Editor : Amethyst00



Shuffle–shuffle–

"Ugh…!"

Freyna, leaning heavily on her summoning staff, trudged along before collapsing onto the sand with a thud.

Currently, Freyna was wearing a thick hood to shield herself from the direct sunlight of the desert.

It was originally a high-grade item with temperature-regulating magic, but that function had been lost when she was forcibly crash-landed.

Even so, considering the desert heat, it was still useful in many ways.

If she hadn't had the hood, her face would've been buried in the sand and burned by now.

The heat of the sand felt through the thick fabric was murderous.

"I'm seriously gonna die at this rate…"

She wandered the desert without a single sip of water.

Even a first-year student of the Hero Academy was a superhuman beyond the range of ordinary people.

But the harsh desert climate was still enough to threaten their life.

Freyna, collapsed in the middle of the desert, let out a self-mocking smile.

'If I'd known this would happen… maybe I should've teamed up with the other school students…?'

The reason Freyna was crossing the desert alone was because she'd refused to cooperate with the other Hero Academy students.

'Why the hell did I do something so reckless?'

Perhaps out of some minimal sense of mercy, the first-years who were dropped into free-fall had been given a bag with a little food and water.

No one knew how long it would take to reach the test site, but it was easy to guess that the supplies were given at a barely-sufficient level.

The problem was, the desert crossing wasn't the entire test.

With mana restraints in place making it hard even to summon low-level magical beasts, the appearance of low-class monsters only pushed Freyna further into a corner.

'Looks like the Lumene grade representative is going to be disqualified. If I'd known, I should've just given the position to Mylia or Veto.'

She'd only become the year-rep because she was more capable than Mylia or Veto.

Freyna had no particular desire for the position.

She just thought that since she was representing Lumene, she should at least not disgrace the school's name.

The grade representative role inevitably draws public attention.

If she looked incompetent in that position, it could harm not just the school's reputation but also the honor of House Hergin.

'And this… this is a disqualification as a shadow too.'

Freyna bit her lip.

She had lived her life to become the shadow of her older sister, Eliza Hergin.

The role of a shadow had two major purposes:

First, to be the sword that cuts down those who betray the world.

Second, to be the shield that protects heroes from Hero Hunters.

Since childhood, Freyna had lived to protect Eliza and to sacrifice herself in case something happened.

If a direct-bloodline family had siblings, the one with superior heroic qualities became the successor.

The one without became the shield to protect that successor.

This was a common tradition in old hero families with long histories.

In many ways, the shadow protecting the hero had to be the closest person to them.

One who stayed near and guarded their life.

Therefore, the role of the shadow was always entrusted to someone most trustworthy.

And it became natural to entrust that role to the most ideal family member.

'Senior Celia or Chelsea were probably in the same position as me.'

Freyna thought of the two seniors who had likely been in the same situation.

But they had walked a different path than her.

'Because they were different from me. They were born with overwhelming heroic qualities.'

Though they were the younger siblings of hero direct lineage, they possessed hero potential no less than the successors themselves.

It would've been a waste to let that kind of talent rot away as shadows.

Though their situations were similar, their positions were different. But Freyna didn't feel any jealousy.

However…

Toward that person—she did feel jealousy.

No—more precisely, betrayal.

Chen Xia.

The shadow who became a hero.

Among the first-years who came from shadow candidate backgrounds, Chen Xia was an object of admiration, envy, and respect.

Among shadows, the Emperor of Xian was special.

The Emperor of Xian was always the strongest shadow.

A truly perfect shadow.

That successor to Xian had registered in the Hero Record.

To the shadows, this was a shock akin to the dawn of a new era.

But to Freyna, Chen Xia was a disappointment.

Freyna took pride in living as the shadow of her sister Eliza.

She believed that for heroes to shine, shadows like her needed to exist.

Shadows were feared, yes, but having pride in that role wasn't strange.

Freyna had pride as a shadow.

Of course, it wasn't always like that from the beginning.

'When people found out I was a shadow… the way they looked at me really hurt.'

As a direct descendant of House Hergin, Freyna often met people who visited the family.

Naturally, those visitors were of fitting stature for House Hergin.

The family head would occasionally inform those closely connected to the family that Freyna was Eliza's shadow.

'Among kids my age, many would look at me with fear, contempt, or ridicule.'

Adults weren't much different.

Some would give her sympathetic looks, as if feeling sorry for her.

Whatever it was, all those reactions deeply wounded Freyna as a child.

She hated being a shadow. Hated it to death. And while she loved her sister Eliza, part of her also resented her.

'Though Eliza never knew.'

One day, while despairing over her circumstances…

She heard a story about a certain shadow.

'Senior Xia.'

Among shadows, Chen Xia had been famous for a long time.

She acted as a shadow at an age when most were only training.

As Xian's successor, she'd carried out missions to eliminate traitors while still a child—a genius.

Freyna knew of Chen Xia even before Eliza did.

As a child, Chen Xia's story gave Freyna pride in being a shadow.

She believed that a princess of Xian, serving as a shadow from such a young age, must have had tremendous conviction.

So young Freyna came to admire Chen Xia as much as she admired her own sister Eliza—without even knowing her face.

When Chen Xia entered her second year and it was revealed she had enrolled in Lumene, Freyna asked her father to let her enter Lumene the next year.

At the time, public perception of shadows was beginning to shift, and it was said that many shadow candidates were enrolling.

The head of House Hergin decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to send his second daughter, a shadow, to Lumene.

When Freyna finally saw the Chen Xia she so admired…

She was disappointed.

She had expected someone who embodied shadow-like qualities more than anyone.

But Chen Xia, whom she thought to be the perfect shadow, shone brightly just like her sister Eliza.

Then she even joined the Hero Record alongside Eliza.

"Why do you think you can't be a hero? It's not good to define your own limits. Miss Freyna, you're Lumene's grade representative. You, more than anyone, should embody what the school teaches."

When she recalled what Chen Xia had told her a few days ago—

"I'm a shadow, Senior Xia. I'm different from you."

She also remembered her own cold, pathetic voice.

'I admired her on my own… then decided she betrayed me. How pathetic am I?'

The reason she recklessly came into the desert alone was because she didn't want to associate with hero candidates.

This foolish rebelliousness of hers had led to this pathetic result.

'…Should I just drop out?'

Feeling her mood sink to rock bottom, Freyna felt all strength leave her body.

Her mind faded further and further under the heat of the sun.

'…Am I going to die like this?'

And with that, Freyna lost consciousness.

Step—step—

That's when shadows watching the situation from afar began to approach her.

"You guys—what are you?"

A small figure under a hood asked.

A clear, pleasant voice that somehow made the listener feel good.

The shadows paused and looked at the hooded figure.

Judging by their presence in the Azo Desert, it was clear they were a first-year.

But Anya, heir to the elf Shadow Lord, couldn't help but be cautious of the newcomer.

'No sign of approach at all?'

While Anya stayed wary—

"You never seen a dwarf before? Why are you staring so unpleasantly?"

The irritated response made Anya glance to the side.

Another elf shadow, Thea.

He possessed a rare mana trait called "Truth and Lies."

It allowed him to discern whether someone was speaking truth or falsehood.

"Are you Damien student?"

"So what?"

Anya looked to Thea.

Seeing Thea nod slightly, Anya tilted her head. She was puzzled by how they'd failed to detect the approach of a first-year student named Damien.

"Go your way. That one's already out."

"That shadow's disqualified?"

'They recognize a shadow? So they must be from a shadow background. No wonder we didn't detect them.'

Impressed by the person's stealth skills, Anya said,

"Yeah. So don't worry about it and…"

"What's the disqualifying condition? Becoming incapacitated?"

"If we rescue them, they're disqualified."

"I see. Then I'll take them."

"Out of camaraderie?"

It seemed like a shadow helping another shadow.

"Think what you want."

Saying that, they carried Freyna on their back and walked off into the desert.

bl

Crackle—crackle—

A campfire burned between the cracks of rocks, suitable for camping.

"Hot?"

Freyna, lying in front of the fire, sat up.

"You're awake."

Snap!

The dwarf who broke a branch to use as firewood spoke, making Freyna's eyes widen.

"What are you looking at?"

"Wait… are you an elf?"

"I'm a dwarf, though?"

"With that face?"

Freyna's jaw dropped.

The dwarf scowled at her.

As she looked around—

"You're the one who helped me?"

"Yeah."

"…I owe you."

Freyna gave a bitter smile.

Then she asked,

"What's your name?"

"Damien."

"I know that."

"…What?"

With something off about the conversation, the beautiful dwarf furrowed his brow. Freyna looked at him and said,

"I know you're Damien, a first-year. What I asked was your name. Since I owe you, I'd like to repay you later. But I've never seen anyone like you among the Damien students. With that face, you'd definitely stand out."

She tilted her head. The dwarf threw a branch into the fire and muttered inwardly.

'A Damien student, huh…'

Soon, Damien finished assessing the situation.

'So this is reality.'