Chapter 678

“Oh, man. Single combat really isn’t my thing.”

Kal let out a sigh, keeping his gaze fixed forward.

Right across from him, a somewhat petite beastkin girl was going through her warm-up motions.

A fierce, passionate combativeness blazed in her eyes.

Standing there face-to-face, a distinct sensation washed over Kal.

‘She’s vicious.’

He had encountered plenty of aggressive individuals back at Rumerun.

And it wasn’t limited to just Rumerun.

Throughout his three-year tenure at Rumerun, he had cross paths with students from Azonia on multiple occasions as well.

Yet, the raw pressure radiating from this particular beastkin girl was on an entirely different level, even compared to those from Azonia.

‘Far more untamed.’

It wasn’t a mere reflection of her temperament.

‘More primitive.’

Kal quietly analyzed his adversary.

Noticing Kal’s intense focus, the beastkin girl scowled slightly.

She could tell he was examining her with meticulous care.

“That’s rather irritating.”

“Ah, my bad if I offended you.”

Kal offered a smirk, lifting both of his hands defensively.

“I was merely scanning for a vulnerability.”

“Do you honestly believe you can discover something like that before the clash even begins?”

“Normally it’s quite tough. But then again, I’m not exactly a powerhouse in a straight fight.”

Kal gave a loose shrug, speaking with casual deception.

“Doesn’t studying the opposition even a tiny bit tip the scales in my favor?”

“You are undeniably weaker than I am.”

“I’m well aware.”

“And you still expect to come out on top?”

“Naturally.”

Observing Kal’s grin, the beastkin girl locked her eyes on him for a quiet moment before finally speaking up.

“You possess a reckless and superficial demeanor.”

“I happen to hear that a lot.”

“However, I believe I misjudged you by focusing solely on that. I am Kanea. Yours?”

“Kal.”

With Kanea offering her name, Kal returned the smile and gave his own.

Watching Kal, Kanea’s lips curved into a sharp smirk.

“Are you prepared? Kal?”

“Ready when you are.”

The moment the affirmation left his lips, Kanea bolted straight toward Kal.

Tracking Kanea’s rapid advance, Kal slid his hands into his pockets and smoothly withdrew them.

Slender, elongated glass vials were gripped firmly between his knuckles.

Whoosh-!

Kal hurled the liquid-filled container directly at Kanea.

“Looks like he’s deploying an alchemical explosive.”

Eliza, lounging atop a plush, soft-looking summoned beast, remarked with a thoroughly detached tone.

Nearby, Dryana, having settled herself into a comfortable position, folded her arms and gave a firm shake of her head.

“I don’t believe so.”

“Oh?”

Kanea nimbly shifted her weight to evade the incoming glass.

Clang-! Hiss-!

The vial shattered violently against the stone floor, instantly unleashing a thick torrent of vapor.

Glimpsing the haze, Kanea let out a disdainful scoff.

“A toxin?”

“Spot on.”

Flashing a sinister grin, Kal used his teeth to rip the cork from a separate vial held in his opposite hand, swiftly draining its contents.

It was a counter-agent.

“Ugh… what’s the reason for everyone crowding around over here?”

“Huh? Wait, what? Why is Kal out there dueling?”

Ar and Iliana trudged into view, their voices sounding thoroughly drained and near death.

A sudden wave of shock washed over them as they registered the combat taking place.

“Now this promises to be quite entertaining.”

Dweno, who had accompanied the pair, gave his beard a slow stroke and let out a low chuckle.

“Did that young man just deploy a venomous substance?”

“A toxin, indeed.”

“It strikes me as rather underhanded.”

“Thoroughly deceitful, if you ask me.”

Luke, Harviden, and Aina all shook their heads in disapproval.

“Hmph. That is classic Kal for you.”

“It’s a perfectly viable approach.”

“An effective maneuver.”

As Eliza, Chelsea, and Duran offered words of approval, the second-year students looked completely baffled.

The underclassmen turned toward their upperclassmen with expressions of sheer bewilderment.

“Isn’t that a bit dirty?”

In response to Harviden’s objection, Dryana countered,

“Isn’t it the fault of the person incapable of dodging it?”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Ar nodded along, fully backing the sentiment.

Faced with this perspective, the second-years turned their attention toward the opposing side of the field.

“That particular venom. I’ve never encountered anything quite like it before.”

“To have a specific antidote ready for an impromptu challenge. His foresight is remarkable!”

“He may be an adversary, but that is highly commendable!”

Even among the ranks of Ivaldi’s warrior cadets, Kal was receiving genuine approval.

Turning his gaze toward Dweno and Enniha, a nearby warrior remarked,

“It appears he thrives on underhanded stratagems.”

Enniha narrowed her eyes slightly.

‘Ah, just as I thought, the older generation views this unfavorably…’

“Brilliant.”

“Indeed. Truly excellent.”

As Enniha voiced her agreement with Dweno’s praise, the second-years winced back in surprise.

‘Are we the ones who are out of touch here?’

“It’s not that your perspective is flawed,”

Leo, standing right beside them, interjected with a gentle grin.

“You’ll find yourselves thinking exactly like your upperclassmen once you reach your third year.”

The academic pressures of the second year are far from a walk in the park.

‘Because walking the path of a hero lacks the idealized romance people imagine.’

The grand tales of a champion valiantly striking down foes are nothing more than stories meant for storybooks.

In the brutal reality of the world, one utilizes every conceivable method just to draw breath another day.

For true glory is reserved solely for those who endure and conquer their tribulations.

“Leo Plov.”

“What is it, Duran?”

“You previously mentioned that those beastkin carry something we lack, describing it as an absolute readiness to face death at any given second, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“I find it difficult to fully grasp your meaning.”

Duran narrowed his vision, watching the interplay between Kal and Kanea.

“As long as we are enrolled at Rumerun. No, as long as we strive to become heroes, we are bound to face countless lethal perils. Naturally, I have zero desire to perish. I fully intend to fight with everything I have to survive even the most desperate situations.”

“That is true.”

“But that doesn’t imply I am devoid of the resolve to face death.”

Duran shifted his gaze directly onto Leo.

“In what way does my determination differ from that woman’s resolve?”

Faced with Duran’s inquiry, Leo cast his eyes over Kanea, Dit, and the remaining warrior cadets before replying,

“Because they drew their first breaths in a completely different era.”

“A different era?”

“You likely assume that the internal drive one carries into a conflict—the fighting intent and raw determination—is uniform across all individuals.”

Leo pointed his gaze toward Kanea.

“However, those who come into existence within a world of light are fundamentally distinct from those born into total darkness.”

“Fundamentally distinct?”

“Yes. Duran, let me ask you. What is your ultimate ambition?”

“You are already well aware of it, aren’t you?”

“Indeed.”

Leo offered a soft chuckle before continuing.

“They do not possess such an ambition.”

“…”

“They have likely never tasted the gratification of fulfilling a grand desire, nor have they known euphoric bliss, or even a wealth of pleasant experiences.”

From the very moment they entered the world, such concepts had already been wiped out in this epoch.

“They are granted no margin for error.”

It was vastly different from the circumstances of the current hero cadets, who possess the luxury of repeated attempts.

In their world, death was as constant and ordinary as taking a breath.

A generation constantly balanced on the brink of total collapse.

‘And it wasn’t merely the youths.’

The older generation shared the exact same reality.

They merely let the days slip away, dragging themselves forward through sheer survival.

For it was a time where the concept of tomorrow could be instantly erased without warning.

A reality where such a bleak existence could not even be faulted was the defining trait of the Age of Calamity.

“Duran. If the inevitable conclusion of your struggles was absolute failure, would you still possess the drive to pour out your soul?”

“I would simply ensure that failure never becomes an option.”

“What if that lies entirely beyond your influence? What if the tragic end has already been carved in stone?”

“…”

Duran found himself wiped of any response.

“The current period is precisely that sort of era.”

A dark span of time that those nurtured in a prosperous world could truly never comprehend.

“Yet, despite that harsh truth, there are always exceptions. Fools who choose to thrash against their fate even when the bleak conclusion is plain to see.”

Like insects rushing headlong into an inescapable flame.

Those who pushed themselves to stretch their survival just one more day.

Those whose identities would never be preserved across the annals of history.

Those who acted as champions in a dark time where no Hero Records were kept to honor them.

‘I was no different back then. Luna operated the same way, and Arion and Dweno walked that exact path.’

Every single champion residing in the world during that period understood the finality of their situation.

‘Or rather, I assumed I understood.’

Save for a solitary individual.

There existed only one person who genuinely cried out with the conviction that they would rescue the world from its fate.

Even Luna hadn’t harbored such a grand notion until she cross paths with that specific person.

‘Which is precisely what makes him so extraordinary.’

“Observe that child, Kanea, with utmost attention.”

Leo spoke aloud.

It wasn’t a piece of advice meant solely for Duran.

It was an instruction directed toward every single hero cadet within earshot.

“Because that child is exerting every ounce of her strength despite knowing she has already been handed a future of absolute ruin.”

“Are you implying that you genuinely comprehend that sensation?”

“I don’t. I wasn’t born into this dark period either.”

He spoke without deception.

The world Leo originally entered was one characterized by tranquility.

It held similarities to, yet remained distinct from, the scarred generation belonging to the Age of Calamity.

And yet.

“I have witnessed far more individuals of their kind than any of you have. That is the sole reason I understand.”

He had spent a lifetime observing them navigate the grim realities of the Age of Calamity.

Setting aside Chelsea, the rest of the group collectively recalled that Leo had repeatedly conquered the simulation of the Great Heroes’ world.

As the crowd offered silent nods despite the lingering questions in their minds.

Leo kept his eyes locked onto Kanea.

An exercise in futility.

Yet, that very futility rendered it profoundly beautiful.

Though she was far weaker than any single hero cadet gathered around this space.

Kanea stood as the living embodiment of the warriors—no, the hero cadets—of this specific period.

‘Individuals of her exact nature are the ones who eventually matured into the likes of Arion, Verchia, and Bihar.’

Grains of potential destined never to take root.

Existences that would ultimately fade into nothingness without leaving a permanent mark on the earth.

Nevertheless, their unyielding spirit would be seamlessly inherited by the generations to come.

Leo shifted his gaze over to Dweno.

‘A failure?’

Dweno, a man who carried the heavy burden of viewing himself as an unsuccessful commander.

‘Which part of your legacy constitutes a failure?’

Leo surveyed the gathered warrior cadets, Kanea included.

Merely observing these youths provided him with the definitive answer.

‘The proof is evident just by looking at the combatants who stood firm against the Giant King’s forces just yesterday.’

Leo let out a long breath.

‘Not a single soul was broken within the walls of Ivaldi.’

If one had to identify the most utterly hopeless bastion among all those that held out during the existence of Ivaldi, it was without question Ivaldi itself.

Strongholds such as Gardsron and Leysar retained the ability to maintain contact with one another.

The elven insurgent forces operated under a similar network.

In stark contrast, Ivaldi stood entirely marooned, surrounded deep within the heart of Tartarus territory all on its own.

They lacked even the luxury of anticipating reinforcement.

It verged on an absolute impossibility that the Arhi group, under the guidance of Lysinas, managed to successfully navigate their way to Ivaldi.

Yet, even trapped in such a harrowing state of affairs, the combatants of Ivaldi blazed with an unquenchable battle fervor.

By comparison, Gardsron, which enjoyed a far more secure standing and boasted vastly superior military numbers, was plagued with individuals who had utterly lost the drive to lift a blade.

It had required an immense, grueling effort from Lysinas just to plant a flicker of optimism within Gardsron.

That place had been drowning in nothing but unadulterated hopelessness and despair.

But here in Ivaldi, no such despair could be found.

Was it simply because they had caught sight of the starlight?

‘Had they not possessed that deep-rooted resilience from the very start, halting an onslaught like the one yesterday would have been completely out of the question.’

To be fair, the arrival of the Arhi group led by Leo provided monumental assistance.

But when all was said and done, the force that truly pushed back yesterday’s siege was the intrinsic, deep-seated fortitude of Ivaldi’s own defenders.

In the grand scheme of things, they were all destined to perish.

The ultimate conclusion might very well be locked into disaster.

And yet…

‘Can a commander who leads warriors capable of fighting with such ferocity in the depths of hopelessness truly be deemed a failure? If that makes you a failure, then what does that make me, you stubborn old fool?’

Bringing to mind his own shameful past self, who cared for nothing beyond scraping by from one day to the next, Leo let out a quiet click of his tongue.

‘You didn’t fail at your duty, Dweno.’