Chapter 669

Book 1 Chapter 669

669.

When the next morning arrived.

Resting comfortably inside her sleeping bag, Ar suddenly began twitching her nose as her instincts kicked in.

Just a few seconds afterwards.

Ar’s eyelids flew wide open, and with a sudden shriek, she bolted upright.

“Uwaaaah!”

Shouting at the top of her lungs, Ar wriggled frantically to free herself from the confinement of her sleeping bag.

“What’s all the noise about?”

Illiana, who had been resting right beside Ar, questioned with a messy, sleep-deprived expression.

“An incredible aroma is wafting over here!”

Ever since their expedition commenced, their diet had been restricted to basic provisions such as dried meat and stale bread.

Because of this, Ar possessed an intense, yearning desire for an actual, freshly prepared dish.

“Are the rest of you just going to stay there?”

“The class leader explicitly mentioned that we had permission to rest without limits. For me, slumber comes first.”

Illiana snuggled further down into the warmth of her bedding.

The remaining girls in the tent appeared to share her sentiment, making absolutely no effort to get up.

Throughout the course of their recent scouting mission, they had severely cut down on rest to remain on the move.

Given that every single hero candidate boasted exceptional stamina and fortitude, staying awake for two days with minimal rest hadn’t completely drained them.

Even so, the natural human inclination to enjoy a deep sleep whenever an opportunity presented itself was simply impossible to suppress.

“You bunch of couch potatoes!”

“Look who’s talking about being lazy, you food-obsessed feline.”

“Just ignore her. She operates on animal instincts, after all.”

Driana entered the conversation, echoing Illiana’s complaints.

Paying no heed to their words, Ar stepped outside the tent.

“Ar is creating quite a ruckus out there, but these three are completely dead to the world.”

Illiana cast a puzzled glance toward Chelsea, Eliza, and Aina, who remained fast asleep with closed eyes inside their respective bedding, and then murmured softly under her breath, taking advantage of the moment.

“Chelsea and Eliza. Absolute blockheads. Terrible attitudes.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Chelsea and Eliza thrust their arms out from inside their sleeping bags.

Chelsea revealed an open palm, whereas Eliza displayed a clenched fist.

Having suffered defeat in their sudden game of rock-paper-scissors, Eliza crept out of her bedding with an irritated expression, marching toward Illiana with her fist still raised.

“H-hold on! I didn’t mean you two… Aaaah!”

After dealing a swift punishment to Illiana, Eliza climbed straight back into her sleeping bag.

Right at that moment, Ar re-entered the shelter.

Without uttering a single syllable, she scooped up both Driana and Illiana—who were still trapped inside their sleeping bags—carrying one under each arm, and marched right back out of the tent.

“You wild animal! Let me go this instant!”

“What is wrong with you, disrupting our rest like this!”

Ignoring the vehement complaints of Driana and Illiana, Ar unceremoniously hauled the pair into the open air and dumped them onto the dirt.

“I’ve retrieved them, Black Rabbit!”

“Excellent work. Here, have some food.”

“Oh, wow!”

Ar beamed with joy as she took the bowl of warm stew that Leo offered her.

“Could it be their youth? They possess an abundance of vitality so early in the day.”

“My word, your culinary skills are quite impressive.”

“O-oh! Lord Dweno! Teacher!”

Driana jolted in surprise, rapidly scrambling out of her sleeping bag.

“Gasp! Class leader?!”

Illiana choked on her breath, immediately trying to retreat back into her bedding.

Driana plunged her hands into Illiana’s sleeping bag, attempting to extract her by force.

“How disrespectful! Showing such behavior right in front of Lord Dweno and our teacher!”

“Hold on! Give me a second to clear away my drool… Aaaah! Unhand me! Seriously! Stop it, you brainless dwarf!”

“Ahahahaha!”

Enniha burst into a fit of laughter, clutching her abdomen as she observed the two girls tussling with one another.

Moments later, as she watched the duo, Enniha framed Illiana by shaping a rectangle using the thumbs and index fingers of both hands, observing her through the space before speaking.

“Hmm~ Observing you from this angle, Illiana, your physical build is exceptionally well-balanced, wouldn’t you say? How would you feel about modeling for me?”

“A model? Do you want me to strip right now?”

“Will you take your hands off me?! You degenerate dwarf!”

Illiana shrieked in horror as she realized Driana was gripping tightly onto her garments.

Leo leaned his chin against his palm, quietly taking in the spectacle.

‘So that constant babble regarding nude modeling was picked up from this elf all along?’

“Well, removing your clothes would certainly be ideal. However, if you are disinclined, there is little I can do to force you,” Enniha remarked, shaking her head side to side.

Observing Enniha’s attitude, Leo fixed a sharp, unblinking glare onto Dweno.

“What’s the meaning of that disagreeable look?” Dweno inquired, clearly perplexed.

Leo responded directly to Dweno’s query.

“I once crossed paths with a dwarf who adamantly claimed to be an artist.”

“What about him?”

“He rambled on endlessly about requiring an unclothed subject for artistic purposes… It honestly made me question whether he was merely a deviant.”

“Fine, but what does that have to do with why you are staring at me?”

“No reason in particular.”

Leo simply rolled his shoulders in a shrug, watching Dweno’s forehead crease into a deep scowl.

“On another note, what was the reason for dragging me out here?”

“Lord Dweno requested that Driana be fetched, while Black Rabbit wanted you brought over.”

“The class leader? For what purpose?”

“It is nothing urgent. Let us have some food before anything else.”

Leo offered a warm, amicable smile as he generously dished out some stew for her.

Illiana gave a nod of agreement and took the bowl of food.

“Wow! This tastes incredible! This is exactly how I like it!”

“I tailored the flavor specifically to suit your preferences.”

“Seriously? Class leader! I can’t believe you actually remembered what I like! I am genuinely deeply moved!”

Illiana began bouncing up and down in absolute delight.

“Would you care for some of this as well?”

As Leo slid a cooked sausage directly from a metal skewer onto her dish, Illiana wasted no time piercing it with her utensil and taking a bite.

Following that, she cradled her face in her hands, radiating pure contentment.

“This is so good.”

“Make sure you get your fill.”

“Absolutely! Thank you!”

Ar, observing the entire exchange from the sidelines, stealthily shifted her weight backward to put some distance between herself and Leo.

‘Something is off.’

Ar narrowed her gaze suspiciously.

Her primal instincts were screaming at her to maintain as much distance from Leo as humanly possible.

“By the way, Illiana.”

“Yes! What is it?”

“During our recent scouting mission, I couldn’t help but notice that Duran managed to equal your pace, didn’t he?”

“Ah, that matter?”

Illiana replied, continuing to consume her stew as though it were completely insignificant.

“Duran is incredibly stubborn, you see? He clearly despised being slower than me, so he underwent some truly brutal training. Honestly, it wasn’t just Duran; it seemed like Chelsea and Eliza managed to match my velocity as well.”

“I see. Did you neglect the specialized magical training that Luna designed specifically for you?”

“I practiced it, but… in order for Flash Step Blade to achieve higher speeds, my actual physical frame has to become much more resilient.”

This was the distinctive spellcraft that Luna had formulated and Illiana had personally dubbed.

Because Flash Step Blade operated as a magical technique that forced extreme acceleration upon the physical form, it inflicted an immense strain upon the practitioner’s body.

To put it simply, possessing a robust and hardened physique was an absolute prerequisite for unlocking superior velocity.

“Does it come down to an insufficiency in your basic conditioning?”

“Exactly! That’s why time is the ultimate solution! After all, I am still in my developmental phase!”

Hahahaha! Illiana let out a cheerful laugh before spearing another piece of sausage using her fork.

“Which means… you chose to take things easy during our vacation period, correct?”

“That’s spot on! Wait, what?”

Illiana, who had been responding without paying much attention, abruptly sensed an eerie shift in the atmosphere and snapped her gaze around.

Standing right there, Leo was displaying a remarkably warm, benevolent expression.

‘Has the class leader always been capable of offering such a sweet smile?’

Though the thought briefly crossed her mind, Illiana quickly spun it into a positive interpretation.

‘Hehehe. I really like it when he grins like that! The class leader has definitely transitioned from just a good-looking boy into someone with the aura of a handsome young gentleman.’

Illiana remained completely oblivious, entirely unaffected by a facial expression that would have caused Chelsea to go deathly pale and scream in terror while fleeing for her life.

‘…Does this girl completely lack a sense of self-preservation?’

At that very moment, Ar was breaking out into a cold sweat, whispering under her breath in disbelief.

“Illiana.”

“Present!”

“Beginning this very day, the two of us will be conducting some specialized conditioning together.”

“Understood! Wait… what did you say?”

Illiana’s eyelids, which had been blinking thoughtlessly as she gave her automated response, suddenly widened to their absolute limits.

“The Progenitor of the Nebula herself was deeply moved by your latent potential, to the point where she engineered an entirely original magic specifically for your use.”

In an instant, every trace of warmth evaporated from Leo’s features.

Illiana’s complexion drained of all color.

“Yet, you are allowing such a supreme technique to wither away into uselessness. Can you honestly consider yourself a proper human being while acting like this? This is the literal definition of casting pearls before swine, is it not? I am going to mold you into a proper person.”

“N-no way! I would much rather just remain a pig!”

“That is not an option. The moment you finish that meal, we are heading directly into your training regimen.”

“…”

Hearing those words, Illiana began to quiver in fright and immediately lowered her utensil.

It was a desperate ploy designed to delay the onset of her grueling lessons for as long as possible.

“Ah, it looks like you have finished eating. In that case, let us begin—”

“Wait, I’m not done yet!”

Illiana frantically resumed shoveling food into her mouth, looking as though she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

“Furthermore, Driana.”

“Yes?”

“I originally intended to oversee your instructions as well.”

Leo directed a subtle look toward Dweno.

“I engaged in a brief discussion with this young fellow, Leo, during the early hours of the morning. The ultimate decision we came to is that I shall personally assume responsibility for your instruction.”

“R-really?!”

Driana’s expression instantly lit up with joy.

“Indeed. Based on what I was told, this young man intended to guide you in mastering highly intense flames. My original plan was to impart the arts of smithing to you, but executing that requires an absolute mastery over powerful heat. Given that his instructional approach closely mirrors my own philosophy, I have resolved to guide you myself.”

Driana looked completely overwhelmed with emotion.

“I promise to give it my absolute all!”

Dweno gave a nod of approval, quite pleased to see Driana responding with such enthusiasm.

Witnessing this development, Ar slinked over toward Leo.

“What sort of instruction does Lord Dweno have in mind for Driana?”

“Do you recall the Howling vocal exercises that Arion and I forced you to practice?”

“How could I possibly erase that from my memory! You submerged me in a body of water and practically drowned me!”

“Drowned you? That was a highly disciplined exercise. See, the water provided the ultimate solution in the end.”

“Ugh.”

Ar trembled at the recollection.

Leo continued, fixing his gaze upon Ar.

“This is simply the inverted variant of that process.”

“What?! That sounds incredibly pleasant! That’s totally unjust!”

Ar snapped in annoyance.

Leo countered quietly while staring back at Ar.

“You thoroughly enjoyed it, Ar.”

“What?”

Ar, who had tagged along to watch Driana’s practice session, found herself entirely speechless and could only whisper under her breath.

“…What kind of nightmare is this?”

Fwoosh-!

“Kyaaaah! The heat is unbearable! Lord Dweno!”

“Hold your ground! Hold on! Just as steel tempers and hardens when subjected to intense heat, so too does the physical body!”

“Aaaah! I’m literally going to perish in here!”

“A dwarf is not broken that easily! Do not attempt to escape, stand firm!”

Driana was currently engulfed in flames inside an enormous forge.

Dweno manually shoved Driana straight back inside whenever she attempted to scramble out of the blazing chamber.

“Excellent, now grasp the smithing hammer!”

“How am I supposed to wield a hammer under these conditions… Aaaah!”

Driana’s agonizing shrieks reverberated through the air.

‘So the complete inversion of submerging me in water for a drowning exercise meant tossing her into an oven for a baking exercise?’

They were presently situated at Dweno’s forge.

Meanwhile, out in the vacant courtyard just beyond Dweno’s workshop…

“Aaaah!”

An automated golem brandishing an immense greatsword lashed out at Illiana with breathtaking velocity.

Illiana let out a high-pitched scream, narrowly evading the incoming blade.

“Black Rabbit. What is the consequence if she fails to dodge that strike?”

“She perishes.”

Forced to wear heavy bindings enchanted with gravity magic around both her wrists and ankles, Illiana was darting around desperately to escape the automaton’s reach.

Leo bellowed out to Illiana.

“Keep your body moving if you have any desire to survive!”

“Hey! Leo Plov! I am seriously going to make you pay for this! Heeeek!”

Illiana, breaking from her customary mannerisms to scream Leo’s full name, barely evaded yet another slash from the construct.

‘That side is an absolute nightmare as well.’

Ar felt beads of cold sweat trickling down her neck as she attempted to quietly slip away from the training grounds.

She had an ominous premonition that lingering in this vicinity would inevitably drag her into some form of torture as well.

“Ar.”

Ar choked on her breath as Leo’s voice resonated from right behind her, causing her to pivot around with agonizing slowness.

“Step over here.”

Ar threw a wary glance around her surroundings before tentatively making her way toward Leo.

“Would you mind drawing Brave?”

“Ah…!”

Ar’s ears perked up instantly as she rapidly summoned Brave out from her dimensional pocket.

“Dweno.”

“Hmm? What do you need?”

Dweno shifted his attention back.

Leo gestured directly toward Brave before inquiring.

“Is there any possibility you can repair this blade?”