Book 1 Chapter 383

383.

Rhodia's eyes widened at Leo's question.

Rhodia, the Dragon of Genesis.

Rhodia was clearly her own name.

But the Dragon of Genesis was not a term that referred to her current self.

It had to be.

'Being called the Dragon of Genesis is a story from the future.'

At this point in time, let alone being called the Dragon of Genesis, she didn't even know the friends who would fight alongside her.

When she first found infinite possibilities to fight against disaster.

At such a time, she met a human boy who called her the Dragon of Genesis.

Rhodia widened her orange eyes and meticulously examined Leo.

'Snow-white hair and ruby-like red eyes.'

"This can't be."

Rhodia's mouth hung open.

An unbelievable, miraculous story that a friend brought from endless, repeating despair.

'Guys. Just hold on a little longer.'

At some point, her once blurry eyes were once again sparkling like stars in the night sky.

'I met hope.'

Seirun, who smiled as brightly as in the past, said.

The Heroes of Genesis were able to regain their strength thanks to the amazing story Seirun told.

"Kyle… sir?"

"It's the real Rhodia."

Leo, realizing that this was the real Rhodia, not a fake from the Hero Record like Seirun, nodded.

At that, Rhodia urgently pushed Leo's back.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll explain later! This is no place for humans!"

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

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

She was still a young dragon of the clan.

Moreover, it was the moment she caused trouble.

This was a sanctuary where outsiders were not allowed.

If she were caught, the situation would become difficult.

Leo frowned.

As Leo went out the window, Rhodia hastily straightened her clothes.

A moment later.

Bang-

"Rhodia! What on earth is going on?! I felt a huge wave of mana!"

"This is a sanctuary where Hero Records are kept! Haven't I told you countless times not to cause trouble as usual!"

Dragons stared at Rhodia with terrifying eyes.

Rhodia knelt before them.

"I apologize. Elders of the clan. It seems I have caused you concern with my foolish curiosity."

Rhodia, who apologized politely several times, left the room with the dragons.

Leo, who had been suddenly chased out the window by Rhodia, realized that no presence was left in the room and came back inside.

And he admired the scenery outside the window.

'It's Dragonia.'

The land of the Dragonkin.

'It seems that, unlike Seirun's world, Erebus shows no sign of crossing over to reality through this place.'

Indeed, unlike Seirun's Hero Record fragment, Rhodia's Hero Record was merely one of the few remaining fragments.

That small fragment seemed to be unusable as a passage even by Erebus.

Left alone, Leo fell into thought.

'The appearance of monsters in the Monster Forest has nothing to do with the Monster Queen's curse.'

After checking, just in case, the curse was no longer present.

The unusual situation occurring in the Monster Forest was clearly the hero dungeon encroaching upon reality.

'And Rhodia's world.'

Rhodia's Hero Record was intact.

'The moment I decided to open a hero's world, the world opened. So, if I decide to close it…'

[Do you want to close the world of Rhodia, the Dragon of Genesis?]

The moment Leo thought, a message appeared before his eyes.

Seeing it, Leo shook his head.

Then the message disappeared.

'So, I can freely open and close an intact Hero Record according to my will.'

If it wasn't a situation caused by the Hero Record's rampage, it was only natural, considering the Hero Record itself belonged to Leo.

Leo looked at the center of the room with a curious expression.

There was a book there.

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

'An intact Hero Record.'

His and his companions' stories were recorded there.

After gazing at the Hero Record for a moment, Leo found a spot in the room.

'Should I wait until Rhodia returns?'

***

Monster Forest.

Growl-!

A one-eyed monster beast roaring.

"Duran," Kyle mumbled, looking at the Cyclops.

"Why do you call me, Kyle Thomas?"

"Didn't you say that until yesterday, at most, only monsters like ogres appeared?"

A being superior to monsters.

A monster beast that could be called a phantom beast of Tartarus.

And among such monster beasts, a Cyclops, considered a high-grade monster beast, was a monster of a different caliber than an ogre.

At Kyle's question, Duran curled the corners of his mouth.

"Isn't this even better?"

Crack-!

An aura of lightning raged around Duran's body.

"The day after we thought there would be a hero dungeon here. That filthy monster beast immediately popped out. You know what that means, don't you, Kyle Thomas?"

"It means bingo."

"That's right."

Duran's eyes flashed.

"We just need to cut down all these filthy things and hold Elehem accountable."

"You seem to be enjoying this a bit too much."

"There's nothing more fun than watching fools who don't know their place and do stupid things come to ruin."

"You have a bad personality."

Sudden abnormal situations with the appearance of top-tier monsters and monster beasts began to occur all over the Monster Forest.

The abrupt, unusual rampage of the hero dungeon.

In this crisis, hero candidates began to take action.

***

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Kyle, Hero of Genesis. I am Rhodia, who, though lacking, leads the Heroes of Genesis."

Rhodia greeted Kyle with the Dragonkin's etiquette of tapping her left chest three times and bowing her head.

Seeing that, Leo said.

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

"Of course. Don't they use it 3000 years later?"

"They laughed a lot, saying that greeting method made me seem like an old geezer."

"What? It's a traditional etiquette passed down through generations, didn't the later generations continue that tradition? The later kids won't do."

Rhodia made a look of dismay.

Looking at Rhodia, Leo said.

"Really? But you're wrong too."

"Me?"

"The knee angle is weird. Try again."

"Huh? Ah! Yes, sir!"

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

"No, bend more. Straighten your back. Who taught you etiquette?"

Was she in a position to be criticized for something like this?

Receiving etiquette training, which she had only received in her distant childhood, made her feel disoriented.

But she couldn't rebel.

The opponent was none other than the great hero from 2000 years ago, wasn't he?

"K-Kyle-nim. E-etiquette isn't that important, is it?"

"I learned this without sleeping. The later kids won't do."

Leo grumbled, looking at Rhodia's forced smile, and changed the subject.

"Seeing that you know about me, it seems you heard from Seirun."

"Yes. That's why I'm extremely happy. Because Lord Kyle entered my world, I was able to meet you like this."

Rhodia, who was about to perform the dragon's etiquette with an honored expression, paused and then hastily bowed her head.

She felt she might be criticized again if she showed too much courtesy.

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

"No. Even if you meet Seirun, Lumern, Azonia, and Damian in my hero's world, they aren't real. They are past memories imprinted in the Hero Record."

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

"So that's how it was."

"Fortunately, my world hasn't been invaded by Erebus. That's why we can talk peacefully like this."

Rhodia smiled.

"Yes, I also wanted to have a deep conversation with you all. And I wanted to see the Hero Record in person like this once."

Saying so, Leo looked at the Hero Record.

At that, Rhodia said.

"This is your first time seeing an intact Hero Record, isn't it, Lord Kyle?"

"Yes."

"…I'm sorry."

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

Leo shook his head.

Watching Leo, Rhodia approached the Hero Record.

"Would you like to see it? Of course, this Hero Record is a fake in the hero's world, so it's impossible to open a hero's world with it like a real Hero Record."

The stored Hero Record was protected by magic, so only those who were permitted could touch it.

Leo also knew that fact, so he didn't touch it.

Rhodia, as a scholar at the time, was studying the Hero Record, so she was one of the permitted beings.

'That's how I accidentally entered the hero's world.'

That was the beginning of Genesis.

Step- Step-

Rhodia opened the Hero Record and approached Leo.

"This is the hero's world I first entered."

"During the battle with the Gluttony King."

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

Leo reached out his hand to Lisinas's page with a bitter smile, recalling old memories.

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

A truly terrible memory, yet the most precious memory of him and Lisinas meeting.

The moment Leo touched Lisinas's page, reminiscing about the past.

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

Leo's and Rhodia's faces hardened at the message that appeared before their eyes.

"What? Wait a minute. This is a hero's world, so why inside a hero's world?"

Rhodia looked astonished at the completely unexpected situation.

In addition to that, a distorted message.

"Rampage?"

Leo also wore an urgent expression.

But the activated hero's world soon swallowed Leo and Rhodia.

Whoosh-!

Once again, they were enveloped in a familiar light.

The moment their vision cleared.

What unfolded before their eyes was a scene from the heart of a battlefield.

A battlefield where the corpses of demons, monsters, and monster beasts lay scattered after the battle.

The stench of burning corpses wafted through the air.

Leo's gaze naturally turned to the sky.

A grey sky.

And he naturally turned his head.

'Garthron.'

A familiar sight.

Leo looked down at his hands.

They were not the hands of a young boy.

They were a man's hands, full of scars and caked with blood.

But they were not unfamiliar.

Rather, they were familiar.

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

And a familiar voice was heard.

Strength entered Leo's hand.

"But Kyle. We will save the world."

Where he turned his head, a beloved comrade stood.

Looking exactly as he remembered.

With the same unchanging smile as always.

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

He gazed blankly at his friend's hand, offering a promise he now knew would become a lie.

Watching Leo, Lisinas let out a small sigh, with a look that said, 'Is it a refusal again this time?'

'What did I say back then?'

Even as he suddenly thought he wanted to fulfill her wish.

As if annoyed.

'Fine. I'm sick of being annoyed now. I'll follow you on that absurd journey of yours just this once.'

He had given such an answer.

Lisinas's figure, shaking her head at his blunt reply, came to mind.

Swoosh-

When Leo didn't take his hand, Lisinas slowly lowered hers.

Grab-!

"…!"

Lisinas's eyes widened as she watched Leo firmly grasp her hand.

"Alright. Let's give it a try. You're right. We will definitely…"

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

"Save the world."

At Leo's words, Lisinas looked surprised.

But then, as if delighted by the words.

She smiled brightly.