Book 1 Chapter 702

702.

Swoosh—

The rain fell, pitter-patter.

"Of all times, it has to rain,"

Cal clicked his tongue, looking up at the sky.

Although the rain was sudden, the second and third-year students, as if accustomed, took out their raincoats and put them on.

"Why is it raining!"

"Waaah! My socks are all wet!"

But among the first-year students, complaints poured out.

Students entering Lumern are born with outstanding talents in various fields from a young age.

As such, most of them are often cherished and doted upon by their respective countries and families.

Even for students who possess both exceptional skills and practical experience in monster subjugation, it is rare to experience such constantly changing field situations before entering the academy.

Therefore, it was an annual event for freshmen to voice their dissatisfaction in such situations.

Especially since it was a mountain, the ground was turning into a muddy mess.

"Everyone, calm down."

Luke stepped forward, soothing the juniors.

"But! Senior Luke! My uniform is getting all dirty!"

First-year female students from the Knight Department whined to Luke.

Juen stood next to Luke, crossing his arms.

"Things like this happen often at Lumern. Don't be childish!"

At Juen's words, the first-year students flinched.

Seeing their reaction, Iliana burst into laughter.

"The second-years who were crying their eyes out on their first practical session last year are now saying something as seniors?"

"Are you one to talk, who got yelled at by Professor Hallind on the first practical class day when it rained?"

"Hey! Cal! That's—!"

"What happened?"

Chloe tilted her head, and Cal chuckled.

"It was during the first-year Combat Studies practical class when a downpour started. As soon as Iliana saw it, she ran straight to Professor Hallind and suggested changing it to an indoor class."

At his words, Chloe looked at Iliana with an incredulous expression.

"When Professor Hallind asked why, her answer was priceless!"

"Stop it! Stop it!"

With a bright red face, Iliana covered Cal's mouth.

Chloe, who had been listening intently, glanced at Leo.

Leo replied as if it were nothing.

"She said she had just bought new shoes and didn't want them to get dirty."

"President!"

Iliana glared at Leo as if she resented him, and Chloe burst into laughter.

"It's so like Iliana, if it's like Iliana."

While Iliana, sulking, continued to poke Leo with her finger.

Cal approached the first-year students.

"Well, shall I offer a favor as a senior? Hey, first-years. Line up. I'll share my raincoats with you now."

At his words, the first-year students quickly lined up in front of Cal.

"See the raincoats they're wearing? These are the same kind."

Cal pointed at Leo and Chloe.

In fact, nearly half of the second and third-year students, besides Leo and Chloe, were wearing the same type of raincoat.

The raincoats had a logo depicting an alchemy cauldron with a summoning circle etched on it, and a sword sticking out.

It was something Cal had made.

"I'll lend them to you. You have to return them later, okay?"

"Thank you!"

The first-year students took the raincoats one by one.

"Wow! It's so comfortable!"

"I don't feel like I'm getting rained on!"

"As expected from someone preparing for the start! You're thoroughly prepared!"

The first-year students exclaimed in admiration and moved around.

"Surprising that you're lending them out for free?"

"Heh. It's a kind of promotional event."

Leo's remark was met with Cal's nonchalant reply.

"Promotional event?"

"These are quite expensive. If I just told you to buy them, would you? You have to try out their performance like this to go, 'Ah~' and buy them."

"Thorough."

"Heh. Do you think I worked my bones for two years for nothing? With the money I earned in those two years, I even bought a building in Lumaria City."

"A student's duty is to study."

Chloe, with her arms crossed, squinted her eyes, and Cal beckoned with his finger.

"Business is also a part of life's studies."

"You always have a good excuse."

Seeing Chloe shake her head, Cal gave a thumbs-up.

Leo, having confirmed that the first-year students were also wearing raincoats, gathered the students who would be participating.

"The Orc colony subjugation will be divided into three teams. First, Team 1."

Leo glanced at Cal.

"Cal will be the team leader. The members will be first and second-year students."

"First and second-years, gather in front of me."

The first and second-year students quickly lined up in front of Cal.

"Team 2 leader is Hillui."

A third-year Summoning Department female student nodded.

Afterward, Leo called out the names of the third-year students included in Team 2.

"Team 3 is me and Chloe."

"President, what about me?"

"Iliana, you stay here and control the first-year students."

"Okay, I understand."

Once the team assignments were finished, the first-year students began to murmur.

"Are President Leo and Senior Chloe going alone?"

"Even if they're orcs, if a colony has formed, the numbers must be huge."

"Will they be alright?"

One of the first-year students cautiously approached Iliana and spoke.

"Um… Senior Iliana. It seems like there aren't enough people for the subjugation. What do you think about proposing to the student council president to dispatch some first-year students?"

"Not enough people? That's impossible."

Iliana shook her head.

"If anything, there are more than enough people."

"Huh? But Team 3 only has the student council president and Senior Chloe?"

Seeing the bewildered first-year student, Iliana smiled softly.

"As a senior, I'll give you a piece of advice: if you plan to continue attending Lumern, it's best to quickly forget the common sense you've held until now."

"What?"

"People who have constantly challenged their limits often far surpass ordinary common sense. Especially."

Iliana glanced at Chloe.

"Chloe is particularly special. She's at a level where it wouldn't be strange to call her a monster. In fact, she could probably wipe out an orc colony by herself."

At Iliana's words, the first-year students held their breath.

They wondered if it was a joke, but there was no hint of amusement on Iliana's face.

"Is that… possible?"

"Of course. The heroes you aim for are people who create miracles. Therefore, hero candidates must also create miracles."

"Then… what about Senior Leo?"

Leo, the youngest student council president, was already considered the strongest in Lumern in his second year.

If Chloe, a hero candidate, is a person with such overwhelming power, what about Leo, who is already in the realm of heroes?

"Well… President."

Iliana clicked her tongue.

"He's basically the Demon King."

***

Swoosh—!

They walked through the rainy mountains.

The area assigned to Leo and Chloe was the summit of the mountain.

"The orc colony's appearance must be Tartarus's doing, right?"

"Probably."

Ruderer Mountain is a fairly large mountain.

The terrain is rugged, and it's a forested area with no resources like magic stones or minerals.

Since even mythical beasts and spirits don't inhabit it, it's a mountain of little value.

Naturally, it became land abandoned by humans.

And in mountains where human footsteps cease, monsters tend to appear.

However, Ruderer Mountain is not far from Lumern.

Ruderer Mountain is a place where Lumern consistently assigns subjugation requests to students.

The history of the Hero Academy is 3,000 years.

Ordinarily, the monster ecosystem would have disappeared long ago.

But on Ruderer Mountain, monsters have continuously appeared for the past 3,000 years.

They appeared even after Lumern annihilated the monsters through large-scale subjugation.

"Cursed Land."

Leo mumbled inwardly, looking up at Ruderer Mountain.

There are areas like Ruderer Mountain all over the world where monsters appear endlessly.

The origin of the Cursed Lands dates back to the Age of Calamity.

The Cursed Lands were where Erebus was summoned during the Age of Calamity.

Erebus is the natural enemy of gods.

The gods disappeared from the surface due to the unextinguished flames of destruction.

However, it wasn't as if the gods allowed Erebus to rampage freely on the surface.

When Erebus revealed himself 5,000 years ago, the gods imposed a judgment to confine Erebus to the easternmost edge of the world, the final destination of the Great Heroes, and where Leo fought his final battle.

The reason Erebus used Tartarus to destroy the world was also preparation to expand his range of action.

When Tartarus's legions burned the occupied lands and conducted Erebus's summoning ritual, Erebus could freely move within that domain.

The land where Erebus was summoned at that time retained a strong aura of Erebus, and it has come to be called a cursed land.

'For now, there's no way to lift the curse.'

It's fundamentally the same as the Forest of Beasts, Luna's hometown, which suffered from Silathuna's curse for 5,000 years.

That place was freed from the curse after Silathuna was subjugated.

The curse of the cursed land will also be lifted if Erebus is completely subjugated.

Under normal circumstances, a cursed land is not a major problem.

It's just treated as a troublesome land.

Since monsters continuously appear, no one lives around cursed lands.

Furthermore, countries possessing cursed lands periodically conduct subjugation to destroy the monster ecosystem.

However, sometimes, like now, large-scale monster outbreaks can occur suddenly.

This happens when Tartarus intervenes.

"But isn't it a bit strange?"

At Chloe's words, Leo nodded.

"It is strange."

It's no exaggeration to say that the world is currently at a historical turning point.

The return of the Great Heroes.

The appearance of gods.

The subjugation of Erebus's fragments.

As if the clock hand that had stopped since the creation began to tick.

An astonishing miracle is happening one after another.

Accordingly, Tartarus's movements have become even more clandestine.

In such a situation, an anomaly like the creation of a large orc colony on a cursed land has occurred.

Tartarus would know that such an act would raise the opponent's guard.

"That's why we're here to investigate."

Leo stopped walking.

Chloe also stood behind Leo.

A massive orc colony was visible in the distance.

At first glance, hundreds of orcs could be seen.

Leo activated his hyper-senses to observe the colony's movements.

"Orc Shaman King."

"There's a Shaman King?"

Chloe's expression showed surprise.

Regular orcs are classified as lower monsters.

However, orcs are monsters that boast overwhelming numbers.

As such, powerful mutants frequently appear.

Among them are shamans who use dark magic.

Among those orc shamans, those with strong dark magic are bestowed the title of Shaman King.

And an Orc Shaman King wields power stronger than most high-ranking demons.

Chloe couldn't help but be surprised that a Shaman King, who appears perhaps once in a hundred years, was present.

"Prepare your magic."

Leo said, drawing his sword, and Chloe nodded.

Chloe summoned her staff.

Tap—

Chloe tapped the ground with her staff and closed her eyes.

Goooooo—!

A chilling aura began to surge.

Swoosh— Crackle—

The rain falling around Chloe began to freeze, turning into ice crystals that fell to the ground.

And Chloe expanded her domain.

As immense magical power raged, the orcs also sensed something unusual.

However, Chloe completed her magic faster than they could act.

"Fimbulvetr."

Crack—!

An irresistible chill enveloped the surrounding area.