I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 129

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The following proposal is submitted for the succession of the Sacred Relic, Resonance.

Supporting evidence is Seo Yoo-rang’s Resonance usage record recorded in the “Lake.”

Hero Candidate Seo Yoo-rang can smoothly…

“Hmm…”

Lyudmila, who was writing the proposal with a pen, paused.

The word “smoothly” wasn’t quite right.

‘Clearly, back then, he…’

Felt resistance.

He pretended not to, but she, as the bow’s owner, could definitely tell. It was a sensation she herself felt every time she drew the bow.

‘Especially when he plucked the last string, it was severe.’

The last string, to which three arrows were linked. His first attempt to pluck it had been a near failure.

‘In fact, until then, I wasn’t sure if he would succeed.’

But on his next attempt, he had changed.

A strange, different kind of wind suddenly emanated from him, and he finally succeeded in plucking the string. And a clear sense of fatigue was evident in him afterward.

‘Was it simply fatigue?’

The rank of a Sacred Relic was absolute. Ordinary humans, no matter how hard they tried, couldn’t use a Sacred Relic they weren’t meant to.

But he had suddenly become capable of using it. Was that possible with just fatigue as the price? It didn’t make sense. There had to be another cost.

‘However…’

That was his judgment. He must have decided that it was a price worth paying to use Resonance. And if possible, she wanted to respect that decision.

‘I wasn’t much different.’

She held up her right hand, the one not holding the pen. It was a disfigured hand, calloused and scarred from repeated use. Even now, every time she used Resonance, the calluses would split open and bleed.

It hurt. Even without using the bow, a constant, dull ache lingered in her fingers. Because of this, she, originally right-handed, had to learn to write and eat with her left hand. That was her price.

That’s why she’d hoped that Seo Yoo-rang, who could control the wind, might be able to use the bow without such a price. But he, too, had a different price to pay.

‘I don’t know what that price is…’

But just as she endured the chronic pain in her hand to pluck the strings, he must have had a similar resolve. She didn’t want to dismiss that resolve.

So, she continued writing the proposal.

…can use it smoothly.

Therefore, I am certain that he is the right person to inherit the Sacred Relic, Resonance.

Now, all that remained was for this proposal to pass the Apostle Council meeting.

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Deep beneath the church headquarters, in a secret chamber located in the deepest part of the building, figures clad in white robes gathered.

They were the “Apostles.” All wore identical white robes, their faces concealed by magic woven into the fabric, making it virtually impossible to distinguish one from another.

Unlike the numbered Demon Kings, they didn’t even have titles to differentiate themselves. This stemmed from their ideology, prioritizing their roles as the Pontiff’s limbs over their individuality.

However, they did have minimal roles, and the Apostle who seemed to be the chairman of the meeting spoke first. The voice, seemingly modulated, was a dry, monotone male voice.

“The regular Apostle Council meeting for the fourth quarter of the year 513 of the Chaos Era will now commence.”

The regular Apostle Council meeting.

Unlike the Demon Kings, they held meetings quarterly. As they played a crucial role in the church, there were tasks they had to handle periodically. And one of those tasks was the evaluation of Hero successions.

“First, we must address… the handling of successor candidates from the Hero Academy, which takes place every fourth quarter.”

“Understood.”

The response was also a modulated voice, but with a subtle hint of fatigue. The Apostle, seemingly in charge of paperwork, placed several documents on the table.

All were related to successions at the Hero Academy.

“Then, shall we begin with the 3-star Sacred Relics?”

Except in extreme cases, there were rarely any issues with 3-star Sacred Relic successions. Their importance was relatively low.

“Approved.”

“Approved.”

“Approved.”

Therefore, the chairman summarily decided on the approval of most of the relics. However, things were different for 4-star relics and above.

“Next is the Sacred Relic Resonance. The owner is Hero Lyudmila, and the successor candidate is Seo Yoo-rang.”

Not only were 4-star Sacred Relics far fewer in number compared to 3-star relics, but succession required testing whether the candidate was qualified to use the relic.

This usually involved a test in front of an Apostle, but in the case of the Hero Academy, it was simpler, requiring only a record of the candidate’s performance in the Trial.

“The submitted evidence is a record from the Lake.”

The Apostles had a way to access the Lake’s records. An Apostle poured water drawn from the Lake of Trials into a basin and shone a lantern beneath it.

The Lake’s records began to project onto the ceiling. The image showed Seo Yoo-rang plucking the strings. Three arrows lodged in the distance exploded simultaneously.

It clearly showed him using Resonance.

“There are no signs of external manipulation.”

“Since the picky Lyudmila chose him, there’s no need to question his archery skills.”

“No, his archery skills seemed quite lacking in the graduation competition.”

“Then wouldn’t that mean Lyudmila chose him reluctantly after losing Wilhelm?”

A brief silence followed. Lack of archery skill was a valid reason to refuse succession. But an Apostle, watching the replay, spoke.

“Even if there are many who can draw that bowstring, few can pluck it. She must have chosen wisely.”

“That’s true. Then, which Apostles are in favor of the succession?”

Most of the Apostles raised their hands.

“Any opposed?”

None. They had already granted Lyudmila considerable leeway to find a successor. Delaying it another year would complicate matters.

“Then, what about Seo Yoo-rang’s Hero ranking?”

Succession wasn’t just about inheriting a Sacred Relic. It also involved partially inheriting the owner’s Hero ranking. And if the owner was a high-ranking Hero, that was significant.

“Lyudmila is currently ranked 75th. According to the precedent of the previous 75th ranked Hero’s succession, the successor was placed at 300th.”

From 75th to 300th. The difference was more than just a number, but it was important to remember that 300th was a considerably high rank for a rookie Hero.

Not too low for the successor of a high-ranking Hero, not too high for a rookie. 300th was the middle ground.

“Let’s place him at 300th for now. His ranking will naturally adjust to his skills over time.”

There were no objections. Thus, Hero Seo Yoo-rang’s ranking was set at 300th.

However, after a few more high-ranking Sacred Relic successions were decided, his ranking was pushed down to 305th.

“Is that all for the successions?”

The Apostle in charge of the documents nodded and gathered them up.

“Then, as we briefly touched upon earlier, let’s discuss Wilhelm.”

Regular meetings weren’t solely for routine tasks. They also served as a platform for discussing individual tasks and emerging important issues.

And Wilhelm was one of the most important recent topics.

“Wilhelm has been secured. Thanks to the thorough investigation of the Rosemound family.”

“But what should we do with Wilhelm now?”

“For now, he’ll remain underground, adapting to the ‘Thorn.’ Those were the Pontiff’s orders.”

The Pontiff’s orders. They were absolute for the Apostles. The Apostles held regular meetings and evaluated successors because of the Pontiff’s orders.

“Understood. Were there any further instructions from the Pontiff regarding Yuseora?”

“Nothing different from before. Further contact with Yuseora is forbidden.”

“But according to my investigation, Yuseora had no connection to Allen Blake before the graduation competition…”

“Eliminate your emotions, Apostle. I understand you practically raised her, but an Apostle cannot afford such trivial attachments.”

“Understood.”

The reprimanded Apostle bowed his head submissively. The chairman continued,

“Furthermore, it’s merely your conjecture that letting Yuseora slip through our fingers is related to Allen Blake.”

“That… is true.”

Confirming his remorse, the chairman moved on to the next topic.

“And the Pontiff has made a decision regarding the information about Allen Blake heading to the Central Sea Archipelago.”

They had learned about Allen Blake heading to the Central Sea Archipelago from his conversation with Gwen during the graduation competition.

This had been reported to the Pontiff, and his decision had arrived.

“The Pontiff said to send as many Heroes as possible to the Central Sea Archipelago to assist him.”

“But the situation in the Lodreim Kingdom is also strange…”

“Apostle, these are the Pontiff’s orders. He’s aware of the situation. But to redirect Heroes to the Central Sea Archipelago despite that, he must have his reasons.”

The Apostles were beings who only followed the Pontiff’s orders. Doubt was unacceptable, even if the orders were incomprehensible.

“He has saved this world so far.”

With those words, the chairman slowly rose from his seat. The other Apostles rose simultaneously.

“Then, let’s conclude this meeting. For humanity, for God…”

They all chanted the prayer in the same monotone voice.

“For the world.”

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“The successions are over, and we’ll be graduating soon.”

The student cafeteria had a different atmosphere than before. I sat across from Elsie, eating.

“Yeah, graduation is soon.”

Technically, I was no longer a Hero candidate but a Hero since the successions ended. But Elsie’s Sacred Relic assignment wasn’t finished, so I decided to stay until the graduation ceremony.

There was no benefit to leaving for the Lodreim Kingdom early anyway.

“By the way, I hope Yuseora is doing alright.”

She must have sensed my unease. Yuseora had been invited to lunch with Principal Heinz for her Sacred Relic succession.

Honestly, I was worried, but I had to trust Heinz’s good nature.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do to help her.”

Of course, I had given her a long list of things not to do before she went. But Yuseora always made me worry.

‘How did the Apostles even raise her?’

They were supposedly capable, so it was a mystery. That aside, there was something unsettling about them.

Especially considering their behavior in Hundred Braves, it seemed likely there was at least one Demon King spy among them.

‘And for some reason, they cleanly gave up on Yuseora.’

They had invested heavily in her, providing her with skilled swordsmanship instructors. But according to Yuseora, contact with them had ceased completely.

‘Did they realize I made contact with her?’

No, that was impossible.

I had contacted the Pontiff directly to avoid that. Only a few of my companions and the Pontiff knew I was both Seo Yoo-rang and Allen. So, the Pontiff must have given them direct orders.

‘They don’t usually act without the Pontiff’s orders anyway.’

And the Pontiff was clearly opposed to the Demon Kings. So, there was no need to worry too much about those who followed his orders.

Besides, I was already preoccupied with the Lodreim Kingdom.

“Then let’s go back there.”

“There” meant the Trial. We’d been using a recreation of the Lodreim Kingdom within the Trial for practical training.

“Um…”

“Yeah?”

“Since graduation is near, and we can’t properly train without Yuseora…”

She averted her gaze shyly, but her eyes still held their usual playful glint. This was probably that.

‘It’s nice, but…’

This was a significant aspect of the connection between Elsie and me. But I was still a little afraid. Within the Trial, I could constantly replenish my stamina, but if we were to do it in reality…

‘But my stamina stat doesn’t increase easily here either.’

It seemed like I needed to seriously consider this issue soon.

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