Chapter 5: In this world, the weak have no rights (2)
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A catastrophe.
It was a war that resulted in countless deaths.
As years passed in the war between the two sides, both grew tired of the gruesome fighting, but neither wanted to back down.
The one who retreated first was the biggest loser.
After the back-and-forth between the two sides, they didn't reach a complete solution.
Therefore, the best solution was to find something that preserved the advantages of the nobles.
And at the same time, something that didn't ignore the people who didn't have a prominent family or clan.
But in the midst of this, demons began attacking the continent.
Massacres spread, and fear consumed the world.
A year passed before the confusion subsided, and the continent lost countless people.
It was the biggest tragedy that had happened in thousands of years.
Everyone now had a common enemy.
And naturally, temporary alliances arose among the conflicting factions.
The continent waged a desperate war against the demons, and after tremendous sacrifices, they completely annihilated them.
No, Leon knew more than that.
The buried and unknown past.
Records you won't find in history.
It was the Blood Tragedy of the Ancestors.
But that's a story for another time.
While running through the surroundings, thoughts raced through Leon's mind.
He couldn't help but remember the unique civilization of this era, which arose in this harsh world.
After the enemy disappeared, the allied factions had no remaining strength, so they didn't rashly confront each other.
The situation stabilized after mediation between the nobles and the rebels, those with clans and those without.
And that compromise was magic academies and martial arts guilds.
A place that accepts everyone regardless of their background.
That was the best thing that could be done in those circumstances.
That's how everyone gained knowledge.
However, with the advancement of knowledge, problems will increase, and the system will not stabilize.
The more people know, the more they want, the more they struggle among themselves.
People are greedy creatures.
As long as they have knowledge, they will naturally strive for power.
Even with the academy where everyone is equal, it wasn't possible to get rid of the resentment of the common people that had lasted for centuries so easily.
Let alone that the nobles wouldn't easily think of the common people as equals.
The matter was clearer in martial arts guilds, which allowed conflicts among themselves.
As long as there are creatures, there are always conflicts.
Peace is truly desirable, but it's impossible to keep it going forever.
As years progressed, the so-called martial arts guilds and magic towers began to establish their power across the continent.
Mercenaries who could be hired, arms trade, information.
The division began to happen quickly; factions grew and disintegrated over the years.
The commoners began resorting to those places gradually.
The nobility system became undesirable over time.
The world was divided—instead of the commoners and nobles—into righteous and demonic factions.
For these factions, power was divided among four factions in turn.
The nobles ruled the west of the continent, and the Kangwha people ruled the south. They often fought over territories, so there was tension between them.
The righteous factions, in the name of justice, expanded their power rapidly.
Therefore, the time of the demonic ones—who acted only as individuals—was difficult.
Of course, the other two factions weren't better in any way.
The mages' society ruled the north, while the transformed humans, like genies, goblins, dwarves, and other half-humans, ruled the east of the continent.
The struggle for resources sometimes had its ups and downs, but there was no significant event worth mentioning.
Each faction suppressed the other, so no massive conflicts occurred.
In the past years, there were some minor conflicts here and there.
They were minor conflicts that arose as a result of people's resentment.
The matter could usually be dismissed as insignificant.
But they were actually an indication of the coming winds of change.
For that founder, he sensed the imminent end of the era of peace after its continuation for more than a hundred years.
The reason for the continuation of peace was only to avoid the damage caused by the war between people and against demons over the decades.
After securing their resources, the balance would break over time until someone remained in power.
The founder of the academy, who guessed what would happen in the following years, wasn't prepared to let his descendants be simply left as cannon fodder.
One must be prepared to fight when one must.
"Therefore, I will take a path that my ancestors didn't take. I built this academy for this reason."
"This place is a place that teaches future generations how to survive in this world."
"May everyone after me convey my will to future generations."
He encountered many oppositions and conflicts in his life, but he survived and broke away from the old ancestral system.
This academy is the fruit of efforts and blood, not only his, but also those of the generations after him.
Practical knowledge and experience; that's what this academy focused on.
Instead of clinging to something anyone could read in a book, it was a hundred times better to try it yourself.
One swing of the sword saves you the trouble of explaining from a thousand experts.
Of course, there are many who prefer to adhere to the customs of the past and joined other prestigious academies instead.
The teachings of this academy weren't limited only to mana training; even martial arts and various types of elemental magic were their focus.
The only rule in this academy was adaptation to the world.
That's why the teaching style differed in each generation.
From a mere educational building in the suburbs to an academy recognized by the world.
It was a truly long journey.
In any case, despite the denial of many, the graduates of this academy were truly exceptional people.
For some strange reason, many chose to settle on the vast island near the academy, but this is a story for another time.
Since many of the graduates were exceptional, there wasn't much to say about a person about whom rumors even spread across the continent.
Therefore, how important is it for supervising teacher Deus to give you an additional assessment on your first day of registration here?
Naturally, the importance was immeasurable.
Thinking about it from this point of view, the behavior of the students who were like bandits wasn't really strange.
People forget their rationality in the face of benefits, after all.
Leon, who was jumping through the trees at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow, was thinking about the history of this ancient place.
He understood the madness of the students to some extent.
'I understand this; I understand this, but…'
…Isn't this too much?
He frowned at the thought of the people searching for him all over the island.
I understand that I went a little overboard, but you yourselves are very savage!
Leon sighed resentfully, but he didn't have the strength to vent his frustrations.
"Grab this scoundrel, you guys! Our money is in his hands!"
"For the justice of the world! We must catch him for the honor and safety of the world!"
"Damn your honor and justice! Leave me alone, you scoundrels!"
Leon was relentlessly pursued.
It would have been good if it were just ordinary thugs chasing him, but unfortunately, those called friends were chasing him enthusiastically.
"And you call yourselves righteous! Damn friendship! Don't you have any shame?!"
"Huh?! What?! Shame? From who? You're saying this? Aren't you the one who always said that morals won't fill your stomach, but money!"
While they were talking and chasing him, Leon slowly increased his speed.
"It's true that I said that! But friendship! Virtue! Weren't you raised on virtue, you scoundrels, during our separation?!"
"Shut up! You're reminding me of days I don't want to revisit!"
"Dio! Don't chat with him! He's definitely up to something!"
"Definitely, otherwise, he wouldn't even chat with you!"
'Tsk, they finally found me out, but… it's too late.'
"…Damn… if I had some mana left, I would've kicked these scoundrels' butts!"
He grumbled in a low voice while his expression became ugly.
Unfortunately, one of those in the front heard him and increased his speed.
"It's my chance! I'll catch you!"
"Damn! I spoke my mind again!"
Leon shouted angrily as he also increased his speed.
Swish! Swish!
The horizon beyond the trees was unfolding and could be identified visually.
'I'll get you!'
The boy chasing Leon thought when he discovered a loophole.
Leon, who had been cursing and raging earlier, seemed to have made up his mind; his expression changed completely.
The previous tension could no longer be seen anywhere.
He revealed a fierce smile before suddenly changing his direction!
"Kiehehe! Unfortunately! You've already fallen into my trap!"
Collision!
His leg struck the air as if striking a wall!
Leon, who was jumping through the trees earlier, changed his direction through the air as if it were solid ground!
Taking advantage of the momentum, Leon threw his body directly in the opposite direction.
He was heading straight toward the pursuers!
There was a slight confusion in the expression of the boy approaching Leon, but it was only for a moment.
"Kuahahaha! Finally tired of running?! Face me!"
One of the pursuers stepped forward and preceded the group.
Black hair, sharp orange-yellow eyes like a tiger's, the boy bared his teeth as he laughed fiercely at Leon heading toward him.
"Come on!"
Leon responded with the same enthusiastic spirit as he headed towards the boy in front of him.
Sreeeing!
The sword was drawn from its sheath.
As the young man named Dio Antarios quickly approached Leon, he had already drawn his sword and was already preparing to attack.
A gleaming sword; the reflected sunlight from the sword was silvery.
In one second, it seemed that an unarmed person would collide with a fighter wielding a sharp sword.
The outcome could be predicted to some extent with one look.
At least, that was only at first glance.
"Foolish."
Smile.
A mysterious smile appeared on Leon's lips before he extended his hand.
Dio Antarios, the boy whose eyes were sharp like a tiger's, when he was about to make a swing with the sword, was surprised by the change that occurred, but he immediately changed his sword position and parried towards Leon's outstretched hand.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
"You're too late!"
Leon let out a laugh before pushing his hand forward as if he were pushing the wind!
When the young men's bodies were about to collide, exactly…
Push.
Like a driving force throwing you, it couldn't be resisted or grasped by the physical body.
A simple movement; it didn't contain much strength, but for the boy Dio Antarios, it contained a tremendous driving force.
Thrown!
In the air, two bodies could be seen being thrown in opposite directions.
But how each was thrown determined the outcome of the short confrontation.
"A-Ackk!"
Collision!
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dio's body, who tried to protect his body from the impact, collided with the other three.
And naturally, the collision with them was inevitable.
"Kyaak!"
With the remaining momentum from the pushing force, Dio's body and his companions continued to fly until they crashed into a nearby tree.
A pained groan was heard coming from the mouth of one of the fallen individuals.
"G-Get off me… you're heavy."
"My head… I think my head is spinning."
Leon couldn't be seen anywhere.
"…That damned rascal; he used his momentum and my momentum to push himself back and escape. Let alone the fact that he converted the force of the sudden stop in the air to hit me."
Dio grumbled resentfully as he stood up and stared in the direction where Leon disappeared.
"Don't forget he tricked us by saying his mana was depleted. Every time I remember his expression, my anger increases…"
Dio sighed slightly.
"What did you expect from that scoundrel?"
A handsome boy with chestnut hair and golden eyes like a dragon's spoke in a frustrated tone.
"That's why I told you not to talk to him… he was talking to lower your guard. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have been able to trick us… but what does it matter? What happened has already happened."
"Just shut up, Vairon; don't increase my frustration further."
A boy with white hair and sharp violet eyes grumbled as he stood up and cleaned his body.
"Tsk, as if I care, Loki."
Vairon clicked his tongue at the white-haired boy, named Loki, as if protesting.
The two who stood beside Dio argued before both sighed together.
They had lost in the battle, so there was nothing they could do but accept it.
"That scoundrel; I think he'll use the fact that he was able to escape as a way to rub salt on the wound later."
The last of the standing boys sighed silently.
"You're really simple-minded, Lloyd. He won't just do that; he might even make it seem like we were trying to steal from him."
Dio said a little annoyed as he cleaned his sword with a towel.
"That doesn't matter now, Dio. Shall we go to watch now?"
Cleaning, cleaning.
"I think so?"
Cleaning, cleaning.
The sound of the wiper was somewhat annoying to Lloyd.
"Before that, Dio, why are you wiping your sword with a towel even though it's only slightly dirty?"
"Humph, you say that while your spear shines with all its glory from how much you've wiped it, even though you didn't fight with it from the beginning?"
"Sorry, Dio, but a man has to do what a man has to do."
"You… your words are utterly true!"
After thoroughly wiping his sword, Dio stood majestically beside Lloyd with their hands behind their backs.
"Sigh, the world's really fickle—"
"What are these two idiots doing?"
Lloyd spoke in a deep voice when Vairon's annoying voice interrupted him.
"Leave them be; some screws must be loose in their brains."
Loki scoffed laughingly as he stared at the two idiots standing with their hands behind their backs.
'…These two scoundrels.'
Lloyd smiled gently at the unwanted interruption from the two behind him.
"Damn you both!"
Dio shouted angrily before staring in a certain direction.
In any case, they didn't succeed in catching Leon, and this is a little frustrating.
But that doesn't matter.
Despite the frustration of their failure to capture him, the fun hadn't started yet.
The morning was at its peak; there was still plenty of time for them to do what they chased Leon for.
"In any case, let's go, Lloyd!"
Dio carried his sword on his waist and jumped towards the trees before hearing any answer from Lloyd.
The boy with black hair and eyes that were between orange and yellow carried his spear and jumped in the direction where Dio disappeared.
Vairon and Loki stared at each other for a while before following the other two.
For Leon, this is the first day at the academy, but it's already the third for the students who arrived before.
Naturally, because of this, they knew the terrain of the island somewhat better than Leon.
The possibility of them getting lost was unlikely.