The Desert City of Lampades

The ultimate purpose of the Hero Factory—the tutorial stages, as I’ve mentioned time and again—is "Hero Cultivation." It’s essentially the equivalent of the Military Manpower Administration or a boot camp back in Korea; in short, it’s the "Ministry of Defense." Just like throwing someone in front of a goblin or an orc and telling them to survive, the goal is to somehow turn them into a Hero and ship them off to the front lines.

However, even the Ministry of Defense has cases where they think, "Yeah, this one is a lost cause." Since it’s not an AI program selecting humans, but angels selecting souls, once you hit 3 deaths, they simply decide to "collect" your soul. What if they sent someone forcibly and they caused a disaster? What if they betrayed us to become a limb of the Demon King’s army and threatened the Heavenly Realm instead? There’s a saying, isn't there? Safety regulations are written in blood. Both Heroes and angels have seen enough bloodshed that, for the most part, everything is done according to the manual.

That’s why they only revoke the qualification for resurrection as a Hero in truly extreme cases. Even though becoming a Hero is the only way to continue living, they judge that it’s better for the soul to be stored somewhere in the Heavenly Realm as a corpse than to force them to live. In other words, if you flip that logic, it means that just like the officers at the military training centers, they shove everyone into active duty unless it’s an extreme case. That applies even to those who have hit their limit with two deaths.

For those who have died twice, they are often treated with extreme kindness, as if to say, "Please, just become a Hero and survive."

Right now, Estiel was speaking kindly and in detail, with Shin Yuhee and me sitting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in front of her in a room decorated like a lecture hall. "To help with an intuitive understanding, please look at the data below."

"I cannot give you detailed information on how to clear the main quest, but I believe Lampades is the best place for you to grow."

"Because it's a 'City of Pleasure'?"

"It is the same for any reserve Hero. While the difficulty itself is B-class, which feels like A-class, there is an opinion among the angels that if you follow the rules within Lampades, the perceived difficulty is D-class to C-class."

I know. I haven't experienced it myself, but I've heard stories from Heroes who passed through Lampades, just like Chekhov's Arena.

"Lampades is divided into safe zones and danger zones. If you spend the entire month only in the safe zone, you will survive without incident."

"For a whole month?"

"Yes. One month. Of course, gaining combat experience by visiting the danger zones is also good—from the Heavenly Realm's perspective, it is a part we would rather encourage in terms of cultivating Heroes."

Do we fill our time in the Green Zone and leave? Or do we grow and leave, even if it means facing dangerous situations where our lives could be on the line?

"Angel. I have a question."

"What is it, reserve Hero Shin Yuhee?"

"Is it a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠month regardless of Park Changsoo, or has it been reduced a bit? It looks like time has already passed on Main Quest 1 here."

"...I was just about to tell you that, and you asked at the perfect time."

At Shin Yuhee's question, Estiel waved her hand in the air. Soon, an hourglass appeared, sparkling with her golden divine power.

"About 2 hours have passed since reserve Hero Park Changsoo entered Lampades."

"...?" Two hours?

"Wait. Two hours ago, we were marching toward the Orc Lord, weren't we?"

"There is no error in the time."

"...Don't tell me Park Changsoo didn't enter Lampades immediately after dying, but was just shivering under his blanket in his room?"

Estiel gave a short shrug. She didn't answer in words, but even if Estiel had made a deal with me, she was an angel who basically treated reserve Heroes fairly. "The time it takes for each person to accept the trials given to them is different. Some make a contract immediately like someone else, and some people need time to themselves before opening the door."

"I see. In that case... that's a relief." Not much time had passed since Park Changsoo's death, but I was worried we might lose out if too much time had ticked by.

"I have another question."

"Please, speak, reserve Hero Shin Yuhee."

"Is there any special reward... like a Hidden Piece?"

"Well." Estiel scratched her cheek and scanned the status window floating in front of her. "As for Lampades, there is no record of a Hidden Piece... or a blessing bestowed by the Goddess being discovered."

If you asked if it was okay to talk about that, angels are always truly kind to those who have entered the 2-loss zone. Just like how they maintain a smile and polite speech even to unreasonable people, ensuring the thought 'Why is there annoyance in your voice?' never comes up, Estiel must have treated Park Changsoo as a professional angel. And then, two hours ago, Park Changsoo entered Lampades.

'Not very helpful.' If we had picked an A-class, it would have helped us get Goddess Points. Truly a pity.

"Ah... is it because it's B-class after all?"

"Even if the practical difficulty is A-class, B-class is still B-class."

"Then in what way is it A-class?"

"You'll know once you go in yourself." It's faster to go in and figure it out than to talk about it.

"Anyway, it's a place that even Park Changsoo can pass through depending on the circumstances, but at the same time, it's a place where both I and Shin Yuhee could have our journey stopped. Isn't that right?"

"That is correct. And a few things, I will tell you in advance."

Whoosh. Estiel unfolded a new screen.

"The place you will enter after clearing Lampades is here, the [Agramad Siege] stage. The difficulty is B-class."

As someone who came after clearing Chekhov's Arena, I wish I could just plaster all the remaining stages with A-ranks, but unfortunately, challenging stages isn't a story limited to just Shin Yuhee and me.

"Wow..." While I was thinking about the difficulty, Shin Yuhee let out an exclamation at the magnificent castle spread out on the screen.

"It really looks like a medieval castle. From a fantasy world. Is that a giant crystal on top of the castle wall?"

"Looks like it."

Crystal Turrets. I was sick of them because they were things I’d be seeing endlessly from now on, but I definitely remember having that same curious ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expression when I first saw them, just like Shin Yuhee.

"But is this okay, even if it's B-class? It doesn't matter for us, but is the difficulty level alright?"

"Yes. It is a stage with a clearance rate of a whopping 91%."

"It's B-class, though?"

"Because it's an average difficulty. It's also a story that follows the siege, and there are many helpers."

A stage for the 105 people who passed the Orc colony. Now, the reserve Heroes there will "advance" their classes, and those with a talent for magic will awaken their mana and possess their own unique magic color. It's a stepping stone before becoming "Active Heroes" who lack combat experience but can fight as warriors in this other world in earnest.

"There, you will have a confrontation with the Demon King's army. In a form similar to what is actually happening over there... like an actual war."

Even if it's a created stage, there is no other place where you can accumulate combat experience as surely as a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"battlefield."

"If you consider that the average clearance time for the Agramad Siege stage is about 3 months, you would be able to make an intermediate intervention in at least 1 month, right?"

"What?" Shin Yuhee was startled. "3 months?"

"Yes. A maximum of 100 days. And those who usually clear it have survived and left Agramad before the 100 days were up."

She is subtly hiding information. No matter how much of an angel she is, she cannot give information that directly affects the strategy, so she is omitting some core information when dealing with Shin Yuhee. It's a simple story. A siege actually happened in Agramad, and it fell to the Demon King's army on the 100th day. And those 100 days are the appropriate time for the reserve Heroes who have caught orcs to grow into full-fledged Heroes one by one. If you can't clear it within 100 days, well... you fall to Chekhov's Arena, or you head to Lampades in the end.

"The time has come. I think I must go and inform the others about the composition of the 3rd stage."

"Then we are now..."

"You may go."

"Then we should go." Almost simultaneously, Shin Yuhee and I stood up from our seats.

"One more thing, I'll ask."

"Please, speak."

"Chekhov's Arena, what was the original clearance rate?"

"......."

Estiel glanced at Shin Yuhee for a moment before slowly opening her mouth. "32%."

"Okay." That's enough.

"We cleared a stage with a 32% clearance rate and came out, so B-class is nothing."

Even if there is a threat inside that creates a difficulty similar to Chekhov's Arena.

"If it's a place where we can grow quickly without worrying about the eyes of other reserve Heroes, even more so."

For us, it is a land of opportunity.