Chapter 111
Chapter Title: The Cowardly Ar-on
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The sudden turn of events threw the entire colosseum into chaos.
“What in the world is happening!”
“Instructor Berga! This is terrible! Sir Ar-on’s World of Heroes has opened!”
“What?”
Berga’s face hardened.
He knew that the phenomenon that had just occurred was a precursor to the formation of a World of Heroes.
Even so, he hadn't dared to imagine that one would actually open.
To open a World of Heroes, one needed either the hero themself or an object imbued with a strong connection to them.
In this era, not only were items related to the Great Heroes scarce, but even their pages had all but vanished.
That was why most of the pages that had yet to be opened were expected to remain sealed for all eternity.
But now, one of them had opened.
“Is it a rampage?”
“Looks like it!”
Whatever the reason, the opening of Ar-on's world was an encouraging event.
Even if it had turned into a dungeon due to a rampage, as long as it was cleared, Ar-on's power could be inherited.
The problem was the ones who had just entered Ar-on’s world.
His own daughter and the son of an old friend.
Just fledglings who could still be called rookies.
‘Can those kids really conquer Sir Ar-on’s world?’
Clenching his trembling hands, Berga grit his teeth.
***
“If this is Sir Ar-on’s world, then this must be the Age of Calamity, right?”
“Seems like it.”
Leo tore his gaze from the sky and replied, and Ar’s expression grew serious.
“Why did the World of Heroes suddenly activate?”
“I don’t know. Let’s try to contact the outside world first.”
At those words, Leo pressed his index and middle fingers together and brought them to his temple.
As he concentrated, a faint blue light emanated from his fingertips.
“Le… no. This is Kyle. Can you hear me?”
In a normal World of Heroes, communication with the outside should have been possible.
But despite Leo’s call, there was only silence from the other side.
Leo glanced at Ar.
Ar, too, wore a look of dismay, having failed to make contact with the outside world.
"A Hero Dungeon caused by a rampage? If so, why now? There’s not a single record of the introductory page opening in the last few thousand years.”
Watching Ar’s grave expression, Leo glanced down at his own hands.
The sudden rampage of Ar-on’s page.
He had a suspicion about what had caused this situation.
‘During the Heroics class and back in Verchia, the World of Heroes opened when I touched my own hero’s page.’
Recalling his encounters with Lisinas and Luna, Leo’s expression turned to one of confusion.
‘But those were my pages. This is clearly Ar-on’s page, isn’t it?’
[Objective: Find Ar-on in Reysar.]
Just then, a message appeared before Leo and Ar.
”An objective? Doesn't that mean this isn't a Hero Dungeon?”
Ar said in a bright voice.
Hero Dungeons didn’t have objectives.
The appearance of one meant that, just as Ar said, this wasn't a Hero Dungeon caused by a rampage.
”If it’s an officially opened world, why can’t we contact the outside?”
”W-Well?”
Ar couldn’t offer a clear answer to that question either.
”Maybe it’s because it opened so suddenly? To control a World of Heroes, you need the key that was used to open it. They probably haven't found it yet.”
”A key.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“Anyway, if the objective is to find Sir Ar-on, this should be over pretty quickly, don’t you think?”
At Ar’s words, Leo let out a deep sigh.
“Do you really think finding Ar-on in this city of Reysar will be easy?”
Reysar.
A city of refugees that existed during the Age of Calamity.
As a city that housed countless races, its scale was beyond imagination.
“Sir Ar-on is famous, so it should be easy, right?”
“Ar-on only gained fame after he left Reysar to join the Erebos Subjugation Force.”
“That’s true, but still, it’s Sir Ar-on we’re talking about! The records say he was already incredibly famous before joining the force, right? Lisinas and Luna even went to Reysar because they heard of his fame.”
‘Then again, people of this era would think that.’
Recorded history and actual history are two different things.
The Ar-on of this time was not famous at all.
But the only one who knew that fact was Leo, who had lived through this era.
‘To conquer a World of Heroes, you have to rely on the old records at first.’
Leo sighed, running a hand through his hair.
‘From Ar’s perspective, She won't believe me if I just spout off what I know about this era. It'll probably be easier for her to accept it if She experiences it herself.’
“Let’s split up and gather information on Sir Ar-on!”
“This is a World of Heroes. We shouldn’t split up carelessly.”
“Hm! You’re right! Let’s look together then!”
Thrilled by the thought of meeting the Ar-on he so admired, Ar enthusiastically began her inquiries.
“Hello! Have you by any chance heard of someone named Sir Ar-on?”
“Ar-on? Who’s that? Stop bothering me and get lost!”
“Excuse me. I’m looking for someone named Sir Ar-on?”
“How should I know some guy I’ve never heard of?”
“Hey, you, the beastkin! You’ve heard the name Ar-on, right?”
“Not at all.”
They spent the entire day asking people about Ar-on.
And as the sun began to set…
“Why doesn't anyone know about Sir Ar-on!? Wasn't he already famous before joining the Erebos Subjugation Force!?”
Watching Ar shout in frustration, Leo crossed his arms and said,
“It seems recorded history and actual history are two different things.”
“Ugh!”
Ar flinched at Leo’s response.
Meanwhile, Leo was organizing the information he had gathered in his head.
‘The current year is 1462 of the Altegra Era.’
It was twenty years after the start of the Age of Calamity.
‘At this point in time, I don’t have to search for Ar-on from scratch.’
“Let’s find a place to rest first.”
“Do you think there’s anywhere to rest in a city like this?”
Ar asked, her face etched with worry.
After spending a day roaming the streets of Reysar, She had come to a realization.
The era She lived in and the Age of Calamity were fundamentally different.
The people were generally unkind and rough, and fights broke out as commonly as people ate meals.
It wasn't a simple matter of good or bad public security.
Everyone was gripped by the primal fear that the world could end at any moment.
It was, quite literally, a different world they were living in.
“We’ll have to find a decent place. Sleeping on the streets is dangerous.”
“Then let’s find an inn.”
‘An inn won’t work.’
Leo gave a bitter smile.
In the past, even Kyle had struggled considerably to find a place to sleep when he first came to Reysar.
‘There wasn’t a single proper inn.’
As the largest refugee city on the continent, countless people flocked to Reysar.
Among them were vicious individuals who committed crimes as naturally as they breathed.
Of course, such criminals didn't operate during the day.
The city’s protectors worked tirelessly to maintain order with watchful eyes.
But the night was a different story.
The moment the sun set, the streets were steeped in terror.
Crime was rampant in every alley, and in the more dangerous districts, even murder was a frequent occurrence.
In the past, Kyle’s party had wandered the city for a month before they finally managed to find a safe place.
‘We have to go there.’
Besides, that place wasn't just safe.
“Let’s try that place over there.”
Ar pointed to a nearby inn.
Leo followed behind him.
Jingle- jingle-
As the door opened, they saw that the first floor was packed with customers.
For a moment, all eyes were fixed on Ar.
Feeling nervous, Ar spotted the owner sitting at the counter and let out a sigh of relief.
Though his face was covered in scars, the owner was an elf.
Seeing this, Ar relaxed slightly.
Elves were prideful, but they were a fundamentally good-natured race.
He figured the owner wouldn’t try anything funny.
“Excuse me, do you have a room for tonight?”
“Nope. No rooms left for today. Well, unless you’d like to share mine.”
Ar was flustered by the owner's lecherous grin.
She never thought an elf would make such a blatant pass at her.
Seeing Ar’s face turn cold, Leo took his hand and led her out of the inn.
“Looks like it won't be easy to find a decent place.”
“Yeah.”
Ar’s face darkened.
‘The common sense of my era and this one are completely different.’
Leo and Ar continued to wander around, searching for a place to sleep.
But they couldn’t find anywhere that seemed safe.
‘Will we really be able to find a place to stay?’
With a gloomy face, Ar followed behind Leo.
Meanwhile, Leo, pretending to be lost, was guiding Ar to a place he knew.
‘We’re here.’
Leo stopped walking.
Ar, lost in thought, halted and looked around in confusion.
‘When did we end up in a place like this?’
The place Leo had led them to was the middle of a desolate, eerie street with no sign of life.
Fwoosh-!
Just then, a sound cut through the air.
Sensing a murderous intent, Ar’s eyes sharpened as She threw a punch.
Grab-!
But her attack was easily blocked.
Even though her attack was stopped, Ar didn’t panic. She extended her claws and infused them with aura.
Seeing this, Leo shouted urgently.
“Wait, Ar! Don't fight!”
But it was too late to stop the fight; the spark had already been lit.
Shk-!
Ar's sharp, aura-infused claws dug into her opponent's chest.
But her attack was ineffective, blocked by the man’s aura armor.
Gritting her teeth, Ar urgently tried to shake off the man's hand.
But the man was faster, grabbing Ar by the scruff of her neck.
“Gahk?”
“Who are you? Why did you trespass here?”
Gritting her teeth, Ar summoned his aura to counterattack.
Watching Ar, the cat beastkin narrowed his eyes and slammed her into the ground.
“Keuk?”
As her consciousness began to fade, Ar struggled to speak one last time.
“Black Rabbit, you have to run…!”
Ignoring the unconscious Ar, he turned his murderous gaze to Leo.
“Why did you enter this area?”
“I was told to come here.”
“By who? This is a restricted area.”
He was right.
This place was called the cursed land and had been abandoned.
Taking a deep breath to calm the man, Leo raised both hands and said seriously,
“The coward Ar-on sent us here.”