Translator: Dreamscribe

It was Heina from her childhood.

Heina looked at her hands, full of blisters, and began to tear up. At that moment, the knight beside her burst into laughter.

“Didn’t I tell you the basics are important?”

“But..., I want to go out quickly and be of help.”

The knight roughly patted young Heina’s head.

“If you train for about ten years, you’ll be able to fight by my side.”

“Eh..., that’s too long!”

“Hahaha!”

“Master! You idiot!”

Angered by the laughter, she threw down her wooden sword and ran off. In doing so, she collided with Haebyul.

“Ugh!”

Heina looked up and glared at Haebyul and UruBear.

“I’m going to play outside all day, so don’t stop me!”

With those words, she dashed out of the castle.

Haebyul and UruBear exchanged glances.

“Hehe, young Captain Heina was super cute.”

“Yeah. I wish I had a daughter like that.”

UruBear wore a very satisfied expression.

-Got a screenshot ㅋㅋ

-Seriously cute.

-I want to pinch her cheeks ㅋㅋ

-So she was here. Then maybe Leon nim too?

Not only Haebyul and UruBear but also the viewers were utterly charmed. Young Heina possessed a destructively powerful cuteness.

The light continued deeper into the castle. Haebyul and UruBear followed it inside. The interior of the castle was breathtakingly beautiful. It even exuded a sacred atmosphere.

As they admired the inside of the castle, a chamberlain approached Haebyul and UruBear.

"Guard Knights, the Prince is in the study."

Though bewildered, the word ‘prince’ lit up their eyes. They had a good idea who it referred to. Upon entering the study, they saw stacks of books piled high.

The books formed towers.

Inside one of those towers of books, a young Leon could be seen reading.

“Ah.”

“Oh...”

-Aaaaah! It’s young Leon!

-So cute.

-His looks are insane!

-Danger danger danger! This is too destructive!

Young Leon, who appeared to be of elementary school age, turned the pages of a book with a serious expression.

Haebyul stared blankly at him. Seeing Leon, whom she had missed so dearly, appear before her in a different form left her completely uncertain of how to react.

Leon, with a slightly curt expression, furrowed his brows while reading.

“Uh, um....”

Snapping out of it, Haebyul looked tense. She wiped the sweat from her hand onto her clothes and approached cautiously.

“Ah, hello? H-haha....”

As Haebyul greeted him awkwardly, Leon slowly turned his head and looked at her.

"Do you also think I'm foolish?"

“Huh?”

Leon closed the book. The title was 'Hero of Arsilan'. The books piled around him were all materials related to Heroes.

“They say Heroes are beings who perform miracles. But according to the records, it doesn’t really seem that way.”

“Haha....”

Young Leon was a bit prickly.

He stood up from his seat.

“If I inherit the Holy Sword from my father, perhaps I too could become a Hero. I want to protect all the people of this land. That’s why I wanted to know more.”

Young Leon was remarkably gallant!

Haebyul barely managed to hold back her tears. Leon looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“But..., strangely, I can’t seem to recall your name.”

“H-Haebyul.”

“Haebyul....”

Leon nodded.

“Ah! I remember now. Still an amusing name. Sir Haebyul. I wonder why I forgot.”

Drip!

Tears streamed from Haebyul’s eyes.

The image of Leon overlapped with the one she saw when they first met in the forest.

The figure of him during the invasion war flashed through her mind.

As Haebyul cried, Leon grew flustered.

“S-sorry. I won’t forget again....”

“N-no! It’s just... I was so moved!”

UruBear had turned his back and was sobbing loudly.

-...Why am I crying....

-Bear uncle can’t handle this kind of thing.

-I can’t either.

Leon only tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm going outside today."

Haebyul and UruBear went outside the castle together with Leon.

The people of Arsilan, upon seeing Leon, smiled and offered him all sorts of gifts. The pile grew so high that Haebyul and UruBear had to carry them for him, though it didn’t feel burdensome at all.

“Le..., I mean, Prince.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Stay strong. I will definitely protect you.”

At Haebyul’s words, Leon looked at her and smiled faintly.

“You are my guard knight, so isn’t that only natural?”

“R-right?”

Haebyul and UruBear smiled at Leon.

Watching this scene brought them joy.

They wished it would never end. All the more because they already knew how this would eventually conclude.

Sssssk!

The surroundings darkened, and the situation shifted rapidly.

The Legion of Erosion surged in, castle walls crumbled, and people perished.

Even the knights fell, consumed by the Erosion.

“Master! H-Huuu...!”

There was Heina, clutching the knight fallen on the ground, crying. She wailed and gripped her master’s sword tightly. It was the same sword she would later wield in the invasion war.

“Everyone inside the castle!”

Inside, only the wounded remained.

The king, wearing a crown, had lost one arm and his entire body was tainted by Erosion.

Leon stood at the king’s side.

Leon clutched the king’s hand and wept.

“Do not cry.”

“...But....”

“You said you wanted to become a Hero. Then..., cough, you must be brave. Heroes do not cry.”

Haebyul and UruBear were crying uncontrollably.

The king, mustering the last of his strength, rose to his feet. He gently stroked Leon’s head and handed him the Holy Sword from his waist.

“A Hero needs a Holy Sword.”

The king hugged Leon one last time and kissed his forehead.

“Do not lose hope. The light of the world shall bless you. You have the duty to share that blessing.”

The king turned his gaze to Haebyul and UruBear.

"You two are..."

Upon seeing them, the king gave a soft smile as if something had dawned on him.

“I see. So it was you. This place is already....”

He seemed relieved as he looked upon the two.

“I entrust Leon to you. That child is too stubborn and inflexible. He’s bound to overextend himself at this rate. Please, become good friends to him.”

Haebyul and UruBear nodded vigorously.

“If you stay by his side..., then I can close my eyes in peace. Now! Escape through the back gate and go to Evanth. Go to the place where everything shall begin anew!”

The king pushed Leon toward Haebyul and UruBear.

He then adjusted his crown properly and headed out the main gate with the knights. They intended to hold out until the others had escaped through the back.

“For Arsilan!”

“Don’t let a single one through!”

“Protect the future!”

Rumble! Boom!

The king and the knights marched out and shut the castle gate tightly, sealing it.

Chaos unfolded.

Haebyul and UruBear broke through the Legion of Erosion and rushed toward Evanth.

“Ugh!”

“Uaaaa!”

Cradling Leon in their arms, they rode a horse at full speed. The moment they escaped the scene, the castle collapsed.

The scene shifted.

Leon, bloodied, arrived at Evanth and began digging the ground with the Holy Sword. He dug deep into the earth to create an empty grave, then set a headstone.

“I couldn’t become a Hero in the end. But someday....”

Leon’s voice was full of sorrow.

But he did not cry. He merely stared at the headstone, clutching the Holy Sword. Leon waited endlessly in that land for the Hero to arrive.

And then he locked eyes with the two standing behind him.

Flash!

The illusion vanished, and they returned to the Land of Erosion.

The Heroes at first looked dazed. Then, some shut their eyes tightly, others bowed their heads.

Haebyul was no different.

[The power of the Holy Sword dwells in this land.]

Whoosh! Crash!

A golden sword fell from the sky and embedded itself in the clearing.

As the light shattered, it settled into the ground.

From the place where the light touched, white flowers began to bloom.

They were the very flowers once offered by the Heroes in front of the Evanth cemetery. The blossoms shone brilliantly, soothing the desolate ruins where only solitude remained.

[Flowers of Heroes have bloomed.]

[The past, present, and future have converged to bloom the Flower of Heroes. The flower’s meaning is ‘Memory Beyond Time and Space.’]

*You can now travel from the Magic Barrier to the Flower of Heroes.

*After death, you can resurrect at the Flower of Heroes.

It was the moment a resurrection point had been created within the Land of Erosion.

Now they could advance toward the heart of Erosion even faster.

“Phew....”

Jinwoo exhaled lightly, having consumed immense magic power and computational energy for the first time in a long while. He had individually granted illusion magic to each Hero. He also ensured that anyone arriving in this land could be restored at any time. If the illusion restricted the Heroes’ actions and freedom to some degree, such a system was fully achievable.

He looked at the atmosphere, filled with nothing but silence, and grinned.

This is what you wanted, right?

Watch to your heart’s content! He wanted to shout that. This was only a tiny fragment of what was planned.

In many games, such immersive productions were used to portray past events more effectively. That strategy had clearly worked this time.

Even the Arsilan people from each village could watch the scene.

Tia: This flavor is new! Whoa! I’ve learned something.

[Tia has donated 10 Platinum Coins!]

Tiris: Young Leon’s body has been perfectly prepared. Please make ample use of it. I also replaced the photo that was in the castle. The relics will be carefully preserved.

Helby: Kid Leon, huh...! Tiris, are you a genius?

Tiris: (Emoticon: Leon nodding)

Heina: This is truly good. I want to see him in motion.

Garsha: I agree.

Luceren: Hm....

[Luceren has created the “Little Leon Fan Club” notification board.]

Jinwoo recalled the appearance of young Leon just moments ago.

That portion had been entirely left to Tiris’s direction. Since Tiris had created Leon’s body, there was no choice but to rely on her.

‘Hmm....’

But something about it seemed familiar.

It looked quite similar to the boy’s body he had seen before introducing Leon’s. He remembered the one who said his cheeks tasted like strawberries.

Suddenly, his thoughts grew complicated.

“I..., I was here.”

“We will definitely protect Leon-nim....”

“Sniff!”

“We promised we’d protect him! Why did I forget?!”

“I’m such an idiot....”

Still, the Heroes’ reactions now were utterly delightful.

Ah! So this is the flavor.

Jinwoo had realized once again.

Yes! Immerse yourselves even more! Grieve deeper!

Suffer more! Get angrier!

And cry your hearts out!

It’s your fault you couldn’t protect Leon!

"Heh, hehehehe..."

The Heroes had awakened something very dangerous.

* * *

The Land of Erosion was far vaster than any region revealed so far. Yet compared to the whole of Arsilan, it was merely a speck.

The Heroes pressed forward without rest, devouring everything in their path.

As a result, several intermediate bases like those ruins were created. Each time this happened, Jinwoo employed every production technique imaginable to provoke the Heroes.

The Archmage on the verge of reenlistment had no restraints.

From the moment more than 100,000 Heroes entered the Land of Erosion, from the moment they targeted the Core of Erosion, the outcome had already been decided.

Erosion could not grow stronger than what it had already devoured. Meanwhile, the Heroes grew ever more powerful by devouring Erosion itself. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them its natural predator.

By the time the vanguard Heroes neared level 30, sheer numbers no longer worked.

Level 30 meant they were capable of fighting on even ground with a Death Knight. It was a level attainable only by a talented Arsilan native after 15 years of pure training without distractions.

The Erosion's core holed up in the center.

It wasn’t difficult for the Heroes to locate that Core of Erosion.

'Since it's reality, the direction will probably be a bit lacking.'

Erosion's core.

Regrettably, its prime had been during the invasion event.

That was when it appeared the most imposing and exited the stage with a splendid production. Ever since, it had been on a steady decline. As a final boss, it was often considered underwhelming.

A broad smile spread across Jinwoo’s lips.

In that case, he could just use the Core of Erosion as a supporting character.

Whether it would become a legendary supporting role now depended on the Core of Erosion itself.