Book 1 Chapter 128
128
“Kyle, you say?”
“Was Kyle a real person?”
The students reacted with surprise.
The large lecture hall instantly became noisy.
Until now, Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings, was a figure whose name only existed in children's storybooks.
‘That’s because my hero record wasn’t left behind.’
But even as a fictional character, he was incredibly famous.
At least for thousands of years, his name had been mentioned alongside other great heroes.
For this reason, the heroic studies community had conducted much research to discover the origin of the figure named Kyle.
However, since there was no evidence that he actually existed, he was ultimately dismissed as a non-existent person.
In such a situation, the name Kyle was mentioned in the world of [The Brave].
As the students buzzed with chatter, Artian spoke.
“Everyone, calm down. Only the name was mentioned, nothing more. Furthermore, it hasn't been revealed yet whether he is the same person as the Hero of Beginnings.”
At his words, the students calmed down.
Just then, Chloe raised her hand.
“Yes, student Chloe.”
“What if the real ‘Hero of Beginnings’ actually existed?”
“If that were the case, the landscape of the heroic studies community would be overturned. You know there are pages of heroes that have been discovered so far, but we don't know which hero they belong to, right? Perhaps some of them might be Kyle's.”
“Ohhh.”
“Then that means there are great heroes among humans too?”
The students became excited.
The five races on Earth.
Humans, Elves, Beastfolk, Dwarves, and Dragons.
Among these, only humans had no great heroes.
Because of this, they harbored an inferiority complex, consciously or unconsciously comparing themselves to other races.
In such a situation, if Kyle actually existed, humans too could stand tall before other races.
“Of course.”
Seeing Artian smile, the students' eyes sparkled.
‘So this is how it gets known.’
Leo also harbored dissatisfaction about being forgotten.
Just then, Celia raised her hand.
“Professor. If Kyle actually existed, would he really have been an All-Class?”
“There's a high probability. In fact, there's someone at our school who is an All-Class, isn't there?”
Simultaneously with Artian's words, all the students' gazes turned to Leo.
More than 300 gazes converging at once would have made anyone flinch, but Leo remained calm.
“What are you looking at?”
At his reaction, the students turned their attention back to Artian.
“At any rate, it's true that an interesting topic regarding Kyle has been brought up. That's why many scholars studying heroic studies are heading to Azonia right now.”
“What does 'The Surviving Hero' mean?”
“It is said that even the conqueror doesn't know for sure. They only said it was a name mentioned by a hero of that era, ‘Guardian of the Blue Sky,’ who was Arion's master.”
“Arion-nim had a master?”
“Well… it’s not that strange.”
“I’m envious. Doesn’t that mean he met Arion-nim in person?”
“Among our first-years, the class representatives met Rishinas-nim, didn't they?”
During the first semester, Kyle's page opened here.
At that time, the class representatives had met Rishinas.
“Alright, so for today's class, we're going to study [The Hero of Beginnings], Kyle. How well do you all know about the Hero of Beginnings? Any student who knows about Kyle's representative achievements?”
At Artian's question, everyone wore perplexed expressions.
He was a famous figure, but conversely, because he was treated as a fictional character, Kyle was someone they didn't know in detail.
Just the countless achievements of Kyle mentioned in children's storybooks alone were too many.
But there were also students who genuinely loved children's books and researched Kyle.
“Yes! The Hero of Beginnings Kyle’s representative achievement is the Battle of Datefran against the Lich King Hel Kaiser!”
Chelsea raised her hand high and answered.
“That's right. I'll give Chelsea 10 points.”
Chelsea clenched her fist.
Afterward, Artian gave a lecture about Kyle.
Starting from the academic community’s assessment of Kyle up to that point, to views on how it might change in the future.
As he taught heroic studies in Lumerne, a very interesting and in-depth class was conducted.
All the students concentrated on the lecture.
After class ended and break time began, Chelsea murmured while organizing her notes.
“But why is he called the Surviving Hero?”
“Well, probably because he survived.”
Leo answered Chelsea's question simply.
“He probably got that name because he was strong enough to survive many battles.”
Leo explained why he was called the Surviving Hero.
“Hmm! It sounds incredibly simple, but for now, interpreting it literally seems correct.”
Chelsea nodded.
Leo rested his chin on his hand, recalling past events.
‘Well, it wasn't a nickname I liked.’
At the time, it was a nickname closer to a derogatory term.
Before joining the subjugation party, Kyle participated in many battles as a mercenary, building his reputation.
And while countless others were annihilated, he alone returned alive.
At first, he was praised for it, but when such incidents repeated multiple times, it eventually became a symbol of misfortune.
‘Thanks to that, there were no longer any guys who wanted to be my comrades.’
It was during that time that Rishinas, who was then called the Fool, found him.
Lost in thought, Leo smiled as he watched his classmates earnestly discussing Kyle.
‘To think the day would come when I'd study Kyle in Lumerne.’
Of course, Leo had wished for such a situation.
It felt unfair that he saved the world just like his comrades, but only his comrades were remembered.
But now that he was actually attending the class, he felt strange.
‘I must be the only one trying to directly transmit my achievements to future generations.’
Lamenting his fate, Leo let out a deep sigh.
The students, who had classes from the very first day of the new semester, were all exhausted.
It felt as if their senses, which had loosened during vacation, were being tightened again.
“Hah! I’m tired! So tired!”
Karl, who had finished bathing with him, stretched and asked.
“Leo. Want to go to the snack bar?”
“No. I plan to rest a bit early today.”
“Really? Alright.”
Karl nodded at Leo's words and headed to the snack bar alone.
Returning to his room, Leo took Elsie out of his necklace.
Elsie flew to the window and looked up at the night sky, her eyes sparkling.
Ever since coming to the modern era, looking up at the night sky every evening had become one of Elsie's daily routines.
“Elsie.”
“Yes, Leo.”
“I’ll introduce you to my summoned beasts now.”
“Ah! You mean the Phoenix and the fairy you told me about.”
“Yes. As I said before, don't tell them that I am Kyle.”
Leo sighed, thinking of the boisterous personalities of Fiona and Kirian.
There was no way the two phantoms would intentionally blab about their contractor Leo's personal information.
But given their personalities, it was highly likely they might inadvertently tell others.
‘The fewer people who know a secret, the better.’
If Tartarus were to find out that Leo was Kyle's reincarnation, it would be a big problem.
Because in that case, they would surely try to eliminate him by any means necessary before he regained his full power as Kyle from his prime.
‘Even if it gets known, it needs to be known after I’ve regained a certain amount of power.’
Thinking so, Leo summoned Fiona and Kirian.
“Your contractor, Fiona. I have come at your call.”
[Leo! You're back!]
Fiona elegantly lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed, while Kirian waved her hand.
Then, she noticed Elsie and paused.
“Who is she?”
“She's the spirit I just contracted with.”
[My name is Elsie.]
As Elsie smiled softly and greeted her, Kirian exclaimed, "Hoo?" in admiration.
[A newbie? I'm Kirian. I'm the leader among Leo's summoned beasts.]
“I’m the leader.”
[Why are you the leader?]
“Because I contracted with Leo first.”
Fiona stated with an obvious expression.
[The leader, you see, is the most dignified and highest-ranked summoned beast. Like me.]
“This fairy is out of her mind, so you can just think of me as the leader.”
[You pig chick!]
Seeing the two bickering, Leo let out a deep sigh.
For Leo, the summoned beast he had contracted with first and who was also high-ranked was none other than Elsie.
Compared to the Great Spirit he had contracted with in his previous life, Fiona and Kirian were still rookies.
[They are lively children.]
Elsie smiled brightly, seemingly pleased by the boisterous atmosphere.
Leo shook his head at Elsie's demeanor, which was as if she was looking at cute younger siblings.
“That’s not lively; that’s just childish.”
***
The students who started classes on the very first day of the new semester were overwhelmed.
However, the first-years, who had experienced their fair share of difficulties, adapted without trouble.
After the common mandatory subjects for all grades were over, specialized major classes began.
The first major class was none other than the Magic Department class.
Leo, along with Chelsea and Karl, headed to the practical training ground that had been announced in advance.
“Practical training from the very first class? That’s not like Professor Ren.”
Chelsea tilted her head.
Ren was a professor who emphasized theoretical classes.
Of course, he didn't neglect practical application, but he was a professor with a strong belief that magic was a field based on research and exploration.
For him to have the first class of the second semester in the practical training ground was certainly unconventional.
The first-years gathered at the practical training ground and waited for Ren.
A moment later, Ren appeared with Associate Professor Anna.
Ren, standing in the middle of the training ground, smiled softly.
“Everyone. Did you have a good vacation?”
“Yes.”
“Professor Ren! We missed you!”
A few female students greeted Ren with melodious voices.
Thanks to his handsome appearance and kind personality, Ren was particularly popular among female students.
Of course, he occasionally went into a frenzy, but even that was seen as passion for magic, so many found it charming.
Ren nodded at the students’ reactions and said,
“I hope you submit the assignments you worked on during vacation.”
At his words, the students submitted the reports they were holding to the front.
Anna organized the submitted reports and placed them into a sub-space.
In the meantime, Ren began to speak.
“During the vacation, I thought a lot about how to teach you all in the second semester.”
At his words, the students wore puzzled expressions.
“As you know, you yourselves are receiving a lot of attention at the school level this time.”
Ren said, scanning the students.
“So, I had high expectations for the departmental competition in the first semester.”
Emio raised his hand.
“So the first-years in the departmental competition subjugated the Gigantes!”
It was true that nine students subjugated the Gigantes, but it was also true that the subjugation would have been impossible without the other first-years.
So, Emio went around saying they subjugated it ‘together.’
“That's right. But it didn't prove the excellence of the Magic Department.”
It was an achievement of the entire first-year class, not the specific activity of one department.
“Do you know this? Among the professors, the evaluation of your department seniors, the second, third, and fourth-years, was not good.”
“Excuse me?”
“Wasn't the Magic Department's evaluation always neck and neck with the Knight Department?”
Students with strong inter-departmental rivalry looked puzzled.
Seeing them, Ren crossed his arms.
“Of course, that was the external evaluation of the department.”
Ren's eyes sharpened.
“But the first-years of the Magic Department have not beaten Seirun in the Rusen War for the past three years!”
At his words, the students flinched.
“The professors of the Magic Department decided that they could not endure four consecutive years of humiliation. So, for the second semester, we prepared classes to get ready for the Rusen War at the end of the semester.”
The students were surprised by Ren's declaration.
“Starting today, you will learn 'Heroic Magic.'”