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Chapter 186: Treasure Hunt (1)
“Ugh…”
The next morning.
Yurina groaned faintly, sounding as though she were dying as she sluggishly got out of bed.
“You okay?”
“Mm, yeah, I’m fine…”
“It’s almost time to gather, so hurry up, wash, and get ready.”
“…Alright.”
Yurina sat up on the bed and glanced at me.
I had already changed into my uniform.
Her dazed gaze suddenly sharpened as her eyes widened.
“Huh? Huh?!”
Yurina began fidgeting nervously, touching her lips.
“D-Dale… Did we, by any chance, yesterday…?”
“Hm? Yesterday what?”
“Well, it’s just… did we… kiss…?”
“What kiss?”
Feigning complete ignorance, I shook my head.
Relieved, Yurina let out a deep sigh of relief.
“It’s nothing. I must’ve mistaken a dream for reality.”
“……”
What had happened last night—our kiss—wasn’t a dream, but reality.
‘It’s better to let her believe it was a dream.’
After all, having your first kiss end with drunkenly smashing your head against the toilet bowl and throwing up wasn’t exactly a memory worth cherishing.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
And so, Yurina—no, Yuren—and I arrived at the gathering spot.
The area in front of the inn was bustling with other candidates who had arrived early.
“So, did everyone rest well yesterday?”
Professor Lucas scanned the candidates who had gathered at the meeting place.
Since there wasn’t any formal schedule on the first day, most of them had stayed up late partying and drinking, getting little to no sleep.
But perhaps the magic of the word "field trip" was at work.
The candidates’ eyes sparkled like stars as they stood at the gathering place.
“Before we introduce today’s itinerary, I’d like to introduce someone very special to you. Be sure to behave yourselves.”
“Someone special?”
“Who is it?”
Hearing Professor Lucas use unusually polite language, the candidates tilted their heads in curiosity.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
With a slight smirk, Professor Lucas contacted someone via his Hero Watch.
Before long, the sound of clanking metal echoed through the area, and knights clad in pure white armor appeared.
Their precision as they marched in perfect formation was breathtakingly intimidating.
“Is that…?”
“T-The Seven Star Knights?”
“Wow… I’ve heard about them, but it’s my first time seeing them.”
“Same here.”
The Seven Star Knights.
They were the holy knights of the Holy Kingdom, known as the strongest, with their leader being Johann Basilio, the "Sword of the Holy Kingdom," ranked 4th in the current Hero Rankings.
Compared to the Empire’s "Golden Knights" or the Republic’s elite "Hwarang Corps," they were said to lack individual combat power.
However, their cohesion and loyalty were unparalleled, making them unique.
‘Even in my previous life, the Seven Star Knights were the only elite force with zero defectors.’
Because of this, they were famously reclusive, rarely leaving the Holy Kingdom’s capital.
“So why are the Seven Star Knights here…?”
As this shared question floated through the candidates’ minds—
Step. Step.
A woman in a white priest’s robe appeared, escorted by the Seven Star Knights.
Her white hair and gentle features radiated warmth as she approached the candidates with a kind smile and bowed deeply.
“Greetings, candidates of the Hero Academy. It is an honor to meet the heroes of the future.”
Her soft voice resonated clearly in the ears of every candidate present, despite the large crowd.
Recognizing her, the candidates grew increasingly agitated.
“That, that’s…”
“No way…”
“Is that… Lady Marianne? It has to be!”
“No freaking way…! The Pope herself is here?!”
Pope Marianne.
Ranked 2nd among the current Heroes and the leader of the Holy Kingdom.
The sudden and unexpected appearance of the Pope stirred a buzz among the candidates.
“Everyone, quiet.”
Professor Lucas stepped forward, holding a microphone.
“The Pope has come personally after hearing about your field trip to the Holy Kingdom.”
“……”
Even knowing the Hero Academy’s significance among the three nations, it seemed excessive for a national leader to visit over a mere field trip.
The answer to this puzzling situation wasn’t hard to find.
The candidates’ gazes naturally turned to Iris.
“Lady Marianne…?”
“Fufu. It’s been a while, Iris. How’s school life treating you?”
Marianne smiled warmly and waved at Iris.
Iris seemed startled, as though she hadn’t expected Marianne to show up.
“I’m sure you’re all surprised, but my visit here isn’t solely to see Iris.”
Shifting her gaze from Iris, Marianne addressed the candidates.
“I’ve heard about how you bravely stood against the sudden invasion of the demon army. It’s a challenge even for seasoned heroes, yet you accomplished it as mere candidates.”
Her voice remained gentle but filled the space with gravity.
“As a token of appreciation for your courage, the Holy Kingdom has prepared a small event for you.”
“An event…?”
“What could it be?”
The candidates tilted their heads at the mention of the word “event.”
Marianne glanced at the candidates with a kind smile on her lips.
“Hehe, the event we’ve prepared is… a treasure hunt!”
“Whoa…!”
“A t-treasure hunt?”
Treasure hunt.
More precisely, the word treasure lit up the candidates’ eyes.
“As you all know, the Thermál region you’re in is home to the tomb of Lady Grace. And on the path leading to the tomb lies a massive ruin.”
As Marianne explained, Lady Grace’s tomb was built beneath a vast ruin.
There were many speculations—whether it was to prevent grave robbers from intruding or to seal dangerous beasts beneath the ruins.
However, the exact reason was still unknown.
“We thought of creating a light-hearted event where you’d find clues within the ruins and locate the tokens we’ve hidden to earn matching rewards, but…”
“Huh?”
“You thought of doing that?”
The candidates froze at her ominous use of the past tense.
“Instead, at the suggestion of the Hero Academy, we’ve prepared a slightly different kind of event.”
“……”
“The part where you retrieve the tokens hidden within the ruins and earn rewards remains the same.”
But.
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“To enhance your combat skills and provide real-world experience, we’ll be stationing obstacles within the ruins.”
“…Obstacles?”
“Are they releasing Guardians like in the last final evaluations?”
“Hey, how many people do you think are here? Do you know how much gold it’d cost to release Guardians?”
“And the Holy Kingdom has the weakest Guardian manufacturing tech among the three nations.”
“Then what exactly are these ‘obstacles’ you’re talking about…?”
The candidates turned curious gazes toward Marianne.
“The obstacles stationed within the ruins will be… the people standing before you.”
“……?”
“Well… to explain.”
Still wearing her kind smile, Marianne continued with words that were anything but kind.
“The Seven-Star Knights will beat… I mean, subdue you to interfere with your treasure hunt.”
“…….”
“…….”
Silence descended.
The previously excited atmosphere froze as though chilled by an icy wind.
“So….”
“You want us to find hidden treasures in the ruins while being hindered by the Holy Kingdom’s finest knights?”
“What kind of insane nonsense is that?”
The candidates’ faces displayed disbelief.
Understandable.
Asking candidates who hadn’t even obtained their official Hero certification to face active-duty heroes, particularly the elite Seven-Star Knights, was an absurd demand.
“Alright, calm down,”
Professor Lucas said, addressing the flustered candidates.
“As you all know, we didn’t come to the Thermál region for sightseeing. This isn’t just a school trip—it’s a field trip!”
Thud!
He stomped his foot lightly, his voice brimming with energy.
“Does anyone know what ‘field trip’ means in the ancient language of the Republic?”
“…….”
“…….”
While candidates from the Empire and Holy Kingdom stood dumbfounded, unable to answer, a candidate from the Republic raised their hand.
“It’s written with the characters for refining and learning, meaning a journey to refine and learn, isn’t it?”
Professor Lucas shook his head firmly and shouted,
“Wrong!”
“What?”
“The ‘field trip’ in field trip uses the characters for head and learning. It means learning while your head gets cracked open! That’s the essence of a field trip!”
“What the heck is this man talking about…?”
Whispers of discontent spread among the Republic candidates.
“In any case! Candidates who wish to participate in the treasure hunt, step forward!”
“Huh? Does that mean we can opt out?”
“Yes. But…”
Professor Lucas’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“For those who choose not to participate, an intimate extreme training session with me is prepared. So feel free to decline.”
“……”
The candidates were now faced with a devil’s choice: endure training with Professor Lucas or brave the treasure hunt while evading the Seven-Star Knights.
Either way, it was a path to hell.
“Um, can we at least know what the treasure is?”
One candidate hesitantly asked.
“Of course.”
Professor Lucas nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, there are various treasures depending on the rank of the tokens found, but I’ll reveal the first-place prize.”
With a few taps on his Hero Watch, a pure white glass vial appeared as a hologram in midair.
“The ‘Grace of the Divine.’ A potion from the Holy Kingdom said to revive even those on the brink of death. That’s the first-place treasure.”
“……!”
The Grace of the Divine.
A legendary potion that could instantly heal wounds and even restore depleted magical energy.
“No way… The Grace of the Divine?”
“Isn’t that insanely expensive?”
“I heard just one vial could buy a mansion in the heart of Valhalla City…”
Among heroes, who often danced with death, the Holy Kingdom’s potion was akin to carrying an extra life.
Of course, its value was equally astronomical, with its price practically unmentionable.
“If we can somehow avoid the Seven-Star Knights and find the treasure…”
“This could be a life-changing opportunity!”
The candidates’ eyes burned with renewed determination.
‘The Grace of the Divine, huh.’
Unlike the others, who were getting excited, I clicked my tongue indifferently.
For anyone else, it might have been priceless, but for me, it was utterly useless.
‘Should I just skip this?’
While non-participants would have to undergo Professor Lucas’s extreme training, honestly, considering my usual training routine, even that would feel like child’s play.
‘Yeah, better to just stay back and train than to waste time chasing pointless treasure.’
Just as I was about to step back—
“Oh, and by the way, those who find treasures in this hunt will receive bonus points toward their overall evaluation rankings based on the grade of the treasure.”
“Dale Han, 3rd-year warrior division! I’ll participate!”
I raised my hand high and shouted decisively.
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