LHAHS Chapter 347
The training grounds of the Starting Hall were filled with nearly the entire student body. From the spectator stands, Lunia stood with her arms crossed, watching the first-year students.
"Lunia El Lunda."
At the sound of a voice behind her, Lunia turned, uncrossing her arms and straightening her posture.
"Senior Marven."
The one who had called her was none other than Marven, the top-ranked fifth-year and the number-one student in the entire academy.
Lunia smiled, looking mildly surprised. "I'm surprised to see you at an official school event, senior. That's unusual."
"Even though I'm graduating this year, I'm still curious about what kind of first-years have joined us." Marven chuckled as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her. "Anyone stand out to you?"
"The most obvious choice would be that one." Lunia pointed toward Lea. "Lea Tingel. She's undoubtedly the best among this year's new students."
Marven rested his chin on his hand. "A model honor student, huh? Sounds boring. She reminds me of Hardin." His expression hinted at mild disappointment.
Lunia smirked. "She's more interesting than you think."
"Hm?"
"That one isn't as sane as she seems." Lunia grimaced, recalling what had happened in Leo's room.
"So she's like Senior Raynia?"
"…That's not a compliment, is it?"
"Of course not."
"You—!"
Marven chuckled as Lunia huffed in frustration. She let out a sigh and changed the subject.
"What about Senior Everton?"
"Our young master got called away by the acting headmaster." Marven smirked, picturing Everton, the second-ranked fifth-year. "The Pureblood Society has their eyes on him since he's from a prestigious family."
"Senior Everton's ideology leans toward theirs, doesn't it? Aren't you worried about being close to him?" Lunia asked carefully.
Marven merely chuckled. "It's true that he's proud of being a Seiren student, but he's not the type to blindly believe that elves are inherently superior."
That sounds…pretty similar, though. Lunia tilted her head slightly.
"Oh, right, Senior Marven. The Hero Record that was discovered recently—is it really Seiren's Hero Record?"
"Who knows? The records are certainly in Seiren's name. But you know how it is. There are countless fakes out there."
Marven had personally retrieved the Hero Record during his recent mission.
"If the vice-principal were here, we could verify it much faster…but she's away."
The vice-principal of Seiren, Nergia, had always actively encouraged students to challenge the Hero World. Currently, she was attending the Elven Council for discussions on the next headmaster selection, which had kept her away since the start of the school year.
"Would things be any better if she were still here?"
"Hard to say. She never got involved in the school's administration or personnel matters. But at least the acting headmaster and the Pureblood Society wouldn't be running around unchecked like this."
Marven clicked his tongue, watching the first-years. Then, suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he spotted someone.
"Wait a second…That first-year…"
Before he could finish, a frantic voice called out.
"Lunia! Lunia!"
Garin and Alice, the fraternal twin siblings, came sprinting toward her, gasping for breath.
"Leo Plov is among the first-years!"
"How did he even get in? Could he have infiltrated Seiren to uncover our secrets?!"
"He's here as an exchange student."
"Huh?"
"The Pureblood Society teachers arbitrarily assigned him to the first-year lower class."
At Lunia's response, Alice looked embarrassed. She had spent the entire run to Lunia wildly speculating about how Leo had infiltrated Seiren as a spy, rambling all sorts of baseless theories to Garin.
"A spy? Seriously?" Garin gave his sister a withering look, making Alice bristle.
"You thought it sounded plausible, too!"
"I did not! I knew you were unhinged the moment you started writing those ridiculous romance stories about a forbidden love between a Seiren and Lumene student…"
"Die!"
Alice promptly drove her elbow into Garin's temple, knocking him out cold.
As she dragged his unconscious body away, Marven snickered. "Those two are amusing." Then, his gaze shifted toward Leo. "An exchange program? Never heard of such a thing before. And of all people, Leo Plov assigned to the first-year lower class? That's absolutely insane."
His eyes darkened as they flicked toward the cluster of Seiren teachers.
Watching him, Lunia smirked. "This exam is going to be very interesting."
The homeroom teacher of Advanced Class 1, Mr. Jeras, bowed his head slightly before the acting headmaster, Lehagen.
Lehagen narrowed his eyes. "You ensured everything is in place?"
"Of course," Jeras replied, smiling broadly.
"I noticed that the class representative was assigned to a group with the lower-class rejects. What's the reasoning behind that?"
"Eclair does not deserve a place in Advanced Class 1."
"Hm?"
"Despite the exam being just around the corner, she has been associating with the lower-class failures. It was an act that lowered the dignity of the advanced class, so I assigned her to a group with the lower-class students. Well, considering the kind of company she keeps, it was only a matter of time before she fell out of Advanced Class 1 anyway."
Jeras clicked his tongue. "Eclair was exceptional when she entered, but she has barely improved since. Her mana reserves are almost the same as when she enrolled. Her spellcasting speed is also unchanged. Right now, she doesn't even meet the average standards of the advanced class."
Lehagen gave a thoughtful hum.
"This exam will determine whether she truly has the qualifications to be a hero candidate as a Seiren student."
Lehagen's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Good. Then let's begin."
"Yes."
Jeras stepped onto the podium.
"The first-year midterm practical exam will now begin. The assigned groups will be called forward."
The entire first-year class tensed.
"Advanced Class 1, Yoinia's group, step forward."
At Jeras' call, a female student from Advanced Class 1 led her team of ten onto the training grounds.
"And Lower Class, Bells's group."
At the unexpected call, Bells's eyes widened in shock. "Mr. Jeras! Why is my group being called?"
"Did you not listen to the announcement?" Jeras clicked his tongue. "This exam is a competition. The group that subjugates their monsters faster will be the victor."
"What?"
Not just the lower-class students, but even the intermediate and advanced-class students looked surprised. The entire nature of the exam had changed.
All students had trained in efficient hunting methods through teamwork, tactics, and strategy. But with direct competition introduced, everything was different. With the focus on defeating monsters faster than the opponent, the strategy had to shift completely.
While the lower-class students appeared bewildered, the intermediate and advanced-class students' eyes gleamed with excitement.
Especially the students in Yoinia's group from Advanced Class 1—smirks spread across their faces.
If the objective was to subjugate monsters more quickly than the other team…
Then obviously, targeting the weakest group—the lower class—was the best way to win.
As the upper-class students eyed them like prey, Bells' expression tensed.
"Bells, what do we do?"
"Can we even win against Advanced Class 1?"
As her teammates' anxious murmurs spread, Bells took a deep breath.
"We do our best. You all know we've improved a lot."
"But…They're Advanced Class 1." One of the girls slumped her shoulders.
"We worked ourselves to the bone for this. If we freeze up now and fail to even show what we're capable of, wouldn't that be even more frustrating?" Bells' expression hardened.
"Even if we don't win, we'll show them we're not pushovers!"
Her resolute declaration echoed across the field, but instead of encouragement, it sparked laughter among the intermediate and advanced-class students.
The lower-class students gritted their teeth.
"What nonsense is that kid spouting?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"You don't get it, Lyle? They have to compete against the advanced class. Bells is just bracing herself because she already knows they're going to lose! Sob!"
A lower-class boy clenched his fists in frustration, but Leo remained impassive.
"Why are you assuming that they're going to lose?"
"Huh?" The boy blinked.
"This is perfect." Leo smirked. "It's the best chance to show the upperclassmen how Advanced Class 1 gets completely wrecked by the lower class."
At opposite ends of the training ground, the two groups took their positions, facing off against each other.
Vwoom—!
A magic circle formed at the center of the field.
Ki-ki-ki-ki-kiik—!
At the same time, monsters poured out. These were creatures Seiren had captured specifically for the exam.
"Hah, goblins? Too easy." Yoinia scoffed, pulling out her staff.
Of the gathered students, she possessed the strongest mana. She began chanting a spell.
A swarm of goblins like this—one big spell will wipe them out…
Just as she prepared to unleash her magic—
Flash! KABOOM!
A blinding surge of magic erupted.
Yoinia's expression froze. "What the…?!"
Eyes widening in shock, she turned her head. "You idiots! What the hell are you doing?! You're supposed to be on defense!"
The ones who had just obliterated the goblins in an instant weren't from the lower class. It was her own teammates.
Yoinia was a traditional combat mage, trained to wield powerful large-scale magic with precision. Among the faculty, she was considered a promising talent. In terms of sheer mana reserves, she ranked in the top three of the advanced class. She had even placed fourth in the entrance exams.
Naturally, she had been assigned the role of attacker for this exam. Yet, the nine students who were supposed to be handling defense had started recklessly firing off spells instead.
A Seiren student wielding fire magic smirked. "This exam is about taking out monsters faster than the other team, remember? If we wait for you to finish your long-ass chanting, those lower-class kids might beat us to it."
"As if they could clear that many goblins faster than us! Stick to the plan!" Yoinia snapped in frustration.
Another girl giggled. "Yeah, no. Don't you get it, Yoinia?"
"What?"
"This isn't a fight between us and the lower class. We're not actually competing with them—we're competing with each other."
Yoinia's eyes twitched. "You think you can compete with me using magic? Know your place."
"We admit you can cast stronger spells than us. But…you only know high-tier attack magic, don't you?"
"…!"
Ever since she enrolled, Yotrein-sensei had focused her training solely on advanced magic. She had been raised as a Stellar Magic user specializing in overwhelming firepower.
Of course, Yoinia wasn't completely unfamiliar with lower-tier spells. But she had never once practiced or studied them. Not when the faculty had pushed her to achieve results.
These…these little…! Yoinia's shoulders trembled.
She looked up. Above them, the scoreboard displaying the kill count flickered. Her eyes widened.
What…?
Only a few minutes had passed since the exam began. Against weak monsters like goblins, first-years posed no real threat. So, naturally, over a hundred goblins had already been eliminated by the advanced-class students.
But what made Yoinia's heart lurch wasn't their own score.
It was the fact that the lower-class team had subjugated just as many monsters.
No…They're actually slightly faster?!
As Yoinia stared in disbelief toward the lower-class group—
ROOOOAAAARRR!
A monstrous bellow echoed across the field. From the summoning circle, an ogre emerged.
The advanced-class students hesitated.
"Yoinia! An ogre!"
"And what do you expect me to do about it?" Yoinia sneered maliciously.
"Huh?"
"If you're so capable, handle it yourselves."
"Hey! You—!"
"You think we can't?" The advanced-class students bristled, their pride wounded.
As they turned away, Yoinia glanced back up. Goblins were one thing, but now that a high-level monster had appeared, surely the lower class would start to struggle.
…They're still ahead of us?!
Panic flickered across her face. Realizing now wasn't the time for internal conflict, she hastily began chanting. She blasted the ogre with magic.
"You idiots! From now on, just follow my…"
"The ogre's down!"
"Attack!"
"Don't let Yoinia take the points!"
"I never liked her attitude anyway!"
Now fueled by a desperate urge to climb the rankings, the advanced-class students ignored her completely.
"Would you listen to me?!" Yoinia clutched her head in frustration.
Lunia's jaw dropped.
She wasn't the only one.
All the second-years—no, the entire academy—wore the same expression of disbelief.
The audience had fallen into complete silence as they watched the exam unfold. Even the faculty members observed the results with stiff expressions.
"Hmm."
A sigh of irritation broke the silence.
Everton Levurm, the second-ranked student of the fifth year, crossed his legs and rested his chin on one hand. He was a student who carried himself with unshakable pride in Seiren's name and prestige.
He was also the son of Evratin, the head of the Elven Grand Council—one of the most politically powerful elves alive. A devout believer in Luna and Seiren, he was an elite talent the Pureblood Society had been eyeing for a long time.
Seated near Lehagen, Everton watched the exam unfold with cold detachment. "Acting Headmaster."
Lehagen turned toward him as Everton smirked. "You told us to expect a new and improved Seiren, so I was looking forward to seeing the first-years in action." His tone was laced with mockery. "But tell me, Headmaster—are this year's first-years simply that weak? Or is the problem with the new system you've implemented?"
Lehagen's expression stiffened. "Everton…this is…"
"I see no reason to keep watching." Everton scoffed as he stood up.
Just then—
"My, my. What's gotten our young master so worked up?"
A firm hand clamped down on Everton's shoulder, forcing him back into his seat.
"Take your hands off me, Marven." Everton's glare shot toward the man who had stopped him.
Standing behind him was Marven, the top-ranked student of the fifth year.
Lunia, who had followed behind him, spoke up with a knowing smile. "Everton, you should watch until the end. Because the real fun is just about to start."