Book 1 Chapter 112

【112】111.

The entire Colosseum was thrown into chaos by the sudden turn of events.

"What's going on!"

"Instructor Berga! This is serious! Lord Arion's World of Heroes has opened!"

"What did you say?"

Berga's face hardened.

Berga knew that the phenomenon that had just occurred was a precursor to the World of Heroes being built.

Even so, he couldn't dare to imagine that a true World of Heroes would actually open.

What is needed to open the World of Heroes is the hero themselves, or an object imbued with a strong connection.

In this era, let alone objects related to great heroes, there are hardly any pages of great heroes left.

Therefore, most of the pages that had not yet opened were expected to remain closed forever.

But now, one of them had opened.

"Is it a rampage?"

"It seems so!"

For whatever reason, the opening of Arion's world was an encouraging development.

Even if it was a dungeonification due to a rampage, if they could clear it, they could inherit Arion's power.

The problem was those who had entered Arion's world now.

His daughter and the son of an old friend.

Fledglings who could still be called rookies.

'Could those children really clear Lord Arion's world?'

Berga clenched his trembling hands and gritted his teeth.

***

"If this is Lord Arion's world, then it's the Age of Calamity, isn't it?"

"It seems so."

When Leo took his eyes off the sky and replied, Ar's expression grew serious.

"Why did the World of Heroes suddenly activate?"

"Well. Let's try to communicate with the outside first."

At his words, Leo placed his right index and middle fingers together and brought them to his temple.

As he concentrated in that state, a faint blue light flowed out.

"Le… no. It's Kyle. Can you hear me?"

A normal World of Heroes should have been able to communicate with the outside.

However, despite Leo's call, there was no news from the outside.

Leo glanced at Ar.

Ar also wore a frustrated expression, as if he had failed to communicate with the outside.

"A hero dungeon caused by a rampage? If so, why suddenly? There's never been a record of the Prologue page opening in thousands of years."

Looking at Ar, who had a serious expression, Leo looked down at his own hand.

The sudden rampage of Arion's page.

He had an inkling about this situation.

'The World of Heroes opened during my Heroics class and when I touched my hero page in Belkiah.'

Recalling the times he met Lishinas and Luna, Leo showed a confused expression.

'But those were my pages. This is clearly Arion's page, isn't it?'

[Capture Goal: Find Arion in Leysar.]

At that moment, a message appeared before Leo and Ar.

"Capture Goal? Then that means this isn't a hero dungeon?"

Ar said in a bright voice.

Hero dungeons do not have capture goals.

The appearance of a capture goal meant that, as Ar said, it wasn't a hero dungeon caused by a rampage.

"If it's an officially opened world, why can't we contact the outside?"

"Uh, well?"

Ar couldn't give a clear answer to that question either.

"Perhaps it's because it opened suddenly? To control the World of Heroes, you need a key that's required to open the world, and they probably haven't found that key yet."

"A key, huh."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Anyway, if the capture goal is to find Lord Arion, it seems like we might be able to finish it more simply than I thought?"

At Ar's words, Leo let out a deep sigh.

"Will it really be easy to find Arion in this Leysar?"

Leysar.

A refugee city that existed during the Age of Calamity.

As it housed countless races, the city's scale was beyond imagination.

"Lord Arion is famous, so it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Arion gained fame after joining the Erebus Extermination Squad and leaving Leysar."

"That's true, but he's still Lord Arion, isn't he? It's recorded in ancient texts that his fame was incredibly high even before he joined the extermination squad, right? Lishinas and Luna also went to Leysar after hearing of Lord Arion's fame."

'Indeed, people of this era would think that.'

Recorded history and actual history are different.

Arion was not famous at all in this era.

But Leo was the only one who lived in this era and knew that fact.

'To clear the World of Heroes, I'll have to rely on old records for now.'

Leo scratched his head and sighed.

'From Ar's perspective, even if I try to act like I know this era, he won't believe me much. Maybe it's easier for him to accept if he experiences it himself.'

"Let's split up and gather information about Lord Arion!"

"This is the World of Heroes. We shouldn't split up recklessly."

"Hmm! You're right! Then let's search together!"

Driven by the thought of meeting the admired Arion in person, Ar enthusiastically began his investigation.

"Hello! Do you happen to know anyone named Lord Arion?"

"Arion? Who's that? Don't bother me, get lost!"

"Excuse me. I'm looking for someone named Lord Arion?"

"How would I know some guy whose name I don't even recognize?"

"Hey, Beastman! Have you heard the name Arion?"

"Not at all."

They spent the whole day asking people about Arion.

And as the sun began to set.

"Why does no one know about Lord Arion?! Wasn't Lord Arion already famous even before joining the Erebus Extermination Squad?!"

"Ugh!" Seeing Ar shout, Leo folded his arms and said.

"It seems actual history and recorded history are different."

"Ugh!"

At Leo's reply, Ar flinched.

Meanwhile, Leo organized the information he had gathered during their inquiries in his mind.

'This era is the year 1462 by the Altegra calendar.'

It was 20 years after the Age of Calamity began.

'At this time, I don't have to find Arion from scratch.'

"First, let's find a place to rest."

"Is there anywhere to rest in a city like this?"

Ar said with a worried expression.

After walking the streets of Leysar for a day, he realized one thing.

The era he lived in and the Age of Calamity were fundamentally different.

People were generally unfriendly and rough, and fights broke out everywhere as if it were an everyday occurrence.

It wasn't merely a matter of good or bad public safety.

Everyone was gripped by a primal fear that the world might end.

Literally, the world they lived in was different.

"We'll have to find a decent place. Sleeping on the streets is dangerous."

"Then let's find an inn."

'An inn won't do.'

Leo gave a wry smile.

In the past, even Kyle had a lot of trouble finding a place to sleep when he came to Leysar.

'There wasn't a single proper inn.'

As the largest refugee city on earth, countless people flocked to Leysar.

Among them were vile individuals who committed crimes as naturally as breathing.

Of course, such criminals did not operate during the day.

This was because those who protected the city tried hard to maintain public order with vigilance.

But it was not so at night.

The moment the sun set, the streets of the city were stained with fear.

Crimes occurred in every alley, and in areas with poor public safety, even murders were frequent.

In the past, Kyle's party, who wandered all over this city, barely found a safe place after a month.

'We have to go there.'

Moreover, that place wasn't just safe.

"Let's try that inn over there."

Ar pointed to an inn nearby.

Leo followed behind Ar.

Jingle-jingle-

When the door opened, the first floor was full of customers.

For a moment, all their gazes fixed on Ar.

Ar, who had been tense, let out a sigh of relief when he spotted the owner sitting at the counter.

Although his face was covered in scars, the owner was an elf.

Seeing that, Ar felt a slight sense of relief.

Elves were proud, but fundamentally a benevolent race.

He thought they wouldn't do anything foolish.

"Excuse me, do you have a room for tonight?"

"No. There are no rooms left today. Well, if you don't mind my room, that is."

Ar was flustered, seeing the owner give a suggestive smile.

He never imagined an elf would make such an explicit pass.

Seeing Ar's face turn cold, Leo grabbed Ar's hand and they left the inn.

"It seems it won't be easy to find a decent place."

"Yeah."

Ar's face darkened.

'Our era and this era have completely different common sense.'

Afterward, Leo and Ar continued to search for a place to sleep.

But there was nowhere that seemed safe.

'Will we really be able to find a place to stay?'

Ar followed behind Leo with a dark expression.

Meanwhile, Leo pretended to wander while guiding Ar to a place he knew.

'We're here.'

Leo stopped walking.

Ar, lost in thought, paused when he saw Leo, then looked around and was flustered.

'When did we get to a place like this?'

The place Leo arrived at was in the middle of a gloomy street where no signs of people could be felt.

Whoosh-!

At that moment, a sound of something cutting through the wind was heard.

Feeling a murderous intent right beside him, Ar sharply opened his eyes and threw a punch.

Grab-!

But Ar's attack was easily blocked by the opponent.

Even though his attack was blocked, Ar didn't panic and sharpened his claws, imbuing them with aura.

Seeing that, Leo urgently shouted.

"Wait, Ar! Don't fight!"

But it was already too late to stop the fight; the sparks had properly flown.

Thud-!

Ar's sharp claws, imbued with aura, dug into the opponent's chest.

However, Ar's attack had no effect. It was blocked by the opponent's aura armor.

Ar gritted his teeth and urgently tried to shake off the opponent's hand.

But the opponent was quicker, grabbing Ar by the scruff of his neck first.

"Cough?"

"Who are you bastards? Why have you intruded here?"

Ar gritted his teeth and raised his aura to counterattack.

Looking at Ar, the cat beastman furrowed his brow and slammed Ar to the ground.

"C-cough?"

Feeling his consciousness fading, Ar barely managed to speak just before losing consciousness.

"Black Rabbit, you at least escape…!"

Leaving the unconscious Ar, he glared at Leo with murderous intent.

"Why did you come into this area?"

"I was told to come here."

"By whom? This is a restricted area, isn't it?"

That was true.

This place was called a cursed land, abandoned.

Taking a deep breath to calm the other party, Leo held up both hands and said seriously.

"Cowardly Arion sent us here."