Book 1 Chapter 428

"It's wider than I thought."

"This is Leo-nim's family home…!"

In front of the mansion in the Flov family's territory.

As Lunia mumbled while looking at the mansion's main gate, Eiran, standing beside her, looked tense.

"Eiran, let's go in."

"Lunia-ssi. Isn't this not enough? Surely Leo-nim's parents will be there too. Isn't the gift insufficient?"

"You were the one who said that buying too fancy a gift might burden them."

"Ah! What a foolish thing to do!"

Confused by excessive tension, Eiran blamed herself.

"Wait a moment! Let's go back and get a gift…"

"Then we'll be late."

Lunia grabbed Eiran by the nape of her neck and pulled her inside.

"Aah, Lunia-ssi! Just a moment!"

"Eek! Stop it and come quickly!"

Lunia shouted as she roughly pulled Eiran, who was clinging to the iron gate.

That's when the two elves were in front of someone else's house.

"It seems you're afraid of going to the training camp!"

A triumphant voice was heard from behind.

Lunia turned her head to see a beastman, Arga, with his hands on his waist and his white tail wagging, exhaling forcefully.

Beside him stood Driana with her arms crossed.

"You're here?"

Lunia, with a defiant expression, tilted her head sideways with one hand on her hip, not letting go of Eiran's neck.

Seeing Lunia's characteristic fierce posture, Driana said,

"I always feel this way, Lunia, but you always look like a gangster."

"Huh? Weren't you a gangster?!"

"Who are you calling a gangster now! You perverted dwarf and idiotic cat!"

Lunia, feeling indignant, shouted back.

Watching Lunia, Eiran muttered softly,

"Sometimes she does look like a gangster."

"What?"

"Eek?"

Seeing Lunia's eyes rolling, Eiran clung even tighter to the mansion's iron gate.

Lunia tried to hit Eiran, but Eiran was fundamentally stronger.

"Hey! Cat, get this one off me. She's refusing to go!"

"Blocking the way is a nuisance to others too."

"Exactly!"

Arga tried to help Lunia pull Eiran away from the gate.

Creak!

As Arga joined in, an unusual sound came from the gate.

Unlike before, Eiran also looked strained.

"Why is she so persistent!"

Arga, her competitive spirit ignited, gritted her teeth and put more force into it.

Driana looked at them with a pathetic expression.

"What are you guys doing?"

As Leo's voice was heard, Eiran let go.

"Kyaak?"

"Ugh?!"

Lunia and Arga, who had been pulling Eiran, lost their momentum and tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Unlike the two disheveled individuals, Eiran, neat and tidy, straightened her clothes and stood before Leo.

"Leo-nim! Have you been having a good vacation? Thank you for inviting me! Here… it's not much, but it's a gift!"

Leo smiled faintly as he saw Eiran happily handing him the gift.

"Thank you, my mother will like it."

At those words, Eiran blushed, cupped her cheeks, and fidgeted awkwardly.

Seeing Eiran like that, Ar and Lunia pounced without hesitation.

"Why, why are you doing this?"

"You don't know why?"

"You try it too!"

With eyes glaring, Eiran ran away with a tearful face, dodging the two people who lunged at her.

Driana looked at them with a pathetic expression.

"They're called the future of their race. Truly, I worry about their future."

"I don't think that's something you should be saying?"

Leo shook his head, but Driana didn't listen.

***

"What? Senior students who graduated as instructors are coming?!"

"That's right! I heard it directly from Torua-senpai yesterday. Although she disappeared by evening."

A large number of students had already gathered at the mansion.

Not just from Rumern.

Seirun, Azonia, and Demian too.

Invitations had been sent to the top-ranking students from each school.

Moreover, there were not only sophomores but also freshmen.

"Hmph! It feels like a school competition!"

Illiana's eyes sparkled as she stroked her chin.

At her mumbling, Boruman, ranked 5th in Azonia, chuckled with his arms crossed.

"That sounds fun. The best and most excellent, of course, will be Azonia!"

At his shout, the Azonian students cheered.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Illiana clicked her tongue and wiggled her fingers, watching the Azonian students.

"I'm sorry, but you can never beat us! Why!"

Illiana proudly raised her head, covered her mouth with her hand, and burst into laughter.

"Because we have Leo Flov! Ho ho ho! I will show you all the bitter taste of defeat."

"Kruuk?!"

Boruman gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Chelsea looked at Illiana with a pathetic expression.

"She's bragging even though she's not winning because she's good."

"It's embarrassing, someone please stop her."

Taid said, covering his face.

Duran, sitting to the side with his eyes closed and arms crossed, said,

"Chen Si-a, drag her out."

"Me?"

"Should I drag her out?"

Fzzzt-!

Small sparks flew from Duran's body.

Chen Si-a, with an awkward smile, approached Illiana, seeing that.

"Illiana-ssi, please stop and come here."

"Why? I need to intimidate the students from other schools a bit more… Ugh? Ugh?"

Chen Si-a covered Illiana's nose and mouth with a white cloth as she continued to provoke students from other schools without listening to her.

Illiana, struggling in the sudden situation, soon rolled her eyes back and went limp.

"Our school student has caused a disturbance."

The other school students were momentarily terrified, seeing Chen Si-a smiling brightly.

"She's not dead, is she?"

"She's not moving at all."

"The senior students of Rumern are scary."

While the freshmen from other schools were whispering.

Celia arrived.

"It's so crowded with so many people."

Chelsea greeted Celia, who shook her head and swept her hair aside.

"Welcome, Celia."

At Chelsea's words, Celia paused for a moment and frowned.

"What? You're making me uncomfortable."

Since Chelsea was smiling with a kindness unusual for her, Celia couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Despite Celia's words, Chelsea did not lose her kind smile.

"You know, I found something interesting?"

Chelsea fumbled in her pocket and took out a photo.

"Ta-da!"

Celia's face, which had been looking at Chelsea suspiciously, turned pale.

"You-you-you-you! Where did you get that photo!"

"Hmm? Where do you think I got it?"

"Ah!"

With a flushed face, Celia rushed at Chelsea, tore the photo to shreds, and burned it with her flame aura.

Then she ran to Leo.

"Hey! Leo! How dare you do this!"

Leo, who was talking with Chloe and Avad, shrugged.

Chloe smiled awkwardly, and Avad gave his characteristic gentle smile.

"It suited you well."

"Say something nice and erase it from your mind! Butter!"

Celia reacted as if she were in a competition to Avad's remark and grabbed Leo by the collar, shaking him.

"You promised to keep it a secret! A secret!"

"I wasn't the one who showed it. Mother did."

"Aunt?"

Celia's face fell. If Reina had shown it, there was nothing she could say.

"It's rude for a maid to grab the young master she serves by the collar."

"That's right, Celia-ssi. Violent behavior is not the mindset of a maid."

Eliza, who was watching the scene, sneered openly, and Chen Si-a, who had subdued Illiana, said with a sweet smile.

Indignant, Celia lunged at them and tried to choke them.

"Let go, Celia Zerdiger!"

"Don't get angry, Celia-ssi."

Eliza struggled, and Chen Si-a calmly said.

It was when a commotion ensued.

"It's nice to see everyone so lively."

A clear laughter was heard.

The voice echoed clearly in the students' ears.

All eyes turned to the second floor of the mansion.

And then they widened their eyes as they saw a small girl wearing a veil.

"Dragon Lord."

It was the Dragon Lord they had seen at the last summit.

Everyone had seen her once before.

But even so, this was the first time seeing her this close.

While everyone was tense.

Melina hung a banner from the second-floor railing.

Flutter-!

"To everyone gathered here, I sincerely welcome you to the training camp."

Melina, smiling brightly, clapped her small hands.

But the students who saw the banner remained frozen.

"Welcome to hell?"

Chelsea mumbled in a disgruntled voice.

Kal, seeing that, mumbled with a face that had seen it all.

"As expected."

Why do sad premonitions never come true?

Kal smiled sadly, muttering to himself.

It was when everyone swallowed dryly.

And then…

Creeeeak-! Thump-!

The open door closed with a heavy sound.

"Well then, everyone."

"Hey, hey, the atmosphere doesn't feel right."

"What's going on?"

It was when the students were murmuring.

"The training camp, begins."

With that, the scenery changed.

The students, suddenly thrown into the middle of a mountain valley, looked up at Melina blankly.

Melina stood on the cliff, looking down at the students and waving.

"Have a good trip."

Screeeeeeeeam!

Aaaaaaaah!

By the law of gravity, the students plunged down the cliff.

***

Whooooosh!

As he fell down the endless cliff, Arga's expression was cold.

'No need to panic. Use your aura.'

As Arga tried to activate his aura, he was momentarily surprised.

The aura within him reacted only faintly, unlike usual.

He couldn't exert his usual strength.

But the surprise was short-lived.

Arga quickly used his aura to strengthen his hands.

Then he sharpened his claws and scratched the cliff.

Crash!

Arga forcefully slowed his fall using friction.

As he did, Arga smiled triumphantly.

Vrooom-!

"Huh?"

His body became incredibly heavy.

Thud-!

The strength of his hands couldn't bear the weight and slipped.

Crash! Thump! Crackle! Bang!

Arga, who fell to the ground, screamed and groaned.

He wasn't severely injured, but it was incredibly painful.

Arga wasn't the only one who fell nearby.

Eiran, Celia, and Duran had fallen together.

"Ah, it hurts."

Eiran painfully got up from the ground with a tearful face.

Celia also gritted her teeth and endured the pain.

Duran got up calmly, but his movements were sluggish due to the pain.

Arga also got up.

Fifteen sophomores were invited from each school.

Among them, Arga had fallen with these three.

"It seems we've been scattered."

At Celia's muttering, Arga said,

"Did we fall here randomly? Or were we assigned into groups beforehand?"

"Hmph. It's more likely that we were assigned into groups."

Duran scoffed.

"Aren't the four of us here all front-liners?"

"Yes. Our role is to block enemies on the front lines."

Eiran nodded as well.

"It's a little different."

A voice came from above.

The four of them simultaneously raised their heads.

The two with excellent eyesight spotted Leo sitting on the cliff, looking down at them.

"In battle, your role isn't to block enemies, but to annihilate them."

Despite his excellent physical abilities and stamina, he possesses overwhelming firepower.

"Like the hero Aarion."

"Leo-nim!"

"What is it, Black Rabbit! Why are you the only one comfortably on the cliff! Come down quickly!"

"Are you not participating in the training camp?"

Eiran waved with a bright smile, and Ar pouted.

Celia asked with a puzzled expression, and Duran crossed his arms.

"No, he's already gone up the cliff."

"That's right, Duran."

Leo nodded with a smile.

"I cleared this task right after it started."

"So, you're going to wait for us, is that it?"

At Duran's words, Leo chuckled.

"I've been waiting for you guys."

"What do you mean?"

At the sudden remark, not only Duran but also the others looked bewildered.

"So?"

Leo opened his mouth.

"How long will you make me wait?"

Ar scoffed, looking up at Leo, who was looking down at them from a dizzying height.

"We'll be there soon. Wait."

"Oh, really?"

Leo smiled and got up.

"Then I'll be waiting."

With those words, Leo left the cliff without looking back.

Melina asked Leo as he left.

"Are you looking forward to the day they catch up?"

"I am looking forward to it."

Leo chuckled.

"Can they replace the great heroes?"

"They can't replace them. Neither can you, nor the heroes of the genesis."

"…It can't be helped. We are no match for the great heroes. We can never replace them."

Melina hunched her shoulders as if apologetic.

Leo reached out to Melina.

"That's not what I meant."

"Huh?"

"You are you."

Leo ruffled Melina's hair and said.

"Just as you cannot replace them, they cannot replace you."

Leo chuckled.

"Did you think we saved the world with our own strength alone? We just happened to have stronger power than others. So, anyone who has the will to risk their life to save the world is a reliable and precious comrade."

Leo removed his hand from Melina's head and walked away slowly.

"Come up to the stage quickly. I'm waiting impatiently."

Watching Leo's retreating back, Melina looked down at the cliff and said.

"Everyone, you'll have to try hard, won't you? The hero of the beginning is waiting for you."