Editor : Amethyst00



Leo looked perplexed at Artienne's words.

"A heroic spirit?"

"Yes. Do you have any ideas?"

Heroic spirit.

It refers to the spirit remnant of hero who died long ago being summoned by a spirit conjurer.

But a heroic spirit is not exactly a soul.

To be precise, it is a fragment of memory left behind in mana.

Mana is the energy that flows through nature.

And the stronger the power and will a person had in life, the deeper their traces remain in the mana.

Spirit conjuring draws upon those traces—like the living memories of heroes engraved in mana.

Among those heroes, ones with lingering regrets in this world can be summoned back as heroic spirits.

'That's how Luna was able to return to this world.'

However, the reason Luna could appear as a heroic spirit in the current world was due to the medium called Cometes.

'No matter how great the person, after 5,000 years, their presence left in mana would normally vanish.'

Luna's appearance as a heroic spirit was triggered by the Hero's World conquest reward and Leo's spiritual power.

If that's the case…

'Then Lysinas might also be able to appear as a heroic spirit.'

Previously, after conquering Lysinas's world, Leo inherited Lysinas's mana.

'I met Lysinas's heroic spirit then.'

At the last moment, when the Lysinas's World was vanishing,

The Fool within the Hero's World encountered the Wise Queen faintly embedded in Leo's mana.

And she had stood before Leo, carrying the memories of her future self.

If Lysinas's mana had left a trace in Leo's mana then—

'Then it's not strange that Lysinas's heroic spirit still lingers around me.'

Moreover…

'Chelsea said Lysinas got mad when someone said Lysinas was ugly in the Nightmare.'

Since then, he had suspected the presence of Lysinas dwelling within him.

But after hearing Artienne's words, he became certain.

'Lysinas, as a heroic spirit, resides within the mana I inherited.'

Leo clenched his fist tightly and looked at Artienne.

"I have a guess."

"I thought so."

"Would you be able to summon that heroic spirit?"

Artienne was an extraordinarily gifted spirit conjurer.

Leo believed that if Artienne could sense the spirit's presence, summoning it should be possible.

But Artienne shook her head with a troubled face.

"It's difficult."

"Why?"

"If the heroic spirit was originally embedded in your power, Leo, I could summon it. But I don't think that's the case. The presence of the heroic spirit around you is very faint."

"Faint?"

"Yes. Almost as if the spirit doesn't reside in you. When a spirit's presence is this faint, it's often embedded in a Hero's World conquest reward, not in the person's own mana."

"A heroic spirit embedded in my conquest reward?"

"Yes. But that's what's strange. The feeling is definitely like that of a spirit obtained through inheritance, but the emotions of this spirit are clearly directed at you, Leo. Hmm…"

Artienne tilted her head, thinking, and then clapped her hands.

"Ah! By any chance, is spirit conjuring one of the hero powers you inherited?"

Leo was surprised by that question.

'She could deduce that?'

"I think the spirit manifested when you acquired the power of spirit conjuring. I didn't sense any spirit around you back when you were a first-year."

Leo stared at Artienne.

Spirit conjurers were extremely rare.

But not entirely unseen.

After becoming the student council president at Lumene, Leo had met a few spirit conjurers.

However, none of them had ever sensed the spirit dwelling within him like Artienne did.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Professor Artienne, you're a genius."

"Excuse me?"

Artienne looked confused by the sudden compliment.

"That means I have no choice but to summon it myself."

"Yes, but it will be very difficult. It's true that a spirit dwells in you, Leo, but it's not in an awakened state. A dormant spirit is considered asleep. Also…"

"Also?"

"Unless you're a natural-born spirit conjurer, mastering the ability just by acquiring it is incredibly hard."

Leo stared again at Artienne.

"Professor."

"Yes?"

"Can you teach me spirit conjuring?"

"To you, Leo?"

Artienne tilted his head, then replied, "It's not difficult, but if you're unfamiliar with spirit conjuring, we'd have to do it at night. Spirits are stronger then."

"That's perfect. I'm the student council president."

"Excuse me?"

Artienne first looked puzzled, then smiled brightly.

"Ah! That means you have a private room."

He clapped.

"Hehe, then if I come to your dorm room every night, there's no problem."

"You're enthusiastic."

"Of course. You're the one who personally requested private lessons from me, after all."

Artienne's eyes slightly widened.

"As a professor, it's an honor to teach a student like you."

"I'll be counting on you."

"Leave it to me."

Artienne lightly tapped her chest with a fist and smiled confidently.

"I'll teach you everything I know."

bl

The next morning.

"Why can't I go?! Is it because I'm not good enough?!"

Shasha asked Leo with teary eyes.

"It's not that you or the others aren't good enough. It's just that those three are suited to this mission."

"Yeah, Shasha. Don't be so down."

Chelsea also tried to console her.

“But aside from Chelsea-sunbae, there aren’t any pure magicians… wouldn’t I be a good fit?”

At that, Juen beside her said with a frustrated look, and Carl pointed his finger toward Duran and Eliza.

"They may be from the knight and summoning departments, but the prince and Eliza are like walking explosives. Both in personality and skill."

"You didn't need to say you want to die in such a poetic way, Carl Thomas?"

"What's wrong with my personality?"

"Gyaaaah!"

Duran grinned coldly, while Eliza strangled Carl with her whip.

"It's still frustrating."

Juen clenched her fists, and Carl, who barely escaped, rubbed his neck and said, "Well, every mission has different needs…"

"Hmph. Expectations from seniors can be such a burden."

"Were you always like this? Little prince?"

Carl sighed as he watched Haviden smiling at him.

Back when they were first-years, Haviden had been Duran's mentee, and Carl called him the "Little Prince."

He was also a royal successor like Duran.

"Don't be ridiculous, Haviden. You're only here because you're suited for mobility."

"Jealousy is ugly, especially from the left behind."

Juen, veins popping on her forehead, grabbed Carl and shook him.

"Carl-sunbae! Tell Leo-sunbae to drag me along, even if he has to tie me up like luggage!"

"No can do. Juen. Luggage is even more useless."

"KYAAAA!"

"Aina, don't tease Juen like that."

"…? I wasn't teasing. I was just stating the truth."

Aina blinked at Luke's scolding.

She just meant that if she couldn't join even in peak condition, then in a 'luggage' state, it was even more out of the question.

But failing to read the room, she perfectly provoked Juen.

"Hmph. Luggage suits you."

"You're dead!"

Juen charged at Haviden with a pickaxe.

"Okay, okay! Settle down."

Carl grabbed Juen under the arms and lifted her off the ground.

Her feet dangling, Juen flailed wildly.

"Let me go, sunbae! I'll bash his head in and prove I'm more necessary!"

"Come on, settle down. I'll give you candy."

"I'm not a kid!"

"Haviden, stop teasing her too."

"Yes, sir."

Haviden politely stepped back at Carl's words.

Before entering Lumene, Haviden had visited the academy as one of the top elite students from the three prestigious institutions.

He used to look down on Carl for being a commoner, but after seeing Carl fight, he changed his mind.

Since entering the academy, Haviden had always treated Carl with utmost respect.

Carl looked at Juen, who now had candy in her mouth.

"Don't be in such a rush. Like I said, it's not that you're lacking. The same goes for you too, Shasha."

"…Okay."

"Got it."

Watching Carl return after calming the juniors, Eliza commented dryly, "Regardless of departments, the juniors really follow you."

"Hmph. Must be my charisma."

"You certainly are popular among the juniors."

"Huh?"

Carl looked startled at Eliza's agreement.

If it had been Eliza, calming the juniors would've been easy.

She would've just overwhelmed them with sheer charisma.

But Carl genuinely soothed and comforted them.

“Well, that’s a method that suits someone soft like you.”

"Thank goodness."

"…? What do you mean?"

"You actually complimented me. I thought you were sick or something."

WHACK—!

"Leo! Save me!"

Carl ran to Leo as Eliza pulled her whip tight.

From afar, Drianna stroked her chin as she watched the scene.

"What are you staring at now?"

"I think I've found a great model for this party."

"You'll never find one."

Aru looked at her, exasperated.

Confirming that everyone was ready, Leo spoke.

"Then let's head out."

bl

After entering the Tartaros domain, Leo's group began moving in earnest.

The outskirts of Tartaros resembled a disputed border.

It was still within enemy territory, but an area of constant battle as the world fought to reclaim it.

Recently, there had been no armed conflicts on the eastern front with Tartaros, but the eastern continent's strongest forces, Damien and Xian, had steadily purged nearby demons, monsters, and beasts.

In other words, the outer edge had fewer enemies.

"There were countless Gigantes in our scouting report, but that was a special case."

"A special case?"

"Yeah. A dense zone."

Leo recalled two days of fighting.

"If that many monsters existed all throughout Tartaros, this world would've been destroyed already."

Artienne nodded at Leo's words.

"Leo's right. Even deep inside Tartaros, you won't always encounter that many monsters. There must be a reason. Maybe an entrance to a Hero's Dungeon nearby."

"So we have to go back there?"

"Exactly."

Leo nodded.

The group tensed and moved out.

Having already mapped out the terrain, their movement was swift.

Soon, they reached the area where Gigantes had appeared.

Leo frowned.

"Huh? What? Where did all those Gigantes go?"

Eliana looked confused.

The massive number of Gigantes they had seen earlier was gone.

Artienne checked the map and spoke.

"This area used to be a safe zone with no demons or beasts."

But now, with a Hero Dungeon event, it was a full-blown danger zone.

Eliza and Carl returned from aerial reconnaissance.

"Looks like the Gigantes moved en masse."

"A mass movement?"

"Yeah. We saw their trail."

If huge creatures like Gigantes had moved together, the traces would be obvious.

"For now, we should follow—"

RUMMMMMBLE—!

The ground began to shake.

Everyone readied themselves.

CRACK—! BOOM—!

A massive arm shot out in front of Leo.

"GRROOOOOAAAHHH!"

"What the hell is that monster?!"

Carl recoiled in shock at the demon emerging from the earth.

The massive demon radiated sinister dark energy. Leo muttered, "Giganto."

"Leo-oppa, do you know that demon?!"

"He's a great demon—once the right hand of the Giant King Giath."

Leo flexed his fist.

"Interesting."

"What is?"

Chelsea looked puzzled as Leo grinned fiercely.

"Killing the same demon I killed once before."