The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student-Chapter 32: Echoes of a Hero

KakaoPage Originals

The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student

[Original — Yerona]

[TL — MiT7]

[PR — Spades]

[QC — Lumi]

Chapter 32 — Echoes of a Hero

——————

"Morning."

"Good morning, Leo!"

"How was your weekend?"

Monday morning after the weekend.

Classmates greeted Leo as he entered the classroom.

"Leo, you met the student council president this weekend!" Tade said, approaching excitedly as Leo sat.

"I knew you were close with Class 1's Celia Zerdinger, but meeting the president too?" Iliana said, arms crossed, looking impressed.

Only Carl and Chelsea knew Leo and Celia were cousins.

"Big fan of the president?" Leo asked.

"Obviously! He's Lumern's top dog!" Tade said, buzzing. "Great family, skills, grades, and he's a looker. Leo, did he recruit you for the council?"

Iliana leaned in, curious.

Leo was a rising star at Lumern.

Initially, many questioned a non-top-ranker as freshman rep, but now, as an unprecedented all-class user, every department's professors coveted him.

Leo shook his head. "No recruitment. Even if he offered, I'm not interested."

Tade and Iliana's eyes lit up.

"Leo, join the Summoning Materials Research Club with me!" Tade urged. "Your summoning practicals are weak, right? It'll help!"

"Move! Forgot he's all-class? Leo, join the Magic Swordsman Club with me! You're a shoo-in!" Iliana countered.

They bickered, already provisionally in their desired clubs before first-years' official club season.

Carl, clicking his tongue, approached. "You're both behind. Leo's already decided."

"What? Where?" Tade asked.

"He's starting his own club," Carl said.

"Starting a club?" Iliana blinked.

"A first-year?" Tade echoed.

"What kind?" Nella asked, her languid voice tinged with interest from her seat.

"Hero Research Club," Carl said.

"We already study heroes in Hero Studies," Iliana said, grimacing.

"He says it's about forgotten heroes. Like Kyle," Carl added.

Tade and Iliana exchanged 'Why that?' looks.

Nella nodded. "Only Kyle's an all-class hero, even if fictional. Makes sense you're curious."

'I need to find my Hero Record page soon,' Leo thought.

Without it, he couldn't prove his past existence.

A Class 8 student, Elrig Tuna, entered Class 5, approaching Leo. "Yo, Class 5. Who's your class president?"

"No official president, but I've been acting as one," Leo said.

"We haven't decided, so tell me," Tade said.

"Huh? What's up?" Iliana asked.

Chelsea, reading a spellbook nearby, looked up.

"Uh... so who's the president?" Elrig asked, eyeing the three.

Their gazes tangled in the air.

"Obviously me. I've been assisting Professor Halind," Tade said, arms crossed.

"What? I've helped Halind plenty! And as a Raden, shouldn't I do it?" Iliana scoffed, puffing her chest.

"Talking lineage in front of a Lewallin? Laughable. But forget glory—the president should be the best. Who's the best in our class?" Chelsea said, standing with a smile.

The three squabbled over the role.

Elrig handed Leo a document. "Leo Flove, here."

"What's this?" Leo asked.

"Hero Studies schedule change. After homeroom, everyone's to gather in the main auditorium. Professor Artian's holding a joint class for all ten classes."

Combat Studies was led by homeroom professors to tailor to each class's strengths.

Hero Studies, however, had a dedicated professor.

For first-years, that was Artian, Class 8's homeroom professor, who'd left a strong impression on enrollment day.

"Give it to your homeroom professor during homeroom. I'm off," Elrig said, leaving.

"Let's see," Carl said, snatching the document. "Oh! This is it! Studying the recently retrieved Hero Record pages."

"Really?" Nella said, checking it.

"Which hero? Leo, hear anything from the president?" Carl asked.

Leo propped his chin. "He mentioned a page too damaged to project the hero's world. Probably that."

"Ugh! Deduction classes are the worst!" Carl groaned, clutching his head.

"I'm the president!" Chelsea insisted.

"No, me!" Tade shot back.

"No way! Settle it with skill! Come at me!" Iliana challenged.

"Think we're scared?"

"I'll show results in a month!"

The three kept bickering.

Nella looked troubled. "If Professor Halind sees this..."

"They're dead," Carl said, shaking his head.

***

"Joint class? Got it," Halind said during homeroom, nodding at Leo's document.

"All first-year homeroom professors will observe, not just Artian," he added, tossing the document onto the podium. "It's the first joint class, so make a good impression."

"Yes, sir," the class replied.

"Act like fools like these three in front of other classes, and it won't end lightly," Halind said.

All eyes turned to Chelsea, Tade, and Iliana, kneeling on their desks, holding chairs, heads bowed in shame.

"Professor! Why haven't we picked a class president?" Carl asked, raising his hand.

A month into the semester, Class 5 was the only one without an official president.

"I figured you'd sort it out yourselves. Me stepping in wastes time," Halind said.

Other classes spent entire Combat Studies sessions picking presidents.

Class 1, with three top-rankers, took twice as long.

Halind saw it as inefficient and left it to the students.

But Class 5 waited for him to bring it up.

"If you want me to decide, I will. Leo, Nella," Halind called, pointing to Leo at the back corner and Nella at the front.

"Leo's president, Nella's vice-president."

"Yes, sir," Leo said.

"Understood," Nella replied.

"Wait! Professor! What about a vote or something? This is unfair!" Iliana protested.

"I agree!" Tade added.

Halind looked bored. "Is anyone in this class better suited for leadership than Leo Flove?"

Iliana and Tade fell silent.

Leo's leadership in Combat Studies was unmatched in Class 5.

"And Nella's the calmest here. Perfect to support the president as vice," Halind said.

No counterargument.

Neither coveted the roles.

If Halind chose them, that was that.

"Any objections?" Halind asked.

"None," the class said.

"Good. Prepare for class and head to the auditorium."

The first-years' mass migration began.

With few joint classes outside department lessons, the mood was lively.

"Hey, Leo!"

"Leo! Wanna grab lunch after class?"

Some girls giggled, approaching Leo.

Taking all major courses, Leo knew many students.

"Wow, Leo! Mr. Popular! Makes sense with that face," Carl teased, poking Leo's side.

A school celebrity and handsome, Leo was indeed popular.

"Got any close girls you could introduce?" Carl asked.

"You're close with plenty of girls. Why ask me?" Leo said.

"Mine are all customers," Carl grumbled, hands behind his head.

"Carl," a voice called.

Carl turned, his expression odd. "Chloe, you look exhausted."

Chloe glanced at Leo, then shook her head. "Not really. Got extra fatigue potions? I'll buy them all."

Carl pulled potions from his subspace.

Chloe opened a few, chugging them.

"Semester's just started. Aren't you pushing too hard?" Leo asked.

"I'm fine," Chloe said, walking ahead.

"Man, intense. Topping theory exams and still going that hard," Carl said.

Chloe led Magic Studies' theory exams, followed by Abad, Chelsea, and Leo in fourth.

Chelsea joined in. "She's got no choice but to be anxious."

"Why?" Carl asked.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're really in Magic Studies," Chelsea sighed.

"I study just enough to avoid flunking!" Carl said, giving a thumbs-up.

"Ugh. Anyway, Chloe's anxious because if Leo masters modern magic trends, he could overtake her in theory scores," Chelsea said.

She was right.

Leo was clueless about Lumern's latest magic trends.

Classes focused heavily on them.

But in magic analysis, no student matched Leo.

"Pfft. Is theory top spot that big a deal?" Carl asked.

"For a mage tower mage, it's pride. No helping it," Chelsea said, shrugging.

Noble family mages like Chelsea focused on combat magic.

Mage tower mages, like Chloe, prioritized research and discovery.

Chelsea's type excelled in battle but didn't lead trends.

New spells and breakthroughs came from the mage tower.

Chloe felt threatened by Leo in her core domain.

'Working hard's good, but...' Leo thought, scratching his cheek, watching Chloe.

'She'll burn out at this rate.'

A former world-saving hero versus a budding talent.

Their starting lines were worlds apart.

'Might need to talk to her,' Leo thought.

***

"Lis," Kalian said in the principal's office, reviewing Lis's mission report.

"Is it true this Hero Record page reacted?"

Kalian carefully lifted the tiny Hero Record fragment.

"Yes," Lis said.

"Fascinating. A fragment this small shouldn't hold any power," Kalian said.

Too damaged to even call a page, it should've been inert.

"Any reactions since?" Kalian asked.

"None," Lis replied.

"Hm... A reaction from proximity to another Hero Record?" Kalian mused, setting the fragment down. "Well done, Lis."

"Thank you," Lis said, bowing and leaving.

Kalian turned to his secretary, Elena. "Take this to the Genesis Auditorium."

"Yes, Principal," Elena said, staring at the fragment Kalian handed her.

"Elena?" Kalian prompted.

"Oh, yes. I'll take it now," she said, leaving.

Alone, Kalian stroked his chin.

Having conquered countless hero worlds, he knew Hero Records better than anyone.

'Come to think of it, fragments this small have reacted before,' he thought, shaking his head at the impossibility.

'They'd react if the hero recorded in them was present.'