After the opening ceremony for the second semester ended, the students, having finished their departmental schedules, made their way into the dormitory building.
“Back home!”
Eliana, the first to enter the Glory Dormitory, flung herself onto the common room sofa as if diving into a pool.
“I missed this common room sofa so much~”
Eliana rolled around on the sofa as if it were her own bed.
Used to this by now, the other students settled into their usual spots around the common room.
“Hey, how was the training retreat?”
“What was it like meeting a Great Hero in person? Was he intimidating?”
“I’m so jealous! I wish I could’ve gone!”
The students who had gone to the retreat were quickly surrounded.
Everyone wanted to ask the questions they hadn’t been able to ask during the opening ceremony.
And of course, the thing everyone was most curious about was Arron.
When her dormmates gathered around her, Eliana sat up straight on the sofa and put on an imposing air.
“If you wish to know, then first bring this great one cookies and tea.”
The moment she said that, the classmates around Eliana coldly turned their backs on her and headed for Chen Xia and Chloe instead.
“It wouldn’t be bad to have some snacks while we talk.”
At Chloe’s smiling suggestion, everyone let out a cheerful “Ooooh!” and headed for the snack bar.
“Why does everyone actually listen when Chloe says it?!”
“You were asking us to bring snacks just for you.”
“Right. It’s not like you’re a pig.”
“Where do I look like a pig?! And how dare you say something so outrageous to a lady?!”
Eliana grabbed a cushion and wildly swung it at the jeering boys.
“Everyone’s lively as ever.”
Leo smiled as he entered the dorm common room.
“Leo, we were just about to talk about what happened at the retreat. Come sit here.”
Chloe smiled and patted the spot beside her on the sofa.
At that, the noisy common room suddenly fell silent.
Chloe and Eliana looked around in confusion at the abrupt change in atmosphere.
“I think I’ll head up and rest early today.”
“You’re turning in pretty early.”
As Chen Xia tilted her head from nearby, Leo replied,
“The opening ceremony was hectic, so I’m a little tired.”
“In that case, you must be worn out from all your duties as the student council president. Is there anything you need? I can bring it to your room.”
“I’m fine.”
Once Leo went upstairs, the oddly stiff atmosphere in the room eased a little.
Chen Xia came in and sat down in a rocking chair off to one side, and Chloe asked with a puzzled expression,
“What’s with everyone?”
“What do you mean?”
“The atmosphere around Leo was so awkward.”
Seeing Chloe’s confused expression, the Glory Dorm students scratched their heads.
“You two were at the retreat, and you spent the entire summer vacation at Leo’s house, so maybe you don’t feel it, but...”
One of the boys scratched his cheek.
“Things are in a total frenzy right now.”
At those words, Chloe and Eliana looked at each other.
“At first, people were only interested in the return of the Primordial Evil and in Arron, who defeated it,” Chen Xia said.
“But after some time passed, and the world’s top Hero Guilds started setting their sights on Leo-nim, the world’s attention slowly began to shift toward him as well.”
It was just as she said.
The public, captivated by the heroic tale written anew by the Great Hero who had saved the world, had gradually begun to focus on Leo himself.
“Then, once his name was even inscribed in the Hero Record, countless people became even more excited about Leo-nim.”
The world always longs for the birth of a new hero.
And even more so when that hero builds a legend comparable to the heroes of myth and legend.
Up until now, Leo had still only been a Hero Candidate.
In this world, only those acknowledged by the gods and inscribed in the Hero Record were revered as true heroes.
So no matter how many times he had conquered the World of the Great Hero and no matter how many accomplishments he had achieved, to the public, Leo had still only been a promising Hero Candidate.
But now, his name had been inscribed in the Hero Record.
The way people looked at him was bound to change.
Before, he had just been a classmate.
Now, that was no longer the case.
“Leo has already reached the place we spend our whole lives trying to reach.”
The male student scratched his head.
“It’s like... I always knew he was incredible, but now... he feels untouchable?”
Another girl let out a small sigh.
‘Leo-nim now stands in a place ordinary students can’t even dare to look up to.’
Even she, the top of the second-year Knights Department, couldn’t begin to grasp Leo’s level.
So to the other students, he must feel even more distant.
“Leo’s school life is definitely going to be completely different from now on,” Chloe murmured, deep in thought.
“The people after Leo will start moving even more openly.”
Hearing that, Eliana’s expression darkened slightly.
“Yeah. Even the ones who were only testing the waters until now are going to become a lot more blatant.”
At Eliana’s mutter, Chen Xia tilted her head.
“Eliana-yang, do you dislike that?”
“Yeah. I do. I should probably stay away from you starting tomorrow, Chen Xia.”
At those baffling words, Chen Xia looked puzzled.
“By the way,” Chloe said, blinking her blue eyes as she looked at the others, “what exactly is Leo’s Epithet?”
===
Two women greeted Leo when he entered his room.
They were Mel and Enkinias, whom Mel had chosen as her successor.
“I get why Mel’s here, but why are you here too, En?”
“I received an order from the Lord to remain here and assist you, Leo-nim.”
At those words, Leo looked at Mel.
“En is a capable child, so she’ll surely be of great help to you, Leo-nim.”
“You may think of me as your personal secretary, Leo-nim.”
Leo chuckled at that.
“As a secretary, what exactly can you do for me?”
“To be specific, I can attend lectures in your place, complete assignments in your place, do your homework in your place, and so on...”
“That’s all just breaking school rules.”
“I assumed those were the things students disliked most.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that in front of a professor.”
“The Lord taught me that it isn’t a crime if you don’t get caught.”
“You taught her well.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t praise.”
Leo clicked his tongue as he looked at Mel, who was acting bashful.
‘How does she pick up all the subtle ways to trick people so well? Is that a dragon trait?’
Lysinas, the Wise King.
She seemed like a fair and righteous leader, but in reality, she had been a master of every kind of trick and scam.
‘Well, a lot of those tricks and scams were built on the truth, but still. She’s got a real knack for picking up the bad things.’
Letting out a soft sigh, Leo looked at En.
‘This one is definitely competent.’
She had played a major role in the battle against the Fragment of Erebos.
‘Since Mel chose her as her successor, she had to be capable. More importantly, this child’s Original Magic will be a huge help.’
En’s Original Magic, [Mirror].
It was a magic that could perfectly imitate another person’s appearance.
“Well, if you’re offering to help, I have no reason to stop you. I’ll be in your care.”
At his words, En bowed her head deeply.
“By the way, Mel. Did you check the Hero Record where my name was written?”
Leo still had not personally seen the Hero Record where his name had been inscribed.
“Yes.”
“What exactly was written?”
“Only your name, Leo-nim.”
At that, Leo fell into thought.
Leo had been surprised when he first heard that his name had been written into the Hero Record.
Part of him had worried his identity might be exposed, but it seemed there was no need for that concern.
“Why was only my name written? Has there ever been a hero in history whose name alone was written in the Hero Record?”
“There has never been such a case until now. You are the first in history, Leo-nim.”
At Mel’s answer, Leo sank deeper into thought.
‘My name has already been written in the Hero Record.’
The first hero in history to be recorded with only his name.
‘And on top of that, I’m also the owner of the Hero Record.’
In that situation, only his name had been written, without an epithet or any great deed.
‘She said it was written on the very last page.’
“Leo-nim, this is only my guess.”
“Go on.”
“Could it be that your name was written because that was what you wanted, Leo-nim?”
Mel also knew that Leo was the owner of the Hero Record.
Moreover, Leo had rewritten the Hero Record several times already.
He had recorded the stories of the heroes who had been active in the distant past during the Era of Calamity, as well as the Shadow Codex, into the Hero Record.
He had also restored the record of Seiren, the Comet Mage, after it had been burned away.
Those were not records written by the gods.
They were records written by Leo Plov, the owner of the Hero Record.
“Hm. That’s certainly possible.”
Leo stroked his chin and chuckled.
“A nameless hero. Not bad.”
“There are so many splendid epithets. Don’t you want one?”
“Not really.”
“That really does sound like you, Leo-nim. Everyone longs for the epithets bestowed by the Hero Record.”
“I already have a perfectly good epithet. The Hero of Beginning. It would be ridiculous to covet a name the gods handed out like some child.”
En, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, opened her mouth.
“In the first place, I believe any embellishment placed before your name, Leo-nim, is meaningless.”
Standing beside them, En spoke in a deadpan voice.
“Your existence itself is noble, Leo-nim. You are the greatest being in this world.”
“En really gets it!”
Mel beamed.
En already knew Leo’s true identity, having heard it from Mel.
“Hoh.”
Clearly pleased by En’s words, Leo let out a smirk.
“Then who do you think is greater, me or that woman Lysinas?”
“That would obviously be the Wise King.”
Thwack!
“Why did you hit me?”
After getting flicked on the forehead, Mel clutched her head with teary eyes.
“For failing to educate your successor properly. Just a moment ago she was saying I’m the greatest in the world, and now she changes her answer.”
“That is because Lady Lysinas passed away long ago.”
En replied without the slightest hesitation.
Clicking his tongue at En, Leo turned to Mel.
“Who do you think is greater, me or that woman Lysinas?”
“That would obviously be Lady Lysinas.”
Knowing full well she was about to get hit, Mel answered stubbornly anyway, and Leo smacked her on the head without mercy.
Once the talk about the Hero Record ended,
Leo spoke again.
“Mel.”
“Yes, Leo-nim.”
“Under the Dragon Lord’s authority, dispatch the dragons across the world.”
“Is this to prepare for a possible invasion from Tartarus?”
At Mel’s question, Leo narrowed his eyes.
“There probably won’t be a large-scale invasion from Tartarus like you’re thinking.”
“Pardon?”
Mel looked puzzled.
“The Death King is a more insidious bastard than you think.”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“Five thousand years ago, when Tartarus was incomparably stronger than it is now, the demons still couldn’t break through Guardslone, the world’s last bastion. And back then, we had fewer people and fewer resources than we do now.”
“That’s because back then, you, Lady Lysinas... and the Great Heroes were still around.”
“We weren’t powerful enough to turn the world around from the very beginning either.”
They had grown stronger by enduring countless battlefields and pushing forward.
“I always say this, but we didn’t save the world through our power alone. We weren’t the only ones who refused to give up and threw everything we had into protecting the world.”
Leo recalled the comrades who had stood beside him on the battlefield.
“The Death King knows. He knows what a hero truly is capable of. In the current situation, where everything is lacking, he’ll never choose an all-out war. But that doesn’t mean he’ll stay still either. Now that one Fragment of Erebos has been subjugated, he’s the one who took the biggest hit.”
“In that case...”
“He’ll dig even deeper into the darkness of the world. Political scheming is his specialty.”
The one who had orchestrated the usurpation of the lands of countless powerful races by Tartarus was none other than the Death King.
And those stolen lands had been offered up as fuel to Erebos.
“Even now, with his authority weakened by Erebos’s seal, he’s still a threat.”
The Death King’s authority was the authority to rule over the dead.
“We have no idea how far he’s developed that authority over the last five thousand years. Besides...”
Leo clicked his tongue.
“The fact that another Fragment of Erebos has awakened means it wouldn’t be strange for yet another fragment to awaken at any time.”
It had taken two thousand years for the first fragment to revive, and then another three thousand years for the next one.
The next fragment might take thousands more years to appear.
But...
“It may not take that long. If that happens, then just like this time, we’ll have to subjugate it before Tartarus does.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And one more thing.”
Leo said this while looking down at his palm.
“We need to find their pages.”
Mel immediately understood which pages Leo meant.
“Of course, we’ve already been searching. But I’ll put even more effort into it. Especially the Page of the Final Chapter.”
“If Tartarus learns that, they’ll start moving even more openly, won’t they?”
“I’d welcome that.”
Leo clenched his fist.
“If they start moving on a large scale as well, they’re bound to leave traces. We’ll gather our forces wherever they stir up trouble. At the very least, they’ll have to come at us with everything they have.”
From Tartarus’s perspective, the reappearance in the present age of a Great Hero who had vanished five thousand years ago was a complete disaster.
“Now that my identity is known and the cards are already on the table, there’s no reason to stay cautious anymore.”
Leo’s red eyes flashed.
“From this point on, the hunt for the Death King begins in earnest.”
***
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