The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honors Student - Chapter 262
Chapter 262
Leo gazed down at the dwarf, who stared up at him with a look of incredulity.
‘Nude model?’
He was taken aback.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Who are you?”
“My name is Driana! The greatest artist born in Dweronia!”
Driana’s claim was a bold one.
For a dwarf, Leo’s mental comparison of her to Dweno, as the reincarnation of the Great Hero Kyle, might be considered an honor of immense value.
However, to Leo, Dweno’s name was synonymous with perversion.
A self-proclaimed admirer of beauty, Dweno had been more interested in crafting art than in creating weapons.
Driana, who introduced herself as such, mirrored Dweno’s peculiar traits.
Driana extended both arms, forming a square with her fingers and thumbs.
Peering through the makeshift frame with one eye, she scrutinized Leo.
“Pure white hair. Ruby eyes. A boy with an exceptional appearance, yet I sense a depth of experience.”
Driana’s expression showed satisfaction.
“If I used you as a model, my resulting work of art would be truly magnificent.”
Leo nodded at Driana’s comments and turned to leave without hesitation.
It was best to avoid perverts.
Moreover, he doubted he could communicate effectively with a dwarf like Dweno.
Driana rushed after Leo as he briskly walked away.
“Wait, wait. I’m not asking you to do it for free.”
Due to their height difference, Leo moved swiftly, with Driana trailing behind at a fast pace.
“You’re a Lumene student, right? You’re here in Damienne for the Exclusive Smith Contract.”
Driana beamed.
“I’ll be your exclusive blacksmith! But… Hey! Look! Stop!” Driana shouted urgently as Leo continued to run away.
Her calls echoed in vain.
Leo, having evaded Driana, stopped in the middle of the street and looked back.
‘I got involved with someone quite peculiar.’
He clicked his tongue, recalling Driana’s unusual eyes.
‘Judging by her speech, she must be a Damienne student?’
Despite his curiosity about her smithing skills, Driana’s aura suggested she was a highly skilled artisan.
“She’s about my age. If a dwarf of such skill is that young, she must be a student of Damienne.”
Leo figured he might encounter her again in Damienne.
“Leo!”
Carr’s urgent voice cut through the air.
“What’s going on?” Leo asked, puzzled.
Carr, with a pale face, shouted, “This is serious! There’s a fight between kids from our school and Azonia right now!”
“What? Why?”
“They kidnapped Chloe!”
Leo grimaced at the news.
“Why did the Azonia students kidnap Chloe?”
“I don’t know! Anyway, when they heard the news, Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran immediately went to the Azonia kids’ temporary dormitory and started a riot!”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Each hero academy had its own distinct school rule serving as its motto.
Lumene’s was to push beyond your own limits.
Seiren’s was to be more noble and dignified than anyone else.
Damienne’s was to craft a will as strong as steel that could never be broken.
And Azonia’s…
‘Struggle.’
To obtain ultimate strength through struggle.
That was the Azonia school rule.
Ar had once told Leo this.
‘Azonia never laughs at defeat. If you fight again even after defeat, it is not defeat. You are praised as a courageous warrior.’
Ar had crossed her arms and snorted.
‘On the other hand, if you run away from battle because you lost once, you are criticized as a coward.’
Ar’s eyes had sparkled after saying that.
‘Arron never ran away!’
‘Arron ran away more than anyone else,’ Leo had thought, as she spoke.
“I think we should start by finding Chloe.”
“Yeah. But it can’t be easy to find Chloe in Dweronia with how vast it is…”
Crack crackle crack crackle crack—!
At that moment, a massive ice pillar erupted not far from where Leo and Carr were.
Carr’s eyes widened.
“I found her.”
Leo chuckled and headed towards the rising ice pillar.
A large crowd had gathered around the area.
“What the hell is going on?”
“Isn’t this the inn where the beastmen came and went earlier?”
The dwarves looked surprised.
Despite the scale of the suddenly manifested sorcery, the onlookers remained calm.
“They say there are always strange accidents and incidents due to weapon production every day.”
Carr was astonished at the calm reactions of the dwarves.
The rich city of Dweronia was also the world’s largest sorcery tool production site.
The dwarves, known for their craftsmanship, frequently encountered sorcery accidents and incidents.
‘There’s a reason Professor Len begged to go.’
Carr pushed through the crowd, thinking of Len.
“Excuse me. Excuse me.”
Navigating the crowd of dwarves, who were so short they reached only to his chest, was challenging.
‘No, it’s like walking between boulders.’
The dwarves were naturally strong, making Carr’s lower body sore from nudging them aside.
“What are you doing?”
Carr looked up and made a gloomy expression as he saw Leo floating above with Flying Sorcery.
“Sometimes Chelsea’s words seem right, and it makes me sad.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You always call me an idiot.”
Carr, with a bitter expression, used Flying Sorcery to move to the front.
Bam—slap—slap—
Crack crackle crack—!
At that moment, the inn door opened and Chloe stepped out.
“Hmph! So annoying.”
“Don’t you care at all about my worries? If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have worried at all.”
Carr grumbled as Chloe smiled brightly.
“Should I freeze you into a statue like those guys?”
Chloe’s question made Carr hide behind Leo.
“I was worried when we heard you were kidnapped, but I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Kidnapping? I just followed along because I thought it would make a fuss otherwise.”
Chloe snorted.
Leo smiled brightly at Chloe.
“Still, we were worried.”
Chloe looked momentarily embarrassed by Leo’s smile and turned her head.
She then fanned her face.
“Oh? Our cold ice queen has become but a shy princess…”
“You want me to freeze you?”
Crack crackle crack—!
“Ughhhhhhh! Forgive me!”
As a terrible frost formed atop Chloe’s hand, Carr became startled and begged for forgiveness.
He glanced at the two and said, “Carr, you should hurry and tell the kids at our school that Chloe is safe.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to the Azonia dorm.”
“No. Leo. I don’t know about others, but if you go to the Azonia dorm right now, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“Why?”
“Azonia has put a prize on your head.”
“A prize?”
“Yeah.”
The reason Chloe was so easily captured by Wern wasn’t just because she didn’t want to cause a commotion in the street or even that she wanted to sneak into their base and take them down from the inside.
‘The Azonia kids wanted to use bait to lure Leo in.’
The simple-mindedness of the Azonia students was well-known even in Lumene.
Chloe had heard a lot about Azonia students from her sorcery department seniors, so she knew that tendency of theirs.
No matter how straightforward of a tactic it might have seemed, using bait to target the second-year representative was no ordinary problem.
It wasn’t just a student-to-student issue anymore.
But it could’ve escalated into a school-to-school conflict at any point.
‘It’s already a major conflict.’
Chloe looked at the inn where she was.
‘But I didn’t do anything wrong.’
She had merely turned the arrogant beasts into frozen statues.
‘Yeah. Anyone can see this was self-defense.’
Anyway, she had taken such a risk to save Leo from having to take action.
When Chloe lightly poked Wern, he revealed why the Azonia students were after Leo.
“The Azonia principal decided to reward the student who defeats him with the privilege of conquering the Brave’s Hero’s World.’”
“The Brave’s Hero’s World?”
Carr’s expression changed.
“At that point, they’d be more interested in you than the Exclusive Smith Contract.”
“But I still need to go. There are three people causing chaos over there right now. I have to bring them back.”
“Three people?”
Chloe tilted her head.
“Celia, Chen Xia, and Duran went to the Azonia dormitory to save you.”
“Ah…!”
Chloe’s expression turned bewildered.
“Then I’ll come too.”
“Okay. But you should show your face to the kids at our school and calm them down for now.”
Leo snickered as Carr asked worriedly, “Can you go alone?”
“Don’t worry. I know how to handle beastmen.”
“How to handle beastmen? What do you mean by that?”
Leo raised his left hand and clenched it into a fist in response to Carr’s question.
“No way…”
“Yeah.”
Leo laughed coldly.
“With my bare hands.”
Crackle—!
His Aura of lightning crackled around Duran’s body.
A giant beastman swung his massive greatsword at Duran.
Flash—! Boom boom boom—!
The lightning that shot from Duran’s longsword stunned the Azonia student.
“Hoo? For a human, you’ve got spirit! It seems calling them ‘Lumene’s Golden Generation’ is not in vain! Haha! This is exciting!”
The tiger beastman, taller than Duran by half a head, swung his enormous tiger tail.
“But you know, too bad. You and I don’t mix well.”
Borman, the 5th-ranked second-year Azonia student, smirked.
“My Aura trait is Armament.”
Borman’s body turned to steel.
“Your friends’ Aura traits, like fire or water, may be a different story, but lightning is just absorbed by me.”
Crackle—!
The lightning struck Borman’s greatsword, acting like a lightning rod.
The electric energy flowing through Borman’s body gathered in one place.
Borman returned the attack to Duran.
Crackle—!
Golden sparks swirled around Duran’s body.
Shiiiiiiiiiiing—!
Smoke rose from Duran’s electrocuted form.
Duran aimed his sword with a blank expression.
Borman was astonished.
“It’s been a while since my blood has boiled.”
Borman, with his greatsword slung over his shoulder, narrowed his eyes.
“But you’re already at your limit. And your compatibility against my skills is poor. Why don’t you leave the rest to your friends?”
“Who are you calling my friends?”
Duran smiled his signature cynical smile.
“What?”
“Those guys are my enemies, who must be defeated.”
Borman looked puzzled by Duran’s words.
“Is Lumene also ‘fighting’ like us?”
“Huh. Do you think we would do something so wasteful?”
Duran laughed.
The Azonia female student watching said, “Do I need to stop you?”
The female student, with a wagging fox tail, pulled it between her legs and rested it in front of her stomach, using it as a seat, and trimmed the end of the tail.
“That idiot is simply being ignorant. But it’s true that if he gets excited and attacks him for real, wouldn’t that handsome man with the bad Aura be in danger?”
At those words, Celia swept her hair back.
“Those ignorant kids are a good match for each other.”
“That handsome man doesn’t look like an ignorant person.”
Lwen tilted her head at Celia’s comment.
Chen Xia laughed.
“Duran is the most ignorant of any of my Knight Studies classmates.”
“If the opponent is acting foolishly, I would just cut him down and win easily, but he’s acting foolishly in return. Pathetic.”
Celia snorted.
At these words, Lwen looked at Duran.
Borman, the current 5th-rank in the Azonia hierarchy.
He was a student with an Aura ability that turned his entire body into steel, a trait passed down through his bloodline.
For Duran, who could control lightning, Borman was his natural enemy.
‘Where did you get the audacity?’
Borman narrowed his eyes.
“Even if you’re my rival, it would be better if you got some help.”
“Huh. If it’s Chen Xia, she could help me. She listens to whatever I say.”
“Oh, I’m actually older than Duran,” Chen Xia muttered softly.
“But even if it’s really dangerous, she won’t help me.”
Duran laughed coldly.
“Because my pride won’t allow it.”
“That’s great.”
Borman was impressed.
“It’ll be even more fun to beat you. I’m glad to meet a worthy opponent before fighting Leo Plov himself.”
“That’s a foolish thing to say.”
“What?”
Borman looked astonished.
“You guys don’t seem to care about anyone else but Leo Plov.”
Borman saw Duran as merely an appetizer before facing Leo.
Normally, he would have felt displeased.
But…
“I understand. He’s worth it.”
Duran wasn’t offended.
Rather…
“That’s why I’m looking forward to it.”
Duran regarded Borman with his signature arrogance.
“You guys who don’t even know about Leo Plov will soon fall into his abyss.”
Duran glanced at the Azonia students.
“Huh. If you believe you’re that strong, we welcome you. We are the descendants of the Brave, Arron.”
Borman snorted.
“Overwhelming strength is always welcome. But you seem to have despaired over Leo Plov. I once held you in high regard, Duran Moira. You might be a warrior like us, but you were a coward who feared overwhelming strength. How pathetic!”
Duran was not offended by Borman’s mockery.
He didn’t get angry either.
‘Yeah. I despaired.’
Crackle—!
‘I can see it.’
Crackle—!
‘I can see it clearly. The more I struggle.’
Crackle—!
‘The gap between me and him is only widening.’
“You don’t understand what I’m saying.”
Whoosh—!
“…?”
Duran reached out and cupped Borman’s face despite his mockery.
‘I might never be able to surpass you. But.’
Crackle—!
‘Should I give up?’
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
A strong spark surged through Duran’s body.
His veins bulged out clearly.
But Duran laughed.
“It’s so easy to cut down an arrogant and vulnerable guy like you. Do you know why I insisted on fighting you with ‘Aura’?”
Duran rolled his eyes and spoke to the unconscious Borman.
“To show you what a real shock is.”
Crash—! Thud—!
Borman foamed at the mouth and fainted.
If he had fought properly, he wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation.
However, Borman paid a heavy price for underestimating his opponent.
“Courage and recklessness are different. A self-proclaimed descendant of a Great Hero.”
Duran snickered at that.
“That guy is also impressive. He doesn’t know how to give up. He’s persistent.”
Celia snorted as she looked at Duran.
“Duran won’t give up. Miss Celia, you will also keep pursuing him, right?”
“Of course.”
“When you say you’re chasing him, you mean Leo Plov?”
Lwen tilted her head.
“Is he really that great?”
“That’s an understatement. Watching from the sidelines will leave you amazed. It might be impossible even if you try your whole life.”
Chen Xia smiled brightly.
“But you still won’t give up. Your will is admirable.”
You could tell just by looking at Duran how strong they were.
‘Leo Plov seems to be a monster beyond our imagination.’
“I thought the courage of the Brave was exclusive to the beastmen, but looking at you, it seems we’re not the only ones.”
Chen Xia smiled at Lwen’s words.
“Isn’t our mindset something a bit different from courage?”
“Yes.”
“The Brave is the Great Hero of the beastmen. Of course you have always admired him since childhood, and still respect him now, but I think there is someone else to be learned from.”
“Ah.”
Lwen realized who Chen Xia was talking about.
“The Hero of the Beginning.”
“Yes. The Poet told me this.”
Chen Xia looked at Duran and said, “When the impossible battles began, the one who showed the most courage was Arron. In the endless fight, the one who could be trusted until the end was Dweno’s weapon. The one who led the impossible battle to victory was Lysinas’ wisdom. And the one who turned the unfavorable battle around was him.”
Lwen’s eyes widened.
The appearance of the Poet.
A major event that still made the entire continent buzz.
“And.”
Celia glanced back and teased.
“The one who never gave up was Kyle. Didn’t you hear that then?”
“Luna said that?”
Looking at Leo who suddenly appeared, Lwen looked surprised.
‘When did you hear that?’
“Yeah. We heard it all. Aren’t you jealous?”
Celia giggled and teased Leo.
Leo smiled bitterly at that.
‘That idiot said that?’
“If the hero candidate of Azonia is to continue Arron’s legacy, our hero candidates of Lumene should continue Kyle’s legacy.”
Chen Xia looked back at Leo and smiled.
“We will never give up. We will follow in Leo’s footsteps.”
____