Emio Luchan
He was renowned as one of the five most talented students in the second-year Magic Department.
So when Emio was notified of his expulsion at the end of the first semester of his second year, it sent shockwaves through the academy.
Even students who didn’t get along with him were stunned.
There was, of course, the variable of the Mentor System, where if a Mentee was expelled, their Mentor would be expelled along with them.
However, Lement, the first-year student Emio was in charge of, had survived the Losers’ Revival Battle and narrowly avoided expulsion.
Emio’s expulsion was purely the result of his own shortcomings.
And on the surface, Emio was still one of the top five students in the second-year Magic Department in the first semester.
That was why Emio felt his expulsion was unfair.
“Expulsion?”
A dangerous glint flashed in Emio’s eyes.
Seeing it, Carr flinched and took a step back.
“You, if you try anything funny...”
“Shut your mouth!”
Emio shouted as he aimed his staff at Carr.
Whoooosh!
At that moment, magic activated, and a powerful gust of wind engulfed Carr.
Craaash-!
At the sudden use of Attack Magic, the surrounding second-year students stared in shock.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Isn’t that Emio Luchan?”
“Hey! Are you insane?! What do you think you’re doing, using Attack Magic here?!”
“Are you really throwing a tantrum over getting expelled? Have some shame!”
Craaash-!
Before they could even finish shouting, Emio’s magic flew at them.
The second-year students recoiled in surprise.
Emio screamed at them.
“Do you think this makes any sense?! This piece of trash with no talent survives because of his connections, and I get expelled! Does that make any sense to you?!”
Emio roared, veins bulging in his neck.
“The same goes for all of you! I’ll wipe out all you talentless insects and prove my worth to Lumene!”
With bloodshot eyes, Emio was no longer in his right mind.
The second-year students, who had been flustered by the sudden Attack Magic, now looked at him with killing intent.
No matter what anyone said, they were students who had survived at Lumene until now.
No matter how gifted Emio was in the Magic Department, if he turned every student here against him, he would be overwhelmed in an instant.
But Emio, having lost all reason, cared about none of that.
It was then.
“I understand how you feel, but don’t you think you should calm down a little?”
“Ha?! Well, look who it is. The great Hero himself has graced us with his presence?”
Seeing Leo emerge from the crowd, Emio sneered.
“I wonder how people would react if they knew the great Hero was looking after a loser just because they’re friends. How does it feel? Expelling a student who rightfully deserves to stay in school?”
“The Student Council President has no authority to expel anyone. And I’ve never once helped Carr. That guy is still at Lumene by his own merit.”
“What kind of bullshit is that...!”
“Look at him now.”
Leo gestured with his chin toward the magic Emio had cast.
“He’s completely unfazed by your magic, isn’t he?”
“Phew~ That was close!”
With those words, Emio’s wind dispersed, and Carr appeared completely unharmed.
Emio’s eyes widened.
“H-How...!”
“Fellow students! In a crisis, the Carr Thomas Shield Bracelet is a huge help! It’s also aesthetically designed, so it looks stylish too! It’s single-use, but it protects your safety and improves your appearance at the same time!”
(T/N: Well played Carr. Hahaha.)
Laughter broke out here and there as Carr gave a thumbs-up and smoothly started advertising his product.
“You little insect!”
Just as Emio’s face crumpled and he raised his staff toward Carr again—
“Emio Luchan.”
“Urk?!”
At Leo’s icy voice, Emio let out a groan.
The other students also flinched and stepped back.
“Let me give you one piece of advice. Stop this pointless nonsense.”
Leo spoke as he approached Emio.
“I don’t particularly enjoy seriously beating up kids.”
“Don’t give me that crap!”
With a furious scream, Emio swung his staff violently.
Ziiing-!
An enormous amount of Magic Power swirled around him.
Craaash-!
That massive surge of Magic Power slammed into Leo, destroying part of the dock.
“What the hell am I lacking?! Guys weaker than me got to stay, so why was I the one who got expelled?!”
Watching Emio shriek, the second-year students narrowed their eyes and took fighting stances.
Just then, a flash of light appeared, and a sharp sword came down on Emio.
Slash! Crack!
“Ghk?!”
Emio had wrapped his entire body in an [Armor Shield] created through magic, but the sword strike tore through the shield and cut him.
Tap-!
Whirr! Whirr!
Landing lightly on a piece of wreckage floating on the lake, Eliana Laden grinned.
“The beautiful Magic Swordsman, Eliana Laden, has arrived!”
Jeers poured in from every direction at Eliana’s frivolous tone.
“You’re saying nonsense like that in a situation like this?!”
“She called herself beautiful. Does she have no shame?”
“Tsk, tsk.”
Despite the storm of jeers, Eliana didn’t bat an eye.
“I’m not interested in you, so don’t interfere and get lost, Eliana Laden. Unless you want to die.”
Emio growled viciously.
“As a Lumene stu-dent, I can’t just stand by while a non-stu-dent outsider attacks my classmates!”
Emio’s face twisted as he emphasized that he was no longer a student of Lumene.
“Besides, I’ve wanted to beat you up properly for a while now. You’re so damn annoying.”
Eliana, who had been chuckling with a little “Hmph-!”, instantly lost her usual playful expression.
Her endlessly carefree aura vanished. Staring at Emio with sharp eyes, Eliana pointed her sword at him.
“You, who can’t fully master either swordsmanship or magic!”
Emio swung his staff.
Whoooosh-!
A giant pillar of flame formed in the air, and soon wind wrapped itself around the fire.
“[Flame Tornado]!”
Fwoooooosh-!
Flames layered themselves over the blade-like wind, which shredded everything it touched.
The wind amplified the firepower even further.
That magic came crashing down on Eliana.
Craaash-!
A chain of explosions erupted, and flames soared high into the air.
Just as Emio began to smile viciously at the sight—
Flash-!
A pure white light flashed, and at the same time, Eliana cut through the whirlwind and emerged.
Her uniform was charred and torn in several places.
Scratches ran across her body, with blood seeping from them.
Emio’s magic had been powerful enough that Eliana hadn’t been able to block it completely.
But none of the wounds were fatal.
“My magic... how...!”
“It was nothing! I just cut through it!”
Eliana grinned and landed on the lake.
Splash-!
Water burst in every direction.
But Eliana easily stood on the lake with [Aura Step].
Whoosh-!
She adjusted her grip on her sword and charged at Emio.
“A head-on assault? You insolent brat!”
Emio gritted his teeth and unleashed a barrage of magic.
As expected of someone from a military family, a torrent of efficient and powerful spells poured out.
Seeing the magic, Eliana stretched out the hand that wasn’t holding her sword.
Flash-!
A protective spell, like a shield of transparent white glass, formed in front of her.
Using that shield, Eliana deflected all the incoming magic and closed the distance with Emio.
“No!”
Emio’s eyes flew open.
Despite all that high-powered magic, Eliana had blocked it.
‘Impossible! Her combat ability should have been on the same level as mine!’
While Emio stood there in shock,
Eliana, who had closed the gap in an instant, smiled coldly.
“You’re ready, right?”
“Eek-!”
“Smash!”
Thud!
“Gah?!”
Eliana swung her Aura-clad sword down with both hands.
She shaped the Aura like a blunt weapon, so it didn’t cut him.
But the tremendous impact, enough to blank out his mind, sent Emio flying.
Craaash-!
Like a skipping stone, Emio bounced several times across the surface of the water before plunging beneath it.
“Hmph.”
Eliana shrugged and swept back her hair.
The watching students wore stunned expressions.
“When did Eliana get so strong?”
“That was completely one-sided, wasn’t it?”
Under the admiring gazes of her classmates, Eliana smiled and made a V-sign with her fingers.
Boom-!
Just then, the water surged, and Emio reappeared.
“You damn bitch...!”
His body trembling, Emio glared at Eliana with madness in his eyes.
Until the start of the first semester of their second year, Eliana and Emio had been around the same level.
“Don’t make me laugh! If I had taken part in the training retreat! If I had been evaluated fairly! I wouldn’t be suffering humiliation like this...”
“The gap between you and Eliana has been there for months now.”
“Hah?!”
Eliana jumped at the sound of Leo’s voice behind her.
“Class rep! You scared me!”
Patting the protesting Eliana on the head, Leo walked toward Emio.
“Want me to tell you why you were expelled?”
“What did you say?”
“It’s true that you’re still one of the top students in the second-year Magic Department. The problem is that you’ve barely grown compared to where you were at the start of the first semester.”
“Nonsense!”
Emio’s face twisted.
“Wasn’t it already a struggle for you just to keep up with the theory classes?”
Emio’s practical evaluation scores were still top-tier among the second-year Magic Department students.
But unlike in his first year, his grades in written tests and theory had plummeted.
That was the clear difference between Emio and the lower-ranked students, who were steadily absorbing new knowledge and reflecting it in their practical results.
Emio had failed to properly adapt to the new things he was learning in theory.
The only reason he hadn’t ended up with a failing grade was because of the points he had built up beforehand.
The field of magic requires endless acceptance of new things and the ability to apply them to yourself.
Emio had failed at that completely.
And even in practical combat skills, while students who had clearly been weaker than Emio showed major growth, Emio had remained stagnant.
“Most importantly, Emio. You can’t deal with opponents who are even slightly stronger than you.”
A hero is someone who challenges the impossible and overcomes trials.
That is why a hero must always be prepared to face an opponent stronger than themselves.
But Emio was nothing like that.
“It’s true that you’re a strong second-year student.”
Leo spoke with a blank expression.
“But put another way, you’re still only a second-year. The professors judged that if you remained stuck there, you wouldn’t survive at Lumene even if you stayed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Once the second semester of second year begins, there will be more situations where you’ll have to risk your life. In a situation like that, you could die.”
At Leo’s words, Emio clenched his fists tightly.
“The professors must have found that regrettable.”
“Don’t feed me that crap! I’m more than qualified to be at Lumene!”
Watching Emio, who had completely lost his reason and was just screaming, Eliana pouted.
“There’s no point talking to him, class rep.”
“I suppose not. Then I’ll be blunt.”
Leo looked at Emio and said coldly,
“Throwing a fit like this won’t change the fact that you’ve been expelled. So stay down. Loser.”
“Kraaaaaaaaaaah! Leo Plov!”
The moment Emio rolled back his eyes and stirred up his Magic Power,
Leo’s red eyes flashed.
Crack-!
The [Magic Formula] surrounding Emio was shattered.
Hit by the backlash, Emio staggered.
“For any graduate of Lumene’s Magic Department, destroying your [Magic Formula] would be easy.”
Leo walked toward Emio.
“Let’s end it here. If you keep rampaging, this won’t stay quiet.”
“Kraaaaaaaaaaah!”
With his eyes rolled back, Emio charged at Leo.
Leo let out a breath and flicked his finger.
Fwoosh! Boom-!
Flames wrapped around Emio and exploded.
Emio was blasted high into the air before crashing to the ground.
Splash-!
Looking down at the unconscious Emio, sprawled there with his eyes rolled back, Leo spoke to his classmates.
“Grab that guy and hand him over to the professors.”
“Okay!”
“Got it!”
The second-year students seized Emio and restrained him with magic.
“What a mess on the first day back.”
Leo let out a small sigh and shook his head.
===
Thud. Thud.
A vast plain.
At its center stood an enormous tomb.
Long ago, this place had been the heart of a battlefield against Tartarus.
A land filled with nothing but despair and death.
That land had been saved from Tartarus by the sacrifice of a single hero.
And this tomb belonged to the hero who had saved it.
A hooded man standing before the gravestone reached out his hand.
From beneath the hood emerged a grotesque hand made of bone.
Thump-!
The figure with his hand resting on the gravestone muttered something.
A moment later—
Crunch! Craaack!
As the earth was torn open, a skeleton raised itself from the ground.
The skeleton that emerged from the tomb twisted its neck at a grotesque angle and looked at the man.
[You... Archduke of Funeral...!]
Looking at the figure whose eyes gleamed with murderous intent, the Archduke of Funeral, Atkan, curled his lip into a smile.
“Are you not interested in a second life, O hero unjustly sacrificed?”
The skeleton, which had been reaching out with hatred in its eyes, froze.
[A sec... ond... life?]
***
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter