Inside the colossal coliseum, one by one the examinees reappeared, expelled from the simulation. Failure. Already more than two thousand had gathered, and the number kept growing.
"My dream... to beco a hero... it’s gone."
A young human boy collapsed to his knees, his body limp, eyes red with unshed tears. Years of sacrifice, training, coins, sleepless nights, all of it felt aningless now.
A friend crouched beside him, giving his shoulder a gentle pat. "Hey... there’s still next year."
In the heroes’ tribunes above, the tension was suffocating. Conversations shrank to whispers, the hum of unease slithering through the rows of seats. Every gaze was fixed on the colossal screen, where a single number burned brighter than the rest. Number One, an impossible score, held the arena in thrall, silencing even the most seasoned heroes.
Then, cutting through the hush, the sharp footsteps of a servant echoed. He strode into view, clutching a shimring docunt under the coliseum’s radiant light. His expression was grim, his tone urgent, commanding.
"Lord Celeron, the Hero Council has assigned you to investigate that participant."
From the special tribune, a tall figure rose. Every movent radiated suppressed violence, as though his muscles strained to burst free at the slightest excuse. His hair flared upward in wild golden spikes, his black eyes burned with predatory hunger. Celeron Federic, Rank 13 Hero, the battle maniac. His hand twitched at his side, impatient for blood.
"Oi... oi... they’re really sending him?" one high-ranked hero muttered, unease threading his voice. His eyes never left Celeron. "Is this... actually safe?"
An older hero exhaled heavily, his tone weighed down by apprehension. "Did the Council truly have no other choice?"
Far away, within the mountains of the simulation world, a shadow dropped into the crater below
SIIIING—BRAKKK!
The crash thundered through the basin. Dust and shards of stone swirled in the air, even startling the ice wyvern that still writhed in agony. As the haze began to clear, the first to recognize the figure was Alicia.
"Heh... always dropping in out of nowhere." A weary smile tugged at her lips, though her body swayed with exhaustion. "Why are you here? You never co without a reason."
From beneath his hood, Arzael’s voice drifted, calm and cold.
"You’re right. I only ca here to hide."
Chitara blinked in confusion. "H-hide? From what?"
"From the swarm orbs chasing ," he replied after a pause.
"So you just didn’t want to be in the spotlight, huh?" Lena snapped, her tone sharp and rising.
The wyvern roared again, thrashing against the battlefield.
"Arzael, this might sound insane, but could you—" Alicia began.
"No need!" Lena cut her off, fury lacing her voice. "We don’t need him. We can take down this wyvern ourselves."
Before Alicia could argue, the wyvern unleashed another torrent of frost. They dodged desperately, but Chitara’s strength was spent. She staggered, her voice breaking.
"Hah... it seems I’ll fail..."
"Princess! No—you can’t! We won’t fail!" Lena cried, supporting her trembling fra. Panic surged in her voice. "We will—"
"Lena, stop." Chitara’s breath ca ragged. "I’m tired of carrying my father’s expectations. He only cares about reputation... never about ."
Lena’s eyes shimred with unshed tears. She gripped the princess’s hand tightly, her own voice shaking. "You can’t give up, Princess. Please... we can still endure this!"
Chitara turned her face aside, her tone hollow. "Endure... for what? No matter what I do, he’ll never be proud."
The wyvern’s wings slashed downward, flinging shards of ice like knives. The ground split, the air stung with frost. Chitara stumbled back, nearly engulfed.
Lena strained, casting an enchantnt to shield her, but her body trembled on the edge of collapse. In desperation, her eyes found Arzael, watching silently from the icy rocks, his crimson gaze piercing through the chaos.
"We... we can still do this ourselves," Lena whispered, though conviction bled from her words. "We don’t need him..."
Arzael dipped his head, shadows cloaking his face beneath the hood. He remained unmoving.
"If you don’t truly wish it... then I won’t intervene." His voice was low, but the weight of it pressed against their hearts.
The wyvern’s wings swept wide, hurling another storm of ice and dust. Chitara collapsed. Lena’s heart clenched with helpless rage. Words were not enough anymore.
"ARZAAEL!" she scread, her voice raw, breaking against the freezing wind. "Please—PLEASE! Not for ... but for the Princess! Don’t let her fail here!"
In a blink, the wyvern’s head exploded into shards. Its body convulsed once, then crashed lifelessly to the ground.
The three girls froze, bewildered. Before they could process what had happened, the number plates on their chests shifted from red to green, passed the test.
"...Th-thank y—" Lena began, but Arzael had already vanished. The faint hum of swarm orbs filled the crater as their lights descended, locking onto the trio, reflecting the wyvern’s fading corpse.
From the skies, the proctor’s voice bood across the simulation.
"Spectators! Witness this! The Princess of Valiant and her comrades have slain the mountain’s apex boss!"
Not far away, Arzael was already striding down the mountain’s base, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the forest.
’I’ve scoured this entire arena, but there’s no trace of Aelric. Which ans... he’s already ahead of . Either as a licensed hero, or still within the Academy.’ His eyes narrowed. ’If he’s risen in rank, then it’s only a matter of ti before we et.’
His gaze lifted to the glowing leaderboard suspended in the sky.
#1 — Participant No. 439 — 45,647 points.
The number glead, blinding in its dominance.
’This score isn’t for display. With numbers this high, the Association has no choice but to take notice. They’ll send soone to , and when they do, I’ll get what I want, answers about Aelric. No need to chase. If I raise the bait high enough, the board will move toward ’
The ground shook.
BOOM!
A teor of fire smashed into the earth ahead of him, tearing open a fresh crater with a thunderous blast. Smoke billowed high, cloaking the battlefield.
As the haze cleared, a tall figure erged. Wild golden hair speared upward, his eyes burning with the madness of a beast unleashed.
Hero Class S, Rank 13 — Celeron Federic.
’At last... they’ve co.’
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