Who is the greatest hero in the history of the continent?
Most people unanimously agree that Ryuk, the first principal of Elinia Academy, is the greatest hero ever.
However, a minority argues that Ryuk's career is overly inflated because the average abilities of heroes during his time were far inferior to those of the modern era.
Ryuk lived about 200 years ago.
Back then, there were no specialized educational institutions like the modern academies to train heroes and aides.
At that time, while heroes were chosen individuals, a significant proportion of aides were merely local toughs.
The fact that Ryuk’s aides were exceptionally outstanding is one of the main reasons behind the 'Ryuk Bubble Theory.'
Odius Hannibal, the last great archmage and the first and only human to become one.
Lunaflora Ryun Neverland, a fairy who could handle all six elemental spirits and was an 8th-circle mage even back then.
Negar Tyr, worshipped as a War God by orcs, the last great warrior of the continent.
Victoria, the only person in history who could use all 18 commandments of Renimid and a saintess of the [Order of Light].
Each of these individuals is classified as an extraordinary powerhouse, even in the modern advanced world.
They are unparalleled talents, with no equal even after 200 years.
Of course, the strong egos of each of these exceptionally talented aides are acknowledged.
The minority faction argues that Ryuk's interpersonal skills, which kept such a chaotic team together, should be recognized.
But, such claims remain in the minority primarily because Ryuk's career was overwhelmingly impressive.
Among these, his most dominant career highlight is known as 'Banishing the Demonic Realm.'
In modern times, a mid-level demon's descent can easily annihilate a small nation.
Ryuk's team not only banished hundreds of mid-level demons that descended into the middle realm but also defeated high-level demons, effectively ending the war with their own hands.
Furthermore, Ryuk left many writings for future generations.
He established standardized methods for monster hunting, which were previously haphazard, and also established guidelines for action during demon descents.
Modern heroes study Ryuk’s writings like a bible, and the content taught in the Hero Department of academies is derived from his research.
In modern times, as most dungeon locations and information are publicly available, the acceptance rate for aides in the Exploration Department is quite low compared to the Knight and Magic Departments.
With the reduced necessity for exploration, an era where expertise in combat has become more crucial has arrived.
Inside the Exploration Department classroom.
An assistant, dressed in a tailored suit like the professor, posted the [Aide Application Results] scroll on the bulletin board to the right of the lectern.
The students' eyes were immediately drawn to the scroll.
It didn't take long for sighs of disappointment to fill the room.
"Ah... I didn't make it. I only applied to the ones with low competition..."
"Me too... How miserable. Let's just spend the rest of the semester guarding the classroom together..."
This was mainly because very few students had actually been accepted as aides.
Exploration Department students were well aware that they lagged behind the Knight and Magic Departments, so they tactically applied to lower-ranked or underrated students of the Hero Department, but the results were dismal.
"Ah."
Only then did Alice realize why Henderson had smiled at her.
[Hero Department Rank 181, Theo Lyn Waldeurk]
◆Aide Acceptance List 1. Irene Aslan / Knight Department 2. Seria Lun Hestia / Magic Department 3. Alphs Shupiri / Knight Department 4. Alice Carrol / Exploration Department
───A total of 4───
"Everyone must be feeling down, but I hope you continue to strive diligently. Sometimes, it's not the result but the process that matters more."
While Henderson spoke, sensing the gloom in the classroom─
"Did I see that wrong? I think I saw a familiar name..."
"You too?"
"Yeah, me too."
The students murmured among themselves, casting glances at the back of Alice's head in the front row.
Realizing the situation, Henderson looked at the students and began to speak.
"Oh, Alice is here. Theo Lyn Waldeurk. Not just in appearance, but his approach to life also had an elegance about it. I really liked that.
No, I mean, he is a dear student of mine."
He smiled at Alice and then addressed the students again.
"By the way, Theo had the highest competition ratio in this aide recruitment. A staggering 122 to 1. Let's give a round of applause for Alice, who has raised the honor of the Exploration Department."
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap──
A lackluster applause filled the room.
Of course, it was pleasing that a fellow department student had elevated the department's honor, but most of them were still reeling from the shock of having to be classroom guardians for the rest of the semester.
'Yes, that was great!'
Regardless, Alice was in high spirits.
She not only passed as an aide but also received high praise from Professor Henderson, who was usually stingy with compliments, for herself and the hero she would be working with.
'I wonder if Professor wore Lillien Pour Homme today.'
Suddenly, she noticed Henderson's scent.
Lillien Pour Homme was not a limited-production high-end product like Eveol No.4, but it was a fragrance beloved as a daily perfume among men interested in perfumes.
Of course, its price was lower than Eveol No.4, but it was still considered expensive in the realm of perfumes.
'I wonder if Theo... uses this perfume?'
Alice, unmindful of the various gazes from the students, began to let her imagination soar.
At the same time, in the Hero Department classroom.
Just like in the Exploration Department, a scroll with the [Aide Application Results] was posted.
It was identical to the one in the Exploration Department.
I carefully checked the results scroll.
'I wonder how much it has changed compared to the game.'
Apart from Alice, I managed to recruit all the students who would have been in Neike's team in the game.
Of course, the future had to change.
I felt sorry for Neike, but it couldn't be helped.
For me, the most important thing was to graduate from the academy with the highest honors.
Without them, it would be impossible.
"Hmm, most of it went as I expected."
That was my impression after seeing the results.
Neike, seemingly swayed by emotional appeal again, formed a team with Silus and other average students.
He must have chosen based on who wrote the most emotionally charged self-introductions rather than considering individual abilities and team synergy.
"Well, Neike is still Neike."
Of course, Neike, being more than just talented but the epitome of talent, could afford to do so.
Even now, he could take on an entire hero team by himself.
Piel formed a team with the same people as in the game.
She isn't the type to be swayed by emotional appeals, but she does have a strong lone wolf tendency.
"She must have just looked at their grades."
Aisha formed almost the perfect team.
In the front, she had Julia from the Knight Department, who had previously shown good synergy with her, the top male student of the Knight Department with a strong defensive prowess, and a female student from the Knight Department affiliated with the [Order of Light] as a buffer and sub-tanker.
At the back were the top male student from the Magic Department and Aisha herself.
With three in the front and two in the back, plus a buffer and a mage, my team could be considered a mark 2 version.
Andrew formed a never-before-seen one-man carry combination, using all aides in the front line.
Of course, Sally was included.
"Surprisingly, it might work out well."
While the aides protect Andrew, he would handle both drum and gong at the back.
It's a risky formation, but Andrew is a great dealer proficient in both area-of-effect and status effect magic.
Jang Woohee, like Piel, doesn't seem to care much about academy life and picked teammates based solely on grades...
Eshild's aides are all women.
Like me, he's the only other student whose aides are all women.
The difference is, while I considered various factors like ability, synergy, and chemistry, he just picked based on looks.
"He’s building a harem kingdom, not a team."
Eshild was a true lovebird.
While sorting out these thoughts, Rok spoke.
"If there's any mistake in the results, however unlikely, report it immediately to Professor Mari."
"Yes, sir!"
"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin full-fledged team-based lessons. Be prepared. That's all."
With that, Rok left the classroom.
As usual, I half-listened to the lectures while running combat simulations in my head.
Time passed, and at 4:30 PM on Monday, all the day’s lectures were over.
Noctar, sitting next to me, stretched his log-like arms and said,
"Theo. How about a quick spar?"
"Sounds good."
A quick spar followed by a shower would fit perfectly with my scheduled time.
Irene, Seria, Alphs, Alice.
I had arranged for all the team members to meet at 5:30 PM today.
Since we'll be working together for a while, I thought it would be good to build camaraderie.
"But why do I feel so uneasy?"
I hope it's just my imagination.
