Book 1 Chapter 655

655.

"It's nice to meet you all. I am Ein Elando, in charge of the joint combat studies class."

Upon Ein's introduction, the first-year knight students reacted with excitement.

Ein Elando.

He is a knight known to be closest to a hero among the current Lumern professors.

He is only using his efforts as a professor to cultivate future generations.

In terms of skill, he was a true powerhouse, considered to surpass most knight heroes.

"I heard you were in charge of the third-year seniors!"

"To be able to take Ein Professor's class!"

The first-year knight students showed very excited reactions.

"It's good, but…"

"Isn't it only good for the knight students?"

Conversely, the first-year students from the magic and summoning departments showed disappointed expressions.

Seeing their reactions, Ein chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'm not the only one in charge of the joint combat studies class."

As he said that, the first-year students' eyes widened.

Two people walked in from the entrance of the training ground.

Upon seeing them, the third-year students showed surprised expressions.

"Professor Albí and Professor Artian?"

Albí Zerone, the wizard with the 'magic eyes'.

He was considered the strongest among the magic department professors, not only having reached the rank of hero but also having hunted countless demons.

"My goodness! I heard Professor Albí rarely teaches classes!"

"Is this a special lecture?!"

The magic department students' motivation soared.

On the other hand, the summoning department students looked puzzled.

"Did Professor Artian also have expertise in combat studies?"

These were the first-year students who had personally experienced Artian's fear during the entrance exam.

However, compared to Ein and Albí, there was doubt about their combat skills.

The second and third-year students felt the same doubt.

While they knew Artian's formidable reputation better than anyone, there were no famous battles in which Artian had participated.

Even Ranzo, a magic department professor who only cared about researching magic in his lab, had a famous achievement.

"Kal. Do you know anything about Professor Artian?"

Eliza asked with a puzzled look, and Kal shook his head.

"No. As far as I know, there isn't."

"Hmm?"

Eliza narrowed her eyes.

If Kal, who was well-informed about events not only in Lumern but also around the world, didn't know, it was safe to say that Artian had no notable battles.

As a Lumern professor, Artian was undoubtedly highly skilled, but it was uncertain how proficient she would be in combat, given her specialization in Hero Studies.

As all the professors for the joint combat studies class appeared, Celia raised her hand.

"What is it? Celia Zerdinger."

"I'm curious about what we'll be doing in the first class."

In response to the question, Ein said.

"The first thing we will do is form 'parties'."

At that, the entire student body's eyes widened.

"Parties?"

"Yes. As you may have seen in the morning announcements, the joint combat studies class is officially a regular class this semester."

It was as Ein said.

This was a newly established regular class for all first, second, and third-year students.

"Furthermore, the parties formed today will essentially be your classes."

"Does that mean the parties will be taking classes together?"

"Yes. Of course, as the grades differ, you won't be able to take mandatory and elective courses together. However, for classes taken by students of the same grade, you will be moving in parties."

It meant that the parties were, in essence, large joint classes.

Chloe raised her hand.

"How many parties will be formed?"

"Six."

At Ein's answer, Chloe fell into thought.

'There are 500 first-year students, 224 second-year students, and 163 third-year students. Roughly, each party will be close to 150 students, a large-scale party.'

"In addition, all mock battles in future joint combat studies classes will be conducted on a party basis. Commission practice will also be done by party."

"Will the first and second-year students follow the third-year students on commissions?"

In response to Duran's question, Ein shook his head.

"No. This applies only to commission practice."

Upon becoming third-year students, Lumern students have an obligation to resolve commissions that come to Lumern.

And commission practice and actual commissions are strictly different.

In the case of commission practice, Lumern selects and provides commissions that first and second-year students can also resolve.

Conversely, the difficulty of commissions varies greatly.

There are commissions easier than commission practice, but there are also commissions of immense difficulty.

The commission practice experienced in the first and second years was, in fact, a form of preparation for becoming a third-year student.

Chelsea, who had been listening and contemplating, raised her hand.

"Why is such large-scale combat requiring cooperation being envisioned?"

"Leo Flov will explain the reason. He's arriving now."

As Chelsea spoke, Albí, who had been quietly observing, said.

All eyes turned to Leo.

Chen Xia was walking beside Leo.

"Student Leo! Come here!"

Artian welcomed Leo with a bright smile.

Chen Xia then went and sat with the knight students, while Leo stood beside the professors.

"From now on, Student Leo will explain the reason for starting the joint combat studies class, beginning with the dormitory system."

With Artian's serious expression, the students watched Leo with a bit of tension.

"I learned that a major anomaly occurred in the Hero Record during the winter break."

"A major anomaly? Chelsea, Abad. You were with Leo? Do you know anything?"

Kal asked with a puzzled look, and Chelsea and Abad shook their heads.

"Celia, do you know anything?"

"This is the first I'm hearing of it."

Among the knight students, Chen Xia looked at Celia with a puzzled expression, and Celia shook her head with a flustered look.

"What is this anomaly?"

Luke raised his hand and asked cautiously, and Leo replied.

"I discovered the world of legions."

"The world of legions?"

"Could it be the legions from Tartarus?!"

"What on earth is that? Is it like a Tartarus version of the Hero Record, something like that?"

"Does that even make sense?"

Exclamations of shock erupted from various places.

It was when a commotion broke out among the students.

"Shhh."

A small voice echoed silently.

Everyone fell silent and looked towards where the voice came from.

There, Chen Xia put her right index finger to her lips, winked one eye, and said with a smile.

"The student council president hasn't finished speaking yet, has she? Everyone needs to concentrate, right?"

Startled by her words, the students refocused on Leo.

They remembered the sparring with Leo from earlier.

Seeing the students concentrating on him again, Leo said.

"As you might have guessed from the name, the world of legions is indeed the world of Tartarus heroes. Just as we inherit the power of past heroes through the hero world, it has been revealed that they, too, inherit the power of long-gone demons through the world of legions. Celia, Abad, the three of you saw it then, didn't you?"

"Ah…!"

"Hero hunters who gained the power of monsters?"

"So that's what it was."

At Leo's words, they recalled the hero hunters they had fought during the Hero Slayer incident.

Hero hunters who took on the form of monsters.

The three of them stiffened their faces, remembering their overwhelming power.

"Was Leo-oppa in the world of legions at that time?"

"Yes. The world I entered was Sylatuna's world."

"The Demon Queen?"

"No…!"

Two winters ago.

The 5000-year terror, which had miraculously appeared in Seirun and was subjugated by Kyle, the Hero of Origin, and Luna, the Progenitor of Constellations.

As the Demon Queen Sylatuna was mentioned, groans erupted from various places.

In that situation, Warden asked.

"Where was the setting?"

"It was the Age of Calamity, Luna's era."

"What was your role in that world?"

"I was a hindrance. I wasn't an authorized being in that world."

"Leo, you fought demons who invaded the hero world in Luna's world during your first year, didn't you?"

During the entrance practical training in the second semester of the first year.

Chloe asked with a serious expression, recalling the time Leo entered Luna's world.

"Are you saying you were in the same situation as those demons?"

"Yes."

Nodding, Leo said with a solemn expression.

"The world of legions itself probably won't occur very often. If it were something that could be created easily, the balance of power between this world and Tartarus would have been broken. However, that doesn't mean we can dismiss it as if it's nothing."

The hero world saved the world.

Just as that happened, there's no reason why the world of legions couldn't lead to the world's destruction.

"The fight against Tartarus will become more intense depending on whether we fail to conquer the world of legions or Tartarus succeeds in conquering it. The difficulty itself will be different from conquering the hero world."

There were no enemies in the conquest of the hero world.

But the world of legions is different.

The world of legions itself becomes another battlefield.

At Leo's words, the students' faces turned serious.

"And the world of legions is likely to be related to great heroes."

"Why is that?"

"It seems that the Legion Records are created based on the Hero Records. In that case, they would want to inherit the power of the strongest possible demons."

Leo slightly closed his eyes.

"There's no doubt that the era when their power was strongest was the Age of Calamity, when great heroes were active."

Recalling past events, Leo opened his eyes.

"As you all know, battles in that era were often large-scale. That's why the joint combat studies class was created. The reason it's called a 'party' rather than just a class is also for that reason."

Leo smiled faintly.

"It's easier to build camaraderie in a party where you have to fight for your lives rather than just being in the same class." That's all for now."

Having finished speaking, Leo greeted the professors and returned among the students.

Watching him, the first-year students' eyes sparkled.

'If I get into the same party as Leo-senpai…'

'My school life will bloom!'

'It's not just school life. Leo-senpai is also about to become the king of a country, isn't he?'

The first-year students thought to themselves.

'If I catch Leo-senpai's eye, my path will be wide open!'

As the first-year students were letting their hopeful imaginations soar, the second and third-year students were also letting their imaginations soar.

Of course, unlike the first-year students, their imaginations were filled with despair.

'If I get into the same party as Leo-senpai, it'll be hell from the start, right?'

'The moment I catch Leo's eye, hell will break loose, won't it?'

***

The first class of joint combat studies was where the professors explained what would be learned in the joint combat studies class.

And before forming parties immediately, there was time to get to know each other among the first, second, and third-year students.

This was because they didn't know each other well enough to form parties right away.

Especially the first-year students.

The second and third-year students had deep exchanges as mentors and mentees throughout the past year, but the first-year students had not.

Given that they would be in parties for the entire year, the formation of parties had to be done carefully.

Thus, after the first class ended, during the break.

Chloe approached Leo.

"Leo, I have a question about what happened earlier."

"What are you curious about?"

Chloe, sitting next to Leo, asked with a serious expression.

"Will the world of legions also go berserk like the hero world?"

A hero world created by abnormal rampages is called a Hero Dungeon.

In such cases, the hero world encroaches upon the world and exerts its influence.

"Hmm… Well. For starters, I believe the world of legions itself is a form of rampage. Therefore, I don't think a rampage like a Hero Dungeon will occur."

"Is that so?"

"But I am curious. Whether it would be beneficial for us, or for Tartarus, if a situation similar to a Hero Dungeon were to occur."