Book 1 Chapter 386

"Alright, then let's go to the Elf Forest first and meet Luna. It's the closest to Gardsron," Lissinas said.

"Right. And then we go to Reisar to meet Argon?"

"Yes," Lissinas nodded while looking at the map at Leo's words.

"Finally, we should go meet Dwenno."

They planned the order and route to meet their companions.

"Well then. We've talked enough, shall we rest for today?"

Lissinas put away the map and stood up.

"Kyle, are you going to drink more?"

"I should rest today too."

Leo and Lissinas stood up and went upstairs.

They parted ways in the second-floor hallway and headed to their respective rooms.

Before entering the room.

Lissinas smiled at Leo and said, "I'll be counting on you from now on, Kyle."

After saying that, Lissinas entered the room.

"Lissinas."

"Yes?"

Leo called out to Lissinas.

Looking at Lissinas, who peeked his head out of the room with a puzzled expression, Leo said, "You are not a fool."

Lissinas's eyes widened at the sudden remark.

Lissinas was being ridiculed as a fool at this time. A foolish lizard chasing impossible hopes and spouting unattainable ideals. Kyle at this time was evaluated the same way.

Yet, Lissinas persistently tried to recruit Kyle into his party. He pulled Kyle, whose heart was consumed by darkness, out of the darkness without giving up until the end.

The fact that he took Lissinas's hand was not only the beginning of the path to saving the world but also the beginning of his own salvation.

'If it weren't for him, I would have rotted like that forever.'

He would have had to watch the world's destruction with no hope.

Now, he knew. How much the wise king who genuinely tried to save the world must have grieved during the times he was mocked as a fool.

"You are a wiser person than anyone else."

"Are you suddenly praising me because we're in the same party?" Lissinas grinned.

"Well, that's a good attitude. Unlike yesterday, your eyes today are clearly looking towards hope." The wise dragon said, looking into Leo's eyes.

"That's definitely a positive sign, isn't it?" Lissinas smiled and went into the room.

Leo, who entered the room after him, smiled bitterly.

'I'll be counting on you…'.

Trudging, Leo approached the bed and collapsed on it, looking out the window.

'Just those words are not enough.'

They were people who had overcome endless life-or-death situations together. Leo looked down at his hands.

The great heroes were benefactors to each other. Countless lives were saved and saved again.

'If even one of them were missing… I would never have been able to do it.'

He had met Arion, and he had met Luna and Dwenno. He thought he had become accustomed to meeting companions who could no longer be with him.

'It's not like that.'

While feeling boundless joy at being able to grasp the hand that pulled him out of the darkness long ago, the fact that they could never be together now weighed down his heart.

Suddenly, the faces of his companions came to mind.

The very first.

Was it because he had returned to the starting point?

The companions who left first seemed even more missed today.

Leo slapped his cheek, recalling Luna, Arion, and Dwenno.

And Leo took a deep breath.

'This is not the time to be lost in thought. Understanding the situation comes first.'

The current situation was completely unexpected.

'I clearly entered the world of Rhodia.'

Rhodia's world was a officially opened world, not a Hero Dungeon. It was a world where Leo could leave whenever he wanted.

But currently, Leo was in Lissinas's world.

'What in the world?'

Leo narrowed his eyes and tried to close the Hero's World internally. However, no message appeared.

Leo knew this phenomenon very well.

'Hero Dungeon.'

A situation where the Hero Record went berserk within the Hero's World.

It was when Leo furrowed his brow.

Tap- Tap-

A sound of knocking came from the window.

Turning his head, he saw Rhodia there.

As Leo approached and opened the window, Rhodia cautiously asked, "Are you the future… Kyle-nim?"

"Yes," Leo replied. Rhodia let out a sigh of relief and entered the room.

"I was surprised. This world is definitely an 'possession-type world,' so I thought Kyle-nim was like that too, since you appeared in your original form."

Hearing Rhodia's words, Leo said, "I've heard that such errors sometimes occur in Hero Dungeons."

The Hero's World normally has a fixed capacity for entry. However, in the case of Hero Dungeons, the capacity limit sometimes disappears.

'The Hero Dungeon itself is created due to a berserk state.'

"Hero Dungeon?" Rhodia looked slightly bewildered at the unfamiliar term.

Leo paused upon seeing Rhodia and nodded. "You wouldn't know."

The heroes of the great creation divided the Hero Record and entered their respective worlds to seal Erebus within the Hero Record and completely block the entrance.

As such, they had never experienced 'Hero Dungeons,' a side effect of dividing the Hero Record.

Although there were those who challenged the worlds of the heroes of the great creation over the past thousands of years and met them, they would not have had time to discuss the various problems that arose in the present world.

Rhodia, after briefly hearing about Hero Dungeons from Leo, had a perplexed expression. "I never imagined such a thing could be happening."

"The heroes of later generations are successfully conquering them, so you don't need to worry too much about that problem."

"Yes."

"So, let's get back to the main point. Why are you and I here? I've never even seen Lissinas's Hero Record in the present world. That's why I'm wondering." Leo said with a serious expression.

"When the Hero Record was intact, was it possible to open the record within the Hero's World?"

"No. It wasn't," Rhodia shook her head firmly.

"When it was revealed that the Hero Record could be used to overcome the trials experienced by past heroes and obtain rewards in the 'Hero's World'… the world's foremost mages and scholars tested the potential of the Hero Record. In the process, powerful warriors and skilled summoners were mobilized."

Leo had also learned that in his history class at Lumen.

"Opening a Hero Record within the Hero's World. That's the beginning of another boundless possibility. Therefore, countless experiments related to it were conducted, but a Hero Record was never opened within the Hero's World."

At those words, Leo fell into thought.

"The difference between then and now is the state of the Hero Record and whether its owner, me, is present." Leo formulated a hypothesis.

'Impossible things happened because of me.'

The Hero Record is in an unstable state. It's an artifact created by divine power, but it trapped the primordial evil, the natural enemy of gods, within it.

And the current Hero Record was created by destroying the Hero Record and reassembling the pages scattered throughout the world.

"Therefore, although the functions work, normal operation is impossible. In the midst of that, I, the owner of the Hero Record, was reincarnated in the present world."

"You're saying that something impossible happened because of the singularity known as Kyle-nim."

"Yes."

"This has become a headache," Rhodia sighed.

Seeing Rhodia like that, Leo said, "No, it might even be a good thing."

"Yes?"

"Rhodia. Didn't you say earlier that the record of Lissinas, where we are now, is the first Hero's World?"

"Yes."

"When I read it in history books, you failed to conquer the first Hero's World."

"Yes. I tried to conquer this page several times afterward… but all failed."

"Right. And you entered your final chapter to prevent the fragments of Erebus. Originally, you shouldn't be able to enter the Hero's World anymore."

"That… wait a minute." Rhodia's eyes widened as she was about to answer.

Seeing Rhodia like that, Leo smiled meaningfully.

"That's right, Rhodia. You are now inside the 'Hero's World.' Do you understand what that means now?"

"…If we conquer it… it means inheriting Lissinas-nim's power. That means…"

"That's right. It means your power, which has been stagnant for thousands of years, can advance."

With each loop, Erebus's flames grew stronger. On the other hand, the heroes of the great creation remained in the same place. This is why the heroes of the great creation, who have endured for 3000 years, have little time left.

However, if Rhodia conquered Lissinas's world here and obtained the conquer reward, Rhodia could take a step forward.

"Of course, conquering it won't be easy."

Leo and Rhodia looked at the message that appeared before them.

[Conquest Goal: -]

Hero Dungeons do not have a conquest objective.

Like assembling a puzzle.

The conquest objective must be found.

And the message will be newly displayed the moment the conquest objective is recognized.

However, Leo and Rhodia do not need to find the objective. Rhodia has challenged this record countless times. And Leo is the one who achieved the great feat of this record.

Rhodia's lips moved. "The Gluttonous King… Jörmungandr."

[Conquest Goal: Defeat the Gluttonous King.]

The conquest objective has been updated.

Lissinas and Kyle. The first great feat they achieved on their own page.

And even now, after conquering Erebus, Leo could say.

The battle with the Gluttonous King Jörmungandr was one of the most memorable feats and trials among countless others. It was one of the most desperate battles.

Rhodia swallowed dryly.

Leo stared intently at the conquest objective.

The Gluttonous King Jörmungandr. The Necromancer Kaiser is the Grand Marshal of Tartarus. He possesses a power that is on a different level from the other legion commanders. Although he is grouped with the Demon Queen Shilathuna and the Giant King Gia as the three great legion commanders, this is only because they were the only legion commanders who survived after the Age of Calamity. In terms of power alone, the Demon Queen Shilathuna and the Giant King Gia were evaluated as being inferior to the Necromancer Kaiser.

He is literally the ruler of Tartarus, who inspires awe. The most terrifying threat who commands death, is more sinister than anyone, and commands an endless legion.

However, the Gluttonous King Jörmungandr is more dangerous than Hell Kaiser in a different sense.

"The true terror of legion commanders lies in the legions they lead," Leo said. The demonic army led by legion commanders is immense.

"But Jörmungandr is different." Leo recalled Jörmungandr.

"He doesn't lead a legion." Despite being a demon with the title of legion commander, he has no legion. Or rather, he consumed his own legion.

"There were countless monstrous beings in Tartarus. But among them, he was undoubtedly the most terrifying monster." The reason Jörmungandr is called the Gluttonous King. He devours everything. A monster that eats everything it sees, like a hungry ghoul. A monster that devours everything and scatters darkness.

"A monster who doesn't even need a legion despite being a legion commander. No, he's a monster who could be called a legion on his own," Rhodia said with a trembling voice. The reason for endless failures was that the Gluttonous King Jörmungandr was the 'strongest' demon.

Recalling how many times they failed before that terrifying power, Rhodia said, "Can we do it?"

"We have to," Leo said, looking down at his palm. "That's the only way."