Book 1 Chapter 462
462
After the start-of-semester ceremony for the second semester concluded,
students who had finished their departmental schedules entered the dormitory building.
“Welcome home!”
Illiana, who was the first to enter the Glory dormitory, rushed and lay down on the lounge sofa as if diving onto it.
“I missed the lounge sofa so much~”
Illiana rolled around on the sofa as if it were her own bedroom.
Other students, seemingly accustomed to this, took their seats in the lounge.
“Hey, how was your training camp?”
“What's it like meeting the Hero in person? Is he intimidating?”
“I'm so jealous! I wish I had been there too!”
Students flocked around those who had attended the training camp.
They gathered to ask about the training camp, which they hadn't been able to inquire about properly due to the start-of-semester ceremony schedule.
Among the things their classmates were curious about, of course, was Arion.
Seeing her dorm friends gathering around her, Illiana sat up straight on the sofa, straightened her back, and spoke majestically.
“If you're curious, offer cookies and black tea to me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the classmates who had gathered around Illiana harshly turned away from her and approached Chen Sia and Chloe.
“It wouldn't be bad to have some snacks while we talk.”
When Chloe said this with a smile, *Oooh-!* they cheered and headed to the snack bar.
“Why do they prepare everything when Chloe says it?!”
“You were only told to prepare your own food.”
“Right, you're not a pig.”
“Where do I look like a pig?! And what kind of abusive language is that to a lady?!”
Illiana wildly swung the cushion in her hand at the jeering male students.
“Everyone's so noisy.”
Leo, who had just entered the dormitory lounge, said with a smile.
“Leo, we're about to talk about what happened at the training camp. Come over here.”
Chloe smiled and patted the spot next to her on the sofa with her palm.
At that, the boisterous atmosphere in the lounge suddenly fell silent.
Chloe and Illiana looked puzzled by the sudden change.
“I'm going up early to rest today.”
“You're going to bed very early.”
As Chen Sia, who was standing nearby, tilted her head, Leo said,
“The start-of-semester ceremony was hectic, so I'm a bit tired.”
“Indeed, as student council president, you must be tired due to your schedule. Is there anything you need? Should I bring it to your room?”
“It's fine.”
As Leo went up to his room, the subtly tense atmosphere eased slightly.
When Chen Sia, who had entered the lounge, sat in a rocking chair in one corner, Chloe asked with a puzzled expression.
“What's wrong with everyone?”
“What?”
“Everyone seems to be awkward around Leo.”
The Glory students scratched their heads as they looked at Chloe, who asked with a puzzled face.
“You guys might not feel it as much, since you were at Leo's house during the training camp and throughout the summer vacation.”
One of the male Glory students scratched his cheek.
“It's a complete mess right now.”
At that, Chloe and Illiana looked at each other's faces.
“At first, only the story of the primordial evil reincarnated and Lord Arion defeating it was of interest, I suppose.”
Chen Sia said.
“But after some time passed and the world's leading hero guilds began to covet Young Master Leo, the world's attention gradually focused on him, didn't it?”
It was true.
The public, whose eyes were fixated only on the epic of the great hero who saved the world and rewritten it, began to focus on Leo's existence.
“Afterward, with his name even listed in the Hero Record, countless members of the public began to enthusiastically support Young Master Leo.”
The world always hopes for the birth of a new hero.
Even more so if that hero builds sagas comparable to those of heroes in legends and myths.
Until then, Leo's status was still that of a hero candidate.
This world is one where only those who receive divine recognition and have their names recorded in the Hero Record are revered as true heroes.
Therefore, no matter how much he conquered the world of the great hero and achieved great deeds, Leo was merely seen by people as a promising hero candidate.
But now, he is listed in the Hero Record.
People's treatment of him is bound to change.
Before, he was a classmate, but now it's different.
“Leo has already reached a level that we dedicate our entire lives to achieving.”
The male student scratched his head.
“How should I put it, we knew he was amazing before. But now it feels like he's hard to approach?”
Another female student sighed softly.
‘Indeed, Young Master Leo is now in a position that students dare not look up to.’
Even I, the top student in the second-year knight department, dare not gauge Leo's abilities.
As such, other students would feel he's at a height they can barely look up to.
“Leo's school life will definitely be completely different from before.”
Chloe muttered, deep in thought.
“Because those who want Leo will move even more overtly.”
Hearing that, Illiana made a slightly sullen face.
“Yes, even those who were just testing the waters until now will become more overt.”
At Illiana's mumble, Chen Sia tilted her head.
“Miss Illiana, do you dislike that?”
“Yeah, I guess so. From tomorrow, I shouldn't approach Chen Sia's vicinity.”
At the incomprehensible words, Chen Sia made a strange expression.
“But you know,”
Chloe, who had been pondering, blinked her blue eyes and looked at the students.
“What exactly is Leo's other name?”
***
Two women greeted Leo as he entered the room.
They were none other than Mel and Enkinias, whom she had designated as her successor.
“Mel, fine, but why is En here?”
“I received Lord's command to stay here and assist Lord Leo.”
At her words, Leo looked at Mel.
“En is a capable child, so she will certainly be of great help to Lord Leo.”
“You can think of me as Lord Leo's personal secretary.”
At her words, Leo chuckled.
“As a secretary, what can you do?”
“To be specific, attending classes by proxy. Doing assignments by proxy, homework by proxy, and so on…”
“That's all just violating school rules.”
“I thought those would be the things students dislike the most.”
“Still, with a professor right in front of you, you're quite bold to say such things.”
“Lord taught me that if you don't get caught, it's not a sin.”
“He taught you well.”
“Thank you.”
“I wasn't praising you, you know?”
Seeing Mel's embarrassed expression, Leo clicked his tongue.
‘How do they follow so well in subtly deceiving others? Is it a dragon racial trait, perhaps?’
Lysinas, who was called the King of Wisdom and the Light of Hope.
He seemed like a fair and just leader, but in reality, he was a master of all kinds of tricks and deception.
‘Well, there were many deceptions and frauds made from truth, but whatever it was, he certainly followed bad things well.’
Sighing softly, Leo looked at En.
‘Indeed, this one is capable.’
She played a major role in the previous battle against a fragment of Erebus.
‘As Mel chose her as successor, she would naturally be capable. Crucially, this child's unique magic will be a great help.’
En's unique magic, Mirror.
It was a magic that could perfectly imitate the appearance of others.
“Well, if you're going to help, there's no reason to stop you. I look forward to working with you.”
At his words, En bowed her head.
“By the way, Mel. Did you check the Hero Record where my name is written?”
Leo had not yet confirmed the Hero Record with his name inscribed.
“Yes.”
“What exactly was written?”
“Only Lord Leo's name was written.”
At her words, Leo fell into thought.
Leo was surprised when he heard that his name was written in the Hero Record.
On one hand, he worried that his identity might be revealed, but it seemed there was no need for such concern.
“Why is only my name written? Are there any heroes in history who only had their names listed in the Hero Record?”
“There have been no such cases until now. Lord Leo is the first in history.”
At Mel's answer, Leo fell into contemplation.
‘My name is already written in the Hero Record.’
The first hero recorded in the Hero Record.
‘Moreover, I am also the owner of the Hero Record.’
In such a situation, only his name was written, without an epithet or a great deed.
‘It was said to be written on the last page.’
“Lord Leo, this is just my thought, but…”
“Tell me.”
“Perhaps your name was written because Lord Leo wished it?”
Mel also knew that Leo was the owner of the Hero Record.
Furthermore, Leo had rewritten the Hero Record many times.
He recorded the stories of heroes who had been active in the past, during the Age of Calamity, as well as the Book of Shadows, in the Hero Record.
He had also revived the records of Seyrun, the Comet Mage, who had burned away and disappeared.
Those are not divine records.
They are records written by Leo Flobe, the owner of the Hero Record.
“Hmm. That's certainly a plausible story.”
Leo stroked his chin and chuckled.
“A nameless hero, not bad.”
“Don't you covet those splendid epithets?”
“Not really.”
“You are truly Lord Leo. Everyone else covets the epithets bestowed by the Hero Record.”
“I already have a perfectly respectable epithet, 'Hero of the Beginning'. It would be silly to suddenly covet names bestowed by gods like a child.”
En, who had been listening to their conversation, opened her mouth.
“I believe any flowery language before Lord Leo's name is meaningless to begin with.”
En, standing next to him, said with an expressionless face.
“Because Lord Leo is noble in his very existence. He is the greatest among all beings in this world.”
“En knows a thing or two!”
Mel smiled brightly.
En already knew Leo's true identity, having heard it from Mel.
“Hoh.”
Leo, who had been impressed by En's words, chuckled.
“Then, between me and that Lysinas fellow, who is greater?”
“That would be the King of Wisdom, of course.”
*Thwack-!*
“Why did you hit me?”
Mel, having received a rap on the head, clutched her head and pouted.
“Because I trained my successor poorly. You just said I was the greatest in the world, and then you changed your mind.”
“That's because Lord Lysinas passed away long ago.”
En answered with an unwavering expression.
Leo, clicking his tongue as he looked at En, asked Mel,
“Do you think I'm greater, or that Lysinas fellow?”
“That would be Lord Lysinas, of course.”
Knowing she would be hit, Mel steadfastly asserted her will, and Leo mercilessly smacked her on the head.
After the discussion about the Hero Record,
Leo spoke.
“Mel.”
“Yes, Lord Leo.”
“Dispatch dragons to the world under the Lord's authority.”
“Is it to prepare for a possible invasion from Tartarus?”
At Mel's question, Leo narrowed his eyes.
“There likely won't be the massive invasion from Tartarus that you're imagining.”
“Huh?”
Mel made a puzzled expression.
“The Necromancer King is a more sinister fellow than you imagine.”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“5000 years ago, even when Tartarus's power was incomparably stronger than it is now, the demon races couldn't breach Guardstron, the world's last stronghold. And back then, we had fewer people and fewer resources than now.”
“Well, that was back when Lord Leo and Lord Lysinas… and the Great Heroes were still strong and well, wasn't it?”
“We weren't strong enough to overturn the world's dynamics from the beginning either.”
We grew stronger by overcoming countless battlefields and moving forward.
“As I always say, our power alone couldn't save the world. We weren't the only ones who didn't give up and risked everything for the world.”
Leo recalled the comrades who had stood with him on the battlefield.
“The Necromancer King knows the true potential of heroes. So, in the current situation where everything is lacking, he will never choose an all-out war. But he won't stay still either. Now that one fragment of Erebus has been subjugated, he's the one who's taken the biggest hit.”
“In that case…”
“He will delve even deeper into the world's shadows. Schemes and manipulations are his specialty, after all.”
The fact that Tartarus plundered the lands of countless powerful races was precisely the achievement of the Necromancer King.
The Necromancer King offered those plundered lands as fuel to Erebus.
“Even now, with the power of his authority weakened by Erebus's seal, his dominion remains threatening.”
The Necromancer King's dominion over the dead.
“We don't know how he might have developed his dominion over the past 5000 years. Furthermore,”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“The revival of yet another fragment of Erebus means that it wouldn't be strange for other fragments to revive at any time.”
It took 2000 years for the first fragment to revive, and another 3000 years passed before a fragment revived again.
The revival of the next fragment could take thousands of years.
However…
“It might not be long until then. If such a situation occurs, we must subjugate him before Tartarus, just like this time.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And one more thing.”
Leo looked down at his palm and said,
“I need to find their pages.”
Mel immediately understood what Leo meant by "pages."
“Of course, we're already looking for them. But I want you to put more effort into it. Preferably, the pages of the final chapter.”
“If Tartarus finds out, they'll move even more overtly, won't they?”
“Then it's rather welcome.”
Leo clenched his fist.
“If they move on a large scale, they're bound to leave traces. We'll concentrate our forces wherever they stir things up. For that, they'll come out with all-out war.”
For Tartarus, the appearance of the great hero who disappeared 5000 years ago in the present world is a complete disaster.
“Now that my identity is known and our hand has been revealed, there's no need to hold back anymore.”
Leo's red eyes flashed.
“From now on, the Necromancer King hunt officially begins.”