Book 1 Chapter 464

464.

After lunchtime.

The second-year students headed to the circular lecture hall for a special class on hero studies.

There, Leo rested his chin in his hand.

‘Why are heroes' tombs being desecrated?’

The request he had seen on the bulletin board during lunchtime.

‘The very fact that it was posted on the plaza's request board means Lumern doesn't consider it a big deal.’

It was a request largely neglected even at the school level.

It was originally a board frequently used by students who were short on quest credit points, which are available from third year, to urgently earn credits.

Most of the cases were generally low in risk and importance.

‘It had been a neglected request for quite some time.’

For requests that remain unresolved even when Lumern students are dispatched, or long-term uncompleted requests, the school conducts its own investigation.

And if anything special is found, they immediately raise the request's rank.

However, there are also cases where they are simply neglected.

Requests that aren't difficult but lack a clue for resolution are ignored by students.

Occasionally, they are solved by eccentric students who enjoy mysteries, but most students turn away from time-consuming requests.

‘Most of the desecrated heroes' tombs belonged to heroes long forgotten.’

Heroes who achieved great deeds during their lives are praised by future generations.

Heroes are remembered by people who owe them gratitude.

But those who received favor from a hero do not live forever.

With time, even heroes are forgotten.

Even more so in this era, where the Hero Records have been destroyed.

‘Old heroes of the past are forgotten. Even I was forgotten to that extent.’

The tombs of such heroes were desecrated.

A meaningless act.

‘A hero's legacy isn't found in a tomb.’

A hero's keepsake is the key to opening the Hero Records, so it's never carelessly left unattended.

Therefore, there's no benefit in desecrating a hero's tomb.

‘One might consider it the act of a madman.’

But Leo knew of a kind of being that revives the dead to use them as subordinates.

‘Necromancers.’

Unholy beings who follow the Lich King.

‘But reviving someone who possessed immense power in life would be a great risk for them, wouldn't it? Moreover, reviving and controlling a hero-class individual would be impossible with the Lich King's current authority, wouldn't it?’

If it were back when Erebus was whole, perhaps.

With the current Lich King's power, it is impossible to revive a deceased person who attained the status of a hero and make them a subordinate.

‘What if the one who desecrated the tombs was really that Hell Kaiser fellow? Did he develop his abilities on his own? Or did he figure out how to use the power of Erebus's fragments?’

Leo's expression grew even more serious.

Meanwhile, the class began.

"Since when has the concept of a hero, as we know it, existed?"

Mel, who had written the question 'What is a Hero?' on the blackboard, turned around.

"Does any student want to answer?"

In response, students raised their hands.

Mel, who was smiling softly at the students eagerly raising their hands, pointed to one student.

"Student Rosetti, please answer."

At Mel's words, a second-year student stood up and answered.

"The concept of a hero, as we know it, originated 5,000 years ago, after the end of the Age of Calamity."

"Hoo-hoo, that's correct in a broad sense."

Mel took a cookie from a cookie box next to the lecture desk and gave it to the student.

"Ohh."

The student exclaimed in awe and ate the cookie to check its contents.

"I suddenly wonder. Why does Professor Mel give random rewards for class participation?"

As Illiana mumbled softly with a puzzled expression, Chloe replied.

"According to research, sometimes random rewards can increase efficiency."

"I read that too. No matter how good the reward, people quickly get tired of it, but adding the 'random' stimulus increases interest, right?"

"That's right."

Chloe nodded at Chen Xia's words.

"Where on earth do you find and read such books?"

While Illiana looked amazed, Mel's questions continued.

"Does any student want to answer in more detail? Yes, Student Eliza."

"The current concept of a hero, as we know it, emerged 3,000 years ago, after the Age of Genesis. These are heroes who were able to inherit the powers of 'predecessor' heroes through the Hero Records."

"Perfect!"

"Oh!"

"Excellent, delinquent student~!"

Exclamations burst out from various places.

As Eliza glared at the joking students, they avoided her gaze.

Mel, smiling faintly at the sight, said.

"As Student Eliza said, 3,000 years ago, before the Age of Genesis, it was an era when the existence of a world of heroes was unknown. Therefore, it was an era with far fewer heroes than the present. After the Genesis, the number of heroes who registered their names in the Hero Records began to increase exponentially. That's why the era from then on is called the Age of Heroes in the true sense."

"Ohh."

"Indeed, it seems we don't know much about the Age of Early Heroes before the Age of Genesis."

"There aren't many records of heroes from that era, either."

While the students were exclaiming.

Mel clapped his hands and said.

"Alright, shall we read from the textbook then? Hmm~ who should it be… Student Kal?"

"Yes, what?!"

Kal startled and sprang up from his seat.

Kal's flustered voice echoed through the circular lecture hall.

"Could you please read page 372 of <The Lives and Deaths of Heroes>, the part about 'Heroes of the Past and Heroes of the Present'?"

"Yes, y-yes! So…"

*Thud! Clatter!*

"Gah?!"

"Take your time."

Kal, flustered, dropped his writing implements as he held his textbook.

Giggles could be heard from here and there.

Abad, sitting at the very front of Noble Dorm, wore a puzzled expression.

"Why is Kal acting like that?"

"Hmph, looks like he dozed off or something."

Duran snorted.

Eliza, who was filing her nails in the back row, said dismissively.

"That's not like you, always so smooth. And nervous, no less."

Hearing that, Kal yelled inwardly.

‘How can you guys not be nervous with a Dragon Lord right in front of you?’

During the last Erebus subjugation.

Chelsea and Kal accidentally discovered that Mel was a Dragon Lord.

Of course, neither Chelsea nor Kal had any intention of spreading that fact around.

However, they were separately summoned by Mel before class today.

‘I know you two students won't spread rumors about my identity, but please be careful nonetheless.’

Watching Mel wink playfully while smiling, Kal asked, feigning nonchalance as usual.

‘What if a rumor gets out by mistake?’

At that question, Mel, who was pondering with his index finger on his lips, smiled brightly and said.

‘Then I'll punish you.’

The "punishment" Mel spoke of was a light one, like having them stand with their hands up in his office.

But for Kal, who was unaware of that fact, the words "I'll punish you" from the Dragon Lord, who held the most powerful authority in the world, could only be a source of terror.

Mel realized from Kal's reaction that he had misunderstood something, but found it amusing and decided to leave it be.

"That idiot."

Chelsea covered her face and shook her head.

Meanwhile, Kal opened his textbook, took a deep breath, and began to read.

"Heroes after the Age of Genesis can be considered, in a sense, the successors of the Heroes of Genesis. If so, whose successors are those who became heroes during the 2,000 years between the end of the Age of Calamity and the beginning of the Age of Genesis?"

Kal's voice, clearly reading from the textbook, resonated.

"…The heroes of the Age of Early Heroes earned their names in the Hero Records through their own strength. Heroes of the current era use countless hero skills. However, I believe it cannot be asserted that later heroes surpass early heroes."

When Kal finished reading that section and looked at Mel, Mel nodded.

Kal, relieved, sat down.

"Which hero from which era was stronger? This is an interesting topic for discussion. However, it's common for this topic, when raised at an academic conference, to escalate beyond discussions and heated arguments, even leading to duels."

"Seriously, do fistfights break out at academic conferences?"

The students reacted with disbelief.

"Fistfights are child's play. It's often that sword fights break out."

While the students fell silent at the scholars' unimaginable belligerence, Mel continued the class.

"The author of <The Lives and Deaths of Heroes> claims that the heroes of the early era were as strong as the heroes of the later era, but this is actually a minority opinion in academia. What do you think, Student Kal?"

"I believe the author is a hundred times correct."

As Kal quickly answered, Eliza, who was behind him filing her nails, spoke.

"I'm not disrespecting the early heroes, but I can't agree with that claim. I think it's natural for modern heroes, who inherit the powers of countless heroes, to be stronger than past heroes?"

"I think so too."

"If we're talking about early era heroes, who are some famous ones?"

The students began to discuss.

"Then, the early and later eras. Shall we compare the two most famous heroes?"

Watching the students converse, Mel wrote two names on the blackboard.

The students fell silent at the names of the two heroes who boasted the greatest recognition in the world.

One, called one of the Three Great Elven Sages, and the other, one of the Heroes of Genesis.

Even comparing these two was a controversial matter.

"These two are regarded as the strongest magic swordsmen not only in their respective eras but throughout the entire history of the Age of Heroes. Furthermore, Lord Berkhia was a disciple of a Great Hero, and Lord Lumern inherited the power of a Great Hero. Apart from their races, they surprisingly share many commonalities."

Mel smiled faintly.

"Alright, who among these two do you think is stronger?"

"Still, wouldn't Lord Lumern, who fought against Erebus, be stronger?"

"There aren't many records left of Lord Berkhia, are there?"

The atmosphere was such that all the students seemed to favor Berkhia.

Chen Xia, who was watching this, asked Leo.

"What do you think, Young Master Leo?"

"Well…"

Leo, momentarily stepping away from his thoughts about the Lich King, crossed his arms and pondered.

Leo had met Seirun and Rodia.

‘Both of them were heroes with overwhelming power.’

The Heroes of Genesis were not defeated by Erebus's fragments.

‘The fragments sealed by the Heroes of Genesis were far more powerful than the fragment that was revived this time. The Heroes of Genesis completely defeated those fragments.’

The only reason the Heroes of Genesis failed to subjugate Erebus's fragments was because of Erebus's immortality.

Erebus, endlessly resurrecting and burning.

They only failed in their subjugation because there was no one like the Hero of the Beginning, who possessed the pure mana characteristic that could break Erebus's immortality.

Leo, who was gauging the strength of Seirun and Rodia, remembered his disciple before he embarked on his last expedition.

‘Seirun and Rodia's power was a cut above Berkhia, as I last remembered him. As fellow Heroes of Genesis, Lumern's power wouldn't be significantly different compared to theirs. However.’

Leo, having organized his thoughts, opened his mouth.

"It would be difficult to determine who is superior."