Chapter 582
Chapter Title: Lumerne's Disappearance
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582.
“Are you two out of your minds?”
Eiran, in the form of Azonia, and Ar, in the form of Seira, knelt before the Comet Wizard, Seirun.
Lunia, possessing Seirun, continued with a dumbfounded expression.
“You’re sophomores, for goodness’ sake. The top and second-ranked students of Seirun and Azonia, no less. And you forget the situation and act like your usual selves?”
At the harsh reprimand, Ar and Eiran’s ears drooped.
“Now, now. Calm down. In any case, thanks to those two, we were able to identify each other so quickly, right?”
Chen Xia, in the form of a Seirun Academy first-year, calmed Lunia with a gentle smile.
Thirty-two students were gathered in a lecture hall somewhere in Lumerne.
All of them were challengers of the World of Heroes.
Lunia pressed her temples.
Watching her, Karl spoke.
“Lunia and Eiran possessed Seirun and Azonia, right? Then who’s in Damian?”
“Driana. She’s with Rodia in the Hero’s Tower right now.”
“No one possessed Rodia?”
At that question, Lunia recalled Rodia landing an uppercut to her solar plexus.
Her idealized image of the Dragon of Genesis shattered into pieces.
Of course, as someone who had experienced her fair share of Great Heroes, Lunia was prepared for the Heroes of the Beginning to be different from what she’d imagined, so the mental blow wasn’t too severe.
“It seems so.”
“That’s a problem.”
In this era, the words of a Hero of the Beginning were law.
The reason the earlier commotion hadn't escalated was that Lunia and Eiran, in the forms of Seirun and Azonia, had managed to defuse the situation.
“If all the challengers were possessing Heroes of the Beginning, managing the situation would be much easier.”
Karl clicked his tongue in disappointment.
To conquer a World of Heroes meant overcoming the trials that the hero had faced.
As for the process, it didn't really matter how you did it, as long as you could overcome the trials.
If, in that process, one discovered a route the hero themselves had never considered and achieved a better result, it was possible to exceed the objectives.
But exceeding the objectives was not easy.
The World of Heroes, as manifested by the Hero Record, was the best possible outcome that the world's protagonist had achieved by struggling through their circumstances.
As such, even if one knew the method, satisfying the conditions to exceed the objectives was difficult.
In fact, attempting to do so could distort the situation and lead to failure.
That was why the best method for conquering a World of Heroes was to follow the actual history as closely as possible.
It was for this same reason that in possession-type worlds, one had to act the part of the person they possessed.
However, if one could gain a position that allowed them to control the situation, the difficulty of the challenge dropped significantly.
“First, let’s share what we’ve found out.”
At Karl’s words, Lunia nodded.
“First off, the scope of this world is limited to Lumerne Academy. We can’t go beyond Lumeria Lake.”
Eiran, who had possessed Azonia, was the first to speak, sharing the information she had gathered while exploring the World of Heroes last night.
Starting with that, the students shared the information they had each discovered.
“Not recorded in history, huh.”
Ar crossed his arms, lost in thought.
“We don’t even know the objective right now.”
As Ar lifted his head, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Objective: -]
The objective field, the most basic guide for conquering the World of Heroes, was blank.
This was common in Hero Dungeons, but with no historical information whatsoever, it felt like they were completely in the dark.
Just then, an Azonia student raised his hand.
“The difficulty of a World of Heroes doesn't change based on the hero's class, right? Just because this is Lumerne's world, I don't think it'll be that difficult.”
At his words, everyone turned to look at the student.
“The current era is a few years after the end of the Calamity's Return, right? I doubt there will be any unbearable trials.”
It was a plausible argument, and everyone was nodding in agreement.
“No.”
Karl let out a deep sigh.
“This challenge is going to be extremely dangerous.”
Seeing Karl refute his opinion, the Azonia student who had spoken made a slightly displeased face, then scoffed condescendingly at Karl.
“I’m sure it is for you. You're that weakling who could be expelled from Lumerne at any moment, right? I don't know what idiot chose you as the representative, but from the looks of it, you won't be much help. Just try not to get in the way.”
As the Azonia student spoke provocatively, Karl scratched his cheek.
Swoosh— Pzzzt—!
“If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll give you one.”
Duran, in the form of an elf, had somehow appeared and was holding a sword to the Azonia student’s neck.
And it wasn't just Duran.
Chelsea, in the form of a beastkin, was also standing behind the student, aiming her staff and emanating a chilling aura.
As the Azonia student stood frozen, staring at the two who had approached without a sound,
“We chose Karl as Lumerne’s representative through a meeting, you know? So don’t treat him like an idiot.”
Celia said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.
A smile formed on Karl’s lips at the sight.
‘I guess my school life wasn’t a total waste.’
“Only kids from our school are allowed to look down on Karl, you know?”
But Chelsea’s next words made Karl’s face crumple in despair.
“Why do you think it won’t be easy?”
Abad asked with a puzzled look.
“We usually believe that the Heroes of the Beginning brought peace after ending the Calamity's Return. But think about it. That’s not what happened, is it?”
“...Indeed.”
Abad stroked his chin.
A truth that had, until now, been unknown to the world.
The Heroes of the Beginning had failed to completely subjugate the fragments of Erebos.
Erebos was sealed within the World of the Beginning.
“Of course, we probably won’t have to fight a constantly resurrecting Erebos. But the fact that all the Heroes of the Beginning have gathered means it’s definitely related to him, at the very least.”
At those words, the atmosphere among the students grew heavy.
“Crucially, conquering the World of Heroes itself isn’t the problem.”
Karl said with a serious face.
“What do you mean by that?”
Duran narrowed his eyes.
“Remember when Seirun reappeared, the Flames of Calamity showed up too?”
It was Lunia who answered for him.
“That was because Erebos was trying to escape to the outside world through the World of Heroes.”
At her words, the faces of everyone in the room hardened.
“Whether we conquer this world or not will also determine whether Erebos breaks his seal and escapes.”
Just as everyone wore looks of shock at Lunia's words,
Knock, knock—
A knock came from the door.
Driana, in the form of Damian, opened the door and came in.
“Lunia, Eiran. Rodia is looking for the Heroes of the Beginning.”
At her words, Lunia and Eiran rose from their seats with puzzled expressions.
“And it seems the student council president of Lumerne needs to come along as well.”
“Why me?”
Karl looked baffled.
Looking at him, Driana spoke with a grave expression.
“It seems Lumerne has gone missing. They said they want to ask if you know anything about it.”
***
The center of Lumerne.
The very top of the Hero’s Tower.
Karl quickly scanned the headmaster’s office.
As Lumerne possessed thousands of years of history, the campus scenery was quite different from Karl’s era.
But this office hadn’t changed much.
The only difference was that where the portraits of past headmasters hung, there was only a portrait of Lumerne.
‘By the way, Lumerne is missing?’
Karl’s expression turned serious.
This was Lumerne’s world.
And the world was confined to Lumerne Academy.
That meant Lumerne had to be somewhere within the academy.
So how could he be missing?
Karl scratched his head.
‘This is a headache.’
With his arms crossed, Karl recalled the stories Leo had told him about the World of the Beginning.
‘He said the masters of the World of the Beginning aren't fakes implemented in the Hero Record, but are all living, real people, right? In that case, the Lumerne in this world is likely the man himself.’
If he could just meet that Lumerne, achieving the objective shouldn't be too difficult.
In a normal World of Heroes, the world would distort the moment you mentioned it was fake, but this world was special.
The problem was what came after.
‘If Lumerne’s world has become a Hero Dungeon, that means Erebos is running rampant, right? Just like in Seirun’s world.’
He had heard that at the time, Seirun’s world had been reduced to ashes, on the verge of becoming an exit for Erebos to escape to the outside world.
‘And Leo said he closed it with his own power. We might have to do that ourselves.’
In a situation where they didn't know when they'd face such a crisis, Lumerne's disappearance was a serious problem.
‘But the world itself looks perfectly fine.’
The objective was still unknown, but from the looks of it, Lumerne Academy seemed extremely peaceful.
‘He said Seirun’s world was engulfed in black flames.’
If so, they might still have time before it becomes a gateway.
‘We need to find Lumerne before then.’
“Where on earth did you go?”
Karl sighed, looking at Lumerne’s portrait.
As he gazed at the portrait for a moment, Karl noticed a phrase.
‘So that motto has been here since this time.’
Surpass your limits.
It was the lesson Lumerne left for future generations.
‘We might not be alike in any other way, but I can confidently say we’re alike in that respect.’
Karl gave a bitter smile.
If he hadn’t continuously surpassed his limits, he wouldn’t be here now.
‘I really struggled, looking foolish and pathetic.’
As his thoughts reached that point, someone’s words suddenly came to mind.
‘In the history of Lumerne Academy, you are the first student to bear no resemblance to Lumerne, Karl Thomas.’
“...”
It was a scathing assessment that cut him to the core.
He had acted nonchalant at the time, but…
The god’s words were like a sentence to Karl.
A sentence declaring that he, who bore no resemblance to the near-perfect Lumerne in the gods’ eyes, could never become a hero.
Recalling those words, Karl felt something was off.
‘They said Lumerne wasn’t someone who struggled foolishly and pathetically, right?’
It was strange.
The Lumerne Karl knew was a human who had saved the world by overcoming countless limits.
But a person who surpasses their limits is one who struggles foolishly and pathetically.
Like himself.
But if Lumerne wasn’t like that, then…
‘Doesn’t that mean he gave up on surpassing his limits?’
It was a contradiction.
A thought that was practically an insult.
But Karl could swear to it.
He might lack in other areas, but he had never given up and had continuously surpassed his limits.
‘To say he gave up struggling and failed to surpass his limits… that would be to deny myself, who has staked everything on Lumerne for the past two years.’
As his thoughts reached that point, his conversation with Leo came to mind.
‘What do I think of Lumerne? I’ve never met him, but he’s a proud junior of mine.’
‘I knew you’d think so.’
‘Well, the problem was that he admired me a little too much.’
‘Looking at your record, I don’t think anyone could help but admire you.’
‘Right. The problem is, he tried to become like me.’
“Lumerne… wanted to be like the Hero of the Beginning. But he couldn’t.”
Karl muttered softly.
“He gave up on becoming like Leo. That means he gave up on subjugating Erebos.”
He couldn't become like Leo.
That might have been Lumerne’s limit.
Karl clenched his fist.
“So he found another way.”
Since he couldn’t do it himself, he entrusted it to a future generation.
Hoping someone would appear who, unlike him, would not give up and would surpass their limits.
Karl clenched his fist.
‘Lumerne has gone to find the gods.’
***
Whoooooosh—!
Kyle stood before a burning pillar of fire.
“...To think a mere mass of power could possess such strength.”
The flames grew stronger and stronger.
Kyle clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘It’s on a completely different level from the one I met in Seirun’s world.’
Kyle’s gaze shifted to the center of the black flames.
[Leo. Do you think the children inside the World of Heroes will be alright?]
With flames this intense, the inside of the World of Heroes must be in chaos.
To Melina’s worried voice, Kyle replied.
“They’ll be fine.”
The corners of Kyle’s mouth curled up.
“Because there’s a kid in there who will struggle to the very end without giving up.”