Chapter 279

The next morning.

Leo woke up to the rising morning sunlight.

“Wha-!”

Kal also jumped out of bed, scratching his stomach while yawning.

“When did you come in?”

“Two hours ago.”

“Wow, so you only got about two hours of sleep, huh? Are you not tired?”

“Not really. I can endure even if I don’t sleep for a few days.”

“You really are a monster when it comes to stamina.”

Kal clicked his tongue.

Until the beginning of the first year semester, Leo was considered weaker compared to the top students from other departments.

However, even amidst those evaluations, there was one area where he always excelled: his seemingly endless stamina.

In reality, during the physical fitness assessment for the Department of Knights, Leo had never lost his first place position.

And second place went to Chen Sia.

‘Celia and Duran have been gritting their teeth and working on their stamina training, but Leo and Chen Sia still rank first and second, don’t they?’

Knowing how much effort Duran puts into his morning and evening training, Kal could only marvel.

‘When the dormitory was being built, he made such a fuss about having a training room first.’

Kal shook his head as he recalled the training room located on one side of the Noble Dormitory.

Since it’s also frequently used by other Department of Knights students in the same dormitory, it’s generally considered a well-made decision.

‘Even female students from other departments use it occasionally.’

Of course, the reason female students from the Department of Magic or Summoning come to the training room to lift weights they don’t need is mostly to see Duran.

Recalling all this, Kal grinned mischievously as he poked the side of Leo’s ribs, who was ready to go out.

“Anyway, Leo. Going out at night two days in a row to meet girls—nothing happened, right?”

“I just studied magic, what else could have happened?”

“These top students really! Don’t you get it? It’s about the dream of students!”

Kal grumbled while eating breakfast.

Today, once again, after eating, it was about finding the right Smith in the Great Hall.

After having breakfast,

Dwarf students were already waiting in the Great Hall, anticipating other Hero Academy students.

Among them.

“Hey, isn’t that the Dwarf who only makes replicas?”

“There he is outside the Great Hall doing that.”

“Poor guy.”

Driana was displaying weapons near one of the entrances separate from the Great Hall.

But not a single Hero Candidate at Hero Academy went to Driana.

Rumors about Driana had already spread among other Hero Academy students.

A smith copying the armors and weapons created by Lord Dwenno.

Regardless of skill, there weren’t any students eager to order weapons from such a learner.

Every Hero Candidate wants a unique weapon made only for them.

Of course, through conquering the realms of the Hero’s World, if they can claim a Hero Weapon or one of Dwenno’s authentic creations, any Hero Candidate would yearn for such an item.

But Driana’s products were mere imitations created by someone from a later era.

Even the weapons on display here were recorded in Lord Dwenno’s archives of works.

And so, while occasionally glancing at Driana, hero candidates from Lumern, Seirun, and Azonia all entered the Great Hall.

Driana was watching them intently as Leo suddenly approached her from behind.

“Why do you only imitate the works of Dwenno?”

“Goodness!?”

Driana jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice from behind.

“Did I scare you?”

Driana looked up at Leo standing behind her and replied.

While looking at Leo, Driana noticed his hand reaching toward one of the spears displayed on the stand.

Looking at the spear here, though crafted by Dwenno, it wasn’t one Leo remembered.

‘This must be one crafted by Dwenno for one of the heroes of Guardstron.’

Holding the spear lightly, Leo swirled it with ease.

Although the spear had a heavy feel, he wielded it effortlessly.

Seeing this, Driana commented.

“Indeed, worthy of someone who claimed to handle all weapons.”

Driana, crossing her arms, elaborated.

“The reason I only craft Dwenno’s weapons? Simple. They are perfect.”

Driana picked up a sword from the display, gazing at it adoringly.

“Behold! Its beauty, closer to a masterpiece of art!”

“Even more confusing. You respect Dwenno as a blacksmith, right? Your tone even mimics his now.”

How did you know I mimic Dwenno’s manner of speaking?”

“Because you’re following the exact tone and cadence Dwenno uses in the books. Besides, your tone was different yesterday during all the commotion.”

“Ahem! You have quite a keen eye, don’t you?”

Changing her tone, Driana gave a slightly awkward smile.

It seemed she was now embarrassed.

“As you follow Dwenno’s style of crafting and tone, why did you give up on becoming a Master yourself?”

To Leo, it seemed Driana had already abandoned her aspirations of becoming a Master.

And he was correct.

“Because there’s no way I could ever become like Lord Dwenno.”

Driana chuckled.

“Lord Dwenno’s weapon crafting has reached a state of perfection unparalleled.”

Respect shone through Driana’s voice.

“The original weapons left behind by Lord Dwenno? Most are now worn out; some are nearly broken, unable to function as weapons. Yet…”

“Yet?”

“When they are taken up by their users, they become more powerful weapons than any others, regardless of their condition. Can you understand how extraordinary that is?”

Excited, Driana jumped around.

‘Just now she was pretending to be an old sage, but now she’s like her peers.’

“The works are nothing less than divine craftsmanship!”

Leo, who had handled countless weapons made by Dwenno, could tell how extraordinary they were.

‘Me, Aron, and others have broken Dwenno’s weapons again and again.’

But only after the battle had ended.

Until the battle was over, those weapons always performed fully, never breaking.

It was the same for the weapons stored in Damian’s armory.

They had been neglected for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, yet in the hands of those who knew how to wield them, they functioned perfectly.

Without question, divine craftsmanship.

“When I was young, I wanted to be like Lord Dwenno. Other Damian students felt the same way. They wanted to be like him too.”

Driana smiled faintly.

“So, I gave up on making weapons.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll never be able to become like him.”

Though Driana mimicked his manner and actions, as described in records, she believed she could never reach Dwenno’s level.

“Damian and other Hero Academies are different.”

Driana glanced at the display case filled with her replicas.

“Students from Seirun and Azonia don’t get directly compared to the progenitors like Luna or the hero Aron from the Star Cloud lineage.”

Driana looked at Leo.

“You folks from Lumern aren’t compared to Kile, the Hero of Beginning, right?”

“Even if we wanted to compare, Kile was recently revealed to be a historical figure.”

“That’s true. Anyway! Even dragon descendants are not directly compared to the King of Wisdom, but Damian students are different.”

Driana picked up one of the weapons.

“Our weapons are directly compared to those made by Lord Dwenno. So, I always realized: I’ll never reach that.”

“So you gave up?”

“In my teenage years, I talked about wanting to become like Lord Dwenno. But now, as I mature as a blacksmith, I realize the limits of my abilities as a smith.”

Driana shrugged.

“I want to be the best, so I gave up on the Smith path early.”

“You might even be expelled from Damian.”

“What can I do? I’ve abandoned the path of the Smith.”

‘This is a new type.’

Everyone in the world aims to become a Great Hero. But none sincerely believe they can surpass them.

They leave them as objects of admiration and yearning.

But Driana seemed different.

After admiration and longing, she once wanted to become a Smith surpassing Dwenno.

‘And she gave up after deciding she can’t reach Dwenno’s level.’

Leo glanced at the spear in his hand.

The craftsmanship is clumsy when compared to Dwenno.

But only if the benchmark is Dwenno.

Driana is an amazing smith.

‘If Dwenno were here, he might have taught her his blacksmithing techniques.’

Unfortunately, Leo wasn’t a blacksmith and had no techniques to pass on.

‘Even so, copying Dwenno’s works means she hasn’t let go of her attachment yet.’

Leo wanted Driana to pick up the hammer and anvil again.

The girl imitating Dwenno could once again aim for him as her goal.

‘If Dwenno learned about a girl like this, he’d be truly pleased.’

Though he preferred to be remembered as an artist, as a blacksmith, Dwenno still carried pride.

‘Decisively… we need a master blacksmith to create strong weapons now that Dwenno is gone.’

The Giant King Gias still stands mightily, a being beyond imagination, a monstrous calamity.

Just his presence alone was terrifying.

In the Era of Catastrophe, at the wave of his hand, cities disappeared. An overwhelmingly powerful being.

But unlike the Queen of Demons who recklessly spread disasters or the Demon King who plotted sinister schemes, the Giant King was a cautious legion commander.

Over 5000 years, he’d never once acted publicly, showing restraint.

‘Decisively, this one is Tartarus’s weapon master.’

In the Era of Catastrophe.

If Dweno was present in the extermination party, the counterpart in Tartarus was Giant King Gias.

The creator of all sorts of calamitous weapons, he was the antithesis of Dweno.

‘Though Dweno’s craftsmanship was overwhelmingly superior as a smith.’

However, now without Dweno, it’s uncertain whether there’s a dwarf who can craft weapons to rival Gias’s creations.

‘How do I change the girl’s mind?’

Just as Leo was pondering,

“So I decided. If I can’t surpass Lord Dwenno as a blacksmith, then I’ll surpass him as an artist!”

Leo was startled by Driana’s bold declaration.

There are no records in Dwenno-related documents portraying him as an artist who praised beauty.

And yet, Driana announced she would surpass Dwenno as an artist.

“What kind of artist, all of a sudden?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at the weapons Dwenno left behind? He was undoubtedly an artist who praised beauty! There’s no way he could have made such beautiful things otherwise!”

Apparently, claiming herself an artist was also influenced by Dwenno.

‘Remarkable. Analyzing Dwenno’s tendencies by just looking at the weapons.’

Leo was impressed.

Seeing Leo’s expression, Driana said,

“I was inspired by you. Actually, if you’d posed as a n*de model, I could’ve been even more inspired… Settling for less, I sculpted you.”

Driana wore a confident smile.

“Once you see this, I bet you’ll want to be my model too.”

“Unlikely, but I am curious.”

Whenever Dwenno sculpted Lifinas and Luna, he created sculptures that looked truly alive.

Leo always said Dwenno’s sculptures were more beautiful than the originals themselves.

Of course, they earned kicks and punches from Lifinas and Luna at such moments.

Driana pulled out a clay sculpture of Leo from behind the display.

“Here, look! My masterpiece!”

“…”

Leo looked at the distorted sculpture in Driana’s hand.

“Never seen a monster shaped like this.”

“It’s not a monster! This is your likeness sculpted by my artistic reinterpretation! How is it? Isn’t it great?”

Driana proudly shoved what she claimed as Leo’s sculpture toward him.

Upon receiving it, Leo felt an indescribable sense of discomfort and fell into deep thought.

‘How does this resemble me? I bet I could make something better with my feet.’

Dwenno often looked at Kyle with pity, saying he’d been cursed in art.

Had Dwenno seen Driana’s works, what would he have done?

‘He’d have smiled kindly, encouraged her, and taught her blacksmithing directly.’

Driana’s talent was undoubtedly extraordinary.

But had he seen this?

Leo, after some deliberation, mimicked exactly what Dwenno would have done.

Whish! Crumble!

The clay sculpture of the so-called grotesque Leo was ruthlessly crushed.

“Seriously, I think you should give up on being an artist. Why don’t you pick up the hammer again?”

‘Do not mock art! If you call THIS art, throw it away!’

Had Dwenno seen this, he might have been infuriated, shouting and throwing every kind of insult.