The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 187

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 187. Treasure Hunt (2)
And so the treasure hunt began.
Given how challenging the difficulty was, the rules themselves were surprisingly lenient—Candidates could participate individually or form parties as they wished.
Among all the options, I chose….
“Dale, are you really going to participate solo?”
Yuren asked with a disappointed expression.
“Why don’t you just join our party instead?”
“Wouldn’t it be faster to search with multiple people rather than alone?”
Both Iris and Berald tried to persuade me, clearly reluctant to see me go it alone.
“No, I want to try this one on my own.”
There were two reasons behind this decision.
First, if I joined, the party’s overall strength would become overwhelmingly powerful.
No matter how much the Seven Star Knights were said to be an elite order composed of the Holy Kingdom’s finest heroes, they posed little challenge to someone who already possessed strength comparable to a ‘Master’.
‘Yuren and Berald alone are already at a level where they could fight the Seven Star Knights and win.’
Candidates with such power forming a party together?
Unless the Unit Commander himself—Johan Basillio, the Sword of Holy Nation—personally intervened, such a party would be unstoppable.
‘And that would naturally diminish the training purpose of gaining real combat experience.’
And there was another reason.
Perhaps the most important one of all….
‘If we’re in a party, I’d have to split the bonus points.’
Call me petty if you want.
Call me small-minded if you must.
But.
But….
‘This time, I desperately want to escape this wretched last place.’
That’s right.
Berald aside, Yuren, Iris, and Camilla were constantly ranked in the upper echelons, weren’t they?
Even if they missed out on bonus points this time, it wouldn’t significantly impact their rankings, but for someone like me stuck in last place, even these small bonus points could translate into a substantial ranking boost.
“Ugh. I really wanted to form a party with Dale….”
“Well, if you’re going to be stubborn about it, what can we do?”
Lanez drooped her shoulders with a dejected expression, while Sophia shrugged indifferently, as if she couldn’t care less whether she formed a party with me or not.
In any case.
After discussion, the party composition was finalized as follows.
Party 1: Yuren, Iris, Camilla, Albert.
Party 2: Sophia, Lanez, Berald, Juliet.
Party 3: Me.
Even dividing into three parties, each individual member’s strength far exceeded the typical Candidate level (excluding Albert and Juliet), so they should be able to conduct the treasure hunt without much difficulty against the Seven Star Knights.
“Well then, see you later.”
“Yeah. Now that it’s come to this, I won’t lose to Dale.”
Yuren clenched his fist, his eyes burning with competitive spirit.
I chuckled and nodded my head.
‘When you think about it, Yurina has quite a competitive streak hidden beneath the surface.’
That’s true.
If I hadn’t possessed such competitive drive in my previous life, I would never have reached the pinnacle of herodom.
“I’ll head in first.”
“Oh, wait a moment, Dale.”
“Hmm?”
“Let me cast a blessing for you.”
“Well… I don’t think it’s really necessary.”
“Even so.”
Iris approached me and recited the blessing incantation.
A pristine white light flowed from her hands and seeped into my body.
“Dale.”
As Iris cast the blessing upon me, she rose slightly on her toes and whispered softly into my ear.
“Would you like to make a wager with me?”
“A wager?”
“Yes. Whoever finds the treasure first gets the other person to grant them one wish.”
“Interesting.”
Grant one wish to the other person, then.
“What kind of wish?”
“Hehe. It wouldn’t be fun if I told you beforehand, would it?”
Fair point.
“Alright.”
“Hehe. It’s a secret from everyone else, okay?”
Iris smiled brightly and winked at me.
I nodded and parted ways with my companions, heading alone into the Ruins.
* * *
I passed through the entrance of the Ruins where other Candidates were bustling about and ventured deeper inside.
“It’s quite expansive.”
Though smaller in scale than the Abyss beneath the Hero Academy, it was still far more vast than most ruins I’d encountered.
‘Come to think of it, I never explored this particular ruin in my previous life.’
During the war with the Demons, the entire ruin collapsed along with Grace’s tomb, so this was my first time exploring it.
‘Why did Grace construct her tomb beneath this ruin in the first place?’
The interior of the ruin, emanating a dull and oppressive atmosphere, was by any measure the worst possible location for a burial site.
As I wandered through the ruin without finding answers to my questions.
Clank, clank.
A Holy Knight appeared from around the corner of the Corridor, his armor clanging.
“Hmm? Solo instead of a party?”
The Seven Star Knights member who spotted me lit up with interest.
“Have you found the treasure yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“I see. Then… well, I’ll adjust it so you can’t move for about thirty minutes.”
The Holy Knight leisurely drew the sword hanging from his waist.
Of course, it wasn’t a real sword—it was a training replica.
“It’s fake, but if you get hit wrong, it hurts quite a bit, so be careful.”
“How considerate of you.”
“Haha. I can’t have future heroes getting injured.”
With those words, the Holy Knight leisurely raised his sword.
His demeanor was so relaxed it seemed questionable whether this would even count as practical training, but the Holy Knight had no choice in the matter.
‘It would be difficult to go all out against a Candidate Program member.’
Of course.
If this were an ‘ordinary Candidate Program member.’
“Let’s see then.”
The Holy Knight’s eyes gleamed sharply as he drew upon his mana.
A pristine aura bloomed along the blade.
“Let me see what you’re made of, junior!”
Tap!
His movements were light and swift, belying the weight of his full plate armor.
In an instant, he closed the distance and swung his sword at my shoulder.
Clang.
“Wha—?!”
I lightly caught his descending blade and swept a kick at his abdomen.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
With a dull sound, the Holy Knight’s body tumbled across the floor like a stone.
“Grrk…!”
The Holy Knight swallowed hard, pushed himself up, and immediately surged forward again with his mana at maximum.
‘So he wasn’t chosen for the Seven Star Knights for nothing.’
Rather than waste time stammering in shock at how a Candidate Program member could do this, he instantly committed to a full-power counterattack.
Such swift judgment was something even seasoned heroes rarely displayed, and I found myself respecting my opponent.
Whoooosh!
Ash-grey flames roared savagely along the blade.
With the sound of searing flesh, grey smoke erupted from my pores.
Ash Flame Sword, First Form.
Ash Severance.
My ash-grey blade, wrapped in searing flames, shattered the Holy Knight’s pristine aura-clad sword and sent his body flying.
“Aaaagh!”
Boom!
As the Holy Knight’s body crashed violently into the wall, it cracked and splintered like a spider’s web.
The Holy Knight, embedded in the wall, lost consciousness with his eyes rolled back.
“Ah.”
Did I use too much power?
“Well… it doesn’t look like anything’s broken…”
I approached the unconscious Holy Knight and examined his body.
His armor was dented and burn marks from the flames covered various parts of his body, but fortunately there didn’t appear to be any serious wounds.
‘Using Ignition was probably overkill.’
Though it had only lasted about a second.
I’d decided to use Ignition as a way to show respect to my opponent, but it seemed I’d gone overboard with my power.
“Well… at least there are no serious injuries, so it should be fine.”
Leaving the unconscious Holy Knight behind, I moved deeper into the Ruins.
While searching the surroundings and looking around for clues about the treasure.
Whoooosh.
A pure white orb of light appeared before my eyes.
“That is…”
The mysterious orb of light I’d seen when taking a drunken Yurina on my back through the garden.
‘Why is it here?’
I frowned as I stared at the light.
[One blessed… with seven eyes… please…]
“…!”
Speaking?
It was speaking.
[Follow… me… I beg… you…]
A voice that cut out like a broken radio.
The mysterious orb of light that had been circling in the air rapidly receded into the distance.
“…Damn.”
I only hesitated for a moment about whether to follow that incomprehensible light or not.
I kicked off the ground and chased after the retreating orb.
‘Where is it going?’
Following the orb, I arrived at a dead end in the Ruins.
A path that led nowhere, with no other exits visible.
Whoooooosh!
The pure white orb of light expanded into a circular shape, transforming into a gate large enough for a single person to enter.
“…How strange.”
I frowned as I looked at the gate before me.
Normally, I wouldn’t be the type to enter such a suspicious gate without any preparation.
‘But… that voice sounded so desperate.’
Though the words cut out intermittently and I couldn’t understand exactly what was being said.
One thing was certain—that voice carried an unmistakable sense of urgency.
“Hmm.”
I took a short breath and stepped toward the gate.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air.
My body felt weightless, as though I were floating, and my vision flickered in and out of focus.
“Ugh…”
As I slowly opened my eyes, a vast cavern came into view.
The ceiling of the cavern glowed with those mysterious luminous orbs I’d seen before, and at their center stood an enormous statue.
A statue of a woman with her hands clasped together in prayer, her head bowed in reverence.
It wasn’t difficult to discern who this woman was meant to represent.
“The Light of Life… Grace.”
I gazed at the statue, my eyes narrowing slightly.
Just as Iris had said, Grace possessed the kind of appearance that immediately evoked the word “holy mother”—serene and maternal in every detail.
Even as a statue, her gentle face brought peace to the soul, and her form radiated an almost tangible maternal warmth.
‘She’s nearly on par with Iris in terms of beauty.’
I took a step toward the statue to examine it more closely.
A deep hum resonated through the cavern.
The luminous orbs gathered above suddenly converged into a single point and slowly descended.
The concentrated light gradually took on the form of a small girl.
[Wow~ you actually came? I was so nervous you’d get scared and run away!]
A cheerful, carefree voice emanated from the figure of pure white light.
Or rather, the voice didn’t come from outside—it resonated directly within my mind.
“Who are you…?”
[Nice to meet you.]
The girl spun around in a complete circle, beaming with a bright smile.
[I’m the Light of Life—Grace.]
“…Grace?”
[Hehe. That’s right. See that statue behind me? It was made to resemble my appearance.]
“….”
I clamped my mouth shut, my eyes darting back and forth between the statue and the girl before me.
“If you’re going to deceive someone, at least make it believable…”
The cavern suddenly shook violently.
The small girl’s smile widened as she flew toward me.
[What? You got a problem? If you do, go ahead and complain all you want.]
“….”
I had no idea what was happening, but one thing became abundantly clear.
‘The legends about Grace passed down in the Holy Kingdom were all lies.’
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched the girl, arms crossed, her lips curled into a fierce grin.
I looked at the girl with her arms crossed, her mouth twisted into a fierce scowl, and let out a hollow laugh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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