Ch.202Chapter 202 – The Hero’s Awakening (1)

Lumen’s voice echoed softly.

The method he proposed to restore my lifespan.

“…Become a hero?”

[That’s right.]

I wondered if I had misheard, but Lumen’s words were resolute.

[Before we continue, let me clarify something. How much do you know about heroes?]

“Well, that’s…”

“Ah, let me answer,” Chris said with a smile.

“I believe heroes grow stronger when faced with crisis, and they can freely wield any weapon.”

[And there’s also the fact that they were summoned from another world, and they recovered so quickly that no matter how badly injured they were, they could fight again the next day.]

Chris’s expression became slightly ambiguous at Lumen’s words.

[What I mentioned are aspects that aren’t often discussed these days. It seems modern people find them implausible.]

“Ah, yes…”

[For those of us who traveled with him, there were other characteristics too, but I’ll skip those for now. There’s no need to mention them.]

But, Lumen added.

[However, the hero’s recovery ability is something we need to discuss.]

Lumen spoke quietly.

[Let me tell you an old story. It’s about when I first met the hero.]

Sensing the story might be lengthy, Lumen suddenly summoned a chair from thin air and sat on it.

And before we knew it, chairs had appeared for each of us.

As we quietly sat down, Lumen nodded with satisfaction and continued his story.

[At that time, I was fighting on the front lines with Roxana. Then suddenly, we heard news of a duo approaching our position while slaughtering demons.]

“Roxana would be the first Saint, right?”

[That’s what she was called. To those of us who traveled with her, she was lazy and nois—ah, I’ll stop there.]

Lumen trembled slightly, saying he’d get scolded if he said more.

[You can easily guess who that duo was, right?]

“One of them must have been the hero.”

Since we were talking about the hero’s story, one of them was obviously the hero.

Lumen nodded at my obvious answer.

[The other was Metis. She was leading a small lamb, slaughtering demons with her sword as they headed in our direction.]

Lumen’s speech slowed a bit, as if reminiscing about that time.

[As we quickly led our troops toward the two, I remember what Metis shouted loudly.]

“What did she say?”

[…”If you don’t bring a priest right now, I’ll take my sword and cut all of you down, and the demons too, and I’ll die too, you bastards!!”…she shouted loudly.]

“…That’s quite fierce.”

Metis must have been one of Eve’s ancestors.

From what I’d heard, she had a mysterious impression, but it seems she might have actually been hot-tempered.

Perhaps Eve too…

“Kay. If you keep thinking unnecessary thoughts, I’ll scold you later.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Eve scolded me.

[When Roxana approached cautiously, Metis laid down the blood-covered hero.]

“Did he get injured breaking through the demon lines?”

[Similar, but…the severity of his injuries was due to something else.]

Lumen spoke quietly.

[It wasn’t self-harm or anything like that. Simply put, what the dragons had given him as a gift had become poison to him.]

“Poison, you say?”

Lumen nodded slightly at Chris’s words.

[It relates to the hero’s recovery ability I just mentioned. The dragons had placed a special spell on the heart of the hero they summoned.]

“A spell?”

[It was magic that transplanted the dragons’ recovery ability into the hero’s heart, allowing it to replicate their healing power.]

And that became poison, Lumen said quietly.

[That recovery ability was initially a shield protecting him. But at some point, it transformed into a poison that broke down his body.]

“In what way?”

[When he received deep wounds, new flesh would rapidly grow to cover them. But this would trap the wounds inside, causing them to fester and rot the flesh… At first it was fine, but over time it became the cause of the hero’s body being eaten away.]

[Ironically, because of this recovery ability, even the hero himself noticed the state of his body too late.]

Abies added somewhat bitterly.

[While traveling with Metis, the hero sustained many wounds, large and small, and the magic left by the dragons gradually increased in intensity, hastily healing the hero. Then the hero suffered a major injury trying to save Metis from a demon ambush, and unfortunately at that moment, the magic went berserk, causing all the large and small wounds hidden under his skin to burst open at once… That’s why he was already covered in blood when he met Roxana and me.]

Lumen quietly continued.

[Because of that, we learned the hero nearly died, and I remember that night Metis, who discovered I had learned magic from the dragons, tried to beat me with her staff, but the hero stopped her. Thanks to that, there was a period when the hero and Metis didn’t get along well with Roxana and me.]

Though Lumen said this, the hero, Metis, Roxana, and Lumen must have eventually formed a party together.

“You managed to reconcile somehow.”

[After those two reached the front lines against the demons, we often fought together… Metis’s swordsmanship was exceptional, and the hero, who was learning from her, far surpassed the skills of the soldiers fighting on the front lines at that time.]

Lumen was silent for a moment.

He looked as if he was reminiscing about the old days.

[…We shared hardships together and reconciled from our first meeting, moving sincerely for each other’s sake… I think. And concluding that fighting on the front lines alone wouldn’t end the war with the demons, the four of us formed a party and set out on a journey.]

“That’s the formation of the famous hero’s party.”

[Yes. In modern versions of the story, they simplify it as if we all met Abies and the other companions on the front lines from the beginning.]

Lumen jokingly added that it was probably to save paper.

[Truly. Even my meeting with the hero was quite fateful.]

[If I were to tell Abies’s story too, this would get unnecessarily long, so I’ll boldly skip it… Don’t pull out your dagger. The story would really get pointlessly long.]

[Damn skeleton. You tell your own story at length, and then what?]

A brief commotion occurred as Abies growled at Lumen.

But she soon seemed to accept it and sat back down, stroking Pine’s head.

[To continue the story… Despite our various travels, the hero’s condition worsened due to the cursed recovery ability. So all party members pooled their wisdom to resolve this situation.]

[At the same time, it was a period when the Demon King began to take direct action, causing frontlines to collapse one after another. So we needed even stronger power during that time.]

Lumen and Abies took turns speaking.

And Lumen quietly continued.

[So, the party members came up with one method.]

“What method?”

[It was a rather dangerous idea to reconstruct the hero’s body into one that could exert powerful strength.]

Lumen spread his hands as he spoke.

[Here, Abies returned to the forest and brought back a seed of Yggdrasil. Roxana brought an item called the Holy Grail, which she had created with her life force and divine power.]

Reminiscing about that time, Lumen spoke slowly.

[And Metis, from who knows where, brought something called the Philosopher’s Stone.]

The Philosopher’s Stone.

At those words, our party’s eyes widened.

But before we could inquire further, Lumen continued.

[Finally, the Dragon Lord offered his own heart to his daughter.]

“His heart? Did he commit suicide?”

[Something similar… Perhaps he felt responsible for the hero’s condition. Or maybe he didn’t want to sacrifice other dragons. Either way, he believed that using a dragon’s heart as material would help the hero, so he gave his heart to his daughter.]

Thus, these precious materials were gathered.

And then…

[I gathered them all and composed and executed a technique to make the hero’s body be reborn.]

“That was…”

Lumen nodded at my words.

[Correct. That was the ritual later known as the Hero’s Awakening.]

Lumen spread his hands again and continued.

[After the ritual, all the wounds on the hero’s body were healed, and he escaped the paradox of dying from his own recovery ability.]

[And from then on, the hero could handle tremendous magical power. He seemed able to use special powers too.]

[He became so strong that no one except the Demon King could match him.]

And the next part of the story was predetermined.

[Afterward, the hero fought the Demon King for days and won.]

“Just like the legend.”

Lumen nodded at Chris’s words.

[Now do you understand? Why I said you must become a hero to save your body?]

Lumen continued.

[Not everything is the same, but… in the sense that you have been given power too excessive for your body, which is now consuming your own life, your condition is similar to the hero’s at that time.]

“So that’s what you’re basing this on.”

Lumen nodded at my words.

[The Hero’s Awakening… using that magic, we can reconstruct your body.]

Lumen said quietly.

[Using that power to adjust your body to match your strength. While restoring your lifespan.]

With certainty, Lumen said.

[I believe you can live again.]

Our entire party fell silent at Lumen’s words.

‘…Looking at the method alone, it seems plausible.’

Unfortunately, I lack knowledge about magic.

So I looked at Beatrice, and she quietly nodded.

“I think what the First Tower Master says makes sense.”

“Really?”

“I’d need to consult with Asam and the tower masters for details… but it certainly seems possible.”

Beatrice said it was worth trying, at least from her perspective.

Eve quietly spoke to Beatrice.

“But there remains a problem.”

“…Yes. The biggest problem.”

Among the materials Lumen mentioned earlier, the most problematic one.

“We have no information about the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Everyone nodded at my words.

“That damn Somnus was targeting Miss Sera to find it.”

“Claiming that Sera’s grandmother must have made it…”

Chris looked worriedly at Sera as he spoke.

Then quietly turning his gaze to Lumen, Lumen shook his head and said.

[Unfortunately… I don’t know much about the Philosopher’s Stone either.]

“Why is that?”

[Because Metis didn’t tell me and forbade me from finding out. She sealed her lips, saying she absolutely couldn’t reveal it for the sake of the future.]

[We all asked her once, but Metis, though apologetic, firmly refused. Saying that information alone must be hidden. She also said that any excellent alchemist would surely be able to create it.]

[Metis wasn’t an alchemist, but she knew one. It seems that alchemist made it, but she kept it secret too.]

Abies added that at least during that era, the Philosopher’s Stone never appeared again.

[Still, I can guess why Metis wanted to hide it. Without the Philosopher’s Stone as a catalyst, the Hero’s Awakening would have failed.]

“So it’s that crucial of an ingredient.”

[Yes. I think it’s even more important than the dragon’s heart.]

“Didn’t you think of analyzing it later?”

[Who do you think I am? I’m a mage. Of course I tried to analyze it secretly, prepared to get beaten up later.]

Lumen proudly answered Eve’s question.

But then he bowed his head and said.

[But the Philosopher’s Stone disintegrated along with the Hero’s Awakening. In the end, I couldn’t analyze it.]

“I see.”

Eve’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and said.

“It’s okay.”

“…Why is that?”

“Because we have an excellent alchemist.”

I smiled slightly as I looked at Sera, causing her face to redden.

“I-I’m not that skilled…”

[That’s not true. From that golem earlier and the potions you’ve made, even I as a mage can tell they’re of excellent quality.]

Lumen said encouragingly.

[…Anyway, to get back on topic… other than ‘an excellent alchemist can create it,’ I have no other clues.]

“I see.”

The Hero’s Awakening.

Probably the only way for me to survive.

But it’s painful that we’re missing one piece needed to complete this magic.

‘…If it actually existed, Somnus would have gotten his hands on it by now…’

But even Somnus was still searching for the Philosopher’s Stone.

There was a time when he targeted Sera at every opportunity for information.

“…So we need to trace Sera’s grandmother’s activities like we’re hunting for a needle?”

She’s likely the only person who might have clues about the Philosopher’s Stone.

And then, Sera spoke as if she just remembered something.

“Um, maybe, this might help…”

“Maybe?”

Sera pulled out a book from her chest.

And immediately began to flip through it.

“I thought this book might provide a hint.”

Sera said as she flipped through the seemingly blank book.

Then, a page with descriptions about the Yggdrasil seed appeared.

“The writing…”

“Yes, but that’s not what I want to show you.”

Sera quickly turned the pages.

And then.

“…What is this?”

On the page Sera opened, there was a strange drawing.