Book 1 Chapter 382
382.
At Leo's words, Ar covered his face, and the complexions of the four beastmen changed drastically.
“Are you… calling us… and Lord Arion cowards right now?”
Dion’s voice sank.
Beastmen were a race with a strong belief that Arion's courage had changed the fate of the world.
They had respected Arion for 5000 years and took pride in being beastmen just like him.
And for thousands of years, they had strived to inherit his courage.
For beastmen, courage was truly their pride and a virtue to be pursued.
For such beastmen, the word 'coward' was the greatest insult in the world.
“…We agree with the statement that we appear to be cowards.”
Dion snarled fiercely.
“Right now, we are anxious about our flaws being exposed. It's also true that we bowed down to Ar. To you, it would certainly seem cowardly.”
A killing aura emanated from Dion’s body.
“But retract your statement that Lord Arion is a coward, Leo Flove.”
“I’m sorry, but Arion *is* a coward.”
Wham—!
Dion's fist flew at Leo.
A punch filled with genuine intent.
But Ar’s counterattack was faster than the fist.
Seeing his childhood friend protecting Leo, Dion wore an enraged expression.
“What are you doing! Ar!”
“Calm down, Dion.”
“How can I calm down! He insulted Lord Arion!”
At those words, Ar sighed.
“What the black rabbit said isn’t wrong.”
“What?”
“Lord Arion, as I saw him in the Hero’s World, was very timid.”
At that shocking remark, the four beastmen stiffened.
“I can’t accept that! Lord Arion was timid!”
Borman shouted frantically.
Seeing Borman, Leo said,
“Have you ever seen the Hero in person?”
“……”
At Leo’s words, Borman inadvertently fell silent.
Since the great warrior Azonia, one of the heroes of the Genesis 3000 years ago, no one had fully completed Arion's Hero Record.
Most people who conquered the Hero’s World had tackled corrupted Hero Records.
All the remaining records of Arion were only of him leading battles to victory with overwhelming martial prowess.
Only that image was passed down and known to people.
Thanks to that, almost nothing was known about what Arion was like in everyday life.
“That can’t be.”
“The Hero… was a coward?”
“How can that be…”
“This is a dream… It’s a dream.”
Seeing his classmates, who were in shock and denying reality, Ar looked at Leo with an admonishing gaze.
“How could you tell them that fact?”
“Our school kids, and kids from other schools too, you all tend to worship the great heroes too much.”
Leo said calmly.
“As you’ve seen, the great heroes are cowards, perverts, and tomboys.”
“…I know who the coward and pervert are, but who’s the tomboy?”
“The progenitor of the Nebula.”
Hearing that, Ar, who recalled that Leo was the conqueror of Luna's world, muttered,
“That’s a shocking truth.”
“Reality is just like that. Hurry up and realize that the world isn’t beautiful and grow up.”
“No! The Hero of Genesis and the King of Wisdom are left!”
Ar put his hands over his ears and shook his head back and forth.
It seemed he no longer wanted his illusions about the great heroes to be shattered.
‘If I had also conquered Lisinas’s world, I would have told him that he was a wicked fraudster too.’
Leo clicked his tongue.
Lisinas was a master at enchanting opponents with words and then backstabbing them.
‘Looking at it this way, am I the only normal one?’
Of course, if his companions had seen him, they would have cursed Kyle for being equally problematic.
Seeing the Azonia students who were in shock, Leo said,
“How long are you going to stay in shock? Is it such a problem that Arion was a coward?”
“What?”
“Arion was certainly a coward. But that fact doesn't negate the fact that Arion was a hero.”
The four Azonia students looked at Leo.
“He was always scared and dispirited, but when battle broke out, he overcame all of that and was the first to charge forward.”
“That’s right! That’s why Lord Arion is a true hero!”
At Leo’s words, Ar puffed out his chest and agreed.
Dion smiled bitterly at that.
“Because Lord Arion is special.”
“That’s interesting.”
“What?”
“Lord Arion told me the exact same thing. That he wasn’t special.”
“What? Lord Arion said that? When?!”
“When you weren’t there.”
“Woooo! To have such a heartfelt conversation with Lord Arion! Black rabbit! You enviable fellow!”
Ar shook Leo vigorously, with an expression of genuine envy.
Leo then recalled what had happened in the past.
‘I’m not special. I can’t give people hope like Lisinas… nor am I a shining being like Luna. I can’t create weapons like Dweno, and I’m not Erebus’s natural enemy like you, Kyle. I feel like I’m only a burden to you all.’
‘What is this nonsense again?’
Hearing those words, Kyle kicked Arion.
‘It’s because you stand on the front lines and fight that we don’t give up!’
“The courage of the Hero, who said he wasn’t special, saved the world.”
Leo looked at the Azonia representatives.
“The reason Azonia students struggle is to inform those who are trembling with anxiety, right?”
Azonia is about struggle from the entrance ceremony.
They make that struggle known to many people.
The ritual of that entrance ceremony means only one thing.
“We have arrived.”
Beings who give courage.
Beings who overcome fear.
A symbol of courage.
“Perhaps that was the image the Hero most wanted to become.”
Many people gain the courage to face fear just by thinking of Arion.
The coward who called himself not special became courage itself.
“What does it matter if you’re special or not? It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be intimidated and to be pessimistic about yourself. But if you truly want to follow in the footsteps of a real hero,”
Leo smiled, thinking of his friend.
“Don’t break. I think being able to move forward when it’s hardest is what’s truly special.”
At the moment everyone despaired.
He recalled the back of his friend who had bravely charged forward.
Hearing Leo's words, Dion looked up at the night sky.
“I never thought I’d receive lessons on heroes and courage from a Lumern student.”
“It was completely uncharacteristic of an Azonia student.”
“Yeah! We were so stupid! Getting scared and intimidated for nothing!”
“You are stupid, though. Stupid tiger.”
Seeing Dion, Tabon, and Borman, who had regained their spirits, Lwen sighed.
And glanced at Leo.
“Your eloquence is excellent. Truly befitting of a Lumern student council president.”
“I learned it from a certain wicked fraudster.”
Ar raised his hand, seeing Leo chuckle.
“Right! What’s important now is to capture and tear apart those damn beasts who are defiling Lord Arion’s name! Worrying about our flaws being exposed and neglecting them, that’s truly an insult to Lord Arion!”
“Yeah! Ar’s right!”
Borman echoed.
Seeing that, Dion nodded.
“It seems right to cooperate with Lumern after all.”
Seeing that, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
‘I also desperately want to capture and tear apart those bastards.’
Hero Hunters.
The fact that the traitors who turned their backs on the world were using Arion's power made Leo's blood boil as much as it did the beastmen.
No, even more than that.
But he wanted to leave the correction of this to the Azonia students, who claimed to be Arion's descendants, as much as possible.
‘Arion would have been happier that way.’
Leo smiled, watching the Azonia students burning with fighting spirit.
‘The back you showed is still giving people courage, even after 5000 years.’
He recalled his friend who had talked nonsense to him.
‘What do you mean you’re not special? You’re more special than anyone, Arion.’
***
Leo arrived at the lord's castle with the Azonia students.
And in front of the meeting room, he found the first-year students with glum expressions.
“What are you doing here?”
At Leo’s question, Shasha said,
“We wanted to attend the meeting too, but Senior Duran kicked us out.”
‘Do you think you have the right to participate and speak in this meeting? How arrogant.’
‘Hey. The first-years are amazing too. I'm attending the meeting, so they should too…’
‘Know your place, Carl Thomas. Do you think you and those first-year brats are at the same level?’
“Typical Duran.”
“Do you think so too, Senior Leo?”
Shasha asked, pouting her lips.
In a way, it might be just one year, but one year in the lower grades at the Hero Academy is literally an insurmountable wall.
Especially the first-year students in the first semester are, from the perspective of second-year students, still at a stage where they haven't even properly taken their first steps.
“If it were just the second semester of first year, Duran’s opinion would have been different.”
At Leo’s words, Shasha sighed.
“Lumern first-years?”
“They’re cute. We want to get juniors soon too.”
The Azonia students who followed Leo admired the Lumern first-years.
“Where’s Luke?”
“Luke is training in the training hall, young master.”
Martina answered politely.
“He’s diligent.”
Leo chuckled and entered the meeting room.
Seeing that, Juen said,
“Ugh! Really! I’ll definitely show my skills in this mission practical!”
At Juen’s words, Shasha nodded with a frustrated expression.
“I agree.”
Step— Step—
“Where are you going, Aina?”
Havidan asked as Aina, who had been standing still, suddenly moved.
“To train.”
Leaving a short remark, Aina left.
At her words, the first-years exchanged glances and then each moved to train.
Their pride was hurt by Duran’s words, but they thought he wasn’t wrong.
That fact hurt their pride even more.
‘We’ll definitely show our mentors our true skills.’
***
The next morning.
Leo headed to the Forest of Monsters.
Luke was following behind Leo.
“So, the problem of the Hero Dungeon presumed to be in the Forest of Monsters is to be solved with Azonia, and then we’re going to pursue the Hero Hunters in this country together?”
“Yes.”
“And you, Senior Leo, are going deep inside alone?”
“That’s right.”
At yesterday’s meeting, Lumern and Azonia concluded to cooperate.
In the midst of this, Leo said he would explore the very center of the Forest of Monsters by himself.
At first, some students suggested moving together, but Leo said,
‘I’m enough on my own.’
It might sound reckless, but no student vehemently opposed his words.
No matter what anyone said, Leo possessed overwhelming strength among the second-year students.
They had no choice but to agree to Leo's words that he would explore for reconnaissance purposes for just one day.
“Is he the black rabbit’s mentee?”
Leo joined Ar, who was waiting at the entrance of the forest.
“Hello, my name is Luke Elda.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ar Tune.”
Ar smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“Just one day, please take care of him.”
“Leave it to me!”
Ar thumped his chest and said.
Having entrusted Luke, Leo immediately entered the forest.
After walking for a while, Leo gazed at the dense forest.
The stage of the entrance exam.
But coming here in person felt different.
‘The first place I met Luna.’
This was Luna’s homeland.
When he came with Lisinas to recruit Luna for the subjugation squad, Luna was fighting with the elves to reclaim her home forest from the Monster Queen.
This forest held other memories besides the entrance exam.
After gazing at the forest for a moment, Leo drew his sword and began to walk.
As he ventured deeper into the forest, countless monsters blocked his way.
But they weren’t the monsters that usually existed in the Forest of Monsters.
‘In the first place, when the Monster Queen was subjugated, the curse on this land should have disappeared, right?’
Yet, new monsters kept appearing.
That meant there was something else creating monsters.
‘There's a high probability it's a Hero Dungeon that has started to encroach on reality.’
This was a conclusion his classmates, who had arrived in the Forest of Monsters earlier, had easily reached.
However, there was also a possibility that the curse in this forest had run wild due to the Monster Queen's death.
Cutting down many monsters as he moved, Leo stopped.
The very center of the forest.
Leo narrowed his eyes and stretched out his hand.
Whoosh—!
He felt a powerful dark magic.
Even though its owner had disappeared, the dark magic subtly maintaining its presence was none other than the residual magic left by the Monster Queen.
Flash—!
Leo instantly dispelled the magic.
As the magic was dismantled, a hideous tower appeared.
Residual dark magic could be felt.
But the power that had been cast on this tower had already vanished.
‘As expected, the curse was broken.’
He had checked for the existence of the curse just in case.
But the curse was non-existent.
Leo, who was about to retreat, convinced of the Hero Dungeon's existence in the Forest of Monsters, paused.
A 'piece of paper' was visible in the middle of the hideous tower.
The faint power emanating from it was something Leo recognized.
‘Divine power?’
Leo was surprised and levitated his body with magic.
‘A fragment of a Hero Record.’
Seeing the torn fragment of the Hero Record, Leo reached out with a surprised expression.
[Would you like to open the world of Rodia, the Dragon of Genesis?]
At the sudden message that appeared before his eyes, Leo's eyes widened.
‘Rodia’s world?’
He was momentarily flustered.
He had thought this torn fragment was the cause of the Hero Dungeon, but it wasn't.
‘It hasn't run wild.’
It was a stabilized Hero Record fragment, not a Hero Dungeon.
The message appeared because it was Leo.
As the owner of the Hero Record, Leo could freely open and close the Hero Record even without a key.
After gazing at the message for a moment, Leo said,
“Open it.”
[Hero Record Open. Rodia’s World. Chapter: Prologue - Genesis.]
Flash—!
A familiar sensation enveloped Leo.
The moment the bright light vanished from his sight.
“Who…?”
A bewildered voice was heard.
Leo looked at the dragon girl in front of him.
He knew who it was.
“Are you… Rodia, the Dragon of Genesis?”