Chapter 2

Class 2

A frontier kingdom. Delrad, with its capital Delan.

“Everyone! Right now we are living in the Era of Heroes!”

‘Here we go with that story again?’

Leo, who had just turned fifteen, let out a deep sigh of boredom.

“5000 years ago, the Hero Record appeared in the world! During that time, the lower realm went through numerous changes. At the center of all these changes were those called ‘Heroes’!”

Professor Jaden at Delan Royal School raised his voice.

“Any students who know the definition of a hero?”

Some students raised their hands.

Professor Jaden pointed to one student.

“Gollibun, answer please.”

“A hero is someone whose name is inscribed in the Hero Record. In the Hero Record, only those who have accomplished feats recognized by the gods are permitted to leave their records.”

“Correct! That’s our Gollibun for you.”

Gollibun sat back down with a proud face.

“Next… Leo?”

Without raising his hand, Leo was called out and stood up.

“Do you remember the homework from last time? What ritual was necessary to be called a hero 5000 years ago?”

“Ah, you just had to become famous, and people naturally exalted you as a hero.”

“Ah, so you’ve been slacking on your homework again!”

Professor Jaden frowned.

“Our Delan Royal School is the most prestigious school in our country! Haven’t I repeatedly said that we must uphold the dignity worthy of such a prestigious school? Moreover, this year our school has been chosen as one of the entrance examination sites for Lumeran Academy!”

Jaden raised his voice further.

“Many talented individuals will visit our school! You, as students of Delan, are expected to set an example, and yet here you are!”

With evident dissatisfaction, he turned to Gollibun.

“Gollibun, I’d like you to answer this question.”

“In ancient times, there was no way to gain the recognition of the gods! Thus, sacred rituals were conducted to select heroes! The most representative of these was the ‘bl**d Ritual’!”

“Yes, that’s exactly right!”

Leo watched with a bored expression.

‘Back then, meeting the gods was so easy, how could there have been no means for their recognition?’

5000 years ago was a time when gods freely descended to the lower realm.

‘And sacred rituals? Was there even such a thing?’

As Leo shook his head at this, he turned his gaze to his textbook.

‘Hero Record’

The origins of this record date back 5000 years to the great catastrophe.

The primordial evil Erebus, which had nearly brought the world to its end.

Opposing Erebus were the five heroes:

[Ancestor of Star Clouds] the Elf Luna.

[God’s Blacksmith] the Dwarf Dwenno.

[The Brave One] Aron.

[King of Wisdom] Lissinas.

Finally, [Hero of Beginning] Kyle.

To forever commemorate them, the gods bestowed a miracle upon the lower realm.

‘But why don’t the records have me in them?’

The records of his companions remain intact, serving as evidence that they existed and saved the world.

But Kyle’s record was nowhere to be found!

What an injustice!

As Leo was lamenting his fate,

Ding – Ding

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

Professor Jaden closed the textbook and said.

“In a week, the preparation for the Lumeran entrance exam will be over. By then gifted individuals from all over the world will come to our school.”

He glanced around the students and concluded.

“Interact with them and strive for even higher achievements. That concludes the class.”

*

As soon as the class ended, Leo headed straight home.

The Flove Family estate.

One of the more established Marquis families in the Delrad Kingdom.

“Young master, Lady Flove is waiting for you in the training yard.”

“Ugh? Again?”

Leo frowned.

“I’ll skip it.”

“The Lady has warned she’ll cut your allowance if you skip sword training one more time…”

“Ah! Seriously?”

With the butler’s words, Leo let out a deep sigh.

He changed out of his school uniform and headed towards the training yard.

Originally, this was the time when knights usually trained hard, drenched in sweat.

However, the one waiting atop the training ground was a beautiful lady.

Reina Flove.

The mistress of the household.

“Welcome home, dear. Now, why do you always call me ‘mother’ so formally and respectfully?”

Reina opened her drowsy red eyes, which were identical to her son’s.

“The children from other noble households simply call their mothers ‘mom’, you know. As your mother, I feel distant and rather sad.”

Leo, who had ascended to the training grounds with his wooden sword, responded,

“I prefer to keep a little distance.”

“Is that so? Are you going through a rebellious phase?”

Reina’s face was filled with sorrow.

Whoosh – !

Simultaneously, she lunged at her son with incredible speed.

Clash – !

“That’s why.”

For there to be a mother who would freely attack her son with a wooden sword…!

Would any son not want to keep their distance?

To which Leo replied,

“I thought you’d prefer a little more distance to keep things proper.”

Reina grinned.

“You don’t understand my maternal heart… Today, it looks like we’re going to have to train harder than usual.”

Reina’s wooden sword quickly transformed in her grasp.

Leo countered her ever-changing swordplay.

The knights watching gasped in admiration.

“Indeed, the mistress! That’s the true capability of someone from the famed Hero family of Zerdinger!”

“But young master is truly outstanding as well!”

Typically, a noble child’s swordsmanship training is conducted by the knights of the household.

However, the Flove family’s training was personally overseen by Reina.

There was no one dissatisfied with this arrangement.

There was a large kingdom across the border of Delrad Kingdom: the Rodren Empire. They had within their ranks the Hero family, Zerdinger.

Reina herself was from that Zerdinger family.

Clack! Clatter! Clash!

The clashing sounds filled the air as Leo expertly blocked the attacks of his mother.

Reina’s eyes gleamed.

‘Indeed, Leo is a genius.’

Though retired now, Reina had been a great knight in her prime.

Even though she wasn’t using her Aura and wore heavy-weight enchanted bracelets around her wrists and ankles,

the combat was still wildly mismatched, simply due to the vast skill gap.

Yet Leo was keeping pace with her.

‘Every time we train, he quickly masters my techniques.’

As a mother and someone once renowned as a knight, she couldn’t help but feel proud watching her son improve every day.

The exchange continued for ten minutes.

Reina was deeply absorbed in the practice.

Unconsciously analyzing Reina’s movements and reacting accordingly, Leo’s instincts made her instinctively twist her wrist.

‘Uh oh!’

Reina was alarmed.

She had unconsciously used an unorthodox technique!

This would be too difficult for her son to counter effectively.

Reina tried to pull back the sword.

‘Too late…’

Clack!

“!”

Reina widened her eyes.

Leo blocked the sword aimed at his neck and quickly slipped into Reina’s embrace.

The tip of his wooden sword pointed at Reina’s throat.

A bewildered expression appeared on Reina’s face.

Sighing, Leo retracted his sword.

“Isn’t that a bit much, mom?”

“While you say that, you handled it quite excellently.”

Though smiling, Reina felt chills run down her spine.

‘This child… has surpassed the realm I can handle.’

The unorthodox technique just now, if it had been a real sword, was threatening enough that even a seasoned knight would find it hard to survive.

It was not merely a matter of reacting with talent alone.

Yet Leo had managed it skillfully.

Certainly, he had pulled back his sword during the exchange.

But even so, it was still an impressive feat.

‘Hmm, maybe I should’ve just let him win?’

Looking at her gleaming eyes, Leo sighed.

Leo is not just any fifteen-year-old.

He is the reincarnation of the Great Hero who saved the world.

Dealing with unorthodox techniques like the one Reina employed is not difficult for him.

“Mom, has your intent to send me to Lumeran Academy changed?”

“Yes.”

Lumeran Academy.

One of the mere four Hero Academies in the world.

And the place where the ‘Hero Record’ is kept.

‘I have to figure out what happened after I died.’

Erebus was defeated and Kyle perished from exhaustion.

But Erebus, being immortal, wasn’t completely eradicated with Kyle’s d*ath.

The army of Erebus, Tartarus, remained undefeated.

5000 years passed.

An unfathomably long era. The events of that time have faded into legends, and nothing substantial about what happened after Kyle’s d*ath is recorded.

By accessing the Hero Record, Leo hopes to uncover what happened afterward.

That is why Leo desires to enroll in the world’s prestigious academy, Lumeran.

“That so.”

Reina smiled.

“Alright, understood. I’ll pull some strings for you. Just leave everything to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tomorrow, the Zerdinger family will visit Delan and stay at our residence.”

“From mom’s side?”

The Hero family Zerdinger was Leo’s maternal family.

Though they had never been in touch after Reina married into her current family.

‘There wasn’t any bad bl**d, apparently.’

Typically, anyone would get excited if their maternal family was a Hero lineage.

However, Leo felt indifferent, thinking:

‘There’s no one greater than me in this world.’

“Yes, your uncle Jis Zerdinger will be leading the delegation.”

Reina spoke earnestly.

“I’ll request through Jis for you to inherit the Zerdinger family’s Aura technique. If you master that, by next year you’ll be at the level where you can qualify for Lumeran.”

Reina hadn’t taught Leo the Aura technique, despite teaching him swordsmanship.

She couldn’t do so without the family’s approval since that technique belonged to the Zerdinger clan.

Inheriting the Aura technique of a Hero lineage!

It’s something every knight aspirant would dream of.

But Leo showed no excitement.

‘Finally, time to learn an Aura technique.’

Reina’s desire to see her son master a high-level Aura technique made her delay teaching this technique.

Of course, Leo could have easily learned it on his own long ago.

But he chose to follow his mother’s pace and enjoyed these training sessions together, though they often felt stifling.

However, now that Reina had set her mind on it, the stifling feeling would soon come to an end.

It didn’t matter to Leo whether it was the Zerdinger technique or not.

Mastering an Aura technique was all he needed.

‘Looks like mom’s thinking about next year.’

Leo smirked.

‘But I’m planning to enroll this year.’