Chapter 120
“You still haven’t found a way to unlock the Hero’s World?!”
“W-we can’t help it! It’s a Hero Dungeon, so we have no way to control it!”
“Tch!”
Nervous impatience flickered in Verga’s eyes as he lost his composure.
It had already been an hour since Arron’s World had opened.
If the Hero’s World itself wasn’t being released, it meant Leo and Ar were still holding on—but that didn’t mean he could just relax.
‘Ar! Kyle!’
“Hurry up and find a way to take control!”
“Uwaaah! I-Instructor Verga!”
Just as everyone panicked, seeing Verga grabbing the assistant instructor by the collar—
“Calm down, Verga.”
A cold voice rang out.
Turning, Verga released the assistant instructor as he saw a human man approaching.
“Ain.”
Yura entered with a grave face, following Ain.
“What brings Lumene’s professors here?”
When Verga asked, Ain answered calmly.
“This concerns the Hero’s World. It’s best to share our experience. Our academy had several troublesome incidents this semester as well.”
Yura poked Ain in the side with an awkward look.
The Hero Dungeonization during midterms.
The Department Competition at the end of the semester.
Both incidents had been handled well, but to outsiders, these were Lumene’s shame.
To so openly talk about these things in front of outsiders—Yura couldn’t help but be embarrassed.
“Azonia is different from Lumene! This is just an accident!”
“Even so, there’s no harm in joining forces. My junior and I have gone through things you and the other Azonia instructors haven’t. We won’t get in your way.”
Verga closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Hearing Ain’s calm voice, he felt his agitation subside.
“Sorry. I apologize for my outburst.”
“It’s fine.”
Yura waved her hands.
“By the way, how many years has it been since a new page of a great hero was opened?”
“I heard one opened at Lumene earlier this year?”
“That’s true, but ours only stayed open a short while.”
“What was it like when it opened?”
“It was a sudden outburst for us, too. We never figured out the cause.”
Just then, Verga’s expression grew serious.
Vmm—!
Arron’s page suddenly began to glow.
Everyone froze at the sight.
When a Hero’s Page responded, it meant one of two things.
Either the Hero’s World had been cleared, or the challenger had died, and the page was closed.
As everyone held their breath, Leo and Ar burst out of Arron’s page.
“Ar!”
“Father!”
Ar smiled brightly as Verga hugged her with tears in his eyes.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No! Father! I cleared Arron’s World!”
“That doesn’t matter! Ar! My daughter! Do you know how worried I was?!”
Verga was genuinely happy as he hugged his daughter.
It was true that he had trained her harshly as a child to make her a hero.
But it was only so she’d have the strength to survive hardship.
And Ar, knowing this, had never resented or hated her father.
Meanwhile, Leo looked flustered.
‘Hey! What the—why are you here?’
Leo was startled by the presence of Elci sensed from the [Jewel of Light].
He could only be shocked when he saw the quest rewards.
How could Elci, a spirit of the past, be a quest reward?
And the contract he’d just made with Elci was still in effect.
It was, quite literally, as if the dead had come back to life.
‘Elci?’
[…….]
Even when Leo called her, Elci was silent as if asleep.
Leo scratched his head.
“Father! We couldn’t have cleared the quest without Black Rabbit!”
“…….”
Verga’s gaze turned to Leo.
Feeling the gaze, Leo scratched his cheek.
Before he knew it, Verga had regained his usual dignified demeanor and stood before Leo with a solemn expression.
“Kyle.”
Verga now called Leo by name, no longer as Reina’s son.
It meant Verga now recognized Leo.
“Incredible. You managed to clear Arron’s page.”
“I didn’t do it alone.”
“Hm, is that humility?”
Verga laughed and clenched his fist.
“Whatever the reason, you and Ar cleared Arron’s World! That’s solid proof you belong at Azonia, the Hero Academy! I’m proud!”
Verga crossed his arms and shouted with authority.
“I, Verga, will do everything I can to guide you on the path of conquest!”
At Azonia Academy, students have to choose their instructor.
The most famous instructors always attract the most students.
And Verga was the most sought-after instructor of all.
For him to publicly accept Leo as his disciple was an immense honor, and it meant his school life was virtually guaranteed.
“Black Rabbit! Let’s do our best!”
Ar also smiled brightly, welcoming Leo.
Grab—!
A woman’s hand suddenly grabbed Leo’s rabbit ears.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Yura asked Verga for permission, then turned to Leo with a cheerful face.
“Mr. class Representative? What are you doing here?”
“Who are you?”
Leo answered brazenly.
He didn’t know why Yura was here, but he could sense trouble if she got involved.
“Who am I? Who am I? You brat! Do you not recognize the professor who’s been teaching you all semester? Or did you really think you could fool the professors with a little magic?”
Yura glared and tightened her grip.
“Hey! Why are you here? What’s going on? Be honest. Are you playing both sides between Lumene and Azonia? Want to die? Huh?”
With veins bulging in her hand, Yura easily lifted Leo by the ears.
Leo dangled helplessly like a rabbit caught by the ears.
“What’s all this about?”
Verga asked, bewildered.
Ain sighed.
“Seems our student caused a bit of trouble. I don’t know how he got into Azonia’s entrance ceremony, but allow me to introduce him.”
Deciding there was no more hiding, Leo stepped out from behind Yura and canceled his [Polymorph Magic].
A faint light shimmered over Leo’s body.
His rabbit ears vanished, and his hair turned white.
Seeing Leo back in human form, Verga and Ar both gaped.
“This is Leo Plov. First-year class representative of Lumene.”
“Hello, I’m Leo Plov.”
* * *
After Leo’s identity was revealed, everything was in an uproar.
‘Even if he’s Lumene’s class representative, it doesn’t matter! Azonia’s doors are open! Kyle—no, Leo Plov! You can enroll at Azonia!’
‘What nonsense are you spouting to our Knights Department student?’
‘Why Knights? It should be Summoning Department!’
Verga’s shouting turned into bickering between Ain and Yura.
Ar looked genuinely shocked.
Leo wanted to apologize, but things were too hectic.
‘Leo, please, I’m begging you. Please restrain yourself. We’re at our limit!’
Professor Carlo wept as he pleaded with Leo.
Even now, the professors were in a constant struggle over which department Leo belonged to.
If other Hero Academies started getting involved, it would only get worse for the assistants and teaching staff.
And so, Leo explained how he had ended up attending Azonia’s entrance ceremony.
Since nothing illegal had happened, it was treated as a minor incident.
But the Azonia staff couldn’t help but look at Leo with regret.
A new student clearing Arron’s World before even enrolling—unprecedented.
Ar had done it as well, but it would have been perfect to see both conquerors enter together.
“You’re the first in Lumene’s history to pull off something like this during vacation!”
Yura knocked Leo on the head.
“There was no serious problem, so it’s fine.”
Ain responded calmly.
He seemed to think highly of Leo, as class representative, checking out the other hero academies’ rivals.
“Well, I couldn’t make it to the entrance ceremony anyway.”
Leo had missed the desert marathon.
“Of course! If you had made it, you’d probably have been forced to enroll at Azonia!”
“That’s true.”
Leo laughed.
“Still, the quest reward was disappointing.”
Ar’s quest reward was [Arron’s Breath].
It was revealed to be Arron’s transformation ability, previously only known in ancient texts.
Naturally, since revealing the quest reward would bring a huge backlash, everyone was ordered to keep silent.
This was to protect Ar from being unable to continue normal school life.
Only those present and the conquerors themselves knew about the quest rewards.
“As a human, you can’t even use a reward like that.”
“I’m satisfied just having cleared Arron’s World.”
“You know you can’t tell anyone about that either, right?”
Yura narrowed her eyes.
It was better for everyone if it was left unspoken, even if it was treated as a minor incident.
Outwardly, it looked like he hadn’t gained anything.
But Leo had obtained something others couldn’t even imagine as a quest reward.
‘What’s going on with Elci?’
Quest rewards for summoning-related quests were usually summoning catalysts or contract rights.
But never before had a summon become the reward itself.
‘Well, I’ll think about it when I get home… I’m a little worried about Ar. She didn’t seem to be able to control Arron’s Breath properly.’
Leo clicked his tongue, recalling how Ar had struggled to control the power she’d gained overnight.
There was no way she could master it instantly.
‘If I could stay by her side, I could help…’
“Anyway! Don’t cause any more trouble this break, got it?”
Standing at the warp gate, Yura gave a warning.
Ain and Yura had come all the way to the warp gate to keep an eye on the unpredictable class representative, doubting he’d just go straight home.
‘Not that I was planning to cause more trouble…’
But given what had already happened, there was no way anyone would believe that.
“I’ll see you next semester, professors.”
“Alright! See you after break!”
“Take care, Leo Plov.”
After bidding the professors goodbye, Leo stepped into the warp gate.
With a flash of light, he left Azrek behind.
“Why does he cause such big incidents when he’s usually so quiet in school?”
Yura looked exhausted.
“Still, Azonia handled it well, so there shouldn’t be any more problems, right?”
“Don’t you know, from the letters asking me to become a full-time instructor every month?”
Yura’s face grew even more serious.
“Come on, even so, he’s doing well at our school. He wouldn’t transfer…”
“You never know. Azonia is just as much a hero academy as we are.”
Ain let out a deep sigh.
“Professor Harrid said there was even a transfer offer from Seiren.”
“……”
Yura’s face grew even more serious.
The two professors exchanged glances.
‘This…’
‘…We might not have the luxury of fighting amongst ourselves anymore.’
With outside forces joining the scramble for students, the two could only let out a heavy sigh.