〈 Chapter 72 〉 Hero Academy (1）

*

‘Gwen…’

Unlike Elsie, who had clearly grown, Gwen looked exactly the same as she did two years ago.

Without Elsie by my side, I inadvertently acknowledged Gwen.

I was worried she might stop me, but fortunately, she seemed to understand.

As soon as we entered school, the entrance ceremony began.

Was it as expected?

The ceremony was boring.

Still, it wasn’t bad to see the principal, Heinz Armanus.

He was a former high-ranking hero and the mastermind behind the creation of numerous replicant swords.

The Relic Gravitas Replicant, which I had received from Gwen and had been using well until now, was replicated from his original Gravitas.

Of course, I didn’t have it with me now.

‘By the way…’

I looked around the school.

Considering Hailen’s size, the school occupied quite a large area.

Still, it couldn’t compare to the Church Headquarters building.

‘It’s a school.’

The green lawn thickened with spring.

And the buildings unique to a school built for education.

Students weaving in and out seemed to become fast friends, chatting happily.

It felt oddly strange.

Of course, being at the Hero Academy as a high-ranking hero was one reason, but there was another.

It was probably because the memories of Sung Yoo-rang still lingered in my mind.

‘I’ve never had a proper school life.’

During my time in the athletics department, I was so focused on sports that I didn’t pay attention to school life.

After injuring my leg, I refused to go to school out of fear of others’ gazes.

Naturally, I didn’t attend university either.

This place, when you think about it, felt similar to a university atmosphere.

I, who had only been wandering alone until now, was now in a place with peers.

Of course, having inherited Sung Yoo-rang’s memories and spending a long time during the second trial might have made my mental age similar.

‘Speaking of which, did Sung Yoo-rang go to university?’

According to the words of the chained god, Sung Yoo-rang had changed because of me.

Changed in a positive direction, I hoped.

If so, perhaps he would have progressed to university as well.

‘I hope everything goes well for him.’

A part of me still believed I was composed of Sung Yoo-rang.

That was unavoidable from the moment I received his memories through the Inheritance Mark skill.

Thus, no matter how separate this ‘me’ from Earth’s ‘Sung Yoo-rang’ were, I still felt the urge to cheer him on.

‘That aside.’

I needed to focus on myself rather than that guy Sung Yoo-rang, whose recent situation I couldn’t even fathom.

And that applied even more to the hero candidates at the Hero Academy.

As the principal had said in his boring speech, I didn’t plan to waste a year of school life.

‘First class should be the archery class.’

Since I was still unfamiliar with the school layout, it seemed wise to check out the class location in advance.

*

With that in mind, I headed to the archery exam hall.

Perhaps needing an area for archery practice, the hall was quite long in structure.

‘One, two, three… nine, I think.’

Counting the number of archery class cadets and adding the professor made it a perfect fit.

From the fact that the door wasn’t locked, it seemed the students could come and practice anytime.

‘For now, I should avoid touching anything since I don’t know where my spot is.’

Just then, I heard a sound cutting through the wind.

And an arrow embedded itself in the center of the target.

‘Was someone here?’

Upon entering the hall, I had initially only noticed the target.

No, the guy’s presence was likely that quiet.

He was quite skilled.

And it wasn’t mere speculation; I already knew who he was.

‘Wilhelm.’

A playable character.

That implied he might possess a Divine Seat.

Though unlike Elsie, who couldn’t reach Basilium without a Divine Seat, it was practically guaranteed he’d be attending the Hero Academy, making it uncertain if he had one.

‘Based on my experience so far, it’s reasonable to assume he does.’

So far, both playable characters I had encountered had Divine Seats.

Thus, it made sense to assume he might as well.

However, I couldn’t be sure if this was truly a coincidence or the exact mechanism of the Divine Seat.

‘For now…’

Before I had a rough idea about him, it seemed prudent to be cautious.

I moved to the farthest spot away from him and began to shoot my bow.

Fortunately, Wilhelm seemed engrossed in archery and didn’t engage with me.

After shooting for a while, more students began to gather one by one.

Around that time, both Wilhelm and I stopped shooting.

And shortly after, the professor entered.

Kyle, the head instructor for the archery class.

And following him, a woman.

‘…Why is she here?’

It was Ludmilla.

Certainly, the Hero Academy should be an inaccessible place for outsiders, even for high-ranking heroes.

But her presence here meant…

‘Is she planning to personally train a successor?’

That kind of system did exist.

Typically, identifying successors happened during the graduation tournament, but there were instances where one could be appointed as an interim professor after passing the school’s examination and then select students while teaching them directly.

In this case, there was the advantage of grooming a successor to her liking in addition to the first-move effect.

Of course, this system was limited to high-ranking heroes and came with various penalties.

But anyway, that wasn’t the important thing.

The important thing was that she was a human whom I had recently seen in the form of Allen Pleuk.

Moreover, her detection abilities as a top-tier archer were outstanding.

‘But as long as I don’t raise suspicions…’

Fortunately, most of my powers, including my Wind’s Power, didn’t manifest unless used.

So if I didn’t create a situation that would provoke suspicion, I should be fine.

Moreover, it seemed the first class was just a basic skills assessment in archery.

Wilhelm started shooting arrows from the first spot he had occupied, and finally, it was my turn.

I released the bowstring that I pulled back in nervousness.

*

The time allotted to Hero Academy cadets is one year.

Although it’s called a year, it’s roughly a period from spring to late autumn, around nine months.

Hero Academy conducts strictly practical courses, making it a feasible educational duration.

Most students in the Magic Department learn from the Magic Tower before entering.

In the Martial Arts Department, they are evaluated based on certain basics during exams.

Because of that, we could focus entirely on practical training for a year.

However, there were occasionally students lacking in basics who managed to slip through, and even those who had basics sometimes deviated from actual combat.

To correct this somewhat, the early education process contained lectures on basic martial arts.

And the professors in charge of them were each class’s lead instructors.

In the case of the archery class, Kyle was in charge of teaching along with interim professor Ludmilla.

“Having you here, overall, the students’ skill levels are certainly higher.”

In the first class, after assessing the skills of the eight archery cadets, Kyle said this to Ludmilla.

Certainly, they had some evaluation during the entrance exam, but it became even more apparent through a direct test.

But this year’s group felt a bit lacking compared to the last year.

Last year, almost all the talented archers had gathered.

This year’s students felt like the second string compared to last year.

‘It’s still a bit early to judge.’

Last year, they had chosen mainly those who were already complete, while this year focused on potential even if the basics were somewhat lacking.

I still had to wait and see, but I certainly hoped one of them could meet Ludmilla’s standards.

The sooner Ludmilla found a successor and retired, the sooner she could also retire from her teaching position at the Hero Academy.

I couldn’t even remember how long she had been in charge of the archery class anymore.

It was enough to say she was even a disciple of Ludmilla.

Countless mediocre and genius students had passed by her, most of whom became heroes and disappeared beyond the barrier.

‘I can still recall the first time I saw Ludmilla.’

At that time, Ludmilla didn’t have any Relics, and her archery skills were significantly below those of the other students.

But she had a shining talent.

And she worked harder than anyone else.

Thus, she ended up with a four-star bow that had no owner right after graduation.

That was how she was.

‘They say a frog doesn’t remember its tadpole days…’

As soon as he made the statement about the current cadre’s skill level, Ludmilla immediately started criticizing the current students.

From simple basics to attitude issues, there seemed to be no student among the eight that hadn’t been trashed.

‘At this level, I could be ridiculed elsewhere too.’

Maybe I actually was?

I might need to check with other professors soon.

‘But now that I think about it, there’s still one student left?’

I hadn’t heard that name come from Ludmilla’s mouth yet.

“Ludmilla, what about that kid? The candidate Sung Yoo-rang.”

The candidate of Sung Yoo-rang.

A cadet with acceleration and enchantment-related Stigma, who seemed to lack in the basics but caught Ludmilla’s attention to some degree.

During the entrance exam, Ludmilla had surprisingly given her own assessment.

“Looks like he has some potential? You basically got him accepted, didn’t you?”

While he might have been accepted without her, the fact that she strongly advocated for his acceptance was true.

That weighed on Kyle’s mind, which is why he anticipated her evaluation.

Without a doubt, she had just been in real-life combat, and she could see things in him that he couldn’t.

“Sung Yoo-rang?”

Finally, Ludmilla spoke up.

“His acceleration ability is just cover; his basic archery skills—no, even his proficiency—is abysmal. You’d believe he’d only been learning for a few months.”

That was something he also knew.

But what he was looking for from Ludmilla wasn’t just that.

“What about his potential?”

“Huh?”

In response to his question, Ludmilla looked confused and replied.

“There’s none! Take away the acceleration and enchantment abilities, and he’s just like a corpse? He shows no talent for a bow, nor does he have good physical specs.”

Kyle began to feel a bit flustered.

But even this was within his expected range.

He asked Ludmilla for more specifics.

“Remember when you said he seemed relaxed? Did you notice anything about that?”

“I told you, right? There’s nothing. Just what you saw. He appears skilled and possesses confidence, but I wonder where he learned that from.”

If she said that, it was likely true.

She was one of the few high-ranking hero archers, and thus her ability to gauge opponents was exceptional.

‘In the end, it means there were no variables.’

But that was fine.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t fulfill Ludmilla’s expectations; he seemed good enough to graduate from the academy.

Simply put, it was a bit disappointing that one potential strong candidate to satisfy Ludmilla had vanished.

“But wait, something feels off…”

Suddenly, Ludmilla murmured.

“What’s that?”

“That kid. He feels a bit familiar… it’s like he’s similar to those from the Leim Royal Family… No, that’s not right. I definitely sensed…”

After thinking for a moment, Ludmilla shook her head.

“Damn it, I can’t remember. It must just be my imagination.”

*