The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy

At his words, Lucas's grin sharpened.

"Alright then, no more warm-up."

He drove his blade into the ground.

CRACK!

Golden light burst upward.

A symbol of intricate divine runes lit beneath his feet.

His sword shone—cleansed in radiant flame and lightning.

"…Excalibur, respond."

The black flames on his weapon vanished.

In their place, golden light ignited.

A divine light.

The Hero's True Sword.

He lifted it with both hands.

Aestrea's gaze narrowed slightly at the power enveloping it.

It fully showed the power of an SSS-rank weapon, and he honestly didn't know what kind of impact it could have with Lucas's power.

Lucas exhaled.

"…Demon Slaying Sword Art."

『 Void Breaker! (✦ SS-level Swordsmanship ✦) 』

FWOOOOOM—!!

A golden pressure wave exploded forward with a single slash.

Aestrea's ice blade shattered on impact as he blocked.

BANG—!!

He was thrown backward, boots grinding against the stone for several meters—but he didn't fall.

Ice bloomed beneath his heels to steady him.

CRACKLE—!

Both his hands moved at once.

『 Mixed Ice Series: Frozen Mirage! (✦ 4th-level Spell ✦)』

His body blurred, flickering.

But instead of appearing dozens of frozen images, Aestrea had simply disappeared.

Then—

『 Ice Series: Frost Barrage! (✦ 3rd-level Spell ✦) 』

Multiple ice spikes fired like bullets, curving in midair with precision.

Lucas spun his sword, slicing through each shard.

SHHNK! SHNK! SHHHK!

Then, Lucas spun around and dashed towards Aestrea, lifting his sword high.

Aestrea's eyes gleamed crimson.

He raised a hand, magic crackling like winter storms—

『 Ice Series: Frost Crash! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦) 』

BOOOOM—!!

A cone of frozen shockwave burst out like a cannon.

Lucas was caught mid-charge.

BANG!!

His figure blurred under the blast.

But the divine glow around his body flared brighter—deflecting most of the force.

"Too slow!"

He came out of the smoke like a flash of gold and white.

His blade twisted mid-air.

『 Thunder Breaker! (✦ Lightning-Infused Sword Skill ✦) 』

ZRAAAAAAAK—!!

The strike split toward Aestrea's left side—

But Aestrea bent low.

SWISH!!

The sword whistled above his head.

In the same motion, he swept his leg out—

CRACK!!

Lucas's foot was knocked upward.

But the Hero kicked off mid-spin, flipping in the air and landing with his sword poised.

Aestrea landed a beat after.

'Tsk... Still no damage.'

Lucas licked his lips.

"Come on. I know you're holding more. Someone who beat up an Archdemon in a one-to-one can't possibly be that weak."

Aestrea said nothing, but the silver energy swiring around his body increased.

Cold swept across the arena.

The ground frosted instantly.

He lifted both hands to the sides.

Then, he whispered.

『 Mixed Ice Series: Ice Lotus Explosion! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦)』

The air screamed.

A flower of ice bloomed beneath Lucas—massive, intricate, spinning wildly.

KRA-KOOM!!!

It detonated in a cyclone of blades and frost.

The crowd roared.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Did he just use a Fifth-Level Spell like that?!"

"Did the Hero suffer an injury from that?"

The dust cleared—

Lucas stood in the center, breathing heavily, a barrier of golden lightning around him, cracked but intact.

"Damn…" he muttered, smirking.

He dashed forward—

CLANG!!

He struck Aestrea's blade from above, but Aestrea quickly pivoted and dodged the follow-up thrust.

CRACK!

Lucas spun and kicked toward Aestrea's side.

Aestrea tanked the blow—frost rippling across his coat—and retaliated with a rising elbow—

THWACK!!

Lucas ducked under it.

They exchanged ten more blows in less than two seconds. Every strike was either dodged by a hair's breadth or blocked at the last possible second.

And now, Lucas was smiling like a complete madman.

In other words, a complete battle freak.

"Hagh!"

Lucas exhaled sharply, sweat rolling down his cheek, his coat was torn at the sleeve, and small burn marks dotted his jacket.

"Alright, Aestrea. Time for something a little more…"

He raised his sword, and the air around it warped.

"…divine."

Mana surged into his core—

『 Lightning Judgement! (✦ 6th-level Spell ✦)』

The sky above the arena suddenly turned dark.

BOOM—!!

A single divine bolt cracked downward like a spear from the heavens.

Aestrea looked up calmly.

"...Slow."

Both his palms lifted.

"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art Combat Variant..."

『 Frost Reversal (✦ Counter Technique ✦)』

A spiraling ice seal bloomed beneath his feet.

CRACK!!!

The lightning struck it—only to reverse—screaming upward and bursting harmlessly in the air like fireworks.

Lucas's eyes widened.

"...You reflected it?"

But Aestrea didn't even give him a chance to react, as his hand quickly dropped to the ground, mana enveloping the entirety of his arm.

The frost expanded outward like a beast unchained.

『 Ice Series: Frost Chains! (✦ 5th-level Spell ✦) 』

SHING—!!

Chains of glacial energy exploded upward from beneath Lucas's feet. He jumped, barely escaping the first volley—only to see Aestrea dash above him in the air.

『 Frostbound Arcana! (✦ Flash Freeze Counter ✦) 』

CRACK—!!

A palm struck Lucas in the chest.

Everything froze for a split second.

Lucas crashed down like a meteor, rolling across the stone before flipping back to his feet.

The divine glow around him shimmered.

"...That was dangerous." Lucas sighed in relief.

He looked forward and saw Aestrea slowly walking towards him.

But surprisingly, each step he took caused a small ice lotus to bloom on his trail.

And strangely... that made Lucas wary of him.

Freeze...!

An ice sword formed in Aestrea's hands, and he pointed the tip of the sword directly at Lucas's head.

"...Prepare yourself."

He only muttered those words.

And strangely, a heavy pressure took place in Lucas's shoulders as he shifted his stance seriously and created a hexagonal shield.

"Fuuu..."

A deep breath escaped Aestreas's cold lips, turning into a small cloud of smoke.

"Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art..."

『 Twin Heart Mana Body Style—First Move! (✦ Ice Lotus Bloom ✦) 』

"..........."

Nothing happened.

Lucas warily scanned his surroundings, but his instincts didn't feel anything at all. Despite that, he stood with his eyes focused on Aestrea's figure.

Then, Aestrea slowly opened his eyes, the glow of them intensifying as he barely moved his sword in a descending arc.

BLOOM—!!

A single lotus burst from the ground beneath his feet.

Petals like glass spun in slow motion—

But it didn't stop there.

FWOOOOOSH—!!

In a single blink, hundreds more erupted across the arena like mines being triggered.

Ice lotuses bloomed one after another—on the floor, in the air, even on invisible platforms hanging in midair.

Each one was larger than the last—from miniatures to completely monstrous ones.

Petals unfurled with razor edges, twirling gently like dancers in a storm, but each held an extremely high amount of mana, almost causing the space to crack.

Their spirals began to rotate around Lucas, drawing him into the eye of a blizzard made of crystal death.

Light twisted through the storm—moonlight reflections dancing across the ice like mirrored blades.

The air pressure dropped.

The temperature plummeted.

Mana density surged until the air turned heavy, thick, like breathing through a frozen lake.

Lucas took a half-step back.

And then—

Aestrea whispered.

"Impacto."

KAAAAABOOOOOOOMMMMM—!!!

Every single lotus detonated.

They didn't just explode.

They folded inward, their petals curling and crushing in on themselves before releasing a chain reaction of compressed mana eruptions.

KRRRSH!

BOOM!

CRASH!

FWOOOOM!

The arena floor shattered like paper under the pressure.

Geysers of ice and energy shot into the sky, breaking through the protective barrier, forcing the mages around the field to reinforce it twice over.

The shockwave that followed turned into a dome of howling frost.

"...That was something. I didn't expect that using my physique like this, along with my evolved element, would cause such damage..."

Aestrea muttered.

He looked forward, and there, the smoke slowly cleared out.

He knew that Lucas was still able to survive such a strong attack; if he wasn't able to, he wouldn't be worthy of the title of 'Hero'.

CRAAAAAACK!

A golden light split the frost cloud open like a divine blade slashing through the night.

Lucas burst out, kneeling, one hand stabbed into the cracked earth, the other clutching the hilt of his sword.

His breathing was ragged.

His clothes were totally torn as frostbite scored across his shoulder and side.

And yet—he stood.

The sword in his hand, Excalibur, trembled violently.

It was glowing, almost screaming.

WHAAM!

Suddenly, a red-gold aura detonated around his body, like a furnace being force-fed divine lightning.

The sheer force blasted back the mist, shaking the arena walls. Mana erupted from his body in uncontrollable waves, bending the stone beneath his boots.

His eyes snapped up—completely blooshot.

BOOM—!!

Golden fire shot into the sky, a pillar of energy twisting violently into a cyclone.

From within, lightning cracked like bones breaking.

Aestrea narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Is he finally using his Limit Breaker?"

『 Judgement Eye (✦ S+ Level Skill ✦) 』

He activated his eye talent and saw Lucas's power skyrocketing, jumping a whole realm until it finally reached the margin of the...

SS-rank.

"I'm... not done yet," Lucas mumbled, pushing himself up, as his wounds regenerated at the speed of the naked eye.

Frost dripped from his lip, his muscles were twitching, and yet, he lifted up Excalibur.

And the air around it began to vibrate hard.

Lightning and flame spiraled along the blade like swirling cyclones.

He didn't charge yet.

But the weight of his presence had changed.

Even the crowd could feel it.

A beast had been unchained.