Editor : Amethyst00



Tap, tap—

Leo walked down the corridor, lost in thought.

He had already anticipated that some heroes would not acknowledge him.

So he felt no particular resentment.

In fact, it was only natural.

No matter how famous he'd become or what feats he had accomplished, most of them had never seen him with their own eyes.

'And now they hear I've suddenly stood at the pinnacle of heroes… of course they can't accept it.'

The fact that Leo was the successor to the Hero of the Beginning as an All-Class was already common knowledge.

And no hero was unaware that he was the god-chosen nemesis of Erebos.

But that was the extent of it.

The existing heroes saw Leo not as someone who would stand above them, but merely as a promising figure of the next generation.

To them, he was still a distant junior.

And so, there would be all kinds of people.

Those who genuinely wished to test if he was someone worth following and those who sought to defeat him to seize greater fame.

But regardless of the motive, what they all wanted was the same:

'Proof.'

They wanted him to prove whether or not he truly deserved the title King of the World.

'There are always those who can't stand the idea that someone is above them.'

In the past, he would've ignored voices like that.

They were a hassle. He didn't need to prove anything.

To Leo, others' recognition had no value.

He would always be at the frontlines, and people would follow. So they'd have no choice but to acknowledge him.

But after returning from the parallel world, something had changed.

'Soon, Lunia and Aru… Drianna will take the roles of Luna, Aaron, and Dweno.'

Just like Melina had replaced Lysinas in that other world.

'It'll be the same for the others too.'

In the not-so-distant future, the ones he had built bonds with in this life… they would become the most dependable comrades.

'The complete eradication of Erebos that I've longed for—might no longer be just a dream.'

Kyle's life had not been a happy one.

It had been a life of endless loss.

In the end, he had achieved the goal of saving the world—but it brought him no joy.

'I'm not about to wallow in grief over how miserable it all was.'

He would not be consumed by sorrow for the things he had lost.

'Because I've grown far too used to losing.'

Even the deaths of his irreplaceable companions—lives more precious than his own.

Leo had never once hesitated to keep moving forward.

In the parallel world…

He had been given the chance to live the life he had always dreamed of.

But he gave it all up and came back.

'I'm sure the others would've made the same choice if it were them.'

Tap—

Leo came to a stop and looked ahead.

The entrance of the royal palace stood before him.

He had abandoned everything he ever wanted and returned here because of one thing:

Responsibility.

The responsibility of one born into this world, and destined to bear its weight.

The many things he had gained through the miracle of the Hero Record— from the comrades of this world.

And above all…

'The bonds I've forged in this life.'

Leo's life as Leo was far shorter than his life as Kyle.

But that didn't mean it carried any less weight.

The bonds he had built were far too heavy for that.

Yet Leo had never once told himself, "I won't lose them."

Because in his past life, he had lost everything in the end.

He had grown too accustomed to surviving alone.

He had always lived with the resignation that loss was inevitable.

'I thought… it was only natural to lose.'

But the battles to come would be unlike anything he'd faced before.

They would be brutal.

Victory was not guaranteed.

Even so, he could no longer accept loss as inevitable.

'The ones in the parallel world remained bound by me and trapped in the past—because of that mindset.'

That was the difference between Leo, who accepted loss… and his comrades, who did not.

Leo stared down at his palm.

'I'm not the Hero of the Beginning.'

Nor was he the King of Beginnings.

'I'm still the surviving hero.'

Defeating Erebos alone was not enough.

"Leo-doryeong?"

Behind him, Chen Xia tilted her head at his sudden stop.

Leo turned around.

Elena was there too, arms crossed, smiling slyly.

"If it's too much of a pain, I'll handle it for you. I think I can manage a hero or two."

Her words weren't arrogance, despite still being a student.

"I could use the fame, too," she added.

Leo finally opened his mouth.

"No. I'll do it."

"You're not someone who cares about how others see you, Leo. I don't think you need to waste time dealing with challengers like this."

"I used to be like that."

Leo looked ahead again.

"But Lysinas passed on the title of King of the World to me."

Depending on how he carried himself now, he could claim that title in full—officially.

He now stood in a position where he could unite the world's strength.

A feat that had been impossible five thousand years ago.

Back then, there were no Great Heroes. No symbolic figures.

It was only after the world had nearly collapsed that the powers of the world could be drawn together.

But now things were different.

Great Heroes existed. Their successors were here.

And as the King of the World…

How much power he could unite now depended entirely on him.

'Lysinas knows that I'm not suited to be king.'

Even the title Hero of the Beginning was enough to rally people. Even if unity was weak, it would still be enough to challenge Erebos.

And yet, Lysinas had forced the position of King upon Leo, someone unfitting.

Leo understood exactly what that meant.

'Don't lose anything anymore.'

Unlike the painful life before— this time, Lysinas hoped Leo would not lose a single thing.

She didn't give him more power.

She gave him a means to create an unprecedented force.

'This time, I'll protect everyone I hold dear.'

Leo pushed open the doors of the palace.

'I won't live on alone anymore…'

Tap— Tap—

'I'll be someone who lives on together.'

As Leo stepped out of the palace gates, the first thing that caught his eye was the massive crowd gathered outside.

And then—at the center of all their gazes—stood a female knight.

She stood quietly with her eyes closed, donned in a full suit of polished plate mail. Her brown hair shimmered under the sun.

The murmuring crowd, who had been murmuring at the sight of the knight, suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers at Leo's appearance.

"Ooooooh! It's the King of Beginnings!"

"Long live the King of Beginnings!"

"Waaaahhhhh!"

A wild roar of cheers swept through the plaza.

And in response to that sound, the knight opened her eyes.

Clear green eyes—firm, unwavering.

Leo tilted his head slightly as he met her gaze, sensing the determined and composed will behind her eyes.

He had seen many people, perhaps not as many as Lysinas, but enough.

And with just one look, he could generally read what kind of person someone was.

As Leo silently regarded the knight, Sith approached at his side.

"Your Majesty, you've arrived."

"That's her? The one who challenged me to a duel?"

"Yes."

"She seems to be rather well-regarded, isn't she?"

Sith blinked in mild surprise.

"Do you know of Dame Nazlin, the Knight of the Sandcastle?"

It wasn't unusual for Leo to be unfamiliar with the names of even well-known heroes.

Sith was well aware Leo had little interest in such fame.

Nazlin, the so-called Knight of the Sandcastle, possessed a reputation approaching that of a hero, though she had yet to officially be named one.

And her fame didn't come from military campaigns or achievements on the Tartaros front.

She wasn't affiliated with any particular nation or major faction.

Nor was she from Lumene, or a graduate of any prestigious knight academy like Icott.

She was simply a wandering knight from the southern continent.

What brought her acclaim was a single event five years prior.

The Monster Parade.

A phenomenon in which monsters spontaneously surged and began to migrate in massive numbers. The cause was clear—Tartaros. But the event itself was a disaster with no warning, akin to a natural calamity.

The Monster Parade occurred along the far southern border. Sweeping through the surrounding area in an instant.

The border nations chose to shut their gates and defend their own frontiers rather than engage in large-scale subjugation.

Which meant that small villages in the area were left completely exposed to the oncoming flood of monsters.

By all accounts, those villages should have been trampled and erased.

But there was one person who stood alone against the parade and defended the region.

That was Nazlin—the Knight of the Sandcastle.

Her feat earned her immense renown, and she was hailed as a knight on the verge of becoming a true hero.

Many factions had tried to recruit her, but she refused them all.

Instead, she remained a wandering knight, choosing to aid the weak across the world.

Of course, Leo knew none of this.

"First time I've heard of her."

"Then… how did you know she was well-regarded?"

Sith tilted his head, confused.

Leo simply replied:

"Because the challenge wasn't rejected at your level—it was reported directly to me."

"Ah… As expected of Your Majesty."

Sith let out a soft chuckle.

In truth, there had been many duel challenges over the past few days.

The only reason Leo didn't know was because Sith had rejected them before they ever reached him.

"No need to personally deal with every wandering ruffian."

Just as Leo exhaled quietly at Sith's words—

"Your Majesty," the knight stepped forward. "My name is Nazlin. Though I am lacking, I have earned the epithet Knight of the Sandcastle, and I wander these lands as a knight errant."

She offered Leo a formal knight's salute.

"Since my youth, I have revered the Wise Queen, Lysinas. Hoping to honor her will, I have traveled the world, offering what little strength I have to preserve peace."

"So?" Leo asked. "Why challenge me to a duel?"

"Because it was His Majesty whom Queen Lysinas personally chose to succeed her. I've come here wishing to serve you as your knight."

"Then why the duel?"

"Before I become Your Majesty's knight, I wished to prove my strength with my own hands."

"Hm."

Leo stroked his chin in silence.

"Wow, this is so unfair! You accept her challenge, but not mine? Am I a joke to you?"

A rough voice broke through the crowd.

A man strolled out with a cocky gait and a casual, swaggering tone.

Sith narrowed his brows at the sight of him.

"…That mutt."

"Now, now, Flame Wave," the man grinned. "Isn't 'mutt' a bit much? I admit, 'Hellhound' is my nickname, but still."

The man known as the Hellhound turned to Leo and curled his lips into a smirk.

"Greetings, O King of Beginnings. Name's Jeswan Turek. Wandering knight. Known among some as the Hellhound. You've heard of me, right?"

"Can't say I have."

"Oho, how fitting for one called a king—so arrogant."

Jeswan grinned brazenly as he stared at Leo.

"I submitted a duel request to see Your Majesty's strength for myself, but was rejected, you see."

"Why do you want to see my strength?"

"Well, you've got this fancy title, King of the World, right? I figured if your strength matched the title, I'd stick around, maybe grab a steady paycheck."

His eyes gleamed with wild challenge.

"But now I see you show up for this girl's duel and not mine. Isn't that favoritism? Or are you just afraid to fight a real hero like me? That'd be disappointing."

"How dare you spout such drivel before His Majesty—"

"Your Majesty, allow me to remove this mutt—"

Sith and Nazlin were already drawing their blades in anger when—

Leo raised a finger and pointed at Jeswan.

Jeswan, mistaking it for a signal to attack, tensed— only to hear:

"You pass the interview."

"…What?"

Then Leo pointed at Nazlin.

"You pass too."

Everyone blinked, dumbfounded. Then Leo snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Ruuuumble—!

The ground at the palace entrance began to tremble— Then the earth rose and transformed into a dueling arena. Standing atop the stage, Leo crossed his arms and declared:

"Now then. The practical test begins."

He looked down at the two knights.

"Come at me. Both of you."