Outpost kingdom, Delard. Its capital, Delan.
“Everyone! We are indeed in the age of heroes!”
‘Is it that story again?’
Leo, who had just turned fifteen this year, let out a deep sigh as if he was tired of it.
“5000 years since the Hero Records emerged in the world! In that time, the world has undergone many changes. Always at the center were those who were called heroes!”
The voice of Jaden, the teacher of Heroic Studies at the Royal Delan School, rose.
“Does any student know the definition of a hero?”
Students raised their hands, and Professor Jaden pointed to one student.
“Gulliver, answer.”
“A hero refers to someone who has left their name in the Hero Records. Only those who have accomplished feats recognized by the gods are allowed to record in the Hero Records.”
“Correct! It’s indeed Gulliver.”
Gulliver sat back down in his seat with a triumphant face.
“Next… Leo?”
Even though he hadn’t raised his hand, Leo stood up when he was called.
“Do you remember the last homework? What kind of ritual did they have to undergo to be called a hero 5000 years ago?”
“If you made your name somewhat known, people recognized you as a hero.”
“You did your homework casually again!”
Professor Jaden scowled.
“Our Royal Delan School is the top prestigious school in our country! Didn’t I tell you repeatedly to have a decorum befitting a prestigious school? Moreover, our school has been chosen as one of the venues for the Lumern entrance exam this year!”
Professor Jaden squinted his eyes.
“A lot of talented people will be visiting our school! As a student of Delan, you should set an example during this period and that’s not the right attitude!”
He spoke to Gulliver again, looking displeased.
“Gulliver, can you answer this question?”
“In ancient times, there was no way to earn the gods’ recognition! So they selected heroes through sacred rituals! The blood ritual is a classic example!”
“Yes, you got it right!”
Leo wore a grumpy expression.
‘How easy was it to meet a god back then, yet they didn’t have a means of recognition?’
5000 years ago, it was a time when gods descended freely to the world.
‘And a sacred ritual? Was there such a thing?’
Leo looked at his textbook with a tongue click.
‘Hero Records.’
The origin of the records was a great catastrophe that occurred 5000 years ago.
Erebos, the ancient evil that almost led the world to destruction, and the five heroes who stood against that Erebos.
[Ancestor of Nebula] Elf Luna.
[God’s Blacksmith] Dwarf Dweno.
[Dragon Knight] Aron.
[King of Wisdom] Rishinas.
And finally, [Hero of the Beginning] Kyle.
The miracle gifted by the gods to the world to forever celebrate them.
‘But why am I treated as a non-entity?’
The records of his friends were still there, serving as evidence that they had existed and saved the world.
However, there was no trace to be found of Kyle’s records!
What an outrageous situation is this?
Just when Leo was sighing at his fate,
Ding- Ding-
The bell signaling the end of the class rang.
Professor Jaden, closing his textbook, spoke.
“In a week, preparations for the Lumern entrance exam will be over. At that time, talents from all over the world will visit our school.”
He surveyed the students’ faces as he spoke.
“Interact with them and aspire for greater heights. That’s all.”
As soon as the class ended, Leo headed straight home.
The Plov family– A rather prestigious count family in the kingdom of Delard.
“Master, your mother awaits you in the training hall.”
“Ugh, again?” Leo scowled. “I won’t go.”
“Your mother said if you skip another swordsmanship lesson, she will cut off your allowance…”
“Haa! Really.”
Upon hearing the steward’s words, Leo let out a deep sigh.
He changed into his uniform and headed for the training hall.
Normally, it would be the time when the knights would be sweating and working hard in training.
However, on the training field, there was a beautiful woman.
Reina Plov.
She was the matron of the family.
“Mother, I’m back from school.”
“Welcome home, my son. But why do you always address me so formally, saying ‘Mother~ Mother~’?”
Reina asked, her eyes, the same red as her son’s, opened wide in disappointment.
“Other family’s children simply call their mothers ‘mom’. I feel sad because I feel a distance between us,” she continued.
Leo, who had just climbed onto the training field with his wooden sword, responded.
“I deliberately keep a distance.”
“Oh? Why? Are you going through puberty?”
Reina’s face filled with sorrow.
Suddenly, she rushed toward her son at an alarming speed.
Whack-!
“That’s why.”
A mother who swings a wooden sword at her son out in the open!
Would any son not want to keep a distance?
Upon hearing her son’s words, Reina let out a chuckle.
“You don’t understand your mother’s heart… I guess I’ll have to go harder today.”
Reina’s wooden sword quickly changed its attack pattern.
Leo responded to the unpredictable swordsmanship of Reina.
The knights exclaimed in admiration.
“Truly, our Lady has the real skills of a hero from the famed Zerdingher family!”
“But indeed, our young master is impressive too!”
Usually, swordsmanship lessons for the nobility are given by knights of the family.
However, in the Plov family, Reina herself taught the lessons.
No one was dissatisfied with this arrangement.
In the Rodren Empire, on the border with the Delrad Kingdom, lies the house of the heroic Zerdingher.
Reina was indeed a member of the Zerdingher family.
Thwack-! Thud-! Whack-!
Reina, observing her son defend against her attacks, lit up.
‘Indeed, Leo is a genius.’
Although retired, Reina was once a formidable knight.
Even though she did not use her aura, and wore weighted bracelets on her arms and legs, she was still a formidable opponent.
The difference in skill was vast.
Yet, Leo was able to respond to Reina’s swordsmanship.
‘He picks up my techniques quickly during our matches.’
Watching her son grow day by day, she felt a sense of pride as a parent.
After ten minutes of back-and-forth exchanges, Reina lost herself in the spar.
Unconsciously, as she watched Leo anticipate her attacks, she twisted her wrist in an instinctive move.
‘Oh no!’
Reina was taken aback.
She had unconsciously used a tricky move!
It was too advanced for her son to handle.
Reina quickly tried to retract her sword.
‘Too late…’
Thwack-!
“!”
Reina’s eyes widened in surprise.
Leo, who had parried the attack targeting his neck, quickly moved in on Reina.
The tip of his wooden sword was pointed at Reina’s neck.
A stunned Reina.
Leo, who had retracted his sword, sighed.
“Isn’t that too much for your own son?”
“But you responded brilliantly to my move.”
Reina said with a smile, but she felt goosebumps all over.
‘This child… he’s beyond what I can handle.’
The tricky move she had used just before would have been lethal if it were a real sword, threatening enough to give even an experienced knight trouble.
It wasn’t something that could be handled simply through talent.
But Leo had responded well.
Of course, she had tried to retract her sword during the move.
‘But remarkable is still remarkable, no matter what.’
Seeing his mother’s determination, Leo sighed.
Leo was not a simple fifteen-year-old.
In his past life, he had been a grand hero who saved the world.
Dealing with anomalies wasn’t as difficult as it seemed.
Looking at Leo scratching his head, Reina asked,
“Leo, are you still intent on going to Lumeren?”
“Yes.”
The Lumeren Academy.
One of the world’s four hero schools.
And where the ‘Hero Records’ were stored.
‘I need to find out what happened after I died.’
After defeating Erebos, Kyle died, exhausted.
However, Erebos was an immortal entity.
They had successfully repelled him but failed to completely annihilate him.
Moreover, Erebos’s army, Tartaros, remained strong.
5000 years had passed since then.
The far-distant time, the story of that time, remained only as a legend. What happened after Kyle’s death wasn’t properly recorded.
Maybe he could find out about the events that occurred after that time if he could access the Hero Records.
That was the reason Leo wanted to enroll in the prestigious Lumeren Academy.
“That’s what I mean.”
Reina smiled.
“Okay, got it. Mom will put in some effort. So, leave it to me.”
“What is it?”
“The people of the Zerdingher family will visit Delard tomorrow. They agreed to stay at our mansion.”
The heroic noble house of Zerdingher is Leo’s maternal relatives.
But they never contacted him before.
Because Reina severed the ties with her family when she married.
‘So it’s true they didn’t part on bad terms.’
Normally, anyone would be excited if their maternal family was a noble house of heroes.
But Leo was indifferent to any heroic noble family.
‘There’s no one greater than me in this world.’
“Yes, your uncle, Zis Zerdingher, will lead them. I plan to ask through Zis.”
Reina spoke seriously.
“To allow you to inherit the Zerdingher’s aura techniques. If so, you could grow enough to be admitted to Lumeren next year.”
Reina taught Leo swordsmanship but did not teach him aura techniques.
The aura techniques that Reina learned could not be taught to anyone without the family’s permission.
To learn the aura techniques of a heroic noble house!
It’s a dream for anyone aiming to be a knight!
But Leo was indifferent.
‘Now I can learn the aura techniques.’
In hopes of her son learning high-level aura techniques, Reina had been delaying teaching them.
Of course, Leo could have learned the aura techniques long ago.
But he had decided to follow his mother’s lessons for now.
Although it was frustrating, training together was enjoyable.
Still, Reina’s decision meant the frustration would end today.
Leo didn’t particularly care about Zerdingher’s techniques.
Just learning the aura techniques would solve everything.
‘Mom seems to be thinking about next year.’
Leo smirked.
‘I’m planning to get in this year.’
Cliche Novel 