LHAHS Chapter 464
After lunch, the second-year students headed to the circular lecture hall for their special hero studies class.
There, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
Why are hero graves being looted?
The commission he had seen on the bulletin board during lunch kept nagging at his mind.
The fact that it was posted on the plaza commission board means Lumene doesn't see it as a major issue.
That board was primarily used by third-year students who needed to quickly earn commission credits. Most of the cases there were low in both danger and importance—a place where trivial requests often ended up.
A commission practically neglected at the school level.
And it had been left unresolved for quite a long time.
Normally, if a commission remained incomplete despite multiple Lumene students being dispatched, the school would conduct its own investigation. If anything significant was discovered, the commission's rank would immediately be raised.
However, there were times when commissions were simply abandoned, not because they were difficult, but because no one had found a way to resolve them, leading students to ignore them.
Sometimes, eccentric students fascinated by mysteries took them on and solved them, but most students avoided time-consuming commissions.
The looted hero graves mostly belonged to long-forgotten heroes.
Heroes who achieved great feats in their lifetimes continued to be honored by later generations. Those who benefited from a hero's actions kept their memory alive. But those beneficiaries didn't live forever.
As time passed, heroes, too, were forgotten.
That was even more true now, in an era where the Hero Record had been destroyed.
Even I was forgotten, after all.
And now, the graves of such heroes were being looted—an act that seemed completely meaningless.
Hero legacies aren't found in graves.
Hero relics served as keys to open the Hero Record, so they were never left unattended. Looting a hero's grave would yield nothing of value.
It could just be the work of some lunatic.
However, Leo knew of those who revived the dead to use as their minions.
Necromancers.
The corrupted beings who followed the Lich King.
But even for them, reviving someone who had immense power in life would be risky. Controlling someone of hero caliber should be impossible with the Lich King's current abilities.
Perhaps it was possible if Erebos were still intact, but with the Lich King's current strength, reviving a deceased hero and making them a subordinate was beyond his power.
If the one looting these graves really is Hell Kaiser… has he strengthened his abilities on his own? Or has he figured out how to use the power of Erebos' fragments?
Leo's expression grew even more serious.
Meanwhile, the class began.
"When do you think the concept of heroes, as we know them today, first came into existence?"
Mel wrote 'What is a hero?' on the board and turned to the students.
"Anyone want to answer?"
Several students raised their hands. Seeing the enthusiastic responses, Mel smiled gently and pointed to one student.
"Rosetti, please answer."
A second-year student stood up. "The concept of heroes as we understand it today emerged 5,000 years ago, after the end of the Age of Calamity."
"Hehe, in a broad sense, that's correct."
Mel pulled a cookie from a box on the lectern and handed it to the student.
"Ooh!" The student exclaimed, immediately taking a bite to check the taste.
"I've always wondered… why does Professor Mel randomly give rewards for class participation?" Eliana murmured curiously.
"Studies show that random rewards can sometimes increase efficiency," Chloe answered.
"I read about that too. According to recent research, no matter how good a reward is, people get bored of it quickly. But if randomness is added, it keeps their interest high," Chen Xia added.
"That's right," Chloe nodded.
"Where do you even find books like that?" Eliana looked amazed.
As the discussion continued, Mel smiled. "Would someone like to give a more detailed answer? Yes, Eliza?"
"The modern concept of heroes began 3,000 years ago, after the Dawn era. That was when heroes started inheriting the power of past heroes through the Hero Record."
"Perfect!"
"Oh!"
"A model student~!"
Some students jokingly teased.
Eliza glared at them, making them quickly avert their gazes.
Seeing that, Mel smiled and continued. "As Eliza said, before the Dawn era 3,000 years ago, the existence of the Hero World had not yet been confirmed. Because of that, there were much fewer heroes than there are today. After Dawn, the number of heroes recorded in the Hero Record exploded. That's why the era following Dawn is referred to as the true Age of Heroes."
"Ooh."
"Now that I think about it, we really don't know much about the early Age of Heroes before Dawn."
"There aren't many surviving records from that time, either."
As the students murmured in amazement…
Mel clapped her hands. "Alright, let's read from the textbook. Hmm… who should I pick… Carl?"
"Y-Yes?!" Carl jumped up in shock, his startled voice echoing throughout the circular lecture hall.
"In <The Lives and Deaths of Heroes>, page 372, could you read the section about past and present heroes?"
"Y-Yes! Alright, so…"
Thud—! Clatter—!
"Ugh?!"
"Take your time."
Flustered, Carl fumbled with his textbook and dropped his writing utensils. Snickers spread throughout the lecture hall.
Sitting at the front of the Noble dormitory section, Abad frowned. "What's up with Carl?"
"Hmph, he must have dozed off," Duran scoffed.
From the back row, Eliza, filing her nails, spoke in a disdainful tone. "How uncharacteristic. Usually, you're all smooth talk, but now you're actually nervous."
Hearing that, Carl screamed internally. How can any of you stay calm when the Dragon Queen is standing right in front of you?!
During the Erebos subjugation, Chelsea and Carl had accidentally learned that Mel was the Dragon Queen. Of course, neither had any intention of spreading that information. But before today's class, Mel had called them aside.
"I know you two won't go around telling people about my identity, but please be careful regardless." She winked playfully.
Trying to maintain his usual composure, Carl asked, "And if word accidentally gets out?"
Mel placed a finger on her lips in thought before flashing a radiant smile. "Then I'll have to punish you."
Her idea of punishment was probably something mild, like making them stand in the professor's office with their hands up. But Carl, who had no way of knowing that, could only tremble in terror at the thought of being punished by the most powerful being in the world.
Mel realized Carl had misunderstood but found his reaction amusing and decided to let it slide.
"That idiot." Chelsea covered her face and shook her head.
Meanwhile, Carl took a deep breath, opened his textbook, and began reading.
"The heroes who came after the Heroes of Dawn can, in a way, be considered their successors. Then, what about those who became heroes in the 2,000 years between the end of the Age of Calamity and the beginning of the Dawn era?"
Carl's voice echoed steadily throughout the lecture hall.
"…The early heroes of the Age of Heroes inscribed their names into the Hero Record through their own strength, while in the current era, heroes wield countless inherited skills. However, I cannot definitively say that later heroes surpass earlier ones."
After finishing the passage, Carl looked at Mel, who nodded. Carl sighed in relief and sat down.
"Which heroes from which era were stronger? It's a fascinating debate. But when this topic comes up in academic discussions, it's common for arguments to escalate beyond mere debate and into actual duels."
"Wait, actual fights break out in academic meetings?" The students looked skeptical.
"Fistfights would be the least of it. There are often cases of sword fights as well."
As the students fell silent, overwhelmed by the sheer aggressiveness of scholars, Mel continued the lecture. "The author of <The Lives and Deaths of Heroes> claims that early heroes were just as strong as later heroes, but this is actually a minority view in academia. Carl, what do you think?"
"I think the author is absolutely right," Carl responded immediately.
From behind, Eliza, still filing her nails, spoke up. "I'm not dismissing early heroes, but I find that argument unconvincing. Modern heroes inherit the power of countless past heroes. It's only natural that they'd be stronger."
"I agree."
"Which famous heroes belonged to the early Age of Heroes?"
The students began discussing.
"Then why don't we compare the most famous heroes from both the early and later eras?" Seeing the students engaged, Mel wrote two names on the board.
The Fairy Knight, Velkia. The Twilight Knight, Lumene.
The lecture hall fell silent at the sight of these names—two of the most renowned heroes in history. One was counted among the three greatest elves of all time, and the other was one of the Heroes of Dawn. Even comparing them was a controversial subject.
"These two are regarded as the greatest swordmasters not just of their time, but throughout the entire history of the Age of Heroes. Furthermore, Velkia was the disciple of a Great Hero, while Lumene inherited the power of the Great Heroes. Aside from their race, they actually have quite a lot in common." Mel smiled. "So, which of these two was stronger?"
"Lumene fought against Erebos, so wouldn't he be stronger?"
"There aren't many records left about Velkia."
The majority of the students seemed to favor Lumene.
Watching the discussion unfold, Chen Xia turned to Leo. "Leo, what do you think?"
"Hmm."
Snapping out of his thoughts about the Lich King, Leo folded his arms and pondered.
Leo had met Seiren and Rodia.
Both of them possessed overwhelming strength.
The Heroes of Dawn hadn't lost to the fragment of Erebos.
The fragment that the Heroes of Dawn sealed away was far stronger than the one that recently revived, and they completely defeated that fragment over and over again.
The only reason the Heroes of Dawn hadn't been able to fully subjugate Erebos' fragment was due to its immortality.
The ever-reviving, ever-burning Erebos.
Since they lacked someone with the pure mana trait necessary to break Erebos' immortality—someone like the Hero of the Beginning—they had no choice but to seal him instead.
As Leo considered Seiren and Rodia's strength, he recalled a disciple he had left behind before embarking on his final expedition.
Seiren and Rodia were both stronger than the last Velkia I remember. And since Lumene was also one of the Heroes of Dawn, his power wouldn't have been significantly different from theirs. But…
After organizing his thoughts, Leo said, "It's hard to determine a clear winner."