Book 1 Chapter 667

667.

"It's a relief I can sleep comfortably!"

Karl, who had entered the tent, smiled brightly.

Ibaldi's artisans rebuilt the ruined fortress.

However, that didn't mean they perfectly rebuilt the entire interior of the fortress.

Main buildings like the government office were definitely constructed, but the rest was still in ruins.

Because of this, Ibaldi's residents lived in tents like these.

"There are no residents nearby."

"It can't be helped. First, we're outsiders. It seems we've shaken off the suspicion of being spies, but… that doesn't mean we're completely free from suspicion either."

Karl replied, taking off his shoes, at Luke's words.

The Arhi party's tent was currently set up not far from the fortress walls.

It was some distance from where Ibaldi's residents lived, and it was a place convenient for those guarding the walls to monitor.

Listening to Karl, Habiden sighed softly.

"Being suspected isn't very pleasant."

"What can we do?"

Karl shrugged his shoulders and tidied up his shoes.

"This was an era rife with traitors."

"…"

Luke and Habiden fell silent at Karl's words.

Even now, 5000 years after the Era of Calamity ended, traitors who betray the world still exist.

Those called Hero Hunters.

How much worse must the Era of Calamity have been?

"To the extent that the Hero of Beginnings punished countless traitors."

Duran said calmly.

It was already a famous story that Kyle buried countless traitors in darkness.

"Suspicion can be resolved. And we didn't come here to play. Being close to the city walls is actually a good thing."

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Duran curled the corners of his mouth.

"Because we can be deployed to battle at any time."

"That's certainly true."

"We should probably maintain a state of readiness."

Habiden stroked his chin, and Luke, gripping his hands tightly, revealed his firm resolve.

"Ugh. I just want to rest comfortably."

"Excuse me!"

Just then, the tent door opened and Iliana came in, a sleeping bag tucked under her arm.

Seeing her, Karl stood in front of a sleeping bag at one side of the tent.

"I have no intention of swapping, so go back."

"What do you take me for! I don't have such thoughts!"

"Then why did you come to our tent with a sleeping bag?"

"Um… to sleep here?"

"You're kidding."

"Tsk!"

Iliana clicked her tongue.

"Don't be petty, just swap with me! There's a big hole in it! The wind blows right through!"

Watching her, Luke gave an awkward laugh.

"Shall I swap with mine?"

"No, Luke. You'll spoil her."

When Karl spoke coldly, Iliana put her hands on her hips with a "Chuk!"

"I'm not just asking for a swap! Let's decide with rock-paper-scissors!"

"Looks like you lost."

"Yeah."

"I refuse. Don't drag our tent into your tent's problems."

"Ah! Duran! You're petty!"

As Iliana pouted, Luke said.

"Then I'll sew it for you."

"Huh?"

"I'm good at that kind of thing."

Luke skillfully took out a needle and thread from his pocket.

"You're quite self-sufficient, aren't you?"

Luke scratched his head at Karl's words.

"It's nothing special. When I was young, I even made dolls for the village kids."

Smiling broadly, Luke sewed Iliana's sleeping bag.

"Karl, can I come in?"

Just then, Chelsea's voice was heard from outside the tent.

"Come in."

At Karl's words, the tent door opened and the female students entered.

"What? You were here?"

"Loser."

Chelsea made an incredulous expression, and Ar covered her mouth, gloating.

"Who are you calling a loser!"

"You."

When Eliza scoffed, Iliana shouted.

"Let's do one more round! One more round, betting dinner!"

"Senior, calm down."

Aina calmed the excited Iliana.

"It's true that you lost. You should also know how to accept defeat…"

"Uoohh!"

Iliana became even more agitated.

"Aina, what are you doing provoking her even more?"

Aina looked flustered at Karl's words.

"Huh? Me?"

"You're not even aware?"

"Pathetic."

Chelsea shook her head.

"Chelsea, you're acting the most like a senior student."

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Even though you're the smallest."

"Huh? Do you want your arm broken?"

"Alright, stop talking! First, let's sort out the situation until the professor, Leo, and Driana arrive."

Karl hastily changed the atmosphere.

Currently, Leo, Artian, and Driana had gone to see the outsiders who had arrived here before their group.

It was necessary to confirm if those unconscious in the infirmary were the advance reconnaissance team from before Leo's group.

"First, the current timeline. Well, Leo already confirmed this through Sir Dweno, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Before joining the Great Hero's party."

Iliana scratched her head vigorously at Chelsea's words.

"This is troublesome."

Everyone nodded at that.

"Why is it troublesome?"

Luke asked with a puzzled face. Aina replied.

"There are no hints for the strategy."

"Ah!"

The strategy for "Hero's World" is fundamentally based on the past actions of heroes.

This is also why Hero Studies, which researches the actions of heroes, has emerged as the most important field of study for heroes.

In that sense, all students at the Hero Academy were well-versed in the stories of the Great Hero.

Because they are exposed to countless stories of Great Heroes from a young age.

Even if there are differences from actual history, they can still piece together some hints for the strategy.

The problem is that Dweno's actions before joining Lysinas's party are not recorded.

And they happened to encounter Dweno from a time they knew nothing about.

"It's not just Sir Dweno. We know nothing about this place called Ibaldi either. Literally, apart from it being Sir Dweno's world, there are no clues for the strategy."

'Well, Leo would know, so it probably won't be a big problem.'

Habiden said at Karl's words.

"However, we can't just do nothing. Let's find clues for the strategy step by step."

"Right. First, let's infer the objective of the strategy. If it's Sir Dweno's world…"

Karl trailed off, and Ar crossed his arms.

"There's a high probability the objective is related to the Giant King Gias."

"Hmm… I suppose so. Seeing as it's a fortress, do we have to defend against the Giant King's offensive like last time?"

Leo's party put their heads together, focusing on understanding the current situation.

The fortress's defensive capabilities.

Even the situation of the people inside the fortress they briefly observed.

It was time to discuss what they had personally seen and felt.

"But you know. Is this world… truly a Hero's World?"

Luke carefully opened his mouth.

"If it's not a Hero's World, then what?"

"Well… for example, a Legion's World…"

At that, everyone's expressions changed.

"Right, that's entirely possible!"

Leo was convinced it was a Legion's World when he saw Dweno didn't remember him, but the others weren't.

"So, the Legion's World ran wild? Brother Leo said that the Legion's record was an unstable item and wouldn't run wild."

"No, Leo doesn't know everything. Especially since the Legion's record was something Leo hadn't anticipated at all, right?"

"Hmm!"

"Karl is right. Even the Black Rabbit isn't omniscient."

Listening to the conversation, Aina thought for a moment before speaking.

"There were two ways to clear a rampaging Hero Dungeon, right?"

Once it invades reality, a Hero's World maintained by a Hero Record becomes an unstable world.

As such, the clear method.

More precisely, the option to destroy the world itself becomes possible.

At Aina's words, Duran opened his mouth.

"The first clear method is to achieve a valid clear objective. The second is."

"To destroy the Hero Record fragment, which is the world's core."

Eliza continued Duran's words, tidying her nails.

"If this is a Legion's World, isn't the second method the easiest for us?"

In the case of the second clear method, the party had initially completely ruled it out.

Even in a rampaging situation, since it was Dweno's Hero Record fragment, recovery had to be the top priority.

The second method was literally a last resort.

But if this was a Legion's World, the story was different.

Chelsea nodded at Eliza's words.

"Right. It's the easiest method because we just need to find the dungeon entrance, enter the Legion's World, and find the record fragment."

"For now, discussing up to this point seems best. For the rest, we'll only be able to decide on a direction once the Black Rabbit arrives."

The group nodded in agreement at Ar's words.

"Alright, alright, let's rest now. Go back to your tents."

"The sleeping bag isn't repaired yet."

"There's nothing to do even if we go anyway. Karl, got any snacks?"

"Did you entrust your snacks to me?"

"Yeah. I did. Your snack delivery service that started in the magic dorm. I'm a VIP."

"Ah, that's right."

Karl pulled out a bag of cookies from his sub-dimension.

"You carry something like that in your sub-dimension?"

As Ar made an incredulous expression, Karl chuckled, "Hmph."

"This Karl, who runs a general store, has everything but what's not in his sub-dimension."

Eliza gave Karl, who was looking smug, a disdainful look.

"Hmph, what's there to be proud of doing other people's dirty work?"

"Aww, there she goes again."

Karl smiled good-naturedly.

[System Error: An unauthorized entity has invaded the world.]

"Huh?!"

Karl was startled.

It wasn't just Karl.

The expressions of the entire group changed at the message that appeared before their eyes.

But the message was not the end of it.

Two more messages remained.

[Clear Objective: Repeat the history of glorious victory. Massacre all residents of Ibaldi.]

***

Leo, guided by Enniha, was going with Dria and Artian to see the outsiders who had arrived earlier.

The rest of the party had gone ahead to the lodging where they would stay during their time here.

"Are the outsiders who arrived here before us in very serious condition?"

When Artian asked with concern, Enniha gave a bitter smile.

"Yes. It's a wonder they're still alive."

Driana clenched her fist at Enniha's words.

It hadn't been confirmed yet that they were the advance reconnaissance team, but looking at the timing, it was almost certain.

Noren, who led the advance reconnaissance team, was also Damian's professor.

And Driana was also a student who had taken Noren's class.

[System Error: An unauthorized entity has invaded the world.]

[Clear Objective: Repeat the history of glorious victory. Massacre all residents of Ibaldi.]

Three messages suddenly appeared before the three of them.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Enniha looked at the three with a bewildered face.

"Oh, nothing…"

"We just got startled suddenly, Teacher."

Artian and Driana gave awkward smiles, trying to act as naturally as possible.

But Leo just stared intently at the last message.

"Student Leo?"

Artian carefully called Leo.

'What the hell is this?'

Murderous intent flickered in Leo's red eyes.

[Clear Objective (Hidden): Capture the ugly Dweno, the sole survivor, alive.]