Editor : Amethyst00



Leo let the polearm hang loosely as he approached Taratnia.

‘Can he really handle that kind of weapon even if he’s a swordsman?’

Chelsea, who was preparing to assist Leo with magic from afar, wore a worried expression.

Even Chelsea had to admit that Leo’s swordsmanship was outstanding.

But it was a different story if the weapon changed.

‘He’d be better off borrowing someone else’s sword…’

While Chelsea was worrying,

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

As Leo approached Taratnia, he spun the polearm around his fingers.

It felt very heavy.

At Leo’s age, it was a weapon that couldn’t be handled without the help of Aura.

But for Leo, who had trained his body beyond its limits since childhood, it posed no problem.

In fact, the weight itself worked to Leo’s advantage.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!

The polearm, which had been spinning lightly, suddenly began to whirl at a fearsome speed.

Taratnia lunged with her jaws wide open.

Swish—!

Gathering centrifugal force, Leo slid his grip down the polearm and caught the end of the handle.

Then, with one hand, he swung it wide.

Wham—! Splat!

Screeeeech!

The polearm’s axe blade, swung at full force, slammed into Taratnia’s head.

The combination of the polearm’s weight and the spinning momentum turned into raw destructive power, smashing Taratnia’s head in an instant.

As everyone stood aghast,

Leo retrieved the polearm and leapt.

Then, as if to hammer down, he embedded the axe into her back with both hands.

Crash—!

Screech!

An ear-piercing shriek.

Taratnia stabbed at her own back with her long front legs.

Whoosh—!

Leo quickly dodged by leaping away and lightly stepping aside.

‘This won’t last long.’

He quickly checked the weapon’s condition.

He’d managed a solid hit, but even in one strikes had damaged the weapon.

Aura doesn’t just increase a weapon’s attack power, but it also preserves its durability.

“Chelsea!”

“Y-yes?”

“Use wind magic to send the other examinees’ weapons to me!”

Leo shouted as he dodged Taratnia’s attacks.

“In a situation this fast, I can’t control it precisely! Someone could get hurt if I miss!”

“I’ll catch them myself, just send them quickly!”

“Wh-which weapon?”

“Any weapon! Just hurry!”

At Leo’s urging, Chelsea took the examinees’ weapons and sent them to him with wind magic.

Whirl—!

A sharp curved sword and a heavy bastard sword flew toward Leo.

“Use whichever is more comfortable!”

Wham—! Crack!

The axe blade of the polearm that had hit Taratnia’s head broke.

Leo tossed the handle aside and stepped back, reaching out with his hands.

‘From the sound alone, that’s a curved sword and a bastard sword, right?’

He could accurately tell what kind of weapon it was just from the sound as they flew.

Screech!

Taratnia thrust both front legs at Leo.

Leo spun in the air, dodging the attack.

Tap! Tap!

At the same time, he caught both weapons perfectly.

Curved sword in his left hand, bastard sword in his right.

As Taratnia’s front leg aimed at his body, Leo blocked it with the flat of the bastard sword.

Clang—!

The impact reverberated through his body.

“Grr!”

Leo stifled a groan, bounced away, and swung his left hand.

Slash—!

Screech!

In that brief instant, Leo sliced off one of Taratnia’s front legs as he bounced back and regained his posture.

Then, without hesitation, he charged.

Taratnia’s defenses themselves weren’t that high.

Even a weapon without Aura could cut through her, as long as it had enough force.

The reason other examinees’ attacks didn’t work was simple.

Her recovery rate was faster than the rate of injury.

‘Was the Ring of Life always this troublesome?’

With a bitter laugh, Leo pushed his steps faster.

He squeezed every ounce of strength from his body, pushing himself to the limit.

After surpassing his limits time and again, Leo’s whole body now responded to his will.

Even without using Aura, Leo’s movements were nothing short of majestic.

The other examinees gaped at the sight.

Polearm.

Curved sword and bastard sword.

Claymore.

Dagger.

Longsword.

Spear.

Battle axe.

Every time a weapon broke, Leo switched to the next examinee’s weapon in turn.

And he wielded them all with almost eerie mastery.

The sight alone was awe-inspiring.

Regardless of weapon type, his movements were near-divine.

As if he could wield every weapon in existence.

Without a shred of hesitation, he faced Taratnia head-on.

He looked like a war god.

‘He’s around our age, and yet he can fight like this with so many weapons?’

‘What the hell is that guy’s true identity!’

The examinees aiming to be knights stared wide-eyed.

Even Chelsea, who had been assisting Leo, looked disbelieved.

At first, she thought of helping with magic.

But Leo moved far too quickly.

The melee battle was so chaotic, she couldn’t use magic carelessly.

So she watched anxiously.

But Leo kept that terrifying monster at bay alone, making her worries seem pointless.

A great hero.

The man who, alongside [Brave] Aron, led impossible battles to victory time and again on the front lines—his prowess drew every eye.

Even in a battle where a single mistake meant death, Leo showed no hesitation.

On the contrary, he felt at ease.

‘It’s been fifteen years—I was worried, but I haven’t lost my touch.’

He could hardly breathe.

Even so, he couldn’t help but laugh.

He relentlessly pressured Taratnia without pause.

Even when attacks grazed him and tore his flesh.

He didn’t stop.

‘Forward! Forward!’

A trial? Wasn’t every moment in the past a trial?

‘If I can’t even stop a bug like this, they’d be laughing at me from the afterlife!’

This doesn’t even count as a trial!

Crack—

“Tch!”

A crack ran through the longsword he was holding.

The weapon had already reached its limit.

In just five short minutes, dozens of weapons had been broken.

Leo was about to ask Chelsea for the next weapon when—

“Leo! We’re ready!”

Celia’s voice rang in his ear, and Leo grinned.

“Hup!”

Then, using all his strength, he leaped away from Taratnia.

Fwoosh—! Whoooosh—!

Almost like a seamless handoff.

Celia leaped in, brandishing her Flame Storm, radiating an insane flame.

Holding the flame in check was a powerful wind.

“Now! Die already! You damn bug!”

Kwooooosh!

As she swung her sword, a storm of blazing flames was unleashed.

A powerful storm ripped Taratnia’s body to shreds.

The suffocating flames relentlessly burned Taratnia’s body.

Taratnia writhed in agony.

The Ring of Life granted the spider infinite vitality.

But soon, the power of destruction outstripped the power of regeneration.

Whoosh—!

The flames died down, and Taratnia vanished, reduced to ashes.

Clink—!

A golden ring fell to the ground.

[Albi’s World: Prologue – The Forest of the Monster has been conquered.]

A message appeared before their eyes.

Celia collapsed on the spot.

“I-it’s over.”

Tilting her head back, Celia let out a deep sigh and looked at Leo.

Leo, wounded all over, stood gasping for breath.

‘He really held off that monster for five minutes.’

It was astounding.

And even after working the hardest, he was still standing tall.

Forcing herself to her feet, Celia smiled and walked toward Leo.

“Leo! You did gre—”

“Amazing! Really amazing! You were like a hero straight out of a legend!”

Chelsea bounced up to Leo, waving both hands in excitement.

“Is that so.”

“Yeah. I’m aiming to be a battle mage, so I need to practice close combat. If you get into Lumene, would you teach me?”

The tension Chelsea felt during the exam vanished after seeing Leo’s fight, and she kept chattering in excitement.

Celia came up beside her and spoke.

“He has nothing to teach a woman from Lewellin. Shoo, shoo—”

“Why is a Zerdinger butting in?”

Celia and Chelsea started a little quarrel.

Ignoring them, Leo forced his aching body to move.

His whole body screamed in pain, but he ignored it and picked up the ring that Taratnia had dropped.

Then, a faint golden light burst from the ring.

At the same time, a fairy appeared.

Leo’s eyes wavered.

A familiar fairy.

It was Sillord, the successor to the Fairy King.

He silently looked up at Leo.

“Hey… Sillord. Do you remember me?”

Leo asked in a slightly trembling voice.

It was the first time he’d seen him since Luna died.

But Sillord only smiled once without answering and vanished.

“……”

Leo smiled bitterly.

This was the Hero Record.

The Sillord that had just appeared was a fake.

‘Looks like he became the Fairy King safely.’

Albi must have gained the Mystic Eye from Sillord as a reward for defeating Taratnia and recovering the Fairy King’s treasure.

Leo looked around.

Before he knew it, cracks were forming in the world.

The conquered Hero's World was beginning to disappear.

‘Anyway, it’s over.’

Leo took a deep breath.

Finally, the world collapsed in a brilliant light.

In that instant—

[Conquest Reward: Oath of the Fairy King]

“What?”

He received a reward that should not have been given.

bl

The center of the continent.

The world’s central city, Lumeria City.

A historic city that had existed with Lumene for 3,000 years.

At the top of that city, an old man stroked his chin.

“Ho. Looks like the western region exam is over.”

“As expected of Lord Albi. It’s already finished, it seems.”

“That fellow does work fast.”

The old man chuckled.

Though he was well over a hundred, there was no one in the world who could disregard him.

Sword Saint Kalian Beidna.

A hero among heroes, who had reached the pinnacle by the sword.

“Let’s see. Ho? They picked quite a few!”

“Really? That’s not like Lord Albi! How many?”

“Forty.”

“……”

Kalian spoke calmly.

At his words, the woman’s eyes trembled.

“Is… is that a lot?”

“Of course. It’s a lot. I expected about ten.”

Erena clutched her head.

Forty new students from the western region.

In other regions, a hundred were admitted, but only forty in the west.

It was obvious that the families of the west would soon flood them with complaints.

“Don’t be too upset. Isn’t forty better than ten?”

“Well… that’s true. It is better than ten. Hahaha.”

Erena, secretary to the Lumene principal, forced a strained laugh.

“Who took top honors, Celia or Abad?”

“They’re co-valedictorians.”

“Co-valedictorians?”

“Yes. Celia Zerdinger and Abad Lewellin, joint top. It was impossible to choose between them.”

“I see.”

Erena’s eyes sparkled.

“And one more thing.”

“There’s more?”

“There’s a recommended student for freshman representative.”

“By Lord Albi himself?”

Even Albi, who was always strict with others, was recommending someone as freshman representative, which surprised Erena.

“Is it Celia Zerdinger or Abad Lewellin?”

Usually, the freshman representative is chosen from among the valedictorians.

Kalian replied to Erena’s curious question.

“Leo Plov, apparently.”

“Not Celia or Abad, but someone else?”

Smiling, Kalian looked at the report as Erena stared in confusion.

[Freshman Representative Recommendation]

Name: Leo Plov (15)

Course: Knight Studies.

Reason: Potential hero.

‘For Albi to single out someone as potential hero material… I’m curious what kind of student he is.’

Kalian stroked his beard and laughed heartily.