Book 1 Chapter 136

The time it took for Leo and Lunia to clear out all the bandits in the surrounding area was half a day.

Since they were country bandits, Leo and Lunia were no match for them, so the bandit group's subjugation was literally instantaneous.

"This is such a stress reliever!"

*Tap- Tap-*

As the sun set and darkness descended, Lunia, who had made a campfire, stretched with a groan!

"Tomorrow, we can completely sweep away the guys who ran away, right?"

*Heave- Ho-* Sitting in front of the campfire, Lunia fell into thought.

'That Leo guy. He said he was on mission practice, right? Then, will he return to Lumern right after subjugating the bandits?'

Thinking that, she felt a sense of regret.

'We finally met after so long.'

Lunia, with her free-spirited personality, felt comfortable and happy with Leo, with whom she could be herself without worrying about what others thought.

'Should I ask him to explore the Hero's Dungeon together? No. It's not something I can decide on my own. And even if we explore together, the seniors will clearly dislike Leo.'

Lunia, resting her chin on her hand and pondering, suddenly looked towards the inside of the ruins.

'By the way, what has he been doing over there since earlier?'

With a puzzled look, she got up and entered the ruins where Leo was.

"What are you doing over there?"

"I was just investigating the ruins here."

At Leo's words, Lunia tilted her head, looking at a part of the ruined castle grounds of Gardsron.

"It doesn't seem like there's anything special here."

Ruins related to heroes were treated with great importance as they could yield artifacts that could become activation conditions for Hero Pages.

However, the ruins in this area had been concluded to be nothing special beyond being simply old.

'They probably forgot where Gardsron even existed by now.'

People now know that Gardsron actually existed.

However, while its existence was confirmed through literature or the world of heroes, no other information about Gardsron was known.

'It must be Tartarus's doing.'

For Tartarus, the walls of Gardsron must have been an object of hatred.

Because Gardsron held out to the end without falling, the surface races were able to launch the prelude to their counterattack.

And after the era of peace arrived, they probably didn't want to leave this place, which was a symbol of hope, alone.

'This region itself wasn't a good place to live even before the Age of Calamity.'

After the Age of Calamity ended, people left Gardsron in search of new territory.

'Gardsron, abandoned by people, was later attacked by Tartarus and buried underground.'

The faint dark magic flowing in this land must be a remnant of that influence.

'Did the entire city get buried in the earth?'

Leo felt a bitter sadness at the fact that the place where traces of his past comrades remained had completely disappeared.

"Let's rest and prepare for tomorrow. We can investigate the ruins in the morning, right?"

Lunia's words were met with a nod from Leo.

And they headed back to where the campfire was.

"Huh?"

Lunia, surprised to see two men and women warming themselves by the campfire, was taken aback.

"Senior Elena?"

"Senior Hardin?"

Both Leo and Lunia spoke their names simultaneously.

"Are you sleeping together in the middle of the night? I didn't interrupt your date, did I?"

"It's not like that!"

To Elena's question, Lunia shouted with a flustered expression.

Seeing her reaction, Hardin asked.

"Have you not subdued all the bandits yet?"

"There are remnants left. But this person… she seems to be a student from Lumern?"

"Hello. My name is Elena Jerron."

With a graceful bow, slightly lifting the hem of her school skirt, Lunia's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Elena.

"The third-year representative of Lumern?"

Elena was a student whose name was particularly well-known among Lumern students.

Her ability to easily contend with high-ranking students from Seirun in the Ruse Battle made her, quite literally, the number one target of caution for Seirun students.

For Lunia, Elena's sudden appearance was understandably unsettling.

"What are you doing here? Senior Elena, you said you were going to a dungeon exploration in another region?"

"That? I left it to the other party members."

Leo looked at Elena, who answered as if it were no big deal, with an incredulous expression.

Elena is the leader of the Blue Moon Party.

And she, their leader, had simply left and come here.

"I'm more interested in you than dungeon exploration."

Elena's pink eyes sparkled.

"What about the other seniors?"

"Your seniors lacked manners, so I taught them what manners are."

"What?"

Lunia wore a bewildered expression, but Leo could roughly guess what she had done.

Hardin adjusted his glasses and said.

"Don't you think your methods were a bit excessive, Elena Jerron?"

"I clearly gave them a chance to apologize. It was your juniors who rejected the opportunity."

Elena replied in a nonchalant tone, and Hardin let out a deep sigh.

This incident could escalate into an inter-school issue.

"Anyway, Leo-kun, let's deal with the bandit subjugation later! You know there might be a Hero's Dungeon here, right?"

"We from Seirun were looking for it first."

"What does that matter? Whoever finds a Hero's Dungeon first gets it."

Elena nudged Leo's back and headed towards the ruins.

"Come on, come on! Juniors must obey their seniors! This older sister will teach you about Hero's Dungeon exploration."

Watching their retreating backs, Hardin said.

"Lunia, you're coming with me."

"Huh? What about the other seniors?"

"They are currently injured and incapacitated. They are not in a state to be interrogated right now. I can't afford to be outdone by that fox-like woman."

Hardin revealed his competitive spirit.

Hardin Dertian, the top student of Seirun's third year.

He was not only a formidable talent within Seirun's third year but also one of the best in all the grades.

Despite this, Hardin had consistently tasted defeat at the hands of Elena in the Ruse Battle every year.

'I can't lose this year.'

Hardin clenched his fist and glared at Elena's back.

'It suddenly turned into a competition.'

Lunia, who had been working together with Leo until just a moment ago, couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment.

'Still, I can't lose.'

As Seirun's grade representative, Lunia felt motivated and followed Leo and Elena.

***

"Leo-kun! You're amazing! You don't seem like a first-year!"

Ever since they started exploring the Hero's Dungeon, Elena had been incessantly praising Leo, exclaiming with excitement.

It wasn't just simple praise; Leo was indeed exploring the dungeon skillfully, unbecoming of a first-year.

A Hero's Dungeon was an anomalous place created by the berserk outburst of a Hero's Page.

As such, it required careful exploration.

First-years, who were bound to have many deficiencies, only learned the theory of Hero's Dungeon exploration but did not practice it.

Despite it clearly being an unfamiliar task, Leo explored the surrounding area using mana detection without much difficulty.

Leo looked at Elena with a strange expression.

"Huh? Why?"

"It's just that your character seems to have changed so much."

"What was my character like?"

"At school, you had a proud, queen-like aura."

"Oh my? You saw me that way? That's commendable."

Elena smiled and patted Leo's white hair.

"What do I seem like now?"

"A scatterbrain."

"Not a kind senior who cares for her juniors?"

"Yes."

Elena narrowed her eyes.

If her classmates or juniors from the second year saw her, they would be horrified, but Leo didn't bat an eye.

Elena put her arm around Leo's shoulder and said.

"Leo-kun, look over there."

Elena pointed at Hardin with her finger.

"Hardin is always serious about everything. People like that are fun to tease."

"How are you going to tease him?"

"Watch this."

Elena smiled sweetly and said, making sure to be heard.

"As expected, our first-year representative is far superior to Seirun's first-year representative!"

"I cannot accept that statement."

Just as Elena said, Hardin immediately reacted.

Hardin strode towards Elena.

Elena, removing her arm from his shoulder, stood in front of Hardin.

"What about it?"

"Lunia is by no means inferior to Leo Froben."

"My Leo-kun deciphered the magic of the Celestial Progenitor and played a significant role in subduing Gigantes. Has your junior achieved any great feats superior to my junior?"

"One should not evaluate a person solely by their achievements. Lunia, though still a first-year, is a remarkable student, even being mentioned as a candidate for student council president. Do you think Leo Froben could be a student council candidate at that age?"

"A student council candidate? Me?"

Elena smiled faintly as she looked at Lunia, who asked in a bewildered voice.

"The person in question looks like she's hearing this for the first time. And the next student council president candidate for Seirun is you. I understand you want to compete with our Leo-kun, but you shouldn't make things up. A first-year student council candidate, what nonsense."

"Certainly, Lunia is still immature. However, she has a greater potential than me. I recommended her myself, so Lunia is indeed a student council candidate. Although she hasn't accumulated achievements yet, Eiran, Luca, and these three will grow into Seirun students who will achieve great fame in the future."

At Hardin's words, Elena's eyes twitched.

And Lunia's expression changed to one of surprise.

'Doesn't he dislike us?'

Lunia, along with Eiran and Luca.

The current first-year representatives of Seirun.

Hardin, who always looked displeased and criticized them whenever he saw them.

Yet, in front of Lumern students, who could be considered rivals, he showed such trust.

'And he recommended me as a student council candidate?'

A first-year student council candidate.

It was unprecedented in Seirun's history.

He wasn't just saying it out of spite.

With his meticulous personality, Hardin never spoke empty words, not even as a joke.

As Lunia was still in shock, Elena, who had been wearing a sullen expression, laughed.

"Then our Leo-kun is also a candidate for the next student council president."

"Listen here, don't make up things that aren't true."

"When we go back, I'll really recommend him."

Leo, sighing at the seniors who were engaged in a pointless pride match, suddenly turned his head.

And he headed towards a place where he felt a faint magical wave.

"Did you find something?"

Lunia approached Leo with a puzzled look.

Leo, kneeling down, swept the floor.

Watching Leo, Lunia also had a puzzled expression and focused.

After a moment, a faint magical wave was felt.

'He felt this magical wave?'

It was a magical wave like a faint lingering scent.

Seeing Leo's reaction, they knew there was something, and it was a magical wave that Lunia alone could not have detected.

Lunia, marveling at Leo's keen senses, approached Elena and Hardin.

"Excuse me, Leo seems to have found something."

"As expected! That's what you'd expect from Lumern's first-year representative!"

"Guh!"

Elena smiled with satisfaction, and Hardin wore a resentful expression.

Lunia wore a subtle expression, watching them.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you dislike me? You always nagged me whenever you saw me."

"That was because I wished for the representative of Seirun's grade to conduct himself properly."

Hardin, returning to his characteristic meticulous expression, adjusted his glasses.

"I have never disliked you."

"You should have been a bit kinder. I misunderstood you all this time and disliked you on my own."

Watching Lunia grumble, Hardin chuckled.

"Did you dislike me?"

'…I guess this carefree disposition is innate.'

Lunia let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.

The three people gathered around Leo.

"A peculiar magical wave."

As Hardin adjusted his glasses, Elena wore a puzzled expression.

"It seems to be a magical formation, but I can't decipher it. It appears to be ancient magic from thousands of years ago."

Magic from thousands of years ago, with a completely different structural composition from current magic.

Unless one was an expert in ancient magic, it was difficult to decipher the formation.

Naturally, if deciphering the formation was impossible, the magic could not be activated.

Elena, Lunia, and Hardin.

All three looked perplexed, but Leo was different.

'A warp gate.'

Leo, deciphering the magical formation and discerning the coordinates, wore a surprised expression.

The coordinates were a place in Leo's memory.

'Gardsron's warp gate.'

There was undoubtedly a warp gate beneath this spot.

'If the warp gate is still active, it means Gardsron is intact underground and hasn't collapsed?'

He thought the entire city had been buried and disappeared underground, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

If the city had been buried, the warp gate wouldn't have been functional.

After a moment of thought, Leo activated his mana.

*Woooong-!*

The three people looked at Leo with surprised eyes.

Leo instantly constructed a temporary gate connected to the warp gate on the opposite side.

*Woooong-! Woooong-!*

"A warp gate?"

Hardin's expression was one of shock.

Elena narrowed her eyes.

"How did you make that?"

"I just interpreted the magical formation, and it seemed like a warp gate, so I tried making a temporary one. It seems the entrance on the other side is active."

Leo said calmly.

Creating a new warp gate is difficult, but creating an entrance connected to an already installed gate is not particularly difficult for a Hero Academy student.

These people here could have done it.

'But deciphering ancient magical formations is another story. To decipher the formation so quickly without being an expert. As expected, Professor Ren and Senior Torua's high praise for magic formations was justified.'

"Where does this warp gate lead?"

"We'll know when we go there."

Elena smiled and stepped onto the gate.

Hardin and Lunia also boarded the gate.

"Leo, hurry up and get on."

At Lunia's words, Leo nodded.

'…Is Gardsron truly intact underground without collapsing?'

Thinking of the place filled with memories of his friends in his past life, Leo felt his heart flutter.

As Leo stepped onto the temporary warp gate, Elena activated her mana.

*Flash-!*

With a bright light, the warp gate activated.

And then…

[Hero Record Open.]

"What?"

"The world of heroes?"

The four people burst into exclamations at the message that appeared before their eyes.

[World of ■■. Chapter: Prologue - Barharun]

The four of them immediately intuited that it was a Hero Dungeon from the additional message that appeared.

However, Leo's eyes widened at the word 'Barharun'.

'If it's Barharun…!'

*Whoosh-!*

His vision disappeared.

Before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of a corridor.

Having experienced the world of heroes multiple times, Leo first checked the攻略 objective.

[Objective: -]

'As expected, there's no objective for a Hero Dungeon.'

Leo took a deep breath.

'First, I need to regroup with the others…'

*Thump!*

*Rumble-!*

"Ah! I'm sorry!"

At that moment, someone hit Leo from behind.

He heard the sound of something spilling.

The voice of a flustered girl.

Leo turned his head.

And his eyes widened as he saw the girl hastily stacking books.

The girl let out a "Kek!" upon seeing Leo's face.

It was as if she thought, 'I've made a mistake!'

…The girl had a look on her face like that.

Seeing that, Leo felt his heart flutter.

Even though their ages were different, she was undoubtedly someone Leo knew.

His heart aching, Leo painfully called out her name.

"…Luna."