Chapter 113
“You can stay here for the night.”
The man who had attacked Leo and Ar, Agon, led them to an old house.
This was at the southern edge of Reysar.
In this massive refugee city, the place was known as the “Cursed Land.”
Even the central government of Reysar had declared this area off-limits.
The residents had long since left, and there were even rumors that monsters appeared here.
Thanks to that, there were plenty of empty houses, and this was one of them.
“I’ll come back in the morning.”
Leaving those words, Agon left the house.
Thanks to mentioning Arron’s name, they’d avoided a fight, but Agon hadn’t let down his guard toward Leo and Ar.
Leo laid Ar down on one side of the room and looked out the window.
A sinister red moon hung in the sky.
‘That damned moon… No matter how many times I see it, I’ll never get used to it.’
If the gray sky symbolized daytime during the [Age of Calamity], that ominous red moon was the symbol of its night.
Even after seeing it again for the first time in fifteen years, it was still chilling and foreboding.
‘Now then.’
Leo stepped outside.
Using [Aura Step] to move lightly, he climbed onto the roof and dashed toward the southern wall of Reysar.
Since this area was outside central government control, just like Leo remembered, there were no guards.
Once on top of the wall, Leo reached out beyond Reysar.
Thunk-!
His hand was blocked, as if by an invisible wall.
“So the only area we’re allowed to move in is Reysar?”
Leo recalled what he’d learned in [Hero Studies].
‘Even if it feels real, [Hero World] is ultimately fake. That’s why the area you can move in is restricted like this.’
If this [Hero World] had already been conquered before, he wouldn’t have needed to check.
But Leo and Ar were the first to enter this [Hero World].
Whenever you arrive in an unknown world without knowing how to conquer it, the top priority is to figure out your range of movement.
Leo tried to contact the outside world again.
“This is Kyle. Please respond.”
Still no response.
Narrowing his eyes, Leo stared into the void.
[Conquest Objective: Find Arron in Reysar.]
‘The conquest objective is still the same.’
During the midterms, the objective hadn’t appeared until they defeated Chubarn.
‘So it’s not a rampage. But why can’t the outside control [Hero World]?’
Leo recalled the situation before entering [Hero World].
‘When I touched it, Arron’s page reacted.’
Leo formed a hypothesis.
‘The keys known to open [Hero World] are the world’s owner or an item deeply tied to them. These are also used to control [Hero World]. But what if there’s one more key? Like a person with a deep connection?’
If there was such a rule, someone would have discovered it by now.
But every time Leo conquered a [Hero World], something different happened compared to others.
For instance, there should have been no conquest rewards in Albi’s world, but he’d received them twice.
And both times, the rewards had nothing to do with Albi.
‘If [Arron’s World] opened because of me, that would explain why the outside can’t control it.’
The means of control would be inside, not outside.
Of course, this was just speculation.
But…
Leo looked down at his hand.
‘Was it really a coincidence that I was reincarnated with my memories?’
There had been many great heroes during the [Age of Calamity].
A world racing toward destruction.
Countless people called heroes banded together to save the world.
But they all met tragic ends, and in the end, everyone was plunged into despair.
To the point where anyone claiming they would save the world was called a “fool.”
Lysinas, Kyle, Luna, Arron, and Dweno ultimately achieved that impossible feat.
That’s why the gods called them the [Great Heroes].
Because they accomplished something only they could do.
‘If my rebirth with memories wasn’t a coincidence…’
Kyle, the last hero of the [Age of Calamity] and the founder of this era, hadn’t achieved that feat alone.
It was possible only because he inherited the power of his friends.
What if the [Hero Record] was arranged for a [Great Hero] who would be reborn in the future?
‘If I can inherit their power once again…’
Clenching his fist tightly, Leo thought.
‘Even the complete subjugation of Erebos might not be impossible.’
—
“Ugh!”
Ar clutched her throbbing head.
She was groggy, but recalled the last memory before losing consciousness.
Suddenly, her ears and tail stood up as she scanned her surroundings warily.
“Huh?”
But it was just an unfamiliar house.
Realizing there was nothing to be wary of, she tilted her head.
As Ar turned her head, she spotted Leo sleeping in one corner and hurried over.
“Wake up! Black Rabbit.”
“Oh, you’re awake?”
“What happened yesterday? Who was that guy?”
“It was a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yeah. Yesterday, that guy must have mistaken us for intruders. But we cleared it up by talking.”
“I see.”
“By the way, are you okay? That guy was pretty strong.”
“My body’s tough!”
Ar flexed her arm and grinned as if nothing had happened.
‘She must’ve been pretty shaken up.’
Beastkin were known for their resilience, but Agon, who’d fought Ar yesterday, was an incredible powerhouse.
Agon.
He was one of the renowned heroes who’d made a name for himself even before the [Age of Calamity].
After Erebos began to stir and the [Age of Calamity] started, he defeated countless demonic beasts and grew even more famous.
Even as recently as six years ago in this timeline, the skies above his battlefield were blue.
That’s why he was called the [Guardian of the Azure Sky].
But even such a hero ultimately failed to halt Erebos and Tartarus’s advance.
‘And he ended up here in Reysar.’
Though he’d left the battlefield, that didn’t mean he’d lost his skills from fighting on the frontlines of the [Age of Calamity].
Yet Ar, who’d clashed with him, was perfectly fine.
Her wounds had already healed.
Even taking the toughness and vitality of beastkin into account, it was surprising.
“Oh?”
Leo let out a sound of admiration, and Ar smirked proudly.
“What? Admiring my beautiful form all of a sudden?”
“I was just thinking you’d make a good shield with how tough you are.”
“Who are you calling a shield! You rude little rabbit!”
Ar glared and lunged at Leo.
As Leo reached out to fend her off—
Crash—
The door burst open and Agon entered.
Ar instantly tensed.
Even if it had been a misunderstanding, her instincts remembered the sudden attack from yesterday.
Seeing Ar like that, Agon looked surprised.
“Already recovered? Did you use a potion?”
“It’s just natural healing.”
“Incredible.”
Agon marveled at Ar’s answer, still wary.
Then, after looking over Leo and Ar, his expression hardened.
“You’re even younger than I thought.”
Agon looked a little troubled, then quickly went back to a blank face.
“Follow me. As an apology for what happened yesterday, I’ll treat you to breakfast.”
With that, Agon left the house.
As he walked away, Ar narrowed her eyes.
“He’s settling yesterday’s incident with just breakfast? If it had been that scrawny wolf instead of me, he’d still be writhing in pain.”
“That scrawny wolf—your friend from yesterday?”
“We’re not friends!”
Ar glared at Leo, crossed her arms, and scoffed.
“He attacked us yesterday and now suddenly wants to feed us? Sounds suspicious. Should we just leave?”
“He doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“Black Rabbit, you’re way too soft. You can’t judge people by how they look. Even if he acts nice now, he could turn on us at any—”
Grrr—
Ar’s face turned red as her stomach growled mid-serious advice.
Come to think of it, they hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
“Let’s just eat first.”
“But still…”
“We’re in [Hero World] right now. We never know what might happen, so we need to keep our strength up.”
“Ugh.”
Ar couldn’t argue with Leo’s logic.
Leo smiled at her.
“And don’t worry. He seems to know Arron.”
“What? Really?”
‘He doesn’t just know him—he’s Arron’s mentor.’
Leo followed after Agon, muttering inwardly.
When Arron was a child, Agon took him in and established his values as a hero—a father figure.
The existence of today’s [Hero] was only possible because of the noble man named Agon.
Originally, Kyle’s party hadn’t tried to recruit Arron, but Agon.
‘By the time we first met, though, his will was already broken.’
When Kyle’s party arrived in Reysar, Agon no longer resembled the famed [Guardian of the Azure Sky].
Compared to back then, Agon was in much better shape now.
Even Arron himself never knew the true reason, so it remained a mystery.
—
Following Agon, they arrived at a wide open clearing.
Ar’s jaw dropped as she saw it.
“Wh-what is this!”
Children were eating breakfast in the clearing.
Humans, beastkin, dwarves, elves.
All different races, all different ages.
But they all had one thing in common: they were much younger and skinnier than Leo and Ar.
“Uncle Agon! It’s breakfast!”
The oldest-looking elf girl among them came running up with a bright smile.
Even so, she couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen.
“Who are the brother and sister over there?”
“They’re guests. I’ve had enough, so give these two a meal.”
The elf girl nodded in understanding.
“Come on, sister, brother. I’ll give you breakfast.”
Looking at the elf girl’s mature expression, Ar bowed her head deeply.
For a moment her shoulders shook, then she suddenly looked up and shouted.
“Uncle! I was wrong about you! You’re a good person after all!”
Ar shouted with tears in her eyes, startling even Agon, who had seen it all.
Leo chuckled as he looked over the children sitting in the clearing.
Then he spotted a black-haired girl sitting in a corner and his eyes widened in surprise.
‘No way…’
Leo stared at the girl intently.
She must have noticed Leo too, because she looked up.
Then she tilted her head, as if puzzled.
She didn’t know Leo, but Leo knew her very well.
No—“knew her” wasn’t enough.
Leo rubbed the back of his right hand.
The great spirit he’d once made a contract with.
‘The Shadow Spirit, Elci.’