Book 1 Chapter 417

417.

Lunia, Ar, and Driana wore tense expressions.

All three were students representing the Hero Academy.

Although they were still second-year students, they had overcome countless crises as hero candidates and possessed skills commensurate with their experiences.

Thanks to their unique personalities, they rarely got nervous about ordinary things.

However, in front of the Dragon Lord, the highest being in the world, they couldn't help but be tense.

Especially since Melina had called them 'heroes chosen by the era.'

Every hero is a special being.

They are all beings who dominate their respective eras.

A position that, literally, only the chosen ones can ascend to.

However, among them, heroes who are said to have carried an entire era are very rare.

The most representative example is the Sword Saint.

Before the Sword Saint, the Conquerors of Creation, led by Melina, were considered heroes who carried their era.

But now, something more concerning than that fact.

"Who exactly is that person the Lord spoke of?"

Lunia asked in a tense voice.

5000 years ago.

The Dragon Lords were the ones who had inherited the will of the King of Wisdom and selected heroes through generations, ever since the Age of Heroes began.

Only a dragon with such wisdom and power could become a Dragon Lord.

Therefore, Dragon Lords reign as the strongest beings in any era.

To think there was someone even a Dragon Lord referred to as 'that person.'

It was astounding.

At Lunia's question, Mel smiled faintly beneath her veil.

Lunia felt even more confused by Mel's adult-like demeanor, as if she were posing a riddle.

"Surely, there isn't someone in Dragonia with a higher status than the Lord?"

Driana also asked in a serious voice.

"It seems you're curious about that person."

"Hehe," Melina said, covering her mouth.

"I don't think you're at the stage yet to know who that person is. However, it's certain that that person has great expectations for all of you. And so do I."

At Melina's words, Lunia and Driana exchanged confused glances, their expressions growing more bewildered.

"Since you are the first to hear about that person, please keep it a secret."

Seeing Melina playfully bring her index finger to her lips, Lunia instinctively knew she had learned some enormous secret.

At that moment.

Ar, who had been listening to Melina's story with her arms crossed, pondering "Hmm…!", suddenly opened her eyes wide.

With her tail stiffly raised, Ar's eyes sparkled as she shouted,

"I know! The person Lord-nim mentioned must be the Great Hero! Or perhaps the Hero of Creation!"

Melina, Lunia, and Driana's gazes turned to Ar.

"Think about it! A higher status than the Lord! And they said they chose us! You might not know, but at least I was chosen by Arion-nim. So, who else could it be?"

Ar, with a proud expression, snorted.

"Because Lady Luna and Lord Seirun have already appeared in this world! It must be!"

"What nonsense are you talking about, you silly cat."

"There's a limit to how silly you can be."

"And why would you be chosen by Arion-nim?"

"The ill-tempered pointy-eared one is right. Didn't Arion-nim get startled and run away whenever she saw you?"

"That's because Arion-nim was shy."

"As if!"

"Besides, wasn't Lady Luna and Lord Seirun appearing in this world a miracle caused by the Hero Record?"

"Do you think it's possible for the Great Hero or the Hero of Creation to stay in this world permanently? If it were possible, there would be no reason to hide them. If they were here, the war with Tartarus would end immediately!"

"Ugh?!"

Ar flinched and backed away at the logical remarks of the two.

"Even simple things have a limit. Are you stupid?"

"Isn't she just a wild animal? She's useless except for her beautiful appearance."

"You two!"

Ar, with eyes glaring, lunged forward, but the two were not about to take it lying down.

Meanwhile, Melina, her eyes wide beneath her veil, smiled faintly.

'How incredibly sharp. Is that what wild intuition is?'

Whether she just guessed or thought as she pleased, Ar's prediction was accurate.

Watching the three girls squabbling, Melina cleared her throat.

The three quickly tidied their messy clothes and hair, then stood straight.

"Your vibrant appearance is lovely to see."

Melina said, giving the three a smile.

"So? What kind of hero do you want to become?"

"I want to be free like Lady Luna."

"I want to have courage like Lord Arion!"

"I want to become a great artist, following in Dweno-nim's footsteps."

"Do you know what you need to do to become such heroes?"

At Melina's question, the three looked at each other's faces.

Then Lunia answered on behalf of them all.

"I believe we must carry on the will of the Great Heroes."

At that solemn reply, Melina closed her eyes.

And took a deep breath.

"Excellent."

To carry on the will of the Great Heroes.

That means one thing.

The complete subjugation of Erebus.

A feat that no one in 5000 years of history had dared to utter.

"Truly worthy of heroes chosen by the era."

At Melina's words, Ar asked,

"Does being chosen by the era mean we are the heroes who will bear the next generation?"

"No. It means that trials even more arduous than bearing a generation await you."

At Melina's words, the three gulped dryly.

"However… seeing you today, I don't think I need to worry."

Melina smiled faintly.

"But for now, it's not enough. You will need to put in even more effort than you are now."

The three nodded.

Words from none other than the Dragon Lord herself.

They truly felt the weight of being told they were insufficient.

"I will be waiting for the day you become full-fledged heroes. The day we can stand on the same stage, as soon as possible."

After saying those words, Melina vanished in the blink of an eye.

"What did the Lord mean by what she just said?"

After Melina disappeared, Lunia pondered Melina's words.

"Trials more difficult than bearing an era await us. Does that mean the Dragon Lord is also aiming for the complete subjugation of Erebus?"

"Does she see our potential as that high?"

Tension spread across Lunia and Ar's faces.

Simply bearing an era is a huge undertaking that ordinary people would find difficult to handle.

But Melina was looking even higher than that.

"Driana, what do you think?"

Lunia asked Driana, who had a serious expression just like her.

"Hmm. How beautiful must the Dragon Lord be."

Ar said, looking at Driana who was saying something completely unrelated.

"Shall I hit her?"

"I'll hit her first."

The two, with fierce expressions, promptly kicked Driana.

***

The welcome party ended sometime after midnight, in the early hours of the morning.

Afterward, external guests were treated as VIPs and guided to their accommodations.

Other Hero Academy students decided to stay in dormitories by grade.

It was very rare for Hero Academy students to gather in one place, so the purpose was to hold an exchange event on this occasion.

"Oh! Indeed, I've heard the stories, but the second-year students from Lumen really are having a dormitory battle, aren't they?"

"Did you all plan this?"

"Not bad."

The second-year students from each school took up residence in their preferred dormitories.

Since they had acquaintances from the time of Smith's exclusive contract, the second-year students settled into their accommodations without awkwardness.

Some chose dormitories where they had acquaintances, while others chose dormitories according to the tendencies of their respective schools.

Azonia preferred Glory, and Damian preferred Harmony.

Finally, Seirun students generally gathered in Noble.

"You're in Noble, that's a bit unexpected."

Lunia, sitting cross-legged in the Noble common room, glanced at Kal.

Kal, bringing out tea, replied,

"You think so too? The semester is almost over, but I still don't know why I'm here."

Kal, grumbling, served the tea.

"Still, the hospitality is excellent."

Other Seirun students were satisfied with the refreshments Kal had brought out.

Despite it being early morning, it was a high-quality selection of snacks and drinks.

Avard, who was observing the scene as the dormitory representative, said,

"By the way, that's not our dormitory service. That's Kal's personal service."

"Ohh, thank you."

"Thank you."

The Seirun students expressed their gratitude.

"Don't mention it. Lunia, I assume you're the representative of the Seirun second-year students here, right?"

Kal asked Lunia with a smile, and Lunia nodded.

Kal handed Lunia a palm-sized leather panel.

"Here you go, Lunia El Runda-nim."

"Why the sudden honorific? And what is this?"

"It's the bill."

"……"

Lunia's face crumpled.

Kal pointed a finger at a spot in the lounge.

[Kal's Service: Paid]

Within Noble, Kal was performing service tasks inside the dormitory.

And it was, naturally, paid.

"By the way, there's a surcharge because it's early morning."

"This is forced selling!"

"Oh come on! Forced selling! I handed you all the information pamphlets when you entered our dormitory!"

Lunia bristled, but Kal was firm.

The Azonia and Damian students, who were spared her wrath due to their acquaintances in Noble, also wore dumbfounded expressions.

Meanwhile, in Harmony, Celia approached Driana.

"You're Driana?"

"Hmm. From the looks of it, you must be Celia Zeldinger."

"You know me well."

"Because you're famous."

Driana smiled faintly, looking at Celia who approached her.

"So, what's your reason for speaking to me?"

"You're a conqueror from Dweno-nim's world, aren't you? As a knight, it's only natural for a blacksmith to be interested in another blacksmith who met the divine smith who handles armaments, isn't it?"

"I am not a blacksmith."

"What?"

"I am an artist."

Celia made a wry face.

Driana said to Celia,

"Say, would you be interested in becoming a nude model?"

Celia thought she should definitely avoid getting involved with this dwarf.

"This is Leo-nim's room."

Meanwhile, Eiran, who had chosen the Glory dormitory, had a tense expression in Leo's room.

"Are there any strange books?"

Ar squinted her eyes and searched every corner of Leo's room.

"S-strange books?"

"Because it's a golden opportunity to find the black rabbit's weakness."

Ar said with a meaningful smile.

Currently, Leo had momentarily left the room.

As Ar searched the corner of the room, she found a locker on Leo's bookshelf slightly ajar and reached out her hand.

Eiran urgently tried to stop her.

"Y-you can't open the locker! That's a bad thing to do!"

"I'm just trying to close it. Of course, my hand might slip and open it by mistake. Oops, my hand slipped?"

Ar slyly opened the door.

*Chirp-*

Fiora, who was sleeping inside, reacted with annoyance and flapped her wings testily.

*Whoosh-!*

"Agh!"

Ar, whose face caught fire, rolled on the floor.

Eiran helped her put out the fire.

***

"How was it? Meeting them in person?"

Leo, sitting on a bench in the dormitory's communal garden, spoke.

"I understood why Leo-nim chose them."

"I didn't just choose them, though."

Leo chuckled at Melina's words.

"By the way, I feel a different kind of power from Leo-nim than before. Have you acquired a power I'm unaware of?"

Melina said calmly.

"A different power than before?"

"Yes. I didn't feel it when I was Mel, but I can definitely feel it now."

Mel was Melina, but not Melina herself.

Melina's main body had never left Dragonia.

Mel was a type of puppet made with magic.

Melina had been controlling Mel while asleep in Dragonia all this time.

At Melina's words, Leo looked down at his palm.

"Not really. Nothing much has changed, has it? Is it an alien power?"

"No. It's just that I faintly sense the power of the Hero Record from Leo-nim. Do you perhaps possess a fragment of the Hero Record?"

"No. I passed all the Hero Records I acquired before to you."

Leo, who had been focusing his mind on himself, paused.

"This is…"

It was faint, but a certain power was distinctly felt.

It was neither Arion's aura nor Luna's magic.

It was certainly not Dweno's flames, nor Lisinas's mana.

The power Leo felt from himself was a power that did not exist in this world.

To be precise, a power that vanished 5000 years ago.

"Divine power?"