Chapter 222

What are the conditions to be a hero?

The strong power and body that can even defeat powerful monsters?

The wisdom and sagacity that solves countless riddles?

Or abilities that surpass ordinary people?

No. Even without such things, one can become a hero.

In my opinion, the condition of a hero is the heart to help others. The heart that cannot stand by in the face of injustice. The heart that places others above oneself.

If such a heart is absent, no matter how outstanding an existence may be, it cannot be called a hero.

That’s why, among the countless heroes in history, I regard Rychlen as the foremost.

Though he once rampaged violently and even killed a friend while drunk, which made him quite a problematic figure…

Still, considering his final choice, he was undoubtedly a hero among heroes.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

After receiving education from various masters, Rychlen grew into a proper adult and set out on his own.

With a wooden club harder than steel and an unbreakable bow given by his master, he ventured into the world, heading towards where his parents were.

Rychlen had left home to receive teachings from excellent masters. With Light Steps full of excitement, he headed back to his homeland…

But what greeted his eyes upon arrival was the sight of his village turned into chaos.

Not the traces of monster attacks, but the aftermath of human weapons. If there was any silver lining in this misfortune, it was that though their possessions were stolen, no lives were lost.

It probably looked like a raid by bandits or deserters.

After years away, when Rychlen returned to his hometown, he hastily checked on the survivors and soon found his now penniless parents.

Originally, Rychlen’s family was quite wealthy, well-known not just in their village but also in nearby regions. However, they spent a considerable fortune bringing numerous teachers for their talented child.

Their efforts weren’t wasted; Rychlen absorbed all the teachings and grew accordingly.

And perhaps still unsatisfied, his parents sent him abroad to Minoa for further studies, squeezing every last coin they had… Naturally, the family ended up completely broke.

In such a situation, with their village turned into chaos due to someone’s attack…

Witnessing this tragic scene, Rychlen was overcome by wrath, losing half his reason, and recklessly chased after the footprints left behind by those who devastated the village.

Even with half his wits gone, Rychlen utilized the tracking skills taught by his masters. Following the trail led him to discover a group of hundreds of deserters, against whom he charged alone, wielding his club.

Before long, there were no survivors left among the deserter group.

This young hero, newly independent as an adult, single-handedly wiped out hundreds of soldiers.

That was this young hero’s first feat.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Wasn’t Rychlen a human possessing Baal’s soul?”

“That’s right.”

Although the Dragon Priestess said it casually, it came as a great shock to me.

Who is Rychlen? Isn’t he one of the top-tier heroes among countless legends?

“Hard to believe.”

“Hmm. People usually say that. Understand it.”

Baal being linked to such a grand hero like Rychlen? It truly felt like an incomprehensible story.

“Do we really need to talk about Rychlen separately? His heroic tales are widely known.”

Books that have sanitized and fairy-tale-ified his heroic tales have been bestsellers across generations.

And I myself grew up admiring his heroic tales since childhood.

But…

“There’s no doubt about his existence, but there’s significant debate regarding his achievements… Would you mind explaining them in detail if possible?”

“Achievements?”

“Yes. While there are four commonly shared achievements, the rest vary greatly depending on the region. So, if possible, I’d like to hear your perspective.”

“Hmm… Though it’s not difficult to tell you, isn’t it better for an archaeologist to find out on their own?”

The Dragon Priestess’s words made me slightly shake my head.

“I’m not stupid enough to dwell on a problem when the answer is right in front of me.”

“Hmm. Fine. It’s not that big of a deal anyway.”

Thus, the Dragon Priestess began counting on her fingers.

“First…”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

After defeating all the deserters and recovering their supplies, Rychlen tied their carts together with threads and brought them back to the village.

By doing so, the village regained its stolen food and property, and all the villagers praised Rychlen’s name.

Having saved the village, Rychlen met with his parents.

His parents, who sacrificed all their wealth to teach him, were content simply seeing how well he had grown.

Rychlen couldn’t just leave his parents, who had sacrificed everything for him.

So, as soon as the sun rose the next day, he set off on his journey.

His destination: the affluent city-state of Armen, where the wealthiest person in the world supposedly resided.

He covered a distance that would take others over two weeks in just four days and immediately headed to the largest house in the city.

The rumored residence of the wealthiest person in the world.

Of course, he knew enough about this place thanks to his teacher, King Asterios of Minoa.

‘The pig that hoards silver coins. Orcus.’

Asterios’ benefactor. One of the twelve extraordinary individuals chosen by a great unknown being.

A beastman who accumulated silver by lending it out with interest, earning both wealth and enemies.

But one day, he completely changed.

With his abilities, Rychlen believed he could obtain a large sum of money from him.

When Rychlen confronted Orcus,

“You’ve been quite the topic of rumors. You studied under the bull-headed one, didn’t you?”

“Bull-headed…?”

Never did he imagine someone would refer to the king of a city-state and a skilled warrior like Asterios as ‘bull-headed’.

“Well, if the rumors are true about your greatness, I might introduce you to some work. But I’ll need to test whether these rumors hold water.”

“Test? What must I do?”

Orcus seemed to think for a moment before clapping his hands as if struck by a good idea.

“Are you good at math?”

“Math…?”

“I have a bit of a headache-inducing problem. Solve it, and I’ll reward you handsomely. How does that sound?”

At Orcus’ suggestion, Rychlen nodded slightly.

“What’s the problem?”

“It’s nothing much. Just counting numbers gives me a headache.”

So, Orcus took Rychlen somewhere.

“Here we are.”

They arrived at a row of identical-looking buildings.

“Where are we?”

“One of my warehouses. There’s a bit of a headache-inducing problem here.”

Orcus pointed to a building nearby.

“The number of items inside is hard to count. If you’re as talented as the rumors suggest, counting the contents of this warehouse shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

At this, Rychlen smirked slightly.

Just counting items? That wasn’t exactly a challenging task.

“If you solve this, I’ll give you a lot of money and recommend you to others. But if you give up… you’ll have to work for me. Of course, I’ll pay you properly. I wouldn’t dare mistreat a student of that bull-headed one or else he’d come swinging an axe.”

Chuckling, Orcus watched as Rychlen approached the door of the warehouse and grabbed the lock.

“Ah! Hold on!”

But before Orcus’ warning reached Rychlen, the warehouse door opened, and its contents spilled out.

An overwhelming flood of silver coins poured out, knocking Rychlen back.

“What is all this…?”

“As you see, silver coins. They filled the warehouse. And I have eight more like this… Quite a lot, isn’t it?”

“How could anyone fit so many coins into a warehouse?”

“I had a hole made in the roof of the warehouse. I gradually added coins through that hole. Now, I ask you to estimate the total number. An exact count isn’t necessary. Just give me a rough estimate. Oh, and if you’re going to give up, please do so quickly. I have plenty of other tasks for talents like you.”

With that, Orcus left with light steps.

Alone, Rychlen considered stealing the coins and running, but decided against it, fearing it would tarnish his master’s name.

So, Rychlen ended up counting the coins owned by the richest man in the world.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“I know that story well.”

“Hmm. It’s a great tale emphasizing Rychlen’s wisdom, so it couldn’t be left out. It’s also educational.”

Counting the vast number of silver coins in a massive warehouse. At first glance, it might not seem very impressive.

But the real value of this anecdote lies in it being the earliest recorded instance of accurately measuring volume.

“So, no need to explain the details, right?”

“By measuring the size and height of the stacked coins, calculating the approximate volume, and determining the number of coins based on the volume of a single coin, he solved the problem, correct?”

“Exactly.”

“But I don’t understand. Didn’t humans back then lack an understanding of area and volume?”

At my question, the Dragon Priestess shook her head.

“Of course not. Such knowledge existed even then. Where do you think Rychlen learned such calculation methods? It’s just that there wasn’t a clear record. The fact that he counted the richest man’s coins adds dramatic impact, which is why it became part of his legacy.”

Impactful indeed… As a child, I often wondered how many coins the rich man had and how wealthy he was. Every child who heard this story likely dreamed of a warehouse full of coins.

It also emphasizes the importance of wisdom.

“Actually, this is one of the smallest feats Rychlen accomplished. It’s famous, but awkward to omit.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

While this tale served to highlight the necessity of education to children with the feeling that “heroes study a lot too!”, as an achievement of a hero, it was a rather humble story.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next.”

“Please do so as quickly as possible.”

The Dragon Priestess nodded slightly.

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