Book 1 Chapter 383

Rodia's eyes widened at Leo's question.

The Dragon of Genesis, Rodia.

Rodia was indeed his name.

However, "Dragon of Genesis" was not a term that referred to his current self.

It couldn't be helped.

'Being called the Dragon of Genesis was a future event for me.'

At this point in time, he wasn't even known as the Dragon of Genesis, let alone having comrades to fight alongside him.

It was when he first discovered infinite possibilities to fight against disaster.

It was at such a time that he met a human boy who called him the Dragon of Genesis.

Rodia's orange eyes widened further as he closely examined Leo.

'Pure white hair and ruby-red eyes.'

"This can't be."

Rodia's mouth hung open in astonishment.

An unbelievable, miracle-like story conveyed by a friend amidst endless despair.

'Everyone, let's hang in there a little longer.'

His eyes, which had become hazy at some point, were now sparkling like stars in the night sky once more.

'I've met hope.'

Seirun, smiling brightly as in the past, spoke.

The heroes of Genesis were able to regain their strength thanks to the surprising story Seirun had shared.

"Kyle… Sir?"

"It really is Rodia."

Leo nodded, realizing it was the real Rodia, not the fake one from the Hero Record like Seirun.

Rodia hastily pushed Leo's back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll explain later! Humans aren't supposed to be here!"

Knowing what would happen shortly, Rodia chased Leo out the window.

The current Rodia was neither the Dragon of Genesis nor even the Dragon Lord.

He was still a young dragon of his clan.

Furthermore, he had caused trouble.

This place was a sanctuary where outsiders were forbidden.

If he were discovered, the situation would become difficult.

Leo scowled.

As Leo went out the window, Rodia hastily adjusted his clothing.

A moment later.

*Creeak-*

"Rodia! What in the world is going on! We felt a massive mana fluctuation!"

"This is the sanctuary where the Hero Records are kept! I've told you numerous times not to cause trouble as usual!"

Beings that appeared to be dragons glared at Rodia with terrifying eyes.

Rodia, seeing these dragons, knelt down.

"I apologize. Elders of my clan. I seem to have caused you concern with my foolish curiosity."

After apologizing politely several times, Rodia left the room with the dragons.

Leo, who had been unceremoniously kicked out the window by Rodia, realized there was no longer any presence in the room and re-entered.

Then he admired the scenery visible through the window.

'This must be Draconia.'

The land of the dragon race.

'It seems unlike Seirun's world, Erebus isn't showing any signs of crossing over to reality through here.'

Indeed, unlike the fragments of Seirun's Hero Record, Rodia's Hero Record was only a few remaining pieces.

It seemed that even Erebus couldn't use those small fragments as a passage.

Left alone, Leo fell into thought.

'The appearance of monsters in the Monster Forest is not related to the curse of the Monster Queen.'

He checked just in case, and the curse was no longer present.

The unusual events happening in the Monster Forest were clearly the Hero Dungeon invading reality.

'And Rodia's world.'

Rodia's Hero Record was in a complete state.

'The moment I decided to open the world of heroes, it opened. So, if I decide to close it…'

[Close Rodia's World, the Dragon of Genesis?]

As Leo thought, a message appeared before his eyes.

Seeing it, Leo shook his head.

Then the message disappeared.

'A complete Hero Record can be opened and closed at will according to my will.'

If the situation wasn't due to the Hero Record going berserk, it was only natural since the Hero Record itself belonged to Leo.

Leo looked at the center of the room with a look of wonder.

There was a book.

A book emitting divine power, with a red cover and the words [Hero Record] inscribed on it.

'A complete Hero Record.'

The stories of himself and his companions were recorded there.

After gazing at the Hero Record for a while, Leo found a spot in a corner of the room.

'Shall I wait until Rodia returns?'

***

Monster Forest.

*GRROOOOWWWLL!*

The one-eyed monstrous beast roared.

Kal muttered as he looked at the Cyclops.

"Durian."

"Why do you call, Kal Thomas?"

"Didn't they say that only monsters like Ogres would appear at best, even yesterday?"

A being superior to monsters.

A monstrous beast, which could be called a phantom beast of Tartarus.

And the Cyclops, considered a high-level monstrous beast among them, was a monster of a different caliber than an Ogre.

In response to Kal's question, Durian curled the corners of his mouth.

"Isn't it better this way?"

*CRACKLE-CRACKLE-!*

A thunderous aura swirled around Durian's body.

"The day after we assumed there was a Hero Dungeon here, this dirty monstrous beast appeared. You know what that means, don't you, Kal Thomas?"

"It means Bingo."

"That's right."

Durian's eyes gleamed.

"We can slaughter all these dirty things and then blame Elehem."

"You seem secretly amused."

"There's nothing more fun than watching those who act foolishly without understanding their position and end up in ruin."

"You have a bad personality."

The sudden abnormal situation, with the appearance of top-tier monsters and monstrous beasts, began to occur throughout the Monster Forest.

The sudden, ominous rampage of the Hero Dungeon.

In the face of this crisis, the hero candidates began to show their prowess.

***

"It is an honor to meet you, Kyle, the Hero of Beginning. I am Rodia, who, though lacking, leads the heroes of Genesis."

Rodia greeted Kyle with the dragon race's etiquette of tapping his left chest three times and bowing his head.

Leo, seeing this, said,

"You're using that greeting method from 3000 years ago."

"Of course. Don't you use it in 3000 years?"

"They laugh a lot, saying it makes them sound like old folks when they use that greeting."

"What? It's a time-honored etiquette passed down through generations, but the later generations didn't carry on that tradition? The later ones are hopeless."

Rodia made a face of lament.

Seeing Rodia like that, Leo said,

"Is that so? But you're also wrong."

"What?"

"The angle of your knees is strange. Try again."

"Yes? Ah! Yes!"

Leo corrected Rodia's greeting method as he had learned from Lisinas.

"No, bend more. Keep your back straight. Who did you learn etiquette from?"

Was he in a position to be corrected on such matters wherever he went?

Receiving etiquette training, which he hadn't had since he was very young, made him feel dizzy.

But he couldn't rebel.

Wasn't the opponent a great hero from 2000 years ago?

"Kyle… Sir, etiquette isn't that important, is it?"

"I learned this even though I couldn't sleep. The later ones must be hopeless."

Leo grumbled, seeing Rodia force a smile, and changed the subject.

"Seeing as you know about me, you must have heard from Seirun."

"Yes. That's why I'm so happy. Thanks to Kyle entering my world, we could meet like this."

Rodia, about to perform the dragon's etiquette with an honored expression, paused and hastily bowed his head.

He was afraid of being corrected again for being overly polite.

"Can't I meet the other heroes of Genesis in this world?"

"Yes. Even if I met Seirun, Lumern, Azonia, and Demian in my Hero's World, they wouldn't be real. They are past memories imprinted in the Hero Record."

This meant that in the world of Genesis, only the ruler of that world was real.

"So that's how it is."

"Fortunately, my world was not invaded by Erebus. That's why we can talk so peacefully."

Rodia smiled.

"Yes, I've also wanted to have deep conversations with you all. And I've wanted to see the Hero Record in person like this."

As he said this, Leo looked at the Hero Record.

Rodia said,

"This is your first time seeing a complete Hero Record, isn't it, Kyle?"

"Yes."

"…I'm sorry."

"It's not really your fault. In 3000 years ago, that was the only way."

Leo shook his head.

Seeing Leo like that, Rodia approached the Hero Record.

"Would you like to take a look? Of course, this Hero Record is a fake in the world of heroes, so it's impossible to open the world of heroes like the real Hero Record."

The stored Hero Record was protected by magic, so only authorized individuals could touch it.

Leo knew that fact and did not touch it.

Rodia, who was researching the Hero Record as a scholar at that time, was one of the authorized beings.

'That's how I accidentally entered the world of heroes.'

That was the beginning of Genesis.

*Thump- Thump-*

Rodia opened the Hero Record and approached Leo.

"This is the Hero's World I first entered."

"It was during the battle with the Gluttonous King."

"Yes. It's one of the greatest achievements of Lisinas and Kyle."

Leo reminisced about old memories and reached out his hand to Lisinas's page with a bittersweet smile.

The story written on this page was literally the beginning of everything.

It was a truly terrible memory and the most precious memory of him and Lisinas meeting.

The moment Leo touched Lisinas's page while recalling the past.

[Hero Record Open. Lisinas's World. Chapter: Prologue - Beginning]

The message that appeared before their eyes made Leo and Rodia's faces stiffen.

"What? Wait a minute. This is the world of heroes, so why inside the world of heroes?"

Rodia exclaimed in shock at the completely unexpected situation.

Adding to that, the distorted message.

"Rampage?"

Leo also had a desperate look on his face.

However, the activated world of heroes soon engulfed Leo and Rodia.

*WHOOSH-!*

Once again, they were enveloped in familiar light.

The moment his vision cleared.

What unfolded before his eyes was the scene in the middle of a battlefield.

A battlefield littered with the corpses of demons, monsters, and monstrous beasts after the battle.

The stench of burning corpses filled the air.

Leo's gaze naturally turned upwards.

A sky of ash.

And he naturally turned his head.

'Gardsron.'

A familiar scene.

Leo looked down at his hands.

They were not the hands of a young boy.

They were the hands of a man, covered in wounds and smeared with blood.

But they were not unfamiliar.

Rather, they were familiar.

"That's right, Kyle. My wish is a foolish wish."

And a familiar voice was heard.

Leo's hands tightened.

"But Kyle, we will save the world."

He turned his head and saw a dear comrade standing there.

Just as he remembered.

With an unwavering smile, as always.

"Let's go together. You won't have to see your comrades die before your eyes anymore. Because I'm strong too."

He gazed at the hand of his friend, who conveyed a promise that he knew would now become a lie.

Seeing Leo like that, Lisinas let out a small sigh with a look that seemed to say, 'Refusal again?'

'What did I say back then?'

Even as he thought about wanting to fulfill her wish.

As if bothered.

'Yeah. I'm sick of being bothered. I'll go along with your absurd journey.'

He remembered Lisinas shaking her head at his gruff reply.

*Swish-*

Seeing that Leo did not grasp his hand, Lisinas slowly lowered her hand.

*Thump-!*

"…!"

Seeing Leo strongly grasp her hand, Lisinas's eyes widened.

"Yes. Let's try it. You're right. We definitely will…"

Looking directly into his friend's eyes, Leo smiled.

"Save the world."

Lisinas looked surprised by Leo's words.

But soon, as if delighted by those words.

She smiled brightly.