Editor : Amethyst00



Carl and Freyna opened their eyes.

The two quickly assessed their surroundings, on alert.

But they soon relaxed after realizing they were standing in the middle of a street.

People walking by were casting suspicious glances at them.

Carl hurriedly looked up at the sky.

'We're screwed…'

He swallowed dryly.

A sky of ash-gray.

Anyone could tell—it was the Age of Calamity.

A sky of despair that sent chills down his spine, even though he'd already experienced it once before.

What made it worse now…

'Only Freyna and I ended up here.'

Even though he was called a Hero, Carl's practical strength was lacking. He was essentially a support-type.

And the one who came with him—Freyna—was still just a first-year student.

They were a team with unknown chances of surviving even a basic Hero dungeon.

'And now we're in the world of a Great Hero…'

Carl swallowed again.

'The letters were wiped out… but anyone could tell—it was Aaron's world.'

Carl quickly compiled all the information he had.

'Even if I couldn't read the chapter name, the background was familiar.'

Rayâ– r.

Whether it was good luck or bad, he could roughly piece the situation together from that alone.

'Raysar.'

The name of the ancient city they had just been in.

And then—

Destrucâ– .

'Wow… today, even the word "destruction" feels extra ominous.'

It didn't take much to guess the last part of that word, and Carl felt like crying.

'Destruction…'

As he scratched his head over the terrifying implications, Carl paused and glanced at Freyna.

Her eyes were trembling as she looked up at the sky.

'Phew… I can't let her see I'm nervous.'

Carl steadied his resolve.

As a third-year, he had to lead the first-year Freyna.

If he wavered, she definitely would too.

'She's already inexperienced. If her mental collapses too, she won't be able to function at all.'

The Age of Calamity was a time when death could come at any moment.

One misstep could cost them their lives.

He had to prevent that.

'Calm… Stay calm.'

Carl spoke evenly.

"Well, at least there's one silver lining."

"Huh?"

"It's not a possession-type world."

"Oh…"

If it had been, it would mean they'd have to live as characters from the Hero's world.

But since it wasn't, they only needed to assist.

'No matter how hopeless the situation, as long as we keep our heads, there's always a way.'

Carl kept a level tone as he spoke.

"This is Aaron's world. Which means, at the very least, Aaron is here, right?"

"R-right."

Relief bloomed across Freyna's face.

Seeing that, Carl continued.

"First, let's assess the situation. But this place… feels weirdly familiar, doesn't it?"

"Well, it's probably Raysar."

Freyna had already figured out they were in the timeline of Raysar's destruction.

But Carl shook his head.

"No, not that kind of familiarity. I don't think this is Raysar."

"What?"

Just as Freyna tilted her head in confusion—

Carl, scanning the street, suddenly widened his eyes.

"I know where we are."

"Huh?"

"You bastard! You promised to study magic with me today!"

"What do you want me to do? Lysinas called!"

A voice filled with frustration rang out.

Carl turned to where the voice came from and saw an elf with a beauty that could steal anyone's soul.

"Ah…"

Freyna's mouth dropped open.

And the man walking alongside that elf—she knew him very well, too.

The greatest heroes of the world.

'Luna… and Kyle?'

While Freyna stood stunned,

Carl, now certain, spoke confidently.

"This is Godthrone."

bl

That evening, after training—

Bang!

"Damien is a fool!"

Drianna slammed the table hard.

"Don't say something that'd get you executed if a dwarf heard it. Drianna, look at this."

"What is it?"

"It's a probability chart I made. That idiot cat wouldn't get it even if I explained it, so I'm showing you instead."

Lunia handed a notebook over with a serious face.

"Who are you calling… an idiot… uuurgh…"

Aru flared up but couldn't finish her sentence.

She was half-dead after Azonia's brutal training.

"Lunia, how are you still standing?"

"Hmm. Lady Azonia didn't push me or Eiran like she did you."

At that, Aru chuckled weakly.

"Of course. She's giving her direct junior—me—specialized training."

'…No, that's not training. That's abuse.'

Lunia thought seriously.

For days, Azonia had been putting Aru through punishing physical drills—bordering on torture.

And unlike Leo, who at least gave recovery time between sessions, Azonia gave Aru no breaks at all.

She trained Lunia and Eiran systematically, yet seemed to be actively tormenting Aru.

"Aru, maybe Azonia just hates you?"

"No way. I'm her direct junior. She'd dote on me if anything, not hate me."

Aru spoke while lying flat, even her usually lively tail limp and lifeless.

Lunia reached out impulsively for it—

And the tail, annoyingly, dodged her hand.

Meanwhile, Drianna had been looking at the probability chart and now wore a baffled expression.

"What the hell is this?"

"A probability chart for gambling games."

"I can see that. But why calculate something so pointless? You know the odds don't change."

"No, there's such a thing as momentum. Flow."

"Has gambling rotted your brain?"

"No! I saw it! You had to see Eliana!"

"Snap out of it, you gambling-addicted elf."

Smack!

"Yowch!"

Drianna smacked Lunia on the head with the notebook.

Lunia clutched her head and rolled around the floor.

At that moment—

Clack—

The door opened, and Elena entered.

"Hi! I heard Aru was here?"

Her bright eyes instantly locked onto the half-limp Aru on the floor.

"Gah?! It's Elenaaaa?!"

As Aru scrambled to get up, Elena ran over and grabbed her tail.

With that, Aru shot upright from her prone position.

"So fluffy today too. Mmm~ this texture. Addicting!"

"Nyaa! A-a-a-ah! Not the base of the tail—nyaaaaaa!"

Her rough fingers stroked and rubbed the tail against her cheek, making Aru's whole body twitch.

Drianna formed a rectangle with her fingers and looked through it at them.

"Hmm. A blonde beauty and a white cat. Quite the picture. You two should pose nude sometime."

"Shut up, you perv—nyaaagh! Stop! I said stop!"

Aru finally wrestled her tail free and bolted to the corner of the room.

Elena clutched her fingers regretfully.

"I swear I'm going to get withdrawal symptoms…"

Licking her lips, Elena smiled at the others.

"Anyway, how's training under Azonia and Damien?"

Lunia and Aru both nodded.

"Great."

"Very satisfying!"

"But not you, huh Drianna?"

Drianna pouted.

Lunia clicked her tongue.

"Still jealous of the Dawn Hero, huh?"

"Ugh. Damien is an idiot, that's why!"

"He'll have you executed one of these days."

"Why do you say he's an idiot?"

"He's wasting his talent! With those artistic skills, how could he not understand Lord Dweno's grand vision?!"

"I mean, I get it after seeing his sketches. Your grotesque monstrosities can't compete with even Damien's doodles."

"KIIIIIIEEK!"

Elena smiled serenely while bashing Drianna with hard truths.

Lunia and Aru did their best to calm her down.

When Drianna finally quieted, Elena sat Aru on her lap and offered her a knee pillow.

"So anyway, have any of you seen Carl?"

"Carl?"

"Leo's been looking for him. He's been gone since morning."

"I saw him at the gambling den yesterday… wonder where he went?"

Lunia looked puzzled.

Drianna pouted again.

"What's your problem now?"

"Jealous of Carl too?"

Aru stretched contentedly under Elena's hand and spoke.

"Jealous?"

"Damien said he was looking forward to Carl."

Leo had summoned Carl to meet Damien and study under him.

Back in the Age of Calamity, Dweno was not only a master smith but also an alchemist who created all kinds of tools.

In this era, Carl had inherited Dweno's alchemy more than anyone.

And unlike smithing, Damien had considerable knowledge of alchemy too.

Drianna, who struggled to learn restoration magic, was jealous that Carl had earned Damien's favour.

At Aru's words, Drianna scoffed.

Elena, still stroking Aru's ears, murmured.

"Hmph. The Great Heroes used to see all of you as nothing but adorable… but I guess the Dawn Heroes are different?"

bl

"That kid Carl seemed pretty decent."

"Is there any guy you don't think is decent?"

"Hey, I have high standards."

Azonia chuckled as she spoke to Damien.

He looked at her with a tired expression.

"I heard you harassed the Lumene students again yesterday."

"Yup. They were nothing like Lumene himself—so innocent, it was adorable."

Azonia giggled.

Damien clicked his tongue.

"Now that I think of it, you never liked Lumene much."

"What are you talking about? I liked him too. We were like family. All of us."

"Then why didn't you ever flirt with him?"

"With Rodia and Seiren watching like hawks? How could I?"

"Those two can't even read their own feelings. And you're telling me you were being considerate?"

"Well, when you put it that way… Maybe I should've tried seducing him. Maybe then that lizard and pointy-ears would've realized how they felt."

"Nope."

"Knew it."

Azonia chuckled again.

"But that Carl kid—he feels like Lumene and not like him at all. Weird, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. Hard to explain in words. Just see for yourself."

"Like and unlike Lumene at the same time, huh… Now I'm even more curious."

"Also, be a bit nicer to that girl Drianna. She's a good kid."

"You too—treat Aru better. She's a precious junior."

At Damien's words, Azonia scoffed.

Then Damien stopped walking.

Azonia looked ahead and saw a girl standing there—Chen Xia.

She politely performed the Eastern-style salute, pressing her right fist into her left palm.

"Greetings to the great Heroes of the Dawn. I am Chen Xia, ruler of Xian, though I am still lacking."

"Wow, already an empress at that age? Impressive."

Azonia looked amazed.

"What brings you here?"

"I have a question for Damien."

Azonia nudged Damien playfully.

"Oooh~ you're popular. Cute girls are showing interest."

With a laugh, she waved and turned to go.

"I'll leave you two to your date."

Laughing gleefully, she vanished.

Damien clicked his tongue, then looked at Chen Xia.

He stared into her dark eyes for a moment before asking,

"You introduced yourself not as a Hero, but as ruler of Xian. So this isn't a matter for Damien the Hero?"

"No. I wish to ask something of the first Hero after the Age of Calamity—the one called the Shadow of Dawn."

"I hate that grandiose title."

Damien scratched his head and sighed.

"Well, I'll answer whatever I can. What do you want to know?"