Book 1 Chapter 678
678.
“Oh, dear. I really dislike these one-on-one duels.”
Kal sighed and looked ahead.
Before his eyes, a slightly shorter beastkin girl was warming up.
Her eyes burned with zealous fighting spirit.
As they stood there, looking at each other, Kal felt something.
‘How brutal.’
He had seen many belligerent students in Rumerun.
And not just Rumerun.
During his three years at Rumerun, he’d had several interactions with Azonia students as well.
The aura emanating from the beastkin girl before him was different even from Azonia students.
‘Much wilder.’
It was far from just a matter of personality.
‘More feral.’
Kal assessed his opponent.
At Kal’s gaze, the beastkin girl wrinkled her nose.
She felt Kal scrutinizing her closely.
“That’s unpleasant.”
“Ah, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
Kal grinned, raising both hands.
“I was just looking for any weaknesses.”
“Do you think you can find something like that without even fighting?”
“It’s usually difficult. But I’m not very good at fighting, you see.”
Kal shrugged his shoulders and said disingenuously.
“Wouldn’t observing your opponent even a little bit raise your chances of winning?”
“You’re clearly weaker than me.”
“I know.”
“And yet you intend to win?”
“Of course.”
Seeing Kal grin, the beastkin girl stared intently at him, then opened her mouth.
“You’re imprudent and frivolous.”
“I hear that quite often.”
“But I think I misunderstood you based only on that. My name is Kanea. And you?”
“Kal.”
As Kanea revealed her name, Kal also smiled and introduced himself.
Seeing Kal, Kanea curled up the corners of her mouth.
“Are you ready? Kal?”
“Yes.”
With that last word, Kanea charged straight at Kal.
Watching Kanea, Kal put his hands into his pocket and then pulled them out.
A long, thin potion bottle was tucked between his fingers.
*Whoosh-!*
Kal threw the potion bottle towards Kanea.
“It seems to be an alchemy bomb.”
Eliza, who was sitting on a fluffy-looking summoned creature, said with a bored expression.
Then, Dryana, who had settled down, crossed her arms and shook her head.
“I don’t think so.”
“Huh?”
Kanea dodged the potion bottle.
*Clang-! Hiss-!*
When the potion bottle shattered on the floor, smoke billowed up.
Seeing it, Kanea snorted.
“Is it poison?”
“That’s right.”
Kal, smiling wickedly, bit off the cork stopper of the potion bottle in his other hand and poured its contents into his mouth.
It was an antidote.
“Ugh… what are you all doing gathered here?”
“Huh? What? Why is Kal fighting?”
Ar and Iliana appeared, speaking in nearly dead voices.
Then, they were surprised to see the duel unfolding before them.
“This looks interesting.”
Dweno, who had come with them, stroked his beard and chuckled.
“Did that friend use poison?”
“Poison, you say.”
“It seems a bit underhanded.”
“It’s very underhanded.”
Luke, Harviden, and Aina shook their heads.
“Hmph. A very Kal-like tactic.”
“It’s not a bad strategy.”
“A decent tactic.”
When Eliza, Chelsea, and Duran praised him, the second-years looked bewildered.
The second-years looked at their seniors with confused faces.
“Isn’t it a bit cheap?”
At Harviden’s words, Dryana said,
“Isn’t it the fault of the one who got hit?”
“Right, right.”
Ar also nodded as if in agreement.
At their reaction, the second-years looked at the other side.
“That poison. I’ve never seen that kind of poison before?”
“To even prepare an antidote for a sudden duel. He’s well-prepared!”
“An enemy, but excellent!”
From the side of Ivaldi’s warrior cadets, Kal was also seen being praised.
Finally, to Dweno and Enniha, he said,
“It seems petty tricks are his specialty.”
Enniha narrowed her eyes.
‘Ah, as expected, the adults evaluate it negatively…’
“Excellent.”
“Yes. Excellent.”
When Enniha agreed with Dweno’s words, the second-years recoiled.
‘Are we the strange ones?’
“It’s not that you’re particularly strange.”
Leo, who was next to them, said with a smile.
“You’ll be just like your seniors when you become third-years.”
The second-year academic life is by no means easy.
‘Because being a hero isn't as romantic as one might think.’
The image of a hero bravely defeating enemies is merely a story in a fairy tale.
In reality, one does whatever it takes to survive.
For greatness is only granted to those who overcome trials.
“Leo Plov.”
“What, Duran.”
“You said that beastkin possessed something we didn’t, and that it was the readiness to die at any moment, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s hard to accept your words.”
Duran narrowed his eyes, looking at Kal and Kanea.
“As long as we attend Rumerun. No, as long as we aim to be heroes, countless life-threatening crises will come our way. Of course, I have no intention of dying. I plan to struggle as much as possible even in critical situations.”
“That’s true.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’m not prepared to die.”
Duran looked at Leo.
“How is my resolve different from that woman’s resolve?”
At Duran’s question, Leo looked at Kanea, Dit, and the other warrior cadets, and said,
“Because they were born in a different era.”
“A different era?”
“You probably think that the mindset one has when going into battle, like fighting spirit and resolve, is the same for everyone.”
Leo looked at Kanea.
“But people born in a bright world and people born in a dark world are fundamentally different.”
“Fundamentally different?”
“Yes. Duran. What is your goal?”
“You already know, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Leo chuckled and said.
“They don’t have that goal.”
“…”
“They probably haven’t experienced the sense of accomplishment from achieving something, or the ecstatic joy, or even many happy memories.”
From the moment they were born, such things had already vanished in that era.
“Failure is not allowed.”
It’s different from the current hero cadets who can try again and again.
Death was as natural as breathing.
A generation that could collapse at any moment.
‘And not just the children.’
The adults were the same.
They just squandered their days, clinging to life.
Because it was an era where tomorrow could disappear at any moment.
A world where such a thing couldn’t be called wrong was the Age of Calamity.
“Duran. If the result of your efforts was failure, could you still put in the effort?”
“I just need to make sure I don’t fail.”
“What if you can’t control that? What if the outcome is already decided?”
“…”
Duran couldn’t answer.
“The current era is such an era.”
An era that those born in a bright world could never understand.
“But even so, there are always some. Fools who struggle even when the outcome is visible.”
Moths flying towards an obvious future.
Those who struggled to prolong their lives day by day.
Those whose names were not known to later generations.
Those who were called heroes in an era where no Hero Records existed.
‘I was like that too. Luna was like that, and Arion and Dweno were the same.’
All heroes in the world at that time knew the end.
‘No, I thought I knew.’
Except for one person.
There was only one person who truly shouted that they would save the world.
Even Luna hadn't thought such a thing until she met that one person.
‘That’s why he’s special.’
“Look closely at that child, Kanea.”
Leo said.
It wasn't a remark directed at Duran.
It was a remark directed at all the hero cadets.
“Because that child is striving despite having already been condemned to a future of destruction.”
“Are you saying you know how that feels?”
“I don’t. I wasn’t born in this era either.”
He wasn't lying.
The era Leo was born in was an era of peace.
It was similar to, yet different from, the generation of the Age of Calamity.
However.
“I’ve seen more people like them than you have. That’s how I know.”
He had observed them living through the Age of Calamity.
But everyone except Chelsea recalled that Leo had conquered the world of the Great Heroes many times.
As everyone nodded, despite their doubts.
Leo looked at Kanea.
A meaningless struggle.
But because of it, it was special.
Though weaker than any hero cadet present here.
Kanea represented the warriors, no, the hero cadets of this era.
‘Such people grew up to become Arion later, and Verchia and Bihar.’
Seeds that couldn’t sprout.
Lives that would ultimately disappear without leaving anything behind.
But their will would faithfully be passed on to future generations.
Leo looked at Dweno.
‘Failed?’
Dweno, who blamed himself as a failed leader.
‘What part of you failed?’
Leo looked at the warrior cadets, including Kanea.
Looking at these children, he could tell.
‘You can tell just by looking at the warriors who fought against the Giant King’s legion yesterday.’
Leo exhaled.
‘No one was broken in Ivaldi.’
If one were to pick the most despairing fortress among those that survived during Ivaldi's existence, it was undoubtedly Ivaldi.
Fortresses like Gardsron and Leysar could communicate with each other.
The elves’ resistance forces were also similar.
But Ivaldi was isolated in the middle of Tartarus territory all by itself.
They couldn’t even hope for help.
It was almost a miracle that the Arhi party led by Lysinas managed to reach Ivaldi.
Even in such a desperate situation, Ivaldi’s warriors burned with fighting spirit.
Even Gardsron, whose situation was relatively better than Ivaldi’s and whose forces were stronger, was filled with those who lacked the will to fight.
It was truly difficult for Lysinas to instill hope in Gardsron.
It was filled with nothing but despair and lamentation.
But in Ivaldi, there was no such sign.
Because they saw the starlight?
‘If they hadn’t been prepared in the first place, it would have been impossible to stop an invasion like yesterday’s.’
Certainly, the Arhi party led by Leo was a great help.
But ultimately, what stopped yesterday’s invasion was the inherent strength of Ivaldi’s warriors.
Ultimately, they would all die.
The outcome might be set for failure.
But…
‘Is the leader of warriors who can fight like this even in this despair a failed leader? Then what am I, you damn old geezer?’
Recalling his pathetic past self, who had only been interested in surviving day by day, Leo clicked his tongue.
‘You didn’t fail, Dweno.’