Chapter 221
“Hey, doesn’t this look like a huge problem no matter how you see it?”
“Yeah. It’s a huge problem! A really huge one!”
An enormous commotion broke out at the entrance exam site.
The shock was especially great for the second-years who never expected something like this to happen.
After enduring a difficult first year, they had finally reached a grade where they would be treated as upperclassmen.
But now, there was a possibility that not a single junior would be admitted.
While the second-years clutched their heads and groaned,
Len, watching from a distance, crossed his arms.
“Professor Harrid is quite merciless. Having them face the entire second-year class.”
The initial plan for the entrance exam was to involve only the top 9 students, but the exam contents were changed during a faculty meeting.
The test was still a survival challenge, but it had been revised so that examinees would have to survive against the entire second-year class.
“In a way, this might actually give them a higher chance of passing.”
Yura, who was standing with her arms crossed, clicked her tongue.
“If those guys are the examiner, then none of the examinees would survive.”
Yura looked over at the eight top-ranking students, starting with Leo.
Chen Xia, due to family circumstances, ultimately couldn’t attend the entrance exam.
Len nodded at Yura’s words.
The original exam plan was to split the examinees into groups of 50 and assign one top-tier second-year to each group.
“Well, either way, let’s watch and see.”
Yura narrowed her eyes and looked at the examinees.
“Let’s see how well this generation can hold up against the second-years.”
—
Once the examinees finished their preparations, someone stepped forward beside Harrid holding the [Hero Record].
“We will now begin the Lumene Integrated Entrance Examination.”
At Harrid’s words, the examinees wore tense expressions.
The second-years sighed and waited for the [Hero’s World] to activate.
“If you would, please.”
Harrid respectfully addressed the person next to him.
The man, small but sturdy in build, smiled and raised his hand.
Vwoooom—!
A brilliant light burst across the entire testing ground.
Seeing it, the examinees tensed up.
“So this is the [Hero’s World]…”
“Haa! I’m nervous!”
It was their first experience with the [Hero’s World].
Carr chuckled as he watched them.
“We were that green once too.”
“We’re still second-years, you know?”
At Chelsea’s jab, Carr shrugged.
At that moment, a familiar message appeared before their eyes.
[Hero Record Open. Gerwyn’s World. Chapter: Prologue – Mount Eddien]
“Gerwyn?”
“Wait! Isn’t Gerwyn the principal of Damienne?!”
Those who saw the message reacted in shock.
Damienne, the Dwarven Hero Officer Academy.
And its principal Gerwyn had once stood alongside a swordmaster, a legendary Dwarven hero of his era.
The sudden activation of Gerwyn’s World left everyone stunned.
“Don’t tell me that person is…?”
The moment they turned to the man beside Harrid—
Flash—!
A bright light blinded their vision.
When Leo opened his eyes, he looked around.
He was standing in a forest.
‘Mount Eddien.’
The name of the tallest mountain in the world, located in the eastern part of the continent.
It was also one of the few place names Leo, unfamiliar with continental geography, clearly remembered.
To be exact, it was the first name he had looked for when he saw a world map for the first time.
Mount Eddien’s magnificent landscape made it worthy of being called a wonder.
But it was not a place humans could easily set foot in.
And for good reason.
This was a [Demonic Beast] habitat.
Even when regularly subjugated, [Demonic Beasts] constantly spawned here.
Many questioned this anomaly.
It wasn’t even under the influence of Tartarus.
Yet due to the endless appearance of [Demonic Beasts], it remained an unexplored region, much like the [Forest of Beasts].
‘The curse of the [Forest of Beasts] might’ve been lifted.’
With Sillatna defeated, the [Forest of Beasts] would no longer spawn monsters.
Leo gazed toward Mount Eddien visible through the trees in the distance.
A mysterious region where monsters endlessly spawned.
Much research had been conducted on why.
While the curse had been identified as the cause for the [Forest of Beasts], Mount Eddien remained a mystery.
But Leo knew the reason.
Ssshhk—
Kneeling, Leo brushed the ground with his hand.
Something flickered through his mind.
The scenery in his memory held only endless despair.
‘Now that I think about it, how did I even manage to defeat it?’
On this land—
The fate of the world changed.
A new era began, and the immortal legend was completed.
This was the land where salvation had been decided.
5,000 years ago.
In the battle that decided the fate of the world, Leo had defeated Erebos here and saved the world.
This was also the place where Leo had died in his previous life.
‘To think I’d return like this.’
—
As the exam began, the examinees quickly took cover.
Since they were in a forest, there were plenty of places to hide.
Everyone moved cautiously, suppressing their presence.
While first-years occasionally ran into each other, there were hardly any fights.
Normally, taking down rivals would increase the odds of passing.
But starting a fight recklessly would definitely draw second-years to them.
That would almost certainly mean elimination.
Fortunately, since the exam site was near Mount Eddien—the tallest mountain in the world—the forest was vast.
There were many places to hide.
‘Stay calm.’
Martina, who had entered the [Hero’s World], hid herself and took a deep breath.
After training under Leo, she had now joined the Lumene entrance exam.
Martina wanted to pass this exam and enter Lumene with pride.
‘Let’s just avoid Young Master at all costs.’
Whatever happened, running into Leo would mean the end.
Martina knew very well that “taking it easy” was not in Leo’s vocabulary.
If nothing else, she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle him.
As Martina cautiously explored the forest with anxious steps, it didn’t take long for her to encounter a group of ten examinees.
Martina revealed herself upon seeing them.
Rustle—
Startled by the sudden presence, the group gasped.
But when they realized she was a fellow examinee, they sighed in relief.
“Great, want to join us?”
“Isn’t it dangerous to move in a group like this? We’ll get spotted.”
At Martina’s question, one of the examinees clicked his tongue and wiggled his finger.
“Sure, it’s bad luck if we run into high-ranking second-years. But not all second-years are the same, right?”
He grinned confidently.
“You have to change your mindset. Instead of being intimidated just because they’re second-years, we need the guts to stand up to them.”
“Doesn’t seem like a smart move.”
At Martina’s words, the group leader scoffed.
“They just entered school a year before us. How big a difference can that make?”
“Exactly.”
“If you think about it, we’re not that different in age either, right?”
‘There’s always guys like this wherever you go.’
Martina sighed quietly.
To be challenging the Lumene entrance exam meant each of them had been called a genius at least once in their lives.
They had great talent, but in the end, they were still frogs in a well.
Surviving even one year at Lumene was no small feat.
It was enough time to become an entirely different person in terms of skill and experience.
Martina, fully aware of this, knew just how reckless their thinking was.
She considered warning them but shook her head.
She knew this type never listened.
“I’ll pass.”
“Scaredy-cat.”
As she turned to leave, the one who mocked her shouted to his temporary party,
“Alright! Let’s take down the second-years and show the professors what we’re made of!”
“Yeah!”
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Fwoooosh! Boom—!
“Urgh!”
“Aaagh!”
Examinees screamed as they were hit directly by flames from a [Fire-attribute Summoned Beast].
One of the fallen examinees shouted,
“What the hell are you doing?! We’re not supposed to fight each other!”
In response, Shasha tilted her head as she stroked the neck of her mid-tier fire [Summoned Beast], the [Prominence Lizard].
“I don’t think there’s a rule saying examinees can’t fight each other?”
“Still! If we want to pass, we should be cooperating!”
“That’s true. But I don’t plan to pass the normal way.”
Shasha smiled brightly.
“I’m aiming to become the class representative. So I need to pass the exam with overwhelming results.”
With a shrug, Shasha channeled her [Spirit Power].
Fwoooosh—!
Intense flames erupted from the [Prominence Lizard].
“Just consider yourselves unlucky.”
“Ughhh—!”
Some examinees hunted others.
Then—
Whoosh—!
A spear came flying through the wind.
Thud—! Boom—!
Fwoooosh—!
The [Prominence Lizard] reacted quickly and caught the spear in its mouth.
But the wind-attributed [Aura] within the spear exploded, sending the beast flying.
Severely wounded, the [Prominence Lizard] was forcefully unsummoned.
“A sneak attack? How vulgar.”
Shasha coldly stared at the boy who appeared.
“You’re the last person who should be talking about bullying the weak.”
The boy smirked.
A girl who had been on the verge of elimination widened her eyes.
“Ha-Haviden Birsen?!”
A student from Ecorte and a strong contender for class representative this year.
As the prince of Birsen, a nation known for its knights, his appearance brought hope to the examinees.
“Did he come to save us?”
“He’s got that chivalrous spirit!”
But Haviden made a face as if he’d heard something absurd.
“Why would I save you?”
“What?”
“I’m only here to defeat Shasha Sienne Lordren.”
Last year, the students who stood out most during the joint classes were Shasha and Haviden.
Both were highly regarded as potential class representatives among the Lumene professors.
Knowing this, the two had been wary of each other.
And now they’d met early in the exam.
“If you’re in the way, I’ll sweep you aside too.”
“What a nasty personality!”
“All royals are so self-centered!”
The examinees screamed.
Then one of them shouted,
“W-Wait! If you fight now, one of you might get eliminated! Why are you doing this?”
Both Haviden and Shasha had enough skill to escape even if they encountered second-years.
But a battle between them changed the story.
If either got caught by another second-year, they’d almost certainly be eliminated.
Or, even if one won, the other would still be out.
To the other examinees, this fight offered little to gain.
But Shasha and Haviden thought differently.
“If I’m not the best, there’s no point in enrolling.”
“Surprisingly, we agree on that. I feel the same.”
As the two curled their lips into a smile, the other examinees stared in awe.
‘If you’re not the best, you’re out…’
‘Their pride is really something else.’
‘Is this what makes a true hero?’
Just as they were thinking those two existed in a world far beyond theirs—
“You can’t do that. Focus on passing the exam. Fighting recklessly won’t help.”
Tsk— A voice of warning came with a click of the tongue.
“Gasp!”
“L-Leo Plov!”
The appearance of the number one target to avoid in this exam made the examinees freeze in shock.
This meant elimination was guaranteed.
But part of them also looked forward to seeing how the two strongest examinees would fare against Leo Plov.
‘We’re doomed anyway…’
‘But getting to witness the clash between the top examinees and the strongest second-year before failing isn’t so bad.’
With that thought, they turned to watch Shasha and Haviden—
And were speechless.
Shasha and Haviden were running away with everything they had.
“Run!”
“You want to be class rep, right?! I don’t want to get eliminated for nothing!” (T/N: And here I am thinking they would form an alliance and challenge Leo… LOL! Smart move though! )
As they screamed and fled, the remaining examinees wore hollow expressions.
“I’ll give you 30 seconds.”
Leo pulled a watch from his coat.
“Professor Harrid said not to go easy on you. But it’d be too pitiful if you got eliminated like this.”
Startled by Leo’s mercy, the examinees ran.
[Leo.]
“What.”
[Why give them false hope?]
“You never know. Maybe they’ll really escape.”
Leo shrugged.
Elci reproached her contractor.
[Taking back what you gave—that’s the worst thing of all.]