Book 1 Chapter 283

The next day.

The streets of Tarkham were filled with energy.

A party preparing to venture out to Mount Erddien.

A party investigating within Tarkham, and so on.

The students were tackling this mission practice in their own ways.

Leo, along with his party members, was also inquiring among the witnesses of the monster sighting from the previous night in Tarkham's central plaza.

"I found the hospital where the guards are admitted."

Kal approached with a sly grin.

Dryadana let out a surprised "Oh!"

"You're more capable than I thought."

"Information gathering is my specialty. It's nothing much."

"You're amazing, Kal-nim!"

"Hmph, praise me more."

The smug Kal beckoned with both hands.

'Ugh? He's better than I thought?'

'How does he get information so quickly?'

Lunia looked at Kal with a flustered expression, and although Ar pretended to be uninterested, yawning, he secretly kept glancing at Kal, clearly concerned.

When Leo recommended Kal as the party leader yesterday, both Lunia and Ar had felt considerable dissatisfaction.

It wasn't that they were looking down on him, but it was a fact that Kal's abilities were the least among the party members.

Despite Leo's explanation, the two proud girls couldn't easily accept it.

"How is it? Is Kal capable?"

Leo asked with a grin, and Lunia crossed her arms.

"He is indeed capable."

At her words, Leo chuckled.

"Observe Kal closely this time. There's surely a lot to learn from him?"

"Something to learn?"

"Yes."

Leo looked at Kal.

"Kal, who is the weakest in Lumern, surviving until his second year isn't just due to luck."

Competition is fierce among students in Lumern.

Infinite competition.

If you can't keep up, you naturally fall behind.

However, Kal was the weakest from the moment he enrolled.

But breaking the expectations of many that he would be the first to fall behind, he remains the weakest in his second year with pride.

This is absolutely not an achievement made simply by effort and luck.

"Kal has strengths that you don't possess."

"What are they?"

"The ability to devise strategies to win against those stronger than himself."

Unintentionally, Lumern's environment enabled Kal to acquire such abilities.

Every moment was a challenge against his limits for Kal.

Therefore, Kal naturally acquired abilities that honors students lacked.

Giant-killing.

Kal has definitively acquired the abilities required of a hero.

Hearing Leo's words, Ar crossed his arms.

"Hmm. Transcending limits… I see."

Ar, echoing Lumern's lesson, looked at Kal.

Leo patted both of their shoulders and followed Kal.

Following Kal's guidance, they soon arrived at the hospital.

Visits with the guards were prohibited.

However, with the authority of hero candidates, the party members were able to meet the guards without much difficulty.

"It's good to be a hero candidate when things like this happen."

Kal muttered in admiration.

The status of being a student at a hero academy was a free pass for almost anything.

Thus, the five of them stood in front of the hospital.

The attending doctor glanced at the party and said,

"I've allowed the visit, but please try to finish your business relatively quickly. The patient's rest is the top priority."

"Yes, we'll finish quickly."

Nodding in agreement, the group entered the hospital room.

There, a dwarf was trembling in the corner of the room.

The furniture inside the room was in disarray, as if a rampage had already occurred.

Seeing this, the party members wore bewildered expressions.

The guard's condition was more serious than they had anticipated.

"In that state, it will be difficult to have a proper conversation, won't it?"

Kal said cautiously, and Lunia, with her lips tightly shut, approached the guard.

"Excuse me, I have a question…"

"Oh, don't come closer! Don't come closer!"

As Lunia approached, the guard thrashed wildly with a face full of terror.

"Get me out! Don't hold me, get me out of here! The monster! The monster will come again! The monster will come!"

"Calm down! We are students from the Hero Academy! We've only come to ask about that incident!"

"Kyaaaaaak!"

The guard began to thrash about like a madman.

Driadana, who had been watching the scene intently, muttered,

"It's a curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes. This guard isn't just in a state of mental confusion; they are afflicted with a curse of fear."

"Wait? Isn't this guard just someone who saw that mysterious monster? Can just seeing it inflict such a strong curse?"

Lunia looked bewildered.

Kal, checking the patient chart he received from the doctor, wore a serious expression.

"It's not just a strong curse. They were prescribed exorcism potions and exorcism spells, but it seems they couldn't lift the curse."

Curse, one of the demon races' most powerful weapons, has been a field of extensive research for a long time.

Therefore, most magical doctors are knowledgeable about curses.

Even the strongest curses can be lifted if given enough time.

However, despite receiving proper treatment, the guard's curse was not being dispelled.

As everyone was flustered, Leo said,

"Eiran, can you lift the curse?"

"I, I'll try."

Eiran stepped forward with a tense expression.

Fae magic has long been antagonistic to curses.

Therefore, people of the Ersar family, descendants of Berkia, the last Fairy Knight, naturally possessed strong resistance to curses.

They were also natural exorcists.

"Please hold him down so he doesn't thrash around."

At his words, Ar and Dryadana each grabbed one of the guard's arms.

"Kuaaaaaaak!"

The guard thrashed even more violently.

However, their physical strength could not match the students of Azonia and Demian.

A light green mana flowed from Eiran's hand.

It was the power of fairies, brimming with life.

The moment Eiran reached out to the guard.

*Fzzt! Boom!*

With intense crimson sparks, Eiran's hand was repelled.

"Eiran!"

Lunia exclaimed in surprise and rushed to Eiran.

"I, I'm fine."

Eiran smiled and looked down at his hand.

Blisters had formed on his hand, as if it had been burned.

Watching Eiran heal his hand with healing magic, the party members' faces turned grim.

A curse of fear is not a curse that is difficult to dispel.

Yet, the user of fairy power couldn't lift it and was instead hit by a rebound.

'Just how powerful is this curse?'

Leo, watching the situation, stepped forward.

"Le, Leo-nim, be careful! My power has caused the curse's power to activate."

Eiran said urgently.

Sparks also flew from Leo's hand.

*Fzzt-*

However, Leo did not care and used his mana to push back the curse's power.

*Thump-*

"Kwaaaaaaah!"

Leo's mana flowed into the struggling guard.

Leo quickly analyzed the curse.

'Exorcising it will be difficult.'

It was a curse composed of complex spells.

Of course, Leo's abilities were sufficient to exorcise it.

However, a spell was overlaid that would further strengthen the curse the moment one attempted to exorcise it.

Ultimately, it was a curse that would cause the recipient to die when the curse went berserk.

'Only Lisinas or Luna could fully dispel it.'

Leo clicked his tongue.

Of course, there was a way to solve it.

*Fzzt-*

Crimson sparks flew from Leo's hand.

However, Leo did not care and used his mana to wrap around the curse's spells.

Then, he slowly extracted the curse's spells.

*Swoosh-*

He removed his hand from the guard's head.

In Leo's fingertips was a dark mana orb with a crimson hue.

Inside it, the curse's spells were densely inscribed.

He had removed the curse from his body without exorcising it.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he examined the curse closely.

*Fzzt-! Boom!*

He strongly squeezed the curse's power, which had become a sphere, and destroyed it.

Along with it, the guard's seizure stopped.

"Wh, what is this?"

Seeing the guard looking around in bewilderment, Ar and Dryadana cautiously released their arms.

"Amazing! Leo-nim! You extracted and destroyed the curse itself! Your mana control is truly incredible!"

Leo chose to destroy the curse itself rather than exorcise it.

Although it seemed simple at first glance, it was a high-difficulty technique that required understanding the curse's properties and near-divine mana control.

Seeing the guard back to normal, Leo said,

"Now they will answer our questions properly."

"Yes."

Kal approached the guard with a serious expression.

"I apologize. I have something I'd like to ask."

Leo wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at his palm.

In the process of destroying the curse, he learned who the curse belonged to.

'I wish my guess was wrong.'

Leo's face hardened.

'Giant King.'

***

After the interrogation, Leo and his party immediately headed towards the entrance of Mount Erddien, where the guard had seen the monster.

Leo was lost in thought until they reached the location.

'What was the reason for its appearance?'

During the first-year entrance exam.

Leo clearly saw Erebus here in the hero world of Gerwin.

'But that wasn't a complete Erebus. No. It was closer to a remnant thought than Erebus.'

5,000 years ago.

Leo and Erebus fought a final battle on this land, staking the fate of the world.

And in the end, Erebus was subjugated.

Sealed into several pieces.

'They said its essence was a god-like being. If so, it's not strange for remnant thoughts to remain.'

Thoughts born of hatred and resentment for being defeated on the verge of world destruction.

'But that wouldn't have made the Giant King move. Remnant thoughts are just residual will with no power.'

It wasn't Erebus's will, nor was it power.

It was merely a chunk of resentment towards Kael, the hero of the beginning.

From Tartarus's perspective, it was a useless cluster of consciousness that offered no help.

Of course, it had significant symbolic meaning.

'If that being moved… it's a more serious matter.'

Leo fell into contemplation.

"But is it really possible for a monster as tall as this mountain to exist in this world?"

Lunia searched the surroundings and glanced up at the towering Mount Erddien.

"The largest living creature in this world is a Gigantes, isn't it? Speaking of which, you fought a Gigantes last year, didn't you? How big was it?"

As Lunia tilted her head and asked, Kal replied,

"It was the academy towers of our year that fought it. I just watched the fight."

Shrugging his shoulders, Kal shook his head as if disgusted.

"They said that Gigantes wasn't even an adult yet, and it was enormous… But even an adult wouldn't be as big as a mountain, that doesn't make sense."

Hearing Kal's words, Ar bit his index finger and tilted his head.

"Hmm. What about the Giant King?"

"That Legion Commander who hasn't shown himself for 5,000 years? Isn't that too sudden? He's a commander who is even hypothesized to have been defeated during the Age of Calamity."

Literally, he was a commander who existed only in legends to people of this era.

"In the first place, if a being of that size teleported, there would be residual magical waves. It's strange that it disappeared in the blink of an eye. It's highly likely they saw a mirage. Of course, since they were cursed, it seems to be related to demons…"

Hearing Dryadana's words, Leo paused.

'Disappearing from the world without a trace?'

Leo knew of such a phenomenon.

'When entering a Hero Record.'

Leo's face hardened.

'What if there's a Hero Record of one of the Great Heroes here?'

Tartarus is burning Hero Records by conquering the worlds of Great Heroes.

If that's the reason, it wouldn't be strange even if the Giant King himself moved.

The moment Leo's thoughts reached that point.

"Leo! How long are you going to just stand there thinking? Help me search!"

Lunia protested to Leo in a sulky voice.

"I smell something strange here."

"Oh? Really? It smells like a dog, not a cat."

"Who are you calling a dog!"

*Gasp-*

Ar, who had been sniffing around, was kicked in the side by Kal, who had been startled by Ar's words. Kal got up.

"What did you find!"

"Look! It's a Hero Record!"

"What?!"

"Where! Where!"

The party members gathered around Ar in surprise.

"Wait!"

Leo shouted urgently.

"This is… Dweuno-nim's Hero Record! Such a complete Hero Record!"

"What? Show me too! Me too! Me too!"

Dryadana, startled, jumped up and down.

"But what are these scorched marks here and there?"

The moment Eiran touched the Hero Record to show it to Dryadana.

[Hero Record Open. Dweuno's World. Chapter: ■■-■■■■ ■■■.]

A message appeared before their eyes.

"Wh, what is this?"

"Hero Dungeon?!"

The surrounding area was engulfed in bright light.

The entire party let out exclamations of shock, looking at the message that appeared before them.

*Whoosh-*

Their vision was obscured by a familiar light.

And with that, Leo opened his eyes.

'What? Why did the Hero Record suddenly open…'

The moment Leo was bewildered.

*Crash!*

"Khekh?!"

"Tsk?"

Losing their balance, they collided with something and rolled on the floor.

"So, heavy!"

A clear voice was heard from under Leo.

Leo got up.

"Sorry. Are you hurt anywhere…"

"You! What is this you're doing, suddenly appearing like this!"

The girl shouted with an enraged face.

Eyes glaring fiercely.

Lips pressed shut.

And ears twitching as if angry.

It was an elf girl he knew all too well.

A girl he had scolded for being impudent countless times if she wasn't so cute.

'Berkia.'