REAPER SCANS

[The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student]

[Translator – Aine ]

[Proofreader – Ash ]

Chapter 9

"Conquering this world? That’s absurd."

Chelsea shook her head, trailing behind Leo.

"Conquering an entire scenario within a Hero’s World would be almost impossible for actual Lumene students, too. Are you saying that you think people taking the entrance exam should be able to achieve that feat?"

He said what he said.

Even Lumene's top matriculated students found it a daunting task to defeat an entire World worth of foes.

Asking test-takers to attempt such a feat seemed ludicrous.

But Leo saw it differently.

"This is a test to see if we have the potential to become heroes, right?"

"Yes."

"Then shouldn't we be faced with challenges befitting real heroes? Besides, since this is an exam. The trials we’re facing won’t be so difficult that there’s no chance that we can overcome them.”

Chelsea paused for a moment.

‘It certainly isn’t as terrible of an idea as I first thought.’

"Um, ok. So, then what's the final goal here? If this world is a level of difficulty that a group of test takers could be expected to complete, it definitely has to come from earlier on in Albi’s career. But little is known about his past."

Leo grinned, watching Chelsea contemplate.

‘She’s a smart one, no doubt.'

She was a girl with great skills and a strong sense of pride, as well.

Usually, such children tended not to listen to their peers.

But she was receptive to Leo's reasoning, immediately considering their approach.

'She’s adaptable. A sorcerer's strength, certainly.'

Still immature, Leo thought, having already deemed Chelsea a fitting hero candidate.

"I’d say we can probably conquer it fully."

"Agreed."

Chelsea nodded.

In situations where monsters appeared, upon their defeat, there was a high probability of them dropping rewards.

Leo had suspicions about what exactly it was that they had been tasked to take down.

Clenching his fist, Leo seized Chelsea's wrist.

‘Though, with all these people here, someone else might get to it first.’

Leo, who was clenching his fist while gazing upon the monsters' bodies a little while ago, suddenly grabbed Chelsea's wrist.

"What are you doing?"

Chelsea's defiance met Leo's determination.

Shwooooooom

Leo pulled Chelsea close to him.

Shoom shoom shoom

Two arrows pierced the spot where Chelsea had just been.

Wide-eyed, she stumbled.

And…

"What's happening?"

Thump!

"Oh, no!"

She fell backward, stunned.

Chelsea, tears still in her eyes, winced as she adjusted her posture.

"If you're going to grab me, make sure you hold me tight so I don't fall!"

"Sorry, I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"It's even more infuriating that you let me fall like this!"

"So… no thank you?"

"Hmph! Even without you, those arrows wouldn't have harmed me."

"But there was Aura imbued in them."

Leo's remark caught Chelsea off guard.

"I-I probably could have deflected them with the shield magic I had already prepared!"

Though she retorted, her tone softened.

"Well, thank you anyway."

Leo chuckled at her reaction.

"Tcht!"

"I could've knocked down Chelsea Lewellin!"

Other test-takers emerging from the foliage shot accusatory glances at Leo and Chelsea.

"You two."

As Chelsea stepped forward, the group of five examinees tensed.

"Let's not fight. Join us instead."

"What?"

Her sudden proposal bewildered them.

"Your group is all knights, right? There's no harm in adding a sorcerer like me to balance things out."

Despite their attack, Chelsea offered cooperation without resentment.

Since it was a test, outmaneuvering others was expected.

'If this test was just about eliminating rivals, I'd fight tooth and nail, but now it's about overcoming the Hero’s World itself.’

Leo nodded as Chelsea glanced back, as if seeking his opinion.

"Let's cooperate..."

"We might only be knights, but we can already handle long-range attacks. Our party’s balance is just fine."

"What?"

Right at that moment, the apparent leader among the group chuckled.

"There are only two of you, right? Against the five of us? We have the upper hand if we fight now."

"Yeah, and we're all candidates to become heroes, too, you know!"

“Do you think I offered to cooperate because I’m scared?”

As Chelsea attempted to interject, they grew more assertive.

"If you fall, one strong candidate is out! Why should we cooperate with you?"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Chelsea tried to say something, but Leo interjected.

"Stop it, we can't communicate anymore anyway."

"But…"

Frustration marred Chelsea's expression.

The bright girl found herself overshadowed by other test-takers who refused to heed her.

Drawing his sword, Leo spoke up.

"If they want a fight, let them have it."

"Fine, I suppose it can’t be helped."

Chelsea sighed and lifted her cane.

Watching this, Leo spoke up again. "You stay back and provide support."

"What?"

"It's a waste of your magic dealing with these small fry."

"Are you serious? They're using Aura, you know."

"Just leave them to me."

"Hmm. What if they end up beating you, though?"

Despite her cold tone, Chelsea decided to prepare herself to assist Leo if needed.

'I also need to repay my previous debt.'

Chelsea fiddled with her cane again.

Meanwhile, the other test-takers scowled at Leo.

"Who do you think you are?"

"You think you can handle all of us by yourself?"

"You punk!"

The examinee with the bow, feeling underestimated by Leo, swiftly drew and fired an arrow.

Shooooooooooooooooooom

He thought that adding Aura to an arrow flying towards a random kid would be a waste.

An Aura-less arrow soared toward Leo, as he decided to conserve his Aura for a potential confrontation with Chelsea.

‘If he dodges it, he’ll leave an opening. From there, we can surround him and finish him off--’

Snap!

“…!”

"Now's not the time to hold back."

Leo broke the arrow with his hand.

"Wh-What?! With your bare hands...!"

Whooooooooooooooooooosh!

Even before the examinee could finish speaking, Leo charged forward.

"B-block him!"

"Prepare yourselves!"

Leo rolled his eyes, watching the kids try to bombard him with blades from all directions.

But they hadn’t been fully attentive to Leo.

‘Even though she didn’t participate in this battle, her mere presence keeps them in check.’

Unlike Leo, a nobody, Chelsea, a famous candidate, was there too. 

So they couldn't help but focus their attention on her.

‘I appreciate that.’

Thwack! Clack!

"What?"

Leo, dodging a sword strike, delivered a neat punch to the gut of one of the bunch.

"You punk! I didn't sense any Aura from you!"

"Of course not. I'm not using any," Leo calmly retorted, evading an attack aimed at his back as if he had eyes there.

Whack!

"Cough!"

Leo swiftly delivered a kick to the side of another, leaving only two more opponents.

"Shit!"

Leo single-handedly dominated each of his five adversaries.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, observing from the sidelines, watched in astonishment.

‘Wow, how is he moving like that without even using Aura?’

As a sorcerer aspiring to become a Battle Mage, Chelsea had dedicated herself to years of extensive martial arts training. 

Therefore, she could appreciate the precision and skill in Leo's movements.

‘He’s… so cool!’

Feeling her heart race, Chelsea was shocked by herself.

'No! What am I thinking? He’s on Celia Zerdinger’s side! Pull yourself together, Chelsea!'

Despite shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Chelsea couldn't tear her gaze away from Leo.

* * *

Reaper Scans

[Translator – Aine]

[Proofreader – Ash]

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* * *

The number of candidates was swiftly declining. 

A result of their own ambition, in an attempt to eliminate other competitors.

'They probably assume others are being just as combative everywhere else.'

Albi surveyed the remaining students with a discerning eye.

Some were boasting about successfully eliminating rivals. 

Though, they were clearly oblivious to the true nature of the test.

After one hour after the start of the exam.

Only about 50 candidates remained out of the initial 569.

"Mr. Albi, what about those candidates..."

"All failed."

Albi's curt response left his aide flustered.

"But, Mr. Albi, many of them are talented individuals. Typically, a hundred or so students would pass in an examination like this..."

Albi's gaze hardened as he turned towards his assistant.

The aide faltered under the intense scrutiny.

"When the principal appointed me as the examiner, I made it clear that I would only pass those who met my standards. He entrusted me with this position because of that."

"I see..."

"As the examiner, it's within my authority to decide who passes. Let's not discuss this further."

With that, Albi redirected his attention to the magic mirror, where Leo's image came into view.

'He must have noticed something unusual in the forest.'

Albi adjusted his left eye.

‘Will they be able to conquer this World?’

* * *

"Chelsea, are you alright?"

"Absolutely, brother."

Approximately two hours into the examination, Leo successfully reunited with Celia and Abad.

"You're safe. But why were you with Chelsea Lewellin?"

"We crossed paths at the beginning of the exam and decided to work together from there."

"Huh? I thought she was quite proud and stubborn, though. Did she agree to cooperate with you?"

"She was persuaded."

Celia mused, casting a meaningful smile at Leo.

'He must have done something.'

After a week of being together, Celia had developed a keen understanding of her cousin's cunning but vicious nature.

“It seems like you went with the brother as well, though you said that they were unlucky and whatnot.”

"You can't just recklessly engage in combat without understanding the criteria for passing the exam," Celia replied, brushing her hair aside.

"By the way, you seem to have gathered quite the entourage."

"Abad and I moved quickly, so we were able to recruit some allies to navigate through the woods with. Although, most of them are from the Lordren Empire."

The Lordren Empire was primarily dominated by two prominent families: the Zerdingers and the Lewellins. 

Since cooperation had been recommended by representatives from both of these lineages, no one from the empire would dare turn down an opportunity for collaboration.

"Good work."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"I believe I've figured out how to pass this test."

"Oh? Have you now?"

Celia's eyes gleamed with interest.

"We have to conquer this World."

"Conquer the World?"

Celia cocked her head in confusion before nodding in understanding.

"Well, this exam is rather unconventional. There's no harm in trying to conquer the World."

"Exactly."

"However, one more question. What are the target conditions?"

In Hero Worlds, there existed target conditions: reach the state of the World the hero left it in.

It was one of the reasons why the study of heroics itself was important.

Because the study and understanding of a hero’s actions are directly correlated with the method of attacking their Hero World.

However, not all heroes had a well-documented history. 

Some remained elusive, making it difficult to ascertain the criteria to mimic their feats.

In particular, the Worlds of still-living heroes were rarely targeted.

Even if the World’s conditions were met, there were no rewards to be derived from doing so. Plus, the hero whose experiences created the World was the only one who could provide access to that World.

The only Hero’s Worlds that others could really benefit from were from the heroes of the past.

"Albi is a renowned hero, yet little is known about his past. We don’t know much at all about his attack strategy."

"I can take a guess on that part as well."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Leo sighed deeply.

"The Wild Forest is currently in an unusual state."

"An unusual state?"

"Yes. Don't you find it odd that monsters haven’t really been appearing here, in the Wild Forest?"

"Certainly..."

Typically, the forest would be teeming with monsters, their relentless attacks continuing unabated.

However, in Albie's Hero’s World, monster sightings had become infrequent, indicating an unusual disturbance.

"It's as if they're frightened by something."

Celia's expression turned grave as she contemplated the implications.

"Perhaps the appearance of a top-tier monster has intimidated the forest's inhabitants."

"Albi must have subdued it."

"Indeed."

"What sort of top-tier monster could frighten the entire forest? I've never encountered records of such an unprecedented event."

"Well…"

It was Leo's turn to respond to Celia's inquiry.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Distant screams echoed through the forest.

"It appears to have made its entrance."

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