Book 1 Chapter 667
“It’s a relief we can sleep comfortably!”
Kal entered the tent with a bright smile.
The artisans of Ivaldi had rebuilt the ruined fortress.
However, they hadn't perfectly reconstructed the interior of the fortress.
Major buildings like the administration office were sturdily built, but the rest remained in ruins.
As a result, the residents of Ivaldi lived in tents like this.
“There aren’t any residents around.”
“It can’t be helped. We’re outsiders, after all. It seems we’ve shed the suspicion of being spies, but… that doesn’t mean we’re not still targets of vigilance.”
Luke replied as Kal took off his shoes.
The Archi party’s tent was currently set up not far from the fortress walls.
It was a distance from where the residents of Ivaldi lived, and a location that was easy for those guarding the walls to monitor.
Hearing Kal’s words, Haviden sighed softly.
“Being suspected isn’t a pleasant feeling.”
“What can we do?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kal tidied his shoes.
“This is an era where traitors run rampant.”
“……”
Luke and Haviden fell silent at Kal’s words.
Even 5000 years after the end of the Calamity, traitors who betrayed the world still existed.
Those called Hero Hunters.
How much worse was it during the Calamity?
“To the point where the Heroes of the Beginning had to eliminate countless traitors,”
Durand said in a calm voice.
It was already a well-known story that Kyle had buried countless traitors in darkness.
“Suspicion can be resolved. And we’re not here for a vacation. Being close to the walls is actually a good thing.”
Flexing his fists, Durand’s lips curled upwards.
“We can be deployed for combat at any time.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“We should maintain a state of full readiness.”
Haviden stroked his chin, and Luke, clasping his hands tightly, showed his strong resolve.
“Ugh, I just want to rest comfortably.”
“Excuse me!”
At that moment, the tent flap opened, and Iliana entered, a sleeping bag tucked under her arm.
Seeing her, Kal stood in front of a sleeping bag in a corner of the tent.
“I have no intention of swapping, so go back.”
“What do you take me for! I don’t have that kind of thought!”
“Then why did you bring your sleeping bag to our tent?”
“Um… to sleep here?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Tsk!”
Iliana clicked her tongue.
“Don’t be stingy and swap with me! It has a huge hole in it! The wind blows right through!”
Watching her, Luke gave an awkward laugh.
“Shall I swap with you?”
“No, Luke. It’ll spoil her.”
Kal said coldly, and Iliana placed her hands on her hips.
“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 the affairs of your tent.”
“Hey! Durand! You’re stingy!”
As Iliana pouted, Luke said,
“Then I’ll patch it up for you.”
“Huh?”
“I’m good at that kind of thing.”
Luke, as if accustomed to it, took out a needle and thread from his pocket.
“You’re quite resourceful, aren’t you?”
Kal said, and Luke scratched his head.
“It’s nothing special. When I was young, I even made dolls for the village children.”
Smiling faintly, Luke patched Iliana’s sleeping bag.
“Kal, can I come in?”
At that moment, Chelsea’s voice was heard from outside the tent.
“Come in.”
At Kal’s words, the tent flap opened, and the female students entered.
“What? You were here?”
“Loser.”
Chelsea looked dumbfounded, and Ar met her gaze with a gloating look.
“Who are you calling a loser!”
“You.”
Eliza sneered, and Iliana shouted,
“Let’s have another round! Another round for dinner!”
“Senior, please calm down.”
Aina tried to calm the excited Iliana.
“You did lose, after all. You have to be able to accept defeat…”
“Ughhhhh!”
Iliana became even more agitated.
“Aina, how can you provoke her even more?”
Kal said, and Aina looked flustered.
“What? Me?”
“Don’t you realize it?”
“Pathetic.”
Chelsea shook her head.
“Chelsea, you seem like the most senior student.”
“Naturally.”
“Even though you’re the smallest.”
“What? Do you want your arm twisted off?”
“Okay, stop chattering! Let’s sort out the situation first until the professor, Leo, and Dryana arrive.”
Kal hastily changed the mood.
Leo, Artian, and Dryana were currently going to see the outsiders who had arrived before their party.
There was a need to confirm if the unconscious individuals in the infirmary were the advance exploration team before Leo’s group.
“First, the current time period. Well, Leo confirmed this through Dweno, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Before joining the party of the Great Hero.”
Chelsea said, and Iliana scratched her head vigorously.
“This is troublesome.”
Everyone nodded at her words.
“Why is it troublesome?”
Luke asked with a puzzled face. Aina said,
“There are no hints for the攻略 (conquest).”
“Ah!”
The攻略 (conquest) of the Hero’s World is basically based on the deeds of past Heroes.
This is why Heroology, the study of Heroes' deeds, has become the most important academic field for Heroes.
In that sense, all students of the Heroic Academy are well-versed in the stories of countless Great Heroes.
This is because they encounter the stories of many Great Heroes from a young age.
Even if there are differences from actual history, they can piece things together to find hints for the攻略 (conquest).
The problem is that there are no records of Dweno’s deeds before he joined the Lisinas party.
And they happened to encounter Dweno from a time they knew nothing about.
“It’s not just Dweno. We know nothing about this place called Ivaldi either. Literally, other than it being Dweno’s world, there are no clues for the攻略 (conquest).”
‘Well, Leo would know, so it’s not a big problem.’
Haviden said at Kal’s words.
“We can’t just stand by. Let’s find clues for the攻略 (conquest) step by step.”
“Right. Let’s try to infer the objective of the攻略 (conquest) first. If it’s Dweno’s world…”
Kal trailed off, and Ar crossed his arms.
“It’s highly likely that the objective is related to the Giant King Giaus.”
“Hmm… that would be the case. Judging by the fortress, do we have to withstand the Giant King’s assault like last time?”
Leo’s party put their heads together, focusing on understanding the current situation.
The fortress’s defensive capacity.
The situation of the people within the fortress, observed in a short time.
They were debating what they had seen and felt directly.
“But, um. Is this world… really the Hero’s World?”
Luke cautiously opened his mouth.
“If it’s not the Hero’s World, then what?”
“Um… for example, the Legion’s World, or…”
At those words, everyone’s complexion changed.
“That’s right, there’s a good chance of that!”
Leo had confirmed it was the Legion’s World when he saw that Dweno didn’t remember him, but the others hadn’t.
“Then has the Legion’s World gone berserk? Leo-oppa said that the Legion’s Records are unstable items, so it wouldn’t go berserk.”
“No, Leo doesn’t know everything. Especially since the Legion’s Records were something Leo didn’t expect at all?”
“Ugh!”
“Kal is right. Even the Black Rabbit isn’t omniscient.”
After listening to the conversation, Aina, who had been thinking for a moment, opened her mouth.
“There were two ways to攻略 (conquer) a berserk Hero Dungeon, right?”
Once it invades reality, the Hero’s World maintained by the Hero Record becomes an unstable world.
Therefore, the method of攻略 (conquest).
Specifically, destroying the world itself is also an option.
At Aina’s words, Durand opened his mouth.
“The first method of攻略 (conquest) is to achieve the valid objective. The second is…”
“Destroying the fragment of the Hero Record, the core of the world.”
Eliza followed Durand’s words, tidying her fingernails.
“If this is the Legion’s World, isn’t the second method the easiest?”
The party had initially completely dismissed the second method of攻略 (conquest).
Even in a berserk state, the fragment of Dweno’s Hero Record was an item that should be prioritized for retrieval.
The second method was literally a last resort.
However, if this is the Legion’s World, the story is different.
Chelsea nodded at Eliza’s words.
“That’s right. We just need to find the dungeon entrance, enter the Legion’s World, and find the Record fragment. It’s the easiest method.”
“For now, this is the best we can do. For the rest, we’ll need to determine our direction once the Black Rabbit arrives.”
Ar’s words were met with nods of agreement from the party.
“Alright, let’s get some rest now. Go back to your tents.”
“My sleeping bag isn’t repaired yet.”
“There’s nothing to do even if I go back. Kal, do you have any snacks?”
“Did you entrust your snacks to me?”
“Yeah, I did. Your snack delivery service that started in the magic department dormitory. I’m a VIP.”
“Ah, right.”
Kal took out a bag of cookies from his spatial storage.
“You keep things like that in your spatial storage?”
Ar said with a look of disbelief, and Kal chuckled.
“In the spatial storage of this Kal, who runs a general store, there’s everything except for what’s missing.”
Seeing Kal with a smug expression, Eliza looked at him with a pathetic expression.
“Hmph, what’s so great about cleaning up after others.”
“Aww~ here we go again.”
Kal said with a hearty laugh.
[System Error: An unauthorized entity has invaded the world.]
“Huh?!”
Kal was startled.
It wasn’t just Kal.
Everyone’s complexion changed at the message that appeared before them.
But the message wasn’t over.
Two more messages remained.
[攻略 (Conquest) Objective: Repeat the history of glorious victory. Slaughter all residents of Ivaldi.]
***
Leo, guided by Enniha, was going with Dryana and Artian to see the outsiders who had arrived earlier.
The rest of the party had already gone to their accommodation for their stay.
“Are the outsiders who arrived here before us in a serious condition?”
Artian asked with concern, and Enniha gave a bitter smile.
“Yes. It’s a miracle they’re still alive.”
At Enniha’s words, Dryana clenched her fists.
Although they hadn’t confirmed if they were the advance exploration team, judging by the timing, it was almost certain.
Noren, who led the advance exploration team, was also Demian’s professor.
And Dryana was also a student who had taken Noren’s class.
[System Error: An unauthorized entity has invaded the world.]
[攻略 (Conquest) Objective: Repeat the history of glorious victory. Slaughter all residents of Ivaldi.]
Three messages suddenly appeared before the three.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Enniha looked at the three with a bewildered expression.
“Ah, nothing…”
“We were just suddenly surprised, Teacher.”
Artian and Dryana gave awkward smiles, trying to act as naturally as possible.
However, Leo was the only one staring intently at the last message.
“Leo-student?”
Artian cautiously called out to Leo.
‘What is this supposed to mean?’
A murderous intent flickered in Leo’s red eyes.
[Hidden Objective: Capture the ugly Dweno who survived alone.]