The border kingdom. Deland, the capital of Delard.
"Everyone! This is truly the age of heroes!"
'Here we go again...'
Leo, who had just turned fifteen, sighed deeply as if he were bored.
"It has been 5000 years since the Hero Record appeared in the world! During this time, the lower realm has undergone many transformations. At the center of these changes have always been those called heroes!"
Jaiden, the hero studies teacher at Deland Royal School, raised his voice.
"Does anyone know the definition of a hero?"
Students raised their hands.
Professor Jaiden pointed to one student.
"Student Gulliver, please answer."
"A hero is someone whose name is recorded in the Hero Record. Only those who have achieved feats recognized by the gods are allowed to leave a record in the Hero Record."
"Correct! Indeed, it's Student Gulliver."
Gulliver sat down with a proud look on his face.
"Next... Student Leo?"
Even though he hadn't raised his hand, Leo stood up when called.
"Do you remember the last homework? What kind of ceremony was required to be called a hero 5000 years ago?"
"Basically, if you made a name for yourself, people would naturally revere you."
"You've been doing your homework so carelessly again!"
Professor Jaiden frowned.
"Our Deland Royal School is the top prestigious school in our country! I've repeatedly told you that we must maintain the standards befitting a prestigious school! Moreover, our school has been selected as one of the examination sites for the Lumern entrance exams this year!"
Professor Jaiden raised his eyebrows.
"Many talented individuals will visit our school! At such a time, as students of Deland, you must set a good example, and yet you show such an attitude!"
With a displeased expression, he turned to Gulliver.
"Student Gulliver, would you like to answer this question?"
"In ancient times, there was no way to gain the gods' recognition! Therefore, heroes were selected through sacred ceremonies! The most representative one was the Blood Ceremony!"
"Yes, exactly right!"
Leo looked unimpressed.
'Back then, meeting the gods was so easy, yet there was no way to gain recognition?'
5000 years ago was a time when the gods could freely descend to the lower realm.
'And a sacred ceremony? Was there such a thing?'
Sighing, Leo glanced at the textbook.
'Hero Record.'
The origin of the records was the great calamity that occurred 5000 years ago.
Erebus, the primordial evil that brought the world to the brink of destruction.
The five heroes who stood against Erebus.
[Ancestor of the Constellation] Elf Luna.
[God's Blacksmith] Dwarf Dwenno.
[The Hero] Aron.
[The King of Wisdom] Rishinas.
And finally, [The Hero of the Beginning] Kyle.
The miracle gifted by the gods to the lower realm to eternally praise them.
'But why am I the only one treated as if I don't exist?'
The records of his comrades still exist, serving as evidence that they existed and saved the world.
However, Kyle's record cannot be found!
What a grievous injustice!
While Leo was lamenting his fate,
Ding! Ding!
The bell signaling the end of class rang.
Professor Jaiden closed the textbook and said,
"In a week, the preparations for the Lumern entrance exams will be complete. At that time, talented individuals from all over the world will visit our school."
He surveyed the students.
"Interact with them and strive for even greater heights. That's all for today."
***
After class, Leo headed straight home.
The Flob family.
A somewhat prestigious marquis family in the Kingdom of Delard.
"Master, Lady is waiting for you in the training ground."
"Ugh? Again?"
Leo frowned.
"I'm not going."
"Lady said that if you skip another swordsmanship lesson, she will cut off your allowance..."
"Ha! Really."
Leo sighed deeply at the butler's words.
He changed out of his school uniform and headed to the training ground.
It was usually a time when knights should be sweating and training hard.
However, the one standing in the training ground was a beautiful woman.
Reina Flob.
The lady of the house.
"Mother, I'm back from school."
"Welcome back, my son. But, my son, why do you always address me so formally, calling me 'Mother'?"
Reina opened her eyes, which were the same red as her son's.
"Other children call their mothers 'Mom.' I feel a distance from you, and it makes me sad."
Leo, who had climbed up to the training ground with a wooden sword, said,
"I'm trying to keep some distance."
"Hmm? Why? Are you in your rebellious phase?"
Reina's face was filled with sadness.
Whoosh!
At the same time, she rushed at her son at an incredible speed.
Smack!
"It's because of this."
A mother who would suddenly swing a wooden sword at her son!
Which son wouldn't want to keep some distance?
Reina smiled at her son's words.
"You don't understand this mother's heart... I'll have to train you even harder today."
Reina's wooden sword moved rapidly.
Leo responded to her unpredictable swordsmanship.
The knights watching were amazed.
"Indeed, it's Lady! The skills of a hero's family, the Zerdingers, are impressive!"
"But the young master is also incredible!"
Usually, the swordsmanship training for noble children is handled by the family's knights.
However, in the Flob family, it was Reina herself who took charge.
No one had any complaints about this.
The Kingdom of Delard bordered a great nation.
The Empire of Lodren, home to the hero family, the Zerdingers.
Reina was none other than a member of the Zerdingers.
Clack! Clack! Smack!
Reina's eyes sparkled as she watched her son block her attacks.
'Leo is indeed a genius.'
Though retired, Reina was once a great knight.
Even though she wasn't using aura and wore bracelets with weight enchantments on her limbs, it was still an unequal sparring match.
The skill gap was too great.
However, Leo was responding to Reina's swordsmanship.
'He quickly learns my techniques during each sparring session.'
As a parent, she couldn't help but feel proud of her son's rapid growth.
The ten-minute exchange of blows continued.
Reina was fully engrossed in the sparring.
Without realizing it, she instinctively bent her wrist as she saw Leo read and react to her sword path.
'Oh no!'
Reina was taken aback.
An unconventional move she had used without thinking!
A technique too difficult for her son to handle.
Reina hurriedly tried to retract her sword.
'Too late...'
Clack!
"!"
Reina's eyes widened.
Leo, who had blocked the sword aimed at his neck, quickly moved into Reina's embrace.
The tip of the wooden sword pointed at Reina's neck.
Reina looked bewildered.
Leo, who had retracted his sword, sighed.
"Wasn't that a bit too much, Mother?"
"You say that, but your reaction was excellent."
Though she smiled, Reina felt goosebumps all over her body.
'This child... has surpassed what I can handle.'
The unconventional move she had used would have been a deadly technique if it were a real sword, even for a skilled knight.
It wasn't something that could be handled by mere talent.
Yet, Leo had managed to react.
Of course, he had tried to retract his sword halfway.
But it was still impressive.
'Ugh, maybe I should have just let him hit me?'
Leo sighed as he saw his mother's eyes sparkle.
Leo is not just a simple fifteen-year-old.
In his previous life, he was a great hero who saved the world.
Reacting to an unconventional move was not difficult for him.
Reina, seeing Leo scratch his head, asked,
"Leo, are you still determined to go to Lumern?"
"Yes."
Lumern Academy.
One of only four hero academies in the world.
And the place where the 'Hero Record' is stored.
'I need to find out what happened after I died.'
After defeating Erebus, Kyle died from exhaustion.
However, Erebus was an immortal being.
Though the defeat was successful, complete annihilation failed.
Moreover, Erebus's army, Tartarus, remained intact.
5000 years have passed since then.
An unfathomable amount of time, during which the stories of that era have become mere legends. Kyle's posthumous events were not properly recorded.
Accessing the Hero Record might reveal what happened after that.
This was why Leo wanted to enter the world's top prestigious school, Lumern Academy.
"That's good to hear."
Reina smiled.
"Alright, I understand. I'll put in some effort. Leave it to me."
"What do you mean?"
"Tomorrow, people from the Zerdingers will visit Deland. They will stay at our mansion."
"From my maternal side?"
The hero family, the Zerdingers, is Leo's maternal family.
However, they had never been in contact.
Reina had severed ties with her family when she married into the Flob family.
'So they didn't part on bad terms. It's true.'
Usually, one would be excited to have a hero family as their maternal side.
However, Leo was indifferent to any hero family.
'There's no one greater than me in this world.'
"Yes. Your uncle, Gis Zerding, will lead them. I plan to ask him for a favor."
Reina said seriously.
"To have you inherit the Zerdingers' aura cultivation method. If you do, you'll be at a level sufficient to enter Lumern next year."
Reina had taught Leo swordsmanship but not the aura cultivation method.
She couldn't teach it without the family's permission.
The chance to learn the hero family's aura cultivation method!
A dream for anyone aspiring to be a knight!
However, Leo was unimpressed.
'Now I can learn the aura cultivation method.'
Reina had been delaying teaching the aura cultivation method, hoping Leo would learn a high-level method.
Of course, Leo could have learned it long ago.
But he had decided to follow his mother's lessons.
Though it was frustrating, he enjoyed training with her.
Now that Reina had made up her mind, the frustration would end today.
Leo didn't care if it was the Zerdingers' method or not.
Learning the aura cultivation method would solve everything.