Editor : Amethyst00



"Hero Dungeon?"

Elena's eyes widened.

"Yeah. Azonia, Eiran, and Carl are currently caught in a Hero Dungeon. Since Freyna Hergin disappeared too, she must've gotten swept up with Carl."

At Leo's words, Damien crossed his arms with a serious expression.

Leo had summoned Damien and Elena, along with Lunia, Aru, and Drianna.

And lastly, Chen Xia.

They were all students who knew about the Heroes of Dawn.

"Where is the Dragon Queen?"

Damien looked around the room as he asked.

"Currently, we've lost contact with the outside."

"You mean we're cut off from the outside?"

"Yes."

At Leo's confirmation, Damien stroked his chin.

"So the Hero Record went out of control, and the magic of the Dragon Queen that shapes this space was affected, causing magic to spiral out of control."

Leo nodded in agreement.

Hearing Leo and Damien's conversation, Lunia made a grim face.

"Then we have no idea when anyone inside this space might get dragged into the Hero's World?"

At that, Aru crossed her arms.

"Still, it's not a completely hopeless situation."

Everyone turned to look at Aru.

"First of all, Lady Azonia entered the Hero's World, right? That means at the very least, the safety of those inside the Hero's World is secured."

Everyone nodded at that.

The Heroes of Dawn weren't just the discoverers of the Hero's World phenomenon.

They were also the greatest conquerors in history.

In fact, they had conquered more Hero Worlds than anyone else in recorded history.

Among those were several classified as the highest difficulty—the Great Hero Worlds.

"The dumb cat has a point! And besides, isn't Damien here too?!"

Drianna clenched her fist tightly as she looked at Damien.

The students looked anew at Leo and Damien.

A Great Hero and an Unyielding Hero of Dawn forming a party to conquer a Hero's World—such a thing only seemed possible in fantasies, yet it was happening before their very eyes.

Leo spoke up after Aru and Drianna's remarks.

"Even so, the situation isn't good."

"Leo-doryeong. You know whose Hero Record went berserk, don't you?"

Chen Xia, quick to catch on, asked.

"It's Aaron's World."

Everyone's expression turned to shock at those words.

"You know about the incident too?"

"…… The fall of Raysar. If it's Aaron's World, then the mission is probably to keep that guy alive."

Leo scratched his head, already understanding the situation.

"For now, the test has been halted, and I've ordered all first-years to gather in one place… You all go gather the second and third-years from each school. Xia, summon the Shadow Lords."

Leo silently looked out the window.

"One way or another, we have to rescue Aaron as quickly as possible. With our current strength, things could get dangerous if it reaches the worst-case scenario."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Because during the fall of Raysar, the Great Heroes were nearly annihilated."

"……?"

Damien answered in a hard voice.

He had read the complete Hero Record.

So he knew all about the deeds of the Great Heroes—and how disastrous the fall of Raysar was.

"Five thousand years ago, Erebos was summoned in Raysar."

"……!"

"You all better be prepared. If we're not careful, we might not be facing just a fragment of Erebos—but Erebos himself."

bl

Carl led Freyna quickly through the back alleys of Godthrone.

"You know the way well, huh?"

"I mapped all of Godthrone during the last conquest. Thankfully, the streets are still the same."

"So? Why the back alleys?"

"Our uniforms stand out too much."

She was right.

Lumene's uniform had an incredibly stylish design.

Not only that, it was made of mana-infused fabric called mana cloth, so it was always clean and tidy.

While clothing made of mana fabric did exist in this era, it was mostly used for combat-related purposes.

In this age of calamity where practicality was a virtue, fancy uniforms were bound to draw attention.

"We need to change clothes. What kind do you want?"

Freyna flinched and stepped back.

"You're not seriously saying I should change clothes in front of you, are you?"

"Uh…"

"Are you abusing your status as a boyfriend to make outrageous demands on my sister too?!"

Carl scratched his cheek awkwardly as Freyna glared at him.

"No, I meant using a potion that changes clothing design."

"A potion… that changes clothing design?"

"Yeah. I developed it specifically for Lumene uniforms. It alters the shape using the mana pattern in mana cloth."

Carl puffed with pride.

"Our uniforms aren't just clothes—they're excellent for defense too. It's wasteful and annoying to change every mission. And during Hero World conquests, getting new clothes isn't exactly easy. I could use magic, but that leaves traces, which could be picked up by high-level mages."

Grinning like a merchant, Carl pulled a potion from his coat.

"But with this potion, there's no magical residue! It solves every problem related to clothes—Carl's Curio Shop's signature potion!"

"…But don't different uniform makers use different quality mana cloth? Will it work on all of them?"

Lumene uniforms had a minimum standard, but no fixed specifications.

That was because students came from various backgrounds and family situations.

Carl shook his head at her question.

"No. The potion's tailored to 'Blessriger' standards."

Blessriger.

They'd been making Lumene uniforms for a thousand years.

Top quality.

Only students from well-off families could afford them.

Freyna's uniform was from Blessriger.

Carl had purchased his with his own money in third year.

'My sister nagged me about wasting money—but quieted down when I bought her an alchemy catalyst.'

Freyna pouted.

"So only a few students can use it."

"From next year, all students will be able to."

"Why?"

"Lumene's switching to free uniform distribution."

"This is the first I've heard of it."

"Of course it is. Only the student council president, vice president, and acting president know."

In other words, only Leo, Elena, and Carl knew.

"Using insider information for business, huh?"

Freyna looked exasperated, and Carl made a face of protest.

"Why? This welfare policy was made possible thanks to me. I got permission from Leo and Elena."

The situation was simple.

"…Lately, we've got quite a surplus of funds."

"Yeah. Thanks to the slave army."

"Please stop calling your junior a slave."

One day, Leo noticed the school finances had a surplus. Elena smiled and pointed at Carl.

Carl, sprawled on the student council couch, complained, but Elena ignored him.

"Carl's been managing finances and running the school's new projects. It's all the money he saved and earned."

Leo admired Carl's newfound abilities.

"We can improve student welfare a bit."

"Even if we increase scholarships, there'll still be leftovers. Just spend it quickly."

"That's irresponsible for an acting director."

"Acting director doesn't mean I can touch school funds. But if we leave them unused, all kinds of parasites start swarming. Knight classes want more training facilities, magic classes want research funds, summoning classes want more summons. Do you know how annoying the professors are with their money demands?"

Elena grimaced.

"Then from next year, let's give all students free uniforms."

"Huh?"

"All the other schools are doing it."

Leo shrugged.

"And it looks bad when students are treated differently because of uniforms."

"Oh yeah, that sucks."

Carl nodded in agreement.

Then he stood and handed Leo a document.

"What's this?"

"Report on free uniform distribution."

"Wow! Carl! Did you make this ahead of time?"

Elena's eyes sparkled. Carl scratched his head shyly.

"I figured Leo would suggest free uniforms if we had that much money."

"Excellent! As expected of Carl! Anticipating your superior's intentions—definitely a hero-class slave!"

Carl, now dubbed a weird class of slave, looked like he wanted to cry.

"That's why I can trust you with work! When you graduate, come to the Zeron family! Got it?"

"You just want to dump work on me while you stay comfy in the Arhi Kingdom."

"Yup. Carl, you really are smart!"

Watching Elena beam, Carl silently vowed he'd never go.

Reading the report, Leo spoke.

"You must want something in return for making this."

"Since I'm the one who generated the money, I'd like a small cut from the uniform purchases."

For reference, part of the profit would go to Lumene.

"You're quite capable."

"Of course. Whose boyfriend do you think I am?"

Carl's shameless comment made Freyna chuckle involuntarily.

After changing their outfits, the two fell into thought.

"First, we need to identify the conquest objective…"

[Conquest Objective: â– â–  â– â– â–  â– â– siâ– â– shiâ– o.]

Carl checked the conquest message.

"Most of my message is corrupted. What about yours?"

"I can only see the word 'survival.'"

"Hmm. Seems the message content is different for everyone. Has this happened before?"

"In Hero Dungeons, we learned it's a common phenomenon in Hero Studies class."

"Must've been first-year content—I barely remember."

Carl smiled faintly.

"Let's gather intel first."

The two exited the alley.

A moment later—

Looking at Godthrone's city wall, Carl muttered.

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"…Looks like this is shortly after the incident I encountered during the Dweno conquest."

"How can you tell?"

He pointed at a collapsed part of the wall.

"That exact section collapsed before. It's bigger now, but unmistakable."

"Ah."

"In that case, we should be safe."

After the attack of the Giant King Giath, Godthrone had taken heavy damage but was safe for a time—Leo had told him so.

"Security within the city is solid. Let's split up and gather info."

"Specifically, what kind?"

"Not sure. But since it's the 'Fall of Raysar' mission, let's collect anything related to Raysar."

When you lack direction, gathering information indiscriminately is one way forward.

Freyna nodded.

"Let's meet here in an hour."

After parting, Freyna wandered throughout Godthrone.

Everywhere, people's faces were clouded with gloom.

'…This is the Age of Calamity.'

She swallowed nervously, listening to the people.

A short while later—

'Ah, time's almost up.'

Freyna, realizing it was almost time, headed into the alley without hesitation.

She had memorized the layout well enough to navigate quickly.

As she moved—

Tick—

A sudden sting on her neck made her shudder.

Drip—

Blood trickled from her neck.

In midair, droplets hovered.

Invisible threads had been strung around Freyna like spiderwebs.

"How fascinating."

A cold voice spoke behind her.

"You clearly dwell in the dark, but you don't stink. What are you… Did the Tartaros scum train you specially?"

A mysterious girl appeared and caressed Freyna's cheek.

"Wh-Who…?"

Freyna trembled under the girl's intense murderous aura.

"These days, you and your kind call me and my master by this name."

The girl replied flatly.

"Shadow."