Chapter 382

382.

At Leo’s words, Ar clasped her face, and the four beastmen’s expressions drastically changed.

“Are you… calling us cowards right now? Are you calling Lady Aron a coward?”

Dion’s voice grew heavy.

Beastmen were a race that held strong belief that Aron’s courage had changed the fate of the world.

For five thousand years, they had revered Aron, taking pride as his kin in their race.

And for thousands of years, they had strived to inherit his courage.

Courage, to them, was not just pride but also a virtue they pursued.

To such a race, the word ‘coward’ was the greatest insult in the world.

“…I do not agree that we look like cowards.”

Dion growled savagely.

“We are only nervous about being exposed, and it’s true that we’ve backed down in fear. In your eyes, we must seem like cowards.”

Killing intent radiated from Dion’s body.

“But you take back calling Lady Aron a coward, Leo Flove.”

“Sorry, but Aron really was a coward.”

Whoosh!

Dion’s fist soared toward Leo.

It was a punch filled with genuine intent.

However, Ar blocked the punch even faster to protect Leo.

Seeing her childhood friend defending Leo, Dion’s face twisted with anger.

“What is this? Ar!”

“Calm down, Dion.”

“Do I look calm? That guy insulted Lady Aron!”

At his words, Ar sighed.

“The Black Rabbit isn’t wrong.”

“What?”

“In the Hero’s World, Lady Aron appeared very frightened.”

Stunned by this shocking statement, the four beastmen stiffened their expressions.

“I can’t accept that! Lady Aron was not a coward!”

Borman urgently shouted.

Looking at such a Borman, Leo said nonchalantly.

“Have you ever seen a brave hero?”

“…”

At Leo’s words, Borman unconsciously shut his mouth.

Since the Great Warrior Azonia, a hero of the Cataclysm from three thousand years ago, no one had fully conquered Aron’s Hero Record.

Most people who had attempted it only tackled a damaged Hero Record.

The remaining records of Aron were filled solely with his overwhelming might leading battles to victory.

Only those records had been passed down to posterity.

Because of this, almost nothing was known about Aron’s daily life.

“It’s impossible.”

“A brave hero… was a coward?”

“How can that be…”

“This must be a dream… It’s a dream.”

Watching his shocked peers deny the reality, Ar looked at Leo with a reproachful glare.

“What will you do if I tell you this truth?”

“Not only the students of our school, but the students of other schools have the same problem. You guys worship the Great Heroes too much.”

Leo said indifferently.

“You might have seen this, but the Great Heroes are cowards, perverts, and reckless fools.”

“…I get who the cowards and perverts are, but who’s the reckless fool?”

“The founder of the Star Cloud.”

At that, Ar whispered, recalling that Leo was the conqueror of the Luna’s world.

“Such shocking truths.”

“Reality is generally like that. Quickly realize the world isn’t beautiful and grow up.”

“No! There’s still the Hero of Beginning and the King of Wisdom!”

Ar covered her ears with her hands and vigorously shook her head.

Apparently, she didn’t want to shatter her illusions about the Great Heroes any further.

‘If I had conquered Lissinas’ world, maybe I could have also told her that the guy was a conman.’

Leo clicked his tongue.

Lissinas was a master of deceiving people with words and then stabbing them in the back.

‘Looking at it this way, am I the only one who is normal?’

Of course, if his teammates had seen, Kyle would have also scolded that he had his fair share of issues.

Watching the shocked students of Azonia, Leo spoke.

“How long are you going to be shocked? Is it really such a problem that Aron was a coward?”

“What?”

“Aron was, without a doubt, a coward. But that fact does not negate that Aron was also a brave hero.”

The four Azonia students stared at Leo.

“He was always frightened and deflated, but when battles occurred, he overcame all that fear and charged forward first.”

“Yeah! That’s why Lady Aron is a true hero!”

At Leo’s words, Ar puffed her chest out in agreement.

Dion gave a bitter smile in response.

“Lady Aron is special.”

“Funny.”

“What?”

“That Lady Aron once told me something similar. That she wasn’t special.”

“What? Lady Aron said that? When!”

“When you weren’t around.”

“Ugh! To have such a heartfelt conversation with Lady Aron! Black Rabbit! How envious!”

With a genuinely envious expression, Ar shook Leo.

Recalling past events, Leo thought:

‘I’m not special. I don’t give hope to people like Lissinas… nor am I a shining figure like Luna. I can’t craft weapons like Dwenno, and I’m not a natural enemy of Erebus, like Kyle. I feel like I’m just a burden to you all.’

‘What nonsense is this again?’

Upon hearing those words, Kyle kicked Aron.

‘We don’t give up because you stand up and fight with us on the front lines!’

“The courage of the hero who claimed not to be special saved the world.”

Leo looked at the representatives of Azonia.

“The reason Azonia students fight is to inform those who are trembling with fear.”

From the entrance ceremony onward, Azonia is about struggle.

They spread the message of this struggle to many people.

The ceremonial significance of that entrance ceremony is one thing:

“We have arrived.”

Courageous beings.

Entities that drive away fear.

Symbols of courage.

“Perhaps this is what the hero wanted to be most.”

Many people summoned the courage to face their fears just by thinking of Aron.

The so-called coward who claimed not to be special had become courage itself.

“Regardless of being special or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s okay to be afraid. It’s fine to feel inferior or even pessimistic about yourself. However, if you truly wish to follow the path of a true hero…”

Leo recalled his friend with a smile.

“Never give in. Being able to move forward during the hardest times is genuinely special, I think.”

Remembering the resolute back of his friend in the moments when everyone else was in despair, Leo continued.

Upon hearing Leo’s words, Dion looked up at the starry night sky.

“I didn’t think I’d receive lessons about heroes and courage from someone from Lumeran.”

“Totally unlike the students of Azonia.”

“Yes! It was stupid of us! How foolish to be intimidated and discouraged like that!”

“You guys are truly foolish. You’re foolish tigers.”

As Dion, Tabon, and Borman regained their confidence, Ruwen sighed at them.

Then, she glanced at Leo.

“Your way with words is excellent. Truly worthy of being the Student Council President of Lumeran.”

“I learned it from some crooked conman.”

Smiling faintly at Leo, Ar raised her hand.

“Yes! The important thing now is catching and tearing to shreds that accursed beast that’s besmirching Lady Aron’s name! Ignoring them because of fear of exposure would be an insult to Lady Aron!”

“Yes! Ar’s right!”

Borman chimed in in agreement.

Seeing this, Dion nodded.

“It’s clearly the right decision to collaborate with Lumeran.”

Seeing this, Leo rested his chin.

‘As much as I’d also like to catch those bastards and tear them apart, it’s best left to Azonia students who claim to be the descendants of Aron.’

‘Results-wise, Aron would be happier with this approach.’

Leo smiled as he watched the Azonia students ignite with fighting spirit.

‘The back you showed us still gives courage to people even after five thousand years.’

Recalling his friend who used to talk nonsense to himself,

‘What’s this about not being special? You’re more special than anyone. Aron.’

The next morning.

Leo headed toward the Forest of Monsters.

Behind him, Luke followed.

“Is it correct that we’re going to solve the Hero Dungeon issue in the Forest of Monsters together with Azonia, and then jointly pursue the Hero Hunters in this country?”

“That’s right.”

“Senior Leo is heading in by himself, deeper into the forest?”

“Yes.”

At yesterday’s meeting, Lumeran and Azonia agreed to cooperate.

In the midst of that, Leo announced that he would personally explore the core of the Forest of Monsters alone.

Initially, a few students suggested going with him, but Leo declined:

“I’m fine on my own.”

Although it might sound reckless, no one strongly opposed it.

After all, Leo was undeniably the strongest among the second years.

With Leo’s statement that he would scout the forest for a single day, it was inevitable to agree.

“Is that the Black Rabbit’s mentee?”

Leo joined Ar at the edge of the forest.

“Hello, I’m Luke Eldar.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ar Tune.”

Ar giggled and waved her hand.

“I’ll leave him with you for just a day.”

“Leave it to me!”

Clapping her chest boldly, Ar promised.

Having entrusted Luke to her, Leo immediately entered the forest.

After walking for a while, Leo looked at the lush forest.

The stage of the entrance exam.

But standing here directly now, the moment felt distinctly different.

“This is where I first met Luna.”

This land was Luna’s homeland.

When Lissinas and he came here to recruit Luna into the monster extermination group, she was fighting alongside the elves to reclaim her hometown forest from the Demon Queen.

This forest held memories beyond just the entrance exam.

After briefly gazing at the forest, Leo drew his sword and began moving.

The deeper he ventured into the Forest of Monsters, the more numerous the monsters blocking his way became.

But they weren’t the usual monsters of the Forest of Monsters.

“Considering the curse should have dissipated once the Demon Queen was eliminated…?”

Yet new monsters continued to emerge.

Meaning something else was spawning these monsters.

“The likelihood is high that it’s a Hero Dungeon starting to consume reality.”

It was a conclusion his classmates who had come here earlier had easily reached.

However, there’s also the possibility that the forest’s curse might have intensified after the Demon Queen’s d*ath.

While cutting through countless monsters to move forward, Leo halted.

The deepest part of the forest.

Narrowing his eyes, Leo extended his hand.

Wooom!

He felt a strong surge of dark magic.

The true identity of this lingering dark magic, which maintained its existence even after its master disappeared, was none other than the residual magic left behind by the Demon Queen.

Whoosh!

In an instant, Leo dispelled the magic.

As the magic dismantled, an ominous tower revealed itself.

Its remnants still emanated dark magic.

But the power that had been binding this tower had long disappeared.

‘So, the curse really has been lifted.’

Leo confirmed the existence of the curse as a precaution.

But the curse was indeed gone.

Firmly convinced of the existence of a Hero Dungeon in the Forest of Monsters, Leo was about to step back when he paused.

Among the grotesque tower, he saw a ‘piece of paper’.

The faint power emanating from that place was familiar to Leo.

“Divine power?”

Surprised, Leo levitated using magic.

“Hero Record fragment.”

Looking at the torn fragment of the Hero Record, Leo extended his hand with shock on his face.

[Would you like to open the world of the Dragon of the Cataclysm, Rodia?]

The sudden message that floated before him startled Leo.

“Rodia’s world?”

He was momentarily confused.

At first, he thought this fractured fragment was the cause of the Hero Dungeon, but it wasn’t.

“The record hasn’t run rampant.”

It was a stabilized Hero Record fragment, not having transformed into a Hero Dungeon.

The message appeared because it was Leo.

Being the owner of the Hero Record, Leo could freely open and close it without a key.

After gazing at the message for a while, Leo said,

“Open.”

[Hero Record open. Rodia’s world. Chapter: Prologue – Cataclysm.]

A familiar sensation enveloped Leo.

The moment the bright light disappeared from his vision,

“…Who?”

A perplexed voice spoke.

Leo looked at the draconic girl in front of him.

He knew who she was.

“…Are you the Dragon of the Cataclysm, Rodia?”