Chapter 473

Some time after Dweno joined and the party of the Great Heroes was finally complete, the regions where the Great Heroes had been active gradually escaped from despair and chaos, regaining stability.

Among them, the first to recover was Godthrone, which the Great Heroes had used as their base.

It was around that time that Lysinas, who had long been ridiculed as a fool, was officially recognized as the lord of Godthrone.

One day, while he was busy stabilizing the administration, Kyle visited Lysinas with a request.

"You want me to teach you spirit summoning?" Lysinas, who had been processing documents, looked at Kyle with a surprised expression. "Why all of a sudden?"

"I realized something when I saw your spirit summoning in the last battle. If I could use it, it would be a great asset in future battles."

"Hmm?" Resting her chin on her hand, Lysinas narrowed her eyes slightly and tilted her head with a smirk. "When I offered to teach you spirit summoning before, you said you didn't need it. But now you're interested?"

"I couldn't grasp the concepts of spirit summoning when you explained them."

"What about Luna and Aaron? Their explanations are even harder to understand than mine, aren't they?"

Kyle had already sought instruction from Luna and Aaron, but long before that, Lysinas had offered to teach him spirit summoning. At the time, Kyle had refused.

"Your explanations are too complicated, so I don't need them."

Recalling that moment, Lysinas frowned.

Kyle explained, "I admit, most of what they say is incomprehensible to me. That's why I'm just forcing myself to memorize spells and drilling them into my head. That way, I can at least understand them to some extent. But your spirit summoning isn't something I can grasp just by memorizing it. Besides, since I can use some of your elemental summoning at a superficial level, I didn't feel the need for more."

"Oh? Is that so?" Lysinas responded playfully, but she acknowledged the point.

Kyle had tried imitating Luna and Aaron's martial arts without success. On the other hand, he had been able to mimic Lysinas's elemental summoning with relative ease.

"How come you can't copy Luna and Aaron but can copy my elemental summoning?"

"I've watched you the longest, and among our companions, I observe you the most."

"Oh, really?" Lysinas answered indifferently, shifting her gaze to the window.

Kyle let out a small sigh at Lysinas's lack of enthusiasm.

However, despite her outward disinterest, Lysinas's mood had actually significantly improved—no, it had skyrocketed.

He watches me a lot?

Kyle couldn't see it, but beneath the desk, her legs were happily swinging.

In truth, she had been feeling somewhat neglected by Kyle recently.

He's been spending all his time researching magic with Luna.

When Lysinas first became lord, Kyle had frequently visited. But ever since Kyle started training with Luna and Aaron, it had become rare to see him.

Of course, Lysinas didn't blame him for that.

It's a good thing that Kyle is more motivated now. But come on, I was the founder of the subjugation squad. He could at least check in on me once in a while.

She wanted to teach Kyle spirit summoning. That way, she could spend time alone with him.

But before that, she also wanted to tease him a little.

"I'd love to teach you, but I'm too busy right now."

"If you're okay with it, I don't mind coming over late at night. Should I go to your place? Or if you don't want me entering your space, you can come to mine."

At night? At my place?

"Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~"

Lysinas hummed a tune, her mood soaring even higher.

Kyle furrowed his brows. To him, it looked like she was just dodging the request.

"Okay, teaching you might not be a bad idea." Lysinas grinned. "Come to my place when you have time at night. I'll teach you how to unlock the door."

"Do you really need to teach me that?"

"It's a hassle to keep opening it for you every time you visit. Oh, but if you sneak in when I'm not home, I'll kill you."

"You think I'd do something like that?"

"If you're feeling bored or have something on your mind, you're free to come by. I'll always be up for some conversation or drinking."

"That's generous of you. Oh, by the way."

"Hm?"

"Do I even have any talent for spirit summoning? I should probably figure that out before I start learning."

Lysinas flinched internally.

Kyle has no talent for spirit summoning.

She recalled a conversation she once had with Luna about Kyle's all-class status.

"Lysinas, do you think he could use spirit summoning too?"

"Kyle has no aptitude for spirit summoning. He'd probably have to die and be reborn for that to change."

"Oh? So he's not completely omnipotent, huh?"

Just as she had said back then, Kyle had absolutely no talent for spirit summoning. No amount of learning would change that.

Lysinas simply wanted an excuse to spend time with Kyle. More than anything, she was envious of how close Kyle and Luna had become, almost like siblings.

"Who knows? Your all-class potential is limitless. I think there's a possibility."

"I see." Kyle nodded. "Then I'll come over tonight."

"Tonight?"

My study is a mess. Should I clean it up a little? No, wait, do I even have decent clothes for this?

As Lysinas pondered her plans, Luna burst into her office.

"Hey there! Kyle! Tonight, I'm giving you a special lesson! Be honored!"

Kyle scowled. "I don't need it. You're just going to come over, get drunk, and wreck my place again, aren't you? Don't ever come to my house again."

"Is that any way to talk to your teacher? How arrogant!"

"What teacher? I'm helping you develop magic formulas, aren't I? We're in a give-and-take relationship." Kyle irritably shoved away Luna, who was clinging to him.

Luna pinched Kyle's arm in retaliation.

"Anyway, I already have plans tonight," Kyle added.

"Plans? Do you have a drinking date with that perverted old man and Aaron?"

"No, with Lysinas."

"Lysinas?" Luna blinked, looking back and forth between Kyle and Lysinas.

"Kyle asked me to teach him my magic," Lysinas explained.

"Oh? Then I want to learn too."

Luna beamed. She was a summoner who had formed contracts with faeries.

Caught off guard by her reaction, Lysinas hurriedly intervened, "Luna, I'll teach you separately next time."

"Yeah, you can learn another time. Tonight, I'm learning spirit summoning," Kyle added.

Luna widened her eyes. "You're just pestering Lysinas into teaching you, aren't you? Give it up."

"What?"

"Lysinas already told me before. You'd need to be reborn in your next life to use spirit summoning." Luna smirked triumphantly, crossing her arms. "So stop wasting time and just learn magic from me!"

Kyle narrowed his eyes and turned to glare at Lysinas. "You damned lizard conman. You were just trying to mess with me, weren't you?"

"N-no, I was just considering the possibility that—!"

"Lysinas only treats you this way because of your usual behavior." Luna clicked her tongue and shook her head in exasperation.

Kyle grabbed one of Luna's cheeks and pulled.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Luna's eyes flared as she yanked at Kyle's hair in retaliation.

Lysinas cast a small look of resentment at Luna.

After that, Kyle never got the chance to learn spirit summoning.

sep

Recalling the past, Leo fell into thought.

Was that just an auditory hallucination?

In both his past life and this one, he had never possessed any talent for spirit summoning.

But it was too vivid to be just a hallucination.

Leo furrowed his brows. He did feel as if Lysinas had actually spoken to him.

"Master, is something wrong? You look serious," Lily approached him and asked in a low voice.

"I was thinking about spirit summoning."

"Necromancy?" Lily's eyes widened. "That's purely a matter of talent, isn't it? Master, don't tell me you can use spirit summoning too?"

"No."

If I could wield spirit summoning, I might have been able to completely annihilate Erebos.

Leo's expression grew somber.

The reason I couldn't finish him off was because I was lacking.

When they subjugated Erebos, the culmination of his comrades' strength had been poured into the vessel known as Kyle, and he had used that power to defeat Erebos.

Ultimately, though, it had only been borrowed power. He had never fully made that power his own.

I was only strong because my vessel had been filled. It wasn't that I had become stronger myself.

In terms of pure combat prowess, Kyle's martial skills never reached Aaron's level. His magic was nowhere near Luna's domain, and he couldn't even come close to Lysinas in summoning magic.

I can't take Dweno's place as a shield either.

If he had reached even one of the ultimate domains his comrades had achieved, sealing Erebos wouldn't have been the only option.

Leo looked down at his hands.

As an all-class, I had to combine all my abilities just to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

In a way, that wasn't purely his own power either.

I merely followed the paths they had paved.

He had never possessed the ability to forge his own path into the unknown.

Whenever I hit a wall, it was always them who created a new way forward for me.

He had always been good at watching and imitating. Even in the final battle against Erebos, Leo had simply copied his friends.

Take Aaron, for example. His true power came from Hyper Perception. At its peak, Aaron's Hyper Perception could glimpse even fragments of the future, but Leo had never reached that level.

Likewise, to fully comprehend Lysinas's summoning magic, he needed to be able to use spirit summoning.

If that wasn't just a hallucination, but truly Lysinas's voice…

Previously, as a reward for clearing Lysinas's world, Leo had obtained Lysinas's mana essence. If that power had awakened and granted him the talent for spirit summoning…

Does that mean I can reach the same level as Lysinas?

As Leo was lost in thought, Jeremy announced, "We've arrived."

They were in a ruin known as the Grave of the Vanquished. It seemed to have once been an old fortress, as the area was surrounded by vast walls.

Upon entering, they saw a wide-open training ground where many boys and girls gripped spears, shouting as they trained.

It was practically a military drill.

Leo and Lily looked at Jeremy in confusion.

"These children are all war orphans. The shadows of this kingdom, who have had everything stolen from them all their lives." Jeremy's face hardened. "The ones in power here have been running orphanages for a long time."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Lily tilted her head.

"On the surface, yes." Jeremy's expression twisted with disgust. "But those orphanages were actually military facilities."

"What?"

"They were training camps to produce elite soldiers. The reason they gathered orphans was to send them to the battlefield as soon as they were of age."

Lily's expression went blank, and Leo crossed his arms.

"Let me state my terms for our deal," Jeremy took a deep breath and stood in front of Leo and Lily. "Please prevent those children from being sent to war."

"That's easy. We just have to smash in the heads of those in charge!" Lily growled.

Leo shook his head. "That won't solve the problem."

"What?" Lily hesitated.

"Those kids will volunteer to go to war."

"Why?"

"Because that's how they were raised."

Lily looked taken aback.

Leo turned to Jeremy. "Crown Prince Jeremy, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"When did this plan to train war orphans as soldiers begin?"

"About five years ago."

"Are these children the first generation?"