The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns
Chapter 237

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Chapter 237

Amidst the commotion, the last test participant, Ashuria Abelgard, slipped away, followed by the rest of the cadets streaming out in droves.

Rubas Hontail, the youngest son of the prestigious Hontail family, silently walked toward the dueling arena where the professors had gathered just moments earlier.

-Rubas. Our family is a proud and noble magic lineage. You know that, right? The only reason we haven't earned the title of Archmage is because of Luteon Abelgard. As frustrating as it is, we have to acknowledge the truth—he’s an extraordinary mage.

-We can’t bring him out of hiding, but at the very least, you must approach his hidden disciple, Ashuria Abelgard.

-It would be even better if you could win her favor. Try to build a good relationship and find a way to bring her into the family.

Those were the words of the family elders, though Rubas wasn’t particularly thrilled about the task.

Though the Hontails were among the continent’s 13 great families, he knew all too well that the elders were preoccupied with the looming shadow of Luteon Abelgard, the reclusive archmage.

To be honest, he had been a little surprised when he first saw her.

Ashuria Abelgard was quite pretty—enough to leave an impression.

At his age, it was natural to be captivated by such beauty.

But he hadn’t even been able to approach her.

First reason?

He was more innocent than he liked to admit.

Second reason…?

‘Just getting close makes my mana scream…’

He’d heard it before—when archmages with overwhelming mana don’t fully control it, the raw pressure alone can affect those with lesser mana reserves.

It was rare since most mages knew how to restrain their output.

Unless, of course, she was doing it on purpose to keep people away.

‘Damn it… what the hell is this?’

He brushed his hand over the lingering mana in the training ground.

Only for a moment, but he’d felt it—an incredibly strange spell had been cast.

Could he have stopped it?

No.

That was impossible.

Even as a scion of a prestigious magic family, he had lost—outdone by the descendant of an archmage.

But then…

There was something he couldn’t understand with his knowledge.

A spell of such complexity—ripped apart, like it had been shredded.

Who could have done this?

Even the elders of his family wouldn’t be capable of such precise destruction.

Ashuria herself?

No—this was interference from outside.

The academy professors?

Though they were skilled, he couldn’t say for sure they surpassed his family elders.

Rubas stared blankly at the remaining mana, then infused it with his own.

His family possessed numerous proprietary spells unknown to the public.

These were what had built the Hontails’ reputation as a great magical house.

What he was doing now was one such spell—designed to reconstruct the traces of magic.

It was an investigation spell, essentially.

He muttered briefly, his eyes glowing blue as he activated the incantation.

Then—

He collapsed to the floor.

In front of him appeared a massive magical trace—the spell Ashuria had attempted to cast.

And embedded in it, as though to seal it, were thin, needle-like spell formations, erratically scattered throughout the grand magic circle.

So far, it was still within expectation.

It was a surprisingly powerful spell, after all.

But then—

As he shrank back, lifting his gaze in awe, his eyes widened.

‘What… is this…’

If Ashuria’s spell circle was about one meter in size, and the professors’ sealing traces were about 30 centimeters each…

Then what were these massive traces, over ten meters in diameter?

More than just size, the structure itself hinted at something hidden—something beyond normal comprehension.

He lay flat on the ground, inspecting the magic circle from various angles.

Then his mouth fell open.

‘What the hell—this is a three-dimensional magic circle. Someone made this… in such a short time? How?!’

Only two people came to mind who might have caused this phenomenon.

The boy who had grabbed Ashuria’s arm faster than anyone else when she was about to cast the spell.

And the woman in a robe who had snatched a professor away.

Just those two.

* * *

From that day on, Rubas Hontail tried to calm his chaotic mind and gather rumors.

The temporary dormitory he was staying in felt a bit cramped and stifling.

Most cadets were in the same boat, but after the placement exam and the final rankings were announced, the top-ranked cadets would move into the better dorms.

Until then, he could bear the discomfort.

What truly held his interest wasn’t the quality of the lodging.

“Basara? What are you doing here?”

Having reached his destination through rumor-chasing, Rubas raised an eyebrow at the sight of his peer hiding in a bush, spying on something.

Basara Krevad, who was never anything but confident, was now peeking at someone with a complicated expression.

Was he suddenly interested in romance or something?

Highly unlikely.

From what Rubas knew, Basara wasn’t that kind of person.

Startled by Rubas’s voice, Basara motioned for him to be quiet.

“What’s going on? Why are you here?”

“Checking something.”

“Same here, actually.”

Rubas turned his gaze toward what Basara had been watching.

A group of cadets were doing something… strange.

“Those people…”

“You know them?”

“…I’ve seen them before. But… what is that guy doing?”

The cadets’ bizarre behavior was one thing, but there was supposed to be a class happening here.

Yet the instructor, Leon, was lounging on a sunbed, wearing sunglasses and humming a tune.

This was supposed to be training?

He had heard this was the combat department, but what did this have to do with actual combat?

“So. Why did you come?”

“Just… had something I wanted to check.”

Seemed like they both had the same reason for being there.

Then, one of the cadets—wearing a strange device—collapsed with a short cry.

“Grrgh… my body feels like it’s being torn apart…”

Leon, hearing the scream, immediately sat up from his sunbed.

Yawning widely as he walked over, he sat right on top of the fallen cadet.

“P-Professor! Please! Just wait a second!”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Aaaaaargh?!”

More screams followed as the cadet flailed, but Leon just chuckled and twisted the poor guy’s limbs in every direction.

This wasn’t training—it looked more like torture resulting from a full-blown mental breakdown.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

“Gyaaaaah! My eyes! Aaaah… It feels like my eyes are getting ripped out!”

A girl who had been muttering to herself while flipping over a white card marked with a magic circle clutched her eyes and fell to the ground, stomping her feet.

“Guh… Bleeeergh!!”

Screams erupted from all directions.

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Leon’s eyes lit up like a predator spotting prey.

Abandoning the cadet he had been twisting, he approached the others.

The remaining cadets panicked and tried to run away, but they didn’t get far.

Watching this, Rubas and Basara quietly hid themselves and exchanged glances.

Then, without saying a word, they left the scene.

“Guess I was wrong.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Back at the training ground. I thought he moved so fast I couldn’t see him.”

“Really? I thought he was the one who dispelled the spell the Archmage’s disciple cast.”

They stared at each other in silence, then shook their heads without hesitation.

And they left.

“I must’ve been seeing things. No way someone like that could move that fast… Even the Black Knights of our family couldn’t do that.”

“Those rumors were way too exaggerated from the start…”

Their heads aching, both came to the same conclusion:

Let’s just forget about it.

Of course, neither of them saw Leon glancing at their retreating backs with a chuckle before turning back to twist the limbs of the collapsed cadets again.

* * *

They’re quick on the uptake.

But given how fast they backed off, it didn’t seem like they’d cause any trouble.

“Good work, everyone. You can figure that mess out yourselves. Now, let’s begin the actual class.”

At my words, the failing students responded.

“C-Can we take a short break first?”

I answered them firmly, noting their hesitant expressions.

“You think you’re good enough to be asking for breaks?”

“Ugh…”

They were crushed, left speechless.

But regardless, I simply offered them the reality—and the path they’d have to walk.

“I just checked the level of the new cadets. They’re better than expected. At your current pace, you won’t be able to achieve anything significant.”

Their faces darkened at my continued words.

“How does it feel to be looked down on by others or your juniors in the cafeteria?”

“…”

“Be honest. It pisses you off, doesn’t it?”

Though I spoke with a hint of a smile, they held back their anger.

I slowly walked forward and told them:

“And yet you just take it? If it were me, I’d be so angry I wouldn’t even be able to sleep.”

Whoosh…

A hammer emerged from subspace into my hand.

A new spiritual weapon I had forged.

As I gripped Utopia, spiritual energy began gathering heavily at its head.

“I won’t have anyone saying students I taught for even a month haven’t improved.”

With that, I swung the hammer into the air.

“Open.”

[Utopia]

At my activation phrase, the hammer shimmered with light, and without hesitation, I slammed it down into the air.

Craaaack!

A shattering sound, like breaking glass, erupted as pure white mist exploded around us like a smoke bomb, engulfing everything.

“From now on, this is combat training. You’ll experience the kind of live combat most cadets only get in a year, compressed into what time you have left.”

* * *

Surrounded by thick, white fog, the cadets looked around in a daze.

Just moments ago, they were in the academy’s training yard.

But now…

Where on earth were they?

A crimson sky.

A desolate land.

A place that looked like death itself had taken form.

Feeling dizzy from the surreal landscape, those who regained their senses scanned the area with tense expressions.

“W-Where are we?”

“What just happened…?”

It was then—

Leon’s voice echoed in their ears, clear as day, despite sounding like a reverberation.

“I’ll explain the rules now, so listen carefully.”

Leon’s voice continued without distortion.

“In this place, you won’t die. If you take a fatal blow, your body will be immediately removed from the area and rendered incapable of interacting with anything.”

At those words, a grotesque creature burst from the ground and lunged at a nearby girl.

“Kyaaah!!”

Smash!!

Its claws slammed down on the girl’s head in an instant.

Her body became translucent, and she trembled violently as if electrocuted.

“W-W-What is th-this…?!”

“There needs to be a penalty for death—otherwise, people won’t value their lives. And one more thing.”

Crunch!!

Another grotesque creature burst from the air and bit into a cadet’s arm.

That boy’s arm became translucent.

“If a body part is damaged and not treated, it’ll remain in that state. You might as well consider it gone.”

The failing cadets turned pale.

“Lastly, each time you defeat a monster, stronger ones will appear. Your task is to survive, as a group, until the standard I set is met.”

Leon’s voice seemed to carry an eerie smile.

“What are you waiting for? Get started. You’ll be repeating this until the day before your exam.”

At his words, even the translucent cadets and surroundings returned to normal.

Their weapons fell to the ground in front of them with a thud.

Then, the ground warped in multiple places, and hordes of goblins began pouring out.

“Oh, and by the way—your surroundings will change at random. Stay alert.”

Thus, a fake Labyrinthos was unleashed upon the failing cadets.

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