Chapter 211

Chapter 211. Special Candidate (2)

Heroes, by nature, live long lives.

Thanks to the Power of the Holy Mark, heroes possess superhuman bodies far beyond ordinary humans, allowing them to live much longer and age at a significantly slower rate.

Take Chancellor Raonel, for example, who is already close to 150 years old this year.

‘But.’

That doesn’t mean heroes are immortal or free from illness unless they die from accidents.

There are variations depending on the hero’s level, but even the most exceptional heroes begin to age rapidly once they pass 100 years old, and most die before reaching 200.

Those referred to as “Masters,” the top-tier heroes, sometimes live past 200, but…

‘Even then, it’s only an extra 30 to 40 years.’

In the 500-year history of heroes, the oldest recorded death was at 262 years old.

That was Anton Padsha, the emperor two generations ago.

‘So, in other words.’

Even an emperor, who ruled a nation and possessed more power and wealth than any hero, couldn’t live to 300 years.

But.

“Are you saying a graduate from the hero school 300 years ago is still alive?”

“Based on the information we have so far… yes.”

Professor Elisha nodded heavily.

“What about the possibility that Wolf Mask is a descendant of that graduate?”

“I thought so too at first. After all, their appearances were strikingly similar.”

But.

Professor Elisha sighed and shook her head.

“When we compared the residual magic pattern in Wolf Mask’s Holy Mark with the magic pattern of James Jin from the candidate records, they matched perfectly.”

Like fingerprints, each hero has a unique magic pattern.

‘The locking mechanism of the Hero Watch is based on that.’

Of course, a skilled mage could mimic someone else’s magic pattern, but how could Wolf Mask, already dead and a corpse, mimic someone else’s pattern?

“So, that means Wolf Mask is at least 300 years old…”

If he graduated 300 years ago, his actual age would be at least 20 years older.

‘That doesn’t make sense.’

Unless he had something like the Blessing of Resurrection like me, how could an ordinary hero live over 300 years?

“Ah.”

Suddenly, something Lanes had told me flashed through my mind.

-That person… their wounds healed incredibly fast.

According to her, even after a hole the size of a fist was pierced through their abdomen by the Spear of Eyes, the wound healed almost instantly.

‘When I fought Yurina, their wounds also healed quickly.’

Of course, the power of Yurina’s “Moonlight” was so overwhelming that they died before they could regenerate.

But during the fight, minor wounds healed almost immediately.

And one more thing.

‘The countless scars covering Wolf Mask’s entire body.’

Those countless scars, as if someone had been stitched together, were definitive proof that Wolf Mask had some kind of regeneration ability.

‘An ordinary person would have died long before accumulating that many scars.’

I opened my eyes slightly and looked at Professor Elisha.

“Does Wolf Mask have a blessing related to regeneration?”

“That’s a plausible theory. If they possess a blessing related to regeneration, it would explain their extended lifespan.”

Professor Elisha nodded, looking at me intently.

She knows I’ve lived for thousands of years thanks to the Blessing of Resurrection, so she’d find my hypothesis even more credible.

But.

“…That’s not a situation we can take lightly.”

Professor Elisha sighed deeply and shook her head.

I frowned and looked at her.

“What do you mean?”

“Let me show you another photo.”

A new image appeared on the hologram.

A woman with brown short hair and blue eyes.

The face of Fox Mask, one of Wolf Mask’s subordinates.

“Anika Deva. She was also a graduate of the hero school.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“132 years ago.”

“…132 years.”

Assuming she graduated at the usual age of 21, Fox Mask would be around 150 years old.

That’s a plausible age for a hero, but…

“The body we examined looked quite young. At most, she appeared to be in her early 30s.”

“……”

“To maintain such a youthful appearance at 150, she’d need to be at least a Master-level hero… Did Fox Mask seem like a Master-level to you, Candidate Dale?”

“…No.”

Far from Master-level, she was barely mid-tier among the rankers.

“As you know, Candidate Dale, blessings are unique. That means two people can’t possess the same blessing.”

Which means…

“There’s another reason besides blessings.”

“Exactly. And that reason is something we can’t even begin to guess at the moment.”

Professor Elisha habitually searched her pockets for a cigarette, then glanced at Chancellor Raonel, who was quietly listening to our conversation at the table, and quickly withdrew her hand.

“Thank you for the explanation, Professor Elisha.”

Chancellor Raonel turned his gaze to me.

“That’s why I called you, Candidate Dale.”

“…Even with that explanation, I’m still not entirely clear.”

“This group of mysterious masked individuals… Ah, we can’t keep calling them that. We should give them a proper name.”

Let’s see…

Chancellor Raonel stroked his beard, then snapped his fingers as if he’d had a good idea.

“The Beast Mask Group. We’ll call them the Beast Mask Group.”

“The Beast Mask Group?”

“Yes. They all wear animal masks, and their actions are no different from beasts. It’s a fitting name.”

The Beast Mask Group.

“Sounds good. Let’s call them that from now on.”

“Good. Anyway, I’d like to entrust you with the task of tracking down this Beast Mask Group and uncovering the identity of their leader.”

“…Me?”

Entrusting such a dangerous mission to a mere candidate, not even a professor?

And to me, the current worst troublemaker in the hero school?

“Is it really okay to give this mission to me?”

“That’s precisely why I’m giving it to you.”

Chancellor Raonel smiled faintly as he continued.

“I’m already aware that you possess a very special power.”

“……”

“Personally, I think you might be stronger than even… Professor Elisha.”

“…Why do you hold me in such high regard?”

Could he have heard something about my true identity from Professor Elisha?

I couldn’t help but glance at Professor Elisha.

“Haha. This has nothing to do with Professor Elisha. I actually asked her about your level, but she wouldn’t give me a straight answer.”

“Then…”

“Well, it’s just an old man’s intuition.”

Chancellor Raonel shrugged with a smile, his wrinkled eyes twinkling.

His evasive response suggested there was more to it, but…

‘I’ll think about that later.’

For now, the important thing was Chancellor Raonel’s proposal.

“I’m not asking you to do this for free. If you help with this, I’ll reward you with ample gold, artifacts, elixirs, and high-grade magic stones.”

Artifacts, elixirs, and high-grade magic stones.

I took the opportunity to ask about the Party Training Grounds I’d discussed with my party members earlier.

“Oh? The Party Training Grounds.”

“Can you provide that?”

“Of course. Instead of just the Party Training Grounds, I’ll lease one of the unused buildings on campus entirely for your party’s exclusive use.”

“Huh?”

Leasing an entire building to our party?

“Haha. We were already planning to build a new party training facility since the old one is outdated. Originally, it was scheduled to open next year, but if you want, I’ll lease it to you until you graduate.”

“……”

A massive amount of gold, artifacts, elixirs, high-grade magic stones.

And on top of that, exclusive use of a brand-new party training facility.

‘These are insane conditions.’

It just shows how seriously Chancellor Raonel is taking the Beast Mask Group.

“I’ll do it.”

I accepted Chancellor Raonel’s proposal without hesitation.

‘After all, I’m curious about the Beast Mask Group too.’

If I’m going to investigate them anyway, it’s better to do it with the Chancellor’s full support.

“Thank you.”

Chancellor Raonel smiled, his wrinkled lips curling.

“Then, from this moment on, I appoint you as the ‘Special Candidate.'”

“…Special Candidate?”

“A candidate entrusted with a special mission deserves a corresponding title, don’t you think?”

Chancellor Raonel handed me a black token engraved with seven stars.

Unlike the Seven-Star Gold Token given only to the top student, this was the Seven-Star Black Token.

“By linking the magic code in this black token to your Hero Watch, you’ll have the authority to freely go out, stay out overnight, and even take party members outside the school if you deem it necessary for your mission.”

“…Hah.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

In short, it meant I could issue my own permits for outings and overnight stays, something only professors could do.

“At this point… isn’t this practically treating me like a professor?”

“Well, the only difference is that we can’t publicly announce your position.”

“Ah.”

Right.

Even with the Chancellor’s authority, it’s not something you can publicly announce, giving this much power to a candidate who hasn’t even graduated yet.

‘Huh? Wait.’

If the position of Special Candidate can’t be publicly announced…

“…Does that mean officially, I’m still the bottom-ranked candidate?”

“Well, that’s how it’ll have to be.”

“……”

And so, for the first time in the 500-year history of the hero school, a Special Candidate (bottom-ranked) was born.