[24th Round] I Am You
The secondary education course began ten years before the original Hero was summoned, at which point one hero was called each year, with a total of 10 heroes uniting for the adventure.
That was the case until the 4th curriculum.
The 5th curriculum’s secondary education course, which was under Ssosiel’s leadership, was different.
Ten heroes still united in one setting, but Green Cake, who looked like an archmage, summoned all of them simultaneously.
And they went on an adventure together.
“Let’s go to the Eastern Continent!”
“Shouldn’t we get the Holy Sword on the Eastern Continent?”
“It’ll be better if we start from the Western Continent instead!”
“What? I suggest we go for the Northern Continent!”
“Why is everyone ignoring the Central Continent?”
“Mollan’s Teachings is the true religion!”
“I prefer the Great Child…”
“The guide says it’s best to start from the Southern Continent.”
“I’m the leader here! I have the final say!”
“Leader? Don’t make me laugh.”
Since ten stubborn people with the tendency to act independently gathered in one place, problems arose from the very beginning.
But that was also a part of their training.
Even if a hero developed leadership skills in the classroom by going out into the community, they would still have to learn how to work under someone else’s authority and collaborate with others.
Heroes were put under one team to teach them how to act together.
However…
“My dear fellow heroes, listen to my commands. For those who refuse to, raise your hand, which you do not mind losing.”
“Who’s this?”
“Are you a hero too?”
“Introduce yourself!”
“Where did you come from?”
“Why are you ordering us around?”
“Who are you?”
A certain individual brought even more confusion among them.
Judging by his stats, he wasn’t stronger than the other heroes, or even approximately equal to them.
Demonstrating the smile of the Righteous Hero, he said, “I am a hero!”
***
A righteous wolf had infiltrated a flock of sheep.
As a result, the sheep temporarily joined forces and rushed at him with the vile power of friendship’s help.
They didn’t succeed, however.
This was because the dastardly power of friendship wasn’t enough to handle fair justice!
“Ah!”
“Kh?!”
“Kya?!”
“Oh!”
And so the adventure of the Righteous Hero began.
Neglecting their training, many of them constantly fooled around. As a result, they died one by one.
Of course, they had help in reaching such dire situations.
Android Biancas, which was produced in a factory on the Western Continent, regularly attacked the heroes.
The weakest of them were slain first.
However, the head of the inspection team, Disco, didn’t pay even the slightest attention to them.
“You’re too strict with yourself, Hero. You can afford to relax with a beauty once a month.”
“Beauty?”
“She’s right in front of you.”
“… I beg your pardon, but external beauty isn’t what I’m looking for.”
“Oh! It’s been a long time since I’ve been so politely refused. I can’t even remember the last time I met a man who appreciates inner beauty.”
“You’re persistent…”
“I developed a sense of possessiveness when I was a child. Ah! I also like to be owned, though!”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Ouch!”
Disco pestered Hero Kang Han Soo all day long.
According to his personal file, shortly after his return to Earth, he died at the hands of Fugitive Senior’s subjects, and this version of Kang Han Soo appeared as his reincarnation.
He looked like me 200 years ago, and yet he knew he was a fake that could only exist in the world of Fantasy.
I was surprised he didn’t get pissed off.
“He took it quite calmly,” said Ssosiel, who led the so-called Project Kang Han Soo.
“Really?”
“Yes. When he died on Earth, he thought he was finished. But now, he feels he’s been given a second life in the world of Fantasy.”
“Hmm… Is that so.”
During my first round, no one knew about the system, so all the students, myself included, treasured their lives.
But even after that, when I learned that I could regress after death, I tried my best not to die.
Such was the instinct of human self-preservation.
We only had one life.
Even the current me, who died at the hands of Fugitive Senior’s underling, understood that I had a different body with completely different genes.
Only my soul remained.
“You think he’s a reincarnation because you were born through a woman’s womb, a natural process, but Kang Han Soo is different. He retained the same form he had shortly before his death on Earth. Hence, he understands that he became a learning material, not a reincarnation.”
“… Right.”
In my 2nd round, I already knew the world of Fantasy was a huge classroom.
That was why Kang Han Soo resigned himself to his fate, concluding that he died and became a teaching material like his companions.
I didn’t notice this before, but when I looked at ‘myself’ externally, I finally realized the immense adaptability I had.
“That’s why Distoria is so eager to get it.”
“I see…”
I decided to check the personal file of the monitored student everyone had forgotten about.
▷ Type: Personal file
▷ Name: Aladdin
▷ Alignment: Neutral Evil
▷ Main Quality: Lover of Fun
▷ Experience: 530 years
▷ Record: 7
▷ Overall Rating: A student whose genius for thievery is recognized even by teachers. He is gifted with talent and luck, but he spends too much time flirting, chasing every skirt that passes by him. It is a shame that he does not seek to complete his studies, but instead, he wastes his talents.
“Hmm. Her random choice isn’t so bad.”
Although he wasn’t a good role model, he was an excellent student compared to Sieg.
Five years before the initial summoning of the original Hero, only three of the ten heroes were left, excluding Kang Han Soo. Those who decided to leave the party weren’t even worth talking about since Bianca exterminated them.
They didn’t die without achieving anything, at least.
Holy Sword of Humans: Automania.
Holy Sword of Giants: Mollancoin.
They got hold of the Holy Swords from the Central and Southern Continents.
To get the 3rd Holy Sword, they headed to the Northern Continent.
Holy Sword of Mermaids: Mollanrod.
Containing the soul of an experienced hero, it was an ego sword that I had already acquired in the past.
It sounded incredible, but I remembered the soul imbued in it was actually pretty useless.
“Not anymore. We fired her and hired another hero.”
“I hope you didn’t use another version of me.”
“… I thought about doing that.”
“That’s too much! Are you planning on exploiting your husband to the fullest?”
“Ahem! In the end, we chose the Heavenly Demon, the strongest Hero of the 1st curriculum. At the time, he was even called the strongest adventurer.”
“Is he that strong?”
“Well, as a human, yes. Unfortunately, when he encountered Noebius, not even ashes remained of him.”
“Well, that’s only natural.”
If he attacked Noebius, it didn’t matter if he was a farmer or a hero.
However, Ssosiel probably didn’t appoint him to such an important role without a valid reason.
“It would be nice if the heroes could stop dying like flies…”
“How do they still die with Saintesses in their party?”
Saintess E and Saintess A joined them after acquiring Holy Swords Mollancoin and Automania.
However, seven of them still died without even having the chance of being resurrected.
“It’s like looking away from a shrewd child. Finding Kang Han Soo’s leadership over their adventure too hard, the Hero escapes from the party. However, Bianca immediately attacks them as soon as they’ve strayed far enough from the others. Since no one even knows where their body is, the Saintesses can’t resurrect them.”
“That’s terrifying.”
The main theme of the secondary education course was cooperation.
Therefore, no mercy was shown to those who dared detach themselves from the party.
“Mmm.”
“Anyway, hubby, give your son a name. Or do you want him to be Pedonar II, as your younger brother suggested?” Ssosiel asked, looking at our sleeping child.
“Don’t talk nonsense! I don’t want my son to hate me later for this…”
“Hush. You’ll wake him up.”
“…”
“So what do we call him?”
“I was going to give him an Earthly name, but now that it’s not my home planet anymore, I’ve decided his name to be in the style of Fantasy.”
“Have you come up with something?”
No.
But I’d figure something out soon.
The President of the Universe would help me.
Wouldn’t it?
… There it was.
“Sid.”
“Since it’s my husband’s opinion, which the universe itself prompted, I’ll go along with it, but as the mother of the child, I have a say in it, too, right?”
“Of course.”
“Sidael.”
“… I forgot you also have an angelic essence coexisting in you.”
This little life was centered on the love of two factions.
Demons and Angels.
And he didn’t inherit just one side of the family.
[Spine]
“… I’m 200% sure he will grow up to be a very strong child.”
He had divine power from birth.
Therefore, he could never be considered weak.
“There is one more thing you must know. The Sword Princess recognizes not only Parmamon as her husband but also Kang Han Soo. I thought she wouldn’t recognize you because of the difference in your appearances, but I underestimated her intuition.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. Kang Han Soo is who I was in the past.”
“Uh-huh…”
As expected, he decided to bring helpful companions under his wing before acquiring the Sword Princess, who was supposedly useless.
Kang Han Soo first recruited Sage as a companion, who wasted his time in vain rivalry with Shakespeare, the Great Sage of the Western Continent. Without putting even a second on making acquaintances, he then went to Duke Q’s estate, where the Sword Princess lived.
Naturally, it was to apply to participate in the tournament!
Righteous Hero Kang Han Soo and the monitored Hero Aladdin signed up for the tournament.
The other two members of the party opted out of it because they were women.
Regardless, being a Hero by profession wasn’t always the best option.
Aladdin was the perfect example of that.
▷ Race: Shadow Man
▷ Level: 2753
▷ Job: Phantom Thief (Crisis → Luck ↑)
▷ Skills: Dexterity ZZZ, Evasion ZZ, Covert Assassination ZZ, Tracking Z, Strength Z, Emotions Z, Love Z, Luck Z, Swimming Z, Stealth Z, Fortitude Z, Magic Power Z, Robbery Z, Spot Z, Shadows Z, Sword Mastery Z, Armor Break Z, Charm Z, Reputation Z, Extortion MAX…
▷ Status: Holy Sword, Protection, Hope
He sacrificed many basic skills to push his more important skills like Sword Mastery beyond their limit.
Although he still had useless skills like “Meet Women,” he pumped his “Reputation” as a countermeasure to “Karma,” which had grown to such an extent that it could no longer be ignored.
Sieg, that bastard…
If he sacrificed even just his Male Strength alone, he would have finished the primary course right away.
Anyway…
“I won’t lose this time, Kang Han Soo!”
“Do your best, Hero A.”
“My name is Aladdin! Aladdin! How many times do I have to say it for you to remember it?!”
“I don’t even remember the names of Hero B and Hero C, who are females, and you want me to remember a man’s name?”
“Oh, you…”
“Did you want to say something, Hero A?”
“Yes! Kang Han Soo! See you in the finals of the tournament!”
What were the confident Kang Han Soo’s stats?
▷ Race: Man of Chaos
▷ Level: 7158
▷ Job: Brave (Everyone = Level 1)
▷ Skills: Immortality ZZ, Annihilation ZZ, Divinity Z, Dark Energy Z, Chaos Z, Nature Z, Luck Z, Spirit Z, Stamina Z, Recovery Z, Sword Mastery MAX…
▷ Status: Holy Sword, Blessing, Protection
His Spirit skill was worth paying attention to. It was ranked Z, but it was actually comparable to G rank.
Earth, fire, wind, water, soul.
As in my case, the Spirit Kings of the Five Attributes stuck to Kang Han Soo’s armpits and groin.
His Divinity and Dark Energy couldn’t be ignored either!
Due to those, no magic or effects originating from Fantasy could damage him.
And if his opponent tried to overwhelm him through sheer levels, he would bring their level down to 1 through his Brave job.
He was impossible to resist against.
“Good luck, Count Lolicon.”
“My name is not Count Lolicon! I am Count Lolikun! You can learn a thing or two about manners from Aladdin!”
“Is the test over?”
“… It is. If you are so confident in your abilities, you should bet on yourself.”
“Thanks for the advice, Count Lolicon.”
“Lolikun!”
It was obvious what Kang Han Soo would do after passing the tournament qualification test.
Bet?
That could be dealt with later.
For the tournament to take place, 64 people had to sign up. Waiting for the number of participants to reach that quota was a waste of time.
Hence, he was left with no other choice.
He decided it necessary to personally deal with the recruitment of combatants.
“It’ll be fun.”
“Hubby?”
“Brother?”
As I was about to leave for the scene, I stopped.
“Why did you call me brother, Addicted Spirit?”
“Because that’s what you are to me. Nature whispered to me in the starlight that you are my brother.”
“Tsk.”
I decided not to argue and got down to business.
I wasn’t worried about being caught by Disco.
[Original Sin]
I was the nature of Fantasy, after all.
I was the deity that existed throughout the world of Fantasy.
“Excuse me. I am just a passing follower of Mollan’s Teachings…”
“… What a coincidence.”
“Oh, sorry! My hand slipped!”
“Oh, mine too.”
“Let go.”
“You let go first.”
We expressed our dissatisfaction by holding onto each other’s cervical vertebrae.
