Chapter 46
“No one’s here. It’s just the two of us.”
“Let’s sum up the situation. Normally, we should’ve received a quest alert as part of the rescue team with the other members. But…”
Chloe looked at the Heroic World alert only she could see.
[Objective: -]
The blank space for the objective.
It was the same for Leo.
“So it’s an abnormal situation.”
“That’s right.”
After hearing Chloe’s analysis, Leo put his index finger to his right temple without hesitation.
The Heroic World constructed by the Hero Record could make contact with the outside at any time.
“Are you trying to contact the outside? You’ll get points deducted for that.”
“This isn’t the time to worry about that.”
As he focused, a blue light glowed from his index finger.
“This is Leo Plov. I can’t see the other team members. What should I do?”
Despite the question, there was no answer.
“…No one’s answering.”
“What? That can’t be.”
Chloe, surprised, hurriedly tried to contact the outside as well, but failed.
“No way… This isn’t even a Hero Dungeon…!”
Leo asked the panicked Chloe.
“Chloe. Did you notice anything strange when you entered?”
“Something strange?”
“Like if the entrance message was odd.”
“No, it was just like what we learned.”
Shaking her head, Chloe put her hand to her forehead.
“Ha! What in the world is going on.”
“We can’t just stay like this.”
As Chloe stomped her feet, she flinched.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of clearing the Heroic World right now?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s impossible. The Heroic World is hard to clear even with a group of ten! There’s no way we can meet the conditions!”
“Doing nothing is even more dangerous, and you know that too.”
Thirty years ago, Tartarus caused the Chedmothers Incident to eliminate a future threat.
Now, this whole forest was a trap set by Tartarus.
There was no telling when or where danger might strike.
“That’s all the more reason not to try and clear it! The exam will be stopped soon anyway.”
“If they could’ve stopped it, they would have already. It wouldn’t be strange for the Heroic World to be deactivated right now, but we’re still stuck here. It’s clear the outside can’t control the Heroic World right now.”
“No way…”
“Yeah. The only way to see this world now is to think of it as a Hero Dungeon.”
A Hero Dungeon.
A rampage of the Hero Record page.
“There’s never been a case where the Heroic World page in the Hero Record became a Hero Dungeon, not a lost page.”
“But how else can you explain what’s happening?”
Chloe’s face hardened.
“You know there’s only one way to lift a Hero Dungeon, right?”
That method was to clear it.
Leo’s theory was very plausible.
Even so, Chloe hesitated.
No matter how much of an honors student she was, Chloe was still just a fifteen-year-old girl.
She lacked the experience to judge calmly and take action.
“You and I are the best in the first year, aren’t we? If we just come up with a good plan, we can clear it.”
Seeing Leo smiling as he spoke, Chloe clenched her fist.
‘I thought I’d caught up.’
She thought she’d caught up to Leo through this midterm.
But when she came to her senses, Leo was already far ahead of her again.
‘And Leo already came up with a plan. I was in a panic and couldn’t think of anything…’
Chloe bit her lip and asked.
‘What is this difference…’
“What’s your plan?”
“Right now, it’s true we don’t have enough power, and we can’t meet the conditions to clear it.”
There were two conditions for clearing the Chedmothers Incident.
[Rescue the endangered first-years] and [Guarantee the safety of the first-years]
The reason Chloe said it was impossible to clear was because of that.
The condition [Rescue the endangered first-years] could somehow be fulfilled, but the condition [Guarantee the safety of the first-years] couldn’t be met by just the two of them.
“So first, we need to reinforce our party’s strength.”
“Reinforce our strength? If this is a Hero Dungeon, there’s no way to bring anyone in from the outside. How do you plan to do that?”
“We’re not the only ones from Lumene in this forest, are we?”
At Leo’s words, Chloe realized something.
“You mean to join forces with the seniors from thirty years ago?”
“That’s right. If we escape the forest, we can fulfill the safety condition.”
“That’s true. But there are demons lying in ambush all over this forest. Can we even reach the seniors while fighting our way through?”
Just as Chloe said.
For Leo’s plan to work, they’d have to break through Tartarus’s encirclement.
“There’s definitely risk in fighting. Especially against demons. So we’ll avoid fighting as much as possible.”
“Can you really do that?”
“I can. Just trust me. So—”
Leo smiled and knelt, turning his back to Chloe.
“Huh?”
“Get on.”
“What?! Wh-what are you talking about all of a sudden?!”
“You’re a mage, so your mobility is low, right? It’ll be much faster if I carry you. Besides, a mage needs to conserve stamina in a situation like this.”
Magic was the ultimate trump card that could turn the tide of battle.
“N-no matter what, you want me to ride on your back? If I do that, I’ll— I’ll—!”
“Whatever you’re talking about, we don’t have time to waste. Hurry up.”
“……”
Blushing furiously, Chloe hesitated but had no choice but to climb onto Leo’s back.
“Don’t grab my shoulders—put your arms around my neck. Otherwise, you’ll fall.”
Chloe wrapped her arms around Leo’s neck.
“Here we go.”
Kwaak-!
With an Aura Step, Leo shot forward at incredible speed.
As she clung tightly to Leo from behind, Chloe thought,
‘In the end, I’m relying on Leo again.’
She felt herself sinking, thinking she was of no help to her rival, Leo.
Fwaaah—!
Meanwhile, Leo focused his mind.
Normally, even with increased mobility, it would be nearly impossible to break through Tartarus’s encirclement without fighting.
But Leo had one way to make it possible.
Aura began to blaze inside Leo’s body.
Veins bulged on his temples and all over his body.
Every hair on his body stood on end, and his senses sharpened several times beyond normal.
Thump—! Thump—!
The sound of his heartbeat rang out several times louder than usual.
‘Hyper Sense.’
A technique of the great hero Arron, achieved by finely manipulating Aura to push all the body’s sensory organs to their limits.
Of course, compared to the original, it was crude beyond comparison.
‘His Hyper Sense didn’t just sharpen senses—it was on a level that could predict the future.’
But for now, it was enough to get through this situation.
Kwaak—!
Leo stepped on a branch and dashed through the forest at incredible speed.
—
A giant nearly three meters tall stood in the middle of the forest.
It was Chubarn, a demon sent by Tartarus to eliminate the seeds of heroes.
He stared at several screens floating in midair.
First-years from Lumene appeared on the Tartarus surveillance network spread throughout the forest.
As he searched for his target, one screen caught his attention.
“So the rescue team’s already here?”
Chubarn quickly lost interest in the two people.
He’d only been told to eliminate anyone who interfered, not to actively seek them out.
There was only one objective.
‘Eliminate the hero candidates who could become a threat in the future.’
As he was about to move to carry out his mission, Leo encountered monsters and was just entering battle.
Leo and Chloe were merely obstacles.
The original target never changed.
Yet Chubarn’s gaze remained fixed on Leo and Chloe.
To be precise, on Leo, who summoned Aura, magic, and spirits.
Obvious hostility and hatred burned in Chubarn’s eyes.
Glaring at Leo, Chubarn spat out the name as if chewing it.
“Kyle!”
—
“Orc group ahead.”
“Got it.”
Even if you try to avoid battle, sometimes you have no choice.
This was one of those times.
Chloe quickly recited a spell and completed her magic in an instant.
Three ice spears flew in a straight line toward the direction Leo pointed.
Thwack—!
“Kraaaagh!”
The orcs pierced by the ice spears screamed.
Five orcs died on the spot.
But five more orcs remained.
Gwaaagh!
The orcs swung their crude weapons in fury.
The last orc at the rear pulled a horn from its belt.
Chloe knew exactly what that meant.
‘I have to stop it! If I don’t, more orcs will swarm us!’
She quickly began chanting.
But Leo was a step faster.
He released his right hand from Chloe’s thigh, drew his sword—
Srrng—!
—and reversed his grip, then threw it.
Shaaak! Thud—!
“Gwek?”
The sword pierced the orc’s neck along with the horn.
Approaching the instantly killed orc, Leo gripped the hilt.
“Sorry, you might get blood on you.”
Fwoosh!
He roughly pulled out his sword and swung it backward.
Splat! Slice! Crack!
Leo’s sword drew a chilling arc.
Where the sword passed, the orcs stood frozen in place.
Leaving the orcs behind, Leo leapt away.
Fwoosh—!
Then the orcs collapsed, bleeding out.
‘He’s fast.’
It had been almost two hours since they’d entered the Heroic World.
There had been a total of seven battles so far.
‘Normally, there would’ve been over twenty by now.’
Of course, Leo hadn’t taken the shortest route.
But for Leo and Chloe, what mattered was safely joining up with the first-years from thirty years ago, not saving time.
In that sense, Leo was definitely preserving their strength.
Even more, in all seven battles, they hadn’t once fought a demon, and Chloe hadn’t gotten off Leo’s back.
Even though they hadn’t met any particularly strong monsters, Leo had maximized their combat efficiency with the most optimized movements.
All Chloe did was cast spells as Leo instructed.
It was hard to believe it was even possible.
Chloe glanced at Leo’s back.
There wasn’t a hint of fatigue.
‘The difference in real combat is this big…’
Chloe bit her lip.
“Found them.”
“Huh?”
Chloe turned her head in the direction Leo was looking.
There, a group of students was confronting some unknown assailants.
“That is…!”
Mysterious figures in black hoods.
“Demons?”
Sensing the ominous aura from them, Chloe’s face hardened.
“Chloe.”
“Yeah.”
“I need your support.”
Leo released the hand holding Chloe’s thigh.
Chloe quickly cast the flight spell, [Fly].
Seeing that, Leo immediately activated Aura and lowered himself.
The lead demon, facing off with Lumene students, shouted,
“Prepare yourself, detestable hero candidates!”
Fwoosh—!
A flash of silver streaked above the demon’s head.
Fwoosh—!
The demon split open from the crown of his head, bleeding as he turned to sand.
“It’s been a while since I hunted demons.”
The sudden intrusion left the demons startled.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Me?”
Leo gave a chilling smile.
“I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”
