592.
The eruption of the Catastrophe Flame during the Hero’s Festival.
A massive incident that occurred while the world’s attention was fixated.
But the catastrophe soon turned into a miracle.
The arrival of the Hero of Beginning, Kyle.
The world soon erupted into cheers as Kyle dispelled the Catastrophe Flame and vanished.
After the chaos was resolved, the Hero’s Festival was resumed.
Though there was a crisis, there were no casualties.
“Whoo~ I really thought things were going to end badly!”
Kal, who had been preparing a stall, chuckled nervously as he laughed.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Of course! Do you know how hard I worked preparing for the Hero’s Festival? I would’ve been furious if it had been canceled!”
After the event was settled, there was talk regarding whether the Hero’s Festival should continue.
However, due to the immense anticipation from countless people looking forward to the festival, it was decided to proceed with it until the end.
“The event gained even more attention thanks to that incident. It’s all thanks to the timely appearance of the Hero of Beginning.”
The Hero’s Festival had already been ongoing for three days.
Currently, the four Hero Academies were fiercely competing, maintaining neck-and-neck scores.
The enthusiasm of the audience watching the hero candidates’ performances progressively heightened.
It had already become the festival for everyone, just as Leo had hoped.
“But what are you preparing?”
With a perplexed expression, Leo asked, and Kal grinned.
“It’s my last big thing in Lumeran.”
Kal proudly grinned as he raised his thumb.
“Isn’t it better to go out with a bang?”
“What exactly are you planning?”
Kal showed Leo a signboard in response to his question.
“Lottery games?”
“Exactly, when there’s a festival, there’s nothing better than a lottery game, right? Drina and I are collaborating to open a shop.”
“Why Drina?”
“She’ll be running another stall beside me.”
Kal hummed a tune under his breath.
Watching Kal, Leo said,
“About advancing to the third year?”
“It would be nice, but it’s hopeless, right?”
Kal shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not like I’m going back home or throwing in the towel.”
“Then?”
“I’ve recently bought a small building in Rumelia City.”
“Recently? With what money?”
“Recently. I’ve been diligently doing business ever since I started school.”
Kal formed a circle with his thumb and index finger and grinned.
“You know, our noble customers are very generous, so I managed to save up quite a bit. I used that money to buy a building.”
While setting up his stall, Kal added,
“Starting next year, I’ll make Rumelia City my base and expand my business with what I’ve learned in Lumeran.”
“Expanding?”
“Not only supplies needed for battle but also information. I’m planning to set up a system that immediately confirms ongoing incidents around the world and notifies Lumeran. I also want to establish my own warp gate using the connections I’ve made in Lumeran.”
Kal looked at Leo.
“You guys are about to be active all over the world. I need to prepare thoroughly to support you before you graduate.”
“Does that satisfy you?”
“From the start, I’ve aimed to be a supporter. As long as I give my all doing what I can, that’s all that matters, right?”
Kal cleared his throat with a fake cough.
“And honestly, even if I do make it to the third year, it scares me.”
Kal grabbed his head with both hands and shuddered.
“That witch… How much more will she push me next year? No, no, I don’t want to!”
While watching Kal shiver, Leo shook his head.
‘She’s tough, alright.’
Elina, the one who resolves issues, doesn’t just wrap things up. She creates more work when everything seems to be resolving well.
Moreover, her nastier side is that she assigns work that pushes one right up to their limit.
“So, I’ll step out and prepare properly and wait.”
Rina, the principal of Lumeran, was discussing the schedule of the Hero’s Festival with Vice Student Council President Eliza and Professor Sedgen inside the principal’s office.
“How’s the security in Rumelia City?”
“It’s fine. Conversely, due to the incident on the first day, people have maintained a heightened sense of tension, so the crime rate seems to have decreased.”
“Is that incident actually helping us?”
Rina scratched her head.
It was certain that without the appearance of the Hero of Beginning, Kyle, there would’ve been a catastrophic number of casualties.
“What about the hunt for the mastermind behind the incident?”
“The Dragon Lord himself is tracking them.”
“They’ll catch them soon.”
“Yes.”
There’s no way this incident happened suddenly.
A piece of the Hero Record unexpectedly went berserk in the middle of Erek’s training ground, meaning someone from outside brought the Hero Record inside.
“Just as Seirun has the Pureblood Society, we may have betrayers within us too.”
Rina’s eyes grew cold.
Even though she had stepped away from the front lines, her principle remains unchanged: Pursue and eliminate betrayers.
“First, let’s focus on completing the Hero’s Festival properly.”
Sedgen told Rina.
Just as Rina nodded, a knock sounded and Halind entered, holding documents.
He approached Rina and presented a document.
“Here are the papers you asked for.”
“You’ve prepared everything. That’s impressive, even amidst your busy schedule.”
As Rina exclaimed in amazement and checked the documents, Eliza became curious.
“What papers are these?”
“They’re about Kal Thomas’ advancement.”
Hearing Halind’s calm reply, Eliza widened her eyes.
Halind’s nickname is the “Wailing Wall of Lumeran.”
He’s the embodiment of fear for upperclassmen.
It’s well-known that Halind mercilessly expels students who don’t meet the standards.
Last year and this year, while handling the first-years, this tendency has diminished, but that’s only because the evaluations now target first-years.
Eliza has witnessed countless seniors pack their bags due to Halind.
For such a Halind to prepare documents for a student’s promotion instead of expulsion was astonishing.
Especially since Kal didn’t meet the promotion criteria.
“Unexpected. I didn’t expect that Halind would prepare documents to promote a student who doesn’t meet the grades.”
“The current evaluation methods in Lumeran fall short in assessing Kal Thomas’ potential accurately.”
Halind responded calmly.
“The boy has attended Lumeran with the aim of becoming a supporter since enrollment. He’s also shown a strength in assisting others from behind rather than stepping forward.”
At this, Eliza nodded.
“I thought that’s all there was, but as I observed, there’s more to it.”
Having closely monitored Kal during his first year, Halind understood his capabilities.
“The ability to draw out the potential of others and unite their strengths to create something greater. I’ve come to see that as Kal Thomas’ true ability.”
Halind looked at the report on Kal Thomas in Rina’s hand and spoke.
“It’s a new ability we hadn’t recognized before. I thought such a quality was also a potential for a hero, and so I prepared the documents.”
Hearing this, Eliza nodded again.
“The idea is good, but it won’t be easy convincing the board.”
Listening to this, Sedgen clicked his tongue.
He also agreed with Halind’s opinion, but special cases aren’t created easily.
Even though Halind and Sedgen have served as professors in Lumeran for a long time and wield significant influence, the authority to create exceptions resides solely with the board.
Moreover, the conservative board was likely to reject Kal’s recognition altogether.
“I’m merely doing my best for the students.”
Halind’s calm response made Eliza nod.
“Still, you are truly the best professor in the academy.”
“What nonsense! The best professor at Lumeran is me, Sedgen!”
Sedgen erupted in outrage.
“Yes, yes. Professor Sedgen is also the best professor!”
Eliza smiled gently as she looked at the document in Rina’s hand, her eyes gleaming.
A few more days passed.
As the Hero’s Festival approached its final stages,
“What on earth is this?”
Ellisa frowned as she looked at the long line stretched out before her eyes.
In her hand was the medal from the Familiar Race she had just won.
After the match, she decided to pay Kal a rare visit, having heard he was doing business with the audience, but a massive crowd was queuing up in front of Kal’s stall.
“Hey! This isn’t a chance you get every day! Knights, wizards, summoners! Here! The exclusive opportunity to win the items crafted by Leo Flove’s personal smith and the renowned Demian’s Driana! Don’t miss out!”
Kal had gone up on stage, microphone in hand, calling out passionately to the audience.
Around him, knights, wizards, and summoners had gathered like clouds, aiming to get their hands on arms and magical staves, or summoning catalysts.
At that moment, a knight stepped onto the stage, looking tense.
“Attention everyone! The knight from the southern Del Kingdom is about to attempt ten consecutive lottery attempts!”
As Kal raised his voice enthusiastically with the microphone, the crowd erupted with “Ooooh!”s.
Bright magical lights illuminated the stage, shining on the giant glass container on the ceiling.
Within the glass container, ball-sized orbs of various colors glimmered like jewels.
Clang-clang-clang!
As the balls began to mix violently inside, the glass container’s opening opened, and ten orbs fell.
One knight from the Del Kingdom roared upon seeing a crystal-shaped orb.
“DIAMOND!”
The knight dropped to his knees, clutching the crystal orb with both hands and held it high, as sighs of envy erupted from the crowd.
“Aargh! A diamond! I was aiming for it!”
Tremblingly, the knight opened the crystal orb and saw the slip of paper inside, which made him despair.
“Uuuuuuh! A magic wand!”
“Yes! You’ve drawn a diamond-grade magic wand! Congratulations!”
Though the knight had drawn something of great value, his scream of agony rang out because he couldn’t use it.
Upon hearing this, the wizards rushed to the stage.
“Will you sell it to me?”
“No! Sell it to me!”
“You!”
The commotion that followed made Ellisa’s mouth drop open.
“What on earth is going on here?”
“They call it a ‘toxic lottery.'”
“Leo Flove?”
Ellisa turned to Leo, her eyes wide with surprise.
“I’m currently pondering whether the Student Council should intervene.”
The items Kal had prepared were nothing short of lottery tickets.
Though slightly expensive, when compared to the value of the items offered as prizes, they weren’t exorbitant.
The problem lay in the absurdly low odds.
With dazzling presentations that captured the audience’s attention, Kal kept selling more and more lottery tickets.
Thinking they could get their hands on items crafted by Driana with a bit of luck, people were frantically opening their wallets.
Even if one managed to draw something they wanted, their ordeal wasn’t over.
“Alright!”
A Beastman wizard lifted the magic wand he had just drawn and cheered.
He then approached the stall beside the lottery booth where Driana, wielding a hammer, stood.
“I’m here to upgrade it.”
“Third attempt already. I’d recommend just taking it and leaving.”
“Heh. I’m a Beastman.”
The wizard scoffed at the suggestion.
“My heart beats like a beast.”
“Chasing after Aron’s footsteps, quite the courageous fellow.”
“Heh.”
Driana took the wand offered by the wizard and placed it on the anvil, beginning to hammer.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Everyone, including Beastman wizards and the spectators, swallowed hard as they watched.
Just then,
Crack!
“Ah. My hand slipped.”
Driana’s mutter filled the air.
“No! NOOOOO!”
The Beastman wizard, who had attempted the upgrade, clutched his head and screamed.
“You can try again next time.”
Driana patted the Beastman wizard’s shoulder.
“…”
“Apparently, if you succeed in defying the odds and succeed in the upgrade, it transforms into a more powerful weapon.”
Of course, the upgrade on the spot was merely a performance using counterfeit items that had a set probability of withstanding the hammer.
Still, for some reason, it effectively gripped people’s hearts and stirred strong emotional reactions, heightening the anticipation and disappointment alternately among the crowd.
This only fueled even more people’s interest in attempting upgrades.
“I can’t fathom how he comes up with such ideas.”
Leo watched Kal, who was busily calling out to the audience, with curiosity, when suddenly,
“Leo Onii-san!”
Chelsea raced toward Leo from afar, yelling at top speed.
“Huff… Huff…”
With her hands on her knees, Chelsea panted heavily as Leo looked at her curiously.
“What’s wrong?”
“Kal! Where’s Kal?”
Chelsea, breathing heavily, asked, and Leo pointed toward the stage.
“Kal!”
Chelsea shouted, calling out to Kal.
Her voice amplified by wind magic drew everyone’s attention.
“Chelsea? What is it?”
Kal, bewildered, asked, and Chelsea, sounding flustered, responded.
“Listen, I just found out! They say your name has appeared in the Hero Record!”
“Eh?”
“What?”
Murmurs began amongst the crowd.
At Chelsea’s yell, Kal stood dumbfounded, Ellisa’s eyes widened, and everyone around started whispering.
“Hm?”
Leo’s eyes gleamed as he stroked his chin.
Chelsea, unable to fully grasp the situation herself, stamped her foot in frustration at Kal’s vacant expression.
“So, it means… You’ve become a hero!”
“Eeeeek?!”
Kal let out an incredulous shriek.
At that moment, Elena appeared behind Chelsea.
“Wow, you’ve already come to deliver the news? That was fast.”
Elena, smirking, glanced at Kal.
“Kal, the councilmeeting is currently underway. They’re holding an emergency meeting about your promotion to the third year… From the atmosphere, it seems like you might make it to the third year.”
Elena’s cheerful statement made Chelsea beam, and Ellisa, though surprised, couldn’t hide her joy.
“Ooooh!”
Even though the audience didn’t fully understand the situation, they began cheering at the announcement of a new hero’s birth.
The only one frozen in place was Kal, standing there with his mouth agape.
Elena smiled at Kal and said,
“So, count on me again next year. Acting Student Council President.”
Facing her eerie smile meant only for him, Kal grabbed his head.
“NOOOOOOO!”
Watching Kal’s wailing, Leo muttered,
“The promotion enhancement was a success.”
![[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")
