The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 40: Consistent Fool (1)

The Sealing Festival had ended.

Due to the unprecedented attack by demonic beasts, this year's Sealing Festival would go down in history as the worst festival since the founding of Hero Academy.

The only silver lining in this tragic event was that there were no casualties among the general public or the cadets.

Although many were injured, the swift response by the professors and some cadets prevented the worst from happening.

But even with no casualties, could an incident where demonic beasts rampaged within the school be dismissed as a mere mishap?

The school declared an indefinite closure and devoted all efforts to uncover the truth behind the incident.

Well, despite using grand expressions like "devoting all efforts," not much was ultimately revealed.

The revelations were as follows:

Morpheus, the professor who was the general manager and person responsible for the festival, was actually a demon.

He had disguised other demons as merchants and smuggled them into the school, causing the chaos.

After the commotion, Morpheus disappeared and fled from the school grounds.

This was the official statement released by the school.

Naturally, the school faced a torrent of criticism after the incident's details were announced.

People were furious that a demon had infiltrated the school as a professor and operated under their noses for years without anyone noticing.

They were also frustrated that the school failed to identify who the demon posing as Professor Morpheus was, what his true intentions were, or why this incident was orchestrated.

Moreover, the main culprit had ultimately escaped.

Due to these issues, public opinion was rapidly turning against the school, but it was barely pacified by the intervention of the current headmaster of Hero Academy, the renowned 'Thunder God' Lionel Ryu, ranked 3rd in the Hero Ranking across the three nations.

"This incident is my fault for being absent from the school for too long. Blame me."

Of course, no one dared to hold the hero ranked 3rd in the three nations’ Hero Ranking and the hero of the Republic’s most prestigious Ryu family accountable.

Thus, with Lionel Ryu’s return, the demonic beast incident was considered resolved for the time being, and Hero Academy was about to resume its normal operations after a two-week hiatus.

* * *

Inside the school's infirmary, there was a training ground.

It was a place where injured cadets could undergo rehabilitation training.

"It seems that those who use the private recovery rooms also have personal training grounds."

Money certainly has its advantages.

Beep

[Hero Cadet 'Dale Han'. Identity confirmed.]

As I opened the door with my Hero Watch, a 20-pyeong (approximately 66 square meters) training ground appeared.

"Now, let's see."

I gently closed my eyes in the middle of the training ground.

Through my energy channels, I spread the mana sleeping within my Stigma.

‘As expected, my mana has increased after the battle with Astaroth.’

Of course, it wasn't as if I gained an infinite amount of mana like when I was engulfed in the Primordial Flame.

The amount of mana currently contained within my Stigma was about half the average mana capacity of a cadet.

My mana had increased by about 1.5 times compared to before my fight with Astaroth.

‘What’s important is that this increase didn't happen gradually but all at once.’

Normally, mana is something you accumulate slowly through daily breathing exercises.

Of course, there are rare cases where mana can be significantly increased by taking special elixirs or experiencing a sudden breakthrough, but those are extremely uncommon.

"So, if I could once again envelop myself in the Primordial Flame, my mana might increase again...."

The Primordial Flame, which had fiercely enveloped my entire body, had sunk deep within my Stigma after the battle with Astaroth and hadn't stirred since.

‘If I could enter the Incarnation of Fire state at will, I wouldn't have to worry about mana in the future.’

Incarnation of Fire.

That was the name I gave to the phenomenon where the Primordial Flame engulfed my entire body and burned fiercely.

‘But I still don't know why I entered the Incarnation of Fire in the first place.’

Reflecting on the memories of that time, I formed a few hypotheses.

‘The first hypothesis is that it happened because I experienced a lot of death in a short period.’

I thought this was the most plausible hypothesis because I already knew from my daily mana training, which involves experiencing 'death' four times a day, that the Primordial Flame reacts to my death.

‘However, no matter how much I pushed myself to the brink of mental exhaustion and death, I still couldn't enter the Incarnation of Fire state.’

Even after secretly sneaking out of the recovery room and repeatedly dying and coming back to life, the Primordial Flame showed no reaction.

‘The second hypothesis was that it might be triggered by depleting all my mana.’

But once again, the Primordial Flame didn't budge.

"The final hypothesis is...."

To be honest, I was skeptical of this hypothesis even as I formulated it.

‘That the Primordial Flame responded to a powerful will.’

When my mind was solely focused on the thought that I must save Iris, the Primordial Flame suddenly engulfed my entire body and began burning fiercely.

"In terms of sequence, this makes the most sense...."

But I wasn't yet convinced that this was the true reason the Primordial Flame had been triggered.

"This isn't some kind of shonen manga."

I let out a deep sigh and shook my head.

In any case, after conducting several tests, I confirmed one thing.

‘There's currently no way for me to enter the Incarnation of Fire state at will.’

If that’s the case, it’s best to consider the Incarnation of Fire as a power outside of my control for now.

‘Since I can't control it, I can't count it as part of my strength.’

Setting aside thoughts of the Incarnation of Fire, I gripped my sword.

If the Incarnation of Fire is outside of my control, does that mean the only thing I gained from this experience is increased mana?

‘That’s not quite right.’

A tingling sensation spread through my hand, as if the sword and my hand were connected as one.

It was a novel feeling, one I had never experienced before, even after wielding a sword for thousands of years while wandering the continent.

‘My swordsmanship has improved.’

After finally executing a technique I had only ever imagined in my mind, my swordsmanship, which had stagnated for many years, made a sudden leap forward as if a blocked pathway had been cleared.

"Well... I only pulled it off once, though."

And to make matters worse, I couldn’t use those techniques anymore now that the Incarnation of Fire had dissipated.

But just as there's an insurmountable wall between zero and one,

The experience of using the 9th form of the Sun Sword, which can only be executed after reaching the 'pinnacle,' had become ingrained in my swordsmanship, elevating it to a new level.

‘As a result, my martial arts skills have also significantly improved.’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

They say all paths eventually lead to the same destination.

Just because my swordsmanship improved didn’t mean only my swordsmanship got better.

Every movement, from the basics to the martial arts techniques I learned from Berald, had grown noticeably stronger.

"My magic skills... to be honest, are still a bit awkward."

I did use barrier magic during my fight with Astaroth.

However, I had primarily studied magic in theory, so I was still not comfortable using it in actual combat.

‘I need to start practicing magic more regularly now.’

In the past, I had lacked the mana reserves even to consider using magic, but now the situation was different.

If I could use magic in combat as naturally as I used swordsmanship and martial arts, I would gain far more power than I had before.

"Let’s see... With my current strength, I might be able to face Professor Lucas without using the Stigma enhancer."

I was tempted to rush over to Professor Lucas right away and challenge him to a duel, but…

‘If I do that, Iris won’t just sit idly by.’

With a wry smile, I continued my training alone in the private training hall.

Boom!

They say even a tiger appears when you talk about it.

The door to the training hall suddenly flew open, and in came the Saintess with an extremely agitated expression.

“Dale! Didn’t I tell you to rest quietly in bed? When did you come here again?!”

“No, it’s just that sweating a little can actually help with recovery….”

“Silence!”

And so, I was dragged back to the recovery room by Iris.

* * *

After being cooped up in the private recovery room for several days due to Iris’s strict orders, I finally enjoyed the joy of escaping(?) and looked up at the bright sunlight.

“You could have stayed until the break was over….”

Iris murmured with a pout, clearly unhappy that I was leaving the recovery ward.

“We agreed it’d just be one more day. Besides, Iris, isn’t it getting tiring for you to keep looking after me?”

“Well….”

Iris trailed off and glanced at Camilla, who was glaring daggers at her from behind.

Camilla sighed deeply and shook her head.

“A delegation from the Holy Kingdom has arrived to investigate whether the Saintess is truly unharmed after the recent incident. You must return to the dormitory today.”

“Ugh. Can’t I stay just one more day?”

“No.”

Camilla firmly shook her head.

Iris glanced at me longingly, but eventually slumped her shoulders and walked towards the dormitory.

“…Dale.”

“Hmm?”

Camilla approached me hesitantly.

“Thank you.”

She bowed deeply, almost to a 90-degree angle.

Although Camilla had lost most of her memories surrounding the recent incident due to Astaroth’s ‘Illusion,’ it seemed that Iris had told her how I protected her from the demonic beast’s attack.

Normally, she would look at me with disapproval, but now she was giving me a sincere expression of gratitude.

I chuckled as I looked down at the bowing Camilla.

“What’s with this? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Ugh… S-shut up!”

Camilla blushed slightly and averted her gaze.

“Anyway. I really mean it. Thank you.”

“You’re just saying that?”

“Huh? You want a reward? If there’s anything you want….”

“Hey, hey, I’m joking, I’m joking.”

Who needs a reward for protecting a lover from a past life?

“No, I don’t feel right just letting this go with words. If there’s something you want as a reward, just say it.”

“Hmm.”

A reward from Camilla, huh?

Nothing really came to mind since I didn’t do it expecting any reward.

“Just give me something appropriate.”

“Appropriate? This is a reward for protecting the Saintess. It can’t be just appropriate!”

“You really live a tough life, don’t you? Fine, just give me what you think I’d like best.”

“What you’d like best…?”

For some reason, Camilla blushed and took a step back.

She glanced at me nervously, then covered her chest with her hands (not that there was much to cover).

“I-I knew it! You’re finally showing your true colors!”

“Huh?”

“Ugh. You… well, what men like most is obvious, isn’t it?!”

Camilla’s face turned bright red as she shouted.

“T-that’s what you want, right? Fufu, saying ‘No’ with your mouth, but your body is honest… or something like that! Or do you want to force me into a situation where you’d say, ‘Your sword skills are first-rate, but your lower half is third-rate’?!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“You… vulgar brute!”

“No.”

The vulgar one is your mind.

“Hmph…! F-fine! I’ll prepare a reward… something that would satisfy a man!”

With that, Camilla hurriedly ran off to follow Iris.

“…Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh and turned towards the dormitory.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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