Book 1 Chapter 380

380.

Dovella.

The only city with lush vegetation in Elehem, a country where most of the land is desert.

Although it had the conditions to be the most developed city in Elehem, Dovella was one of the most underdeveloped regions in the country.

This was due to Dovella's geographical location.

No matter how lush the vegetation, if it was from the Monster Forest, it was a curse, not a blessing.

The forest, with its infinite vitality, was constantly attacked by monsters.

If the monster attacks were not stopped, it could lead to a crisis not only for Dovella but for the entire country.

The central government of Elehem continued to provide financial aid to defend Dovella.

However, that was all the central government's support was.

The Elehem royal family, which didn't care even if the entire country was in distress.

From their perspective, Dovella was just a troublesome burden, and they only provided just enough financial aid to prevent Dovella from collapsing with minimal cost.

They did not manage it beyond that.

Dovella naturally became a constant destination for mercenaries.

The lives of mercenaries who engaged in battles against monsters where lives were at stake were often driven by a get-rich-quick mentality.

As a result of those mercenaries, the city's public order, which was naturally neglected, declined.

Even in Elehem, which had reached its lowest point, Dovella's situation could be said to be even more severe.

Meanwhile, outside Dovella's city walls.

*Crack! Boom!*

A giant tree fell.

*Grrrroooooar!*

"O-Ogres?!"

The mercenaries screamed in shock at the appearance of a group of ogres, high-ranking monsters.

The monster at the top of the food chain in the Monster Forest is the Troll.

While Trolls are also fearsome monsters, they can be easily subdued by experienced mercenaries.

However, ogres are fundamentally different monsters from trolls.

Their skin was so tough that ordinary steel swords couldn't even penetrate it, and their strength was so great that they could easily throw giant rocks.

Overwhelming durability and strength.

They were a nightmare for ordinary mercenaries.

The appearance of monsters that were not originally present in the Monster Forest caused many mercenaries to panic and retreat.

*Thump-thump-*

"They all boasted about trusting only themselves."

A girl sighed and stepped forward towards the ogres, passing by the mercenaries fleeing behind her.

The beautiful girl, unlike the seasoned mercenaries, drew her sword with a *swish-*.

*Hwa-leuk-*!

Flames erupted from her body.

*Hwa-ak-*!

A flame aura severed an ogre charging towards the girl, Martina, in half.

*Kuuung-*!

The halved ogre fell dead.

"Ooooh!"

The mercenaries who saw it exclaimed in admiration.

At that moment, a golden flash gleamed.

*Kwaga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-*!

The blonde girl, who had moved through the ogres at incredible speed, landed and spun around.

"Uooooooh!"

The mercenaries' cheers grew louder.

However, their cheers did not last long.

"You two are quite good."

Celia, the girl holding the rapier, smiled and approached the ogres.

Celia gracefully brushed her hair aside and readjusted her grip on the rapier.

*Tak-*!

"Shall I finish this?"

*Hwa-reuk-reuk-reuk-!*

Flames, far hotter than Martina's, flickered from her body.

The mercenaries screamed in despair at the appearance of one of the strongest individuals in the Lumeron 2nd Year Knight Department.

"Miss Celia!"

"Please, don't get involved!"

"Aaaargh! It's a disaster that turns everything to ashes!"

Celia's face contorted as she watched the panicking mercenaries.

"Celia-senpai, you don't need to step in. Martina, you too."

*Gooooo-*!

A golden aura enveloped Aina's body.

"Here… I'm enough on my own."

*Kwak-*!

Aina's feet dug deep into the ground.

As she bent her knees, she charged towards the ogre at an unseen speed.

As Aina's sword flashed, the ogres' heads were severed.

"As expected, the bloodline of the Sword Saint is different."

"To be able to cut off the heads of ogres like tofu at such a young age."

"They're scarier than monsters."

Celia narrowed her eyes as she heard the murmuring mercenaries.

Aina became a figure of fear among the mercenaries in just one day.

It wasn't just because she defeated monsters with overwhelming power.

Jerdinger's flame was more suitable for dealing with a large number of enemies.

In terms of the number of monsters defeated, Celia had the advantage.

Yet, Aina became the object of fear because she constantly exuded a killing intent.

She didn't even care about getting blood on her body.

Even as a hero candidate, the sight of the still young girl, covered in blood, not fitting for her age, beheading monsters like a butcher was enough to instill terror.

Aina, who instantly annihilated the group of ogres, wiped the blood from her sword and sheathed it.

*Tuk-* *Tuk-*

Celia sighed as she watched Aina, covered in blood, approach.

The mercenaries cautiously avoided Aina's eyes.

"Aina, you're too impatient."

"…"

"Why are you like this? Among the first-years, you're the best."

"As long as I'm not recognized by Leo-senpai, none of that has any value."

For reasons unknown, Celia knew that Aina was obsessively seeking recognition from Leo more than necessary.

'I should talk to Leo about this.'

It was then that Celia sighed.

"Ladies! Thank you so much!"

A man, who appeared to be the mercenary captain, approached with a wide smile.

"Thanks to you ladies, our mercenary group has received a month's worth of pay in just one day."

"Ah, yes."

Celia had come to Dovella with her mentees, Aina and Martina, to explore the Monster Forest.

Celia had contacted a mercenary group that had been active in Dovella for a long time and had a relatively good reputation.

Having been active in Dovella for a long time, they had a certain system and were knowledgeable about the geography of the Monster Forest, which helped with the exploration.

The payment was the corpses of the defeated monsters.

Mercenaries in Dovella received payment as proof of the defeated corpses.

The reason the mercenaries had screamed when Celia was about to step forward was also because of this.

Celia's flames would incinerate monsters completely, making it impossible to obtain corpses.

The mercenary group was enthusiastically welcoming the three because they could earn income just by guiding the hero candidates with overwhelming strength.

"You say you saw an ogre for the first time today?"

"That's right! I've been a mercenary in Dovella for 5 years! But this is my first time seeing an ogre!"

'As expected. This is definitely an unusual situation.'

Celia narrowed her eyes.

*Kugugugugugugugu-*!

The ground began to shake.

"Wh-what is it?"

"The monsters are moving on a large scale."

Celia, sharpening her senses, spoke.

"Money is coming in by itself!"

The mercenary captain beamed.

"Well, I don't think it's that simple."

"Huh?"

It was then that the mercenary captain looked bewildered.

*Hwa-ak-*!

"Hello, Celia."

"Hmph. Celia, is it."

Abad and Duran emerged from the bushes.

Behind them were their mentees, Fritz and Haviden, and the mercenary group.

"Oh my! Celia-senpai, you were here?"

From the sky, Shasha, a 1st-year Summoning Department student, appeared on a giant eagle-shaped superior mythical beast.

Beside her stood her mentor, Worreden, with his arms crossed.

Abad and Duran had hired mercenary groups, thinking the same as Celia.

Then, while searching for a good place to subjugate a monster horde, they came to where Celia was.

Celia pouted.

Unlike herself, who was of the fire element, her other peers could fight as much as they wanted because they could leave monster corpses behind.

"Another opportunity to earn income."

Celia said to the mercenary captain with a prim expression.

Then the mercenary captain's expression turned serious.

"It's time for you, Miss Celia, to step in!"

"Yes?"

"The rule among mercenaries: even if we catch prey together, the one who discovers it first gets the reward. Even if we help, we won't get a single penny. And if we avoid the fight, we'll only get cursed at."

"So?"

"If you can't have it, burn it!"

"…"

In the end, it meant burning everything rather than working hard to do good for others.

Celia sighed and readjusted her sword.

"Burn them all!"

Celia shook her head at the shout from behind.

***

That evening.

Celia sat in a tavern in the center of Dovella.

In front of her sat Abad, Duran, and Worreden, whom she had encountered in the Monster Forest that day.

"So."

Duran, arms crossed, had a defiant look.

"Why did you call us here, Worreden Taiden?"

It was Worreden who had organized this gathering.

"I felt the need for information exchange."

"Hmph. How unusual. For you to request cooperation."

"This mission practice isn't a competition,"

Abad said with a smile.

"Feeling the need for cooperation means you've discovered something unusual?"

In response to Celia's question, Worreden took out a dark red orb from his pocket.

Upon seeing it, Abad stroked his chin.

"It's a golem's core."

"A golem was wandering in the Monster Forest today. I obtained this after dealing with it. Abad Lewallin, you'd know which legion it belongs to, wouldn't you?"

Abad nodded at Worreden's words and reached out to the magic core.

Meanwhile, Worreden looked at Celia and Duran and said,

"My mentee and I scouted the skies of the Monster Forest today."

Worreden had moved independently with Shasha, without hiring a mercenary group.

Hearing this, Celia tilted her head.

"Isn't it difficult to approach the skies of the Monster Forest by flight due to abnormal air currents? I heard even that Butter gave up because it was bothersome."

"Elementalists and mages are fundamentally different. While wind mages control the surrounding atmosphere, elementalists can dominate it."

"So, what are you trying to say?"

"As soon as we scouted the Monster Forest, we learned that there was an unusual situation in the forest. Many monsters that don't exist in the Monster Forest appeared. You all know this, right?"

"Yes."

"And all those monsters showed characteristics of monsters from the southern regions of the continent."

Even the same ogre, the ogres from the northern regions and the southern regions have different characteristics.

"Is it the world of the southern heroes?"

As Celia tilted her head, Worreden narrowed his eyes.

"That's not all."

"Then what?"

"The monsters that appeared each possessed characteristics of different eras."

Monsters are intelligent creatures.

Among them, there are monsters with high intelligence.

They each have their own culture, and that culture is revealed through the monsters' armament.

Therefore, the monsters' armament slightly changes with each era.

The appearance of monsters with diverse characteristics in one place.

What that meant was one thing.

"Does it mean there might be more than one Hero Dungeon?"

As Duran spoke, Worreden nodded.

"I've figured out which era this golem's core belongs to."

At that moment, Abad said with a confused expression.

"What era is it from?"

"When I analyzed the basic magic formula that drives the core, it's from before the Heroic Era."

"What?!"

Everyone's eyes widened at Abad's words.

"Is it from the Era of Cataclysm?" Celia asked urgently.

"It is indeed from the Era of Cataclysm. However, I can't guarantee that this core is from 5,000 years ago."

"What does that mean…"

"The driving magic formula of this core is from 3,000 years ago. I've never seen or heard of anything like this before. We'll have to investigate further, but it's a major discovery that will shake the magical academia."

***

*Hwa-ak-*!

With a bright light, the girl collapsed into a seat.

In the middle of Draconia.

The girl quickly looked around to grasp the situation.

Then, upon seeing the words "[Failed to Clear]" before her eyes, she let out a hollow laugh.

"…This is the place."

The girl, Rhodia, nodded and got up.

She had accurately identified where she was.

During her childhood.

It was probably the first page of her Hero Record.

The day she first confirmed the infinite possibilities of the Hero Record.

Rhodia reached out her hand to the undivided, complete Hero Record.

The page of Lysinas, the Great King of Wisdom, was open.

Rhodia's favorite heroic tale of Lysinas.

It was a page she had tried to clear countless times.

But a page she had never been able to clear.

Rhodia knew the reason.

It was due to the absence of a single person.

"Lord Kyle. Perhaps only he can conquer this world?"