Chapter 382
Chapter Title: The Brave Coward
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382.
At Leo’s words, Ar covered his face, and the four beastkin’s expressions changed drastically.
“Did you just… call us… call Lord Ar-on a coward?”
Dion’s voice was low and heavy.
The beastkin were a race who held the firm belief that Ar-on's courage had changed the fate of the world.
For 5,000 years, they had revered Ar-on, taking pride in the fact that they were beastkin, just like him.
And for thousands of years, they had strived to inherit his courage.
To the beastkin, courage was their pride and the virtue they pursued above all else.
For them, being called a ‘coward’ was the greatest insult imaginable.
“…I agree that we might look like cowards.”
Dion growled fiercely.
“Right now, we’re trembling in fear, desperate to hide our shame. It’s also true that we backed down to Ar. From your perspective, it must seem like we’re cowards.”
A murderous aura emanated from Dion’s body.
“But take back what you said about Lord Ar-on being a coward, Leo Flove.”
“Sorry, but Ar-on was a coward.”
*Whoosh-!*
Dion’s fist flew toward Leo.
A punch filled with conviction.
But Ar was faster, intercepting the blow.
Seeing his childhood friend protect Leo, Dion’s face contorted with rage.
“What do you think you’re doing! Ar!”
“Calm down, Dion.”
“How can I be calm! He just insulted Lord Ar-on!”
At that, Ar let out a sigh.
“The Black Rabbit isn’t wrong.”
“What?”
“The Lord Ar-on I saw in the World of Heroes was very timid.”
At those shocking words, the four beastkin froze.
“I can’t accept that! Lord Ar-on, timid!”
Borman shouted urgently.
Looking at Borman, Leo spoke.
“Have you ever seen the Brave Hero in person?”
“…”
At Leo’s question, Borman unconsciously fell silent.
Since the Great Warrior Azonia, one of the Heroes of Genesis from 3,000 years ago, no one had managed to conquer an intact Hero Record of Ar-on.
Most who had conquered the Brave Hero’s world had done so through a corrupted Hero Record.
The only remaining records of Ar-on were of him leading battles to victory with overwhelming martial prowess.
Only that image was passed down and known to the people.
Thanks to that, almost nothing was known about what Ar-on was like in his daily life.
“It can’t be.”
“The Brave Hero… was a coward?”
“How is that possible…”
“This is a dream… a dream.”
Seeing his peers in shock and denial, Ar shot a reproachful look at Leo.
“Why did you have to tell them that?”
“It’s the same with our school’s students and the students from other academies. You all tend to worship the Great Heroes too much.”
Leo said nonchalantly.
“You saw it too, but the Great Heroes were cowards, perverts, and tomboys.”
“…I know who the coward and the pervert are, but who’s the tomboy?”
“The Progenitor of the Nebula.”
Hearing that, Ar, recalling that Leo had conquered Luna’s world, muttered.
“What a shocking truth.”
“That’s just how reality is. You should hurry up and realize the world isn’t so beautiful and become an adult.”
“No! The Hero of the Beginning and the King of Wisdom are still left!”
Ar placed his hands over his ears and shook his head vigorously.
It seemed he didn’t want his illusions of the Great Heroes shattered any further.
*If I’d conquered Lisinas’s world, I could have told him that guy was a vicious con artist, too.*
Leo clicked his tongue.
Lisinas was a master of talking people into a corner and then stabbing them in the back.
*Looking at it this way, am I the only normal one?*
Of course, if his companions were there, they would have cursed Kyle for being just as problematic.
Looking at the shocked Azonia students, Leo spoke.
“How long are you going to stay in shock? Is it such a problem that Ar-on was a coward?”
“What?”
“Ar-on was definitely a coward. But that doesn’t negate the fact that he was the Brave Hero.”
The four Azonia students looked at Leo.
“He was always scared and intimidated, but when a battle broke out, he overcame all of it and was the first to charge forward.”
“That’s right! That’s why Lord Ar-on is the true Brave Hero!”
Ar puffed out his chest and agreed with Leo’s words.
At that, Dion gave a bitter smile.
“Lord Ar-on is special.”
“That’s funny.”
“What?”
“That same Lord Ar-on said the exact same thing to me. That he wasn’t special.”
“What? Lord Ar-on said that? When!”
“When you weren’t there.”
“Waaah! To have such a heartfelt conversation with Lord Ar-on! Black Rabbit! You lucky bastard!”
Ar, with a genuinely envious expression, shook Leo back and forth.
At that, Leo recalled an event from the past.
*‘I’m not special. I can’t give people hope like Lisinas… and I’m not a shining presence like Luna. I can’t forge weapons like Dweno, and I’m not Erebos’s natural enemy like you, Kyle. I feel like I’m just a burden to you all.’*
*‘What is this nonsense now?’*
Hearing that, Kyle had kicked Ar-on.
*‘It’s because you’re there fighting on the front lines that the rest of us don’t give up!’*
“The courage of a Brave Hero who said he wasn’t special saved the world.”
Leo looked at the Azonia representatives.
“You Azonia students protest to let people who are trembling in fear know, don’t you?”
Azonia’s entrance ceremony was a protest.
They made sure many people knew about that protest.
The ritual of that entrance ceremony conveyed only one thing.
“We are here.”
Beings who give courage.
Beings who drive away fear.
A symbol of courage.
“Perhaps that’s the kind of person the Brave Hero wanted to be most.”
Just by thinking of Ar-on, many people gain the courage to face their fears.
The coward who claimed he wasn’t special became courage itself.
“Who cares if you’re special or not. It’s okay to be scared stiff. It’s okay to be intimidated and to feel pessimistic about yourself. But if you truly want to follow in the footsteps of the Brave Hero.”
Leo smiled, thinking of his friend.
“Don’t break. Being able to move forward when things are at their toughest—that’s what I think is truly special.”
In the moment when everyone had despaired.
He recalled the back of his friend, who had charged forward with composure.
Listening to Leo, Dion looked up at the night sky.
“I never thought I’d receive a lesson on the Brave Hero and courage from a Lumerne student.”
“We were completely unlike Azonia students.”
“Yeah! We were so stupid! Getting scared and intimidated for no reason!”
“You’re always a fool. A foolish tiger.”
Seeing Dion, Tabon, and Borman regain their spirits, Luen sighed.
She then glanced at Leo.
“You have a way with words. As expected of Lumerne’s student council president.”
“I learned from a certain vicious con artist.”
Watching Leo smirk, Ar raised his hand.
“Right! What’s important now is catching those damn beasts who are tarnishing Lord Ar-on’s name and tearing them to shreds! Neglecting them out of fear that our shame will be exposed is the real insult to Lord Ar-on!”
“Yeah! Ar is right!”
Borman chimed in.
Seeing this, Dion nodded.
“It certainly seems right to cooperate with Lumerne.”
Watching them, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
*I’m just as eager to catch those bastards and rip them to pieces.*
Hero Hunters.
The fact that traitors who had turned their backs on the world were using Ar-on’s power made Leo’s blood boil just as much as the beastkin’s.
No, perhaps even more.
But he wanted to leave the task of correcting that to the Azonia students, who claimed to be Ar-on’s successors.
*That way, Ar-on would have been happier.*
Leo smiled at the Azonia students, their fighting spirits rekindled.
*The back you showed us still gives people courage, even after 5,000 years.*
He thought of his friend who used to talk such nonsense to him.
*What do you mean you’re not special? You’re more special than anyone, Ar-on.*
***
Leo arrived at the lord’s castle with the Azonia students.
In front of the conference room, he found the first-years with sullen expressions.
“What are you all doing out here?”
At Leo’s question, Shasha replied.
“We wanted to attend the meeting too, but Senior Duran kicked us out.”
*‘Do you think you’re qualified to participate in this meeting? How arrogant.’*
*‘Hey. The first-years are amazing too. I’m attending the meeting, so they should too…’*
*‘Know your place, Karl Thomas. Do you think you and the first-year brats are on the same level?’*
“Sounds like Duran.”
“Do you think so too, Senior Leo?”
Shasha asked, pouting.
One might say it’s only a year, but in a hero academy, a single year in the lower grades is an insurmountable wall.
Especially for first-years in their first semester, from the second-years’ perspective, they had barely learned to walk.
“If it were the second semester of your first year, Duran might have thought differently.”
At Leo’s words, Shasha sighed.
“Are those Lumerne’s first-years?”
“They’re cute. I hope we get juniors soon too.”
The Azonia students who followed Leo admired the Lumerne first-years.
“Where’s Luke?”
“Luke is training in the sparring grounds, Young Master.”
Martina answered politely.
“He’s working hard.”
Leo, chuckling, entered the conference room.
Watching him, Juen spoke.
“Ugh! Seriously! I’m going to show them my true skills during this mission practicum!”
At Juen’s words, Shasha nodded with a frustrated look.
“I agree.”
*Step- step-*
“Where are you going, Aina?”
Haviden asked as Aina, who had been standing still, suddenly started moving.
“To train.”
Leaving that short remark, Aina left.
At her words, the other first-years exchanged glances and also moved to their respective training spots.
Duran’s words had hurt their pride, but they felt he wasn’t wrong.
And that fact wounded their pride even more.
*We’ll definitely show our mentors what we’re made of.*
***
The next morning.
Leo headed for the Forest of Fiends.
Luke was following behind him.
“So, you’ve decided to resolve the hero dungeon issue suspected to be in the Forest of Fiends with Azonia, and then jointly pursue the Hero Hunters in this country, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“And you, Senior Leo, will be going deep inside alone.”
“That’s right.”
In yesterday’s meeting, Lumerne and Azonia had agreed to cooperate.
In the midst of it all, Leo had announced that he would scout the deepest part of the Forest of Fiends by himself.
At first, a few students suggested they go together, but Leo had said.
*‘I’m more than enough on my own.’*
It could have sounded like bravado, but no student vehemently opposed it.
No matter what anyone said, Leo possessed overwhelming strength among the second-years.
They had no choice but to agree to Leo’s plan of scouting for just one day.
“Is he the Black Rabbit’s mentee?”
Leo met up with Ar, who was waiting at the forest entrance.
“Hello, my name is Luke Elda.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ar Tune.”
Ar smiled brightly and waved.
“Just look after him for a day, please.”
“Leave it to me!”
Ar said, thumping his chest.
After entrusting Luke to him, Leo immediately entered the forest.
After walking for a while, Leo looked at the dense woods.
This was the stage for the entrance exam.
But being here in person like this felt different.
*The place where I first met Luna.*
This place was Luna’s homeland.
When he and Lisinas came to recruit Luna for the subjugation team, she had been fighting alongside the elves to reclaim their home forest from the Fiend Queen.
This forest held another memory besides the entrance exam.
After gazing at the forest for a moment, Leo drew his sword and began to move.
The deeper he went into the forest, the more numerous the monsters that blocked his path became.
But they weren’t monsters that belonged in the Forest of Fiends.
*The curse on this land should have disappeared when the Fiend Queen was subjugated, shouldn’t it?*
Yet, new monsters kept appearing.
That meant there was something else creating them.
*It’s highly likely a hero dungeon has started to encroach upon reality.*
This was a conclusion his classmates who had arrived in the Forest of Fiends earlier had easily reached.
However, there was also the possibility that the curse on this forest had run rampant after the Fiend Queen’s death.
As he cut down numerous monsters and moved forward, Leo came to a stop.
The very center of the forest.
Leo narrowed his eyes and reached out his hand.
*Vwoom-!*
He felt a powerful dark magic.
Even though its master was gone, the dark magic that had subtly maintained its presence was none other than the residual magic left by the Fiend Queen.
*Fwoosh-!*
Leo instantly dispelled the magic.
As the magic dissipated, a hideous tower revealed itself.
He could feel residual dark magic.
But the power that had been cast upon this tower was already gone.
*The curse is indeed lifted.*
He had checked for the curse, just in case.
But it didn’t exist.
Convinced of the existence of a hero dungeon in the Forest of Fiends, Leo was about to retreat when he paused.
He saw a ‘scrap of paper’ in the middle of the grotesque tower.
The faint power emanating from it was something Leo recognized.
*Divine power?*
Surprised, Leo used magic to float his body upwards.
*A Hero Record fragment.*
Looking at the torn piece of a Hero Record, Leo’s face showed surprise as he reached out.
[Would you like to open the world of the Dragon of Genesis, Rodia?]
At the message that suddenly appeared before his eyes, Leo’s eyes widened.
*Rodia’s world?*
He was momentarily stunned.
He had thought this torn fragment was the cause of the hero dungeon, but it wasn’t.
*It hasn’t gone rampant.*
It was a stabilized Hero Record fragment, not one that had turned into a hero dungeon.
The message had appeared because it was Leo.
As the owner of the Hero Record, Leo could freely open and close them without needing a key.
After staring at the message for a moment, Leo spoke.
“Open.”
[Hero Record Open. World of Rodia. Chapter: Prologue - Genesis.]
*Fwoosh-!*
A familiar sensation enveloped Leo.
The moment the bright light faded from his vision.
“…Who?”
A bewildered voice was heard.
Leo looked at the young dragon girl before him.
He knew who she was.
“…Are you the Dragon of Genesis, Rodia?”