Book 1 Chapter 136
136.
It took Leo and Lunia half a day to wipe out all the bandits in the surrounding area.
Since they were just a bunch of country bandits, they were no match for Leo and Lunia, so the bandit group was annihilated literally in an instant.
“This really relieves stress!”
Crack- Crack-
As the sun set and darkness fell, Lunia, who had made a campfire, stretched with a groan.
“Tomorrow, we can sweep away all those who ran away, right?”
Ugh- Lunia, sitting in front of the campfire, fell into thought.
‘Leo. He said he was on a mission practicum, didn’t he? So, will he return to Lumern right after clearing out the bandits?’
Thinking that, she felt a sense of regret.
‘We just met after so long.’
Lunia, with her free-spirited personality, felt comfortable and happy being with Leo, with whom she could interact freely without worrying about others’ opinions.
‘Should I ask him to explore the Hero Dungeon together? No. That’s not a decision I can make unilaterally. And even if we did explore together, the seniors would clearly not approve of Leo.’
Lunia, contemplating with her chin propped up, suddenly looked towards the inside of the ruins.
‘By the way, what has he been doing over there since a while ago?’
With a puzzled look, she got up from her seat and entered the ruins where Leo was.
“What are you doing there?”
“I was just investigating these ruins a bit.”
At Leo’s words, Lunia looked at a part of the ruined Gardsron castle site and tilted her head.
“It’s not a particularly special place, is it?”
Ruins related to heroes were treated very importantly because they could yield artifacts that might serve as activation conditions for Hero Pages.
However, the ruins in this area were concluded to have nothing special about them other than being simply old.
‘Gardsron’s location must have been forgotten by now.’
People today still know that Gardsron existed.
However, its existence was only confirmed through literature and the world of heroes, and no other information about Gardsron was known.
‘It must be Tartarus’s doing.’
For Tartarus, Gardsron’s walls would be an object of hatred.
Because Gardsron held out until the end without falling, the races of the surface were able to launch a counterattack.
And after the era of peace arrived, they wouldn’t have wanted to leave this place, which had been a symbol of hope.
‘This area itself wasn't a good place for people to live even before the Age of Calamity.’
After the Age of Calamity ended, people left Gardsron in search of new homes.
‘The Gardsron that people left must have been attacked by Tartarus and buried underground later.’
The faint dark magic flowing in this land must be the lingering effect of that.
‘Was the city itself buried in the soil?’
Leo felt a bitter sadness at the fact that a place where traces of his former comrades remained had completely disappeared.
“Let’s rest up for tomorrow first. We can investigate the ruins in the morning, can’t we?”
At Lunia’s words, Leo nodded his head.
And he headed towards the campfire.
“Huh?”
Lunia, who discovered two men and women warming themselves by the campfire, was slightly flustered.
“Senior Elena?”
“Senior Hardin?”
Both names came out of Leo’s and Lunia’s mouths simultaneously.
“Are you sleeping together in the middle of the night? We’re not interrupting a date, are we?”
“It’s nothing like that!”
At Elena’s question, Lunia shouted with a flustered expression.
Seeing her, Hardin asked.
“Have you not subdued all the bandits yet?”
“There are still stragglers. But who is this person…? You seem to be a Lumern student, right?”
“Hello. My name is Elena Zereon.”
As Elena gracefully bowed, slightly lifting the hem of her uniform skirt, Lunia looked at her with a surprised expression.
“Lumern’s 3rd-year representative?”
Elena was a particularly well-known student among Lumern students.
Having shown her ability to easily handle even the senior students of Seirun in the Russeon Battle, she was literally Seirun students’ number one target for caution.
So, for Lunia, Elena’s sudden appearance was naturally perplexing.
“What brings you here? Senior Elena said you were going to explore a dungeon in another region, didn’t you?”
“That? I left it to the other party members.”
Leo looked at Elena, who answered as if it was nothing, with a dumbfounded expression.
Elena was the leader of the Blue Moon party.
For such a leader to just pull out and come here.
“I’m more interested in you than dungeon exploration.”
Elena’s pink eyes sparkled.
“What about the other seniors?”
“Your seniors were rude, so I taught them a lesson in manners.”
“Huh?”
Lunia looked puzzled, but Leo could roughly guess what she had done.
Hardin adjusted his glasses and said.
“Don’t you think your actions were excessive, Elena Zereon?”
“I clearly gave them a chance to apologize. It was your juniors who kicked away the opportunity.”
When Elena answered with a bored voice, Hardin sighed deeply.
This matter could escalate into an inter-school problem.
“Anyway, Leo. Let’s subdue the bandits later! You know there might be a Hero Dungeon here, right?”
“Seirun was already looking for it first, though?”
“What does that matter? The Hero Dungeon belongs to whoever finds it first.”
Elena pushed Leo’s back and headed towards the ruins.
“Come on! Come on! Juniors must follow their seniors’ words! This big sister will teach you about Hero Dungeon exploration.”
Hardin spoke, looking at her retreating back.
“Lunia, follow them.”
“Huh? What about the other seniors?”
“They are currently injured and collapsed. They are not in a state to be questioned immediately. I can’t just let that foxy woman win.”
Hardin revealed his competitive spirit.
Hardin Dertian, the top student of Seirun’s 3rd year.
He was an exceptionally powerful individual, counted among the best not only in Seirun’s 3rd year but across all grades.
Yet, despite that, Hardin had thoroughly tasted defeat against Elena every year in the Russeon Battle.
‘I can’t lose this year.’
Hardin clenched his fist and glared at Elena’s back.
‘It suddenly turned into a competition.’
As Lunia, who had been working together with Leo just a moment ago, she couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.
‘But I still can’t lose.’
As Seirun’s year representative, Lunia got motivated and followed Leo and Elena.
***
“Leo! You’re amazing! You don’t seem like a first-year at all!”
Ever since they began exploring the Hero Dungeon, Elena was busy praising Leo effusively.
It wasn't just simple praise; Leo truly explored the dungeon skillfully, unlike a first-year.
A Hero Dungeon was an anomalous place created when a Hero Page went rampant.
As such, it had to be explored cautiously.
First-year students, inevitably lacking in many aspects, only learned the theory of Hero Dungeon exploration, with no practical training.
Even though it must have been an unfamiliar task, Leo explored the surrounding area through mana detection without much difficulty.
Watching Elena, Leo made a strange expression.
“Huh? Why?”
“I feel like your character has changed too much.”
“What was my character like before?”
“At school, you had the air of a haughty queen, didn’t you?”
“Oh? You saw me that way? How admirable.”
Elena chuckled and patted Leo’s white hair.
“How do I seem now?”
“Like a scatterbrain.”
“Not a kind-hearted senior who cares for her juniors?”
“Yes.”
Elena squinted her eyes.
It was a look that would have terrified classmates or second-year juniors, but Leo didn't even flinch.
Elena put her arm around Leo’s shoulder and said.
“Leo. Look over there.”
Elena pointed at Hardin with her finger.
“Hardin is serious about everything. There’s a pleasure in teasing people like him.”
“How are you going to tease him?”
“Watch.”
Elena smiled sweetly and said as if to be overheard.
“As expected, our first-year representative is far superior to Seirun’s first-year representative, wouldn’t you say?”
“I cannot tolerate that statement.”
Just as Elena expected, Hardin reacted immediately.
Hardin strode towards Elena.
Elena, who had removed her arm from Leo’s shoulder, stood in front of Hardin.
“What about it?”
“Lunia is by no means inferior to Leo Flob.”
“Our Leo interpreted the magic of the Progenitor of the Nebula and played a big role in subduing the Gigantes. Has your junior achieved any greater feat than my junior?”
“One should not evaluate a person based solely on their achievements. Lunia is only a first-year, but she is an excellent student who is being discussed as a student council representative. Do you really think Leo Flob could be a student council candidate at that age?”
“Student council candidate? Me?”
Elena smiled faintly, looking at Lunia who asked in a bewildered voice.
“The person in question looks like this is the first they’ve heard of it. And aren’t you Seirun’s next student council candidate? I understand your desire to compete with our Leo, but you shouldn’t just make things up. A first-year student council candidate, indeed. That’s an absurd claim.”
“Certainly, Lunia is still immature. But she has greater potential than me. I personally recommended her, so Lunia is indeed a student council candidate. She hasn’t accumulated achievements yet, but Eiran and Luca. These three will grow into Seirun students who achieve immense renown in the future.”
At Hardin’s words, Elena’s eyes twitched.
And Lunia looked surprised.
‘Didn’t this person dislike us?’
Lunia, along with Erian and Luca.
The current Seirun first-year representatives.
Hardin was the one who always pointed out their flaws with a displeased expression whenever he saw these three.
But to show such trust in front of Lumern students, who could be considered rivals.
‘And he even recommended me as a student council candidate?’
A first-year student council candidate.
Unprecedented in Seirun’s history.
He wasn’t just saying it out of pique.
Hardin, with his meticulous personality, was not one to make empty remarks, even as a joke.
As Lunia was surprised, Elena, who had a sullen expression, chuckled.
“Then our Leo is also a candidate for the next student council president.”
“Excuse me. Don’t make up things that aren’t true.”
“I can really recommend him when we go back.”
Leo, who had been sighing while watching his seniors engage in a pointless pride battle, suddenly turned his head.
And he headed towards a place where he felt subtle mana fluctuations.
“Did you find something?”
Lunia approached Leo with a curious expression.
Leo knelt down and swept the ground.
Watching him, Lunia also focused with a puzzled look.
After a moment, faint mana fluctuations were felt.
‘Did he sense these mana fluctuations?’
It was literally a mana fluctuation like a faint lingering scent.
It was a mana fluctuation that Lunia could only perceive because she recognized something was there from Leo's reaction; if she had been alone, she would never have noticed it.
Lunia, marveling at Leo’s sensitive perception, approached Elena and Hardin.
“Excuse me. I think Leo found something.”
“As expected! Truly worthy of Lumern’s first-year representative!”
“Ugh!”
Elena smiled with satisfaction, and Hardin looked frustrated.
Watching them, Lunia made a subtle expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Didn’t you dislike me? You nagged me every time you saw me.”
“Those were words spoken out of a desire for you to conduct yourself properly as Seirun’s year representative.”
Hardin, who had returned to his characteristic meticulous expression, adjusted his glasses.
“I never disliked you.”
“You should have been a little kinder. I misunderstood you all this time and was disliking you all by myself.”
Hardin chuckled, looking at the grumbling Lunia.
“You disliked me?”
‘…It seems this "my-pace" tendency is innate.’
Lunia let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.
The three gathered around Leo.
“A peculiar mana fluctuation.”
As Hardin adjusted his glasses, Elena made a curious expression.
“It seems a magic formula is built here, but I can’t decipher it. It must be ancient magic from thousands of years ago.”
Magic from thousands of years ago, with a completely different formula structure from today’s.
Unless one was an expert in ancient magic, it was difficult to easily interpret the formula.
Naturally, if the formula couldn’t be interpreted, the magic wouldn’t activate.
Elena, Lunia, Hardin.
The three showed difficulty, but Leo was different.
‘It’s a Warp Gate.’
Leo, who had deciphered the magic formula and learned the coordinates, looked surprised.
The coordinates were a place from Leo’s memories.
‘Gardsron’s Warp Gate.’
There was clearly a Warp Gate below here.
‘If the Warp Gate is alive, does that mean Gardsron is intact underground, not collapsed?’
He had thought the entire city was buried and gone, but it didn't seem to be the case.
If the city had been buried, the Warp Gate would surely not be alive.
After a moment’s thought, Leo conjured mana.
Woong-!
The three looked at Leo with wide eyes.
Leo instantly constructed a temporary gate connecting to the Warp Gate on the other side.
Woong-! Woong-!
“A Warp Gate?”
Hardin looked shocked.
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“How did you make it?”
“I just interpreted the magic formula, and it seemed like a Warp Gate, so I tried making a temporary gate. It seems the entrance on the other side is still active.”
Leo said nonchalantly.
Creating a new Warp Gate is difficult, but creating an entrance that connects to an already installed gate is not that hard for a Hero Academy student.
Even those present here could do it.
‘But interpreting ancient magic formulas is another story. To interpret a formula so quickly without being an expert. Professor Len and Senior Torua truly praised his magic formula abilities for a good reason.’
“Where does this Warp Gate lead?”
“We’ll know when we go.”
Elena smiled and stood on the gate.
Hardin and Lunia also stepped onto the gate.
“Leo. Hurry up and come.”
At Lunia’s words, Leo nodded.
‘…Will Gardsron truly be intact underground?’
Remembering the place filled with memories of his friends in his past life, Leo felt his heart pound.
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?”
“World of Heroes?”
At the message that appeared before their eyes, the four gasped in astonishment.
[World of ■■. Chapter: Prologue - Barharlun]
With the additional message that appeared afterward, all four instinctively realized.
It was a Hero Dungeon.
But Leo’s eyes widened at the word ‘Barharlun’.
‘If it’s Barharlun…!’
Whoosh-!
His vision disappeared.
He found himself standing in the middle of a corridor.
Having experienced the World of Heroes multiple times, Leo first checked the objective.
[Objective: -]
‘As expected of a Hero Dungeon, there’s no objective.’
Leo took a deep breath.
‘First, I should join up with the others…’
Thump!
Rumble, rumble, rumble-!
“Ah! I’m so sorry!”
At that moment, someone bumped into Leo’s back.
He heard the sound of something spilling.
A flustered girl’s voice.
Leo turned his head.
And he opened his eyes wide, seeing a girl hastily stacking books.
The girl saw Leo’s face and let out a “Gasp!”
As if she’d run into trouble!
…That was the expression the girl made.
At her appearance, Leo felt his heart tremble.
Although their ages were different, she was clearly someone Leo knew.
Feeling his heart ache, Leo arduously called out her name.
“…Luna.”