any 14-year-old, Carin and Julan were the most exuberant of the group.

Valerie, who was the same age as Austin, tended to be more dignified, leaving Carin and Julan in charge of maintaining the knights’ morale.

Austin, the eldest and enforcer of the knights’ discipline, focused his attention on the two who were acting up.

The actual leader was Martina, but Austin maintained order among the knights.

The two who had flinched quickly straightened up.

Valerie shook his head as he watched them.

“Master, what should we do?”

“Go back to your rooms and rest. I’ll go see Uncle Zeis.”

“Yes, sir.”

At those words, Martina dismissed the knights with a wink.

Carin said as she returned to her room with Martina, “I missed my bed so much!”

“Hehe. Me too.”

“Master Leo’s training definitely helped a lot… but it was still so hard! Especially the bed and meals!”

Carin shook her head as if she were going crazy.

Sleeping on the mountain was no problem.

The issue was when they slept.

Leo didn’t let them rest, even while they were sleeping.

Just as they were about to fall into a deep sleep, rocks would fly at them like nightmares.

They didn’t have Aura or anything to protect them, and the rocks traveled at high speeds.

They often got hit when they let their guard down.

But getting hit wasn’t the main problem.

The real issue was that if they got hit, Leo would make them train for thirty more minutes.

What was labeled as training felt more like torture.

As a result, they had to endure severe discomfort for three weeks, day and night.

They had to be self-sufficient with their meals as well.

There was a problem there too.

Leo would surprise them and steal the ingredients the knights had gathered.

If they let their guard down, not only would they lose sleep, but they would also face starvation.

Naturally, all the knights were on edge.

“I barely slept. Ugh! Even though I’m a knight, my skin is a mess!”

Carin, who cared about her appearance like any teenage girl, looked sad.

She had brown hair and green eyes, and was quite pretty.

Martina smiled bitterly at Carin.

Martina was also in poor condition.

‘But still, the one who had the hardest time was Master Leo.’

For the past month, Leo had pushed the five trainees relentlessly.

In other words, Leo was the one who had the least rest of them all.

‘But seeing that he’s still fine… He’s really amazing.’

Martina marveled at Leo’s endurance.

After unpacking their bags in the room, the two headed straight to the shower.

“Wow—Hot water!”

Martina laughed as Carin jumped around, reveling in the hot water.

After they washed and changed into clean clothes, they were about to leave the shower room.

“Oh. Hey guys, look at this.”

“The hero candidates are back?”

The other Zerdinger trainees laughed at Martina and Carin.

Carin’s expression turned teary at their mockery.

Martina sighed and patted Carin’s shoulder, signaling her to ignore the comments.

Carin bit her lips, trying to ignore them and leave.

“Did you want to remain in Master Leo’s knighthood even if it meant lying?”

“Just quite already. Don’t waste Master Leo’s time.”

Martina paused, watching them laugh and talk.

Then she turned her head.

“Do you think we’re the same as you?”

“What?”

“We each had our own reasons for choosing to become Master Leo’s knights. We didn’t choose him just for a promotion, like you, who all wanted to join after his true worth became public knowledge.”

“Hey, Martina!”

Carin grabbed Martina, embarrassed.

Martina shook Carin off.

“What did you just say?”

“Are you done talking?”

“No, I’m not done! Have you heard about the Lumene entrance exam? Master Leo told us first. He said we could make it into Lumene! He is sure of our potential!”

Martina’s brown eyes blazed.

“Just as we chose Master Leo, Master Leo chose us. You could talk about it for a hundred days, but there will never be a day when you become Master Leo’s knights, right? As long as Master Leo believes in us, we will never give up!”

“Huh? After like a month of special training or something?”

“No matter how much you struggle, you’re still only mid-level trainees.”

Martina snorted as she watched the trainees laughing at her.

“How long do you think you’ll stay stronger than us?”

“Fight? Then let’s have a match, Martina.”

Whoosh—

The Zerdinger trainees swung their wooden swords with practiced speed.

Martina clenched her fists as the wooden swords stopped just inches from her.

“Okay. Let’s have a fight.”

“You’re confident? How about a bet? If you lose, you’ll resign from your positions in Leo’s knighthood.”

“Fine. But what if you lose?”

“We’ll resign as Zerdinger trainees.”

Martina watched their smug expressions and said, “Fine.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll see you in thirty minutes at the training ground.”

As the girls left the shower room with their heads held high, Martina’s face fell.

“Carin! What should I do?!”

Carin sighed deeply.

“I told you, Martina, you get a little too angry sometimes.”

Carin, scratching her head, shrugged.

“What can I do about this? I have no choice but to face them.”

* * *

Reaper Scans

[Translator – Aine]

[Proofreader – Ash]

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* * *

All of the Zerdinger trainees gathered at the training ground.

Julan watched, distressed.

“Austin… What should we do now?”

“I’m sorry, guys.”

Austin shook his head at Martina’s apology.

“No. It was bound to happen someday.”

Austin, Julan, and Valerie had already endured ridicule from the upper-ranking trainees upon their return.

“Now that it’s come to this, let’s show them the results of our training.”

Julan’s face darkened at Austin’s words.

“It’s true that we’ve gotten stronger through training, but it’s only been a month. Just one month.”

She didn’t think her skills had improved dramatically in that time.

Especially since she’d been on the receiving end of beatings until the day she returned from the duel with Leo.

“There’s nothing much to see here, huh?”

“How should we take them down?”

The top-ranking trainees sneered at the five.

“I’ll go first.”

Austin stepped up to the training ground with his wooden sword, nervous but determined.

A trainee with a build similar to Austin’s squared off against him.

As the duel began, all the trainees watched intently.

“It’s Master Leo.”

“Master Leo came to watch?”

The trainees noticed Leo standing with his arms linked behind him and began to murmur.

“Master Leo must not understand either.”

“That’s right. The top-ranking trainees want to become his knights, so why did he take those guys to train for a month?”

Zerdinger’s trainees looked confused.

They merely snickered at the comments.

“Master Leo, don’t stay in the back. Please watch from the front.”

A boy with a sturdy build approached Leo.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Endian Terriers.”

As Endian introduced himself confidently, Leo recalled the knight Pierce he had met at the party a month ago.

‘Is this that guy’s son?’

Thinking this, Leo stepped forward with a cold expression.

As the trainees cleared a path, they gazed at Leo with admiration.

All the trainees had trained with Celia and had seen Rhys several times.

They knew of Celia and Rhys’ overwhelming skills.

Surpassing even Celia, he had become the student council president after Rhys.

Though some in Lumene might look down on Leo, no one here did.

If anyone here became his knight, their position within the Zerdinger family would be virtually guaranteed.

He was an object of admiration and a figure they aspired to serve.

‘Is he recruiting more knights?’

‘Miss Celia can only take thirty for her knighthood.’

‘Next chance I have, for sure…’

Everyone looked at Leo with eager eyes.

Leo, now at the front of the training ground, crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on Austin.

“Master Leo…”

Austin bowed his head, looking remorseful.

Austin was aware of how much Leo had invested in their training over the past month.

But now he had to place his bet on the first members of his knighthood.

He couldn’t help but feel guilty toward Leo.

Leo snickered as he observed Austin.

“Austin.”

“Yes, Master Leo.”

“Go easy on him…”