Chapter 519
Chapter Title: A Crack in the Foundation
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Thud— Thud—
The dry sound of footsteps echoed through the large lecture hall used by the second-year students.
It was none other than Halind, known as Lumerne's Wailing Wall.
At his appearance, the entire second year tensed up.
Today was the day for a special lecture on Heroics.
The one conducting the lecture was Professor Halind.
Since advancing to their second year, the students certainly had fewer encounters with Halind.
But even so, Halind remained an object of fear for the second-years.
The entire second year was wearing tense expressions.
“Karl Thomas.”
“Ye-yes!”
*Flinch!*
At Halind's low call, Karl shot up from his seat.
“Wake up Eliza Hergin next to you.”
At those words, Karl flinched and looked to his side.
There, Eliza was bobbing her head like a sick chick.
In any other professor's class, Eliza would either sleep openly or not show up at all if she was tired, but she always listened diligently in Halind's class.
Because Eliza, too, was afraid of Halind.
“Eliza. Wake up.”
Karl said cautiously to Eliza.
But Eliza showed no sign of waking.
“I'll give you three seconds.”
Startled by Halind's words, Karl placed his hands on Eliza's shoulders and shook her.
“Eliza! Wake up!”
Startled by his words, Eliza's eyes shot open.
Her gaze met Halind's, and her face turned pale.
Halind looked at her and gave a cold smile.
“Just what are you doing at night to be dozing off in class?”
“Th-that's...”
“There won't be a next time.”
“Ye-yes!”
Watching Eliza jump to her feet to answer, Halind stood in the center of the podium.
Seated again, Eliza buried her face in her hands.
‘I haven't been able to sleep properly for days. I can't keep my head straight.’
Five days had passed since Leo's training began.
Since then, Eliza hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep.
She endured the power of the Lightning Essence all through the early morning.
After training, she refined her spiritual power through meditation.
Then, she trained her body.
And she couldn't always skip class.
Sleeping openly was one thing, but she couldn't just not attend class forever.
No matter how tired her body was from training, letting her grades slip because of it was something Eliza's personality would never tolerate.
If it were simply a matter of juggling studies and training without sleep, Eliza wouldn't have been pushed to such exhaustion.
But accepting the Lightning Essence consumed an immense amount of spiritual power and stamina.
She was literally being pushed to her mental and physical limits.
In this situation, Leo hadn't offered a single word of advice, but Eliza didn't care.
It was what she wanted, and she planned to do it her way.
As Eliza massaged the area around her eyes, trying to chase away the fatigue, Karl handed her a fatigue-recovery potion.
“Drink this. It's a special brew. It should wake you up a bit.”
“Thanks. I'll pay you back later.”
“It's fine, it's on the house.”
Karl smiled brightly.
“You're my regular customer, after all. And a friend, too. We should help each other out when things get tough.”
“Friend?”
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
“You think of me as a friend?”
“Same school, same year, same dorm—that makes us friends. And a future VIP customer!”
Karl gave a thumbs-up, and Eliza scoffed.
“Karl Thomas, your chattering suggests you have a death wish.”
“N-no, sir!”
At Halind's reprimand, Karl's face went pale.
Glancing at Karl, Eliza fiddled with the potion bottle in her hand and scoffed, "Hmph!"
Meanwhile, only silence flowed through the large lecture hall.
All the students were focused on Halind.
Today's special lecture on Heroics had been announced suddenly.
All major, minor, and elective classes had been canceled, and the entire second year had gathered in the large lecture hall.
Because of the suddenness of it all, their curiosity was piqued.
As everyone watched, Halind opened his mouth.
“Regarding the recent events occurring in the world….”
*BANG—!*
“Everyone should be aware of the situation! People are trying to keep it quiet, but a grave situation has arisen!”
The lecture hall door burst open, and Sedzen cut Halind off.
Looking at Sedzen, Halind said.
“This is my class, is it not? Professor Sedzen.”
“The second years are my responsibility! It's only right that I conduct the lecture! You go teach the first years!”
“As I understand it, I am in charge of this lecture, regardless of year.”
“I've filed a formal complaint about that!”
“Come back when the faculty meeting reaches a decision. Celia Jerdinger, Duran Moira.”
Halind called out to the two students from the Knight Department sitting in the front row, as befitting top students.
“Drag him out.”
“Professor Sedzen. You shouldn't be doing this.”
“We will escort you outside.”
Celia and Duran bowed politely to Sedzen, then grabbed him and began dragging him out.
“What is the meaning of this! Weren't you my beloved students! Are you going to act as Halind's lackeys now! Ugh! Let go! Let gooooo! How could you do this to me!”
The second-years were no longer flustered by this now-familiar sight.
Once Sedzen was gone and the lecture hall quieted down, Halind continued the class.
“What is the most serious issue in the current situation?”
At Halind's question, students raised their hands.
“Karl Thomas.”
“That Professor Sedzen will barge in again.”
“Come forward. Head on the ground.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Out.”
Karl, on the verge of tears, received his punishment beside Halind.
“Karl is quite amusing, isn't he?”
Eiran said to Chelsea with a laugh, and Chelsea's eyes went wide.
“Karl? Who's that? I don't know anyone by that name.”
Chelsea openly pretended not to know Karl.
Meanwhile, Halind called on the student who had raised their hand the fastest after Karl.
“Nella Kaven.”
“It's the matter of past heroes being resurrected as undead.”
“Correct. And do you know why it's a serious matter?”
“Because it has the potential to shake the very foundation of the Age of Heroes, which has lasted for the past 5,000 years.”
Watching Nella answer in a heavy voice, Halind nodded.
“That's right.”
Halind narrowed his eyes.
“5,000 years ago, after the Great Heroes subjugated Erebos and ended the Age of Calamity, the world finally found peace. In that process, the gods who left the mortal plane gifted the world the Hero Record. Since then, those who achieved great deeds recognized by the gods became heroes, maintaining the world's peace and order.”
At his words, all the students nodded.
It was something everyone knew.
“A hero is a noble being recognized by the gods. Does anyone deny this?”
At Halind's question, the entire second year shook their heads.
It was an absolute truth.
“Then why are the heroes of the past, resurrected as the undead by the power of the Necro King, pointing their blades at us?”
“……”
Everyone fell silent at his words.
A being deemed noble by the gods had been reduced to a weapon for the Necro King, who sought to destroy the world.
In that case, was that person truly noble?
The foundation of the Age of Heroes is the 'Hero'.
A hero is an agent of the gods, chosen by them.
After preventing the second coming of the calamity, that sentiment became even more prevalent.
The leaders of the world.
But what if such individuals were, in fact, unworthy of being the gods' agents?
The current era might seem glamorous at a glance.
The appearance of the Brave Hero Ar-on and the Progenitor of the Nebula, Luna.
The subjugation of Erebos's fragments and the victory against the Necro King.
The world's attention is focused on the new miracles of the Hero Record.
But behind the scenes, it's also true that a doubt is sprouting: 'Are heroes truly the agents of the gods?'
The seed of doubt creates a crack in faith.
And a crack leads to collapse.
“The reason for this special Heroics lecture is related to these events.”
At Halind's words, the students' expressions turned serious.
Just then, Abad raised his hand.
“Ask your question, Abad Llewellyn.”
“Professor Halind, what are your thoughts on the current situation?”
“You all should know this. Just because someone is a hero doesn't mean they are an absolutely good and just person.”
Halind clicked his tongue.
“But most people have thought that even so, heroes possess a noble 'conviction' worthy of the gods' recognition.”
“That's why they were chosen by the gods.”
“Yes. But as a professor at Lumerne for many years, I have felt a sense of doubt.”
Halind said, sweeping his gaze over the students.
“Is the gods' choice truly correct? That's what I've wondered.”
“What?”
“Students who I thought could never become heroes did. Students who *shouldn't* have become heroes also attained the title.”
“……”
For a professor at Lumerne, it was an incredibly dangerous statement.
Though it's called an age without gods, the gods undeniably exist.
Furthermore, while there may be no followers of the gods, it is an era where beings called heroes represent the gods' will.
Blasphemy.
It was an act that insulted the 'heroes', the leaders of the world.
Even if it came from a professor at a hero academy.
Even for Halind, who had nurtured countless students, it was a statement that could jeopardize his professorship if it leaked to the outside.
The students swallowed dryly.
“There are also fools who babble that becoming undead is also the will of the gods.”
Halind said coldly.
“But recently, there has been a change in the Hero Record.”
“What kind of change?”
“It has been revealed that there are individuals whose records have been expunged from the Hero Record, stripping them of their hero status.”
“……!”
“……!”
Everyone wore expressions of shock.
Expungement of a record from the Hero Record.
It was an unprecedented event.
“Is there a student who can tell me what this means?”
At his words, the students exchanged glances.
It was too shocking.
Just then, someone raised a hand.
“Leo Flove.”
At Halind's call, all eyes turned to Leo.
“The rights they were able to enjoy because they were heroes. The sins that weren't questioned because they were heroes. They will now have to bear the responsibilities they didn't carry because they were heroes.”
Leo said, as if making a declaration.
“Since the gods' choices have been reversed, the number of people who distrust their selections will grow. The existing system could collapse, and a new order could emerge. And.”
“And?”
“Only the 'real' heroes will remain.”
At Leo's answer, the corners of Halind's mouth curled up.
“You seem confident, Leo Flove.”
“I was never particularly interested in the gods' choice to begin with.”
***
*Scratch— Scratch—*
A dark, underground space.
In a splendid, pure white outfit, a beautiful person, difficult to distinguish as a boy or a girl, was diligently writing something in a large book.
They filled the large blank spaces one by one.
Finally, the child who had finished writing took a step back.
*Swoooosh—!*
Then, the letters written in the book vanished as if they had evaporated.
The child scratched their gray hair.
“I don't get it. Why do the records keep getting erased?”
They wore a look of complete bewilderment.
Then, their face contorted.
“It's hurting my ears, so stop your damn chattering! What? Why do I only listen to Pibua's requests? That I arbitrarily recorded someone as the successor to the Progenitor of the Nebula? Lunia El Lundua! I didn't record her! It was written automatically by the Record System! You all know it too! The Record System is going haywire because of that damned monstrosity!”
The child shouted into the empty air.
“What? Leo Flove? Who's that? I don't know any hero with that name!”
The child nervously slammed the book shut and began to walk. *Thud— Thud—*.
The space the child was in was bizarre.
It was like a giant library.
“Seriously! If you're so frustrated, why don't you become the librarian of the Record System yourselves!”
The child, who was about to leave the library, stopped in their tracks.
The very first bookshelf of the Record System.
On the bookshelf that had clearly burned and vanished, a few books had appeared at some point.
“Huh?”
The child's face was a mask of horror.
“How is Kyle's story still continuing?”