Book 1 Chapter 555

555.

Zereon.

A family known as one of the three great noble houses of Rumerun, along with Ligaard and Tursia.

3000 years ago, during the advent of the calamity, three heroes who, along with Rumerun, the Knight of Twilight, subjugated countless demons, were their progenitors.

Zereon, the Sage of Twilight, was Rumerun's advisor.

Ligaard, the Sword of Twilight, always took the lead on the front lines, slaughtering enemies, and Tursia, the Shield of Twilight, was Rumerun's guardian shield.

Later, after Rumerun built Rumeria City and founded Rumerun Academy,

His close confidantes, Zereon, Ligaard, and Tursia, also took on their respective duties.

Zereon became the chairman of Rumerun Academy.

Ligaard became the mayor of Rumeria City.

Tursia became the captain of the Knights led by Rumerun.

The three families carried on Rumerun's legacy, and all three families are based in Rumeria City.

And to the east of Rumeria City.

Not far away was the home of the Zereon family.

Squeak-!

The carriage pulled by griffins opened.

The family members who were waiting for Zereon's next master paused when they saw the white-haired boy stepping out of the carriage.

A moment later.

The Zereon family members easily recognized his identity.

'White hair and red eyes?'

'Is that Leo Flob?'

As many eyes turned to Leo.

Leo reached out his hand towards the carriage.

And a white hand from inside the carriage took Leo's hand.

Elena, who had gently stepped down to the ground holding Leo's hand, smiled brightly.

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

"That's because there's someone who emphasizes etiquette to a tedious degree."

"Your parents?"

"No, it's Celia."

Although he was the heir to the Flob family, he was recognized as a direct descendant by his maternal family, Zerdinger.

Being a direct descendant in Zerdinger doesn't just mean having the name.

Zerdinger has a long history, so it has a vast territory and a large number of people.

Leo had already been given five knight cadets.

All of those knights, named Slayers, were also first-year students at Rumerun.

In addition to that, he would soon receive territory.

'Got it? A direct descendant is, quite literally, 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! Understand?'

Leo chuckled, recalling Celia's nagging.

"Come to think of it, Senior Liss was your cousin, wasn't she?"

Elena gently twisted her hair and walked forward towards the family members.

"A distinguished guest has visited the family today. He is also Zereon's benefactor, so there must be no flaws in how he is treated."

"Yes! Young Miss!"

"Lord Flob, I will show you to your room."

"Do you have any luggage?"

"I'll take care of guiding young Leo, so everyone please prepare dinner. Let's go, young Leo."

Elena led the way into the mansion.

Leo followed behind her.

The Zereon family's mansion was enormous.

It certainly felt old, but the architectural style felt a bit haphazard.

"Has it been extended over thousands of years?"

"That's right. The Zereon family's motto is change."

"Hmm."

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

"No."

"You're quite proud of that, aren't you?"

Families with high global prestige usually have a globally famous family history.

Among them, Zereon is not just a family that serves as the chairman of Rumerun Academy.

It is literally a family of mages that made a significant mark on the history of magic.

Not knowing the history of such a family should have been offensive, but Elena showed no such sign.

"Because our family designed and disseminated the basic theory of 'Heroic Magic'. We must always embrace change."

[Heroic Magic.]

Mage heroes each have their own 'unique' magic, which can be called their symbol.

In Luna's case, it's star magic, and in Leo's case, it's the Bible.

In the case of original unique magic, it was more common for it to be passed down through bloodline or knowledge, or not to be passed down at all.

Another method was through conquest rewards obtained by conquering the Hero's World.

The magic that was passed down through the Hero's World and made accessible for anyone to learn was Heroic Magic, and the Zereon family was the one that proposed the original system for its spell structure.

"Hmm, I see."

"Yes. Well, young Leo probably doesn't need to learn Heroic Magic."

Elena smiled faintly.

That was true.

Leo's unique magic, the Bible.

It's a magic spell system that allows any magic to be used without penalty,

that is, in its original state, through Leo's unique magic system.

"The Bible isn't omnipotent either."

"That's right. Because magic also has a capacity."

A mage is a vessel that holds magic.

Even with the Bible, magic that exceeds one's vessel cannot be used.

"It's impossible to use magic like Chloe's Ice World, Abad's Tempest, or Chelsea's Heatwave, all from the same grade."

Elena stopped at the front of a room.

"Still, I think they're similar. The magic our family has ultimately pursued and your magic, I mean."

"Ultimately pursued?"

"You can sleep here tonight, young Leo."

When the door opened, a spacious and luxurious room came into view.

"Rest until dinner."

Elena smiled gently and left the room.

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

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

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

The owner of the portrait, Rumerun, had a resolute expression.

Looking at Rumerun, Leo recalled his conversation with Lian.

***

"Overcome your limits. That was the educational philosophy the Knight of Twilight, Rumerun, adopted when he founded the academy."

Lian took out a sculpture of Rumerun made of gemstones from her bosom and placed it on the desk.

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

Lian said, gently rolling the head of the Rumerun sculpture with her finger.

"A message to never become like him."

"That's strange."

Leo muttered with an expression of incomprehension.

"I haven't met Azonia and Damian. But Rodia and Seirun were guys who constantly challenged their limits."

The Heroes of Genesis certainly failed to subjugate the Erebus fragment.

But despite feeling endless despair, they believed in future generations and willingly chose to sacrifice themselves.

That alone showed that the Heroes of Genesis were those who never gave up.

Just as they had done 5000 years ago.

To confine themselves within eternally repeating time?

'They committed something that even we wouldn't dare to do.'

Leo couldn't accept the fact that one of those Heroes of Genesis had been pessimistic about himself.

"Do the lessons left by the others also carry the same meaning?"

Lian shook her head at Leo's question.

"The individual educational philosophies left by the other Heroes of Genesis were all their ideal selves that they pursued."

Lian took out dolls of the Heroes of Genesis and the Great Heroes one by one from her bosom.

"Seirun admired Luna's unwavering belief in herself. So, she wanted the children who would carry on her will to have a strong belief in themselves."

Seirun's doll was placed behind Luna's.

"Azonia truly and sincerely envied Arion's courage to advance without retreating, even while terrified. So, she wanted to learn Arion's courage."

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

"Damian admired Dwyno's insight in finding possibilities even in desperate situations. So, he wanted to become like that himself."

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

But what differentiated him from Kyle was that he believed in possibilities.

Luna's… Arion's… Lysinas's… and even Kyle's possibilities, which Kyle himself had denied.

Dwyno's perspective was fundamentally different from Lysinas, who held the foolish belief that there was still hope, and Luna, who had an unwavering belief in herself, and Arion, who possessed the courage to overcome fear and move forward.

Lian, who placed Damian behind Dwyno, took out Lysinas and Rodia.

"Rodia didn't leave any words, but he was moved by Lysinas's willingness to bear the world."

Lian smiled faintly.

"Each of them sincerely wanted to become like the Great Hero they admired. They genuinely rejoiced in the fact that they could follow in their footsteps, even a little, by claiming to be their successors."

"Is Rumerun different?"

"Rumerun also respected Leo-nim as much as the other four. Leo-nim's unyielding spirit was Rumerun's ideal itself."

Lian tapped Rumerun's doll, which was behind Kyle's doll, with her finger.

"Following Leo-nim, Rumerun succeeded in defeating Erebus. And he repelled Erebus many times when he showed signs of revival."

Even then, Rumerun did not give up.

Just as Kyle, whom he admired, had done.

"But at some point, Rumerun realized something."

"What?"

"That while his comrades were becoming like other Great Heroes, he wasn't at all."

By conquering the world of the Great Heroes, the Heroes of Genesis inherited the power of their predecessors.

But Rumerun could not.

"Rumerun conquered Leo-nim's world many times, but he couldn't obtain conquest rewards."

"Why couldn't he get anything?"

"Because Leo-nim's power is not a power that can be inherited as a conquest reward."

"Indeed."

A power that holds infinite possibilities.

The pure mana, which even the gods praised as special, must be a power that others cannot inherit.

"But just because he couldn't inherit my power doesn't mean he couldn't do his part, does it?"

"No. Rumerun was by no means weaker compared to the other Heroes of Genesis. He just came to realize something."

"What?"

"That he could not play the role of the Hero of Beginnings."

"…"

Rodia and Seirun, Azonia and Damian could replace Lysinas and Luna, Arion, Dwyno.

But Rumerun could not.

"Rumerun thought he had to acquire the power to subjugate Erebus. That's when he became obsessed with Leo-nim's swordsmanship and magic."

Leo recalled the Rumerun doll Lian had made earlier.

Swordsmanship that was completely identical to his own.

"Rumerun tried to become like you, even though he knew it was impossible."

Lian tapped Rumerun's gemstone doll.

The fallen gemstone doll clattered! and shattered into pieces.

"Wanting to be something and actually becoming it are different. By clinging to what he couldn't be, Rumerun lost possibilities."

Lian let out a deep sigh.

"Ultimately, he hit a wall and collapsed. In the end, he even gave up on becoming like you. That's when he came to me, in the center of the world."

Afterward, Rumerun obtained the wisdom to stop Erebus from Lian and trapped Erebus within the Hero's World with the Heroes of Genesis.

"If the Great Heroes whom they admired were hope for the other Heroes of Genesis… for Rumerun, Leo-nim was despair."