“You want me to save you directly?”
With a questioning look, I stared at Professor Jade, who nodded calmly.
“Indeed. I know where the Seven-Star Herb imbued with magic power usually grows, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“Where does it usually grow?”
“Here.”
Professor Jade pointed to a dusty lump rolling on the floor of the lab.
Well, obviously, it couldn’t be growing in this trash heap of a lab.
“…The school?”
“Yes. You probably won’t find a place on the entire continent where you can easily gather Seven-Star Herbs imbued with magic power like here.”
A place where you can easily gather Seven-Star Herbs imbued with magic power, even if you search the entire continent.
I had a vague idea why.
“Because of the seal?”
“Oh?”
Professor Jade’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“For someone who got the lowest grade in first-year history, you know quite a bit.”
“Why did you look up my first-year grades?”
“Shouldn’t I know the academic level of a candidate who might become my assistant after graduation?”
“No.”
I’m not stepping into your lab.
“Hehehe. Anyway. I’d give you about 80 out of 100 for that answer. It’s not exactly because of the seal, but because of the leyline connected to it.”
“…Leyline?”
Come to think of it, I remember hearing about it from Senior Sophia.
There’s a massive leyline flowing beneath the Reynaldo Hero School, filled with an enormous amount of magic power.
“Since we’re on the topic, let me explain briefly.”
Professor Jade continued with an excited tone.
“500 years ago, the Five Great Heroes succeeded in sealing the Devil God after a fierce battle.”
“Why the sudden history lesson?”
“Just listen.”
Professor Jade firmly continued the lesson(?).
“After sealing the Devil God, Reynaldo founded the ‘Hero School’ right on top of it.”
This was something I learned in first-year history.
“Do you know why Reynaldo built a school on such dangerous land?”
“To create a fortress, right? To protect the seal of the Devil God.”
Historians have various opinions on why Reynaldo built the school on the land where the Devil God was sealed despite massive opposition.
But the prevailing theory is that he gathered heroes from across the continent to prevent the Devil God’s followers from accessing the seal.
‘And it worked.’
At first, many nations opposed sending promising hero candidates to a land where the Devil God was sealed.
But Reynaldo insisted that without graduating from this school and obtaining an official license, one couldn’t act as a ‘hero,’ forcing nations to reluctantly send their candidates.
‘Now, 500 years later, no one really cares.’
Some heroes don’t even know the Devil God is sealed beneath the school unless they take history classes.
Of course.
‘…Soon, they won’t be able to ignore it.’
The fact that the Devil God’s seal is weakening.
Not many know this, except for me, who has experienced the future.
“A fortress… That’s certainly one reason.”
“Are there other reasons?”
“Remember the leyline I mentioned earlier? Reynaldo… Well, to be precise, my ancestor, the ‘Great Sage’ Julius Bastian, connected the seal to the leyline to make it even stronger.”
“Connected the seal to the leyline?”
“Yes.”
Professor Jade stroked his white beard as he continued.
“To put it simply, it’s like connecting a chain to a lock, tightly binding the Devil God.”
“Hmm… That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
“Of course. This is a record passed down only through the Bastian family.”
Ah.
That’s why I hadn’t heard about it in my past life.
“Anyway, this school was built to gather the power of those leylines, making it a massive sealing tool.”
The school itself is a giant sealing tool.
‘Then the reason the Devil God’s seal weakened in my past life…’
It’s highly likely related to this school.
‘Another reason to stay at the school.’
I had no intention of leaving the school before graduation anyway, to reunite with my old comrades.
But now, I also have the task of figuring out why the Devil God’s seal weakened.
‘This isn’t something I can figure out right away.’
For now, it’s best to focus on what I can do.
“So, because of the leyline, Seven-Star Herbs imbued with magic power grow around here, right?”
“Exactly.”
Professor Jade nodded with a proud smile.
He picked up a coffee cup from the table, took a sip, and chuckled.
“This reminds me of the old days when I used to teach.”
Professor Jade looked up at the lab ceiling with a distant gaze.
He used to teach candidates enthusiastically, but after an incident two years ago, he stopped teaching them.
‘The disciple murderer.’
But after spending a few days with Professor Jade, I couldn’t understand why he had such a sinister nickname.
‘He’s eccentric, but he’s definitely not the type to kill his students.’
I was curious about his past.
‘But that’s not important right now.’
There’s too much to do.
“Anyway, if you can gather the Seven-Star Herbs imbued with magic power, we can complete the Holy Mark Amplifier.”
“But if you know where they grow, why don’t you go yourself…?”
“Oh, you want this old man to go pick herbs?”
“……”
Old man?
‘I’ve lived dozens of times longer than you, buddy.’
Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.
But the audacity of swallowing a million gold in research funds and then asking me to gather the materials made my neck burn.
“Hehe. And if I go myself, it might cause problems with the Holy Kingdom.”
“What problems… Ah.”
Professor Jade is an authority on Holy Mark research, which is taboo in the Holy Kingdom.
‘If such a professor were to go around picking the national flower of the Holy Kingdom…’
It would undoubtedly cause problems.
“Ugh. Fine.”
It’s a waste of time, but there’s no other way.
“Hehe. I’ll send you the location via Hero Watch. Just search around there.”
The location sent was the outdoor training ground where I had recently taken a monster tracking class.
“…Isn’t the outdoor training ground off-limits outside of class?”
“For research purposes, we can get a permit.”
“Hmm. Alright. I’ll head out right away.”
There’s a mountain of other things to do, but…
‘What can I do?’
If the young ones (?) won’t move, I’ll have to do it myself.
*
“According to the map, it should be around here…”
Following the map on the Hero Watch for hours.
As expected in the forest, the sun set faster, and darkness began to fall.
‘If I don’t hurry, I’ll have to camp here.’
I’m used to camping, but I don’t want to sleep on the ground without Iris.
“I need to find it quickly… Huh?”
Then.
Through the thick bushes, I saw a crack in the rocks.
A crack just big enough for a person to squeeze through.
A faint magical energy was seeping through it.
‘Is this it?’
Curious, I squeezed through the crack and found a surprisingly spacious cave.
“Let’s see.”
I heightened my senses and looked around.
Among the sharp stalagmites, a few white flowers were growing.
‘Seven-Star Herbs.’
I plucked one and felt the magic power within.
“At least I avoided camping.”
I smiled and gathered the Seven-Star Herbs growing among the stalagmites into my bag.
After roughly gathering all the visible herbs, I had about two handfuls.
This should be enough for the Holy Mark Amplifier, but…
‘Just in case, let’s look a bit more.’
The entrance was narrow, but the cave was quite spacious, so I hadn’t explored the deeper parts yet.
As I followed the winding path deeper into the cave.
“……?”
A faint light in the distance.
‘A light?’
Why is there a light here?
“…….”
I quietly moved toward the light.
‘…That’s.’
The source of the light was a portable lantern, often used for exploration.
And if there’s a lantern here…
‘Someone else is here.’
Someone else in the outdoor training ground at this hour?
‘There’s no outdoor training scheduled today.’
I had checked with Professor Jade when getting the permit.
‘Without a permit, no candidates can enter, so it’s not a student.’
And it’s unlikely a professor would be out here alone at this hour.
‘If it’s not a professor or a student…’
Who could be in this inconspicuous cave at this late hour?
“…….”
I held my breath and hid behind a stalagmite.
“Ugh… Why do I always get stuck with these chores?”
A man in a shabby robe with black hair.
He looked well over 30, so definitely not a candidate.
“Ugh. If only I were a priest, I wouldn’t have to do these menial tasks…”
The man muttered complaints as he hammered a black nail into the cave wall.
And then.
-Ooooooh!
A black aura flowed from the man’s left chest, through the black nail, and into the cave wall.
A sinister, sticky, unpleasant black aura.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what it was.
‘Magi.’
The aura of magic that only those blessed by the Devil God and bearing his Holy Mark can use.
The fact that this unknown man wielded Magi proved one thing.
A Mine (魔人).
Along with monsters, the greatest threat to humanity and the primary target of heroes.
No compromise can or should be made.
The enemy of humanity.
‘Why is a Mine here?’
I couldn’t guess the reason.
‘Well, I’ll just ask directly.’
I focused magic power in my legs and lowered my stance.
And then.
Leap.
“Ugh… Why is this taking so long… Gah!”
In an instant, I was behind the Mine, focusing magic power in my fingers to strike the back of his neck.
The Mine’s body stiffened and collapsed like a puppet.
Pressure Point Strike.
A technique I learned from Berald in the past, using magic to strike vital points and paralyze the body.
“What…! Who, who are you!?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter. Answer my questions. Why are you sneaking into the school?”
“Gah! Why can’t I move…?”
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t answer willingly.”
I’ve learned from my past life that Mines are tight-lipped.
“First hit.”
I grabbed the Mine’s hair, lifted him, and slapped his cheek hard.
Whack!
The sound of leather whipping echoed as the Mine’s face snapped to the side.
“Gah! Wait!”
“I know, I know. You won’t talk with just this.”
“No! Wait…!”
“Second hit.”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
With each clear sound, the Mine’s face swelled until it was unrecognizable.
After about thirty hits.
“Ah… Ugh.”
“Wow, you’re tough. Still not talking?”
“Ugh, ah, ah…!”
The Mine shook his head desperately, blood and broken teeth dripping from his lips.
“No choice.”
If hands won’t work, I’ll have to use a blade.
Swoosh.
I drew my sword and held it close to the Mine’s face.
“Two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth. All I need is one ear and your mouth…”
I pulled the Mine’s head closer and smiled brightly.
“What do you need?”
