The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student

After lunch, the second-year students headed to the circular grand lecture hall for a special Hero Studies class.

There, Leo rested his chin on his hand.

‘Why are heroes’ tombs being robbed?’

It was the request he had seen on the bulletin board during lunch.

‘The very fact that it was posted on the plaza’s request board means Lumene doesn’t consider it a major issue.’

It was a request that had practically been neglected at the school level.

To begin with, that board was often used by students from the third year onward who were short on commission credits and needed to make them up quickly.

Most of the incidents posted there were low-risk and low-priority.

‘It was a request that had been neglected for quite a long time.’

In cases where a request remained unresolved even after Lumene students had been dispatched, or if it went unfinished for too long, the school would conduct its own investigation.

And if anything unusual was discovered, the request’s rank would be raised immediately.

However, there were occasional cases where no such action was taken and the request was simply left alone.

If a request wasn’t particularly difficult but offered no real clues, students tended to ignore it.

Sometimes an eccentric student who liked mysteries would solve it, but most students avoided requests that took too much time.

‘Most of the tombs that were robbed belonged to heroes long forgotten.’

Heroes who accomplish great deeds in life are praised by later generations.

Through those who receive a hero’s grace, that hero is remembered by the people.

But those who receive a hero’s grace do not live forever.

As time passes, even heroes are forgotten.

Even more so in the current era, where the Hero Record has been destroyed.

‘Heroes of the distant past are forgotten. To the point that even I was forgotten.’

The tombs of such heroes had been robbed.

It was a meaningless act.

‘A hero’s legacy isn’t in a place like a tomb.’

A hero’s memento, the key to opening the Hero Record, is never carelessly left behind.

That was why there was nothing to gain from robbing a hero’s tomb.

‘It could be dismissed as the act of a madman, but...’

However, Leo knew of a group that revived the dead and used them as subordinates.

‘Necromancers.’

The defilers who followed the Death King.

‘But wouldn’t reviving someone who possessed great power in life be an enormous risk for them too? And with the Death King’s current authority, reviving and controlling someone on the level of a hero should be impossible, shouldn’t it?’

It might have been possible back when Erebos was whole.

But with the Death King’s current power, reviving a deceased figure who had reached the status of a hero and turning them into a subordinate should have been impossible.

‘If it really was that bastard Hell Kaiser who robbed those tombs, did he develop his abilities on his own? Or did he figure out some way to use the power of the Fragment of Erebos?’

Leo’s expression darkened even further.

By then, class had begun.

“Since when has the concept of a hero as we know it existed?”

Mel, who had written ‘What Is a Hero?’ on the blackboard, turned around.

“Is there any student who would like to answer?”

At the question, students raised their hands.

Smiling softly at the eager students, Mel pointed to one of them.

“Student Rosetti, please answer.”

At Mel’s words, a second-year student rose from their seat and answered.

“The concept of a hero as we know it came into being 5,000 years ago, after the end of the Era of Calamity.”

“Huhu, broadly speaking, that is correct.”

Mel took a cookie from the box beside the lectern and handed it to the student.

“Ooh.”

The student let out a cry of admiration and immediately took a bite to see what it tasted like.

“I’m suddenly curious. Why does Professor Mel hand out random rewards for class participation?”

As Eliana muttered quietly with a puzzled look, Chloe answered,

“According to research, random rewards can sometimes increase efficiency.”

“I’ve read that too. It was a study saying that no matter how good a reward is, people get used to it quickly, but if you add the stimulus of ‘randomness,’ their interest increases, right?”

“That’s right.”

Chloe nodded at Chen Xia’s words.

“Where on earth do you two even find books like that?”

As Eliana stared in wonder, Mel continued the lesson.

“Is there anyone who can answer more specifically? Yes, student Eliza.”

“The concept of a hero as we currently know it arose 3,000 years ago, after the Era of Genesis. These are the heroes who came to inherit the powers of their ‘predecessor’ heroes through the Hero Record.”

“Perfect!”

“Oh!”

“The top delinquent student~!”

Exclamations of admiration rang out here and there.

When Eliza glared at the students who were joking around, they quickly looked away.

Watching this, Mel smiled brightly and said,

“As student Eliza said, before the Era of Genesis, the existence of the Hero Record had not yet been revealed. That is why there were far fewer heroes then than there are now. After Creation, the number of heroes who registered their names in the Hero Record began to rise explosively. That is also why the period from then on is called the Age of Heroes in the truest sense.”

“Ooh.”

“I guess we really don’t know much about the early Age of Heroes before the Era of Genesis.”

“There aren’t many records of heroes from that time either.”

As the students murmured in amazement,

Mel clapped her hands and said,

“Now then, shall we read the textbook? Hmm~ who would be good... Student Carr?”

“Ye-Yes?!”

Carr shot to his feet in surprise.

His flustered voice echoed loudly through the circular grand lecture hall.

“<The Lives and Deaths of Heroes>, page 372. Could you read the part titled ‘Heroes of the Past and Heroes of the Present’?”

“Ye-Yes! Then...”

Thud! Clatter!

“Ack?!”

“Take your time.”

Carr, who had been fumbling frantically for his textbook, dropped his writing utensils.

Snickers broke out here and there.

Abad, seated at the very front of the Noble Dorm section, looked puzzled.

“What’s wrong with Carr?”

“Hmph, looks like he was dozing off.”

Duran snorted.

Eliza, trimming her nails in the very back row, spoke as though she found him pathetic.

“This isn’t like you. You’re usually so slick, but now you’re all nervous.”

Hearing that, Carr screamed inwardly.

‘You think you wouldn’t be nervous with the Dragon Lord standing right in front of you?’

During the last subjugation of Erebos,

Chelsea and Carr had accidentally discovered that Mel was the Dragon Lord.

Of course, neither of them had any intention of spreading that fact around.

However, Mel had called the two of them aside before class that day.

‘I know neither of you would spread rumors about my identity, but please be careful anyway.’

Watching Mel wink playfully, Carr, pretending to remain composed, had asked,

‘What happens if a rumor spreads by accident?’

At that question, Mel had put a finger to her lips as if thinking, then smiled brightly and said,

‘Then I’ll have to scold you.’

What Mel meant by scolding was a light punishment, something like making them stand with their hands raised in the professor’s office.

But to Carr, who didn’t know that, hearing the Dragon Lord, the being who held the greatest power in the world, say she would “scold” him could only sound terrifying.

Mel had realized from Carr’s reaction that he had misunderstood, but she had decided to leave it alone because it amused her.

“That idiot.”

Chelsea covered her face and shook her head.

Meanwhile, Carr, having finally opened his textbook, took a deep breath and began to read.

“The heroes after the Genesis Heroes can, in a sense, be called the successors of the Genesis Heroes. If so, whose successors were those who became heroes during the 2,000 years between the end of the Era of Calamity and the beginning of the Era of Genesis?”

Carr’s voice, clearly reading the textbook, echoed through the hall.

“...The heroes of the early Age of Heroes registered their names in the Hero Record through their own power. The heroes of the current era use countless Hero Skills. However, I do not believe it can be asserted that the later heroes surpassed the early heroes.”

After finishing the passage, Carr looked at Mel, and Mel nodded.

Carr sat back down in relief.

“Which heroes were stronger, and from which era? It is certainly an interesting subject for debate. But when this topic is raised at academic conferences, it often goes beyond discussion and heated argument and turns into duels.”

“No way, fistfights break out at academic conferences?”

The students reacted in disbelief.

“Fistfights are the cute cases. There are many instances where sword fights break out.”

The students fell silent at a level of scholarly aggression beyond their imagination, and Mel continued the lesson.

“The author of <The Lives and Deaths of Heroes> claims that the heroes of the early era were just as strong as those of later eras, but this is actually a minority opinion in academia. What do you think, student Carr?”

“I believe the author is one hundred percent correct.”

As Carr answered immediately, Eliza, still tidying her nails behind him, said,

“I’m not trying to disrespect the early heroes, but I can’t agree with that. I think it’s only natural that modern heroes, who inherit the powers of countless heroes, are stronger than the heroes of the past, don’t you?”

“I think so too.”

“Speaking of early-era heroes, who are the famous ones?”

The students began discussing it among themselves.

“Then shall we compare the two most famous heroes of the early and later eras?”

As the students talked, Mel wrote two names on the blackboard.

<Fairy Knight, Velkia.>

<Twilight Knight, Lumene.>

At the names of the two heroes with the greatest recognition in the world, the students fell silent.

One was among the three greatest figures of the elves, and the other was one of the Genesis Heroes.

Even comparing the two was a controversial subject.

“These two are regarded as the strongest Magic Swordsmen not only of their respective eras, but in the entire history of the Age of Heroes. Also, Velkia was a disciple of the Great Hero, while Lumene inherited the Great Hero’s power. Aside from their races, they have a surprising number of similarities.”

Mel smiled brightly.

“Now then, who is stronger between the two?”

“Still, wouldn’t Lumene, who fought against Erebos, be stronger?”

“There aren’t many records left of Velkia, are there?”

The atmosphere in the room clearly favored Lumene.

Chen Xia, who had been watching the discussion, asked Leo,

“Leo-nim, what do you think?”

“Well.”

Leo, momentarily pulling himself away from his thoughts about the Death King, crossed his arms and pondered.

Leo had met Seiren and Rodia.

‘Both of them were heroes of overwhelming power.’

The Genesis Heroes had not been defeated by the Fragment of Erebos.

‘The fragment sealed by the Genesis Heroes was in a far stronger state than the one that revived this time. The Genesis Heroes completely overpowered that fragment.’

The only reason the Genesis Heroes had failed to subjugate the Fragment of Erebos was because of the immortality Erebos possessed.

Erebos endlessly revived as it burned.

They had failed to complete the subjugation only because there had been no one like the Hero of Beginning, who possessed the Mana of Purity trait that could break Erebos’s immortality.

As Leo gauged the strength of Seiren and Rodia, he recalled the disciple he had known before departing on his final expedition.

‘Seiren and Rodia were a cut above the Velkia I remember. Since they were both Genesis Heroes, Lumene’s power was probably not much different from theirs. But...’

After organizing his thoughts, Leo opened his mouth.

“It would be difficult to determine who was superior.”

***

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!