LHAHS Chapter 377
"Wow, that's brutal. Black Rabbit."
Aru swayed her white tail as she watched the screen through a video projection spell, clicking her tongue.
"The student council president of Lumene isn't Black Rabbit right now, it's you."
"Who are you calling a rabbit? I'm a cat, you idiot tiger."
Aru shot a glare at Borman, who had come up beside her and crossed his arms.
Borman, a tiger beastkin and the fifth-ranked second-year at Azonia, looked down at her and smirked. "Need me to bring you a mirror?"
Aru scoffed.
"Still… this is surprising."
"What is?"
"I never expected the student council president of Lumene to be so tough."
Borman pointed at the screen, where Leo was gripping the face of a dwarf warrior armed with a massive battle hammer. It wasn't just strength and skill that put him at an advantage.
"I always thought he wasn't much of a warrior," Borman admitted.
"Are you stupid? He's an all-class. If he's not a warrior, then what is he?"
"Heh. Not all warriors are the same."
As Aru gave him a look of exasperation, Borman flexed his fingers. "There are plenty of so-called 'warriors' who avoid direct combat, relying cowardly on magic and summoning. I thought Leo Plov might be one of them. But I was mistaken."
"What the hell is this musclehead saying? How are magic and summoning cowardly?"
"A real fight is a head-on battle—clashing with nothing but pure strength and skill!"
Aru gave him a pitying stare, but Borman didn't care.
Borman Tisser, a champion of the Iron Colosseum, located in the beastkin's Iron Nation, and the son of beastkin hero Botek Tisser.
In the beastkin lands—where there was no king—colosseum champions wielded authority akin to royalty.
Of course, not all of the strongest beastkin warriors were colosseum fighters.
Aru's own family, the Tune clan, was not one that made its name through the colosseum. But many prestigious beastkin families did.
The colosseum was the ultimate stage to prove one's strength and gain recognition.
As the son of a champion, Borman had been raised as a fighter since childhood.
Even among Azonia's fiercely combative students, he had an especially intense fighting spirit.
A man who couldn't help but get excited at the sight of a new, powerful warrior.
His muscles twitched as he clenched his fist. "I see it now. That guy's a true warrior. A real man, just like you and me!"
"Yeah, yeah. Black Rabbit is a real warrior and a real man, just like us…" Aru lazily nodded—then suddenly froze.
"Wait, why the hell am I a man?!"
"Urk?!"
With a scowl, she kicked Borman hard in the side.
Borman crumpled to the floor, twitching, before eventually recovering and pushing himself upright.
"A chance to fight Leo Plov in a real warrior's duel…!" His eyes burned with excitement. "Battles fought with aura are great, but a pure contest of physical strength is just as exhilarating!"
With unwavering confidence, he declared, "I'm glad I racked up gambling debt. Aru, don't interfere. This fight is mine."
"Do whatever you want," Aru snorted.
As an Azonia student, she wanted to fight Leo too. But for now, she held back.
She did want to pay off her debt quickly, but more than that—she wanted Leo to meet Borman.
If Black Rabbit sees an idiot like this, maybe he'll stop calling me a dumb cat.
Thud—!
The beastkin warrior, whose face had been caught in Leo's grip, collapsed to the ground—his face caved in.
Leo glanced down at his unconscious opponent with disinterest and kicked him aside.
The underground arena should have been filled with cheers, gasps, and jeers.
But instead, only silence remained.
The only presence that filled the space was Leo, his crimson eyes gleaming.
The warriors of this arena were all scum.
It started with criminals who should have been executed and extended to powerful outlaws who had fled here after committing heinous acts in the outside world.
There was no honor here—only fights meant to entertain the audience.
Yet Leo displayed no emotion.
No rage toward the convicts. No disgust toward those who killed for pleasure.
Not even a flicker of acknowledgment for the opponents he crushed under his hands.
Like a janitor methodically sweeping away trash, he remained detached and indifferent.
And that was what terrified the people in this place.
Leo seemed less like a warrior and more like an executioner.
There was nothing righteous about it.
It was simply cold, mechanical slaughter of those who had lived corrupt lives.
Sinners instinctively recoiled from the sight.
They didn't dare speak a word.
Leo flexed his fingers and turned toward the announcer.
When their eyes met, the announcer swallowed hard and quickly looked away.
Watching Leo dominate the entire casino with his presence alone, Carl clicked his tongue. "That guy… he's no joke."
Even as Leo's closest friend at school, Carl found this side of him unfamiliar.
"He feels… different from the Senior Leo we imagined," Juen murmured, swallowing dryly.
Leo Plov, the youngest-ever student council president in Lumene's 3,000-year history.
His achievements were legendary—even compared to the greatest heroes of the past.
Among the first-years, no senior was as admired as Leo. They had all envisioned him as a leader—a righteous figure who would unite and guide others.
Many first-years dreamed of becoming someone like him.
If they were to become heroes, they believed they had to accomplish grand feats, just as Leo had done.
Juen had thought the same, so she had never imagined him slaughtering criminals so emotionlessly.
"Do we… have to be like that too?" she whispered.
"I am a knight. I have no choice but to follow my lord," Betty muttered, her face clouded with doubt.
Even Austin looked grim as he nodded in agreement.
…It's shocking, but… it's not wrong.
A hero must sometimes be ruthless.
In that sense, this too was an aspect of heroism.
But something about it feels… different.
Still conflicted, Juen turned to Luke. "You're surprisingly calm."
"Huh?" Luke looked at her, puzzled.
"You really admire Senior Leo. Didn't you want to be like him?"
"I did. But he told me something recently."
"What did he say?"
"He told me not to become like him."
"What?"
"Don't be like me."
"Huh?"
During training, Leo had suddenly spoken those words, catching Luke off guard.
"No matter how much you try, you'll end up walking a different path than I did."
Leo had smirked slightly as he looked at him.
"You're too kind for that."
"But… Senior Leo is the closest thing to a hero at Lumene. Everyone wants to follow in your footsteps…"
The younger one is, the more they are drawn to the closest and brightest light. And for Lumene's first-years, the closest and brightest light was none other than Leo.
"I'm not as noble as you think I am. The path I've walked, and the one I will walk, isn't filled with dreams and romance… it's not some clean, righteous road."
Luke looked at Leo in bewilderment.
"People your age think the most impressive path is always the right one. But there's no such thing as a right answer. There's only your own path."
"Senior Leo told me," Luke continued, "that we should just walk the path we want to take."
Juen, Betty, and Austin widened their eyes.
Carl clicked his tongue. "Sometimes, that guy sounds like an old man who's lived through a hundred lifetimes."
Shaking his head, he glanced at Chloe and Chelsea. They were probably even more shaken by Leo's words than the first-years.
Me? I'm just a slacker. I never dreamed of being a hero anyway.
More accurately, he knew he could never become one. Lumene's philosophy was about pushing past one's limits. But Carl had already felt the weight of his own limits.
That was why the way he viewed Leo was completely different from Chelsea and Chloe.
Carl knew better than anyone how extraordinary Leo was.
He was his friend, but he also genuinely respected him. He believed Leo would accomplish what no one else could and become a true hero.
Carl wanted to support him from behind, but he had never once thought about standing beside him.
Chelsea and Chloe, however, were different.
For Chelsea, Leo had been someone she admired from the moment they met.
For Chloe, Leo had been the one who guided her when she was lost.
Both of them had followed his back, working tirelessly to walk the same path as him.
And now, they were seeing a side of Leo they had never known.
"Wow, the captain's got that dangerous man vibe going on," Eliana chattered, eyes wide with excitement. "Doesn't he seem kinda cool?"
"You're lucky," Carl muttered. "You don't think about anything."
"What?!" Eliana glared at him.
Clicking his tongue, Carl turned his gaze back to Chelsea and Chloe.
The two girls silently watched Leo, their expressions tense.
"Uwoooooooooh!"
Suddenly, a deafening roar shattered the atmosphere, and everyone turned to the arena entrance in shock.
A massive tiger beastman emerged, raising both arms high.
"Huh?"
"That guy is…"
The second-years muttered in surprise.
"You know him?" Betty asked.
Chloe nodded. "Yeah. He's Borman Tisser, Azonia's fifth-ranked second-year."
The first-years stared in shock. It was bewildering enough to see a major figure from another academy suddenly appear.
"It's been a while, Leo Plov!"
"Azonia's Borman, was it?" Leo, whose presence had been cold and oppressive until now, suddenly let out a faint chuckle.
Borman grinned. "You remember my name? An honor!"
Wham!
As the tension shifted, the casino guests erupted into cheers.
"I was moved by your wild, untamed nature, Leo Plov!" Borman boomed. "I am truly honored to test my strength against a warrior like you!"
"He's the same as ever," Chelsea muttered, clicking her tongue.
Chloe turned to her. "Come to think of it, didn't you team up with Borman in Tarkam during the Exclusive Smith Contract Workshop?"
"Yeah."
"What was he like?"
"A brute who only knows how to charge forward."
Betty furrowed her brows. "Someone that reckless is the fifth-ranked second-year in Azonia?"
"Yeah. But he's strong. That's why he's ranked fifth."
"If Leo can't use aura, he might struggle," Betty murmured. "Just look at that massive build."
Among all races, beastmen were the strongest in close combat. Their animal instincts gave them terrifying power in battle. And in a situation where aura was forbidden, beastmen were at their absolute peak.
"He won't struggle," Chelsea said with a small smile.
"I told you, didn't I? Back during the entrance exam, Leo defeated monsters without using aura."
"Chelsea's right," Eliana added, pouting. "Do you know what the worst part of our second-year knight classes is?"
Betty shook her head.
"It's when we have to duel the captain using nothing but pure physical strength. He's a monster."
Eliana shuddered at the mere thought.
Amidst the crowd, Darian watched Leo.
An all-class, like the Hero of the Beginning? A second-year with unprecedented power? What does it matter?
His face was ice-cold as he turned away.
He's nothing more than a brute who hunts in the shadows… No different from those filthy Shadows, unrecognized even by the gods.
At a time when we need the noblest of heroes, Lumene has made someone like that their student council president? They've completely lost their way.
Darian scoffed.
Lumene is outdated. It no longer fits this era.
Clenching his fist, he curled his lips into a smirk.
I will usher in a new Age of Heroes.