episode_0016

The second day at the Hero Academy dawned.

“Stamina is equivalent to endurance! It’s what determines the outcome of battles!

Relying on relics will not allow you to exert your true strength in urgent situations!

From now on, our class will focus on physical training every day.”

Erina shouted from the field.

Classmates were running on the field.

Relics grant great power to heroes.

They surpass the limits of talent.

Relics like the magical amulet can take away effort from heroes.

Relying on relics can lead to a situation where one cannot exert strength in urgent situations.

To prevent such a situation in advance,

Teacher Erina personally trained us.

It felt like going back to the military.

Even when living in Marcyta’s territory, I did morning drills, emphasizing that physical strength is power.

“Our goal today is the pavilion under the mountain!”

Where is the pavilion under the mountain?

Erina seemed to be excited and ran ahead while we were running.

The gap widened.

Now, we couldn’t even see the back of the line.

“Heh, heh…”

Our stamina was poor. While others were moving ahead, our group was falling far behind.

“Quickly, move faster. We’ll end up last at this rate.”

Freya urged.

It was a simple physical training that would not be reflected in the evaluation.

She was just urging us because she didn’t want to lose to others.

It was a strong competitive spirit.

Overcoming fear, she urged me.

Even now, she couldn’t meet my eyes.

‘Physical training…’

It’s acceptable for a mage to use magic.

If a mage doesn’t use magic, they can’t be called a mage.

It’s also acceptable for a knight to use aura.

A knight who doesn’t use aura can’t be called a knight.

‘Physical strength is power! Shouldn’t they also prevent the use of magic and aura?’

As an ordinary person, it was hard to understand.

If you really want to build physical strength, you shouldn’t use magic or aura.

But it’s said that using magic and aura has some effect.

I didn’t voice my thoughts.

“Exert your strength. If someone who is supposed to be stronger than anyone else at the academy falls behind in physical training, what will happen?”

“Heh, heh, I’m already giving it my all.”

I looked at Freya’s forehead.

It was frustrating that there was no sweat on her forehead.

I forced my body to move.

I followed the invisible leader.

It was a series of times where I felt like I would lose my mind.

Even though I was falling far behind because of me, there was no mention among my teammates.

Feeling sorry, I moved my legs.

“Heh, heh… we’ve arrived!”

We finally reached our destination.

We were far behind.

There was almost a 30-minute difference with the leader.

“Emil… you’re 30 minutes late. Because of you, our team is late.”

I knew that even without her saying it.

I made a gloomy expression at my very low skills compared to others.

“How did you become a hero with such stamina?”

“You faced a Lich, right? You’re too weak.”

I heard mocking voices around me.

“Don’t worry. You know how great you are, so you’re deliberately acting like this.”

Rowen comforted me.

It was an attitude that didn’t care about falling behind because of me.

“Yes, everyone knows how great you are. You’re the only one who withstood the Lich’s magic.”

“And you’re deliberately hiding your strength right now.”

Freya whispered quietly so that others wouldn’t hear.

I never hid my strength.

It seems like Aria and I are thought to be hiding our strength.

“Let’s go back for now. We might be late for class.”

Erina sighed and turned around.

“Nice to meet you. I am the teacher in charge of theory class.”

“Heroes may think that fighting is all they need to excel, but in reality, knowledge is also crucial.”

The second class began.

It wasn’t a physical class.

Thankfully, I focused on the theoretical lesson.

“Sigh, I’m tired.”

After finishing all my tasks, I entered my room in the dormitory.

Life at the Hero Academy was tough in the beginning.

Just keeping up with the classes was overwhelming.

I lay on my bed, relaxing my tired body.

I hope I can fall asleep like this.

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep.

“Bring destruction to the world.”

Once again, the god had a fit.

I hope devouring a big shot like the Pope would satisfy him to some extent.

It hasn’t been long since I sent off the Pope, and yet he demands another sacrifice.

“Oh, what can I do.”

I must appease the god who is unsatisfied with the sacrifices.

I decided to lay the groundwork first.

“Aria. It’s time.”

“Please speak.”

As soon as I called her, Aria’s voice echoed in the darkness.

I felt a chill down my spine, as if I was being watched.

“By this weekend, gather information about this person.”

I took out a piece of paper from my pocket.

The paper had the name of the next sacrifice written on it.

“Understood.”

Aria’s voice faded away.

I lay back on my bed.

I believed she would give me until the weekend to handle it.

Thankfully, I didn’t hear any urgent voices from the god.

Marzita returned to the dormitory.

She sat down immediately.

She wrapped her head around her thoughts.

“It seems like my suspicions were right.”

Her doubts were turning into certainties.

“That man is involved in the death of Aerys.”

At first, she thought it was nonsense.

But after witnessing his power in a direct confrontation with Rich, she changed her mind.

Even the teachers, including Erina, couldn’t withstand Rich’s magic.

Especially Erina, a promising mage recognized by her father.

If even she couldn’t withstand Rich’s magic, it was strange that a mere student like him could.

And the people dying just by being near him.

All signs pointed to him being the culprit.

“But his sadness seemed genuine.”

When Aerys was dying, his tears were real.

Even today, he shed tears while mourning the Pope and Eric.

His emotions seemed authentic.

Having seen many people during her successor classes, she could be sure of that.

“I apologized to him to lower his guard.”

But it was unknown if her intentions got through.

If his actions were a performance, her shallow apology wouldn’t have worked.

If his actions were genuine, her speculations would go back to square one.

“I should keep an eye on him this weekend.”

Marzita closed her files.

“It’s the weekend. Finally, a break.”

She collapsed onto her bed.

The routine of theory classes, physical training, and drills had become monotonous.

A schedule that pushed me to my limits.

My mind was pushed to its limits.

“Haha, now I’m a hero too.”

But a sense of pride was growing within me.

It was the life I had longed for.

Even though it was a continuous cycle of pushing myself to the brink, it was better than life after the apocalypse.

“What will I do as a hero? I have to kill the elders with this power.”

But the following thought made me gloomy.

It was the weekend.

I had to offer a sacrifice to the god.

To appease the god and prevent divine punishment.

“Aria. How did the task go?”

“I have completed the investigation. I will provide the compiled data tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, it could have been delayed a bit.”

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

If the investigation had been completed after the weekend, I could have made excuses and enjoyed another week.

“Phew, it’s morning.”

‘Hurry…destroy the world…’

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

I finished preparing to go out, casually ignoring the urgency of the god.

The place I had to go today was quite far away.

“Here are the documents you requested.”

I left the dormitory.

Aria, who was waiting outside, handed me a bundle of papers.

I received the organized documents from Aria.

She had perfectly pinpointed the location of the group I had mentioned.

“Good job.”

She was very efficient in handling tasks.

If I had gone out to gather information myself, it would have taken ages.

“Never mind…shall I prepare the carriage now?”

“No, let’s go to the bank first.”

There was something I needed to do before offering sacrifices to the god.

I needed to take out a loan using the medal.

I headed straight to the bank and pushed open the door.

“Hello, how may I assist you?”

The bank teller greeted me warmly.

“I’m here to take out a loan.”

“How much are you looking to borrow?”

“Up to the maximum limit.”

“And how many years would you like the repayment period to be?”

“Also for the maximum period.”

The world will end in 10 years.

With no one to stop the devil, the destruction will accelerate.

Since even the god had gone mad, the world’s demise was certain.

I took out a loan up to the maximum limit.

A substantial amount of money was now in my hands.

Next, I wrote a letter to my parents.

I asked them to use the money to repair the carriage.

Some of the money was for my parents, and the rest was to be given to Mr. Hansun.

“Ah, I feel somewhat relieved.”

I sent half of the loan money to my parents and felt at ease.

This should provide some peace of mind.

I no longer had to worry about losing my parents in poverty.

“Now, what should I do with this money? It’s a dilemma.”

I pondered over how to use the remaining money.

‘Destroy the world…’

‘But first, I must appease the god.’

I should think about spending the money after appeasing the god.

I boarded the carriage Aria had arranged.

I headed towards the elders who lived humbly.