Book 1 Chapter 402
402.
The oasis city of Ellem, Uargella.
The vast oasis in the center of Uargella resembled a giant beach.
It was a kind of oasis beach, one of Uargella's main tourist attractions.
There, students from Rumern and Azonia were playing in the water.
"Everyone is so carefree."
Celia arrived at the oasis beach, brushing her hair back.
Normally an impeccable top student, she looked with a slightly displeased expression at the Rumern second and first-year students enjoying themselves in the water.
Behind her stood her mentees, Aina and Martina.
"This is nice too, Miss Celia. We've almost finished our practical training mission."
The Rumern students were nearing the end of their practical training schedule.
The suspicion that Ellem was hiding a Hero Dungeon had been proven true.
As feared, the Hero Dungeon they had hidden caused a large-scale anomaly, nearly leading to Dobella's ruin, but thanks to the students of Rumern and Azonia, the first invasion concluded without major casualties.
There were subsequent second and third invasions, but by then, the senior students from Rumern and Azonia had already arrived to provide support.
Afterward, Ellem became embroiled in international conflict.
Not only was it found to be concealing multiple Hero Dungeons, but evidence of collusion with Tartarus was also uncovered.
With the definitive proof of the emergence of Hero Hunters, Ellem could no longer deny it.
All races, all nations of the world condemned Ellem.
The global situation was chaotic.
International relations were a web of intertwined interests.
However, in such global affairs, there was one thing that was never tolerated: collusion with Tartarus.
Ellem faced a crisis where it wouldn't be strange for it to quietly disappear from history.
"Regarding the disposition of Ellem, wasn't it planned for a world conference to be held at Rumern?"
"Yes."
Celia nodded.
Afterward, to deal with the rampaging Hero Dungeons, specialized dungeon raiders from Rumern, Seirun, Azonia, and Demian were dispatched.
"I wanted to finish things with our own power."
"But you helped many people in Ellem, didn't you?"
Martina said, seeing Celia's slightly frustrated expression.
While the dungeon raiders were active, the first and second-year students of Rumern helped the people of Ellem in need.
The King of Ellem and its core powers were mostly arrested for suspected collusion with Tartarus and concealing Hero Dungeons.
When Ellem's ruling power was in effect, aiding and rescuing those in need could be considered interference in internal affairs, but that was no longer the case with the collapse of the Ellem monarchy.
"Yes, heroes are beings who lead the world to righteousness. Helping and saving those in difficulty is also an important task."
Celia sighed.
"Yes. Since everyone worked hard, Lord Leo granted us two days of free time using his student council president authority after the practical training was finished, right?"
It was largely thanks to Leo that the Rumern students could play without worries.
"Still, as Rumern students, we must maintain our dignity."
It was at that moment, as Celia looked with a slightly displeased face at the students of her school playing joyfully in their swimwear, that someone called out.
"Celia, you're here?"
"Hello, Nella-senpai!"
"Hello."
Martina answered energetically as Nella approached, and Aina offered a quiet greeting in a small voice.
"Nella, you too."
Celia pressed her temples.
Nella was also wearing a full-on swimwear outfit.
"It's summer, and we all worked hard, so it's good to have fun before returning to school, right?"
"Right, right. If you're just going to ruin our fun for no reason, then just go back to your room."
Chelsea appeared from behind Nella and said.
"I'm not complaining about playing. I meant you should set an example as a second-year senior. Well, I guess you'd get along well playing with the first-years, Chelsea."
"What do you mean?"
"You're still a child?"
"We're only a year apart, you know?"
At those words, Celia looked down at Chelsea, chuckled, and brushed her hair back.
Indeed, Chelsea had an appearance that made her look younger than her peers.
Chelsea, who had been looking at Celia with a sullen expression, aimed a toy in her hand at Celia's face.
SQUIRT-!
Water sprayed from the toy, drenching Celia's face.
"Hmph."
Celia took a deep breath.
Then, she glared and lunged at Chelsea.
"You little!"
Chelsea ran without looking back.
"Hey, aren't you going to stop?!"
"Am I crazy? To have a physical fight with you, an knight department student?"
Chelsea pulled the skin under her eyes with her index finger and stuck out her tongue.
Seeing this, Nella laughed and shouted.
"Using abilities is forbidden on the oasis beach!"
Saying that, Nella looked at Aina and Martina and said.
"Hehe- Don't those two seem to get along really well?"
"Um… do they?"
Martina just gave an awkward laugh.
Meanwhile, on the oasis beach…
"Pick 'em up! Pick 'em up! Our hit products that even the top second-year students enjoy! Water gun wands! Water bombs! And delicious ice cream and drinks to cool off from the hot oasis!"
Cal had set up a stall and was selling.
Business was booming.
With summer approaching and students having a strong desire to play in the water, when Chelsea, Iliana, Nella, and Tate started playing with the toys Cal gave them for promotion, the demand for Cal's products skyrocketed.
On top of that, there were ice creams and drinks to combat the scorching desert heat.
It was impossible not to sell.
"Senpai! Give me a water gun wand!"
"Me too!"
"Here you go!"
Cal handed over the water gun toys with a beaming smile.
Seeing the money piling up in his pocket, Cal smiled brightly.
"Hahaha! Juen! We're going to be rich!"
Juen wore a displeased expression at Cal's words.
"Cal-senpai, aren't you playing?"
"Aren't I playing right now?"
"Doesn't it feel lonely to be selling when everyone else is playing?"
"It feels lonely. But seeing the sales makes that loneliness disappear!"
Juen shook his head, watching Cal's genuine joy.
"By the way, the water gun toys were made with a patented magic array from the Southern Tower, weren't they?"
"Yes! I'm grateful for that!"
The toys Cal made were based on the magic array in Juen's magic staff.
"Your discernment in making and selling cheap toys like that and becoming a hit is certainly amazing."
"It is."
"You know that 80% of the profit must be paid as royalties to the Southern Tower, right?"
CRUNCH-
Cal's face stiffened.
With a dejected look, Cal clung to Juen's ankle.
"Please! 80% of the profit means I'm bankrupt! Please!"
"L-let go of me."
Juen flailed, looking flustered, trying to shake Cal off.
"Hmph, playing with such cheap toys. Pathetic."
Eliza, lying on a sunbed under a parasol wearing sunglasses, snorted at the sight.
Iliana, walking by, said.
"This is quite fun."
"Hmph, what's so fun about such shoddy toys?"
"Watch."
SQUIRT-
Iliana lowered the water pressure on her water gun and shot Eliza in the face.
Eliza, who wiped her face with a nearby towel without a word, picked up her whip and said.
"If your intention was to offend me, it was an excellent choice. Shall I engrave whip marks on your fair skin?"
"Eek?!"
Iliana recoiled, covering herself, as Chen Xia approached and tried to dissuade Eliza.
"Violence is not allowed."
Chen Xia was perhaps the only student Eliza listened to.
With Chen Xia's appearance, Eliza clicked her tongue.
Then, she snatched the water gun wand from Chen Xia's hand and sprayed it in Iliana's face.
"Gasp! Gasp!"
"Hmph."
As Eliza snorted at Iliana shaking her head vigorously, she handed the wand back to Chen Xia.
WHOOSH-!
Chelsea was seen sprinting across the sand.
Chelsea threw a water bomb at Celia, who was chasing her.
Celia, snorting, caught the water bomb and tossed it aside.
ROLL-ROLL- THUD-!
The rolling water bomb hit Eliza's feet.
"…What is this?"
Eliza opened her eyes blearily, and Chen Xia and Iliana threw themselves forward without hesitation.
BOOM-!
The water bomb exploded, releasing a massive amount of water.
It was a simple array that compressed water, but the bomb's power was immense.
The parasol and sunbed were blown away by the water pressure, and Eliza face-planted into the sand.
"…"
"…"
Those around them swallowed dryly.
Eliza got up, brushed the sand off her face, and spat out the sand that got into her mouth.
She looked with calm eyes at Chelsea and Celia's chase, then approached Cal's stall.
Cal and Juen watched Eliza with their mouths agape.
"Cal Thomas, do you have anything more powerful than water gun wands or water bombs? Price doesn't matter."
Seeing Eliza speak in a surprisingly calm voice, Cal swallowed dryly and handed her a large cylinder.
"It's a prototype water cannon, and it's dangerous because of its power…"
"Those two won't die from this, so it's fine."
Eliza turned around, water cannon in hand.
A grinding sound could be heard from her mouth.
"You're dead."
The beach began to be devastated.
***
In the middle of the beach.
Leo sat on a sunbed under a parasol, gazing towards the oasis.
Beside Leo, Chloe sat on a sunbed reading a book.
Chloe, exuding a resort atmosphere, occasionally glanced at Leo.
This was a relatively quiet spot on the oasis beach.
And in the center of the oasis, bubbles were continuously rising.
"Pfft-!"
A moment later, Arga emerged from the water.
Chloe, who had been glancing at Leo, quickly turned her attention back to her book.
Arga scrambled out of the water and shook off the moisture.
Then, gasping for breath, he said.
"Black Rabbit, I'm so tired! I want to stop now!"
Seeing Arga speaking with a pout, Leo stood up.
Leo approached Arga, stepping on the sand, and said.
"You were the one who wanted to do Howling training."
In the last battle, Arga gained the ability to awaken the transformation abilities of other beastmen through howling.
A mysterious ability that even Leo didn't know.
'And that was the ability Arion wanted so much.'
Arion wished for his transformation ability to be passed on to other beastmen.
If so, more of his kin could have survived on the battlefield.
But in the end, Arion couldn't do it.
Not only Arion, but no one else afterward gained the ability to freely transform.
A beastman who fully possessed Arion's transformation ability only appeared 5,000 years after Arion's death.
'It seems he gained the transformation ability using Arion's Hero Record fragment from Tartarus, but… that would be impossible without a fake Brave, so it's out of the question.'
And according to the testimonies of those who fought, the transformation ability doesn't seem to be fully intact either.
In any case, Arga inadvertently gained the ability that Arion had so desperately wanted.
Arga was also very excited when he first learned of it.
However, after realizing he couldn't control it properly, he sought Leo's help after much deliberation.
The first thing Leo did to Arga was to throw him into the water.
The first reason was that howling would cause trouble for those around him, and the second reason was that it was easier to howl while regaining breath in the water.
But Arga, a cat beastman, was terrified of water.
Of course, Leo was not one to consider such circumstances.
"I hate water! I hate it!"
"You have to do it even if you hate it. Get in."
At Leo's cold words, Arga quickly rolled his eyes.
'If it's like this!'
Arga chose to escape.
GRAB-!
Of course, Leo grabbed his tail and Arga fell forward.
"Ughhhhhh!"
Arga struggled.
Leo sighed, approached Arga, and crouched down.
"Arga, you've stepped into a realm that even heroes couldn't achieve."
Arga froze and looked up at Leo.
"As a successor to heroes, you've achieved what even heroes couldn't."
"Hmph-!"
Arga clenched his fists tightly.
"And yet, you want to run away?"
"No!"
"Arion would be disappointed if he saw you. Do you still want to?"
"Absolutely not!"
Leo smiled gently at Arga and stroked his white hair.
Arga made a cat-like expression.
Leo removed his hand from Arga's head, reached under his armpits, and lifted him up.
Arga's ears perked up, and he stared at Leo with cat eyes.
Leo grinned at Arga.
"Well then, Arga."
"Yeah?"
"Go back in."
SWISH-!
"You damn Black Rabbit!"
SPLASH-!
Leo threw Arga into the water without hesitation and crossed his arms.
Chloe sighed, watching him.
"Now I see why Celia and Chelsea are so worked up."