169 VELOCITY EXTREMETES
Huggins leaned back in his chair. "The spell is... cumbersome. You have to cast the enhancement before firing your projectile spell. It takes a long time to prepare, which leaves you vulnerable."
A confident grin spread across Leo's face. "That isn't a problem. Leave that to me."
Huggins hesitated but eventually reached for a dusty tome on a high shelf. He handed it to Leo with a wary look. "Here you go—Velocity Extremes. But don't say I didn't warn you."
Leo flipped through the book with practiced efficiency, his sharp eyes tracing the intricate magic runes and patterns inscribed on its pages. As he memorized each detail, he opened his control panel, a translucent interface flickering into existence before him.
With a few deft movements, he began inputting the runes into the system, scanning and categorizing them. This was an invention he and Yun-Yun developed—a translator embedded in his control panel.
The translator allowed him to convert written spells directly into magical codes, bypassing the need for tedious trial-and-error casting.
"Done," Leo muttered as the translator completed its work, the spell's magical codes appearing on his screen in neatly arranged lines.
"Thanks," Leo said to the counselor, handing the book back.
Huggins blinked in disbelief. "Already? Aren't you going to stay for the night and study it properly?"
Leo smirked. "No need. Besides, I don't want to make the students jealous. You know how envy can spread, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for corrupting their fragile little hearts."
Petunia smiled upon hearing about envy. She was waiting for him to finish at the Tome Arena to go on a date.
Before Huggins could retort, a sharp voice rang out from across the room.
"Who says we're jealous?" a student shouted, stepping into view with an indignant glare.
Leo turned to see a student striding toward him with a smug expression.
"He's Aeoguard, a student about to graduate from the academy. Tier 5 Svad Mage, I presume," Petunia whispered, keeping her tone neutral.
Leo rolled his eyes telling the guy. "Yeah, fuck off."
"You didn't even fight in the Arena after reading the book. That's so unfair!" Aeoguard shouted, his voice filled with contempt.
Counselor Huggins stepped in, trying to diffuse the tension. "Aeoguard, Leo doesn't have to follow the usual procedures. He's an honorary counselor."
"That's not fair!" Aeoguard protested, his voice rallying a group of students who quickly gathered around. "He just got lucky leaving the Sodom ruins early. He's no hero and don't deserve the special treatment."
The crowd buzzed with indignation, voicing their support for Aeoguard and demanding that Leo fight his way through the Arena Tome like everyone else to earn the book.
Leo shot them a withering glare. "I already read the fucking book. Like I care what you feel."
"Are you a coward?" Aeoguard taunted, smirking.
Leo's grin widened. "Me? The Demon of Gullee, a coward? Who are you fucking kidding?"
"Then fight us!" Aeoguard challenged, his tone daring.
Leo raised an eyebrow. "You, or all of you?"
The students exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to respond.
"Are you sure about this?" Huggins asked, eyeing the growing crowd. "A challenger has never fought multiple opponents before. And you haven't mastered that spell yet."
Leo shrugged. "Fair point. Let me finalize it first."
-----
In the training room, Leo worked quickly to merge the Velocity Extremes spell into his Magic Missile. He adjusted the magical codes, patching glitches as they appeared. After a few tense moments of trial and error, the spell clicked into place.
It wasn't perfect but it worked. A swirling pattern of energy formed in the air before him, radiating an ominous power.
"This better work," he muttered, double-checking his system. "But it took damn fucking long to cast."
Satisfied with his progress, Leo returned to the arena.
"What took you so long?" Aeoguard sneered as Leo strode in.
"Shut the fuck up," Petunia snapped, turning to Leo. "Did you get it?"
Leo nodded with a grin, prompting a mix of groans and glares from the crowd.
The arena was packed, with students and spectators eager to witness the spectacle of Lilleo—the infamous Demon of Gullee—being taken down a peg.
"I don't fight without rewards," Leo shouted while surveying the crowd.
"You already got your reward," Huggins reminded him dryly.
Leo smirked. "Right."
Petunia raised her voice to the player students. "If you challengers lose, hand over your mini-map extensions!"
"What!!" they cried.
"You want to challenge you pay the wager", Petunia told them.
Aeoguard hesitated but then agreed, rallying his fellow players. "Fine! Let's do this!"
-----
The challengers lunged at Leo, confident in their numbers. But before they could even get close, a barrage of enhanced Magic Missiles slammed into them, the sheer force throwing them to the ground.
"Still a little too weak", Leo muttered about the spell.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"What kind of spell is this?" one spectator whispered.
"It's brutal. Simple, but terrifyingly effective," another added.
The students regrouped, convinced Leo couldn't cast such a complicated spell again so quickly. But once more, they were met with the same devastating force, leaving them groaning on the ground.
"Fucking useless," Leo muttered, unimpressed.
Aeoguard and a handful of others launched a final desperate attack, but a single volley of Leo's spell sent them sprawling. Even the Tier 5 Svad Mage was left stunned.
"Impossible! How can such a basic spell overpower me? A mid tier mage," Aeoguard gasped, struggling to rise.
"One against twenty-five," Leo said, holding up a thumbs-down gesture toward the defeated challengers.
Counselor Huggins observed the scene, his eyes narrowing. "You merged Velocity Extremes with Magic Missile? That quickly?"
Leo smirked. "They didn't call me a genius for nothing."
The arena emptied as Petunia gleefully collected the mini-maps from the defeated players, ignoring their muttered curses.
"I need to refine this merged spell with Yun-Yun," Leo mused aloud. "Still too many glitches."
One of the students glared at him, fury etched into his face. "We'll have our revenge someday."
"If there were a mission center here, you'd be our number one target," another growled.
"The Villain of Sodom City Academy of Magic," someone muttered.