Chapter 255
“Everyone, take out your Heroics textbooks.”
At Mel’s instruction, the students pulled out two books.
One titled ‘Heroics: A Treatise’, and the other ‘The Lives and Deaths of Heroes’.
Normally, second-years only used ‘Heroics: A Treatise’.
But this year’s required materials also included ‘The Lives and Deaths of Heroes’.
‘The Lives and Deaths of Heroes… was that a required book for all grades?’
When buying his textbooks in Lumeria City, Leo had simply accepted what the shopkeeper handed him and tossed them into his dimensional pocket.
This was actually the first time he’d looked at the book properly.
Leo paused when he saw the cover.
[Author: Melina]
He looked up at Mel.
When their eyes met, she smiled brightly and waved.
“This book here,” Chloe, ever the top student known for thorough preparation and review, said as she placed the book on her desk, “is interesting. The author has the same name as the Dragon Lord.”
Leo looked toward Mel and said, “Isn’t it written by the Dragon Lord herself?”
“No way. This book was published just this year. It must just be someone with the same name.”
‘She really did write it, though.’
But no one could even imagine that the Dragon Lord would take a job as a professor, publish a textbook, and actually teach class herself.
‘Because it’s completely beyond reason.’
Leo glanced at Mel and flipped the page with a sigh.
“Even though it’s newly published, the book’s content is really good. Especially the part on the Genesis Heroes—it’s incredible.”
Chloe’s eyes sparkled, having already read the book several times like a proper honors student.
‘Genesis Heroes.’
Leo opened to that chapter and rested his chin on his hand.
The heroes who first conquered the Hero’s World and ushered in a new era.
‘Many consider them the successors to the Great Heroes.’
Not only did they discover the Hero’s World, they were also the first to conquer the Hero Records of the Great Heroes and inherit their power.
‘They defeated the seven Legion Commanders of Tartarus and sealed fragments of Erebos, preventing another catastrophe.’
‘The return of disaster.’
According to the records, it was nearly identical to the early stages of the Calamity Era.
Nations were destroyed, and the Legion Commanders ran rampant.
But thanks to those five heroes, a second age of calamity was averted.
With a flick of her finger, Mel made a piece of chalk float into the air and dance across the board.
It drew the figure of a man.
[The Twilight Knight, Lumene.]
The man praised as the strongest knight who had, by himself, subdued Tartarus’ Legion Commanders and their armies.
“There are many records and anecdotes about the Genesis Heroes,” Mel said, turning to the students.
“But in the past three thousand years, there have been almost no attempts to conquer their Hero Records. Does anyone know why?”
Several students raised their hands.
“Eliana Laden.”
“Yes!!”
Eliana leapt to her feet, fist clenched.
“The Hero Records of the Genesis Heroes are all managed by Dragonia, and the dragons only allow conquest to heroes of their choosing!”
“Correct.”
Mel clapped once and smiled brightly.
“As a reward, Eliana, you’ll receive…”
“Participation points, right!?”
“…a cookie.”
“…Eh?”
Eliana looked flustered.
“You really thought you’d get points for answering an easy question like that?”
“Trying to score freebies, huh!”
Jeers echoed through the classroom.
“Silence!”
With her face flushed red, Eliana stomped up to Mel.
Honestly, she was too embarrassed to move after demanding points for such a simple question.
‘Ugh! Whatever! The cookie looks delicious anyway.’
Still, it was hard to turn down a professor’s gesture of kindness on the first day. She decided to shamelessly go for it.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you!”
Eliana smiled as she took the cookie and returned to her seat, taking a bite.
“Mmm~!”
Her eyes widened as she shivered with delight, cheeks flushed with happiness.
“It’s so good~”
Humming as she chewed, Eliana paused and noticed something inside the cookie.
“What’s this?”
[Great Job. +5 points]
A slip of paper with a cute bunny drawing was tucked inside.
“How many points?”
“Five!”
Eliana responded to Mel’s question.
“Eliana Laden, five bonus points.”
“Ooh!”
Eliana beamed.
Mel turned to the students with a warm smile.
“Students who show good participation will receive cookies. Each cookie has a random bonus point slip inside.”
“Random?”
“Yes. Enjoy some cookies, earn some points, and let’s have fun learning together.”
Everyone stared, stunned at this bizarre reward system.
But no one objected.
At Lumene, how a class was run was entirely up to the professor.
Challenging that would be seen as questioning their authority.
And so the class continued.
Starting from the Twilight Knight’s childhood, they delved deep into his beliefs, psychology, and aspirations.
Rather than a typical Heroics class, it felt like an intense academic study on the Twilight Knight.
The second-years, who had only ever read about him in anecdotes, began to understand the hero more deeply.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—!
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
“Class is over.”
Mel smiled and closed her book.
“I’ll assign you some homework. Lumene’s very first achievement was slaying the Orc King at the age of thirteen. Write a report on what emotions you think Lumene felt before heading out to slay the Orc King. Any questions?”
As Mel began to pack away the cookie jar, Chelsea raised her hand.
“Yes, Chelsea Lewellin.”
“Professor Mel, I really enjoyed your lecture. It gave me a deeper understanding of the Academy’s founder. But there’s something I didn’t quite understand. Up until now, we studied how to conquer various Hero’s Worlds in first-year classes. But your lesson seems to…”
“Focus more on understanding the hero than on strategies for conquest?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a great question.”
Mel smiled.
“As Eliana Laden said earlier, the Genesis Heroes’ Hero Records are managed by Dragonia. Do you know why?”
The students fell silent.
No one knew the reason.
Mel’s expression turned serious.
“Because they’re dangerous.”
“Isn’t conquering Hero’s Worlds always dangerous?”
“Yes. But the Hero Records of the Genesis Heroes are currently unconquerable. Over the past three thousand years, there have been several attempts, but none succeeded. The challengers were all highly praised heroes of their era, yet most died in vain.”
Mel erased the chalkboard with a magic-powered eraser.
“Other professors will still teach you standard conquest techniques like in first-year. But the reason I’m giving these special lessons is simple.”
She looked around the room.
“You’re not the only ones. Students in Seiren, Azonia, and Damienne are receiving the same lessons.”
The students gasped.
That was genuinely surprising.
“The conquest methods you’ve learned so far are designed for general, unidentified Hero’s Worlds.”
They learned how to analyze and study Hero’s Worlds.
How to quickly identify missions and objectives.
That was what Heroics education at Lumene had always been.
“But my course will be focused on thoroughly understanding the Genesis Heroes. And that, too, is a form of conquest. Now—who can explain why understanding them is a method of conquest?”
While everyone exchanged uncertain glances—
Someone raised a hand.
“Leo Plov.”
All eyes turned to Leo.
“To achieve what even those heroes could not.”
Mel smiled brightly.
“Correct.”
But she didn’t give him a cookie.
Leo, likewise, didn’t expect one and sat back down.
“The method I’ll teach you is the foundation for [exceeding the original objective] in the Hero’s World.”
The class buzzed.
“Why is understanding the hero the foundation for [exceeding the original objective]?”
Celia raised her hand to ask.
“Conquering a Hero’s World is about replicating the deeds of past heroes. Most challengers already know what goals to pursue and how to achieve them.”
The students nodded.
“But exceeding those objectives lies in the unknown. To accomplish what the original hero couldn’t, you have to go beyond following in their footsteps. You must do what they missed, what they failed to achieve. And to do that, you need to understand who they truly were.”
The students nodded again.
“And the reason we’ve chosen the Genesis Heroes is simple.”
Mel’s expression grew serious.
“Dragonia has delivered a formal request to every Hero Academy.”
“From Dragonia?!”
“Out of nowhere?!”
“No way. That hasn’t happened in nearly a thousand years!”
While the students reeled in shock, Walden crossed his arms.
“What was the request?”
Mel smiled faintly.
“They’ve asked your generation to conquer the Hero Records of the Genesis Heroes.” (T/N: Wow…)
Everyone’s eyes widened.
* * *
“I don’t get bonus points?”
After class ended—
Leo stopped by Mel’s office during break.
Mel let out a sigh at his whining.
“How could I possibly offer cookies and points to someone like you, Lord Leo? Besides, that wasn’t even a difficult question for you.”
“That’s discrimination.”
Leo grumbled but took a seat across from her.
“So. Why now? Why must this generation conquer the Hero Records of the Genesis Heroes?”
“The biggest reason is that this generation has the highest potential.”
“Because of me, mostly.”
“Yes.”
Mel nodded.
She wasn’t wrong.
“But the bigger reason is… they likely won’t last more than a hundred years.”
“They?”
Leo looked puzzled.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you when you visited Dragonia.”
Mel’s expression hardened.
“Dragonia didn’t withhold the Hero Records just because they were unconquerable.”
“There’s another reason?”
“Yes. During the process of sealing fragments of Erebos inside their Hero Records, most of the Genesis Heroes’ Records were burned. But substantial portions still exist—such as the records of their battles against the Legion Commanders.”
“If the Records contain the Legion Commanders, they should be conquerable.”
“Yes. But the problem is… even if you do conquer them, there’s no reward.”
“Why?”
“Because the Hero Records haven’t recognized them as ‘deceased heroes.’”
While a lot of material remains on the Genesis Heroes, nothing is known about their final days.
Some say they retired peacefully after founding the Academies.
Others say they vanished from public view in seclusion.
The truth is, no one knows how they ended their lives.
“No way…”
Leo’s face stiffened.
“Yes.”
Mel’s expression turned grim.
“The five heroes are still inside their Hero’s Worlds… fighting against the sealed fragments of Erebos to this day.”