I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 68

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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After Elsie finished her exam…

The next candidate to enter the swordsmanship testing area was another girl with black hair and black eyes.

But her darkness, her aura, seemed… deeper, more intense than Elsie’s.

Even their expressions were different.

Elsie, despite her struggles, still possessed a certain cheerfulness, a spark of defiance.

But this girl… her features were cold, her gaze sharp and unwavering.

“Yuseora. From Sak. A child discovered and raised by the Apostles.”

“Her skills should be exceptional, then.”

As if to prove the instructors’ words, Yuseora easily defeated the first seven Chaos Beasts, showcasing impressive swordsmanship skills.

“Her swordsmanship is… adequate.”

It was to be expected.

The Apostles were the Pontiff’s trusted agents, her eyes and ears in the world.

They traveled far and wide, carrying out her will, completing her secret missions.

And one of their tasks was to find children with the potential to become heroes.

They were guided by the Pontiff’s prophecies, ensuring that the children they found possessed extraordinary talent.

In fact, more than ten high-ranking heroes, including the 2nd ranked hero, were known to have been discovered by the Apostles.

However, Yuseora’s performance so far was… lacking.

“There’s nothing particularly special about her,” one of the instructors commented.

They had expected more.

And she finally revealed her true potential during the eighth Chaos Beast encounter.

A black aura enveloped her blade, and with a single strike, she sliced through the Chaos Beast’s armor.

“As expected.”

The instructors recognized the weapon.

It was one of the Sacred Replicants, forged by Heinz, a former high-ranking hero who was now the headmaster of the Hero Academy. He had created 101 replicas of the holy sword, Sacred.

It was considered a 2-star relic, but aside from its holy power, it wasn’t particularly special.

And she had used that ordinary sword to cut through tough armor.

That alone was enough to demonstrate her potential.

But then, something strange happened.

“Hmm?”

A crack appeared on her blade.

The replica was supposed to be just as durable as the original holy sword.

“Is she sacrificing the relic’s durability to enhance her abilities?”

“What an absurd ability…”

It might not matter in a simulation, but in real combat…

Sacrificing a relic, a hero’s lifeline, to enhance their power was reckless and inefficient.

The ninth Chaos Beast appeared.

Or rather… it was debatable whether it could even be classified as a Chaos Beast.

Yuseora froze, her eyes wide with terror.

“That’s the normal reaction.”

Elsie’s lack of fear, her willingness to charge at such a creature… it was the abnormal reaction.

Most humans would be paralyzed by fear in the presence of such a creature.

“I’m not picking her,” Sigrid, the instructor for Swordsmanship Class 1, said, shaking his head.

“She’s skilled, but that’s about it. I don’t see much potential for growth. And her ability… it’s flawed.”

Huff, the instructor for Swordsmanship Class 3, agreed.

“I’ll pass, too. Never liked those Apostle kids anyway. Too arrogant.”

That left Setia, the instructor for Swordsmanship Class 2, and Freya, the instructor for Swordsmanship Class 4.

“Hmm, I’m not sure…” Freya murmured, her gaze fixed on Yuseora, a thoughtful expression on her face. “She has potential. It would be… entertaining.”

As Freya pondered, Setia interjected,

“Then I’ll take her.”

The instructors usually avoided overlapping in their selection, but the previous year’s top-performing class had priority.

Freya couldn’t challenge Setia’s claim.

“Fine. You win.”

Freya conceded.

But Sigrid stared at Setia, puzzled by her decision. He rarely showed any emotion, but there was a hint of… something, in his eyes.

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In the archery testing area…

The two instructors were evaluating Seoyoon.

Their assessment was almost complete.

“So he has both acceleration and enchantment abilities? His accuracy is decent, thanks to his relic and acceleration skills, but he’s still lacking in terms of precision. But that just seems like a matter of experience… so he passes.”

As Kyle was about to move Seoyoon’s form to the ‘Pass’ pile, Lyudmila interrupted him.

“That ninth Chaos Beast… you said it also appears in the swordsmanship and spear exams, right?”

She hadn’t possessed a relic during her own entrance exam, so she had never even encountered the eighth Chaos Beast, let alone the ninth.

In fact, could that creature even be classified as a Chaos Beast?

“That’s right. It doesn’t matter what weapon they use, they all have to face it.”

“How long have they been using it as part of the exam?”

“It’s been… let’s see… 52 years since it was defeated. And it was already part of the exam when the current headmaster took it, so… somewhere between 40 and 50 years.”

That raised a question.

It was a creature so powerful, so terrifying, that even Lyudmila, a veteran hero, felt a sense of dread emanating from it.

“Has anyone ever defeated it?”

“I’ve heard the current 1st and 2nd ranked heroes defeated it when they took the exam. But only the instructors who were there would know for sure.”

“Those two… they’re monsters.”

Lyudmila, a high-ranking hero nearing retirement, had a long and impressive track record.

She was also one of the few archers who had reached that rank.

She had been part of several expeditions with those two heroes.

And she had witnessed their power firsthand. They were… on a different level, a realm beyond the comprehension of ordinary heroes.

If you had to name two reasons why the Demon Kings hadn’t launched a full-scale invasion of the human world…

It would be those two heroes.

And if only those two could defeat that creature…

“So you’re saying it’s practically impossible to defeat.”

“Pretty much. It’s a Demon King, after all.”

“What?”

Her eyes widened, her gaze fixed on the monstrous creature on the screen.

Its form was twisted and distorted, its power palpable even through the simulation.

“You mean… that thing is the 31st Demon King?”

Kyle nodded.

“That’s right. If they’ve made it this far, it means they’ve proven their basic skills. This part of the exam is more about observing their reaction to the strongest enemy in human history.”

Reaching this stage of the exam essentially meant they had already passed.

The Demon King encounter was more of a traditional event, a way to test their mental fortitude, their resolve.

Most candidates broke down, their spirits crushed by the sheer disparity in power. Some even fainted.

Of course, only a handful of candidates actually reached this stage.

“Wait, so those two… they were already capable of slaying a Demon King before entering the Academy?”

“I guess so.”

Kyle shrugged, his attention focused on the candidate on the screen.

‘He doesn’t even realize how powerful his opponent is.’

Seoyoon wasn’t showing any signs of fear or hesitation.

‘Either he’s incredibly arrogant…’

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‘Are they insane?’

The ninth Chaos Beast.

Or rather… the 31st Demon King.

I stared at the creature on the screen, speechless.

‘They’re using a Demon King as part of the entrance exam?’

I knew they would ramp up the difficulty, but I hadn’t expected this.

Of course, most candidates wouldn’t even realize it was a Demon King.

They would just perceive it as an incredibly powerful Chaos Beast.

But I knew.

‘There’s no way I can defeat it with my current archery skills.’

And this was a simulation of the Chaos Realm.

Even with Libero’s swordsmanship, defeating a full-powered Demon King in the Chaos Realm would be difficult.

…I was tempted to try, but I didn’t want to reveal Libero’s swordsmanship here.

But I was curious about the 31st Demon King.

The player couldn’t observe the specifics of entrance exams, so I had no memories of fighting it.

‘Can an arrow imbued with Overload even pierce its hide?’

Opportunities to face a Demon King were rare.

I might encounter more once I entered the Academy, but there were no guarantees.

I nocked an arrow.

‘Overload.’

A black aura enveloped the arrowhead.

If this could pierce a Demon King’s hide… it would be a valuable strategy.

I released the arrow.

Snap.

The arrowhead shattered the instant it touched the Demon King’s hide, its fragments dissolving into black particles.

This wasn’t going to work.

“I surrender.”

I quickly signaled my surrender before the Demon King could reach me.

This might be a simulation, but I didn’t need to experience excruciating pain.

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The arrow, empowered by some kind of enchantment, flew towards the Demon King.

But it shattered upon impact, its fragments dissolving into black particles.

“Well, that was predictable.”

Kyle had been momentarily intrigued by Seoyoon, but he shook his head.

The candidate, as if realizing the futility of his efforts after that one shot, had immediately surrendered.

He ended the simulation before the Demon King could reach him.

“Wait, Kyle!”

Lyudmila’s protest came too late. Kyle had already ended the exam.

“Damn it,” she muttered. “That could have been interesting.”

It was a surprising reaction, coming from her. She had shown little interest in any of the candidates so far.

But Kyle didn’t see anything special about this one.

In fact, his archery skills were below average, compared to the other candidates he had passed.

“You think he could have actually defeated a Demon King?”

“No, of course not. But… he wasn’t afraid. There was a calmness about him.”

Calmness?

He had seemed rather… desperate, in his haste to surrender.

But Lyudmila had seen something different.

“His demeanor… it was urgent, but not panicked. The moment he realized his arrow couldn’t pierce the Demon King’s hide, he surrendered. As if he had anticipated that outcome.”

She was right.

‘Being a recently retired hero makes a difference. I wouldn’t have noticed that.’

But he still believed he had made the right decision.

The candidate wasn’t a student yet.

So it was best to respect his decision to surrender.

‘But I’m still curious…’

What if he had ignored his surrender and let the simulation continue? What would have happened?

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Thankfully, the examiner was quick to react to my surrender.

“Haa…”

I let out a sigh of relief.

I opened my eyes. I was back in the real world, outside the simulation.

There was no lake in sight.

“What do you want from me now?”

The massive tree stood before me, its presence overwhelming.

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