This World Needs a Hero

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…Going back a bit in time to the orientation day.

Facing a group of anxious students, the Hero had said something like this:

“I hope you don’t act complacent just because you’ve become Extreme Students.”

“The Extreme Course is designed to cultivate the vanguard of humanity. If you show any signs of inadequacy, immediate deductions will be applied…”

These words, like a thunderbolt, struck the already tense students.

“Accumulate deductions, and you’ll be expelled.”

“So give your best at every moment without regrets.”

The atmosphere, once chaotic, changed with the mention of expulsion.

How proud they had been to become the disciples of the Hero throughout the neighbourhood?

Expulsion was an unthinkable fate for these students.

Of course, the Hero didn’t only wield the whip.

“On the contrary, for students who earnestly engage in the class and achieve meaningful results, bonus points will be given.”

The Hero’s dangling carrot in front of the students was truly tempting.

The cumulative bonus points would bring them significant benefits:

Private tutoring, artifact gifts, experiential learning, and more.

Indeed, these were tremendous privileges.

…Anyway, after such statements, the first evaluation took place.

The students tackled the exam with all their might.

“If you fail the written exam, you’re excluded from the practical session.”

“If you fall behind already, what’s the point!”

And so, the limited time came to an end.

“As for the successful candidates…”

Out of the total thirty-one students, only thirteen passed.

It was a moment of mixed emotions.

Ban, confirming his name on the list, let out a relieved sigh, while Leciel clenched her fist under the desk.

Unfortunately, Cuculli didn’t make it.

“No, no! We studied together! Why only me!”

Watching Cuculli, tearing at her hair with a face full of injustice, Leciel thought, ‘I seem to have a talent for studying.’

It seemed quite certain when looking at that fool.

“The rest will go through a retest and proceed to the practical session later. For now, observe what the successful candidates do.”

As the Hero finished speaking and gestured, mechanical devices activated, revealing the preserved specimens once again.

“What’s that?”

At that moment, Leciel realized that the preserved specimens weren’t just hanging for display.

Sturdy steel wires were tightly connected to the joints of the specimens, much like puppet strings used in puppet shows.

WIll those things move as if they were alive?

She wondered.

“Pia.”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Wooooong!

A much louder mechanical sound resonated as the wires swayed once.

The preserved specimens twitched.

The students were momentarily frozen.

It was quite a grotesque sight.

“To practice dissection on still-living creatures, you are inadequate.”

The Hero walked towards one of the specimens as before.

However, what he held in his hand was not an arrow but a sword.

“Therefore, today’s practical session will proceed in this manner.”

… The Hero demonstrated directly.

The students focused their attention squarely, forgetting to breathe.

Leciel was no exception.

Kugugugu!

It was as Leciel had expected.

When the ceiling mechanism started working, the preserved specimen that had been hanging still quickly moved and attacked the Hero.

Applying anatomical theory to a stationary specimen is easy.

But these specimens were special devices modified overnight by Pia to move according to complex patterns.

Their movements were much more vivid than expected.

Kyaak!

The students let out short screams, anticipating the splendid swordsmanship the Hero would display.

Srrung!

He started moving just as the preserved specimen approached him.

The sword was drawn.

“Huh?”

However, the anticipated admiration didn’t come.

Instead, a puzzled sound spread first.

‘What’s this?’

The Hero’s swordsmanship was rugged and simple.

Thrust and withdraw.

He rapidly moved around the swiftly moving specimen, piercing it with the sword using simple steps.

That was it.

Moreover, he didn’t even raise his mana.

Thud!

Thud, thud!

A strange sense of disappointment filled the silence.

Only the mechanical hum echoed in the classroom.

They began to realize something a little later.

Leciel was the first.

“Ha!”

Her red eyes trembled slightly.

Starting with her, admiring remarks slowly escaped the students’ lips.

“Wow.”

“No way, is that even possible?”

Every attack encountered no resistance.

The sword effortlessly penetrated the monster, as if piercing through pudding.

There seemed to be some kind of suction force between the monster’s body and the Hero’s sword.

‘That monster has over 400 bones…’

Because they had just struggled with simply studying horrifyingly complex dissections, their amazement was even greater.

Unless one had eyes that could see beyond the physical body, how could they be so precise without a single error?

Every strike was effective.

All struck vital points and organs.

If that monster wasn’t a specimen but a live one, it would have died over 30 times by now.

…As different types of specimens began to move towards the Hero one by one, the students were simply left speechless by what came after.

The Hero effortlessly ‘dissected’ over 10 different specimens in an instant.

It was like watching the butchering process in a slaughterhouse.

Cruel.

Infinitely indifferent.

It was a demonstration that made them wonder what kind of battlefields he had traversed.

The students were overwhelmed.

“…”

The Hero turned towards them.

He had a calm expression.

“This is how it’s done.”

The thin frame of his glasses glinted uniquely.

* * *

The students took turns in the practical session.

The Hero, closely observing the process, offered a brief evaluation.

“Pierced a total of thirty-three times, fifteen times blocked or missed. In a real battle, you would have died at least three times.”

The male student who had just finished the practical session, named Lucas Wellington, shook his head.

He was the second son of the Wellington Marquis and the boy who had embarrassed himself by approaching Leciel in the waiting room for interviews in the past.

‘No, why is this so difficult?’

When he saw the Hero’s demonstration, it seemed so easy.

But now.

Once he actually raised the sword and stood in front of the specimen, his hands and feet got tangled randomly.

‘Did I see the difficulty wrong?’

Yeah, something is strange.

Logically, how could someone memorize that complex dissection perfectly within four hours?

‘And the target is ridiculously fast.’

The boy bit his lip tightly, waiting for the Hero’s continued evaluation.

“Lucas Wellington. Your score is a C.”

“Ugh…!”

“Doesn’t make sense?”

“No, sir. I’ll give a better performance next time.”

Lucas forced a smile, his lips twitching.

C.

A ‘C’.

The students who had just completed the practical session received similar scores, but it provided no comfort whatsoever.

Being on the same level as those losers was disgusting.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

Returning to his seat with his pride thoroughly wounded, Lucas noticed the next person waiting behind him and paused.

‘…Of course, it’s Leciel.’

Like most male students, Lucas was conscious of Leciel.

Especially after being ignored during their last encounter.

‘Is she looking this way?’

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However, contrary to expectations, Leciel’s gaze merely passed by him.

A glance that slid to the side like looking at an inanimate object.

A handsome face, tall stature, a well-maintained physique – despite possessing an excellent background, he received harsh treatment from this girl that he had never experienced before.

At that moment, Lucas was convinced that she must have forgotten the fact that he had spoken to her in the waiting room.

‘Damn it….’

Seeing Leciel engage in conversation with the boy behind him, Lucas’s mood became even more unpleasant.

“How does the structure of the Kaborg’s left side bones look?”

“Are you talking about the bone number 8? It spreads out in the shape of a trident. The spacing varies by individual, but it’s roughly about 4 to 6 cm.”

“Oh, right. Go… on.”

As Leciel’s words trailed off, Ban playfully tilted his head.

“Huh?”

“I… passed. Thanks to you.”

“Good for you. You’ll do well.”

Lucas, watching their interaction, couldn’t help but snicker.

‘This timid guy acts all high and mighty.’

Lucas disliked Ban.

Although they had known each other since childhood, he had never liked him.

Even though their families’ relations were great, there was just something about Ban that didn’t sit well with him.

‘For someone with talent and noble blood, he doesn’t know how to use it properly, just a half-baked guy.’

It was Lucas’s comprehensive assessment of Ban.

He found it irritating that someone like Ban, who walked the path of a warrior just like him and garnered attention in noble society, was receiving more attention than him even though their paths were similar.

‘Well, he’s taking care of his own downfall.’

Tsk.

As Lucas was clicking his tongue, the Hero called Leciel.

“Leciel Hiyashin. Step forward.”

“Yes.”

The buzzing classroom fell silent.

All eyes focused on her.

Leciel calmly walked up and stood in front of the Hero.

“Monsters are randomly assigned from the seven species. Tell me when you’re ready.”

She, the prodigy who had stirred up the academy long before enrollment, was now facing the moment of validation.

Swoosh!

In the tense silence.

Leciel’s slender, pale, yet strong hand gripped the sword.

The sword of the swordmaster, ‘Shape Shifter.’

…At that very moment.

The students felt a sensation as if the chilling edge of that sword had touched their throats.

Half of the classroom instinctively brought their hands to their necks.

“Wow, amazing….”

“She’s insane.”

It was different.

Something was definitely different.

The vague sense of anticipation suddenly became concrete and intensified, pouring towards Leciel.

Even though the expectations could be a burden, there was not a single change in her expression.

…From the beginning, the only thing that mattered to her was the ‘expectation of just one person.’

Her crimson eyes briefly glanced at the Hero.

“I’m ready.”

“…Begin.”

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Before the words were finished, the stuffed monster hanging in the room rushed forward.

A peculiar smell of chemicals that pricked the nose.

But Leciel took a deep breath.

Yes, she couldn’t handle theory, she admitted.

But she was confident that in this type of practical exercise, she was more skilled than anyone in this classroom.

The anatomy diagrams in her mind, the stuffed monsters in front of her, and the sword in her hand – there is no need to separate them.

Now, it was time for the things she was born with to shine.

Leciel thrust the sword.

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The theories created by ordinary people are useless to geniuses.

Then, what about theories created by geniuses?

Are they also useless to geniuses?

The answer was just demonstrated by the genius.

“There were a total of fifty-six sword strikes, and all of them hit. A+, Leciel.”

Although the tone was no different from when giving a C, Leciel was satisfied.

She could read the ‘expectation’ in the indifferent eyes of the Hero.

Meeting the expectation, she gained ‘future expectations.’

That was enough for her.

Feeling a sense of fulfillment after a long time, she looked at the stuffed monsters that had become a beehive.

‘…Monster Anatomy.’

It started from the first sword strike.

Leciel realized that this theory was created for those with innate talents, those who could enter the extremes.

Ordinary people, even if they mastered this discipline perfectly, couldn’t use it in combat.

Memorizing the positions of bones and organs wouldn’t help an ordinary person if they couldn’t chase a fast-moving monster and accurately strike its precise location.

‘When did the Hero prepare for a class like this?’

…It was interesting.

And beneficial.

In these two aspects, it couldn’t even be compared to other classes.

“Uh, I could have done as well if I just passed the test! It’s unfair!”

Chasing after the pathetic outcry from one side of the classroom, Leciel turned her head.

Soon, she could see Cuculli, who was feeling very disappointed.

Unlike the majority of students who felt the difference in talent and were overwhelmed, Cuculli’s eyes were filled with a sense of superiority.

…It was pitiful.

“…Hmph.”

“Why are you, why are you… Why are you laughing! Hey, you red punk!”

It was truly fortunate.

If it weren’t for her classmate’s help, she might have been standing there like that blue fool, just watching the practical exercise.

‘Come to think of it, the one right after is… .’

It was Ban’s turn.

Leciel suddenly became curious about how Ban, who was proficient in theory, would apply it to this practical exercise.

She looked at him standing in front of the stuffed monster.

‘…What’s going on?’

It was a completely unexpected scene.

Ban, with a pale face, was trembling.

‘Is he nervous or something?’

Leciel wasn’t the only one who noticed the change.

“Ban Dietrich. Is there a problem?”

The Hero’s words shifted the attention from Leciel to Ban.

Unfortunately, he had no chance to explain his condition.

“Uh…”

The boy staggered for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

Thunk!

The Hero looked at Ban with a perplexed expression as he foamed at the mouth and fainted.

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