Book 1 Chapter 555

555.

Zerone.

A family called one of the three great houses of Lumern, along with Rigard and Tursia.

Three heroes, who together with Lumern, the Knight of Twilight, subdued countless demons during the second coming of the disaster 3000 years ago, were their ancestors.

Zerone, the Sage of Twilight, was Lumern's advisor.

Rigard, the Sword of Twilight, always charged to the front lines and slaughtered enemies, and Tursia, the Shield of Twilight, was a shield that protected Lumern.

After Lumern built Lumerea City and founded Lumern Academy.

Zerone, Rigard, and Tursia, who were his confidants, were each assigned their own duties.

Zerone became the chairman of Lumern Academy.

Rigard became the mayor of Lumerea City.

Tursia became the commander of the knight order that Lumern led.

The three families inherited Lumern's will, and all three families are based in Lumerea City.

And to the east of Lumerea City.

Not far away was the stronghold of the Zerone family.

Creak-!

The carriage, led by griffins, opened.

The household members of the Zerone family, who were waiting for the next master of Zerone, paused upon seeing the white-haired boy descending from the carriage.

A moment later.

The household members of the Zerone family were able to easily discern his identity.

'White hair and red eyes?'

'It's Leo Flob.'

As many eyes turned to Leo,

Leo reached out his hand towards the carriage.

And a white hand emerged from the carriage and clasped Leo's hand.

Elena, who gently descended to the ground holding Leo's hand, smiled brightly.

"The escort is thorough, isn't it?"

"There's someone who emphasizes etiquette to the point of being sickening."

"Your parents?"

"No, Celia."

Although he was the heir of the Flob family, he was also directly recognized by his maternal family, the Zerdingers.

In Zerdinger, being direct line doesn't just mean having a name.

As Zerdinger has a long history, it also has vast territories and a large population.

Leo had already been assigned five knight candidates.

Those knights, named Slayers, were all first-year students at Lumern.

In addition, they would soon receive territory.

'You understand, right? Being direct line means being a proud member of the family! A member! I know you have a free-spirited personality, but you can't help but pay attention to people's gazes! Understood?'

Recalling Celia's nagging, Leo chuckled.

"Speaking of which, Senior Lis was your cousin, wasn't he?"

Elena gently twisted her hair and walked towards the household members.

"We have a distinguished guest visiting the family today. They are also a benefactor of Zerone, so there should be no flaws in how we treat them."

"Yes! Young lady!"

"Mr. Flob, I will guide you to your room."

"Do you have any luggage?"

"I will take care of Leo's escort, so you all prepare the meal. Let's go, Leo."

Elena led the way into the mansion.

Leo followed behind her.

The Zerone family mansion was enormous.

It certainly felt old, but the architectural style felt somewhat haphazard.

"Has it been expanded for thousands of years?"

"That's right. The motto of the Zerone family is change."

"Hmm."

"You don't really know our family history, do you?"

"Yes."

"You're quite confident, aren't you?"

Globally renowned families usually have globally famous family histories.

Among them, Zerone is not just a family that chairs Lumern Academy.

It is literally a family of mages who have left a mark on the history of magic.

Not knowing the history of such a family might be offensive, but Elena did not show any such indication.

"Our family designed and disseminated the basic theories of 'Heroic Magic.' We must always embrace change."

[Heroic Magic.]

Mage heroes have their own 'unique' magic that can be considered their symbol.

For Luna, it is the magic of stars, and for Leo, it is the Bible.

Original unique magic is often passed down through bloodline or knowledge, or it may not be passed down at all.

Another method is a reward obtained through conquering the hero's world.

Heroic magic is the magic that allows anyone to learn the magic passed down through the hero's world, and the Zerone family provided the origin of that spell system.

"Hmm, I see."

"Yes. Well, you don't need to learn Heroic Magic, Leo."

Elena smiled.

That was indeed the case.

Leo's unique magic, the Bible.

It is a magic spell system that allows him to use any magic without penalty, in its original state, through his unique magic system.

"The Bible isn't omnipotent either."

"That would be the case. Magic also has capacity."

Mages are vessels for magic.

Even with the Bible, magic beyond one's capacity cannot be used.

"It is impossible to use magic like Chloe's Ice World, Abad's Tempest, or Chelsea's Hot Wind, which are used by students in the same grade."

Elena stopped in front of the room.

"Still, I think it's similar. The magic our family has ultimately pursued and your magic."

"Ultimately pursued?"

"You can stay here tonight, Leo."

Upon opening the door, a spacious and luxurious room came into view.

"Rest until dinner."

Elena smiled brightly and left the room.

After Elena left, Leo entered the room and sat on the sofa.

Then, he noticed a portrait hanging on one side of the room and spoke.

"It seems the magic that the Zerone family pursued is the same as the magic you have pursued."

Lumern, the owner of the portrait, had a determined expression.

Looking at Lumern, Leo recalled his conversation with Rian.

***

"Overcome your limits. That was the educational philosophy of the school that Lumern, the Knight of Twilight, established when he founded the academy."

Rian took out a jewel-made statue of Lumern from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

"That was also a message he conveyed to future generations."

Rian said, gently stroking the head of the Lumern statue with his finger.

"A message to never become like him."

"That's strange."

Leo muttered with a look of incomprehension.

"I haven't met Azonia or Demian. However, Rodia and Seirun were guys who constantly challenged their limits."

Clearly, the heroes of the genesis failed to subdue the carved Erebus.

However, despite feeling endless despair, they chose to sacrifice themselves willingly, believing in future generations.

That alone shows that the heroes of genesis were never ones to give up.

Just as they did 5,000 years ago.

Confining themselves in eternally repeating time?

'They did something that even we wouldn't dare to attempt.'

Leo couldn't comprehend the fact that one of those heroes of genesis despaired about himself.

"Do the lessons left by the other guys also contain that meaning?"

In response to Leo's question, Rian shook his head.

"Each of the educational philosophies left by the other heroes of genesis was the ideal state they pursued."

Rian took out dolls of the heroes of genesis and the great heroes one by one from his pocket.

"Seirun admired Luna's unwavering belief in herself. Therefore, he wanted the children who would inherit his will to have strong self-belief."

Seirun's doll was placed behind Luna's.

"Azonia truly envied Aron's courage to advance without backing down, even in the face of fear. Therefore, he wanted to learn that courage."

Azonia's doll was placed behind Aron's doll.

"Demian was impressed by Dwenno's insight to find possibilities even in desperate situations. Therefore, he wanted to become like him."

Dwenno was someone who thought the world was as hopeless as Leo did.

However, unlike Kyle, he believed in possibilities.

The possibilities of Luna… Aron… Lisinas… and even Kyle, whom he himself had denied.

Dwenno's gaze was filled with the foolish belief that there was still hope, a belief held by Lisinas, and the unwavering self-belief of Luna.

Fundamentally different from Aron, who had the courage to advance by overcoming fear.

Rian, placing Demian behind Dwenno, took out Lisinas and Rodia.

"Rodia did not leave any words, but she was moved by the sight of Lisinas carrying the weight of the world."

Rian smiled.

"They genuinely wished to become like the great heroes they admired. They genuinely rejoiced at the thought of being able to follow in their footsteps, even a little, by claiming to be their successors."

"Is Lumern different?"

"Lumern also respected Leo as much as those four. Leo's unyielding spirit was Lumern's ideal itself."

Rian gestured with his finger at Lumern's doll behind Kyle's doll.

"Following Leo's path, Lumern succeeded in defeating Erebus. And he repeatedly defeated Erebus, which showed signs of revival."

Even then, Lumern did not give up.

Just as Kyle, whom he admired, had done.

"But Lumern realized at some point."

"Realized what?"

"That while his comrades were becoming like other great heroes, he himself was not at all."

As they conquered the worlds of the great heroes, the heroes of genesis inherited the power of their predecessors.

However, Lumern could not.

"Lumern conquered Leo's world many times, but he could not obtain any conquest rewards."

"Why couldn't he obtain anything?"

"Because Leo's power is not a power that can be inherited through conquest rewards."

"Indeed."

A power filled with infinite possibilities.

Pure mana, which even gods praise as special, is likely a power that cannot be inherited by others.

"But not being able to inherit my power doesn't mean he couldn't fulfill his own role."

"Yes. Lumern was by no means weak compared to other heroes of genesis. He simply became aware."

"Aware of what?"

"That he could not play the role of the hero of the beginning."

"……."

Rodia and Seirun, Azonia and Demian could replace Lisinas and Luna, Aron, and Dwenno.

However, Lumern could not.

"Lumern thought he had to obtain the power to defeat Erebus. It was then that he became fixated on Leo's swordsmanship and magic."

Leo recalled the Lumern doll that Rian had made before.

Swordsmanship exactly the same as his own swordsmanship.

"Lumern tried to become like you, even knowing it was impossible."

Rian tapped Lumern's jewel doll.

The fallen jewel doll shattered with a clang!

"Wishing to be something and becoming it are different. By clinging to something he could not become, Lumern lost his potential."

Rian let out a deep sigh.

"Eventually, he hit his limit and collapsed. In the end, he gave up on becoming like you. It was then that he sought me out, who am at the center of the world."

Afterward, Lumern gained the wisdom to stop Erebus from Rian and imprisoned Erebus within the worlds of the heroes of genesis and the heroes' world.

"If the great heroes they admired were hope for the other heroes of genesis… for Lumern, Leo was despair."