Chapter 82
“I can’t understand this. It’s an unprecedented event.”
The professors objected at the mention of battle royale.
If the Department Competition, which is supposed to be between departments, isn’t managed properly, it could easily turn into an individual competition.
Watching the three professors protest, Principal Kalian leaned back in his chair.
“I don’t blame you for feeling that way. This year’s first-years are especially outstanding.”
No matter which department, the odds of victory for this year’s first-years were very high.
That’s exactly why all three professors were opposed to a battle royale with so many unpredictable factors.
“But as you know, there’s a rather special student this year, isn’t there?”
“You mean Leo Plov?”
“That’s right. At first, everyone was just surprised that he was an all-class. Didn’t you all assume he’d hit his limit soon enough?”
The three professors agreed.
They were convinced he’d eventually choose their own department.
“But Leo is still maintaining results close to the top of every department.”
Kalian rested his chin on his hand.
“Thanks to that, the Board has become even more interested in Leo.”
The Board.
Known as the Families of the Beginning, they are the true rulers of Lumene—comprised of the three great houses: Zeron, Leagueard, and Tursia.
“They want Leo, as an all-class, to leave his name in the Hero Record?”
“That’s right.”
If that were to happen, it wouldn’t be impossible for another all-class inheriting Leo’s abilities to appear in the future.
In short, Leo alone was having a tremendous impact.
“Of course, he’ll have to choose a department eventually, but the Board thinks now isn’t the right time. I know you’ve all worked hard preparing for the Department Competition… but just this once, please understand.”
At Kalian’s words, the three professors let out a deep sigh.
It was the word of the principal they respected deeply—there was no point in arguing further.
‘From now on, individual ability is more important than cooperation.’
The professors were lost in thought.
‘If it’s come to this, we’ll have to focus on raising the students’ abilities in preparation for the competition.’
* * *
The next day.
During the Knight Department class, all the students felt a strange excitement.
From today, full-fledged lessons for the Department Competition would begin.
Moreover, Professor Ain had announced that today’s lesson would be extremely helpful in conquering the Hero’s World, so the first-years were even more enthusiastic.
“Hey, who are you going to choose?”
“The Moonlight Knight. You?”
“I’m picking the Spear Knight of Hermillan!”
Entering the Hero’s World was still a long way off, but just preparing for it was enough to make their hearts race.
Watching his excited classmates, Leo muttered,
“They’re all getting worked up.”
“They can’t help it.”
“You don’t look that happy about it.”
“There’s nothing special about the Hero’s World for someone from the Zerdinger family like me. But you don’t look that happy either.”
“I’m actually really looking forward to it.”
It was true—he was excited to finally see what the true Hero Record was like.
Of course, he’d already received the rewards from conquering the Hero’s World twice, but those weren’t the standard rewards.
‘What kind of rewards will there be on the official route?’
In a sense, the great hero Kyle could be called the senior of all current heroes.
The great heroes are those who put their names on the very first page of the Hero Record, achieving the greatest feats.
Even Leo felt a thrill at the prospect of inheriting the power of another hero.
‘Maybe I’ll be able to make up for my lacking abilities.’
In history, the great heroes are portrayed as perfect.
But Leo knew well that they were not actually perfect.
‘If that were true, no one would have been lost in the fight against Erebos.’
Leo clenched his fist.
‘Besides, I’m weaker now compared to my previous life.’
It wasn’t simply because he hadn’t regained his old power yet.
Kyle’s strongest moment was right before facing Erebos.
But even if he regained all his previous strength, he could never be as strong as he was then.
‘Because back then, I didn’t only have my own power.’
Before the subjugation of Erebos.
The grand aspiration to save the world.
The foolish dream of filling the world with flowers.
The wild ambition of recovering the lost beauty of the world.
The simple hope that people could smile again.
It was because of the power of his comrades, who entrusted their ideals to Kyle, that he was able to accomplish the subjugation.
Lost in these thoughts, Leo realized something.
‘Come to think of it, the way the Hero Record lets you inherit power is similar to how I was in my past life.’
While Leo was deep in thought, Ain appeared at the training grounds.
The students, who had been chatting in small groups, immediately straightened up and stood at attention.
“As I mentioned, starting today, I’ll teach you aura skills to prepare for the Department Competition and conquering the Hero’s World.”
At those words, cheers erupted in the training ground.
Watching them, Ain added,
“And anyone who fails to conquer the Hero’s World in the second semester will be expelled, regardless of grades.”
A chill ran through the students at those words.
“Now, let’s start the lesson. Who wants to explain the powers awarded as Hero’s World conquest rewards?”
Normally, students would have eagerly raised their hands, but Ain’s cold tone made them hesitate.
In the midst of this, one student calmly raised their hand.
“Duran Moira.”
“[Hero Weapon], [Hero Ability], and finally, [Hero Skill].”
“Correct.”
Ain nodded.
“[Hero Weapon] is, as the name suggests, the power to summon the weapon that hero used. It’s an overwhelming force that lets you bring legendary or historical weapons that no longer exist into the present world.”
At this, Leo folded his arms.
‘Can I summon the weapons that I and those guys used?’
Images of weapons destroyed during the Age of Calamity flashed through his mind.
“[Hero Ability] is the hero’s unique trait. Lastly, [Hero Skill] is the technique the hero used.”
Ain folded his arms.
“The very first power you’ll inherit will be [Hero Skill]. Can anyone explain the main characteristic of a Hero Skill?”
This time, Chen Xia looked up.
“Chen Xia.”
“Its power changes depending on the user’s abilities. It can be much weaker than the original, or it can even surpass the original.”
“Correct.”
Ain walked to the front of the training ground.
“Before you inherit a hero’s power, there’s a skill I want to teach you. Celia Zerdinger, step forward.”
At Ain’s call, Celia stepped forward.
“Draw your sword.”
Celia drew her sword.
“Do you remember what I said at the start of the semester? That I’d teach you aura techniques from the Beastkin Hero Academy, Azonia.”
“Yes.”
“Throughout our lessons, I’ve always incorporated aura studies when teaching you aura techniques.”
Celia nodded.
The aura skills Ain taught were all things she’d learned from the Zerdinger family.
‘But the content was completely different.’
She learned techniques to use aura more precisely.
For example, the method of maximizing defense with aura armor was different.
What Celia had learned before was simply how to make the aura armor stronger.
But that wasn’t all there was to it.
‘It’s not just about deflecting attacks, but also about absorbing or redirecting them. There are many forms of defense.’
By developing aura armor based on Ain’s aura studies, you could change your defensive properties according to the nature of your opponent’s attacks.
It wasn’t a technique that would yield big results right away, but if mastered, it could offer tremendous advantages.
“Until now, I’ve only taught you techniques we could immediately apply from aura studies. But what you’ll learn now is something actually taught to Azonia students.”
The students held their breath and focused on Ain’s words.
“If you learn this, it will greatly help you use [Hero Skills]. Not only that, but all your aura skills will improve overall.”
Celia’s eyes sparkled.
“What technique is it?”
“It’s faster to show you, Celia. Use your aura.”
Celia summoned her aura.
Ain pointed to the empty training ground.
“Unleash your strongest sword strike there.”
Celia swung her sword with all her might, maximizing her firepower.
Whoosh—! Boom—!
It was like a wall of flames erupted from her sword slash.
The powerful force made the other students stare in shock.
“As expected of the Knight Department’s top three!”
“Flame beast!”
“Hey! Who just called me a beast!”
Celia glared.
“Excellent. That’s exactly what I’d expect from a Zerdinger.”
Ain smiled wryly.
“Now then.”
Whoosh—!
Flames erupted from Ain’s sword.
The students’ eyes went wide.
Ain, known as the Knight of the Frozen Sea, was a knight who used aura of ice.
Seeing the students’ shock, Duran scoffed.
“Professor Ain was also a dungeon conqueror. He’s accomplished so much, it wouldn’t be strange if he became a hero at any time. It’s not odd for him to have inherited a hero’s power that uses flames.”
“Duran is right. This flame aura is an [Ability] I inherited from a hero I conquered long ago.”
Ain infused his sword with an aura at a level similar to what Celia had just produced.
Then he raised his sword and took a breath.
It was an unnatural sound, different from ordinary breathing.
At the same time, aura faintly shimmered around Ain’s body.
Leo’s eyes widened.
‘That’s…!’
Whoosh—! Boom—!
A blazing sword strike soared even higher than Celia’s.
“…!”
Celia’s eyes were filled with shock.
Even though they used a similar level of aura, Ain’s flames were stronger than hers.
Not to mention, Ain’s own aura was of ice, not fire, so the power should have been diminished.
Leo’s eyes widened.
“How did you do that?”
Celia asked in astonishment as Professor Ain sheathed his sword.
“This is [The Hero’s Breath].”
“…!”
“It’s the very technique you’re all about to learn.”
‘That’s Arron’s technique, isn’t it?’