Chapter 430

Book 1 Chapter 430

430.

As twilight fell.

Drained of all vitality, the sophomore class shuffled forward unsteadily.

Collapse—

Kyle dropped heavily onto the ground.

“If day one is this brutal… how on earth can we survive a whole month?”

“The moment I get back home, every single plush toy I own is going in the trash.”

The weary second-year students let out anxious, panicked cries.

Following sunset, the group of sophomores, having been teleported to a singular location, tracked a guide marker to reach their designated lodging.

“My stomach is hollow.”

“Naturally, considering we haven’t had a single bite since morning.”

“I wonder what’s on the menu.”

“I need food and a steaming shower right away! I look like a complete disaster!”

“All I want is to collapse onto a mattress~”

A chorus of desperate desires echoed throughout the crowd from every direction.

“Get up off the dirt, Kyle, keep moving.”

Chelsea nudged the sprawled-out boy with the tip of her staff.

“I’m staying right here.”

“And why is that?”

“The vision of my future contains absolutely nothing but pitch-black darkness. sniffle whimper sob.”

Observing his dramatic weeping, Chelsea grimaced in annoyance.

Yanking him up by his collar to haul him forward, Chelsea spoke up.

“Come to think of it, where did Leo go?”

“He most likely breezed through the challenges that nearly killed us and is currently relaxing at the campsite, right?”

“True, that sounds exactly like him.”

Chelsea gave an understanding nod.

Eventually, they reached the site that would serve as their base for the upcoming month.

Several wooden cabins stood in the middle of a spacious, open glade.

While it fell short of the lavishness they might have hoped for, the sight of proper shelters brought relieved, satisfied expressions to the youths’ faces.

“Incredible! This will do nicely.”

“It actually resembles a cozy summer retreat, doesn’t it?”

“Time to find the dining hall!”

“Hygiene first, food second!”

Filled with renewed vigor, the crowd hurried toward the timber buildings.

“Where do you think you’re headed?”

Sitting near a crackling campfire he had kindled on one side of the clearing, Leo questioned them with a bewildered look.

“Ah, Leo!”

Chelsea dashed over to him with a radiant grin, whereas Kyle let out a heavy groan, shambled over, and dumped his weight beside his friend.

Noticing his placement, Lunia walked over, folding her arms across her chest.

“Why aren’t you heading indoors?”

“Indoors where?”

“Into the cabins.”

“Our quarters are right out here.”

Leo pointed with a slight nod toward the open, vast expanse.

“Pardon?”

Lunia’s face froze in sheer skepticism.

Seconds later, as the reality sank in, the color drained from her cheeks in utter dread.

“Hold on a second! Are you suggesting they aren’t giving us any beds? We’re expected to camp under the open sky completely unprepared?”

“Correct.”

Following his confirmation, waves of panicked shrieks rang out from the crowd.

Observing their panic, Ar tucked her arms together and adopted a self-satisfied smirk.

“Hah! Pathetic! This is precisely why pampered aristocrats can’t handle real training!”

Swaying her ivory feline tail, Ar proudly thrust out her chest.

“To the disciples of Azonia, spending the night under the stars is barely an inconvenience—”

“We are also responsible for gathering our own meals.”

“Hold on, where are we supposed to find food?!”

Ar’s tail went completely rigid.

“You dense creature! If they won’t even give us a roof over our heads, why on earth would they cater our dinners?”

“Ack!”

Faced with Lunia’s sharp logic, Ar recoiled slightly.

“What is all this racket out here?”

At that moment, one of the wooden doors swung open, revealing a figure.

Every eye instantly locked onto the newcomer.

She possessed dark tresses touched by a subtle crimson hue.

Though she was a striking beauty with a statuesque, graceful form, her most prominent feature was perched atop her head.

She belonged to the rabbit beast-kin, sporting dark lapine ears.

“Senior Banir!”

It was none other than Banir, an alumnus who had finished her studies at Azonia just the previous year.

The current Azonia pupils immediately swarmed around her with delighted faces.

“Senior! Have you been keeping well?”

“We’ve been tracking all your amazing achievements!”

“It’s a true privilege to cross paths with you again!”

Banir, who had been staring at the underclassmen shouting their greetings with freezing eyes, spoke coldly.

“Quiet down, you’re making a racket. You bunch of novices.”

As Banir released her chilling, intense aura into her voice, all the students from the Hero Academy shuddered and trembled in fright.

Conversely, the second-year pupils from Azonia snapped to attention and boomed in unison, “Understood, ma’am!”

At their intense response, Banir pinched the bridge of her nose as if a migraine were coming on.

“Alright, what seems to be the issue?”

A student belonging to Seirun raised his arm.

When Banir gave him a sharp nod to proceed, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“I wish to understand the reasoning behind withholding basic shelter and sustenance. Our purpose here is to refine our abilities, so shouldn’t our living conditions maximize our training efficiency?”

“Do you honestly view this program as an extension of your cozy school curriculum?”

“What? Well, naturally…”

“It appears your egos have swollen tremendously, simply because you received a personal invitation from the Dragon Lord.”

Banir swept her bangs away from her forehead.

“The Dragon Lord didn’t handpick you out of admiration. He is assessing your worth.”

Hearing Banir’s icy declaration, the Seirun student’s shoulders visibly shook.

He wasn’t the only one.

A collective shudder ran through the remaining students.

“Why are you being denied food and a bed? It is a test to observe if you can still execute your true capabilities when pushed to the absolute brink. If you are the type to whine about such trivialities, pack up and leave this instant. No one is going to force you to stay.”

Several youths clenched their teeth hard and dipped their heads low.

Glancing over them with a dismissive snort, Banir retreated back inside the cabin and firmly shut the door.

Amidst the heavy, suffocating silence, Chen Xia broke the ice.

“Should we begin delegating responsibilities? Securing a place to sleep and foraging for food are our top priorities, so let us organize groups.”

“How can you remain so unfazed given the circumstances?”

“Simple. I am accustomed to this lifestyle.”

Chen Xia offered a small, knowing smile.

Operating in the shadows had made Chen Xia perfectly adapted to such harsh environments.

Dragging their exhausted limbs, the rest of the group began the grueling task of setting up camp and hunting for provisions.

Leo remained perfectly still, watching the entire process unfold.

“Hey, Black Rabbit, what has got you deep in thought?”

Ar inquired, looking at him inquisitively.

“It’s nothing important.”

Leo flashed a melancholy smile.

“I was just taking a brief trip down memory lane.”

Within the domain belonging to the Plove family, there stood a verdant, densely forested peak.

It was a territory entirely devoid of monsters.

Lacking any unique mineral wealth or subterranean assets, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary, sprawling mountain typical of the countryside.

‘Which makes it the ideal setting for a training facility.’

Using her mystical arts, Melina had already completely isolated this mountain from the external world.

Furthermore, invoking the authority of the Dragon Lord, she had reshaped this wilderness into the ultimate gauntlet.

‘When all is said and done, not a single pupil managed to clear the initial phase today.’

The first-year and second-year classes were currently kept isolated from one another.

Even so, on this opening day of the boot camp, absolutely no one had successfully passed the first stage of the regimen.

It wasn’t due to a lack of talent among the potential heroes.

Rather, it was because the curriculum Melina had engineered was brutally demanding.

‘They must conquer the first phase before we can even begin customized individual instruction.’

Melina, who had been analyzing the itinerary for the upcoming month, suddenly called out.

“What brings you here?”

“I offer my greetings to the Lord.”

Appearing from the shadows behind her, a fair-haired man dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.

It was Akatis, Melina’s most dependable agent.

He was the individual tasked with scouring the western regions of the continent to locate the Hero Records pertaining to the Great Heroes and the Heroes of Creation.

Seeing him arrive unannounced in person, Melina immediately sensed an urgent development.

“A Hero Dungeon has manifested within Delan, the capital city of the Delard Kingdom.”

“Given that you’ve bypassed standard channels to report to me directly, it must concern a Hero Record of either a Great Hero or a Hero of Creation, correct?”

Melina stood up instantly, her voice sharpening as she questioned him.

“We have yet to confirm the exact nature of the phenomenon, however…”

“However?”

“Intelligence reports indicate that dark, ominous flames erupted violently across Delan.”

“Black flames…!”

Melina’s expression hardened instantly.

“Where precisely did this occur?”

“The Delan Royal Palace Magic Research Institute.”

“Take command of the dragons and deploy immediately to secure the perimeter. I will finalize the arrangements here and join you shortly.”

“Understood.”

Akatis vanished into thin air.

Melina exhaled slowly to steady her breathing before calling out to him.

“Lord Leo. A situation has developed.”

The catastrophic event that claimed the lives of every single child at the orphanage served as the catalyst for everything that followed.

The mentor of Arion, who bore the legendary title of the Guardian of the Azure Sky, dismissed it as nothing more than a terrible, unpreventable tragedy.

Arion desperately sought the underlying truth, but his master consistently withheld the details from him.

‘Arion. From the moment you drew your first breath, you have never gazed upon a pristine, cloudless sky.’

Agon, his face etched with profound weariness, managed a fragile smile.

‘To someone who has never known the true beauty of an open sky, I refuse to unveil the dark truth. Please forgive me. As the Guardian of the Azure Sky… it is merely my own selfish desire to shield a heart that remains purer than any other… Put the memory of your siblings behind you.’

‘I understand, Master.’

Arion had placed his absolute faith in his teacher since his youth.

Consequently, despite the mountain of unanswered questions plaguing his mind, he chose to honor his master’s wishes.

Yet, in the wake of that horrific incident, a nagging thought haunted him.

‘If I had displayed even a shred of bravery, could my brothers and sisters have survived?’

The exact specifics of the calamity remained a mystery.

Despite possessing an astronomical reservoir of power, he was constantly paralyzed by terror.

But he reasoned that if he had just been a bit more courageous, his master wouldn’t have succumbed to such crushing despair and futility.

He believed his cherished siblings wouldn’t have met such an early grave either.

Because Arion, utterly terrified of conflict, had fled his home for six months, which happened to be the exact window when the slaughter took place.

Then, one fateful afternoon.

They arrived.

A trio of individuals emerged, claiming they would deliver the world from ruin, seeking to enlist Agon, the Guardian of the Azure Sky, to join their crusade.

“Lord Agon, revered Guardian of the Azure Sky. Your legendary might is indispensable to our cause.”

“Your name was Lysinas, if I recall correctly?”

Agon responded, his voice completely drained of strength.

“I must apologize, but… I am no longer capable of taking up arms for the sake of this world. I cannot march to war for the populace. My very soul… has been shattered beyond repair.”

Agon courteously declined the proposition put forth by the dragon whom many referred to as the Fool.

“In my stead… enlist my pupil. This boy possesses the potential to far surpass my own strength. He will not walk the same path I did. He harbors no resentment toward humanity or this world, unlike myself. This child’s soul is as untainted as the great blue sky.”

Agon turned his gaze toward Arion, a gentle smile gracing his features.

“He is a person who will leap into danger without a second thought to shield others from harm.”

“This skittish-looking kid?”

The elf’s long ears twitched as she leaned her face incredibly close to Arion, driven by sheer curiosity.

Staring into the face of the breathtakingly gorgeous elf, Arion felt his cheeks flush crimson involuntarily.

‘Wow, she is incredibly beautiful.’

“My goodness, look how sweet he is. He’s blushing! How absolutely adorable!”

“Stop causing a distraction.”

“Ow, ow, ow! Unhand me! Let go! Seriously, let go! Chomp!“

“Yikes! You psychotic long-ear!”

Naturally, less than three seconds after marveling at her beauty, the illusion shattered completely as he watched her viciously bite down on the hand of the human male who was tugging at her ear.

Viewing them as deeply eccentric and terrifying individuals, Arion shrank back in fear, only for the dragon known as the Fool to step forward.

“Arion. Will you journey alongside us?”

Lysinas offered a warm, comforting smile.

“If you were blessed with such extraordinary capabilities… there must be a grand purpose behind it.”

“The purpose of my existence?”

“Indeed. What is it that your heart truly desires right now?”

“…I want to build a world where children can live without fear, laughing freely beneath a clear blue sky.”

Hearing his response, Lysinas blinked in surprise before her face lit up with a brilliant smile.

“In that case, why not stand with us? For we are also on a quest to restore that very same blue sky.”

Even though an unimaginably treacherous path lay ahead…

Even though it was blatantly obvious that they carried a burden of despair far heavier than his own, he found himself utterly captivated by the unyielding optimism of their smiles.

Bolstered by that encouraging expression, Arion summoned every ounce of fortitude within him for the very first time and ventured out into the unknown world.

Later down the road, the eccentric dwarf, Dweno, joined their ranks.

Consumed by anxiety, there were countless days where he found himself unable to fight.

Yet, his companions… his friends never once wavered in their belief in Arion.

To honor that unshakeable faith, Arion repeatedly forced himself to find the bravery needed to stand tall.

Through their collective efforts, a glimmer of hope was restored to civilization.

And on the eve of their final, monumental expedition, they spent their last night together in Gadslon.

“Kyle, is there truly nothing personal you wish to accomplish or obtain?”

“Not particularly, at least for the time being.”

Kyle chuckled softly, taking a slow sip from his chalice before turning the question around.

“What about yourself? Surely you harbor some personal ambition?”

“I simply want to forge a reality where children can grow up smiling.”

“No, I mean something for yourself, not a grand ideal.”

“Huh?”

“Luna aims to ensure her legacy is whispered throughout the ages, and Dweno intends to etch his name into history through immortal masterpieces, right? Those are aspirations centered on their own desires.”

“But Lysinas is solely focused on saving the world as well, isn’t she?”

“That is because she is a complete blockhead.”

Kyle remarked dryly.

“You aren’t obligated to shoulder the weight of the world the way they do, you know?”

Kyle looked directly into Arion’s eyes.

“Discover what it is that you truly want.”

With those words remaining in his heart, they set off on their ultimate campaign.

Scaling the steep mountain pass, Arion cast his gaze toward the heavens.

Past the crest of this summit… resided the architect of the world’s suffering.

They had crossed paths with his forces on numerous occasions, but they had never engaged the mastermind in direct combat.

Shiver, shiver, shiver—

His fingers shook uncontrollably.

It was the exact same sensation as always.

The impending confrontation was so profoundly terrifying that every instinct screamed at him to flee.

At that exact junction.

Without warning, Arion’s extrasensory perception flared to life.

A boundary-breaking awareness that bordered on absolute prophecy.

The color completely vanished from Arion’s face.

‘If we proceed with this battle, we are going to face utter defeat.’

“Lysinas!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“This engagement! We need to retr—”

Just as the panicked words were about to escape his throat.

Cruelly and mercilessly, his heightened senses forced Arion to witness a truth he desperately wished to ignore.

He couldn’t discern the specific sequence of events.

The premonition granted by his ability only delivered the final, unalterable ‘outcome’.

Yet, in this precise instant.

He experienced the crushing weight of a future casualty more vividly than ever before.

Arion slowly turned his gaze toward Kyle and Luna.

‘If I choose to run away right now…’

Arion squeezed his eyelids shut in agony.

‘Kyle and Luna will perish.’

The individuals who were closer to him than a biological brother and sister… the two people who represented the entirety of his family, would be slaughtered.

‘What am I supposed to do? What choice do I have…’

A suffocating terror, dwarfing any fear he had ever known, tightly gripped his chest.

It felt as though the very air had been sucked from his lungs.

‘What path do I take…!’

As Arion kept his eyes tightly closed, his prophetic senses suddenly illuminated a single, distinct avenue.

“Arion?”

Lysinas called out, her tone tinged with a slight hint of concern and confusion.

“Lysinas, let us stand our ground and see this conflict through to the end.”

“Huh? Well, naturally we will.”

Arion offered Lysinas a serene smile.

It was an expression filled with the exact same radiant hope that Lysinas had extended to him during their initial encounter—the very smile that had granted him the resolve to step out into the world.

“We are definitely going to emerge victorious.”

In the natural course of this battle, they were destined to lose.

However…

‘If I refuse to retreat and throw myself completely into the fray… Kyle and Luna will survive.’

Arion stepped forward, taking his place at the absolute vanguard of the group.

The paralyzing dread dissolved into a profound, tranquil stillness.

‘If the price of their lives is my own, then so be it.’