284
Bubbling bubbling bubbling!
“…!”
Water suddenly rushed into their mouths and noses.
Arge’s eyes widened as she frantically began to struggle.
“Phew! Cough! Cough!”
Arge managed to surface and began coughing violently.
“Is everyone alright?!”
An urgent voice came from the side.
Turning her head, she saw Kal emerging from the water’s surface.
“I’m fine!”
Eiran’s frantic voice replied.
“Let’s get out of the water first!”
Kal used the Fly magic at that moment.
Eiran also used magic to lift herself up.
Arge stood on the water using the Aura Step.
Each in their own way, the three people exited the water and dried themselves off.
“Where’s the Black Rabbit, Seirun’s representative, and that dwarf with the weird tone of speech?”
Pud-pud-pud!
While shaking off the water from her body, Arge asked, and Eiran answered while wringing out her school uniform.
“Well… I don’t know. It seems like they’re not around?”
Eiran looked around urgently with a worried expression.
“Isn’t it true that we’ve entered into Lord Dwenno’s Hero Record?”
“Yeah. The message definitely said that.”
Arge tensed.
Looking at her expression, Kal opened up an interdimensional space.
“Use this for a bit to dry off. Our current state might be a tad too stimulating for pubescent boys.”
Indeed, as Kal had suggested, both Arge and Eiran’s school uniforms were plastered to their bodies, revealing their figures.
Feeling embarrassed, Eiran accepted the towel Kal offered.
“Hmph, isn’t your body making this sister’s heart race?”
“Eh, yes.”
“What an incredibly rude and indifferent reaction is this!”
Arge’s sharp canines peeked out as she arched her eyebrows and extended her nails, but even to Kal, it was unavoidable.
Compared to Eiran, Arge’s figure lacked so much in curves that it was almost heart-breaking.
Kal also handed her a towel, despite her snarling.
“Wow, this towel is amazing. It makes you feel fresh just by wiping!”
Eiran marveled at the towel that absorbed moisture like it was drinking it.
Seeing Eiran return to her original state immediately, Arge also dried herself with the towel Kal gave her and was amazed.
“Hmph, it’s my product. Disposable, of course. It’s very popular among the girls in our school.”
Especially in the Noble’s Dormitory, where Kal belonged, it was even more popular due to the many noble young ladies residing there.
“But still, we need to quickly join up with Leo and Lunia, Driana…”
Returning to the main topic, Kal looked toward the sky as he spoke.
His expression stiffened.
It wasn’t just Kal; Eiran also wore a slightly pale expression.
A greyish sky, something unimaginable in the current era, spread out before them.
Kal swallowed hard.
Of course, this was expected since they had entered into Dwenno’s Hero’s World.
‘The era we’re currently in is the Era of Catastrophe.’
An era they had heard about countless times through various documents.
From the testimonies of heroes who had ventured into the distant Hero’s World, they had indirectly understood this era’s sky.
Thus, they thought they already knew.
However, the directly viewed ashen sky sufficed to evoke an instinctual fear in Kal.
‘This … is the evidence that the world is collapsing.’
A landscape visible only to the few chosen heroes who marked history.
The sky seemed to be speaking:
“You are not ready yet.”
Eiran also shrank back, as if stunned.
“Still… it’s terrifying. That sky.”
Even Arge, who had experienced this before, whispered tensely.
“Let’s check the Strategy Objective first.”
Arge spoke calmly.
At Arge’s words, the two nodded their heads and opened their awareness to check the Strategy Objective.
[Strategy Objective: -]
But the sight of an empty Strategy Objective message startled Kal into a scream.
The Strategy Objective was blank.
Arge and Eiran also wore expressions of confusion.
Even for the three people experienced in the Hero’s World, this was the first time encountering a blank Strategy Objective.
“Strange situation… Could this be the Hero Dungeon?”
Arge’s expression was serious.
The Strategy Objective was the focal point of conquering the Hero’s World.
Without a Strategy Objective, which usually guides the conquest, the situation seemed unusual.
“Thinking about it now, entering the Hero’s World also felt strange, didn’t it?”
While Dwenno’s world was mentioned in the message, the specific event was concealed.
“Let’s investigate first.”
“Alright.”
They quickly thought of their task.
And just as they were about to move,
Pa-ba-ba-bat!
“…!”
The three were quickly surrounded by armed people.
Naturally, the three of them took a battle stance.
“Those are suspicious ones!”
“To dare to invade The Spirit Lake! Reveal your identity!”
“Are you spies of Tartarus!”
Various races revealed their guard, which surprised the three.
‘If it’s the Era of Catastrophe, then this would be natural, right?’
Kal quickly analyzed the situation while lowering his guard and raising his hands.
“Excuse us. We are not suspicious individuals.”
“Yeah, we merely lost our way.”
Eiran also spoke carefully.
“Don’t lie! This is the city’s water source! A place under thorough vigilance! It’s an impossible feat to lose your way here!”
The leader, a human, raised his voice.
Seeing that, Kal’s face turned perplexed.
“Perhaps, following these people’s words might be the best course of action?”
“I agree with that.”
“There’s no choice. Let’s look for an opportunity to escape if necessary.”
Just as they were about to be captured,
“Retrieve your weapons. Those children are not spies of Tartarus.”
A gentle voice came from behind.
Kal and Eiran gave curious looks.
But Arge’s ears perked up.
She had heard this voice before.
The fur-clad beastman youth parted through the armed guards and showed himself.
It was a white wolf beastman.
Coarse white hair, sharp golden eyes.
Kal’s and Eiran’s bodies quivered.
They knew him extremely well.
He was one of the Great Heroes who saved the world.
‘The Brave… Aron!’
‘If this is Lord Dwenno’s world, why is Brave here!’
The legendary hero and symbol of courage who turned impossible battles into victories stood right in front of them.
As Hero Candidates, could there be a more glorious moment?
Kal and Eiran trembled with emotion.
Just then,
Shock-!
Arge launched towards Aron with incredible speed.
Before those around could react…
“Aron-sama! It’s Aron-sama!”
“Hi-eeek?”
Aron’s bold face turned pale with fear.
Not just Aron—the guards surrounding them also wore expressions of terror.
Because Arge’s eyes were wild.
“It’s amazing! Huhk! Huhk! I respect you! Gulp! Gulp!”
“Get off! Get off!”
In terror, Aron hugged his legs while Arge clung to him, screaming.
“Those suspicious individuals are threatening Aron-sama!”
“Hurry up and suppress them!”
“Indeed, these are definitely spies of Tartarus!”
“Arrest them!”
In an instant, chaos erupted.
Ultimately, the three were arrested due to Arge’s excitement upon seeing Aron.
Whoosh-!
It was a world of fire.
Flames were raging all around.
In the middle stood Lunia and Driana.
“Are you alright?”
“Even if I look like this, I have an excellent resistance to fire.”
“You’ve gone back to that strange tone again.”
Lunia lazily opened her eyes.
Where an ordinary person would struggle to even stand, Lunia and Driana stood calmly.
The members of the Rundah family are born with the ability to handle the Phoenix’s flames, so this level of fire did not significantly affect Lunia.
Driana, too, despite having abandoned the Smith’s path, had grown up with flames and thus maintained a strong resistance to fire.
This level of fire had no effect whatsoever on the two.
“But still, what is this fire?”
“…It seems like the fire of the spirits.”
Lunia narrowed her eyes as she glanced around.
‘This isn’t a regular spirit. It’s a Great Spirit-level spirit.’
Born with the talent of a summoner and possessing considerable expertise in spirit magic, Lunia easily recognized the fire.
‘And… I sense the power of the Phoenix.’
The familiar aftertaste from the flames made Lunia cross her arms.
‘What kind of space is this?’
As Lunia wondered, a heavy pounding sound was heard.
Kung! Kung!
Lunia and Driana tensed.
Whoom-!
“Golem?”
A massive golem emerged from the flames.
The Pyro Golem, wrapped in fire all over its body, made Lunia smile.
“Looks like this is the guardian of this place.”
“Hmm, it seems like we need to take it down if we want to escape.”
Golems are usually used as guardians for certain areas.
Powerful and used to protect specific territories, golems show hostility toward intruders.
However, neither Lunia nor Driana felt any significant concern.
Even if the golem was powerful, two Hero Candidates were not threatened.
Driana drew her battle hammer from the interdimensional space at the front while Lunia naturally positioned herself at the back.
Even without ever practicing together, the two naturally formed their combat formation.
Lunia, being the top student of Seirun’s second grade, was more than familiar with combat.
Driana, though not currently, was once the representative of her year in Demian.
She was a true fighter.
Swoosh-
As the two prepared for combat, the golem lifted its foot.
Krawk-!
“…!”
Bang-!
At that moment, the golem’s arm, closing the distance at an incredible speed, sent Driana flying.
She slammed into the wall.
Seeing this, Lunia’s face was filled with shock.
‘What? This golem?’
The pinnacle of magic engineering, golems.
However, due to their heavy mass, they had limitations in movement.
This golem, though, surpassed the simple category of a golem.
Just as the golem aimed for Lunia,
Chieeng-!
Driana, kicking off the wall, struck the golem’s head with her hammer.
Driana’s eyes twitched a moment.
“Remarkable. To withstand such an attack without damage.”
Lunia’s admiration caused Driana to grip her hammer and say,
“The durability is a dwarf’s characteristic.”
Though small and cute to the eye, the little dwarven girl was tough.
“Tough, indeed.”
Thinking of the trusty front-line position, Lunia summoned her power.
“Lunia El Rundah. Let’s unleash our full force.”
“Huh?”
“That golem. It’s made of Orichalcum.”
Lunia’s face turned pale with shock.
“Is it possible to make a golem out of Orichalcum?”
“Impossible. But if you think about whose world this is… it’s not so impossible, is it?”
“God’s Blacksmith… Lord Dwenno’s world…”
Lunia let out a gasp.
Nothing would be impossible with Dwenno’s technology.
Whoom-!
The golem’s activation sound rang out.
Seeing that, Lunia and Driana lowered their stances.
“Cheerful young ladies, aren’t you?”
Beyond the golem’s eyes,
Dwenno tilted his head thoughtfully.
“They had a reason to intrude into the restricted area. Let’s try suppressing them first?”
The sacred spirit flame, bringing light and warmth to the city of Guardstron, was not an easy intrusion to overlook.
“Complicated situations keep arising with three people missing from the city.”
Dwenno let out a light sigh while activating the golem using mana.
“Who are you really?”
Shiiing-
Verkiya stepped back from Leo, her eyes filled with caution.
Leo looked around.
“The forest.”
It was a forest that felt familiar somehow.
“So, this is the forest near Guardstron, isn’t it?”
Verkiya had trained here, not far from the city of Guardstron.
There were no signs of people nearby.
‘Judging by the age, it’s probably about the time she starts joining battles, huh?’
She must have come into this forest alone to practice.
‘Her age now is around 17 or 18 years old, I guess.’
It wasn’t difficult for Leo to determine Verkiya’s age.
“What do you know about my teachers, Kyle, Luna, and Aron?”
“How do you know I’m their disciple?”
Verkiya’s face was filled with an even sharper caution.
‘Let’s see. If it’s not widely known that she was their disciple, then they are yet to gain prominence… which means she is 17 years old.’
Leo quickly absorbed information from Verkiya’s every word and analyzed the current situation.
“I understand. You! You’re a spy of Tartarus, aren’t you? Your plan is to kidnap me and blackmail my teachers!”
The imaginative disciple made Leo sigh.
“Who’s in Guardstron right now?”
“Would I tell you? I’ll defeat you!”
Not willing to listen further, Verkiya approached Leo.
Guarding against suspicious individuals was natural during this era.
Even if it wasn’t a demon of Tartarus, betrayal was rampant in this age.
Verkiya’s caution was perfectly legitimate.
‘But here’s the thing.’
Clang-!
“Wha?”
Leo easily threw Verkiya’s sword aside and tripped her leg.
‘And here she is, being arrogant. It’s just making me furious.’
“Kyaa!”
Realizing her every move was transparent, Verkiya was suppressed without being able to fully unleash her skills.
It was literally an instant.
“Verkiya.”
“Don’t call my name familiarly!”
As Verkiya, filled with caution, tried to summon her mana,
“Look, I came to Guardstron to find the Hero of Survival, Kyle.”
“What about Kyle-sensei?!”
“I’m an all-class too, you know.”
“Huh?”
Verkiya momentarily paused.
Leo extended his palm.
Mana, magic, and spirit energy gathered together, swirling fiercely.
Seeing that, Verkiya’s eyes widened.
“I’ve researched various things because I wanted to be his disciple. That’s how I know about you.”
Around this time, Verkiya well understood the significance of possessing all-class abilities.
The mana trait ‘Pure’.
It was a fact not widely known publicly, but Lissinas revealed that Kyle’s power was the key to defeating Erebus.
Thus, Verkiya was fully aware of how significant the appearance of another all-class was.
Staring at the swirling power of Leo, Verkiya stiffened before saying,
“I’ll tell you one thing.”
With a serious expression, she continued,
“Kyle-sensei has a bad temper. So, I recommend you study under someone else.”
“Ah, I see.”
Whack-!
“Why did you hit me!”
Giving a light smack to the head of a disciple who so freely disrespected him, Leo thought to himself,
“Just beating you to a pulp, beating you.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
