Chapter 279
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning.
Leo opened his eyes to the rising morning sun.
With a jolt, Karl also shot up in bed, scratching his stomach and yawning.
“When did you get in?”
“Two hours ago.”
“Whoa, so you only got about two hours of sleep? Don't you get tired?”
“Not really. I can go a few days without sleep.”
“It strikes me again and again, but you're a real monster when it comes to stamina.”
Karl clicked his tongue in amazement.
Until the beginning of their first year, Leo had been considered lacking in strength compared to the top students of other departments.
But even then, there was one area where he excelled: his seemingly inexhaustible stamina.
In the actual physical fitness assessments for the Knight Department, Leo had never once given up the top spot.
And second place was Chen Xia.
‘Even with Celia and Duran gritting their teeth and training so hard, Leo and Chen Xia are still number one and two, right?’
Now that they were in the same dormitory, Karl knew just how hard Duran trained every morning and evening, which only made him more amazed.
‘He raised such a fuss about building the training room first when the dorm was being constructed.’
Karl shook his head, recalling the training room situated in a corner of the Noblesse Dormitory.
Since the other Knight Department students in the dorm used it often, he concluded it was a good thing they built it.
‘And sometimes, the female students from other departments use it too.’
Of course, the main reason the girls from the Magic and Summoning Departments went to the training room to lift dumbbells they'd otherwise never touch was to see Duran.
With that thought, Karl poked the side of a ready-to-leave Leo and gave him a sly grin.
“By the way, Leo. Going out in the middle of the night to meet a girl two days in a row. Did anything happen?”
“I was just studying magic. What could have happened?”
“You damn honor students! You don't know the romance of being a student! The romance!”
Karl grumbled as he ate breakfast.
Today, like yesterday, was about finding a suitable smith in the grand auditorium.
After breakfast.
The dwarf students were already in the grand auditorium, waiting for the students from the other hero academies.
Amidst the crowd.
“Huh? Isn't that the dwarf from yesterday who only makes replicas?”
“She can't even get into the grand auditorium and is just standing over there.”
“That's kind of sad.”
Driana was displaying her weapons at the entrance, away from the grand auditorium.
But not a single student from the hero academies approached her.
The rumors about Driana had already spread among the students of the other hero academies.
The blacksmith who only copies the weapons made by Dweno.
Regardless of her skill, no student wanted to commission a weapon from someone like that.
Any hero candidate would want a weapon made just for them.
Of course, if they could obtain a Hero Weapon or an authentic original as a reward from conquering the World of Heroes, anyone would covet an item made by Dweno.
But what Driana made were merely fakes, created by someone from a later era.
Even the weapons currently on her display stand were ones listed in Dweno's weapon encyclopedia.
With occasional glances at Driana, the hero candidates from Lumerne, Seirun, and Azonia all entered the grand auditorium.
As Driana stared blankly at the scene.
“Why do you only copy Dweno's weapons?”
“Gah?!”
Driana jumped in fright at the voice coming from behind her.
“Y-You surprised me!”
Driana said, looking up at Leo who stood behind her.
Looking at her, Leo reached for one of the spears on the display stand.
Judging by what was on display, it was likely a weapon Dweno had made, but it was one Leo didn't recognize.
‘It must be a weapon he made for one of the heroes of Gardsrone.’
Leo lightly twirled the spear in his hand.
It was a heavy, unadorned spear, but Leo handled it with ease.
Watching him, Driana spoke.
“Indeed, your skills live up to your boast of being able to handle any weapon.”
Driana said, crossing her arms.
“The reason I only make Lord Dweno's weapons? It's simple. Lord Dweno's weapons are perfect.”
With an ecstatic look in her eyes, Driana picked up a sword from the display and rubbed it against her cheek.
“Look! This beautiful form is practically a work of art!”
“That makes it even harder to understand. Doesn't that mean you respect Dweno as a blacksmith? You're even imitating his way of speaking.”
At those words, Driana's eyes widened.
“How did you know I was imitating Lord Dweno's speech?”
“Because you're copying the tone and mannerisms described in the books about him. And yesterday, during the commotion, your way of speaking was different from how it is now.”
“Hmph! You've got a sharp eye.”
Her tone changing, Driana gave a somewhat awkward smile.
It seemed she was embarrassed.
“If you're copying the weapons Dweno made and even mimicking his speech, why have you given up on being a craftsman?”
In Leo's eyes, Driana had given up on being a craftsman herself.
And he wasn't wrong.
“Because I can never be like Lord Dweno.”
Driana let out a small laugh.
“It's no exaggeration to say that the level Lord Dweno reached in weapon crafting was the pinnacle.”
A look of reverence appeared on Driana's face.
“Most of the authentic weapons Lord Dweno left behind are old now. Some are so damaged they can't even function as weapons anymore. But…”
“But?”
“The moment they're held in a user's hand, they become more powerful than any other weapon. No matter their condition. You probably have no idea how amazing that is!”
With an excited face, Driana bounced on the spot.
‘Just a moment ago, she was imitating a serious old man, but now she's acting like a kid her age.’
“He literally reached the realm of the gods!”
As someone who had handled countless weapons made by Dweno, Leo knew just how incredible they were.
‘Ar-on and I broke weapons made by Dweno time and time again.’
But that was always after the battle was over.
They would perform perfectly until the very end of a fight.
They never broke or failed.
It was the same for the weapons currently stored in Demian's armory.
They've been displayed as if abandoned, left unmaintained for at least hundreds, and at most thousands, of years.
But the moment they are held in the hands of a worthy individual, they fulfill their purpose.
It was literally the work of a god.
“When I was young, I wanted to be like Lord Dweno. It's the same for the other students at Demian. They all want to be like him.”
Driana smiled faintly.
“That's why I gave up on making weapons.”
“Why?”
“Because I can never be like Lord Dweno.”
She had imitated his speech and actions as described in the texts, but Driana believed that she could never reach the same level as Dweno.
“Demian is different from the other hero academies.”
Driana looked at her display stand.
It was filled with the replicas she had made.
“The students of Seirun and Azonia are never directly compared to Luna, the progenitor of the nebula, or the Brave Hero Ar-on.”
Driana looked at Leo.
“You Lumerne students aren't compared to Kyle, the Hero of the Beginning, either, are you?”
“Even if we wanted to be, Kyle is a hero who was only recently confirmed to be a real person.”
“That's true. Anyway! The dragonkin aren't directly compared to the King of Wisdom either, but we Demian students are different.”
Driana gripped a weapon.
“We are directly compared to the weapons Lord Dweno made. So we're always made to realize it. That we can never reach him.”
“So you gave up?”
“In my foolish youth, I talked about wanting to be like Lord Dweno. But now, the more I grow as a blacksmith, the more I realize my own limits as a smith.”
Driana shrugged.
“I want to be the best! That's why I gave up on the path of a smith early on.”
“Even though you might get expelled from Demian?”
“Can't be helped. I've given up on the path of a smith, haven't I?”
‘This is a first.’
Everyone in the world aims to become a Great Hero.
But no one truly thinks they can surpass a Great Hero.
They are left as objects of envy and admiration.
But Driana seemed a little different.
It seemed that after envy and admiration, she had wanted to become a smith who surpassed Dweno.
‘And she gave up, concluding she could never reach the same level as him.’
Leo looked at the spear in his hand.
He could tell just by swinging it.
Compared to Dweno, her craftsmanship was clumsy.
But that was only when the comparison was Dweno.
Driana was an amazing smith.
‘If it were Dweno, he might have passed on his blacksmithing techniques.’
But unfortunately, Leo was not a blacksmith.
Therefore, he had no techniques to pass on.
‘Even so, copying Dweno's weapons like this means she still hasn't given up completely.’
For his part, Leo wanted to make Driana pick up her hammer and anvil again.
He wanted this girl, who resembled Dweno in spirit, to aim for Dweno's heights once more.
‘If Dweno knew a kid like this existed, he would be genuinely happy.’
Although he wanted to be remembered as an artist, not a smith, he still held pride in his skills as a smith.
‘Crucially… with Dweno gone, we desperately need a blacksmith who can create powerful weapons.’
Leo's eyes narrowed.
‘Because the Giant King Gias is still out there.’
A monster with a colossal body that defied imagination.
Its very existence was a formidable ‘calamity.’
During the Age of Calamity, it was a monster of such overwhelming physical power that a single gesture of its hand could wipe out an entire city.
But contrary to that terrifying power, the Giant King was also a very cautious legion commander.
The fact that he hadn't made any public moves for the past 5,000 years was a testament to the monster's caution.
He was different from the Monster Queen, who spread calamity as she pleased, and the Necro King, who concocted heinous schemes.
He simply remained silent.
‘Crucially, that bastard is Tartaros's armory.’
During the Age of Calamity.
If the expeditionary force had Dweno, Tartaros had the Giant King Gias.
He, who had created all sorts of calamitous weapons, was an existence that stood as Dweno's opposite.
‘Well, as a smith, Dweno was overwhelmingly superior.’
But now, with Dweno gone, there was no guarantee that any dwarf blacksmith could create weapons to stand against those of Gias.
‘How can I change this girl's mind?’
As Leo was pondering this.
“So I thought. If I can't surpass Lord Dweno as a smith, then I'll surpass him as an artist!”
At Driana's confident declaration, Leo looked at her with surprised eyes.
Currently, there are no records among the documents related to Dweno that describe him as an artist who praised beauty.
Yet Driana had declared that she would become an artist who surpassed Dweno.
“An artist, out of nowhere?”
“You can tell just by looking at the weapons Lord Dweno left behind. He must have been an artist who praised beauty! Otherwise, he couldn't have made such beautiful things!”
It seemed her calling herself an artist was also influenced by Dweno.
‘Incredible. To grasp Dweno's disposition just by looking at his weapons.’
Leo was impressed.
Looking at Leo, Driana said.
“I was inspired by looking at you. Actually, I would have gotten even more inspiration if you'd been a nude model… but I settled for sculpting you as you are.”
Driana wore a confident expression.
“I bet if you see this, you'll want to be my model too.”
“I doubt that'll happen, but I am curious.”
When Dweno sculpted Lisinas and Luna, he would create sculptures that looked like they could truly come to life.
Leo always said that when Dweno made a sculpture, it was more beautiful than the original.
Of course, whenever he said that, he'd be met with kicks and punches from Lisinas and Luna.
Driana pulled out a clay sculpture of Leo from behind the display stand.
“Here! Look! My work of art!”
“…”
Leo looked at the misshapen sculpture in Driana's hands.
“Is this some kind of monster I've never seen before?”
“A monster! This is a sculpture of you! I did reinterpret it with my artistic sensibilities, but! What do you think? Isn't it cool?”
Driana proudly thrust the self-proclaimed sculpture of Leo at him.
Taking it, Leo felt an indescribable sense of displeasure and fell into thought.
‘How does this look like me in any way? I think I could make something better than this with my feet.’
Dweno used to say Kyle was cursed when it came to art and would give him pitiful looks.
If Dweno had seen the weapons Driana made, what would he have done?
‘He would have smiled benevolently, encouraged her, and taught her his blacksmithing techniques himself.’
That's how outstanding Driana's talent was.
But on the other hand, if he had seen this?
After a moment of thought, Leo reenacted what Dweno would have likely done.
*Swoosh-! Crunch!*
The clay sculpture, Driana's self-proclaimed misshapen statue of Leo, was miserably crushed.
“I'm being serious. I don't think you should become an artist. So quit and pick up a hammer.”
‘Don't you dare blaspheme art! If you're going to call trash like this art, then quit!’
Had it been Dweno, he might have furiously shouted something like that, spewing all sorts of curses.