Editor : Amethyst00



“There’s no one else. It’s just the two of us.”

“Let’s put the situation together. Normally, we should have received the quest notification as part of the rescue team with the rest of our group. But…”

Chloe glanced at the Hero’s World alert visible only to her.

[Objective: – ]

The blank objective field.

It was the same for Leo.

“So this is an abnormal situation.”

“Exactly.”

After listening to Chloe’s analysis, Leo, without hesitation, raised his right index finger to his temple.

The Hero’s World formed from the Hero Record was supposed to allow communication with the outside at any time.

“You’re going to contact the outside? That’ll get us points deducted.”

“This isn’t the time to worry about that.”

As he focused, blue light began to flow from his fingertip.

“This is Leo Plov. I don’t see the other group members. What should we do?”

But no answer came.

“…No one’s responding?”

“What? That’s impossible.”

Startled, Chloe hurriedly tried contacting the outside herself—but failed.

“This can’t be happening… This isn’t even a Hero Dungeon…”

Leo asked her calmly as she panicked.

“Chloe. Did you notice anything strange when we entered?”

“Strange? Like what?”

“An odd entry message or something.”

“No, it was exactly like what we learned.”

Shaking her head, Chloe placed a hand on her forehead.

“Haah… What on earth is going on?”

“Either way, we can’t just sit here.”

Chloe, stomping her feet in frustration, froze.

“You’re not seriously suggesting we clear the Hero’s World now, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“Impossible. Even with ten people in a group, it’s hard to clear a Hero’s World! We won’t be able to meet the clear conditions!”

“You know just as well as I do that staying still is even more dangerous.”

30 years ago, Tartaros triggered the Chadmuthers Incident to eliminate future threats.

This entire forest was a trap they had laid.

There was no telling when or where danger would strike.

“Then we really shouldn’t attempt it! The exam will be suspended soon anyway.”

“If it could be suspended, it already would’ve been. In this situation, the Hero’s World should have been forcibly closed, yet we’re still here. It’s clear the outside can’t control the Hero’s World.”

“No way…”

“Yeah. The only conclusion is that this world has turned into a Hero Dungeon.”

A Hero Dungeon.

The rampage of a Hero Record page.

“There’s never been a case where a page from the Hero Record itself turned into a dungeon instead of being lost.”

“But right now, there’s no other explanation, is there?”

Chloe’s face hardened.

“You know there’s only one way to release a Hero Dungeon, right?”

That method was to clear it.

Leo’s deduction was sound.

Even so, Chloe hesitated.

No matter how much of a model student she was, Chloe was still just a 15-year-old girl.

She lacked the experience to make cold judgments and act accordingly.

“We’re the honor students of the first years, right? If we come up with a good plan, we can definitely clear this.”

Smiling as he spoke, Leo made Chloe clench her fists.

‘I thought I’d caught up.’

Through this midterm exam, she had believed she’d finally caught up to Leo.

But when she looked again, Leo was already far ahead.

‘And he even has a plan already. Meanwhile, I panicked and couldn’t think of a thing…’

Chloe bit her lip hard.

‘Just what is this difference between us…?’

“What’s the plan?”

“It’s true we’re lacking in strength, and it’s also true we can’t achieve the clear conditions as we are now.”

The Chadmuthers Incident had two objectives:

[Rescue the endangered first-years]

[Ensure the safety of the first-years]

The reason Chloe said it was impossible to clear was because of the second condition.

Even if they somehow managed to fulfill the first condition, ensuring the safety of the first-years was impossible with just the two of them.

“That’s why we first need to reinforce our fighting strength.”

“Reinforce it? If this is a Hero Dungeon, no one can come in or out from the outside. How are you planning to reinforce it?”

“We’re not the only Lumene people in this forest, are we?”

At Leo’s words, Chloe’s eyes widened as realization struck.

“You mean to join forces with the seniors from thirty years ago?”

“Exactly. If we escape the forest, we can satisfy the safety condition.”

“That’s true… but this forest is crawling with demons lying in ambush. It’ll be hard enough for just us to survive, let alone fight through and reach the seniors.”

She was right.

For Leo’s plan to succeed, they had to break through Tartaros’s encirclement.

“The risk of combat is high, especially against demons. That’s why we’ll avoid fighting as much as possible.”

“You think that’s possible?”

“It is. Just trust me. So…”

Leo smiled faintly, turned his back to her, and crouched down.

“Huh?”

“Get on.”

“W-what?! What are you suddenly saying!”

“You’re a mage, your mobility is low. If I carry you, we’ll move much faster. Besides, mages need to conserve their stamina in situations like this.”

Magic was the trump card that could reverse the flow of battle.

“S-still, to carry me like that? That means I’d be touching your… y-your—!”

“I don’t know what you’re rambling about, but we don’t have time to waste. Hurry.”

“….”

Face bright red, Chloe hesitated but finally climbed onto Leo’s back.

“Don’t grab my shoulders, wrap your arms around my neck. Otherwise, you’ll fall.”

Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Here we go.”

Thud—!

Leo stomped down with an aura step and shot forward at blinding speed.

Clutching him tightly from behind, Chloe thought bitterly:

‘In the end, I’m just relying on him again.’

She had considered him her rival, but now she felt like she was being no help at all.

Whoosh—!

Meanwhile, Leo focused his mind.

Even with high mobility, breaking through Tartaros’s encirclement without much fighting would normally be impossible.

But Leo had one means to make it possible.

Aura flared within his body.

Veins bulged at his temples and across his skin.

Every hair on his body stood on end, and his senses sharpened several times beyond normal.

Thump—! Thump—!

The sound of his heartbeats thundered in his ears.

‘Hypersense.’

The technique of the Great Hero Aaron, who refined his senses to the utmost limit by micro-controlling his aura.

Of course, compared to the original, what Leo used was crude and incomplete.

‘That guy’s Hypersense weren’t just heightened senses—they were almost like predicting the future.’

But even this crude version was enough to get them through the current situation.

Crash—!

Landing lightly on branches, Leo dashed through the forest at tremendous speed.

bl

A hulking figure nearly three meters tall stood motionless in the middle of the forest.

It was Chubarne, a demon dispatched from Tartaros to eliminate budding heroes.

He was watching multiple screens floating in midair.

They showed the first-years of Lumene scattered across the forest, caught within Tartaros’s surveillance network.

As he scanned for his target, one screen drew his attention.

“The rescue team already?”

But Chubarne quickly dismissed the two figures.

He’d been ordered to eliminate any who interfered, but he hadn’t been told to hunt them down proactively.

There was only one objective.

“Eliminate the hero candidates who may become a threat in the future.”

He was about to move to carry out his mission when he noticed Leo entering combat with monsters.

Leo and Chloe were merely obstacles.

Originally, they weren’t even targets worth changing plans for.

Yet Chubarne’s gaze fixed on them—

Or rather, on Leo, who wielded aura, cast magic, and summoned elementals.

In his eyes, clear hostility and hatred burned.

Chubarne glared at Leo and spat out a single word like venom.

“Kyle!”

bl

“Orc group spotted ahead.”

“Got it.”

Even if they avoided combat as much as possible, there were times they couldn’t.

This was one of those times.

Chloe chanted quickly and completed a spell in an instant.

Three ice lances shot straight in the direction Leo pointed.

Splat—!

“Graaaargh!”

The orcs struck by the ice lances screamed.

Five orcs collapsed, dead.

But five still remained.

Graaaah!

They swung their crude weapons in rage.

The orc at the rear pulled a horn from its waist.

Chloe immediately realized what that meant.

‘I have to stop it! If not, orcs will swarm in from everywhere!’

She hurriedly began chanting.

But Leo was a beat faster.

Releasing his right hand from supporting Chloe’s thigh, he drew his sword.

Shiiing—!

Gripping it in reverse, he hurled it straight at the orc.

Whsssh—! Thunk—!

“Grrrk?”

The sword pierced the orc’s throat along with the horn.

As the orc died instantly, Leo stepped up to retrieve the weapon.

“Sorry, blood might splatter.”

Squelch!

He yanked the blade out and swung it backward in one smooth motion.

Slash! Tear! Crack!

The sword traced a deadly arc.

The orcs froze where they stood.

Leo vaulted past them.

Splurt—!

The next moment, the orcs collapsed in sprays of blood.

‘He’s fast.’

Two hours had already passed since they entered the Hero’s World.

They had fought a total of seven battles so far.

‘Normally, we should’ve fought more than twenty by now.’

Leo hadn’t taken the shortest path, but that didn’t matter.

What was important was not speed, but reaching the first-years from thirty years ago intact.

In that regard, Leo was preserving their strength well.

In seven battles, they hadn’t once fought demons, and Chloe hadn’t had to get off Leo’s back at all.

Even though they hadn’t faced any particularly powerful monsters, Leo maximized their efficiency with flawless movement.

All Chloe did was cast spells at his direction.

It was hard to believe.

She glanced at his back.

He didn’t show the slightest sign of fatigue.

‘So there’s this much difference in real combat…’

Chloe bit her lip hard.

At that moment—

“Found them.”

“Huh?”

Chloe turned her head toward where Leo was looking.

There, a group of students was facing off against unknown assailants.

“Those are…!”

Figures in black hoods.

“Demons?”

Sensing the ominous aura from them, Chloe’s face hardened.

“Chloe.”

“Yeah.”

“Support me.”

Leo released his grip on her thigh.

Chloe quickly chanted the flight spell, Fly.

The moment he confirmed it, Leo flared his aura and descended rapidly.

The leading demon facing the Lumene students shouted:

“Prepare yourselves, accursed hero candidates!”

Slash—!

A silver flash split the air above his head.

Splurt—!

The demon’s skull split open, and his body crumbled into sand.

“It’s been a while… since I hunted demons.”

The demons flinched at Leo’s sudden intrusion.

“Who are you, bastard?!”

“Me?”

Leo smiled coldly.

“I’m the one who’s going to kill you bastards.”