Book 1 Chapter 202
202
“There’s one thing that’s for sure.”
Kyle said, smiling meaningfully.
“What is it?”
Chelsea looked at Kyle with a puzzled expression, and Kyle gave a thumbs up.
“The desserts sold in Seirun are less delicious than those in Lumern.”
At his words, the students of Class 5 nodded in agreement.
“That’s true.”
“It’s not that they’re bad… but compared to our school, they’re definitely inferior.”
Nod- Nod-
Illiana nodded, and Nella gave her characteristic languid smile.
The Ruse War had already been going on for a week.
The students of Lumern had somewhat grown accustomed to Seirun’s biting cold.
But there was one thing they couldn’t get used to: the desserts provided in Seirun.
And desserts were a very important matter for students, especially female students.
“What do you think is the reason for such a difference in quality?”
Kyle said, watching Chelsea pick up and eat a cookie, tilting her head.
“All the cafes and bakeries in Lumern start competing from the moment they open, right?”
“Right.”
“And even after opening, they have to continue competing. So naturally, they pay more attention to new menus and taste. Seirun’s might be made by the best chefs too, but since they don’t have to compete here, there’s bound to be a difference.”
As Kyle explained the market logic, the female students exclaimed “Ohh-! Ohh-!” and nodded.
“Thanks to that, the desserts we brought are selling like hotcakes, not just to Seirun students but also to the Elf spectators.”
Kyle jingled his money pouch, “Clink-clink-clink,” and smiled contentedly.
“I’m so envious that Lumern students get to eat such delicious things every day.”
Eiran, who had just arrived to meet Leo, was eating a cookie with a happy expression, her ears flapping like wings.
“I thought about it before, but I have to admit this.”
Runia also cupped her cheeks and nodded.
“So, what brings you here?”
Runia asked as Chelsea looked at her with a puzzled face.
“I heard the chess master from Lumern this time is a first-year?”
The current event was Battle Chess.
Amidst all eyes on the arena,
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
Small towers began to rise above the stadium.
At the top of the towers were desks, chairs, and chess pieces.
The Ruse War was a competition of both strength and wisdom between the two schools.
Chess could be called the ultimate game of wits.
With a first-year student participating in such an event, Runia couldn’t help but be curious.
“Was it Chloe Mueller?”
Kyle nodded at Runia’s question.
“That’s right.”
“How good is she to have surpassed Torua Yan, a fifth-year? Chess has always been an evenly matched event, but for a first-year to appear… Or is it a generational change in preparation for the future?”
Kyle said, looking at Runia, who was showing her curiosity.
“Leo said she’s really good.”
“Leo? Is Leo good at chess?”
“Leo defeated Senior Torua in the chess representative selection match.”
Runia’s eyes widened.
“And Chloe beat that Leo.”
“Wow.”
Runia gasped.
“Just how good is she?”
“Leo said she’s as good as someone he knows.”
“Who is that?”
“He didn’t say who it was.”
Kyle shook his head.
“Anyway, where did Leo go?”
Runia asked with a puzzled expression, and Kyle shook his head.
“I don’t know. He said he’d watch from the very back row of the spectator stands.”
“Why would he go all the way there when there are good seats available?”
Runia made an incomprehensible expression.
***
“Please take care of me.”
“A first-year as an opponent. I was looking forward to Torua Yan, so this will be boring.”
Marquia, the fifth-year representative from Seirun, sighed and sat down, looking at Chloe, who bowed her head.
Chloe sat opposite him.
A moment later, with a bright light, chess pieces appeared from the floor of the chessboard.
Whoosh-!
With that, the arena below the tower also began to glow.
A gigantic square formed, and a checkered chessboard began to appear.
“Ohh ohh ohh ohh.”
“It’s finally starting.”
The battlefield was twice as wide as a normal chessboard, and there were many types of pieces.
Chloe began to arrange the white pieces as if she were accustomed to it.
“It seems you’re familiar with Elven chess.”
“I’m from the North.”
“Hoo?”
Chess rules subtly differ by race.
Among them, Elven chess is famous for being the most complex.
But if she was from the North, the Elven territory, she must be familiar with Elven chess.
“Then it won’t be as boring as I thought.”
It was when Marquia smiled contentedly.
Stomp- Stomp-
Students from Lumern and Seirun walked into the center of the arena.
Wearing helmets and holding weapons symbolizing chess pieces, they headed to their respective positions.
This was Seirun’s Battle Chess.
Moreover, Elven chess was characterized by the implementation of all kinds of terrain.
The compatibility between pieces changed depending on the terrain.
Also, pieces did not die in a single attack.
Literally, it was a game that included various strategic elements to an incomparable degree compared to ordinary chess.
The students from each school, assigned to the pieces, lined up.
After exchanging greetings, the students went to their respective positions on the vast chessboard, and the main game began.
Thud- Smack!-
Chloe, holding the black pieces, made the first move.
Accordingly, a Lumern student moved on the giant chessboard.
***
“It should be interesting to see them duke it out.”
Leo, sitting in the highest part of the spectator stands, chuckled as he looked at the enormous chessboard.
Certainly, if a chess match unfolded in this way, it would undoubtedly be an exciting spectacle.
But Leo couldn’t concentrate on the chess match.
‘Why didn’t Luna’s world react to me?’
The event from a few days ago kept lingering in his mind.
Even if spectators gathered for the Ruse War, the back seats were very deserted.
Thanks to that, he could quietly ponder by himself.
Leo glanced down at the bracelet on his arm.
‘Could it be that Luna’s page is also broken? But according to Seirun’s vice principal, it was clearly a hero’s world that had been conquered until recently?’
“What are you doing, Leo Plov, not watching the game?”
Someone spoke to Leo.
Leo turned his head and saw Revan sitting next to him, an intrigued expression on his face.
“What brings you here, instead of being in the VIP box?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Unlike Leo, Revan said, looking at the Lumern students.
“I heard Nerzia called you.”
“Yes. She asked me to transfer to Seirun.”
“As expected.”
Revan chuckled.
“So? What did you answer?”
“I said I wouldn’t go.”
“Why? Nerzia is a very ambitious child. She would have promised you the best support, wouldn’t she?”
“Because I didn’t feel the need to go.”
“You truly are a peculiar fellow.”
Haha- Revan chuckled and shook his head.
“As Nerzia said, the reason Lumern has been rated as falling behind Seirun in the past few years is largely due to my neglect of duty.”
Revan let out a deep breath.
“I told you when we first met, didn’t I? That I was disappointed in the students.”
Revan was disappointed in students who couldn't harbor dreams beyond being a hero.
“And through meeting you, I realized. The fact that I was arbitrarily disappointed.”
Unlike before, Revan looked at the students of Lumern with warm eyes.
Seeing Revan, Leo let out a small laugh.
“Your expression has changed a lot.”
“Has it?”
“Yes. A moment ago, you were like the King of Wisdom.”
Lysinathus used to look at young children with the same eyes as Revan.
“I’ve been curious about something, Leo Plov.”
“Yes.”
“Are you really just an ordinary boy?”
It was when Leo smiled at Revan’s question.
Crack-
Suddenly, gray sparks flew from Leo’s body.
“…!”
“…?”
It was when both Leo and Revan looked surprised.
[Hero Record Open.]
A familiar message appeared above Leo’s eyes.
“What?”
Suddenly, Leo looked horrified.
[Luna’s World. Chapter: Interlude - Battle of Zegdiak.]
Whoosh-!
“…!”
Revan’s eyes widened as Leo’s figure instantly vanished.
“What the…!”
Whoahhhhhh-!
Revan’s cry of astonishment was swallowed by the cheers filling the stadium.
Revan stood up and looked around.
‘Spatial movement? No. There was no magical fluctuation. That light just now… it resembled the light when entering a hero’s world!’
Revan’s face was filled with confusion.
‘But there’s no Hero Record here…’
Rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Revan felt the ground shake with the dragon’s keen senses.
At that, Revan’s expression hardened.
‘What is it?’
The spectators hadn’t noticed yet.
But the heroes, professors, and some students dispatched to guard the Ruse War in various parts of the arena realized the unusual situation.
Drop- drip-drip-
Then, streams of water fell from the sky.
Pitter-patter-patter-! Whooshhhhhhh-!
Everyone flinched at the sudden downpour.
Revan’s face was aghast.
“Rain…?”
This was the northernmost part of the continent.
A land where rain never falls.
But now, a torrential downpour was pouring.
Everyone was surprised.
CRASHHHHH-!
Lightning struck the sky.
With it, dark clouds began to gather.
Hum-!
The faces of those who saw the gigantic crimson pattern beginning to be drawn in the sky turned pale.
All hero cadets knew what that pattern symbolized.
Monster Queen Shilathuna.
That terrifying monster was about to appear here now.
***
“Hel Kaiser, really.”
Shilathuna, who appeared from between the dark clouds, brushed back her hair.
“He blabbered on and on as if he would go himself.”
Her appearance was that of a beautiful woman, but inside, she was the cruel and terrifying legion commander of Tartarus.
A fearsome Archdemon that had existed since before the Age of Calamity.
“He pushes the plan onto me just because it went awry? It’s not like it’s the first time that guy has been rude, but it’s unpleasant.”
At Shilathuna’s annoyed words, the man next to her said,
“Your Majesty. Then, shouldn’t we simply ignore the rude Necromancer King’s words?”
“That’s true. But.”
Shilathuna looked down at Seirun and flicked her tongue.
“I have a greater desire to crush those bugs.”
The belligerent Shilathuna had long wanted to attack the Hero Academy.
But she had been holding back due to the restraint of the Necromancer King and the Giant King.
However, this time, the Necromancer King did not stop her actions.
Shilathuna had no reason to hold back any longer.
“My legion, let us show those impertinent bugs.”
Shilathuna smiled cruelly.
“What true despair is.”