Editor : Amethyst00



The crowd erupted into cheers for Leo, who had just displayed overwhelming skill.

‘I didn’t mean to stand out, though.’

Leo sighed as he looked down at the blood splattered across his body.

When the Cyclops exploded moments ago, he had been unintentionally drenched in blood and flesh.

Guided by the staff amid the roaring applause, Leo left the arena.

He was taken to a waiting room inside the colosseum.

Inside, applicants who had already finished their Beast Carnival were chatting noisily— until they caught sight of Leo, covered head to toe in blood.

The noise instantly died.

All of them had finished their own trials earlier and were now watching the remaining competitors.

Naturally, they had all witnessed Leo’s astonishing performance.

Every gaze that fell on him carried wariness.

To the Azonia candidates, Leo was a formidable rival.

“Is there no place I can wash up?”

“The rooms have washing facilities,” replied the staff member who had guided him.

“And where do I go for that?”

“Before heading to your rooms, all applicants must first listen to the instructor overseeing the ceremony.”

‘At this rate, I’ll stand out even more.’

None of the others were so thoroughly soaked in blood.

Leo’s appearance was drawing far too much attention.

‘I’ll just keep to the corner quietly.’

Finding an empty spot in the vast waiting room, Leo sat alone.

‘Still… transformation, huh. Didn’t expect that.’

He glanced down at his hand, recalling what had just happened.

‘To think I could trigger a fire transformation while *Polymorph…’*

What he had used was Aaron’s Breath, now called Brave's Breath.

Of course, it was quite different from the original version Aaron had used— the ability for true, free transformation had been long lost.

But somehow, in his polymorphed state, Leo had managed to use that power.

‘Well, in my case, my body didn’t change at all.’

Polymorph was a spell that altered appearances, not essence.

He might look like a half-beast and have used the Breath to awaken fire transformation, but Leo remained, at his core, human.

His outward form may have changed, but his body hadn’t grown any stronger.

That was why the aftereffects of pushing Aaron’s Breath to its limits were still unavoidable.

While Leo pondered over the Brave's Breath—

Aru, from a distance, was staring intently at him.

‘No matter how I think about it, I definitely saw it!’

She had clearly witnessed Leo’s transformation in the arena, and she couldn’t get it out of her head.

Among beastkin, transformation was the subject of constant research.

It was the greatest weapon granted to their kind.

The ability to freely transform was every beastman’s deepest wish—

but in all of history, only one had ever achieved it.

‘The Brave, Aaron!’

Aru’s ears and tail perked up, her feline eyes shining.

‘Even Lord Aaron himself—there’s only written record saying he could freely manifest!’

No battle records of Aaron existed in the surviving Hero Records.

So the claim that he could transform freely remained only in texts—

its authenticity still hotly debated among beastmen.

Of course, Aru firmly believed it was true.

‘Because there’s nothing Lord Aaron couldn’t do!’

Having grown up hearing tales of his glory, Aru saw Aaron as the Great Hero who could do anything.

Even her name had been inspired by his.

‘I’ll just ask him directly!’

Determined, Aru approached Leo, who sat quietly in the corner.

“Hey, Black Rabbit. I’ve got something to ask—”

“Oi.”

But before Aru could speak, someone else beat her to it.

Leo looked up from his seat as a shadow fell over him.

A tall, muscular wolf beastman—easily over 180 centimeters—stood before him with folded arms, looking down.

“What is it?”

“Not bad, huh?”

The boy gave Leo a smirking look, as if evaluating him.

“I figured you were some coward hiding in the corner, but… you left quite an impression.”

He had gray hair and fierce golden eyes—the kind of face that radiated raw aggression.

“My name’s Dion Den. You?”

“Kyle.”

“Kyle? Same name as the Hero of Beginning? How interesting.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing much. Just glad there’s someone strong enough here to make things interesting.”

Dion chuckled, his eyes gleaming.

“Thanks to you, school life won’t be boring.”

“Muscle-head. Talking nonsense again.”

Aru crossed her arms and walked over with an exasperated look.

“Huh? Aru.”

Dion raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“You still got that scrawny body, huh.”

“Hmph! There’s no need to overdevelop muscles. Look at this body—graceful, flexible beauty!”

“Yeah, still unimpressive as ever.”

“Who are you calling unimpressive?!”

“You’re my childhood friend, so I’m not really interested. I already know how strong you are. I’d rather compete with new strong ones.”

The wolf boy grinned—he was the embodiment of beastman nature, driven purely by strength.

“Fine, then go talk later! I’ve got business with the black rabbit!”

“Me?”

“Yeah! I’ve got something to ask you!”

“What is it?”

“You—!”

“Hold on! I was talking to him first.”

“So you can go after me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not letting you cut in line!”

“I met him before you did!”

“So what! Wait your turn!”

As the two snarled and glared at each other, Leo sighed.

“You two get along pretty well.”

“I do not get along with this muscle-brained mutt!”

“Like I’d ever be friends with this stupid cat!”

“Everyone, gather up.”

A voice cut through the room—an instructor entering to assemble the candidates.

“Let’s go.”

As Leo stood up to join the group, Aru kicked Dion’s leg in frustration.

“Because of you, I missed my chance to talk! You’re no help at all!”

“Hmph! So composed—very fitting for a strong one! I like you even more!”

“Don’t ignore me!”

“When the term begins, the world will look to us, not Lumene!”

“Stop ignoring me!!”

Aru smacked Dion’s back hard.

“You’re just going to hurt your hand doing that.”

Indeed, his dense muscles barely budged.

Scowling, Aru extended her claws.

Dion caught her wrist, frowning.

“You damned cat!”

“You damned mutt!”

Aru kicked at his face furiously—

“Hey! What are you two doing instead of assembling?!”

—and the two of them ended up getting scolded by an associate instructor.

bl

After the Beast Carnival ended, the applicants gathered to hear an explanation about the next test:

the Desert Crossing Marathon, to be held the following day.

The rule was simple—

Start from Azrek, cross the Great Desert, and arrive at Azonia, which lay at its center.

That was the condition for admission.

It sounded simple enough.

But crossing the desert between Azrek and Azonia was no easy feat.

“The Azrek Great Desert is one of the harshest places on the continent.”

The man explaining the trial—Verga—stood before them.

The applicants gazed at him with admiration.

He was currently the most renowned of all beastman heroes—

a living legend who had fought on the frontlines until recently.

“So I’ll give you just one piece of advice.”

Everyone swallowed hard as Verga’s sharp gaze swept across the room.

“Don’t be foolish enough to mistake recklessness for courage.”

At those words, tension rippled among the students.

Some clenched their teeth.

“This is my last chance…”

“I barely made it through the free lectures, and now they tell us to back off?”

“After coming this far, there’s no turning back!”

Like Lumene, Azonia had age limits for admission.

Many of the applicants here were retakers already at that limit.

For them, to “give up” was the same as giving up on their dream of becoming a hero.

“And those of you who received recommendation letters—step forward.”

At his words, five boys and girls stepped out.

The free-lecture graduates all turned their eyes toward them.

‘We had to claw our way through the free lectures… but those guys—!’

The key difference between them was clear.

The recommended students possessed such overwhelming talent that they were exempt from the free lectures altogether.

Even so, those who had struggled to earn their place couldn’t help but feel bitter— especially since all the recommended students were from famous noble families.

Verga crossed his arms, looking down at them.

‘Ah, Father! His presence is overwhelming as always! He’s even more intense today!’

‘As expected of Instructor Verga! What an incredible aura!’

Even Aru, who’d grown up watching him, stood tense.

The same went for the others— except Leo, who alone looked calm as he met Verga’s gaze.

Verga stared at him for a while before speaking.

“You who skipped the free lectures likely have no familiarity with the other candidates. Introduce yourselves.”

The applicants began introducing themselves one by one.

First was a fox beastman wearing glasses.

“I’m Stea Rual. My specialty is magic. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Leit Vega. An elemental mage.”

The bear beastman grinned proudly.

“I’m Aru Tune. Let’s all do our best.”

“I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.”

At Kyle’s introduction, a few students exchanged surprised looks.

The name of the Great Hero was too famous.

People might borrow a few letters from it when naming a child,

but using the full name itself was unheard of—

especially since “Kyle” was considered more of a mythical figure now.

After the four finished, everyone turned to the last candidate—Dion.

He bared his fangs in a cold smile.

“Weaklings, don’t drag me down. Quit early if you can’t keep up.”

The candidates’ expressions stiffened.

Some assistant instructors flinched, and Verga narrowed his eyes.

‘Dion does have the skill to back that up… but can he handle the consequences?’

Verga liked the strong— but not just anyone strong.

His first rule of recognition:

Take responsibility for your words.

With that single line, Dion had made enemies of every free-lecture graduate present.

Aru just sighed and shook her head, used to her childhood friend’s antics.

When the introductions ended, Verga asked,

“Good. Any questions?”

No one raised a hand.

“Then you’re dismissed. Beyond that corridor, you’ll receive your dorm assignments.”

At his words, the free-lecture students began leaving the room,

casting cold glances at the recommended candidates as they passed.

The applicants only exchanged light sighs and shrugged,

having already expected such treatment.

As they too began to leave—

Aru glanced toward the entrance, planning to wait for Leo, when—

“Kyle.”

“Yes.”

“Come see me. We’ll have a private talk.”

‘A private talk? What’s this about?’

As the instructor—equivalent to a professor in Lumene—called him aside, Leo tensed slightly.

Meanwhile, Aru frowned.

‘Will that take long?’

Thinking her timing was off again, she headed toward the dorms.

‘I’ll just visit him later.’

She was determined to uncover Leo’s secret somehow.

Once the others left and the assistant instructors exited to maintain order— only the two of them remained.

Verga’s expression turned serious.

“Kyle. Let me ask you something—just to be sure.”

“Yes?”

‘So he *did figure out I’m from Lumene?’*

Leo felt tension creeping in.

“Are you… by any chance, Reina’s son?”