Book 1 Chapter 922
922.
Desire.
As the most fundamental emotion that every living being possesses.
Various forms of desire exist, regardless of race or person.
From the most basic survival instincts to the desire for power or honor.
It is one of the most essential emotions in life.
While it was the greatest driving force that allowed the world to blossom into civilization, and for that civilization to endure and develop.
For that very reason, it was also easily corrupted.
Desire that grew excessively large transformed into greed.
That is how the traitors were born.
‘Because even in the extreme situation where the world was hurtling towards destruction, traitors tainted by greed still emerged.’
Leysar, in particular, was severely affected by this.
Leysar, the refugee city.
It was one of the cities that endured for a long time without perishing, even as the world spiraled towards destruction.
Although only Gardslon remained in the end, Leysar, which had accepted countless refugees, was by no means small in scale.
Furthermore, having accepted a variety of refugees since the early days of the Age of Calamity, its inherent strength was also considerable.
‘Among the cities that existed during the Age of Calamity, it was the most powerful after Gardslon.’
It was also the only city of national scale apart from Gardslon during the height of the Age of Calamity.
However, such a Leysar met its absurd demise.
Due to Leysar's leadership, which had rotted away by greed.
‘Even when we went to Leysar to bring the Guardian of the Azure Sky into our party, it was already decaying.’
Even Rishinas could not predict Leysar's corruption.
The foolish belief that they would deny the world's destruction, blinded by greed, become Tartaros's puppets, and enjoy wealth and glory, was not something that could be anticipated.
By the time Rishinas realized, it was already too late.
Leo purged countless traitors in Leysar and had to carry out a massive operation to evacuate Leysar's residents to Gardslon just before they were massacred.
Naturally, countless Leysar residents died in the process.
Even the Great Heroes are not omniscient, omnipotent absolutes.
‘They simply did their best in the given circumstances.’
Leo did not know what became of the ruins of the perished Leysar afterward.
It was only recently that he learned it was buried underground, just like Gardslon.
‘Though I didn't expect it to be buried exactly as it once was.’
Leo gazed at the city spread out before his eyes.
Unlike Gardslon, where the Tartaros demons had carved countless curses, Leysar was buried underground in a neglected state.
Thanks to this, excavating a portion of the Leysar region was not particularly difficult.
At the mention of it being the hometown of the Hero Arion, all the Hero Academy students showed excited reactions.
As the warp gate, installed in a camp located in the middle of the desert, activated, the students closed their eyes.
A moment later, as their vision returned, surprised reactions erupted from various places.
“Wow…!”
“Wait. They said this was underground, didn't they? So why is the sun up?”
Just as they said, a bright sun and blue sky spread across Leysar's sky.
This was something even Leo hadn't anticipated, so his eyes widened.
“Welcome, everyone.”
As everyone who arrived in Leysar was surprised, someone came to greet them.
It was none other than the Dragon Lord, Melina.
“Oh! Professor Mel! Hello!”
Illiana greeted her with a joyful expression.
“Leo Plov told me that this exam was student-led, so are you here too, Professor Mel?”
When Duran also asked with a questioning voice, Melina tilted her head.
“Professor Mel? I am Dragon Lord Melina.”
“Huh?”
“Professor Mel of Lumern would be teaching classes at school, wouldn't she?”
Melina said with a beaming smile.
If Professor Mel appeared as an adult woman, Melina, having sealed her powers, was in the form of a young girl.
Of course, since their appearance was identical, no one failed to recognize her.
‘It seems she's going to keep that concept up.’
While Leo muttered to himself.
Illiana burst out laughing.
“Oh, come on! Everyone who knows already knows that Melina-nim and Professor Mel are the same person….”
“Dragon Lord Melina.”
“So…”
“It's Melina.”
“…Melina-nim…”
Seeing Melina, who was pressing her with a smiling face, Illiana shriveled her neck and said with a timid expression.
Melina, wearing a bright expression in response, said.
“Welcome to Leysar, everyone. Follow me.”
Melina took the lead from the wide open space where the warp gate was installed.
Leo looked around his surroundings.
In the distance, crumbling city walls were visible.
Though almost half-destroyed, Leo, having grasped the layout of the city walls, roughly determined his location.
‘It's near the outer wall.’
The outer wall that had defended against Tartaros's forces.
Though not as grand as Gardslon's, its scale, as a wall that had to withstand the Age of Calamity, was beyond imagination compared to the city walls of the current era.
As they passed the entrance of the outer wall, the Hero Academy students couldn't help but be surprised once again.
“Huh? People?”
“How are there people here?”
Indeed, there were people in the streets.
Humans, elves, beastfolk, dwarves.
Many people, regardless of race, were coming and going.
On the streets were buildings that looked as if they had been newly constructed.
Melina spoke, observing the flustered students.
“I will now explain about the exam.”
Melina, turning back, said.
“Currently, the time in this Leysar is disconnected from the outside world.”
At Melina's words, Chloe raised her hand.
“Yes, student Chloe.”
“What does it mean for time to be disconnected? Does time flow differently here compared to the outside?”
“Yes, that's right.”
Melina smiled faintly.
At those words, Chloe's eyes widened.
“The time in this space is under my control. Three days here is one day outside.”
“Field magic?”
“As expected of student Chloe. It's complicated to explain now, so if you're curious about the concept, please come see me separately later.”
Chloe's eyes sparkled brightly.
Melina, giving a faint smile, continued her explanation.
“You were selected as supervisors for the first-year students' exam. However, since the exam is about conquering the Book of Shadows, there isn't actually anything specific to supervise.”
Just as she said, the exam would begin simply by entering the Book of Shadows, so there was nothing else to do.
“However, you have been given the most important role as supervisors. That is, you will select a suitable Book of Shadows for the first-year students.”
“Selection?”
“Yes. The Book of Shadows is a world that no one has ever conquered. As such, if first-year students attempt to conquer it blindly, they could be in danger.”
Even if it's the world of an unknown hero, students who study Heroology can understand what kind of hero's world it is and formulate a strategy based on that.
However, the Book of Shadows has not left any public historical records, so there is little known about it, making it dangerous.
At Melina's words, Dryana raised her hand.
“If our role is to select and arrange the worlds for the first-year students to conquer, then shouldn't we also conquer the Book of Shadows?”
“That's right. So, from now on, you will be conquering the Book of Shadows that was assigned as this exam's task.”
“Wouldn't that cause a problem with the exam's progress? Even with the time difference between here and the outside?”
This time, Eiran asked.
“It's fine. It's designed so that it will take at least three days for the first-year students to arrive here. You were originally supposed to wander in the desert for two more days, but I strongly objected. How about it, I did well, didn't I?”
At those words, everyone's gaze turned to one place.
“What? Why? Is there a problem?”
At Leo's shameless reaction, everyone's gazes scattered again.
Then, one student, having another question, asked.
“Then who are those people walking around the streets?”
At first, they thought they might be people helping with the exam, but they were acting just like residents of this place.
“Those people are playing the role of residents of this city.”
“Resident roles?”
At Melina's sudden words, the students wore puzzled expressions.
“This exam will be conducted in an interesting way. Everyone will take on a role-play.”
“Role-play?”
“Yes. It's a kind of 'World of Heroes' concept.”
Melina smiled beamingly.
“You, too, must treat the first-year students like adventurers, as residents of this world, not as seniors.”
At those words, Celia asked with a slightly reluctant expression.
“Why?”
“Well, because it's more fun that way. If you're going to take an exam anyway, it's better to make it enjoyable, isn't it?”
“Why a play, of all things?”
“It's my preference. I like puppet shows.”
At the mention of 'preference,' there was nothing more to say.
As soon as she finished speaking, Melina snapped her fingers.
Flutter-
Then, books appeared in the air and were distributed to the students.
It was none other than a scriptbook.
“Third-rate alchemist?”
Duran muttered with a bewildered expression, unlike himself.
Chloe also read her scriptbook with a troubled expression.
“It says I'm a sword training hall instructor?”
“Huh? A failing tavern owner?”
“I'm a tavern waitress.”
Perplexed voices erupted from the students all around.
“But everyone has such low status?”
“Hehe. That's the charm of this exam.”
Melina's eyes sparkled as if she found it amusing.
“If you work hard in your respective fields and achieve results, you can advance to a higher class! How about that? Fun, isn't it?”
‘…Is this a game?’
It was when everyone was muttering with bewildered expressions.
“Leo. What are you?”
Elena, who had received a script for a low-ranking member of the information guild, asked Leo.
Leo opened his scriptbook.
“Mayor.”
“What?!”
“He's the city mayor?”
“…”
Elena wore an incredulous expression.
The surrounding students muttered to themselves.
‘Favoritism.’
“Swap with me.”
Just as Elena, smiling faintly, was about to snatch the script from Leo's hand.
“Hmph! Senior Elena, where do you think you're rudely putting your hands! On our Mayor!”
Illiana quickly stepped in front of Elena.
“What are you?”
“Ahem! I am this kind of person!”
Illiana, with a triumphant expression, showed her scriptbook.
“A low-ranking city hall official?”
“Alright, everyone. Please step back. The Mayor is a busy man with official duties. Anyone who needs to meet with the Mayor, please go through me!”
Elena, giving a faint smile at Illiana's fussing, approached Chen Xia.
“Xia. You were assigned the role of an assassination guild member, weren't you?”
“Yes.”
“Will you accept a request? The target is a low-ranking city hall official.”
At Elena's chilling words, Chen Xia gave an awkward laugh.
***
The second and third-year students began their conquest of the Book of Shadows.
Leo, left alone, sat in the open space and silently gazed at the sky.
Melina approached Leo as he did so.
“It seems everyone playing the resident roles is a Shadow?”
“Yes. The Shadows voluntarily participated. It seems they became curious when they heard that hero candidates were conquering the Book of Shadows.”
“Is that so.”
Leo nodded.
“That's not bad. The wall between heroes and Shadows needs to be torn down, after all.”
“Yes. I believe that living together will naturally allow them to integrate.”
Hero candidates inevitably considered Shadows to be beings different from themselves.
The same was true for Shadows.
They, too, did not view themselves and heroes on the same level.
To break down that unavoidable barrier, they have no choice but to get as close as possible.
“It seems you chose the troublesome method of role-play to give them time to get used to each other.”
“Hmm. I didn't think that deeply about it. It's simply my preference.”
Melina smiled beamingly.
At her seemingly thoughtless demeanor, Leo let out a hollow laugh.
However, even then, his gaze was fixed on the sky.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Was there really a need to implement such a perfect sky specifically in this underground space?”
That was, quite literally, illusion magic akin to nature itself.
Melina was holding the time of this space.
The burden on her body from just that alone was considerable, so it was only natural that the burden would increase if she implemented a perfect atmosphere within that space.
At his question, Melina looked up at the sky and said.
“I thought if we're going to do it anyway, it's better to make it perfect. And also.”
“And also?”
“Shall I say I wanted to comfort the souls of the people who sleep in this city?”
“Comfort their souls?”
“Yes. Moreover, isn't this also the land where the Guardian of the Azure Sky sleeps?”
The man who was originally Arhi's recruitment target.
But an old-era hero who had become weary of the world's malice and broken.
Leo had not seen the final moments of Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky.
The same was true for other Great Heroes, including Arion.
However, he knew what his end was like from the people of Leysar.
The broken beastfolk warrior took up his sword again in his final moments.
And sacrificed his life to save many people.
“…”
Leysar's last hero and countless residents met their end through betrayal.
“I think Lord Arion would have wished for this too.”
It was Melina's own way of showing respect to those who died here.
At those words, Leo said.
“Thank you.”
“Lord Leo doesn't need to thank…”
“No.”
“…”
“Thank you.”
As someone who lived in that era.
As someone who witnessed the demise of this city, he was grateful for Melina's thoughtfulness.
“You're welcome.”
Melina, receiving Leo's thanks with a faint smile, said.
“Ah! I've learned something about the monsters appearing in the desert.”
“That was quick. How did they appear?”
“Looking at the form of weaponry carried by the lesser magical beasts, it seems to be the kind used thousands of years ago.”
The appearance of weaponry used by monsters like goblins and orcs had changed over time.
Scholars studying Heroology were even capable of inferring the era just from the form of the weaponry.
“It seems a Hero Dungeon has opened. However…”
“However?”
“It appears there's a high probability it's a Hero Dungeon from the Age of Creation.”
“The Age of Creation, huh…”
At those words, Leo's face grew slightly serious.
“The dungeon entrance?”
“It hasn't been found yet.”
“Please hurry a bit more.”
“Yes, Lord Leo.”
If it's from the Age of Creation, it's highly likely to be a Hero of Creation.
Considering that the World of Creation is used as a gateway to Erebus…
‘We need to find it quickly.’