“Has it already been 3 years since we met? Time sure flies.”
The reckless swordsman, sitting on the floor, opened a bottle of alcohol.
With a touch of elegance, he swirled his drink in the glass and then downed it in one gulp.
He refilled the empty glass and handed it to me.
“Disciple, don’t you think the same?”
It was precious alcohol given to me by the former sword master, Itshin, but without hesitation, I threw the glass behind me.
He let out a hearty laugh and, holding the bottle, drank straight from it.
Even though he had forced me into his lessons and had taken alcohol from me as tuition, it seemed to go down just fine.
“That’s true. How did my life get so messed up like this…?”
It had already been 3 years since I was captured by these crazy heroes and became their disciple.
Having gone through trials that words can’t describe, my body had been modified according to my masters’ tastes.
Even though I told them I didn’t want to become a hero, they deceived and overworked me, claiming I needed at least a minimal amount of strength.
On the day my soul started to show, I should have desperately pretended not to notice…
But it was too late for regrets.
“Anyway, thanks to us, you’ve gotten much stronger than 3 years ago, haven’t you? Let’s drink!”
The sage, Sherthia, chuckled, saying it wasn’t her business.
Though frustrating, I couldn’t help but admit that my masters’ teachings were excellent.
Especially Sherthia’s lessons had made me, who had no magic basics, capable of using advanced magic in just 3 years.
The process had been tough, but she was probably the only one who could transform an ordinary person into a talent in the magical field.
“My patience is the only thing that kept me going. If it were anyone else, they would’ve already made an extreme choice.”
“Lack of patience is lack of willpower. Rotten willpower usually gets fixed when pushed to extreme situations.”
The barbarian, Bjorn, who was looking at me, glared with wide eyes.
A warning that if I complained, he’d throw me off a cliff.
Since I’d actually been thrown off a cliff for complaining, I kept my mouth shut.
As the leader who united all the barbarian tribes, Bjorn’s training methods were nothing less than barbaric.
“Tao, if it gets too hard, you can give up on life.”
‘Is that even allowed?’
“Just don’t forget, I can bring you back to life as many times as I want.”
***
“Would you still help me if I wanted to die peacefully?”
“If you achieve something worthy of being called a true hero, then I will help you! Before that, though, I’ll keep bringing you back to life until your mind breaks!”
The doe-like, deer beastwoman, Maya, said this casually, despite her soft appearance.
Maya, a druid, had once been the protector of the World Tree and its sole contractor.
She had the power to handle the essence of nature and could govern the life of all beings.
Though gentle and accepting, she was a terrifying person who occasionally showed a deep, intense madness.
“Even if you say that, I don’t have the slightest intention of becoming a hero.”
“You’re a persistent little brat. After 3 years of us training you and trying to convince you, you still haven’t given up.”
“Isn’t it my mental strength that makes me fit to be a hero?”
“Well, the only one who doesn’t realize that is you.”
“I actually think it’s good. That unbreakable will of yours will only make you grow stronger.”
All my masters looked at me and started laughing mockingly.
“Heroic? No way.”
They didn’t realize that a true hero existed somewhere else.
To show them what a true hero should be, I went to the rooftop of the academy.
Today was the entrance ceremony, as the new students gathered at the academy.
Wellton Academy, a prestigious educational institution, had an entrance ceremony far from ordinary.
The professors used welcome magic to summon a horde of monsters, testing the new students’ qualities and assigning them to classes.
An incident occurred, caused by the demon’s attempt to eliminate the bloodline of the hero, but it ended up revealing Luke’s heroic side.
Seeing Luke’s sense of justice, my masters would finally realize who truly had the qualities of a hero.
***
“Tch! What’s the point of bringing us here to watch some kids playing pretend? We should be sparring instead!”
“Ugh, we already sparred this morning, didn’t we?”
“Since we did it in the morning, it’s only natural we should do it again for lunch, and dinner too! And the next day! And the day after…!”
“Today’s a very important day for me, so I won’t do it! The same goes for the other lessons.”
It was the day I got to see the opening scene of my favorite novel!
Normally, I’d obediently follow them, but today, I couldn’t let it go.
I growled and bared my teeth, and my masters shook their heads, as if saying they couldn’t stop me.
“Why is he so sensitive about an entrance ceremony?”
“I think I understand a little. Unlike last year, this batch has many notable students, so it’s a good environment to develop ambition.”
“That’s true. I saw a familiar face. It seems that child’s relative enrolled this year.”
Maya pointed to a girl wearing a boy’s school uniform, despite being a female student.
She had pale skin, shoulder-length blue hair, and golden eyes.
She exuded an intimidating aura, stopping the movements of the monsters for a moment before cutting them down with a single strike.
There was no hesitation in her movements, and even her step forward gave off an air of grace.
“Is that Wilhelm’s little girl? It’s been a while.”
Erin Muthertz.
The only daughter of Wilhelm Muthertz, the current hero, and Luke’s rival and Aexal’s main heroine.
Unlike the protagonist who lacked talent, she was the perfect child with hero blood, blessed with every talent.
Though a bit blunt, she was kind-hearted and would even help classmates in danger, making her a character with the author’s heavy favoritism.
“Do you know Wilhelm?”
“Of course! His father was our first disciple.”
“So, in your position, Wilhelm is like a senior’s son.”
“Then that kid would be a senior’s grand daughter.”
“Heh! I should visit her later and tell her I’m your grand father’s junior. It could lead to an interesting situation!”
“I’m not doing that.”
I didn’t want to complicate things or get caught up in a mess.
More importantly, it should be Luke, not me, who gets involved with Erin frequently.
So, I was content just seeing Erin in person.
The girl running wild near Erin was the same.
“Scared little lizards somehow managed to crawl out of their nests…!”
“Why does she always freak out when she sees dragons?”
“Let her be. Bjorn’s family are dragon slayers, after all.”
The girl, who had red hair like ruby and dark horns rising from her head, with scales showing between her skin, was laughing brightly.
Even though part of her clothes were torn, revealing her skin, she didn’t seem to care at all.
She was exactly how she had been described in the novel.
Her name was Karen.
Her full name was Katraren, but she liked to be called Karen.
“Hero! Let’s see who can catch the most monsters! A match between us!”
“Did you even ask for permission?”
Like a true Red Dragon, her personality was quick-tempered, and her competitive spirit was unmatched.
She had come to the academy, following Erin, who was considered the strongest among her peers.
Erin clings stubbornly to her, and later, she feels a different kind of strength from Luke, eventually rising to the ranks of a heroine.
Of course, there has to be at least one naive, passionate girl in a harem, right? Heh!
“Oh? I thought I smelled something familiar. Looks like there are students from my hometown here too?”
Following the crazy swordsman’s gaze, I saw a rare pair of black-haired fox sisters.
The older sister was cutting through monsters with determination, while the younger sister seemed small and timid, like a little animal.
The fox beastwoman sisters had very different personalities.
The older sister’s name was Yuzuki, and the younger one was Azuki.
“That frail young lady seems to have an absurdly dangerous evil spirit clinging to her.”
“Can you see it?”
“Of course, I can. She’s probably traveled all the way to this foreign land to find a way to get rid of that evil spirit.”
***
As Itshin guessed, the twin sisters were entangled in a complicated situation, and the process of solving it was as dreadful as one would expect.
I wasn’t particularly interested in getting involved with the fox sisters, but it seemed alright to keep an eye on them.
“By the way, Sherthia, isn’t that elf flying around there your grandmother’s disciple?”
“Ugh! I was trying not to think about it…!”
The person Sherthia was disgusted by was someone I could already guess without even looking.
The Witch of Extinction’s precious disciple, the “ear freak.”
An ear freak is just that—no other words are needed.
Asxal was fine, but making the crazy ear freak a heroine was the only flaw in the story, in my opinion.
“Aside from the bloodline of the hero, the dragons, the fox twin sisters from the east, and the witch’s disciple, the rest are all pretty mediocre.”
“Not yet. There’s still one more person left.”
Setting aside the saint who didn’t attend the entrance ceremony, Luke was still left.
To the teachers, Luke might still seem like an unimpressive kid.
But soon, their evaluation of Luke would be completely overturned.
“You mean there’s another one to watch?”
“Yes, just wait a little longer, and you’ll understand soon.”
Before long, the ear freak would, as expected, indiscriminately launch magical attacks, not caring about who was in her way.
In the chaos caused by her attack, the twin fox sisters would get caught up, and Azuki, the younger sister, would be left defenseless.
***
At that moment, the monster sent by the demon clan to kill the hero would target Azuki.
Luke, witnessing this, would risk everything to save Azuki.
Right after this incident, Azuki would develop a strong affection for Luke, the one who saved her…
Heh! Just thinking about it, I can almost feel the thrill of the scene!
I could already feel dopamine rushing through me.
“Tao was right. There’s one more student to watch.”
“Always drinking, huh? Your ability to judge people has deteriorated, Itshin.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Unlike Itshin, Sherthia and Bjorn agreed with my words.
‘What’s going on? Did they already see through Luke’s true nature?’
I felt like one of the secrets I had been keeping was being exposed.
“You’re talking about that kid, right?”
***
When I turned my head toward where Maya was pointing, I saw Luke.
Since most people had already figured it out, ‘why bother hiding it?’
I was about to proudly introduce Luke as the student who truly deserved to be called a hero.
Until an unexpected sound reached my ears.
“Oh? I didn’t notice that girl. With that kind of talent, I have to give her credit!”
‘A girl? Luke is a boy though?’
I froze in surprise, wondering if maybe it was a gender swap or something, but when I looked at Luke, he was clearly a healthy, muscular boy.
Luke hadn’t changed.
However, I began to doubt my eyes at the strange change around him.
There was a brown-haired girl I had never seen before, fighting alongside Luke, back to back.
The two of them fought together like long-time friends, showing perfect teamwork.
‘Who is she?’
“That guy’s skill might be mediocre, but the girl’s abilities are flawless.”
“She’s using magic calmly, even when enemies are closing in. Looks like she’s used to battle.”
“It’s clear she’s been through many trials. You could already call her a warrior.”
“She’s even found a partner she works well with! I’m jealous!”
Suddenly, a skilled individual had appeared and attached herself to Luke.
‘Who is this girl, and what is her relationship with Luke?’
I was dying to know, but then I remembered the problem at hand.
Because Luke was too focused on fighting alongside the mysterious girl, he wasn’t even looking at the twin fox sisters.
‘If that was the case, who would save the heroine, who would be left without help?’
In the worst case, Azuki could lose her life at the entrance ceremony.
‘If that happened, we’d never know what would come next, and Luke’s growth would no longer be something to look forward to.’
“Ha ha ha! They’re all dead!”
The ear freak’s maniacal laugh marked the start of the chaos.
I didn’t want to remember it, but I could clearly recall that line.
Right after she said that, the twin fox sisters were caught up in the explosion.
The scene that followed…
“Ugh!”
I grabbed the shovel that had been left next to me.
Pulling my left leg back, I took a spear-like stance and began chanting.
In a very short amount of time, I cast a double… no, triple reinforcement spell on the metal shovel.
I needed enough strength to pierce through a lycanthrope’s tough hide.
“Haah…”
I took a deep breath, calming my excited heart, and felt the wind on my skin.
From the rooftop where I stood, I read the wind direction between me and my target, and then I put strength into my arm.
I widened my stance and slightly leaned back, as though drawing a bowstring.
-!!
Finally, the target came into view, and I stretched my arm forward, sending the shovel flying.
The shovel tore through the air, heading straight for the target.
Thud!
When the edge of the shovel hit the lycanthrope’s head, it instantly exploded.
I had aimed to cut it, but I’d put so much force into it that I crushed its head.
The shovel, now covered in blood, embedded itself in the ground without a single scratch.
“Ugh…”
I succeeded in saving Azuki, but I couldn’t help but feel a little regret.
In front of all the heroes, I had taken down the monster with a single strike and saved the girl.
As expected, I started hearing frantic laughter coming from behind me.
“Yeeaah~! You saved the girl without hesitation! You must be a hero straight out of a fairytale!”
“You said you didn’t want to be a hero, but actually, you’ve been longing to be one, haven’t you? Ah, we didn’t realize we were standing in the presence of a future great hero!”
“That was truly a fantastic strike! We have high expectations for you. Keep working hard!”
“That was amazing, Tao! If you keep this up, the Earth Goddess will surely bless the newly born hero!”
Damn, this isn’t what I wanted…