Chapter 414

Chapter 414

When Juen regained consciousness, her gaze met an unfamiliar ceiling.

Blinking a few times to clear her vision, she bolted upright in a hurry.

“……Where am I?”

As she surveyed her surroundings in a daze, she quickly deduced from the setting that she was in a medical ward, prompting a self-deprecating chuckle to escape her lips.

‘I was defeated.’

Slam—

At that exact moment, the door swung open and Kal stepped into the room.

“Juen, you’re finally awake?”

“What took me down?”

“You suffered a severe shock from depleting your mana pool.”

Kal pulled a nearby chair closer to her bedside, took a seat, and explained.

“It was incredibly close. If the battlefield had been a neutral territory rather than a terrain perfectly suited for Aina, the victory would have been yours….”

“A defeat is still a defeat.”

Juen ground her teeth together as she cut off Kal’s consolation.

“Anything else we say is merely an attempt to rationalize it. The outcome remains identical.”

“……I suppose so.”

Attempting to offer comfort, Kal silenced himself and offered a sympathetic, wistful smile instead.

He found himself feeling awkward and uncertain as he observed Juen sitting in absolute silence, her chin tucked toward her chest.

“Hey, are you weeping?”

Juen’s frame gave a faint, rhythmic shudder.

“I am truly sorry. You poured so much effort into helping me, Senior.”

Though Juen had been the one to execute the tactical plan to counter Aina, it was Kal who had meticulously mapped out and anticipated Aina’s strategic patterns.

“I merely fulfilled my duty as a guide. Please don’t shed tears. Truly, your performance was spectacular.”

“I apologize, I really do. It’s just that the bitterness is overwhelming.”

“Do not dwell on it. This is merely a single loss. We are talking about the introductory year’s final examination tournament, aren’t we? There will be countless chances to settle the score down the road.”

Kal offered gentle words to soothe the heartbroken Juen.

Following the conclusion of the opening bracket for the first-year year-end tournament, the entirety of Lumern was buzzing with excitement.

The lion’s share of public curiosity was, without question, directed toward Luke.

Because his triumph was thoroughly unanticipated and staggering, it naturally pulled an immense amount of focus his way.

The numerous skeptical whispers asking, ‘Why has this boy remained the direct mentee of the student council president until now?’ instantly dissolved into thin air.

“Student Luke! What motivated you to keep your true capabilities under wraps until this moment?”

“Was this a calculated plot to lower the guard of your fellow classmates?”

Journalists representing the campus press brigade swarmed around Luke, bombarding him with a barrage of inquiries.

“It was entirely due to Senior Leo’s unique training regimen.”

“Oh, really? What exactly did the student council president’s training involve?”

Upon hearing that specific question, all the color drained from Luke’s complexion.

‘What kind of hellish training did I actually endure, anyway?’

Noticing how Luke visibly shuddered, the members of the newspaper club exchanged bewildered glances.

Following that, public discussion shifted toward the intense duel between Aina and Juen.

“Student Aina, what are your reflections regarding your bout against Student Juen?”

“She proved to be an exceptionally formidable opponent.”

Aina offered a quiet response with her eyes cast downward, refusing to utter another syllable before retreating toward the living quarters.

The pupils who identified themselves as part of Aina’s inner circle looked bewildered and hurried to catch up with her.

Observing their departure, Luke murmured under his breath.

“She doesn’t appear victorious at all.”

“She likely never anticipated being pushed to such an extreme. In truth, she was on the precipice of failure.”

Shasha, the formal representative of Class 1—sharing the same classroom as Luke—provided an answer while fluttering her decorative folding fan.

“Regardless, you performed beautifully, Luke. You preserved the dignity of Class 1.”

Luke offered a sheepish scratch to his scalp in response to Shasha’s praise.

“I am genuinely anticipating our upcoming duel.”

A sharp scoff disrupted Shasha’s words, which had been delivered with a pleasant expression.

“Shasha Siene Rodlen, you won’t survive long enough to face Luke Elda.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Shasha’s gaze sharpened into a squint.

“Because your journey will be cut short by my hands before that can happen.”

“Hmph—You are merely repeating the exact words I intended for you, Haviden Virsen.”

An invisible current of hostility crackled between Shasha and Haviden.

The surrounding pupils quietly shifted away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of the pair.

“From the very inception, my sole objective has been to take down Luke Elda.”

“Do you honestly believe the same doesn’t apply to me?”

Watching the duo trade fierce glares, Jane—a member of Class 10 along with Haviden and functioning as Chen Sia’s mentee—wore an expression that suggested she was surrounded by immature children.

“Weren’t both of you completely indifferent toward Luke Elda previously? You had absolutely no inkling of his true potential until moments ago.”

“My determination to best him was set in stone the exact moment Luke was chosen as Senior Leo’s mentee.”

When Shasha snapped back with a huff, Jane let out a mischievous grin.

“Could that be envy I detect?”

“No, absolutely not?!”

Haviden let out a soft chuckle, “Hoo—,” witnessing Shasha erupt with a deeply flushed countenance.

“How thoroughly embarrassing, Shasha Siene Rodlen.”

Pushed to her limit by Haviden’s mockery, Shasha whirled around to face Luke and demanded:

“Luke, settle this for them! Between this guy and myself, who are you more eager to match blades with!”

“Naturally, his preference would be to test himself against me, considering we share the same Knight department.”

“My desire is to duel both of you.”

Luke offered his reply while nervously scratching at his cheek.

From where Luke stood, both Shasha and Haviden were elite peers whom he had looked up to since their initial enrollment because of their immense talent.

Furthermore, they represented powerful benchmarks against whom he desperately wished to measure his own growth eventually.

‘I want to discover exactly how my current capabilities hold up against individuals of their caliber.’

That sentiment reflected Luke’s genuine aspirations.

Naturally, such an even-handed response was never going to satisfy either Shasha or Haviden.

“Make a definitive choice, Luke Elda.”

“Give us a name, Luke.”

Caught between the two as they advanced on him with menacing glares, Luke’s expression turned entirely miserable.

“Will somebody please rescue me!”

The remaining first-year pupils deliberately looked away from Luke, completely unwilling to entangle themselves with the likes of Shasha and Haviden.

While the underclassmen were fully occupied with their chaotic bickering, Nella, one of the second-year pupils who had arrived to locate her charges, whispered softly:

“Leo’s understudy certainly commands a lot of attention.”

“That is an understatement.”

Illiana gave an affirmative nod.

“Personally, I would gladly pass on that brand of notoriety.”

The end-of-semester evaluations were far from exclusive to the introductory class.

Once the initial rounds of the first-year bracket concluded, examinations commenced for every single academic tier.

Nonetheless, because the primary spectacle of this particular evaluation period centered on the first-year tournament, the testing schedules for the upper tiers generally reached a swift conclusion.

For the introductory pupils, their academic written tests were also cleared out of the way early, leaving only the competitive bracket to move forward at a steady pace.

Luke maintained a flawless streak, capturing consecutive wins to move further up the ladder.

The elite scholars representing alternative academic tracks similarly extended their winning streaks.

Even Juen, despite being saddled with an incredibly disadvantageous placement, fought her way out of the secondary redemption bracket to reclaim a spot in the primary tournament.

As the redemption matches played out, the monumental highlight of the current academic term finally arrived.

The grand diplomatic summit was officially underway.

Every academic tier assembled within the massive central parade territory, organized strictly by their respective departments.

“Wow.”

Illiana, who had procured a copy of the academy’s printed gazette and was scanning the pages, let out a soft whistle and clicked her tongue.

Chloe tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

“What catches your eye?”

“Nothing specific. It just occurs to me that if the current trajectory holds, Emio might genuinely face permanent dismissal from the academy.”

“Ah.”

Hearing Illiana’s assessment, Chloe let out a sharp intake of breath.

If one evaluated him strictly on academic metrics, Emio possessed enough raw capability that his continued tenure at Lumern until graduation should have been guaranteed.

Yet, this current first-year competitive bracket had thrown a massive wrench into everything.

Emio’s personal mentee, Rement, had experienced an utterly humiliating upset at the hands of Luke during his opening bout, causing him to plummet directly into the secondary redemption tier.

The real catastrophe was that Juen had also been relegated to that exact same redemption bracket.

It was Juen who ultimately triumphed in the survival match.

Though it was a clash pitting the top-ranked student against the third-ranked student within the Magic Department, Juen claimed an utterly dominant triumph, forcing her opponent right back down the ranks.

“The precise parameters governing first-year dismissals haven’t been formally broadcasted just yet. We can only remain patient and observe.”

Illiana scoffed softly at Chloe’s rationalization.

“I can only hope that Professor Halind enforces the regulations with absolute rigidity. I harbor zero desire to look upon that irritating countenance any longer.”

“I resonate with that sentiment.”

Chelsea, who had been quietly monitoring the nearby dialogue, offered an affirmative nod of her own.

“Hold on, why are you even loitering over here?”

“Eh?”

“Retreat back to the Knight Department this instant.”

“Good heavens! To utter such cold-hearted words after we have shared so many study sessions within the Magic Department!”

As Illiana put on an elaborate display of wounded feelings, Chelsea’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“Cold-hearted, my foot. You only migrated over to the Magic Department because it provides an infinitely superior vantage point for spectating, isn’t that right? You suddenly remember your allegiance to the Magic Department only when it serves your immediate leisure.”

Faced with Chelsea’s blunt accusation, Illiana averted her gaze entirely.

Taking note of Illiana’s guilt, Kal interjected.

“Would you like me to physically evict her?”

“Chloe! The others are actively persecuting me!”

Finding herself entirely devoid of public backing, Illiana desperately clung to Chloe for protection.

Following a brief bout of playful bickering, Illiana, who had finally managed to find a comfortable spot to settle, remarked:

“In any case, our class representative must be blessed with incredible fortune. He gets to observe the global rulers and legendary figures of every realm right from the premium VIP viewing boxes, doesn’t he?”

Operating in his official capacity as the student council president, Leo was currently positioned directly before the dimensional transit portal to welcome the arriving global dignitaries.

“Leo, do not allow anxiety to grip you. I shall provide you with flawless support.”

“Senior Lil. I deeply appreciate your reassuring words, but would it be possible for you to speak to me while actually maintaining eye contact?”

Lil appeared to be the one utterly paralyzed by nerves, keeping her eyelids clamped tightly shut.

The immense responsibility of personally welcoming the monarchs and legendary champions of diverse realms fell squarely upon the shoulders of the respective grade representatives, who stood as symbols for each academic tier.

Because Hark and Elena were only scheduled to return from their strategic field deployment the following day, Lil stood as the highest-ranking student representative presently on site.

Consequently, it devolved upon Lil to assist Leo, who, despite wielding the massive authority of the student council president, remained a second-year student.

Yet, the sheer weight of the occasion had her visibly trembling and filled with hesitation.

“Sigh—Are you truly completely devoid of nerves, Leo? Are you not plagued by the terror of committing a massive blunder or exposing some form of inadequacy?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“As I always believed, Leo is truly cut from a different cloth.”

Lil found herself utterly awed.

She had recognized his exceptional nature from the moment of their initial introduction.

Yet presently, he had transitioned from a mere brilliant underclassman into an impossibly elevated status as both the student council president and an accomplished summoner.

“Senior Lil, you will perform perfectly fine if you simply conduct yourself as you normally do.”

“True, that way they wouldn’t perceive anything as out of the ordinary.”

‘……The reality is that if she acts like her usual self, they will find it peculiar, and if she tries to act differently, they will find it equally peculiar, so there is really no winning scenario, is there?’

Leo kept these cynical thoughts entirely to himself.

While Lil perceived herself as an ordinary individual, the reality was that she harbored a deeply eccentric temperament.

Furthermore, from the standpoint of an elemental spirit practitioner, her capabilities were nothing short of extraordinary.

‘To be more precise, she isn’t simply extraordinary; she is a flawless force devoid of any exploitable vulnerabilities.’

Despite being blessed with such staggering innate genius, Lil possessed an innate habit of constantly identifying and measuring herself against individuals she deemed superior, which naturally caused her self-confidence to crater.

‘Yet despite that tendency, she never permits herself to give up trying.’

She belonged to that rare breed of individuals who utilized comparison not as a source of despair, but as a ladder for personal advancement, perpetually directing her gaze toward the summit rather than looking down at those below her.

Leo shifted his attention toward Aina.

‘Her current state of mind mirrors Lil’s quite closely.’

Where Lil was tightly closing her eyes to battle her anxiety, Aina was staring unblinkingly at the terrain beneath her boots.

‘It appears she remains deeply affected by the emotional fallout of her grueling encounter with Juen.’

“Aina.”

“Yes?”

Aina flinched slightly, caught off guard by Leo addressing her.

“You seem to be weighed down by heavy thoughts.”

Faced with that observation, Aina allowed her gaze to drop back toward the floorboards.

Her lips parted slightly as if she intended to speak, only to press them firmly together once more.

In the past, Aina had never once averted her gaze from Leo, boldly proclaiming her intent to earn his validation.

Yet currently, she seemed to be deliberately avoiding direct contact with him.

Monitoring her withdrawn behavior, Leo remarked:

“If you are grappling with internal dilemmas, you should attempt to converse with Celia. She is designated as your guide.”

“…….”

Upon hearing that advice, a bitter, self-deprecating smile touched Aina’s lips.

“……An individual of my meager standing…… Senior Celia would likely refuse to squander her time on me.”

“It is highly counterproductive to diminish your own worth to such an extent, Aina.”

Lil, who had overheard the exchange, offered a gentle reprimand, but Aina merely remained fixated on the ground.

Staring at the downcast girl, Leo posed a question:

“For what purpose do you imagine you were assigned a mentor in the first place?”

“Pardon?”

Aina snapped her head upward, her features registering a flicker of astonishment at Leo’s inquiry.

However, before any further words could be exchanged, the dimensional transit portal hummed to life with a brilliant glow, and the sovereign rulers and legendary champions of various realms commenced their arrival, bringing an abrupt end to their private dialogue.

Flash—!

A grand procession of diverse monarchs and legendary champions representing numerous races materialized.

With each new arrival, the assembled scholars of Lumern erupted into thunderous acclamations.

Right in the heart of this intensely enthusiastic reception.

Flash—!

The dimensional gateway flared with brilliant energy once more, signaling a fresh arrival.

The Lumern scholars, who had been preparing to unleash another wave of cheers, suddenly fell entirely silent.

The sudden hush wasn’t confined to the student body.

The various monarchs and legendary champions who had been actively exchanging pleasantries similarly wore expressions of profound astonishment as they took note of the figures stepping through the portal.

Flap— Flap—

Grand heraldic banners caught the wind, unfurling majestically.

A contingent composed exclusively of denizens hailing from the Eastern Continent marched forward with measured steps.

Countless diplomatic gatherings had been convened across the eras following the age of the Heroes of the Genesis.

Nevertheless.

This particular faction, whose lineage had endured across the world since long before the epoch of the Heroes of the Genesis, had never graced a single diplomatic summit with their presence.

It represented the sovereign domain possessing the most ancient lineage across the globe.

The hidden realm that had recorded its legacy exclusively within the shadows.

A lone voice in the crowd softly breathed the name of that legendary domain.

“Shan Empire.”