The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 211

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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 211. Special Candidate (2)
Heroes, by nature, live long lives.
Blessed with superhuman bodies far exceeding ordinary human limits through the mana of their stigmata, heroes live considerably longer than common folk, and the ravages of age come to them far more slowly.
Just look at Raonel before me—he was approaching 150 years old this year.
‘But.’
That didn’t mean heroes achieved immortality and eternal health so long as they avoided accidents.
The variance depended on a hero’s level.
Even the most accomplished heroes began to accelerate in aging once they surpassed 100 years, and most died before reaching 200.
Those rare few called “Masters”—the elite among heroes, counted on one hand—occasionally lived past 200.
‘But that’s only another 30 to 40 years at most.’
In the 500-year history of heroes, the oldest recorded death was at 262 years.
Anton Padshah, the Empire’s emperor from two generations prior.
‘So that means.’
Even an emperor—ruling an entire nation, wielding more power and wealth than any other hero—could not live past 300 years.
And yet.
“You’re saying a graduate from Hero Academy 300 years ago is still alive?”
“Based on the information we’ve gathered so far… yes.”
Elisha nodded gravely.
“What’s the likelihood that Wolf Mask was that graduate’s descendant?”
“I thought the same thing at first. The resemblance was too striking.”
But.
Elisha shook her head with a heavy sigh.
“When I compared the mana pattern residue in Wolf Mask’s stigma with James Jin’s mana pattern recorded in the Candidate Records Archive, they matched perfectly.”
Like fingerprints, each hero possessed a unique mana pattern.
‘The Hero Watch’s lock mechanism was even designed based on that principle.’
Of course, a skilled mage could intentionally mimic another’s mana pattern, but how could a dead corpse like Wolf Mask possibly mimic someone else’s pattern?
“Then Wolf Mask would be at least 300 years old…”
If he graduated 300 years ago, his actual age would be at least 20 years more than that.
‘That makes no sense.’
Unless he possessed something like my ‘Blessing of Resurrection.’
How could an ordinary hero possibly live over 300 years?
“Ah.”
Suddenly, words Lanez had spoken before flashed through my mind.
-His wounds… they regenerated incredibly fast.
According to her account, even when his abdomen was pierced by the Spear of Eyes, leaving a fist-sized hole, the wound sealed almost instantly.
‘When I actually fought him alongside Yurina, his wounds did regenerate quickly too.’
Of course, the power of Yurina’s final technique, ‘Moonlight,’ was so overwhelming that he died before the wounds could even regenerate.
Still, the minor injuries sustained during combat healed remarkably fast.
And there was something else.
‘The countless scars that covered Wolf Mask’s entire body.’
The countless scars that seemed to have been stitched onto his body were definitive evidence that Wolf Mask possessed regeneration-related abilities.
‘An ordinary person would have died long before accumulating scars of that magnitude.’
I narrowed my eyes and turned to look at Elisha.
“Doesn’t Wolf Mask possess a blessing related to regeneration?”
“A reasonable deduction. If he indeed possessed a regeneration-related blessing, it would certainly explain his extended lifespan.”
Elisha nodded slowly, regarding me with a measured gaze.
She was well aware that I had lived for thousands of years or more thanks to the Blessing of Resurrection, so my hypothesis would carry even greater credibility in her mind.
However.
“…but it’s difficult to accept that explanation so readily.”
Elisha exhaled deeply and shook her head.
I furrowed my brow and looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Let me show you another photograph.”
A new image materialized in the hologram.
The face of a woman with short brown hair and blue eyes.
It was the face of Fox Mask, one of Wolf Mask’s subordinates.
“Anika Deva. She was also a Candidate who graduated from Hero Academy.”
“You don’t mean…”
“132 years ago.”
“…132 years.”
Given that graduates are typically around 21 years old, Fox Mask would be approximately 150 years old.
For a Hero, that was certainly a reasonable age to still be alive.
“But when we examined the corpse, she appeared remarkably young—no more than her early thirties at most.”
“…”
“To maintain such a youthful appearance at 150 years old, she would need to be at least Master-rank… In your assessment, was Fox Mask truly Master-rank?”
“…No.”
She was merely mid-to-lower tier among the Rankers, far from Master-rank.
“As you well know, blessings possess uniqueness. In other words, two different people cannot possess the same blessing.”
Which meant.
“There’s a reason other than a blessing, then.”
“Precisely. And in our current situation, we cannot even begin to fathom what that reason might be.”
Elisha habitually reached into her pocket searching for cigarettes, then caught sight of Raonel seated at the table quietly listening to our conversation and hastily withdrew her hand.
“Thank you for the explanation, Elisha.”
Raonel’s gaze turned toward me.
“That’s why I summoned you, Candidate Dale.”
“…I’m not entirely sure I understand what you mean by that.”
“This mysterious group of masked villains… Ah, we can’t keep calling them that every time. We should establish a proper designation.”
Let me think…
Raonel stroked his beard thoughtfully, then snapped his fingers as if struck by inspiration.
“The Beastkin Group. We’ll call them the Beastkin Group.”
“The Beastkin Group?”
“That’s right. They all wear animal masks, and their behavior is no different from beasts—it’s a fitting name, wouldn’t you say?”
The Beastkin Group.
“I like it. From now on, we’ll call them the Beastkin Group.”
“Good. In any case, I’d like to entrust you, Dale, with the mission of tracking down this Beastkin Group and uncovering the identity of their leader.”
“…You’re asking me to do this?”
Entrusting such a perilous mission to a mere Candidate rather than a professor?
And to me, no less—currently ranked as the worst problem student at Hero Academy.
“Are you certain you should be entrusting such a mission to me?”
“It’s precisely because it’s you that I’m giving you this task.”
Raonel continued with a faint smile.
“I’m already aware that you possess a very special power, Dale.”
“…”
“Personally, I suspect you may already be stronger than not only the current professors at this Academy, but perhaps even Elisha herself.”
“…Why do you evaluate me so highly?”
Could Elisha have hinted at my true identity to him?
Without thinking, my gaze drifted toward Elisha.
“Ha. That’s unrelated to Elisha. I was already uncertain about your exact level, so I asked Elisha, who is close to you—but she refused to tell me anything.”
“Then…”
“Well, it’s just an old man’s intuition.”
Raonel shrugged with a smile creasing the corners of his eyes.
From the way he smoothly changed the subject, it seemed there was another reason he could gauge my level, but I decided not to dwell on it.
‘I’ll think about that later.’
For now, what mattered was Raonel’s proposal.
“I wouldn’t ask this of you empty-handed. If you help with this matter, I’ll provide not only substantial gold but also artifacts, elixirs, and high-grade mana stones as compensation, should you desire them.”
Artifacts, elixirs, and high-grade mana stones.
I took the opportunity to ask about the Party Training Ground that I had discussed with my party members earlier.
“Ho. A Party Training Ground, you say.”
“Can you arrange that?”
“Of course. Rather than just a standard Party Training Ground, I’ll lease one of the unused buildings on the School Grounds exclusively for your Party.”
“Pardon?”
An entire building leased exclusively to our Party?
“Ha. We were already in the process of constructing a new building for Party training since the existing Training Ground had become dilapidated. Originally, it wouldn’t be operational until next year or later, but if you wish, I’ll have that building leased to you until your graduation.”
“…”
Substantial gold, artifacts, elixirs, high-grade mana stones.
And on top of that, exclusive access to an entire Party training building constructed with state-of-the-art facilities.
‘These are insane conditions.’
It only underscored how much caution Raonel held toward the Beastkin Group.
“I’ll do it.”
I accepted Raonel’s proposal without hesitation.
‘Besides, I’m curious about the Beastkin Group myself anyway.’
If I was going to investigate them regardless, wouldn’t it be better to do so with the Rector’s full support?
“I appreciate it.”
Raonel smiled faintly, the wrinkles around his mouth deepening as he continued speaking.
“Then from this moment forward, I shall appoint you as a ‘Special Duty Candidate.'”
“…A Special Duty Candidate?”
“A Candidate entrusted with a special mission requires a title befitting their role, does it not?”
Raonel withdrew a black badge emblazoned with seven stars from his drawer and extended it toward me.
A black seven-star badge—different from the gold seven-star badge awarded only to the top student of each year.
“Once you synchronize the mana code embedded in this black badge with your Hero Watch, you’ll gain the authority to freely leave campus and stay out overnight as a Candidate, and moreover, to take any party members you deem necessary for your mission outside the school grounds.”
“…Ha.”
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
In other words, it meant I could essentially create my own permission slips for leave and overnight stays—something only professors could normally authorize.
“Isn’t this essentially treating me the same as a professor rather than a Candidate?”
“Well, the only difference would be that your title cannot be publicly disclosed.”
“Ah.”
Right.
No matter how much discretion the Rector possessed, he couldn’t publicly announce that he’d granted such authority to a mere Candidate who hadn’t even graduated yet.
‘Hmm? Wait a moment.’
If the title of Special Duty Candidate couldn’t be publicly disclosed, that meant…
“…So officially, I remain a lowest-ranking Candidate?”
“Well, that’s how it would appear.”
“…”
In that moment, the Hero Academy’s five-hundred-year history witnessed the birth of its first Special Duty Candidate (lowest-ranking).

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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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