Chapter 647

Book 1 Chapter 647

Main Gate of Rumeln Academy

The doors, which had been firmly closed, swung wide open, and the second-year students poured inside in a rush.

— “Ha… Are we inside the school? Really?”

— “I-It’s over! It’s over!”

The second-years began to let out cheers of joy.

— “Wow, so it finally ended,” a voice said from right in their midst.

— “Hiiiiieeeek!”

The second-years, who were hugging each other in celebration, screamed in terror upon realizing that Chen Sia was standing right among them.

Chen Sia flashed a radiant smile at the terrified students. Carrying her shoes and socks neatly gathered in one hand, she walked with light steps toward where the third-years were gathered.

Seeing her, Iliana asked with a look of disbelief:

— “What on earth did you do to them to make them tremble like that just by looking at you?”

— “I just went to teach them that the world is a very big place.”

After the first battle, Chen Sia had used every means and method at her disposal to corner the second-years. Hidden in the darkness, she persistently poked at their weaknesses, leaving them with no choice but to be dragged along at her pace.

The second-years felt in their own skin how terrifying the geographical advantage of darkness could be for someone who mastered shadows. And they understood the fear inspired by the “Hero Hunters,” those beings who stalked their necks from the shadows.

Although they managed to snatch the key from Chen Sia after three battles, they made another mistake. Unlike the fourth and fifth-years, the passing criterion for the second-years wasn’t just taking the key, but entering Rumeln with it in their possession.

The professors had ended the exam for the fourth and fifth-years because they judged that Leo wouldn’t take the key from them again, but it was different with the second-years. Heading carelessly toward Lake Rumeria, they fell once more into Chen Sia’s clutches.

For her, who controls water aura, the lake was a battlefield just as advantageous as the darkness. In the end, the second-years, dragged underwater by Chen Sia, lost the key again. It wasn’t until the fifth attempt that they managed to open the gate.

It was only natural that the second-years, having been tormented to their absolute limit, would be terrified just by seeing her. Iliana shook her head, watching the ever-smiling Chen Sia.

— “I can easily imagine what they went through. And how did it go for you guys?” Chen Sia asked.

Iliana’s expression darkened. Seeing this, Chen Sia’s gaze shifted toward her other classmates. She noticed that many had faces reflecting deep frustration.

‘It looks like it didn’t go well for them.’

— “We made it on the third attempt,” Iliana said, letting her shoulders drop. “It was an absolute frontal clash… and we got smashed twice.”

Chen Sia glanced to the side. Lil was sitting at a table, writing something in a notebook with a serious expression.

— “And Senior Elena?”

— “Hello!” Elena appeared behind Chen Sia with a smile and whispered in her ear. “Come on, come on. We ‘final bosses’ should sit together, apart from the rest.”

— “I’d like to cheer up my friends first.”

— “It’s a nice sentiment, but it’s better to leave them alone for now. If you had been there, the result would have been different. If you try to comfort them now, they might just feel even more miserable, don’t you think?”

— “Do you think the result would have changed just by me being there instead of Kal?”

— “Of course. The experience is different.”

Although in different fields, Chen Sia had already acted on the front lines as a “shadow” even before entering Rumeln. It wasn’t that the other third-years lacked experience, but no one surpassed Chen Sia in that aspect. Chen Sia nodded slightly, reflecting on why her classmates had struggled so much.

When she sat down at the table, Lil looked up.

— “Chen Sia! I heard your performance was incredible!”

— “Who did you hear that from?”

— “The spirits of darkness and water told me! Ah! It’s truly reassuring to have such amazing juniors, but at the same time, it’s a huge burden. I feel like you guys will surpass me by far next year. I can’t let my dignity as a senior diminish!”

Chen Sia wore an odd expression watching Lil writhe in dramatic anguish.

— “What are you doing right now?”

— “I was summarizing my mistakes and weaknesses from this test,” Lil said, showing her the notebook with complete seriousness. “I learned a lot from the third-years! I feel like I’ll be able to progress more based on today’s experience!”

Chen Sia observed Lil. Her uniform was a total mess. Not only that, her hair was battered, and she had small cuts and bruises all over her face and body. She looked like someone who had just returned from a battlefield.

In contrast, Elena looked as flawless as ever. That image said it all.

‘Senior Elena focused entirely on magic.’

Any attempt to interrupt Elena’s spells had been blocked by Lil. Although it was Elena who annihilated the third-years, if one were to ask who had the most terrifying performance of the two, it would undoubtedly be Lil. And even so, she wasn’t satisfied and was looking for ways to improve.

A word naturally crossed Chen Sia’s mind:

— “Monster girl…”

— “¡…!” Lil’s eyes widened, and with a face on the verge of tears, she grabbed Chen Sia and began to shake her. “You don’t say those kinds of things to a senior!”

— “Ah, I’m sorry.”

— “Yeah, you shouldn’t say that. Even if it’s true,” Elena added.

— “Senior Elena!” Lil looked at her reproachfully, but Elena only smiled.

— “By the way, where is Young Master Leo?”

If the fourth and fifth-years were the first to pass, Leo should already be here.

— “Were you looking for me?”

— “Welcome, Leo.”

— “Big brother!” Elena and Lil greeted him.

— “You’re late,” Chen Sia commented.

— “I had some pending business,” Leo replied calmly. “What about the first-years?”

The reason why all the students were in front of the gate was simple: today was the day of the entrance ceremony. The protagonists of the event were the first-years, so everyone was waiting for them.

— “Brother! Thanks to you, I was able to hold out in this exam!” Lil exclaimed with sparkling eyes. Although she was his disciple, in public she used that strange title of “big brother.”

At Leo’s questioning look, Lil explained:

— “I completed all the training tasks you left me before the winter break, and my spiritism skills have improved incredibly.”

— “You finished all of that?”

— “Yes!”

The tasks Leo had given her were the initiation process into spiritism used by Lysinus. It wasn’t a training that could be completed in just one vacation period.

— “…You really are a monster girl, aren’t you?”

— “You too, brother!”

— “Wow! From now on, Lil is officially a monster recognized by Leo!” Elena teased.

— “Congratulations,” Chen Sia added.

— “Don’t make fun of me!”

— “It’s not teasing, it’s a compliment,” Elena said with a smile. “You don’t know it, but it’s something truly amazing.”

If the Hero of the Beginnings himself, Kyle, was surprised, it was definitely something amazing.

— “Oh, really. My tongue is itching to tell Leo’s secret,” Elena commented.

— “Brother’s… secret?” Lil showed interest.

— “Are you curious?” Elena asked in a suggestive voice.

Lil seemed tempted for a moment, but upon crossing eyes with Leo, she shook her head frantically.

— “N-No! As his disciple… I can’t go around prying into my master!”

Elena put on a bored face at Lil’s firmness. Then she approached Leo with sparkling eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear:

— “Leo… no. What do you think, Sir Kyle?”

After saying that, she stepped back and looked at him with eyes that had found a very fun toy.

— “Should I say it? Or should I not? I feel like this would get very interesting.”

Chen Sia wore an anxious expression at Elena’s mischievous attitude. ‘It doesn’t seem like Young Master Leo has any intention of revealing his identity yet.’ Elena knew it, but this rebellious young girl was capable of revealing it just for fun. It was obvious she enjoyed having “power” over Leo.

— “Say it if you want,” Leo replied.

Elena tilted her head.

— “Oh? How brave. Then should I really say it?” she said, pouting, genuinely ready to speak.

Leo looked at her and declared:

— “Say it. But what will happen afterward?”

— “Afterward?”

— “Will you be able to handle me?”

Elena stared blankly at Leo, who had suddenly changed his tone of voice, and then abruptly turned away.

— “If you’re an adult, you should know how to let me win. You don’t let me win even once. Damn old man,” she muttered under her breath. Leo let out a chuckle.

Thus, half the afternoon passed. As the sun finished setting, Iliana leaped to her feet.

— “No way! When on earth are the first-years going to get here?!”

They were supposed to hold the ceremony, but there was no sign of them.

— “I never imagined Kal would hold out for so long,” Teide, a close friend of Kal, murmured with a surprised voice.

Kriiiiiiiiiik!

The firmly closed gates swung open. The first-years could be seen shuffling inside, dragging their feet. Upon seeing them, the entire school fell silent.

On the day of the ceremony, it was a sort of tradition in Rumeln for the new students to go through hardships. Everyone present had gone through it. And laughing out loud at the battered rookies was also part of the annual event.

However, no one laughed upon seeing these first-years. Their state was far too pitiful. They looked like defeated soldiers returning from a lost war.

Plop! Plop!

There was not a single trace of pride in having become students of Rumeln. While the school observed their deep sense of defeat, all eyes turned to the last person to enter.

Kal scratched his cheek and said:

— “Did I… go a bit too far?”