Book 1 Chapter 128

"Kyle?"

"Was Kyle a real person?"

The students reacted with surprise.

The lecture hall instantly became noisy.

Until now, Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, had only existed in name in fairy tales.

'It was because my hero record wasn't left behind.'

However, even as a fictional character, he was incredibly famous.

This was because his name had been mentioned alongside other great heroes for at least thousands of years.

Thus, the field of hero studies had conducted extensive research to find the origin of the individual named Kyle.

But lacking any evidence of his existence, he was ultimately dismissed as a non-existent person.

In such a situation, Kyle's name was mentioned in the world of [Hero].

Amidst the students' murmurs, Artian spoke.

"Everyone, please calm down. His name has only been mentioned. Furthermore, it hasn't been confirmed whether he is the same person as the Hero of the Beginning."

At his words, the students calmed down.

Then Chloe raised her hand.

"Yes, Student Chloe."

"What if the 'Hero of the Beginning' truly existed?"

"If that were the case, the current landscape of hero studies would be turned upside down. There are pages of heroes we've discovered that we can't identify whose pages they are, aren't there? Perhaps, one of them might be Kyle's."

"Ooh."

"Then that means there would be a great hero among humans as well?"

The students were excited.

The five races existing on the continent.

Humans, Elves, Beastfolk, Dwarves, and Dragons.

Among these, only humans did not have a great hero.

Because of this, consciously or unconsciously, they felt a sense of inferiority compared to other races.

In such a situation, if Kyle existed, humans could stand tall in front of other races.

"Of course."

The students' eyes sparkled as they looked at Artian, who smiled faintly.

'So this is how I get known.'

Leo also harbored dissatisfaction about being forgotten.

Then Celia raised her hand.

"Professor. If Kyle existed, would he really have been an all-class?"

"The probability is high. In fact, we have someone who is all-class at our school."

As Artian spoke, all the students' gazes turned to Leo.

Being stared at by over 300 pairs of eyes at once might have made one flustered, but Leo remained unfazed.

"What are you looking at?"

At his reaction, the students turned back to Artian.

"In any case, it's true that an interesting topic regarding Kyle has been raised. That's why many scholars currently studying hero studies are heading to Azonia."

"What does 'surviving hero' mean?"

"It is said that even the strategists do not know the exact meaning of that. It is only mentioned as a name from the 'Guardian of the Azure Sky,' a hero of that time who was Arion's teacher."

"Arion had a teacher?"

"Well… it's not strange."

"I'm jealous. You mean you met Arion in person?"

"Our first-year class representatives met Lissinas, didn't they?"

During the first semester, Kyle's page opened here.

At that time, the class representatives met Lissinas.

"Alright, so for today's lesson, we will study about [Hero of the Beginning] Kyle. How well do you all know the Hero of the Beginning? Are there any students who know Kyle's most representative achievement?"

In response to Artian's question, everyone wore a perplexed expression.

Kyle was a famous figure, but conversely, precisely because he was treated as a fictional character, he was someone few knew in detail.

The achievements of Kyle, mentioned countless times in fairy tales alone, were too numerous.

However, there was a student who had researched Kyle out of a pure love for fairy tales.

"Yes! The Hero of the Beginning Kyle's most representative achievement is the battle against the Necromancer King Hel Kaiser at Datefran!"

Chelsea answered, raising her hand high.

"That's correct. I'll give Student Chelsea 10 points."

Chelsea clenched her fist tightly.

Afterward, Artian lectured about Kyle.

Starting with the academic evaluation of Kyle up to this point and extending to how it might change in the future.

As he was teaching hero studies in Lumern, it was a very interesting and in-depth lesson.

All students were focused on the class.

After the class ended and the break began, Chelsea mumbled while summarizing the lesson.

"But why is he called the 'surviving hero'?"

"Well, because he survived, I guess."

Leo replied simply to Chelsea's question.

"He probably gained that name because he survived many battles due to his strength."

Leo explained the reason why he was called the "surviving hero."

"Hmm! It sounds very simple, but I guess interpreting it literally right now is correct."

Chelsea nodded.

Leo rested his chin on his hand, recalling the past.

'Well, it's not a nickname I like.'

At the time, it was a nickname close to an insult.

Before joining the subjugation force, Kyle had built a reputation through many battles as a mercenary.

And while countless people were annihilated, he was the only one who returned alive.

At first, he was praised as amazing, but after such incidents repeated, it eventually became a symbol of misfortune.

'Thanks to that, I also lost people who wanted to be my comrades.'

It was during this time that Lissinas, who was called a fool at the time, appeared.

Lost in thought, Leo smiled as he watched his fellow students earnestly discussing Kyle.

'I never imagined I'd be studying about Kyle in Lumern.'

Of course, Leo had wanted this situation.

It was unfair that only his comrades were remembered when he had saved the world just the same.

However, now that he was actually attending the class, he felt a strange feeling.

'I'm probably the only one trying to actively spread my achievements to future generations.'

Lamenting his own fate, Leo sighed deeply.

The students who had classes from the first day of school were all exhausted.

It felt like their senses, which had loosened during the vacation, were tightening again.

"Haa! I'm so tired! So tired!"

Karl, after bathing together, stretched and asked.

"Leo. Want to go to the convenience store?"

"No. I think I'll rest a bit early today."

"Oh? Alright."

Nodding at Leo's words, Karl headed to the convenience store alone.

Returning to his room, Leo took out Elsie from his necklace.

Elsie, who flew to the window, looked up at the night sky, her eyes shining.

Ever since coming to the present, looking up at the night sky every night had become one of Elsie's 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. I've told you before, but don't let those guys know I'm Kyle."

Leo sighed, thinking of Fiora and Kieran, who had boisterous personalities.

The two spirits would not intentionally leak Leo's personal information as their contractor.

However, given their personalities, there was a high probability they might inadvertently tell others.

'The fewer people who know a secret, the better.'

If it became known in Tartaros that Leo was Kyle's reincarnation, it would be a disaster.

If that happened, they would undoubtedly try to eliminate him by any means necessary before he could regain the power of his prime.

'Even if it gets revealed, it should be after I've regained some of my strength.'

Thinking so, Leo summoned Fiora and Kieran.

"Your contractor, Fiora. I have come upon being summoned."

[Leo! You're back!]

Fiora greeted him elegantly, lifting the hem of her skirt, and Kieran waved his hand.

Then, upon spotting Elsie, they paused.

"Who is that?"

"She's a spirit who recently contracted with me."

[My name is Elsie.]

As Elsie greeted them with a gentle smile, Kieran let out an impressed "Hoo?"

[Is she new? I'm Kieran. I'm the leader of Leo's summoned beasts.]

"I'm the leader."

[Why are you the leader?]

"Because I contracted with Leo first."

Fiora said with a matter-of-fact expression.

[A leader is the most dignified and highest-ranked summoner. Like me.]

"This fairy is out of her mind, so you can consider me the leader."

[You damn piglet!]

Leo let out a deep sigh, watching the two bickering.

For Leo, the summoner who had contracted first and was of the highest rank was none other than Elsie.

Compared to the great spirit with whom he had contracted in his past life, Fiora and Kieran were still novices.

[They're lively children.]

Elsie smiled broadly, as if she enjoyed the lively atmosphere.

Leo shook his head at Elsie's appearance, as if she were looking at cute younger siblings.

"That's not lively; they're immature."

***

The students, who started classes from the first day of school, were in a state of chaos.

However, the first-year students, who had experienced their fair share of hardships, adapted without difficulty.

After the common mandatory classes for all grades ended, the major-specific classes began.

The first major-specific class was in the Magic Department.

Along with Chelsea and Karl, Leo headed to the practical training grounds that had been announced in advance.

"Practical training from the first class? That's not like Professor Ren."

Chelsea tilted her head.

Ren was a professor who emphasized theoretical classes.

While he didn't neglect practical application, he was a professor with a strong belief that magic was a field based on research and exploration.

For him to hold the first class of the second semester in the practical training grounds was certainly unprecedented.

The first-year students gathered at the practical training grounds and waited for Ren.

After a while, Ren appeared with Associate Professor Anna.

Standing in the center of the practical training grounds, Ren smiled gently.

"Everyone. Did you have a good vacation?"

"Yes."

"Professor Ren! I missed you!"

A few female students greeted Ren in sweet voices.

With his handsome appearance and kind personality, Ren was a particularly popular professor among female students.

Of course, although he sometimes went on rampages, many saw even that as charming due to his passion for magic.

Nodding at the students' reactions, Ren said.

"I hope you will submit the assignments you did during the vacation."

At his words, the students submitted the reports they were holding.

Anna organized the submitted reports and placed them into spatial storage.

Meanwhile, Ren began.

"I thought a lot about how to teach you all in the second semester during the vacation."

The students wore perplexed expressions at his words.

"As you all know, you are receiving a lot of attention from the school this year."

Ren said, looking over the students.

"That's why we had high expectations for the inter-departmental competition in the first semester."

Emio raised his hand.

"So, during the inter-departmental competition, the first-years subjugated the Gigantes!"

Although nine students subjugated the Gigantes, it was also true that the subjugation would have been impossible without the other first-year students.

Therefore, Emio went around saying that they had subjugated it 'together.'

"That's right. However, it did not prove the excellence of the Magic Department."

It was the achievement of the entire first-year class, not a specific department's performance.

"Do you know this? Among the professors, the evaluation of your seniors from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years was not good."

"Excuse me?"

"Wasn't the evaluation of the Magic Department always neck-and-neck with the Knight Department?"

The students, who had a strong sense of inter-departmental rivalry, looked bewildered.

Seeing their expressions, Ren crossed his arms.

"Of course, that was the external evaluation of the department."

Ren's eyes sparkled.

"However, the first-year students of the Magic Department have never won against Seirun in the Ruse Battle for the past three years!"

At his words, the students flinched.

"The professors of the Magic Department have decided that they cannot endure the humiliation for the fourth consecutive year. Therefore, for the second semester, we have prepared classes in preparation for the Ruse Battle at the end of the semester."

The students were surprised by Ren's declaration.

"Starting today, you will learn 'Heroic Magic'."