The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 234
Chapter 234
The day after the opening and entrance ceremonies.
The second-year sorcery lecture room was filled with students eagerly awaiting Len.
“But it’s nice that we can take sorcery classes with the same people as last year!” Carr said with a cheerful expression.
Even though the people in their dormitories had changed, their departments remained the same.
They could still gather like this for integrated department classes.
Leo rested his chin on his hand and chuckled at Carr’s words.
“Why? Is life in the dorm really that hard?”
“Listen! Leo! You shut it!” Carr snapped at Leo.
“The entire dormitory is full of people with inflated egos! They all have similar personalities to the dorm leaders.”
The third dormitory.
Now named Noble, it was composed of students from prestigious families.
Even the dorm leaders were from hero lineages.
Naturally, students with strong pride gathered here.
“And that Emio kid ended up in our dorm.”
Carr sighed.
“Anyway, there are a lot of kids there who are just obsessed with their noble authority. They love to look down on us commoners. Tsk!”
“It must be hard in a place like that.”
Carr, not from a prestigious family and a commoner with low grades, struggled amidst the noble students.
“Well, there are some advantages.”
“What?”
“Everyone’s from wealthy families, so their pockets are full.”
Carr laughed and stroked his chin.
As someone interested in commerce, Carr appreciated the purchasing power of the noble students.
“How about Glory?”
The name of the first dormitory was Glory, symbolizing their honor.
“Are you already trying to figure out what’s going on?” Chloe asked, her eyes fixed on a book thinner than usual.
“I was just curious. By the way, what are you reading?”
It wasn’t a textbook or the sorcery book she usually carried.
She was reading a rare liberal arts book.
Chloe showed him the title.
“History of Shadows?”
“Yeah. I suddenly became interested.”
“Shadows, huh? Well, the new principal proudly declared herself a shadow, didn’t she?”
Carr shook his head.
Shadows weren’t a specific term.
Since the beginning of the Age of Heroes, those who fought against Tartaros and protected the world’s peace were called heroes.
However, those active in the shadows operated in the dark, unknown to the public.
After all, where there was light, there was also darkness.
The path to peace didn’t always receive public acclaim.
There were those who worked from the shadows.
“A Shadow-born principal? The board of directors must have approved it.”
“There are Shadows among Lumene graduates.”
“Still, they don’t really want to be Shadows.”
Carr licked his lips as Chloe nodded in agreement.
Shadows were as crucial to maintaining world peace as heroes.
In particular, their role was as significant as that of heroes, for they pursued and punished traitors who betrayed the world and aligned with Tartaros.
Shadows also hunted hero killers who threatened the lives of heroes from unseen places.
However, the perception of Shadows was grim.
They often engaged in unsavory tasks because they operated in the dark.
Even those who hunted hero killers were viewed as people with a sole focus on killing.
That’s why Shadows evoked fear and were typically avoided.
‘Shadows.’
Leo rested his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes.
Back in Kyle’s day.
Leo had done something similar.
He tracked down and punished traitors without informing his colleagues.
Only Lysinas and Dweno knew about Kyle’s covert actions.
‘Someone had to do it.’
Lysinas and Dweno had argued that Kyle shouldn’t bear this burden alone.
But Leo had stained his own hands with blood.
‘There was no need for everyone to be tainted.’
Leo looked down at his hands.
‘I wish there were no such people in this day and age…’
He smiled bitterly.
‘Now that I think about it, what happened to her later?’
A girl came to mind.
Bihar.
She had learned swordsmanship from Kyle, like Velkia, the elf who was a disciple of Luna.
Bihar had been saved by Great Heroes and had followed Kyle on his traitor hunts.
‘Did Bihar choose a different path than Velkia?’
Unlike Velkia, who diligently worked to rebuild the world as an elf leader, Bihar left no mark on history.
Leo sighed softly, thinking of his disciple whose name was not even recorded in the Hero Records.
“So, what did you find out about the Shadows?”
Typically, hero candidates ignored Shadows.
All students aspired to become heroes.
They had little interest in Shadows, the antithesis of heroes, and rarely sought information about them.
“Yeah. The most powerful Shadows are in the Xian Empire, the dominant force of the Eastern Continent.”
“The Xian Empire…”
Carr stroked his chin.
Along with the Lordren Empire, it was one of only two human empires.
“I’ve heard the Xian Empire has many problems, right?”
“That’s right. A hundred years ago, Shadows dispatched by the Xian Empire destroyed the newly-established Kingdom of Trihan.”
“The Kingdom of Trihan. They were traitors in the end.”
“Yeah. But the issue was that they destroyed the kingdom based on circumstantial evidence, without concrete proof.”
Carr stuck out his tongue after hearing Chloe’s words.
“A dominant power like an empire can do whatever it wants?”
“Isn’t it more a result of the actions of the Xian Empire?”
The Xian Empire wasn’t just a dominant power in the east.
It was also a country with a long history of 4,000 years.
“What do you think, Leo?”
“It’s excessive to destroy an entire country based on circumstantial evidence.”
As the three of them discussed Shadows, the door to the main lecture hall opened and Len appeared.
Anna, holding the attendance sheet, followed him.
Step-step-step-step-
As the students’ attention focused, Len, standing at the desk in the classroom, surveyed them.
“Nice to see you, everyone.”
Len flashed his signature charismatic smile.
“I’m Len, your sorcery theory instructor for this year, continuing from last year.”
“Professor Len~”
“Nice to see you!”
“Please take care of us this year too!”
The students cheered enthusiastically.
Len, a young and capable professor, was highly popular among the sorcery department students.
Len acknowledged the students’ reactions and took the attendance sheet from Anna.
“I’ll be taking attendance now. Chloe Mueller.”
“Yes.”
“Carr Thomas.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Leo Plov.”
“Yes.”
‘Leo!’
Len covered his mouth and made a moved expression.
Of course, the other students couldn’t see him.
‘How much effort I put into being here with you…’
Anna, observing Len’s expression in real time, looked up at the ceiling and lamented.
The selection of the professor for the second-year departments was highly competitive.
All of Lumene’s major professors wanted to teach the second-years, considered the school’s Golden Generation.
Anna had witnessed everything Len had done.
After many twists and turns, he had secured the position of professor for the second-year major.
It was all to guide Leo.
From Len’s perspective, it was a touching situation, but from Anna’s viewpoint, who had suffered because of Len, it made her want to cry whenever she thought about it.
‘Should I just throw in the towel?’
While his assistant seriously considered resigning, Len finished calling the roll.
“Before class begins, ladies and gentlemen.”
Len scanned the students.
“Is there anyone who wants to tell me what the strongest spell in existence is?”
The students murmured at the question.
There were countless powerful sorceries in this world.
Depending on the sorcerer’s disposition, main attribute, and affiliation, there could be many different answers.
“What do you think?”
“Well.”
“It’s difficult to say.”
The students debated among themselves.
At that moment, Chloe raised her hand.
“Yes, Chloe.”
“The strongest sorcery in existence is the Sorcery of the Stars, End.”
Len nodded at her response.
“That’s correct.”
Len scanned the classroom.
“At first glance, it may seem like a subjective answer, but no sorcery in the world surpasses End. Its power and efficiency are unmatched. However, crucially, the sorcery’s activation time is short.”
Len chuckled.
“End is a masterpiece crafted by the Poet of the Stars.”
Len spread his arms wide.
“I was even more convinced of that after seeing the defeat of the Witch Queen during the incident at Lumeiren.”
The sorcery students swallowed dryly at Len’s words.
How could they forget?
The exact reason for the legendary hero’s appearance had never been revealed, but everyone here had witnessed the miracle.
The great sorcerer, known only from stories.
The greatest genius in the history of sorcery.
Everyone present had seen Luna Lubinence, the Poet of the Stars, descend.
And they had witnessed the ‘End’ she used with their own eyes.
“However, End is a challenging spell to master.”
Len walked to the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk.
He began writing the spell for End.
The blackboard began to fill with complex and difficult formulas.
“Powerful, efficient, and with a short casting time. It would be a perfect spell if it could be used, but to cast it, one must understand all the intricate formulas created by our ancestors.”
The students looked exhausted as they examined the formula.
One student raised his hand.
“Recently, the activation formula has been developed. Wouldn’t it be possible to use it to simplify the spell in the future?”
“It’s very easy to simplify the spell of End.”
“Really?”
“This is the simplified version.”
Len smiled brightly.
‘That’s what they called simplified?’
‘That’s absurd!’
‘Even with a million explanations, I won’t understand it!’
The students grabbed their heads in frustration.
“This simplification is the work of elves who studied the Sorcery of the Stars. If it were simplified any further, the sorcery wouldn’t activate. Thus, it’s impossible to simplify it as much as is required of a typical activation formula. Crucially, the sorcery won’t activate if the spell is overly simplified. The most important factor is learning the Sorcery of the Stars.”
The students nodded.
The Sorcery of the Stars.
Only by mastering this elven-exclusive sorcery could one learn End.
“We will never master End in our lifetimes.”
“Oh my. I tried to learn Sorcery of the Stars too… but it didn’t work.”
Several students shook their heads.
The Sorcery of the Stars was unique to the elves.
Of course, it wasn’t that other races couldn’t learn it.
However, the wavelength of the Sorcery of the Stars and the sorcery power must align, requiring exceptional talent and intuition.
Len smiled as he observed the students shaking their heads.
“It’s true that, until now, the Sorcery of the Stars has been a domain reserved for those with inherent talent and sense. But have you heard? Last year, Professor Ain, a human knight, said that he was able to use Dragon’s Breath and adapt it for human use.”
The students looked puzzled.
After a moment, they began to understand and looked at Len with disbelief.
“N-no way…”
“Have you succeeded in making the Sorcery of the Stars more universally accessible?”
The process of adapting the Sorcery of the Stars for other races had long been incomplete.
The spells left by the ancestors were modified for elven use, leaving other races unable to even consider using them.
The academic world had concluded that these ancestral sorceries were unique to elves, beyond the reach of other races.
“Over this past winter vacation, Lumene published a groundbreaking and miraculous sorcery paper.”
“W-what the heck!”
“Who could have done that?”
“Could it have been our graduating senior Torua…?”
“No! Maybe it was Senior Elena!”
“Or did the professors do it?”
The entire class buzzed with excitement.
Who wouldn’t be thrilled?
The Sorcery of the Stars, a long-standing barrier between races, had been overcome.
What could be more exhilarating for a sorcerer?
“Hehehe. You must be eager to know who the author of that great paper is!”
The students held their breath.
“The co-author of the paper is right here!”
Len raised his hand.
The students’ gazes focused on his raised fingertips.
And tracing the direction of those fingertips…
“Huh? Me?” Leo asked in disbelief.
“Huhhuhu, Leo, I was certain when I first saw you last year. I knew you would make a significant impact on the field of sorcery.”
“So… me?”
“Huhhuhu. As expected, you are the greatest talent in the history of Lumene’s sorcery department.”
“…”
Leo stared at Len, dumbfounded by the repeated assertions.
“When did you write such a paper?”
Leo looked flustered at Carr’s question.
“I never wrote a paper.”