Chapter 643

“Everyone is truly incredible.”

Artian pressed his palms together, a gasp of reverence escaping him.

Such a breathtaking spectacle naturally pulled a cry of admiration from his lips.

“His blade work was slightly unsteady, but the outcome is magnificent. Observing that, it becomes clear that his legendary status was not achieved by mere chance.”

He had triumphed in a seemingly unwinnable conflict through sheer meticulous planning and tactical brilliance.

His capacity to anticipate upcoming maneuvers was of a caliber that first-year students could not even begin to comprehend.

The phrase “toying with them” could be applied quite literally here.

Even when facing adversaries from different cohorts, individuals like Elena, Lil, and Chen Xia had never managed to control a battlefield to such an absolute degree.

“Truly, the pioneer who lays the groundwork.”

As Yura voiced her awe, Ren let out a soft snort, “Hmph.”

“Hmph, isn’t that just a given? He is a pupil under my guidance.”

“You hardly paid any attention to Kal, did you?”

“What nonsense are you uttering? From whose teachings do you think Kal derived his exceptional capabilities in alchemy?”

“From the alchemical tome of Dweno-nim.”

“Ah, if you merely invoke an entity and shift every burden onto it, any real connection with the invoker becomes utterly unfeasible.”

“Pardon? What exactly did you mean by that?”

“Hmph, resorting to physical force because words fail you? You are beginning to act more and more like Senior Ain by the day, aren’t you?”

“Would you like a demonstration of what genuine physical force feels like?”

Harline, who had not cast so much as a single glance at the bickering faculty members, finally spoke up.

“Professor Ain, Professor Artian.”

“Present.”

“Yes, y-yes!”

“Ensure they remain silent.”

“Uhm… in what manner…”

Artian found himself completely bewildered.

Yet Ain showed no sign of pausing; he stepped up behind Ren and swiftly fractured his neck.

Crack

Caught entirely off guard, Ren collapsed instantly.

“Exactly what you deserved!”

Yura cheered gleefully, taking pleasure in the sight.

Witnessing this, the hesitant Artian locked eyes with Harline.

Jolted by the gaze, he hurriedly moved toward Yura.

“Professor Yura, please forgive me! This is by order of Professor Harline!”

“What?”

Snap

“Gurgle?”

Yura’s neck was contorted at an angle far sharper than Ren’s had been.

The attention of everyone present immediately shifted toward Artian.

“I interpreted your directive as meaning there was no further need to restrain them once silence was achieved, but did I misunderstand?”

“Pardon?”

Artian grew visibly panicked by Harline’s observation.

“Setting that aside, Professor Artian. That particular sound just moments ago was far from normal, wasn’t it?”

“What?!”

Artian’s eyes, which typically remained shut unless he was entering a state of possession, snapped wide open.

Gazing downward, he discovered Yura twitching on the ground, froth escaping her lips.

“Professor Yura! Please stay with us!”

“A medical practitioner! Someone summon a medical practitioner!”

“Hey! Yura! Regain your senses!”

Harline offered a faint sigh, observing the faculty members who had now become vastly more disruptive than before.

“Hahaha! Behold the collapse of a tyrant who attempts to resolve every issue through raw power!”

Professor Sedjen carried an expression of absolute triumph.

Standing alongside Sedjen was the academy leader, Riina.

“Are you not at all concerned for Professor Yura?”

“Hmph, Riina. Professor Yura is hardly fragile enough to perish from an incident of that scale.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Shall we call it confidence in a former pupil?”

“Understood.”

Riina gave a nod, raised a container of alcohol to her mouth, and consumed it greedily.

Ain spoke up, keeping his gaze on Riina.

“Academy Leader. It would be wise to restrict your consumption of alcohol.”

“Ugh—Professor Ain. My apologies. However, the pressure I have faced recently has been immense.”

Clearing her mouth, Riina produced yet another container of alcohol.

Ain offered a quiet sigh internally as he observed her actions.

Harline, Sedjen, Riina.

He could perceive exactly why this trio had maintained their companionship since their academy days.

‘In truth, the academy leader must be dealing with an incredible amount of pressure.’

Riina, who assumed leadership of Rumerin following the departure of the Sword Saint.

Whispers and doubts had been rampant when she initially stepped into the role the previous year.

Given that a figure from the Shadow faction had ascended to lead the Hero Academy, a degree of dispute was inevitable.

Nonetheless, as if validating the backing of Harline and Sedjen—widely regarded as the most illustrious professors of Rumerin—Riina executed her administrative obligations flawlessly.

The reason she maintained a low profile among the public was precisely because her governance of the institution left no room for complaints.

Furthermore, keeping true to her background as a Shadow, she possessed a private intelligence network, granting her an absolute understanding of newly emerging hero dungeons alongside the activities of Tartarus and the Hero Hunters.

As a consequence of such monumental and exhausting responsibilities, she had frequently taken to drinking in the presence of the faculty lately.

Even so, not a single instructor rose against Riina.

Because the educators of Rumerin were quite peculiar themselves, they simply overlooked her drinking habits.

Another factor was that Riina had never permitted alcohol to compromise her professional duties.

“Which cohort do you anticipate will successfully complete this task ahead of the others?”

In response to Harline’s inquiry, Riina breathed out a soft, “Hmm,” before letting loose a quiet chuckle.

“The honors will go to the fourth and fifth-year cohorts.”

“Oh? What leads you to that conclusion?”

Sedjen inquired with genuine curiosity, and Riina replied while keeping her eyes fixed on the display.

“Regarding the first-years, they have not yet fully comprehended the true nature of Kal as an individual. The terrain for the second-years is far too disadvantageous. Furthermore, their adversary happens to be Chen Xia, correct? Her reputation preceded her within our circles. The future patriarch of Shan.”

Riina’s attention remained fixed on Chen Xia.

‘She is entirely detached from inner turmoil now.’

The state of Chen Xia’s mind during her initial year at the academy had been glaringly obvious.

It is quite routine for members of the Shadow network to long for a life out in the open, rather than hidden away in obscurity.

Upon transitioning into her second year, she had likely ceased rejecting her own heritage.

Most importantly, society had come to validate the Shadows.

Every single Shadow across the realm had found salvation.

‘Her countenance appears far more at peace now than during her second year.’

A significantly more composed demeanor.

The trajectory she ought to follow.

She has completely determined the responsibilities she must undertake.

Even during her second year, she did not hide her ties to the Shadow network, openly displaying her Shadow traits.

Yet she had never before unveiled her unmasked self to the world.

Now, she has laid that self entirely bare.

‘It is a challenge the second-years cannot resolve immediately.’

“The third-year students will have shaken off their illusions by now. They will engage their seniors with absolute seriousness. In the upcoming clash, they will find a path to triumph regardless of the odds.”

True to her words, the intensity in the eyes of the third-years had shifted.

They conceded that they had allowed themselves to become conceited.

‘That represents the most formidable trait of the third-year group.’

They identify their errors with incredible speed.

And they utilize those blunders as a foundation to advance at an astonishing pace.

‘The impact left by Leo is profound.’

Ultimately, Riina’s attention shifted toward the fourth and fifth-year students.

They were visibly trembling in conviction.

Observing them at this very instant, it felt highly improbable that they would be the initial group to settle the task, contrary to Riina’s confident declaration.

However…

‘Those youths are, when all is said and done, prospects to become heroes.’

The background of shattering boundaries over an extended duration at Rumerin does not simply vanish.

Even if their commander is lost and they tumble into chaos.

Even if they establish barriers for themselves and struggle to breach them.

The legacy of what the fourth and fifth-years have accomplished remains intact.

‘Furthermore…’

“I, I concur! I believe the fourth and fifth-year scholars possess the capability to unravel this test with great speed!”

Artian interlocked his fingers tightly.

Artian had overseen the first-year students ever since he accepted a position as a Rumerin instructor.

Nonetheless, he had handled instruction for the advanced cohorts on several occasions.

“The fourth and fifth-years have Runba among them, do they not!”

“Runba?”

“Runba is present, indeed… but his capacity for command is insufficient to navigate this crisis.”

It was during this moment of uncertainty among the faculty.

“Undeniably, with Runba’s presence, the fourth and fifth-year groups might find their awakening.”

Yura massaged her neck as she rose from her position.

“A-Are you unharmed?”

Artian inquired with an anxious look, and Yura gave a nod of confirmation.

“Indeed. I am unhurt.”

Yura directed her gaze toward Runba on the display.

“That individual, he approaches regular matters with ordinary effort, but when it concerns intellectual pursuits and physical conditioning, he is utterly fanatical.”

“Runba behaves in that manner?”

Ain manifested a look of astonishment.

Scholars who commit their entire existence to academic and physical mastery typically project an intense drive.

Yet aside from his opening year, Runba had never displayed such a trait.

“Indeed. Do you suppose he would retain his standing as the runner-up of his class without merit? Nonetheless, despite achieving that, he harbors no desire to contest for the pinnacle. That scoundrel. It is truly absurd. He actually intends to simply step into a role as an assistant instructor at Rumerin following his completion of studies, merely skating by comfortably?”

Yura appeared completely incredulous.

Securing a position as an instructor at Rumerin was no small feat.

In reality, the majority of Rumerin’s faculty were masters wielding strength that matched, or perhaps eclipsed, that of standard heroes.

Even so, individuals who prioritize the development of the upcoming generation over the path of a hero choose to become Rumerin professors.

Precisely for that reason, Runba, who aims to join the staff directly upon finishing his education, represents an exceptionally odd case.

He is thoroughly equipped to walk the path of a hero and is at the peak of his youth, yet he seeks to withdraw from the vanguard.

“He claims he can never hope to outmatch Elena Zerion. He felt so utterly demoralized by that reality that he abandoned the ambition of becoming a hero, so he says. Is he not a fellow whose competitive drive is thoroughly decayed? Yet the ironic part is, considering his behavior, he has not entirely relinquished his desires.”

He exerts himself frantically because lingering attachments still hold sway over him.

“Do you truly believe a fellow like Runba could abruptly awaken and spark a flame within the remaining students?”

Faced with Ain’s query, Yura offered a subtle chuckle.

“That happens to be Leo’s particular talent, does it not?”

“Pardon?”

“Igniting a spark within the souls of others.”

Hearing Yura’s statement, Ain let loose a breathless laugh.

“That is undeniably accurate.”

Runba, who had collapsed onto the ground, kept his eyelids closed.

It was undeniably agonizing to harbor an entity within one’s own class whom one could not even dream of overtaking.

‘There is even an individual a year below us.’

To make matters worse, this person belonged to the identical department.

‘No, are there even more beneath them?’

Runba let loose a hollow laugh.

He was not referring to Leo Flobe.

‘That person truly exists within an entirely separate realm.’

By a twist of fate, the prodigy within the third-year cohort belonged to the same discipline as well.

‘Warreden Tyden.’

It was not limited to Warreden alone.

The third-year rank was overflowing with anomalies.

Had there ever occurred an era within Rumerin’s legacy where so many prodigies converged simultaneously?

‘This isn’t even a clash of titans.’

Runba could perceive the voices of the fourth and fifth-year students fragmenting around him.

The fifth-years, who ought to have served as the anchor, had split into separate cliques.

The fourth-years chose this moment to vent their long-suppressed defiance.

Under normal circumstances, he would have attempted to step in as a mediator, offering an amiable grin.

But at present, their spirits were so completely shattered that such a method would prove useless.

‘In moments of this nature, it is best to let them clash and sort it out.’

He resolved to cease worrying about the group and concentrate solely on himself.

‘Deep down, I am a highly driven individual. I desire to stand at the apex of whatever group I inhabit.’

He might lack the capability to pull ahead of his predecessors, but he desired to at least be supreme among his peers or those below him.

Yet that very drive was completely dismantled during his initial year.

Consequently, he walked away cleanly from the journey of a hero.

Instead, he sought to reach the pinnacle in a setting dedicated to educating the next generation.

It resembled a cowardly retreat.

‘Yet… even so, that fellow Leo. He persists in prodding me far too much.’

He was well aware that Leo possessed sharp intuition.

Precisely because of that, Leo threw blatant provocations his way.

Claiming he would correct his degraded competitive spirit, or demonstrate what it truly meant to be a hero of a fresh era.

‘Ah. He is truly an extraordinary piece of work.’

Runba brushed the dust from his clothes and stood upright.

“Therefore, Niel ought to assume command…”

“We shall take charge of operations instead!”

“Such insolence from you underclassmen!”

“Is this truly the moment to bicker over seniority? Would you prefer we strip off our ranking insignia and settle this with our fists?”

“What? Have you lost your mind!”

“Ah~ audio check. Audio check.”

“Runba, is this a proper moment for running commentary!”

One of the fifth-year students barked, glaring at Runba who had produced a device equipped with a sound-magnifying enchantment from his attire.

Runba offered a subtle grin, meeting his gaze.

“Hold your tongues and pay attention. I am not providing commentary.”

“…”

The fifth-years recoiled at the uncharacteristic sternness, while the fourth-year students’ eyes widened in surprise.

The younger students were startled by Runba’s coarse demeanor, a trait they had never witnessed from him, while the older students were reminded of bygone days.

“The leadership structure and planning staff shall remain unaltered.”

Runba declared impassively.

“Regardless of how I evaluate the situation, that remains the correct path.”

“Senior Runba! Your strategy met with failure! Restructuring the leadership would be…”

“Ah, you lot, when an upperclassman is speaking, simply remain silent and pay heed. I recognize you think highly of yourselves, but do not attempt to overstep your bounds with me. Leo is not the sole individual capable of breaking your spirits. I am entirely capable of breaking your spirits as well.”

The fourth-year students fell into absolute silence, observing Runba unleash biting words while maintaining his customary cunning grin.

They found themselves thoroughly intimidated by this unfamiliar side of their senior, who had looked after them with such care since their arrival at the academy.

“As for the rest of you. I explicitly warned you not to engage in dominance games with your juniors merely because you placed your reliance on Elena, did I not? You refused to listen back then. How does it taste now that you have faced the consequences? It feels utterly wretched, does it not? Do not harbor feelings of victimization. The fourth-years are reacting in this manner precisely because of your past conduct. It is retribution. Plain retribution.”

Retaining his smirk, he proceeded to strike directly at the vulnerabilities of his own peers this time.

Runba spoke further, watching them compress their lips in silence.

“Formulate a plan to completely overwhelm Leo.”

“…His assault is imminent, will we be granted the necessary time?”

Hearing Eden’s query, Runba made a clicking sound with his tongue.

“Not in the slightest. He has already arrived.”

Runba shifted his gaze, locking onto Leo, who was approaching with a perfectly serene demeanor.

The gathered fourth and fifth-year students recoiled.

“That look on his face. Is it not overflowing with conceit?”

“What?”

“Regardless of his accomplishments, we remain his seniors. That gaze that looks down upon us as though from an immense altitude! Ah, quite so. He possesses every justification to look down. He is entirely authorized to do so. Even so.”

Runba lowered the amplification device and ground his teeth together.

“Let us at least command a modicum of reverence as upperclassmen. Even if it requires bending our knees to earn an acknowledgment. Let us struggle with everything we have to ensure we are recognized as his seniors.”

“Are we capable of achieving that?”

“I stated that we require time, did I not?”

Runba moved forward a single step.

“I shall secure as much time as humanly possible.”

Gooooooo-

Niel, detecting the ethereal energy surging forth from Runba’s frame, spoke up.

“Let us withdraw from this immediate area first.”

Following his instruction, the fourth and fifth-year students rapidly backed away.

“Senior Niel, Senior Runba… what exactly has occurred?”

Niel cast a backward glance at the query coming from his junior within the Knight Department.

“…That is simply his genuine character, I suppose.”

Runba took his position ahead of Leo.

And he whispered silently within his own mind.

‘Forgive me, right? Magnificent, splendid, and exalted entity?’

Despite advancing with an air of complete assurance, internally he was pleading with an entity in a manner so desperate it bordered on pitiful.

‘You recall that singular occasion you mentioned you would extend your aid? Could you assist me on this occasion? Can you hear my voice? The most supreme Grand Spirit in existence? Well? Well?’

—You are exceptionally disruptive.

A listless tone echoed within his consciousness.

Upon receiving that acknowledgment, Runba’s countenance lit up instantly.

Leo, who had come to a halt, allowed the corners of his lips to curve upward.

“Oh?”

Leo remarked, showing a look of genuine amusement.

“You kept a hidden card in reserve? This promises to turn into quite an engaging contest.”

Leo elevated his hand, watching the currents of liquid revolving around Runba like a tempestuous column of water.

Hwa-reuk-

—Hmph, what is the meaning of this, Bound One?

—Bound One, nonsense. A servant.

Lariel let loose a frosty mock as the Spirit of Purity, Ista, assumed an imposing stance.

Ista paid no heed to Lariel’s derision.

“Your counterpart appears on the verge of being manifested.”

—A counterpart?

“Indeed.”

Leo stated, keeping his focus on the liquid that had commenced its wild rotation around Runba like a towering waterspout.

“The Spirit of the Deep Sea, Undine.”