This World Needs a Hero

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On the way to the classroom, the Hero suddenly spoke,

“By the way, has Luke returned safely?”

“Yes, I confirmed his return yesterday. I’ll rearrange today’s counselling session. Nevertheless, Professor, your upcoming schedule appears quite packed…”

“Let’s take care of the counselling schedule gradually for now,”

Pia’s eyes sparkled.

“But about this invention. Did you really come up with it yourself? It seems like advanced technology.”

“It’s easy to come up with ideas. If you hadn’t molded it so well, it would have been just a daydream.”

“Oh, I just followed the design, that’s all.”

This invention had been on his mind since before he joined Rosenstark.

He designed it, incorporating various ingenious features for use in classes.

“It’s over technology itself,” commented Pia.

It was not only the knowledge of Zero Requiem in the Iris of Laplace but also Pia’s knowledge of over-technology that made the design possible.

The Hero looked at Pia with pride.

‘If it weren’t for her, it wouldn’t have been completed.’

While her combat skills might not be good, he once again was reminded about how Yussi claimed that she might surpass her in the manufacturing aspect.

“Well, a lot of money was spent, but considering the performance of this invention, it was well worth it.”

“If you patent it, you might end up sitting on a money cushion.”

“I’m already sitting on it. So, Professor, this invention is yours.”

“Thank you. But…”

“Yes. You’re going to donate it to the academy, right?”

“You’re cutting me off now.”

“…Ugh.”

The Hero chuckled and said,

“Let’s go in now.”

They were already in front of the classroom.

As the door creaked open, the lively laughter of the children immediately ceased.

Facing dozens of fixed pairs of eyes, the Hero stepped onto the platform.

“Uh…”

“Um…”

The children, who had been smiling happily, avoided eye contact and looked uneasy.

The warm demeanor seen during counselling was nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was the usual expressionless and intimidating atmosphere.

Some sighed with disappointment.

“Well, before we start the lecture, let me introduce the item we’ll be using today.”

All eyes turned towards one side of the classroom at that moment.

* * *

Kwaaaaang!

Before the thunderous noise that shook the ground could fade away, a terrifying shockwave was added on top of it.

A magical creature rose into the air, floating in the void.

The children desperately swung their swords.

Klang!

However, they couldn’t touch it.

The magical creature effortlessly penetrated the loosely formed defense.

The frontline, not sturdy enough to withstand a solid attack, allowed the magical creature to break through easily.

As a result, the rear guard, supposed to concentrate firepower to suppress the creature, quickly became combat ineffective.

…A total disaster.

In the end, total annihilation was inevitable.

“Argh.”

“Aaaahh!!”

“Ahhh!”

Children were caught by the claws and fangs of the magical creatures.

Tsstststst-

But what scattered into the air instead of blood was sparkling particles.

The fierce roars of the magical creatures soon dissipated like smoke and disappeared.

Above that, the Hero’s monotone voice overlapped.

“This is the result when set to default.”

The students who had been writhing on the ground were immediately engulfed in a white light, transforming back into models.

The battlefield, once a swamp, instantly returned to a colorless stone wall.

Everyone in the classroom stared at the podium, or more precisely, at the ‘peculiar item’ in front of the Hero, as they recalled the events from ten minutes ago, completely spellbound.

“This item is called ‘Simulacrum.'”

Gathered around a rectangular box as long as the classroom’s width, they listened to the Hero.

The Hero opened the lid of the box.

“Can you see the dolls inside?”

Inside the box, dozens of dolls were arranged in military formation on an empty battlefield.

The precision, as if real-life objects were reduced in size, elicited admiration from the children.

Their awe turned to confusion as they gazed at the dolls.

“Is-isn’t that me?”

Evergreen pointed at a doll standing somewhat awkwardly with a perplexed expression.

Other children soon discovered dolls with familiar features.

The Hero continued the explanation.

“These dolls are a kind of avatar created based on your abilities and characteristics. Their strength has been uniformly adjusted, and they can be controlled very precisely with voice commands. You can also pre-enter a series of commands.”

As soon as the Hero finished speaking, the avatars opened their eyes simultaneously, as if understanding the spoken words, and stared at the children.

A mixture of screams and cheers erupted.

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It was a bizarre yet mystical scene.

“Simulacrum recreates a total of 30 magical districts and the magical creatures that appear in each district as realistically as possible.”

“In a randomly presented environment, your task for today’s practical training is to use your avatars to win battles.”

The children were highly intrigued by this completely new teaching method.

“Wow, this sounds really fun!”

“…It’s ‘extreme’ indeed. It’s on a different level from other classes, right?”

As Pia, who had been waiting, began writing examples on the blackboard, the Hero continued.

[Today’s Mission List]

The examples were diverse and specific, ranging from basic extermination missions to missions rescuing stranded party members.

There were missions involving looting resources or items and even missions defending or capturing bases while fending off attacks from magical creatures.

Various types of battlefields, the number of avatars that could be summoned, and the types of magical creatures were all different.

The children’s excited eyes began to waver.

“Huh? This…?”

“…It’s not just about what we learned in the ‘Extreme’ class?”

“Even the common curriculum is included?”

In other words, if they hadn’t diligently followed Rosenstark’s curriculum for advanced magical creature education, achieving a high score would be challenging.

The Hero stood in front of the chalkboard filled with writing.

“One of these examples will appear randomly. The maximum score is 10 points.”

“…”

“And…”

At this point, the Hero slightly smiled, as if implying something.

Wielding only a whip wouldn’t be enough for better achievements.

For the children, he had prepared a special incentive.

“I’m thinking of taking students who score 8 or higher on an outing to a nearby village this weekend.”

…An outing?

The children exchanged surprised glances for a moment.

Was he referring to the outing that usually takes more than two months for freshmen to participate in?

And with the Hero?

The classroom buzzed with excitement at this unexpected announcement.

“Well then, let’s start in 10 minutes.”

Before the practical exercise on examples, there was a short break.

During this break, one child spoke after swallowing his saliva.

“Hey, this weekend is the day of the Artisan Expo. I’m definitely going.”

“…Artisan Expo? What’s that?”

“I’ve heard of it before…”

Deindart, the only second-year student in the Extreme class, spoke up.

“It’s a massive event where various guilds and clubs gather to exhibit their products and services. It’s hosted by none other than the Glendor Association.”

The expo featured a wide range of guilds and clubs, including the common crafting fields like alchemy and enchanting.

It also included support categories like taming, cooking, exploration, information, and even art fields like painting and music.

Booths of all kinds were set up.

Although it wasn’t as big in the past, it gained popularity after Yussi took over, becoming an event that attracted external visitors.

Of course, there was a variety of delicious food and entertainment.

“Wait, what kind of food is there?!”

“Rather than the types, you should first ask who’s doing the cooking. Last year, a former royal chef came! The guy who tasted his cooking didn’t touch the cafeteria food for a week, and that story became quite famous.”

“Wow!”

“As for entertainment… Let’s see. There was a gladiator arena, and a team of adventurers came and sold the treasures they excavated. Oh! There was even a magical creature racing competition.”

Deindart, who had already attended the expo once, spoke with excitement drawn from his experience.

Even the children who were listening with mild interest were captivated by his vivid descriptions.

…For example, Leciel’s eyes sparkled during the part about the art booths.

By the way, when the former royal chef was mentioned, Cuculli’s horn had already skyrocketed to the sky.

“They’ll probably like it. After all, they can’t go out during their usual time.”

Enjoying the reactions of his juniors, Deindart whispered, lowering his voice.

“By the way, it only opens twice a year—once in the first half and once in the second half. If you miss this expo, you’ll have to wait for about six months.”

As he finished his last sentence, most of the children’s eyes were burning with enthusiasm to score above 8 points.

…That was until the first participant, Leciel Hiyashin, suffered a brutal failure.

“Leciel Hiyashin, 1 point.”

The classroom buzzed for a moment.

Leciel, who always excelled not only in the extreme class but also in other classes, had received only 1 point.

Even she seemed shaken, and her usually composed expression showed a subtle distortion.

“…”

Evergreen, feeling sympathy, swayed back and forth on her two legs.

‘What should I do… Leciel seemed really eager to go out.’

When Senior Deindart talked about the expo, she was the only one who hadn’t shown much interest.

However, she could immediately tell from observing (because she was too cute) Leciel’s reactions that she liked the idea of going out to the expo.

Evergreen looked at Leciel’s pursed lips with a pitiful expression.

‘…But, the assignment is really difficult. What if I also get 1 point?’

Seeing the simulation that had just started, Evergreen could instantly grasp the shocking difficulty of this assignment.

She looked at the doll resembling herself with tense eyes.

It wasn’t just an external resemblance, as Professor had mentioned.

‘He replicated our combat characteristics faithfully.’

For example, Cuculli’s doll was extremely aggressive.

Even when assigned to a safe position, it ultimately emerged as the most fierce frontline.

‘But, in return, its performance on the front lines surpasses the other dolls significantly.’

Taking into account Cuculli’s background from a rugged snowy region, the doll showed a relatively freer movement on the battlefield.

It wasn’t only Cuculli.

Gerald’s spear techniques, which were powerful but had a longer cooldown, were faithfully replicated.

Even Evergreen’s archery traits were accurately represented.

It was an incredible level of realism born from meticulous observation.

The ‘Simulacrum’ quietly contemplating a tactical manual on the desk seemed far more helpful than expected.

However, the issue lay in the difficulty, as mentioned before.

Evergreen, like Leciel, had no idea how to lead this task to victory.

With a limit of 8 participants, a swampy terrain where one’s feet sank deep, and a time constraint, not to mention the advanced-level monster population that needed to be subjugated—it came with tremendous challenges.

Evergreen pondered how to turn the tide in a task that Leciel had just failed.

The difficult conditions were reminiscent of the defensive battles she had experienced several times in her hometown.

“Next turn…”

“I just can’t comprehend receiving 1 point.” shouted Leciel in a low voice

A dispassionate voice immediately silenced the buzzing classroom.

A brief silence followed.

Then, the murmurs of the students erupted.

“Wow… this is crazy.”

“Is this the time to appeal?”

“If I get 1 point, I might as well turn into a ghost.”

“But don’t you think it’s better to yield here…?”

Despite the hostile reactions, Leciel, with her crimson eyes more vivid than ever today, simply gazed at the instructor.

The instructor, ignoring the students’ unrest, passed by Leciel and stood in front of the ‘Simulacrum.’

“It seems there’s a need for more understanding.”

Passing by Leciel, who stood still, the instructor stood in front of the ‘Simulacrum.’

“I guess, you all will understand better if I give you an example.”

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