LHAHS Chapter 519
Step, step—
The dry sound of footsteps echoed through the second-year lecture hall as Lumene's Wailing Wall, Harrid, strode in.
At his arrival, the entire second-year class tensed.
Today was the day for the hero studies special lecture, and the one in charge of the lecture was none other than Professor Harrid.
Now that they were in their second year, their encounters with Harrid had significantly decreased, but even so, Harrid remained a figure of fear among the second-years.
As the entire class stiffened in nervous anticipation, Harrid said, "Carl Thomas."
Snap!
"Y-Yes, sir!" Carl shot up from his seat at Harrid's call.
"Wake Eliza Hergin next to you."
Carl flinched at those words and turned his head. There, Eliza was nodding off like a sickly chick.
Normally, in other professors' lectures, Eliza would either openly sleep or skip class entirely if she was tired, but in Harrid's lectures, she always listened attentively.
Even the bold Eliza was afraid of Harrid.
"Eliza, wake up," Carl whispered cautiously, but Eliza showed no signs of stirring.
"You have three seconds," Harrid warned.
Carl hastily placed both hands on Eliza's shoulders and shook her. "Eliza! Wake up!"
Eliza flinched and opened her eyes. Then, she met Harrid's gaze.
Her face instantly went pale.
Harrid gave her a chilling smile. "What exactly have you been doing at night that you're dozing off in my class?"
"T-That's…"
"There won't be a next time."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Eliza shot up from her seat and replied.
As she sat back down, she covered her face with her hands.
I haven't been able to sleep properly for days. I can't focus.
Five days had passed since Leo's training began. Since then, Eliza hadn't gotten a single good night's rest.
She endured the power of the Essence of Thunder throughout the night. After training, she meditated to refine her spiritual energy. After that, she worked on strengthening her body.
And of course, she never skipped class.
She could only get away with sleeping in class so many times—she couldn't just stop attending altogether. No matter how exhausted she was from training, Eliza's pride would never allow her grades to suffer.
If she were merely staying up late to balance studying and training, she wouldn't be this drained, but absorbing the Essence of Thunder consumed an immense amount of spiritual energy and physical stamina.
She was being pushed to the absolute brink, both mentally and physically.
Leo hadn't given her a single word of advice in this process, but Eliza didn't mind.
This was her choice. She would do things her way.
As she massaged the corners of her eyes, desperately trying to shake off the fatigue, Carl handed her a recovery potion. "Drink this, it's specially made. It'll help wake you up a little."
"Thanks. I'll pay you back later."
"It's fine, it's on the house." Carl grinned. "You're my best customer, and my friend. Gotta help when you're struggling, right?"
"Friend?" Eliza furrowed her brows. "You think of me as a friend?"
Carl gave her a thumbs-up. "We're in the same school, same year, same dorm. That makes us friends. And future premium customers!"
Eliza scoffed.
"Carl Thomas, from the way you're talking, it seems you have a death wish," Harrid reprimanded icily.
Carl's face turned ghostly white. "N-No, sir!"
Eliza glanced at Carl, idly rolling the potion bottle in her hands before scoffing again.
Silence fell over the lecture hall. Every student's attention was fixed on Harrid.
Today's hero studies special lecture had been announced suddenly. All major and minor subjects, as well as elective courses, had been canceled so that every second-year student could gather in the hall.
Because of this abrupt summons, curiosity ran high.
With all eyes on him, Harrid finally said, "Regarding the recent developments in the world…"
BANG!
"You all already know what's happening!"
The lecture hall doors burst open, and Sedgen stormed in, cutting off Harrid.
Seeing him, Harrid commented coolly, "This is my class, Professor Sedgen."
"The second-years are my responsibility! Shouldn't I be the one teaching this class? You handle the first-years!"
"This lecture was assigned to me regardless of grade level."
"I already filed a formal complaint about that!"
"Then wait for the faculty meeting's decision. Celia Zerdinger, Duran Moira." Harrid called the two top knight students seated at the front. "Escort him out."
"Professor Sedgen, this isn't appropriate."
"We'll see you out."
Celia and Duran politely bowed to Sedgen before grabbing him and hauling him away.
"What are you doing?! Are you not my beloved students?! You would betray me for Harrid?! Unhand me! Unhand me at once! How could you do this to me?!"
Having grown used to the scene, none of the second-years were fazed.
Once Sedgen had been dragged out and the room fell silent again, Harrid resumed the lecture.
"What's the most serious issue we're facing right now?"
Students raised their hands.
"Carl Thomas."
"Professor Sedgen barging in again."
"Come to the front, kneel, and bow your head."
"I'm sorry."
"I said, come to the front."
Carl groaned and shuffled over to kneel beside Harrid, wearing a miserable expression.
"Carl is always so amusing." Eiran chuckled, glancing at Chelsea.
However, Chelsea widened her eyes and shook her head. "Carl? Who's that? I don't know anyone by that name."
She openly pretended not to know him.
Meanwhile, Harrid called on the next student who had raised their hand after Carl. "Nella Caven."
"The past heroes are being resurrected as undead."
"That's right. Do you also understand why this is such a serious issue?"
"It's because the very foundation of the Age of Heroes, which has lasted for 5000 years, could be shaken."
Harrid nodded as he listened to Nella's grave response. "Exactly."
His eyes narrowed. "Five thousand years ago, after the Great Heroes defeated Erebos and ended the Age of Calamity, the world was finally able to attain peace. In that process, the gods who departed from the surface left behind the Hero Record as a gift to the world. Since then, those who accomplished great deeds and earned the recognition of the gods became heroes, preserving the world's peace and order."
The students all nodded. This was common knowledge.
"Heroes are those acknowledged by the gods as noble. Does anyone dispute this?"
At Harrid's question, the entire second-year class shook their heads. This was an absolute truth.
"Then why are past heroes, who were recognized by the gods, being resurrected by the Lich King's power and turning their blades against us?"
"……"
Silence fell over the room. The foundation of the Age of Heroes was heroes themselves. Heroes were chosen by the gods as their agents. Since the Age of Dawn, this belief had only strengthened.
However, if those acknowledged as noble by the gods were now being reduced to the Lich King's pawns, wielded to bring about destruction, then could they really be called noble? Heroes were the ones who led the world, but what if these very individuals were never truly qualified to be the agents of the gods?
At a glance, this era seemed dazzling. The emergence of the Brave Hero Aaron and the Nebula Pioneer Luna. The subjugation of Erebos' fragments and victory against the Lich King.
The new miracles of the Hero Record had captured the world's attention, but beneath the surface, a question was beginning to take root—were heroes truly the agents of the gods?
Doubt weakens faith, and weakened faith led to collapse.
"This special hero studies lecture is connected to those very concerns," Harrid added.
The students' expressions grew serious.
Abad raised his hand.
"Ask, Abad Lewellin."
"Professor Harrid, what are your thoughts on the current situation?"
"You all know it as well. Being a hero doesn't necessarily mean being absolutely good and righteous." Harrid clicked his tongue. "But even so, most people have always believed that a hero must at least hold a noble conviction worthy of the gods' recognition."
"That's why they were chosen by the gods."
"Correct, but having worked as a professor at Lumene for many years, I've had my doubts." Harrid scanned the students before continuing, "Are the choices of the gods truly just?"
"What?"
"I've seen students who should have become heroes fail to earn the gods' recognition. I've also seen students who should never have become heroes rise to that position."
"……"
This was an incredibly blasphemous statement for a professor at Lumene to make.
Even in an age without gods, the gods undeniably existed. Though people no longer followed them directly, heroes stood as their representatives. That meant Harrid had just denied the very figures who led the world.
Even for a professor of the hero academy, even for someone like Harrid, who had trained countless students, his position as a professor could be at risk if these words spread.
The students swallowed dryly.
"There are even fools who claim that becoming undead is also part of the gods' will." Harrid said coldly. "But recently, the Hero Record has undergone a change."
"What kind of change?"
"It has been confirmed that some individuals have had their records erased and lost their hero status."
"…!"
Everyone's faces filled with shock. The erasure of records from the Hero Record was unprecedented.
"Does anyone want to discuss what this might mean?"
The students exchanged glances. This revelation was too shocking.
Then, someone raised their hand.
"Leo Plov."
Every student turned to look at Leo.
"The rights they enjoyed as heroes. The sins that were overlooked because they were heroes. The responsibilities they didn't have to bear because they were heroes… they'll have to face all of it now," Leo said as if making a declaration. "Now that the gods' choices have been overturned, more people will begin to doubt them. The existing system may collapse, and a new order may arise. And…"
"And?"
"Only the real heroes will remain."
Harrid's lips curled into a smirk. "You seem quite confident, Leo Plov."
"I never believed that the gods were good decision makers to begin with."
Scratch, scratch.
In a dark underground space, a figure so beautifully androgynous that it was impossible to determine whether they were a boy or a girl, sat writing diligently in a large book.
One by one, they filled in the vast blank spaces. Finally, after finishing recording, they stepped back.
Hoooosh—!
The words written in the book evaporated, vanishing completely.
The figure scratched their gray hair in puzzlement. "I don't get it. Why do the records keep disappearing?"
Then, their face twisted in irritation. "Shut up already! What? Why do I only listen to Pivua's requests? You're saying I arbitrarily recorded the Nebula Pioneer's successor? Lunia El Lunda?! That wasn't me! It was automatically written into the record system! You know it too! That damned monstrosity is making the record system go haywire!"
After a brief pause, the figure shouted at the empty air, "What? Leo Plov? Who the hell is that? I don't know any hero by that name!"
Irritated, they snapped the book shut and started walking through a bizarre space, like a massive library.
"Seriously! If you're so frustrated, why don't you manage the record system yourselves?!"
Just as they were about to leave the library, they suddenly stopped, and their gaze landed on the very first bookshelf in the record system.
That bookshelf had supposedly burned to ashes, yet, somehow, several books had appeared there.
"Huh?" Their eyes widened in shock. "How is Kyle's story still continuing?"