Chapter 577

577

Following Lyan’s statement, Kal gave a tense gulp.

The sensation he had felt upon previously encountering a divine entity was, unexpectedly, quite mundane. Without the endorsement of the Dragon Lord, he would never have credited Lyan’s true nature or trusted a single thing he uttered.

Yet in this moment, an incomprehensible aura radiated from the figure standing in front of him.

My respiration…

Simply standing before him caused his throat to tighten, making it difficult to draw air. Lyan had not made any aggressive moves. He was merely watching him with a scrutinizing gaze. Yet that silent observation possessed enough intensity to completely paralyze his frame. He understood right then that the entity standing before him belonged to an entirely different realm than any species he had encountered until now. He was utterly crushed under the sheer weight of his existence.

This sensation… I recognize this from before.

Shaking slightly, Kal inhaled deeply and managed to steady his nerves within moments. Observing this transition, a spark flashed in Lyan’s eyes.

“Though this is surely your inaugural meeting with a deity in person, you master your panic so swiftly?”

Having merged with the Hero Record eras ago to act as its custodian, Lyan could not technically be classified as a true god anymore. Even so, the reality remained that his power and existence were on par with divinity. Most normal mortals would completely lose their minds simply by Lyan unleashing his aura. And Kal was a human who thoroughly exemplified the definition of ordinary.

If he were a youth born with a grand destiny, he wouldn’t have been unsettled to begin with.

To an ultimate entity, Kal was nothing more than a commonplace pebble lying on a dirt path.

In response to Lyan’s observation, Kal rubbed his cheek thoughtlessly.

“It bears a strong resemblance to the sensation I experienced upon seeing Erebus.”

“Ah. That abomination, you mean.”

Lyan nodded in understanding.

“True enough, when the champion crossed into this realm via the Hero Record, you likewise bore witness to that nightmare, correct? Taking that into account, this would not be your introductory experience with the divine.”

“Is the Flame of Calamity considered a deity as well?”

“Fundamentally, its nature is identical to ours. Naturally, its objectives are polar opposites. Our purpose is to ensure the world continues to endure, whereas that nightmare desires nothing but the utter annihilation of existence.”

“What is the reason for that? Weren’t you all allies at the dawn of time or something?”

“Not in the slightest. That nightmare was brought into being with that exact nature. Its sole purpose for existing is to reduce creation to cinders.”

Lyan waved his head side to side, as if recollecting a repulsive memory.

Even taking his experience with Erebus into account, recovering his focus this rapidly appears to be an innate trait of this youth.

The more he observed him, the more captivated he became. The boy managed to stand out despite lacking any remarkable qualities.

Chance must have favored him. Nonetheless, the milestones Kal Thomas has reached cannot be credited to blind luck alone.

“Setting that aside, you mentioned that I possess two traits that Lord Lumern lacked. What exactly are they?”

A look of eager anticipation washed over Kal’s face.

“Could it be that I have some sort of concealed potential?”

Lyan stared unblinkingly at Kal, who had spoken with a hint of excitement, and then offered a wide smirk.

“Hideousness and stupidity.”

“What?”

Kal froze, looking completely bewildered.

“Lumern possessed too much wisdom to ever commit the pathetic act of desperately grasping at what cannot be achieved.”

Lyan extended a thumb in approval toward the youth.

“Kal Thomas! You are an incredibly thick-headed mortal who refuses to let go of the impossible! Because of that, you are thoroughly pathetic to watch!”

Thud!

Kal dropped his palms to the ground and collapsed to his knees.

“Keep your head high and straighten your posture! You are pursuing a path that Lumern was entirely incapable of walking.”

“Please stop mocking me. It’s only making me feel miserable.”

“What ridiculousness! This is high praise! High praise indeed!”

Lyan clapped Kal on the shoulders with a heavy hand.

“Why do you look so dejected when a divine being is lauding you?”

“Naturally I’m dejected! When a deity says something with such gravity, I genuinely believed I possessed some incredible latent power I was unaware of!”

“I stated it clearly to you just moments ago. You are a pupil who shares absolutely no similarities with Lumern.”

“What are you implying by that?”

“It implies that you possess no heroic qualities whatsoever.”

Lyan twisted his shoulders and withdrew a highly detailed gem carving from within his attire. It was a miniature depiction of Lumern, the Knight of Twilight.

“Even though Lumern entered life as a bondsman, he was endowed with an exceptionally noble spirit.”

Lyan remarked, turning the miniature of Lumern around to inspect it from various angles.

“The champions who receive the greatest affection from the higher powers are, without question, the supreme champions. Yet the figure who ranks just below them in their favor is Lumern.”

“He must have been endowed with incredible gifts from birth to be favored so heavily by the divine.”

“There is a fundamental flaw in that reasoning.”

Lyan cast a sideways glance at Kal.

“There are certainly mortals who receive the affection of the higher powers. However, that does not imply that a deity bestows specialized gifts upon that individual. Such an act far surpasses the boundaries of power permitted to the divine in the first place.”

“Is that so?”

“A mortal who gains the affection of the higher powers has earned that devotion through their own actions. Bear that in mind, Kal Thomas.”

Lyan gave a faint grin and shook his head.

“Granted, divine entities possess their own biases from the very start.”

“What sort of biases do they have?”

“Champions who mirror Lumern.”

“….”

“Extremely gifted, possessing an upright moral compass, physically striking, powerful, authors of legendary deeds, admired by women. Furthermore…”

“Can you please halt there? I am beginning to find the concept of existence deeply unjust.”

Kal let out a joyless chuckle.

“Lord Lumern truly shares zero common ground with me. I can fully comprehend why the higher powers adored him. Divinity prefers flawless individuals.”

“Flawless individuals do not exist. There are merely those who possess fewer shortcomings.”

Lyan waved the point away.

“Which explains why a champion of your nature has not appeared in five millennia, Kal.”

“I am fully aware, more than anyone else, that I am not cut out to be a champion.”

“In that case, why do you refuse to throw in the towel?”

“Because I am pathetic and thick-headed.”

“….”

“Is it not necessary to aim for the stars if I want to close the distance between us even a fraction?”

“You are going to slam into a barrier before long.”

“I will push past it. Just as Lord Lumern did.”

“….”

“Irrespective of any other traits, I understood perfectly from Lumern that I must emulate him in that specific regard.”

“Kal Thomas! Where have you gone?”

“Huh? Eliza?”

Kal, who had shifted his gaze toward the sound of Eliza’s shouting, turned back around in a panic.

“Sir, I believe I must depart immediately. Wait, what?”

Sweeping his gaze across the area once more, Kal discovered that Lyan had vanished without a trace. He searched the perimeter of the washroom before rubbing the back of his neck.

“Has he already departed?”

“Kal Thomas!”

“Must you pester someone who is trying to use the facilities?”

Hearing Eliza’s shouting again, Kal exhaled a weary breath and walked out of the washroom.

Lyan, materialized once more out of thin air, slowly shook his head side to side.

He truly lacks the qualities of a champion.

Throughout the vast five-thousand-year chronicle of champions, which was by no means brief, no individual resembling Kal had ever been recorded within the Hero Record. It was not merely due to his failure to match the inclinations of the divine.

It is because he is incapable of achieving legendary feats through his own strength.

In the grand scheme of things, those who accomplish monumental deeds are entities wielding immense personal power. Champions tasked with shielding and guiding civilization must ultimately possess peerless individual combat capabilities.

He is utterly commonplace; Kal Thomas is far too ordinary.

The divine entities grant no attention to ordinary mortals. Their interest is captured solely by extraordinary individuals. Lyan was no exception to this rule.

However…

You will never manage to truly emulate Lumern, Kal Thomas.

Lyan stared down at the gem carving of Lumern he had crafted.

Lumern was far too dignified to act with foolish desperation, and so he conceded.

He placed a limit on his own potential. Lyan smiled faintly.

Conversely, his nature mirrors that of the Hero of Beginnings.

Naturally, attempting to draw a parallel between Leo, who possessed pristine mana traits, and Kal was completely preposterous.

Nonetheless, Lord Leo likewise preserved creation precisely because he fought with foolish and pathetic desperation.

Lyan withdrew an unshaped gemstone from his pocket and began rolling it between his fingers.

Kal Thomas displays no heroic traits whatsoever. Yet that appraisal is valid only under the metrics of the Age of Gods.

Even in the current era, remnants of the Age of Gods persist.

However, the Age of Gods was a historical epoch that met its demise five millennia ago.

Lyan smiled.

And it concluded as an absolute disaster.

From the viewpoint of the divine, the Age of Gods was undeniably a catastrophic failure. It was true that they contained Erebus for an extended epoch and forged a realm bathed in illumination. Yet when the final hour struck, they proved incapable of halting Erebus. Instead, they were consumed helplessly by the flames and vanished from existence. Amidst that ruin, anomalies known as the Great Heroes emerged and single-handedly preserved creation. Thus, a fresh epoch commenced.

But…

Can the Age of Heroes truly be classified as the Age of Heroes?

The higher powers have departed, yet the mechanism they left behind, the Hero Record, continues to anchor this current era.

Perhaps fortune has smiled upon me immensely.

He had surrendered his celestial standing to degenerate into nothing more than a component of a grand architecture. Yet…

Perhaps I am observing the genuine dawn of an entirely new epoch right before my very eyes.

Lyan’s lips parted into a massive smirk. How exhilarating and breathtaking was this situation?

Ah, my decision was correct after all! The very epoch that the divine deemed utterly worthless… I might actually bear witness to it firsthand!

The second phase of the Hero Festival was contested by the second-year pupils. The event was a test to determine which academy’s ten-person tactical squad could successfully navigate and clear the Hero’s World in the shortest time.

The sheer scale of the event, completely eclipsing that of the first-years, sent a wave of adrenaline through the onlookers. Furthermore, the current second-year cohorts across all institutions were universally hailed as the Golden Generation. Because of this, public anticipation was naturally at an all-time high.

“To think we get to watch them conquer the Hero’s World live!”

“However, this isn’t an active Hero Dungeon, correct? That means there’s no real peril involved, right?”

“Educate yourself before speaking! A Hero Dungeon is merely the Hero Record entering a state of frenzy! At its core, a Hero Dungeon is still fundamentally a Hero’s World!”

“Let me check… Leo Flobe isn’t among the participants representing Lumern, is he?”

“Is that not because he has already attained the status of a recognized hero?”

“Look over there, though! Lunia El Rundia from Seirun is taking the field!”

“Hmph… Could it be that his duties as student council president keep him too occupied? Wait, no. Isn’t Lunia El Rundia the student council president as well?”

Observing that Leo was absent from the roster, murmurs of confusion and questioning spread throughout the crowd. Watching the spectators react, Lunia murmured under her breath.

“They possess at least a shred of decency, seeing as they kept Leo out of the lineup.”

In all honesty, had Leo been permitted to enter the fray, the final standings would be a foregone conclusion. As aggravating as it was to admit, the current generation of Seirun lacked the means to match Leo.

It isn’t just limited to Seirun; no academy in existence could hope to contend with him.

Lunia let out a soft breath.

“Even so, tackling the task of conquering the Hero’s World is a massive relief.”

“This task is hardly a walk in the park either, so what exactly makes it a relief?”

As Eiran raised this point from her side, Aris Tyna chimed in with a look of confusion.

“My primary concern was that the first-year group might be forced to clash directly against Young Master Leo.”

Upon hearing her sister’s remark, Aris’s twin brother, Garin Tyna, adopted a puzzled look.

“Is that truly such a catastrophic scenario?”

“Have you completely lost track of the fact that Leo Flobe utterly decimated the entire second-year roster of Lumern? Navigating the Hero’s World is infinitely preferable to squaring off against a monster whose true threshold of power cannot even be gauged.”

It was only then, absorbing Aris’s reasoning, that Garin crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in agreement.

“Now that you lay it out like that, your point stands.”

“Switching topics, what about Kal Thomas? He is the individual credited with clearing Lord Dweno’s world, correct? From what I understand, his academic and combat marks are nothing remarkable, yet he was selected for the main roster?”

As Aris voiced her skepticism, Lunia interjected.

“His selection is entirely justified.”

“Exactly. With Lord Kal present, the student body of Lumern will undoubtedly feel secure.”

It was precisely as the Seirun delegation began looking utterly perplexed by the deferential reactions of their top two elite students.

Vroom—!

Without warning, a deep, vibrating echo reverbered through the ground beneath them.

Confronted by the abrupt notification, the second-year representatives from Seirun exhibited a brief moment of panic. However, they mastered their nerves almost immediately.

“We have grown quite accustomed to these sudden developments by now.”

Lunia let out a soft chuckle, finding amusement in the situation. This level of composure was not unique to Seirun Academy; parallel reactions were unfolding across the delegations of the competing institutions as well.

In that exact moment, Eiran’s ears twitched sharply.

“Was the brief not that we would take turns conquering the identical Hero’s World sequentially?”

“Indeed.”

“In that case, why does it appear that the pupils from the rival academies have concurrently received a notification from the Hero Record?”

“What did you say?”

The instant Eiran, whose auditory senses had advanced to a state of extreme perception, voiced her bewilderment, another prompt materialized.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Lunia’s expression warped into pure astonishment upon reading the text manifesting before her eyes. Simultaneously, a blinding flash of illumination erupted, completely swallowing the assembled students within the Erec training ground.

“Aaaah?!”

The moment Lunia desperately forced her eyelids open against the glare, she registered a clenched fist hurtling straight toward her face.

“Eek?!”

Relying on pure reflex, Lunia managed to sway out of the path of the incoming strike.

“Eek?! ‘Eek’?! What is the purpose of that utterly repulsive display of feigned innocence! You underhanded elf!”

“Guh!”

Hearing the insults hurled by the assailant who had just initiated the attack, Lunia rapidly adjusted to her environment.

I have no grasp of the broader context, but a battle is underway! Time to strike back…!

The very instant Lunia attempted to exploit a gap in her challenger’s stance to launch a counteroffensive, she froze.

“Huh?”

Having finally identified the features of the person attacking her, Lunia let out a completely blank sound.

“Why are you dropping your guard in the middle of a fight! Look to your flank!”

“Argh?!”

The attacker drove a merciless blow directly into Lunia’s ribcage without hesitation.

“Finisher! Straight to the solar plexus!”

Crack—!

“Ugh, haaa…!”

Suffering a direct hit to her central nerve cluster, Lunia let out an involuntary, choking gasp before instantly dropping to her knees on the ground.

“Wait, seriously? She collapsed from just that?”

The assailant who had delivered the blow actually appeared far more panicked than the victim, despite being the one who initiated the assault. Clutching her midsection while struggling frantically to draw oxygen, Lunia managed to wheeze out her attacker’s name.

“Rodi… a… ni…”

Thud—

Immediately following those words, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she lost consciousness.

“Hey! Start breathing! Draw a breath! I told you to breathe!”

Slap— Slap—!

Overcome with panic, Rodia began frantically striking Lunia’s cheeks to rouse her.

“Seirun! Wake up and breathe!”