Chapter 75
Kwak?!
Leon’s fist broke through the thin barrier covering the thick aura wrapping around Pin’s abdomen, striking his stomach.
Cough! Pin spat out bile. His pupils dilated, and his body lost strength.
He tightened his grip on the will to escape even more. This time, a powerful blow would break free…!
Pin momentarily changed the form of his sword grip and aimed for Leon’s wrist.
However.
Bam?!
Leon’s roundhouse kick struck Pin’s face, causing him to hit the wall of the training room and barely fall from mid-air.
Blood mixed with the heavy breath he took. To an onlooker, it seemed less like a training duel and more like a life-and-death battle.
“Oh, getting up again. Impressive. Pin!”
The problem was that Pin was fighting for his life alone. Thigh, leg, arm, face… Pin’s body was covered in bruises and wounds.
Gasping for air, his busy body no longer wanted to move.
“Once more… I beg of you.”
“Hmm! It’s a good saying that strikes a chord.”
However, Fin, even if forced, got up to continue Leon’s training.
Leon, as if satisfied, nodded once and then immediately rushed forward, thrusting an unreserved fist into Fin’s abdomen.
Fin tried to read this with shaking eyes, but it was futile.
Leon, boasting extreme strength and intensity, once again inflicted excruciating pain on Fin’s body.
“Ugh…!”
As Leon stepped back a few paces after delivering the punch and assessed Fin’s condition, Fin covered his mouth, trying urgently to stop something and failing.
Blood and vomit spilled from Fin’s mouth.
As the unbearable damage accumulated, his body expelled everything inside.
Seeing this, Leon nodded his head as before and called out to one of the members watching their duel.
He practically signaled the end, asking for assistance in handling Fin.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Handle him gently. You know he’s pushing himself to the limit. Continuing training like this could lead to his death.”
Bell, assisting in handling Fin with the members of the group.
Although not asked to, Bell voluntarily wiped the vomit that Fin had expelled and helped him stand up.
Upon hearing this, Leon silently gazed at Fin. Confidently placing his hands on his hips, he awaited Fin’s response.
Through Fin’s trembling lips, a gentle yet firm resolve emerged.
“Just a moment… I… I can still do more.”
“Stop this nonsense! Do you even know the state your body is in?”
Having trained with Fin for a few weeks now, Bell had witnessed how far Fin was pushing himself physically and mentally.
Fin was out of his mind.
He was not in his right mind.
No matter how much his body was trained to become a hero, there were limits to a living being.
Every day, Fin crossed that line, subjecting himself to torture disguised as training.
For Bell, whose top priority was peace of mind and stability, understanding Fin’s actions was beyond comprehension.
“You’ve already grown rapidly in a short period. How much more do you want?”
Through the artifact given by the great hero Haelion, Fin had grown quickly. While he had not been a match for Bell before, after just three weeks, he had become a worthy opponent.
Bell was not particularly confident in his own abilities and was barely average at the academy, but considering Fin’s progress, it was hard to believe.
“I’m still… I’m still… far from it. This… this is not enough.”
Bell’s voice did not reach Fin’s ears.
His eyes, focused beyond Leon standing in front of him, did not shift their gaze elsewhere.
A sentence filled with desperate determination came from Fin’s trembling lips.
His eyes, though seeming blind, were clearly fixed on the goal in front of him.
“I… I want to become a hero who protects humanity.”
Leon, with a satisfied expression, laughed heartily and proudly spoke out.
Ha ha ha ha?! His laughter echoed so loudly that everyone training in the courtyard immediately took notice.
Always one with a booming voice, this time, his presence was even more remarkable.
“Fin! You will definitely become a strong hero. I guarantee it!”
Thump?. Leon struck his chest forcefully with his fist. A simple fist, not imbued with magic or aura, made the air vibrate.
Osel Vanteolo Leon.
He pledged Fin’s achievement in the name of himself.
“If it’s you, you could even rank in the top 10 of the hero rankings by entering the church!”
Leon declared confidently.
Knowing the immense weight and pressure that his name and the number exerted, Bell blinked his eyes as he watched from the side.
To be honest, Finn is at a level where he might barely become a hero by forcibly getting stronger.
To say that he could make it into the top 10 of the hero rankings by looking at someone like him?
For a long time, except for Hailion, no rookie who was once called a genius has been able to even come close to that position. Even if you want to give him strength, isn’t it planting too grandiose a future?
Excessive unrealistic goals can have the opposite effect…
Ah.
No.
You can tell by those firm eyes.
Leon is not saying these words to instill hope. …Yes, that’s right. That’s the kind of person Leon was.
“Did I choose you as Hailion’s mentee because I trust you, Vargand! hahahahaha?!!”
He meant it sincerely.
Persistent effort can surpass talent.
He is convinced of this.
“Once again… I request a match.”
“Sure! It doesn’t matter how many times. Let’s stay up all night and burn with passion.”
hahahaha….
He will probably really continue the match without even sleeping.
They are truly remarkable people.
Bell sincerely thought so.
“Bell! Come in too!”
“Me?! I-I should too? Ah… well, if you insist so much, I can’t refuse.”
The flames of the training ground do not go out even when deep night falls.
***
Lately, after completing training with Alicia’s inspector, I have been heading to the ancient ruins every day where the bones of the ancient dragon are scattered.
This is to help Francesca research rituals related to ancient dragons.
There is a reason based on the original work.
Commander Francesca.
Originally, in the plot, she failed to half-heartedly revive the ancient dragon, failed to subjugate it, and instead even had her own skeletal army taken away.
The protagonist Liam and his companions try to neutralize them with their power, but under the endless dragon’s magic, the soldiers do not sleep and continue to attack people.
The festival is a place where even outsiders not related to heroes participate.
Most professors and students are busy protecting them, and even with the absence of 3rd and 4th-year students, there is a shortage of numbers.
Liam determines that Francesca, the original spellcaster, is the only one who can solve this problem, finds her with difficulty, tries to persuade her with his specialty, and amazingly, it works.
In the end, he figures out a way to resolve the situation and ends it successfully.
Perhaps because they are skilled at saving people, there are no deaths in this commotion. Everything turned out well. Isn’t everything resolved perfectly frozen?
After joining Liam’s heroine group, Francesca commits suicide two years later. It was the second official death of a heroine after Emily.
Our protagonist loses his mind at this point. At that time, it was a period when Altepf’s attacks were frequent, so there was no room for that.
Anyway, Liam has such an unbelievable level of intelligence and judgment, so I have to step in for him. What can I do? She is too valuable to just stand by and let her die.
Oh, of course… in my own way. I will shape her in a way that benefits me the most. If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t have interfered.
“In this magic formula, it seems that applying the 3rd-order magic formula used in ritual magic will allow for a more effective supply of mana.”
“Indeed… that seems to be right. If we calculate it directly… yes. That way, the flow of existing mana can be improved by about 1.19 times.”
For the plan.
It was to help her establish a relationship with a sense of camaraderie and to assist in controlling the events of the 2nd semester festival as I desired. Surprisingly, this magic formula research seems to be helping not only my curse but also the advancement of ritual magic.
Francesca’s expertise in command magic and magical formulas provides me with knowledge that is reciprocally positive, leading to productive outcomes.
“Ah, then we can use multivariate function time transformation here to transform it into a form with time complexity.”
“In that case, the output also increases by 1.19 times. Quite astonishing.”
Thus, they continued discussing magic formulas for a while, and before they knew it, three hours had swiftly passed.
In just a couple more hours, the morning sun would gradually drive away the darkness.
Sitting in a suitable spot, Francesca, cooling her overheated mind, took in a deep breath of the cool dawn air and exhaled long.
Eyes that seemed indifferent, as if uninterested in other objects or phenomena.
Apart from her research on command magic, her eyes never emitted a hint of an intellectual glow.
Yet, she showed a slight hint of interest.
“Why are you helping me to this extent?”
Even though they belonged to the same research society, it was suspicious that someone would suddenly offer help every day without fail. Moreover, the fact that she had discovered his secret of researching the bones of ancient dragons was a dubious situation.
What she had was a reasonable doubt and suspicion.
“I did mention it at the beginning. For mutual benefit. Even though I went as far as to curse each other because you seemed not to believe, is it still not enough for you? In conclusion, I have no intention of yielding any further.”
“Well…”
Her eyes in the dawn seemed lifeless. When trying to capture the gentle light around her, it bounced off her retina, not allowing it to enter.
“…It doesn’t matter.”
Her lips uttered words devoid of emotion.
In Francesca’s handling of the skull, there was a cold aura akin to the grudge of the deceased.
“Let’s call it a day here. We’ve made significant progress, and today the 1st years have to move to take their final exams.”
“Then, let’s do that.”
Since she wouldn’t be able to assist Francesca during the summer vacation, as before, she would have to conduct research on her own. However, rather than doing things half-heartedly, she knew she could bring the ancient dragon’s bones back to life by herself.
Once the 2nd semester began and there was some spare time, it wouldn’t be too late to collaborate again.
Looking around, there were signs of dawn slowly breaking.
Preparations were being made for the massive clouds in the sky to change color.
***
The location for the final exams was the distance they had to fly for a day on a skyship.
A massive, unfair skyship capable of accommodating all members of the academies.
Unlike models typically in operation, this large one was used only when a group of more than one grade needed to travel together.
From now on, they were scheduled to soar through the sky for a day on that colossal vessel.
“Are you okay, Lord Fin? You seem quite unwell….”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little hurt from training. Thanks for your concern, Alicia.”
“But… it’s not just a little….”
“Exactly. If it stays like this, won’t it be a hindrance during tomorrow’s final exams?”
Poke. Frida jabbed Fin’s bruise with her finger.
Whenever that happened, Fin would grimace as if in pain, but tried to smile as much as possible and continued the pretense as if nothing was wrong.
With his mouth, he said, “I’m fine, but could you stop touching me?” There was a hint of emotion in his words.
“And you’re not from the same clan or the same faction, right? Why are you here?”
“I don’t fit in with my faction. If not here, I have nowhere else to go.”
“Considering that, you’re quite bold…”
“I’m distancing myself from my faction members. Plus, Bardgan and Alicia are here.”
Frida embraced Alicia and turned her face away. The sight was like watching an animal that seeks comfort from someone who has touched their heart. With orange ears and a tail, it was even more so.
“Oh, and Emily and Serena too.”
“Alright. This guy.”
Emily belatedly dismissed Frida’s concern for them. It wasn’t just out of spite; there was another reason.
“Shall we start getting ready to leave soon?”
Her words seemed to spark something, as Paula’s playful and familiar voice, amplified by Madog, echoed in her ears.
“Ah, I’ll let you know! We will be taking off shortly to head to the final exam venue. Please fasten your seatbelts and… oh, forget the instructions. Hurry up and get on board! We’re about to depart.”