Chapter 255

255

“Everyone, please take out your hero studies textbooks.”

At Mel’s words, the students pulled out two books.

<Treatise on Hero Studies> and <Lives and Deaths of Heroes> were the titles of these books.

Typically, the second-year Hero Studies textbook is only <Treatise on Hero Studies>.

However, this semester’s list of necessary materials also included the book <Lives and Deaths of Heroes>.

‘Was <Lives and Deaths of Heroes> something that was supposed to be bought by all grades?’

When buying textbooks in Rumelia City, they simply put the books the bookstore staff handed them into subspace.

So this was the first time they were actually looking at the books properly.

Leo hesitated when he saw the book about the lives and deaths of heroes.

Author: Melina

Leo looked up and glanced at Mel.

Mel, who caught Leo’s gaze, smiled brightly and waved her hand.

“I’m talking about this book.”

As the top student of the school, Chloe, who thoroughly prepared for her lessons, had already read the book multiple times and placed it on her desk.

“Isn’t it strange that the author’s name is the same as the current Dragon Lord?”

At this, Leo looked at Mel and asked,

“Did the Dragon Lord write it?”

“There’s no way. This book is a newly published one this year, right? It’s probably just someone with the same name.”

‘But I actually wrote it myself.’

However, no one could even imagine that the Dragon Lord was working as a professor at this very school, teaching lessons and even publishing a book for that purpose.

‘Because it’s an absurd thing to imagine.’

Leo glanced at Mel while muttering in his mind and flipped through the book.

“Although it’s a new book published this year, the content is very good. Especially, the sections on the heroes of the Cataclysm are extraordinary.”

Chloe, the diligent top student, who had already read through the book several times, sparkled her eyes.

‘Heroes of the Cataclysm.’

Leo opened the page about the heroes of the Cataclysm and rested his chin in thought.

They were the first to conquer and open the door to the world of heroes, initiating a new era.

‘Many people view these individuals as our successors.’

Not only did they discover the world of heroes for the first time, but they were also the first to conquer the Hero Records of the Great Heroes and inherit their powers.

‘By defeating seven Legion Commanders from Tartarus and sealing the Piece of Erebus, they averted the Rebirth of Catastrophe.’

Rebirth of Catastrophe.

Judging by the records, it was almost identical to the early days of the Era of Catastrophe.

It was a period when countless nations perished, and the Legion Commanders of Tartarus ran rampant.

But thanks to the five heroes, another Era of Catastrophe was avoided.

As Mel wiggled her fingers, the chalk on the board floated in the air.

And like a dance, it began to draw the silhouette of a person on the blackboard.

[The Knight of Twilight, Lumeran.]

A man celebrated as the strongest knight who single-handedly eliminated a Legion Commander and its Legion.

“Many documents and anecdotes about the Heroes of the Cataclysm have been left behind.”

Mel said looking at the second-year students.

“But during the last 3000 years, there have been almost no attempts to conquer the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm. Does anyone know why that is?”

With that question, several students raised their hands simultaneously.

“Iliana Laden.”

“Yessir!”

Iliana clenched her fists and stood up.

“The Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm are managed by Dragonia, and Dragons only allow selected heroes to attempt conquering them!”

“That’s correct.”

Mel smiled brightly and clapped her hands once.

“As a reward, for Iliana…”

“Are you giving out presentation points!?”

“I’ll give you a cookie.”

“Eh?”

Iliana looked bewildered.

“You’re asking for presentation points for answering such an easy question?”

“Don’t try to get something for nothing!”

Whistles of jeers emerged from here and there.

“Shut up!”

Iliana, whose face turned red, shouted and hesitantly walked over to Mel.

In reality, she was embarrassed because it was quite embarrassing to demand presentation points for answering such an easy question and didn’t want to go back to her seat.

‘Ugh! So what! The cookies look tasty anyway!’

But since it was hard to refuse the professor’s offer from the very first class, she decided to boldly go for it.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Iliana smiled, took the cookie, and returned to her seat, taking a bite.

“Mmm~!”

Iliana’s eyes widened as she trembled all over.

And she gripped her cheeks, looking happy.

“It’s delicious~”

Happily humming a tune while munching on the cookie, Iliana suddenly stopped and stuck her finger in her mouth.

“What’s this?”

[Awesome job! Score: 5 Points]

A small piece of paper with an adorable rabbit illustration had the presentation points on it.

“How many points is this?”

“5 points.”

Mel replied to Iliana’s question.

“Iliana, you get 5 additional points.”

“Oh!”

Iliana’s expression brightened.

Mel smiled at the students.

“I’ll be giving out cookies to students who show great classroom attitude. And inside each cookie, a random behavior score will be hidden.”

“Random?”

“Yes. Eat the cookie, get the score, let’s all have fun in studying.”

At the unheard-of random reward system for behavior scores, all the students had dumbfounded expressions.

But no one dared to complain.

Professor Lumeran’s classroom policy is up to her.

Arguing about it is akin to challenging the authority of the professor.

The class went on like that.

Stories of the Twilight Knight’s childhood, his values and psychology, and his pursued goals were carefully studied and analyzed.

Mel’s class was less about the hero studies curriculum and more about academically studying the Twilight Knight.

The second-year students gradually understood the Twilight Knight, whom they had only encountered through documents and anecdotes.

Ding dong ding dong!

The sound signaling the end of class rang out.

“The class is over.”

Mel closed the textbook with a gentle smile.

“For homework, I’ll assign one task. Lumeran’s first major achievement was defeating the Orc King dominating the region when he was 13 years old. If you were Lumeran, please write a report about how you would have felt before going out to defeat the Orc King. Any questions?”

Mel began organizing the cookie jar.

Watching her, Chelsea raised her hand.

“Yes, Chelsea LeWalyn.”

“Professor Mel. The class was very interesting. It also felt like a deep understanding of the founding principal. But there’s one part I don’t quite understand. Until now, as first-year students, we studied and researched methods to conquer various worlds of heroes. But Professor Mel’s class…”

“Is focusing on understanding ‘heroes’ rather than methods to conquer?”

“Yes.”

“Good question.”

Mel smiled softly.

“As Ilyana Laden mentioned earlier, the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm are managed by Dragonia. Does anyone know why that is?”

At that, the second-year students fell silent.

No one knew the reason.

Mel’s smile disappeared.

“Because it is dangerous.”

“Isn’t hero world conquest inherently dangerous?”

“Yes, but the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm are, as of now, impossible to conquer. In the last 3000 years, there have been numerous attempts to conquer them, yet not a single one has succeeded. The adventurers who tried were hailed as the best heroes of their time, but most ended up losing their lives futilely.”

Mel, erasing the board using magical chalkboard erasers, continued speaking.

“Classes on conquering the worlds of heroes, like those given during your first year, will be taught by other professors. The reason for these special lessons is simple.”

Mel looked around at the students.

“It’s not just you all. Seirun, Azonia, and Demian’s schools are also conducting similar classes.”

The students widened their eyes.

This was indeed surprising.

“The methods of conquering hero worlds you’ve studied so far target non-specific hero worlds.”

The analysis and study of hero worlds.

Or the fast learning of tasks and goals.

That was the hero studies class the Lumeran students had learned about until now.

“But what I’m going to teach you will be a class designed to thoroughly understand the Heroes of the Cataclysm. And this is one of the methods to conquer hero worlds. Is there anyone who would like to explain why this is considered one of the methods of conquest?”

As the students eyed each other, someone raised their hand.

“Leo Flove.”

Everyone’s gazes turned to Leo.

“To achieve what even that hero couldn’t.”

Mel beamed.

“That’s correct.”

Mel didn’t give Leo a cookie, and Leo returned to his seat without a cookie.

“The style I will teach is the foundation for you to achieve ‘excessive over-achievement’ in hero world conquest.”

The students began whispering.

“Why is understanding the hero the foundation for ‘excessive over-achievement’?”

This time Celia raised her hand with a question.

“Hero world conquest involves replicating the achievements of previous heroes. Therefore, those who conquer hero worlds generally know what their goals are and what they must do to achieve them.”

The students nodded their heads.

“But over-achievement enters the unknown. To accomplish feats that even that hero couldn’t achieve, replicating the existing methods won’t suffice. You must achieve what the hero missed, what the hero couldn’t accomplish. To do that, you must first thoroughly understand who that hero was.”

At that, the students nodded.

“And the reason we chose the Heroes of the Cataclysm as the targets is simple.”

Mel grew serious.

“Dragonia has sent a request to all hero academies.”

“Dr… Dragonia?”

“Suddenly?”

“World. Isn’t this almost once in a thousand years?”

As the students were astonished, Warden crossed his arms.

“What is the content of the request?”

At that question, Mel grinned.

“The current generation has been asked to conquer the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm.”

The students widened their eyes.

*

“Am I not getting any extra points?”

After class,

Leo visited Mel’s office during break time.

Mel deeply sighed at Leo’s mumbling.

“How can I, a mere professor, dare give cookies or extra points to Lord Leo? And the question wasn’t difficult for someone of your caliber, Lord Leo.”

“That’s discrimination.”

While mumbling, Leo sat down in front of Mel.

“So, why does the current generation need to conquer the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm?”

“The biggest reason is that the current generation has immense potential.”

“Because of me, right?”

“Yes.”

Mel nodded.

That wasn’t a false statement.

“But the biggest reason is that they can’t hold on for more than 100 years.”

“They?”

Leo looked confused.

“There’s something I didn’t tell you during your last visit to Dragonia.”

Mel’s expression grew serious.

“The reason Dragonia hasn’t revealed the Hero Records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm isn’t solely because they’re ‘impossible to conquer’.”

“Is there another reason?”

“Yes. During the process of trapping Erebus within their Hero Records, most of the Heroes of the Cataclysm’s Hero Records were destroyed in fire. However, significant records remain, such as those related to the elimination of the Legions.”

“If the Hero Records contain records of the Legion Commanders, they should be conquerable.”

“Yes. The issue is that even if you conquer the world of the Heroes of the Cataclysm, you won’t receive any rewards.”

“Why not?”

“Because the Hero Records haven’t recognized the Heroes of the Cataclysm as dead heroes yet.”

Although numerous records of the Heroes of the Cataclysm still exist, very little is known about their final fate.

There are also stories suggesting that they established the academies, retired, and led peaceful lives, as well as those indicating that they went into seclusion and disappeared from the public eye.

What is clear is that nothing is known about their final end.

“Could it be…?”

Leo’s face stiffened.

“Yes.”

Mel nodded grimly.

“The five heroes are still fighting against the Piece of Erebus they sealed within their own Hero worlds.”