Chapter 151
Chapter Title: The Fifth Hero
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[Clear Reward: Polium]
A list of clear rewards unfolded before his eyes.
Fwoosh-!
Thud! Flump-!
Simultaneously with a bright flash of light, four figures appeared in mid-air.
“W-wait a minute?”
Lunia’s bewildered cry rang out.
Unlike a typical World of Heroes, once a Hero Dungeon is cleared, it spits the conquerors out at random locations nearby.
“Oh my, it looks like Lunia won the prize.”
Elena smiled sweetly as she watched Lunia flailing in the air.
Unlike Leo, Elena, and Hadin, who had landed safely on the ground, Lunia was still falling.
Panicked, she tried to cast a spell, but there was no time.
Thump-!
Leo spread his arms and caught her.
Lunia’s face flushed as she found herself unintentionally being held by Leo in a princess carry.
“Th-thank you.”
“Don't mention it.”
Leo set Lunia down.
The light from the Hero Record faded.
Flutter~
However, Luna’s page fluttered down from the air and landed on Leo’s palm.
It was singed here and there, not in perfect condition.
Fortunately, it wasn't in as dreadful a state as Kyle’s page.
‘So what’s broken doesn’t come back.’
The light on Luna’s page vanished.
And then, darkness fell.
Seeing this, Hadin raised his hand and cast a Light spell.
Fwoosh-!
The spell brightly illuminated their surroundings.
Amidst the light, Lunia asked.
“Did anyone get a clear reward?”
“I didn't get anything.”
Hadin shook his head.
Elena said nonchalantly.
“Even if you clear a Hero Dungeon, there's no guarantee you'll get a reward. Especially since we barely contributed to clearing this world, right?”
Normally, clearing a World of Heroes would naturally grant a reward, but there were times when none were given if the contribution level was too low.
In the case of Lunia, Elena, and Hadin, they hadn't contributed much to this clear.
So, in a way, it was only natural that they didn't receive a reward.
“But we even defeated Erebos...”
As Lunia made a disappointed face, Hadin crossed his arms.
“Erebos's appearance was likely an anomaly unrelated to the world's clear conditions. So even if we defeated him, it wouldn't factor into the contribution calculation.”
Hadin said seriously.
“Just meeting the Progenitor, speaking with her, and fighting alongside her was an incredible experience. We even defeated Erebos, albeit a fragment of him. On top of that, we discovered that Tartaros is invading the Worlds of Heroes. This achievement is an invaluable one that cannot be exchanged for anything.”
“That's true.”
Nodding, Lunia glanced toward Leo, and her eyes widened.
“Wait. Leo. Isn't that Polium in your hand?”
Lunia shouted, having just noticed the magic staff Leo was holding.
At her words, Elena and Hadin also looked startled.
Leo looked at the Polium in his hand and said.
“It is. Though, it seems like an empty shell.”
Just as Leo said, Polium no longer emitted any light.
And no magical power could be felt from it.
Literally an empty shell, devoid of anything.
“Can I see it?”
Lunia reached out her hand with a fascinated expression.
Leo handed Polium over.
“Ah?”
Just then, Polium turned into particles of light and vanished.
“Items obtained as clear rewards can't be used by others. They can only be used by the one who cleared the dungeon.”
After saying that, Elena smiled brightly and spoke to Hadin in a teasing tone.
“To think that the first person in the world to receive Polium as a clear reward is a student from Lumerne, not Seirun. If this gets out, Seirun is going to be absolutely furious, won't they?”
“Ugh!”
Lunia looked indignant at Elena’s words.
Hadin stood before Leo with a serious expression.
“Leo Flove.”
“Yes.”
“I cannot accept that you, the one who deciphered the Progenitor's magic and holds an item that symbolizes her, are a student of Lumerne.”
“W-wait a minute, Senior Hadin!”
As Hadin, whose pride as a Seirun student was even stronger than her own, spoke so forcefully, a flustered Lunia tried to intervene.
Elena chuckled.
‘Elves really are amusing. They’re so inflexible in their thinking that they get all worked up when you provoke them like this...’
“And?”
“Transfer.”
“...”
Leo stared at Hadin with a look of disbelief.
“Hey now. What's this elf trying to pull?”
Elena’s face scrunched into a deep frown.
Looking at Elena, Hadin said.
“Seirun's uniform is cooler than Lumerne's.”
“What kind of person changes schools for such a childish reason? And what's wrong with our school's uniform in the first place?”
Elena glared.
Ignoring his bickering seniors, Leo looked around.
Lunia came to Leo's side, a tense expression on her face.
“Where are we?”
They were in a place of pitch-black darkness.
Lunia also used a Light spell to survey the area.
Then she spotted something and froze.
“This is...”
A statue.
“Lady Luna.”
The first one she found was a statue of Luna.
Not the young girl from moments ago, but the Luna everyone knew as the ‘Progenitor of the Nebula’.
Looking up at the awe-inspiring statue, Lunia scanned her surroundings.
And in the distance, she discovered another statue.
“This one is Lord Dweno!”
His mouth was set in a stubborn, firm line.
His wide-open eyes radiated an overwhelming pressure that could be felt at a glance.
Countless weapons were born from his hands, and those weapons became the guide that paved the way for the Great Heroes.
“These are statues of the Great Heroes! Seniors! Look over here! There are statues of the Great Heroes!”
At Lunia’s shout, Elena and Hadin stopped their squabbling and approached.
They looked at the statues of Luna and Dweno and tilted their heads.
Leo realized where they were.
‘The Plaza of Heroes.’
It was the plaza the residents of Gardsrone had built to honor the achievements of the great heroes before they left for their final subjugation.
Leo used a Light spell.
Fwoosh-!
A massive Light spell illuminated the entire area.
The scenery, which had been shrouded in darkness until now, was revealed.
During the Age of Calamity.
The vista of a great city that had withstood the attacks of Erebos and Tartaros came into view.
“A city?”
“Where in the world...”
“Look! Over there are statues of Lord Lisinas and Lord Ar-on, too!”
Lunia pointed to the remaining statues of Lisinas and Ar-on.
“And... huh?”
A startled gasp escaped Lunia.
Elena and Hadin’s reactions were no different.
Their eyes fell upon a single statue.
It was a statue of someone they had never seen before.
But for some reason, it stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Great Heroes as if it belonged there.
‘Who is this person? Why are they with the Great Heroes?’
Along with that question, a name flashed through the minds of the three.
Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning.
“L-Leo! Come over here!”
Lunia said urgently, turning her head.
But Leo was already standing in front of a stone monument in the center of the plaza.
Lunia hurried over to Leo's side.
She saw the inscription on the monument and gasped.
-In honor of Lisinas, Kyle, Luna, Ar-on, and Dweno.
Her eyes trembled at the name Kyle.
“No way...”
Lunia swallowed dryly.
“Kyle was... a real person?”
Rumble-!
At those words, the entire city began to shake.
“What's happening?”
Lunia looked alarmed.
Leo looked up at the sky.
This was Gardsrone.
A city that had been buried deep underground long ago after being attacked by Tartaros.
‘It held up so well until now, so why is it collapsing?’
He could feel that the barrier protecting Gardsrone had shattered.
Leo looked at the page of Luna in his hand.
‘Was the Hero Dungeon located in Gardsrone?’
It seemed the space-distorting power of the Hero Dungeon had been acting as a substitute for the barrier.
If Leo's guess was correct, then Luna's world had been protecting the only remaining trace of Kyle in this world.
Leo gave a bitter smile and said.
“There's a warp gate over there!”
Leo shouted, pointing to the warp gate they had used to enter.
At his words, the four of them rushed toward the warp gate.
Rumble-!
The Light spell Leo had cast revealed piles of earth falling from above.
The other three barely managed to step into the warp gate.
Leo activated the gate.
Flash-!
Crash-!
Along with a bright flash of light, he saw the plaza collapsing.
That was the last sight Leo had of Gardsrone.
***
After escaping Gardsrone, Leo's party immediately reported the incident to Lumerne and Seirun.
Upon hearing the news, school officials arrived in the Garan province.
The discovery of Luna's Hero Dungeon alone was a surprising event.
But on top of that, there was the story of Tartaros and a fifth Great Hero.
There were too many complicated, intertwined issues.
It was a situation where it wouldn't be strange if the world were turned upside down.
Normally, Leo would have been busy being summoned here and there to write reports.
However, Leo was resting in Lumerne's infirmary.
It was thanks to Elena's consideration.
‘Oh my? Are you planning to hold onto an injured person and not even let them rest?’
Elena wasn't just the third-year class representative.
She was the daughter of Lumerne's chairman and was currently acting as the chairman herself.
With a single word from Elena, everyone who might have bothered Leo disappeared.
Thanks to her, Leo was able to relax leisurely in a private room in the infirmary.
But Leo's condition didn't improve for over a week.
‘Even if it was just a fragment, I was still hit by Erebos's flame.’
Leo clicked his tongue as he looked down at his burns.
The wound inflicted by Erebos's flame was so potent it wouldn't be strange to call it a curse.
All sorts of healing abilities were useless against it.
A flame that even suppressed natural healing.
As a result, his recovery was unimaginably slow.
He even had to remain hospitalized in the infirmary after the mission practicum period had ended.
After ten days had passed with all visitation requests denied.
Kalian and Elena came to visit.
“Hello, Leo. How are you feeling?”
Seeing Elena greet him with her usual cheerful voice, Leo shrugged.
“Same as always.”
“Tough guy.”
Elena smiled sweetly and sat down next to Leo.
“Haha. A get-well gift, Student Leo.”
Kalian placed a basket of high-quality fruit in a corner of the hospital room.
Watching him, Leo asked.
“By the way, is it okay for me to be in the infirmary like this? There must be a lot to take care of.”
He was relaxing, but the current situation wasn't one that allowed for rest.
“You don't need to worry about that. In fact, Elena here has diligently handled things in your stead. She even finished the report you needed to submit to the academic society, so there's nothing left for you to do.”
As Kalian spoke with a laugh, Leo looked at Elena.
Elena looked back at Leo and smiled sweetly.
“This big sister is pretty capable.”
“You didn't just rush through it because it was a pain, forcing me to redo it later, did you?”
At his words, Elena pouted and tried to punch Leo in the side.
As Leo calmly blocked her, Kalian spoke.
“We came today to check on your condition. You may not be fully recovered yet, but it's about time you started attending classes again.”
The entire school was already abuzz with the news that Leo had cleared Luna's world.
Of course, the stories related to Erebos and Tartaros discovered in Luna's world were kept confidential.
Because if the related stories spread throughout the world, it would surely cause immense chaos.
“Was the information about Kyle also kept confidential?”
“No. Quite the opposite. We're actively informing the world about Kyle.”
Evidence had been found that Kyle, who until now was thought to be a fictional character, was a real person.
There was no reason to hide this.
“However, there is something I'd like to ask you in relation to him.”
Kalian's expression turned serious.
“Student Leo. Are you... by any chance, related to the Hero of the Beginning?”