Book 1 Chapter 47

[47]46

"Are you supporting me?"

"Yes."

Leo, who briefly answered the brown-haired girl's question, kicked off the ground.

And he charged at the nearest demon.

The demon hastily spread its palms towards Leo.

Woong! - Puga-ga-ga-ga-gak-!

A black summoning circle appeared in front of Leo, and from within it, blood-red leeches the size of a human head poured out.

"Ah! It's dangerous!"

The girl shouted urgently.

'Gorgoroth Leeches.'

They were a type of demonic beast that attached to the body and sucked blood, making them disadvantageous for knights who fought at close range.

And if they were carelessly cut down, their acidic blood would spill.

'Normally, they would be difficult to deal with. Normally, that is.'

Hwa-reureuk-!

A fierce flame aura erupted from Leo's sword.

Jerdinger's flames instantly turned the Gorgoroth Leeches into ashes.

The girl, who had warned of the danger, was amazed.

"I-Incredible!"

'Judging by their use of Gorgoroth Leeches, they don't seem to be of very high rank.'

For demons, their rank could be discerned by the techniques they used.

The current demonic beasts were those frequently used by low-ranking soldiers.

'There's no great danger. It's better to attack quickly now.'

Leo, having quickly analyzed the situation in his mind, closed the distance without delay.

Seogeok-!

The demon magic caster's head flew off.

"You took down two people in an instant!"

The brown-haired girl clenched her fists tightly.

Woong-!

At that moment, Chloe, who was in the sky, also completed her magic.

"Ice Bullet."

A barrage of ice bullets poured towards the demons.

Pababa-ba-bat-!

The demons, who desperately dodged the hail of ice bullets, had their formation disrupted as a result.

"Alright! I'm going too!"

This time, a male student who had been confronting them gripped his spear tighter and charged.

"Haaap!"

Kwa-deuk!

"Keo-heok!"

The demon, whose chest was pierced, disappeared into ash.

'Skilled.'

Admiring the sight, Leo turned his gaze towards the brown-haired girl.

She was holding her hands together, chanting a spell.

Jiing-!

As she separated her hands, several small orbs of light were created.

"Akrei!"

Kigigigig-!

As the magic was completed, the orbs of light poured towards the demons, drawing wild trajectories in all directions.

Leo, grasping the nature of the magic, was impressed.

'Star Magic.'

Leo, with his memories of a past life, and the first-year student were completely different.

'Amazing magical sense.'

While Leo was amazed, one of the demons hit directly by the orbs of light was ripped apart without a trace.

The remaining number of demons was six.

The demons, having lost their comrades, began to reform their formation.

'Demon soldiers are weak, but their coordination is good.'

Although their formation was broken by an ambush at the beginning, it would be difficult to deal with if they reformed their formation like that.

Leo took out four daggers he had prepared as spare weapons from his pocket and held them in his right hand.

Then he charged towards the demons.

"Foolish one."

The demons sneered at Leo, who attacked recklessly without preparation.

Woong-!

However, their expressions changed drastically the moment a magic circle appeared on Leo's right hand.

"A Sword Mage!"

While the demons were wary, Leo threw the daggers he held in his hand.

The demons who dodged the daggers prepared for magical attacks.

However, when there was no sign of magic being cast, they immediately switched to offense.

"Was it a bluff?"

"Using shallow tricks."

The four leading demons surrounded Leo as if to trap him.

But their agile movements suddenly stopped as if caught by something.

"No?"

The demons hurriedly looked behind them.

The daggers Leo threw were precisely stuck in their shadows.

It was Shadow Hold, a magic that binds shadows.

Dark element magic is halved in power against demons.

In fact, the magic was immediately dispelled the moment the demons perceived it.

But that brief moment was enough time for Leo.

Hwa-reureuk-! Kkwa-k! Kwad-deuk! Pu-hwak!

"Kya-ak?!"

"Keo-heok!"

Leo's sword, drawing a fiery trajectory, cut down the demons.

Shu-ak-!

At that moment, black blades shot up from the ground and attacked Leo.

It was dark magic used by the demons from the rear.

Runes flowed out of Leo's mouth in an instant.

Then the dark magic lost its power and scattered.

"Dispelling dark magic?"

The brown-haired girl was surprised.

Kwaga-ga-ga-gak-!

A chilling ice wind swept over the defenseless demons.

Jjeojeo-jeok-!

Leo approached the frozen demons and pushed them lightly.

Chaeng-gra-ng-!

The demons' bodies, which shattered like breaking glass, disappeared into ashes.

"Excellent, Chloe."

"…"

"Why? Do you have something to say?"

"Why did you use dark element magic on the demons?"

"Ah, that?"

Leo smiled as if it were nothing.

"Demons hardly prepare for dark element magic. So even simple magic can catch them off guard."

"Why didn't you dodge the dark magic and dispel it? It could have been dangerous if you made a mistake."

"That's true. But it's safer to dispel that level of dark magic than to dodge it. Even though dark magic has a different magic system, it's ultimately made of incantations. Simple dark magic can be dispelled quickly. It's a skill you can do too."

'Being able to do that quickly in practice is another story!'

For Leo, who had fought demons to his heart's content in his past life, these were things as natural as breathing, but for a 15-year-old girl, it was overwhelming experience that she could never attain.

'How many steps ahead did you predict and move?'

It was when Chloe's eyes flickered.

"Thank you for your help!"

The brown-haired girl said with a cheerful laugh.

"You're the rescue team, right?"

"Yes."

"I was worried about the sudden appearance of demons, but I'm relieved that the rescue team has arrived!"

Chloe's face hardened as she looked at the smiling girl.

Chloe said urgently,

"Excuse me, but I'd like to talk to my companion for a moment."

"Yes? Ah, yes."

At Chloe's words, the girl, flustered, returned to where her team members were.

"What's wrong?"

"That girl, she's Alia Zerone!"

"Alia Zerone, you don't mean…?"

"Yes, that's right."

The Hero's World was a past event.

However, depending on how the players acted, different results from actual history could be created.

During the incident 30 years ago, several first-year parties were deployed to subjugate monsters.

The first-year mid-term exam assignment was to rescue those parties.

"As you know, Alia Zerone's party…"

Chloe swallowed dryly.

"In the Chedemordus incident, it's a party that absolutely cannot be saved."

***

"To think we met Alia's party."

Chloe stomped her foot.

There was an absolute reason why Alia's party could not avoid annihilation.

"Dark Warrior Chuvarn. He never changes his target."

Chuvarn.

He was a demon who single-handedly annihilated four out of seven parties assigned during the incident 30 years ago, before being subjugated by Albi.

The first party Chuvarn targeted was Alia's party.

'More precisely, he was targeting Alia Zerone.'

Chloe glanced at Alia, who was talking with her friends.

Alia Zerone.

She was a direct descendant of the Zerone family, one of Lumaria's three great hero families, and the class representative at the time.

And she was also the younger sister of Albi, the mage with the Magic Eye.

Thanks to her outstanding talent, she was still occasionally mentioned among professors even after 30 years.

However, that outstanding talent ended up taking her life.

The reason for the Chedemordus incident in Tartarus was to eliminate the seed of a future hero.

Therefore, Alia Zerone became the first target.

This was why Alia's party could not avoid annihilation.

Regardless of the circumstances, when the Hero's World began, Chuvarn would always annihilate Alia's party first.

"Do you remember what our homeroom teacher said when the exam assignment was announced?"

At Chloe's words, Leo recalled Halind's words.

'With your current skills, you cannot defeat a Knight-class demon. If you encounter Chuvarn, flee unconditionally. If fleeing is not feasible, abandon the exam. Then, we will consider it favorably. If there is any idiot who disobeys this order and fights…'

In the end, Halind warned with genuine killing intent.

'Whoever it is, I will expel them immediately.'

"With our current strength, we cannot possibly win against such an opponent."

"Are you saying we should leave them?"

"I feel uneasy too! But Leo! Now is the time to think coolly. This is the Hero's World, and in reality, those people…"

Hesitating, Chloe opened her mouth.

"Those people died. We are not in a position to help the dead right now."

"That's true. But Chloe."

"Leo! Snap out of it! Yes! You're amazing! You're so good! I admit it!"

Leo's eyes widened at the sudden shout.

Chloe glared at Leo with all her might and said,

"But now is not the time for recklessness! So listen to me! You can play the hero later…!"

Chloe, shouting as if frustrated, stopped speaking.

Before she knew it, Leo's index finger was touching Chloe's lips.

"You shouldn't say things like that carelessly, Chloe."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Things like playing the hero, you shouldn't say them."

"Why?"

"Because you are a hero candidate."

Chloe took a breath.

"You came to Lumern dreaming of becoming a hero, right? So this is not playing the hero."

Leo smiled faintly.

"It's the process of becoming a hero."

It was as Leo said.

A hero is someone who makes the impossible possible.

But at some point, he had forgotten that goal.

'I was so busy trying to keep up… I didn't have time to think about things like that.'

Dark emotions burned in his heart.

"And history has already diverged."

"What?"

"It means there's a way to save them, who were absolutely unsavable."

"A way to save them?"

"Think about it, Chloe. The sun is already setting. Isn't that strange?"

"The sun is setting? Ah!"

Chloe's eyes widened as she realized something.

"That's right. Originally, Alia's party should have already been taken down by Chuvarn."

The gears of history were already out of sync.

"We've already been in the Hero's World for 3 hours. If Chuvarn attacked other parties, it would be enough time to annihilate them all."

If the condition for clearing the Hero Dungeon is not met, you are isolated in the Hero's World.

It was a crossroads of choice.

The option to escape the forest with Alia's party, who had deviated from Chuvarn's target, and achieve the [Safety Guarantee] condition.

Or the option to search for other parties following the original clearing route.

Chloe, torn, gritted her teeth.

"I'll leave it up to your judgment."

"Understood."

Leo looked at Alia's party.

"Let's escape with Alia's party."

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