Editor : Amethyst00



The highest point of Seiren Academy.

The Star Plaza.

Located high above the ground through magic, this place was created in the distant past by Seiren the Comet Mage to observe the stars.

Now, the representatives of each Hero Academy were gathered there, engaged in conversation.

An official gathering of the successors of the Great Heroes.

Naturally, the meeting place had to be just as special—hence, the Star Plaza was permitted.

"Well then."

Lunia cleared her throat with a soft cough.

"Shall we begin the meeting?"

The agenda for today was to decide the joint practical evaluation task for the first-years.

"What kind of test would be best?"

In response to Lunia's question, Aru raised her hand.

"How about a one-on-one martial arts tournament to determine who's the strongest?! It's being held in Azonia anyway, so we could build a coliseum and showcase the excellence of our first-years to the public!"

Among all the Hero Academies, the one most closely connected with the public was undoubtedly Azonia.

Azonia students placed great importance on making themselves known to the public.

Even the entrance exams were open for public viewing, and many of the tests were conducted in front of people.

In fact, Azonia's student council president was also the champion of the Student Coliseum.

While Lumene's and Seiren's student council presidents were tacitly acknowledged as the strongest, Azonia's was the officially recognized strongest.

In Damien's case, however, the student council president was not the strongest student, but the most outstanding blacksmith.

To Aru's enthusiastic suggestion, Lunia responded bluntly.

"Rejected."

"Why?!"

Aru asked with a dissatisfied expression, and Lunia replied.

"A one-on-one duel is unfair. It doesn't allow us to assess all of the students' abilities."

"Hmph. You're afraid, aren't you? That Seiren's kids might lose to ours?"

"What?!"

"Well, it makes sense. You can't beat me one-on-one either, can you?"

"Wanna try me?!"

"Been waiting for that!"

As the two stood up from their seats, Leo spoke.

"Both of you, sit down."

At his words, the two obediently sat back down.

Watching the scene unfold, Drianna sided with Lunia.

"I'm against the tournament as well. As Lunia said, it's insufficient for evaluating the full range of abilities of the first-years."

Drianna stroked her chin.

Despite her small stature and cute appearance, she acted like an old sage, prompting Leo to mutter inwardly:

'I'm still not used to that.'

"There are four key things we need to consider first."

Drianna said in a serious tone.

"The core values pursued by each Hero Academy."

At her words, Lunia and Aru each recited their school's mottos.

"Believe in yourself."

"Move forward."

Drianna continued, picking up from them.

"Pursue possibility, and—"

Everyone's eyes turned to Leo for the last.

"Surpass your limits."

These were not just school mottos.

They were the four core values prioritized by the founding Dawn Heroes of the academies.

"A hero must believe in themselves and move forward. And to make the impossible possible, they must surpass their limits."

"Moreover—"

"……?"

Drianna looked at Leo seriously.

"I believe that this year's freshmen are almost evenly divided across all academies."

"Evenly divided?"

"What do you mean?"

Lunia and Aru looked puzzled at Drianna's sudden remark.

"Isn't that right, Leo?"

"Seems like it. How did you know?"

"I'm an artist, but I also work as a blacksmith on the side."

"No, that's your main job."

Leo corrected her, but Drianna ignored it.

"As a craftsman who works with metal, I can tell what kind of weapons people are trying to make, and for what purpose."

She looked Leo straight in the eyes.

"And weapons designed to hunt demons and monsters are fundamentally different from those made to hunt people."

Leo was impressed.

"You can even tell that?"

"I can."

As expected of the talent Dweno praised.

A gift specialized for creating armaments more than anyone else.

"This year's freshmen are evenly split—between those who create weapons to hunt demons and monsters, and those who craft weapons for hunting people."

Upon hearing this, Lunia and Aru seemed to realize something.

"Half of Damien's new students are shadow candidates?"

"No way. Wait, even our school?"

Leo spoke to the surprised pair.

"I noticed today—about half of Seiren's students seemed like shadow candidates."

He looked at Aru.

"Azonia's probably similar. Lumene as well."

It had already been passed along by the Shadow Lords of each race: that this year, shadow candidates would be enrolling in the Hero Academies.

And that this was by the candidates' own choice, not by order.

'It's a good thing. It means they're breaking out of their shells on their own.'

Leo thought of Lumene's representative shadow candidate.

'Freyna Hergin.'

Eliza's younger sister.

In prestigious hero families, shadows are sometimes cultivated internally.

Often, the most trusted person is assigned as the shadow to protect the heir.

"I had no idea…"

Aru said in surprise, and Leo continued.

"There's still a lot of prejudice against shadows. So the first-years are bound to be cautious. Besides, there aren't many who are fully formed shadows yet."

Chen Xia, who had lived as a perfect shadow from childhood, was exceptional. Most shadow candidates at student age were not yet fully trained.

"With that in mind, I propose using the Book of Shadows."

"The Book of Shadows?"

Leo asked with a puzzled expression at Drianna's suggestion.

"Yes."

Drianna nodded.

"To grow stronger, we often rely on Hero Records, right? Even now, we've inherited powers from many former heroes besides the Great Heroes."

"True…"

"We're familiar with conquering the world of heroes—but not the world of shadows."

Drianna crossed her arms.

"If the core values of heroes are believing in yourself, moving forward, making the impossible possible, and surpassing limits… then experiencing the unknown would be the best way to test those values."

Leo smiled slightly and asked:

"Wouldn't that favour the shadow-origin students?"

"Ha. Leo, you can be quite the devil. Always testing others. Of course we'd mix the teams."

"Mix the teams?"

"Yes. If the Book of Shadows becomes the practical assignment, the shadow-origin students will naturally take the lead. But even they haven't trained to overcome the trials faced by shadows, so it'll benefit them as well. And the hero candidates will come to appreciate the importance of shadows."

Hearing this, Lunia fell into thought.

"Indeed, because of the Legion's world, Hero Hunters will only grow stronger. Conquering the Book of Shadows will help not just the first-years, but even upperclassmen."

"Hmm! The problem is whether the Xian Empire will approve…!"

Aru crossed her arms and swayed her tail as she looked at Leo.

"Black Rabbit! It's your turn to step up! Didn't Xia just inherit the Xian throne?"

"She hasn't been fully crowned yet, but I'll ask the Emperor of Xian."

Leo answered calmly, thinking of Xia.

"She probably won't object."

bl

That night.

CLANG! CLANG!

Fwoooosh—!

The weapon forge at Seiren Academy.

True to its magic-first tradition, Seiren's forge was located in a remote corner of campus.

The forge was small.

Even so, the tools within it were all first-rate.

The elves who resided here and crafted or repaired weapons were all highly skilled.

Under the watchful eyes of those elven artisans, Drianna was striking a weapon in front of the furnace.

CLANG! CLANG!

The weapon she was working on looked like an ordinary longsword.

But it was anything but ordinary.

CLANG!

Golden flames scattered in all directions.

The elven artisans watching let out gasps of admiration.

This was the flame of Dweno that Drianna had inherited.

Each strike of the hammer infused the longsword with Dweno's flame.

CLANG!

She struck it fervently, as if hoping for a response, but the longsword remained silent.

Huff—!

Eventually, the golden flames died down.

Drianna reached out to the longsword.

Her hands trembled from exertion.

She touched the blade.

But the metal remained cold.

'It won't come alive.'

Drianna let out a deep sigh.

Then she turned around.

There stood Leo, arms crossed, eyes closed.

Drianna took the sword and walked toward him.

"Leo, it's done."

At her words, Leo opened one eye and stood up.

"How is it?"

"Just as you said, Posteritas won't awaken."

Drianna gave a bitter smile.

"It doesn't have a life to awaken. It's a replica."

The pitch-black cloak obtained when Lumene conquered Kyle's world.

Among the weapons of Dweno that had lain dormant within it.

Naturally, they were replicas.

After bidding farewell to the elven artisans and stepping outside, a chill snowstorm blew through.

As the heat on her skin faded, Drianna spoke.

"Can't it awaken if it's touched by your hand?"

Certain objects only activated when touched by Leo.

Drianna wished those items could function independently.

Especially Posteritas, the last weapon left by Dweno—and the first one he recognized as a true masterpiece.

She had a strong desire not to merely watch, but to wield it herself.

Even if she couldn't fully unleash its power, she believed using it would grant her great inspiration.

But unfortunately, in Drianna's hands, Posteritas was nothing more than an ordinary longsword.

That's why she attempted to restore its abilities, even as a replica—but it didn't respond.

"Maybe Lord Damien could do it."

"Damien, huh…"

At Drianna's words, Leo looked puzzled.

"Come to think of it, I don't recall ever hearing about any weapons Damien made."

As Dweno's successor, he must have created impressive armaments—even if they weren't divine-class.

But to Leo's knowledge, no such weapons existed.

"Didn't Damien Academy store a lot of Dweno's weapons? Do they have any made by Damien himself?"

As Leo asked in confusion, Drianna replied:

"Ah, well, about that."

"Yeah?"

"There probably aren't any."

"What?"

"They say the Damien who founded Damien Academy was a 'fake.'"

At that unexpected claim, Leo looked shocked.

"A fake?"

"Yes. Just an old rumour, of course. But officially, Damien left behind no weapons at all."