The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 4

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

Chapter 4. I Found a Reason to Live (3)
Silence descended upon the Training Ground.
Professor Lucas, who had proposed this match, and the candidates who had rushed over to witness something interesting for once, all stared at Felix with stunned expressions as he retched onto the floor of the Training Ground.
Felix Odman.
A noble from an Imperial Baron Family who had awakened the stigma of the “Sea God,” a power passed down through his family line for generations.
Though his arrogance knew no bounds and his manners were atrocious—earning him a poor reputation even within the academy—
there was one thing he was universally acknowledged for.
“Felix lost in swordsmanship?”
“And so overwhelmingly at that?”
His pure swordsmanship skill without relying on mana.
In “non-mana matches” like this one, where mana usage was restricted, Felix was skilled enough to rank within the top 30 or even top 50 overall—
Yet Felix had lost.
Overwhelmingly so, without even managing to swing his sword properly once.
‘What on earth was that swordsmanship technique?’
Professor Lucas recalled the swordsmanship Dale had displayed, his expression clouded with confusion.
As someone known as the “hunting hound” for his keen eye, he could discern it.
That swordsmanship Dale had just unleashed was unmistakably—
‘The Solar Blade?’
The Solar Blade.
The legendary technique created by Reynald Helios, the heroic figure who sealed the Demon God five hundred years ago—the strongest swordsmanship in the Empire, no, across the entire Continent.
How could Dale, who wasn’t even from the Helios Duchy, let alone the Empire itself, possibly use it?
‘No, it’s different.’
Lucas shook his head as he continued his deliberation.
‘The basic form seems similar, but it’s definitely not the Solar Blade I know.’
He could be certain of this because he had recently witnessed Yuren Helios, the eldest son of the Helios Duchy and the renowned orthodox successor of the Solar Blade, wielding it firsthand.
The swordsmanship Dale had displayed seemed superficially similar to the Solar Blade, but it was distinctly different.
It was as if he had deconstructed the Solar Blade technique into its components and modified it to suit himself.
Had anyone else observed this, they likely wouldn’t have even noticed the similarities between Dale’s technique and the “Solar Blade.”
‘Even if the similarities to the Solar Blade were coincidental… the fact that Dale possesses swordsmanship of that caliber makes no sense whatsoever.’
There was a reason he ranked last, after all.
Throughout his three years since enrollment, Dale had monopolized the bottom position in the comprehensive evaluation rankings—partly due to his absolutely insufficient mana compared to other candidates, but also because of his hopeless lack of physical coordination.
Yet somehow—
How could he have acquired such extraordinary swordsmanship skill in a single day, as if he were a completely different person?
“What are you doing? You said you’d come first. Aren’t you coming?”
Before Lucas’s questions could continue, a quiet voice pierced through the silence.
Tap, tap.
Dale stepped forward, striking the floor with the tip of his wooden sword.
“Then I’ll come to you.”
“Ugh…”
Felix, who had been retching on the Training Ground floor, shakily pushed himself upright.
“You… bastard!”
Felix’s face twisted crimson and purple as he charged forward with a vicious stomp.
And they collided.
-Thud!
“Cough!”
Once again, Felix’s blade failed to even graze Dale’s collar.
Felix staggered backward ungracefully, his eyes trembling in disbelief.
He could excuse the first time as carelessness, but this was different.
“How is this possible….”
Only then did the rumors he’d heard yesterday flash through his mind.
The rumor that Dale had sent Professor Lucas flying. And the rumor that he’d subdued Camilla Bediche with a single hand.
He’d dismissed them all as absurd gossip without a second thought.
‘Were those rumors actually true?’
Felix furrowed his brow and shook his head.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
Though Felix had just been sent flying without even managing a proper swing, the deep-seated prejudice he’d harbored against Dale for years forced him to deny the reality unfolding before his eyes.
“…Dale Han.”
Grit.
Felix gnashed his teeth savagely and gripped the wooden practice sword until it creaked.
“Let’s see how long you can keep up this arrogance.”
The stigma carved into Felix’s left chest blazed with light, and a soft blue aura enveloped his body.
Mana.
The divine breath that only those who had awakened their stigma could wield spread throughout his entire being.
“Haaah!”
Whoosh!
Felix’s blade swung with explosive speed incomparable to moments before.
“Felix Odman!”
Professor Lucas, who had been watching the match, scrambled to his feet, but he couldn’t stop the blade that had already been unleashed.
“Let’s see if you can block this one!”
As Felix’s vicious cry pierced the air, I gazed at the wooden sword wreathed in blue light.
Smirk.
A faint smile played at the corner of my mouth.
‘Come to think of it, Yuren mentioned something like this before.’
If one reached the pinnacle of the Sunblade technique, one could cleave the heavens with the sword alone, without relying on mana.
‘Well, I’m not quite at the level of cleaving the heavens yet.’
But surely I’d reached the level where I could split a practice sword made from oak wood.
“Hss.”
I drew a deep breath and pulled the blade toward my shoulder.
Bending my waist slightly, I concentrated the full weight of my body into my feet as I stepped forward.
Like a compressed spring bursting forth, the force concentrated in my soles exploded upward and flowed toward the blade’s edge.
And then.
I bent.
Ching—!
With a clear metallic ring that a wooden sword should never produce, the wooden sword in Felix Odman’s grip split cleanly in half and clattered across the floor.
“…What?”
Felix Odman stared at the bisected wooden sword, his expression utterly vacant.
“This… what is this?”
Mana possessed countless applications, far too many to count on one hand.
Yet the most fundamental effect remained singular.
The enhancement of pure physical force.
It was the miraculous power of mana that could drive a nail through iron with nothing but a fragile twig on the verge of snapping.
‘He split my sword in half without using mana?’
With nothing but an ordinary training wooden sword?
‘That’s impossible.’
It would be like cutting through a solid iron club with a twig.
No, wait.
Even if I conceded that a twig could somehow dent an iron club, it might be theoretically possible.
But how could anyone possibly ‘cut’ a mana-infused wooden sword with an ordinary one?
Regardless of mana, this was fundamentally impossible.
A training wooden sword was, after all, nothing more than a wooden club carved from oak.
“What kind of trick did you—cough!”
Thud.
Before Felix Odman could finish speaking.
A fist, swung like lightning, crashed against his jaw.
Felix Odman’s body crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
“….”
“….”
There were no cheers for the victor, no jeers for the defeated.
Within the curtain of silence that had fallen.
I turned leisurely toward Professor Lucas and opened my mouth.
“The suspension period has been reduced to four days as promised, correct?”
“…Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Professor Lucas nodded with a bewildered expression.
His eyes showed he couldn’t comprehend what had just transpired, but I saw no need to explain.
An explanation would yield no greater understanding anyway.
“Then. I’ll see you next week, Professor.”
I bowed respectfully and turned toward the exit of the Training Ground.
It was approaching lunchtime, it seemed.
I could see the candidate students bustling about the campus.
“Four days, then.”
Since today was Tuesday, I had roughly six days until the weekend—a decent window of opportunity.
There’s so much to do.
Having resolved to live a new life, I faced mountains of preparations necessary for that fresh start.
I won’t lose anything more.
My life until now had been nothing but loss.
A cherished friend, a younger sibling, a senior, a lover—all precious to me.
Not a single one did I manage to protect.
Didn’t I lose them all?
Though I cannot choose how my life will end, I can at least choose how I will live it.
This time, I will not lose anyone.
I will protect them with my own hands.
“Let’s go.”
With that resolve etched deep into my heart, I headed toward the Dormitory.
* * *
“I knocked on your door but got no answer, so I wondered where you were. Here you are.”
In the hallway leading back to the Dormitory.
A voice far too familiar reached my ears.
“…Iris?”
Even after pouring out my emotions yesterday, it hadn’t been enough.
The moment I saw Iris, a heaviness returned to my chest, and my eyes began to redden.
“Dale Han, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
I barely managed to compose myself and nodded.
Iris approached me with elegant, measured steps that exuded grace.
Eyes gleaming with a blue so pure it seemed to hold the sky itself drew closer.
“…Ah.”
Those eyes—so unfamiliar within a face I knew so well.
Seeing her as she was before losing her sight to the curse from the Mage, my heart thundered in my chest as if it might shatter.
Of course.
It could only be this way.
Even when her eyes were hidden behind a black blindfold, she was more beautiful than anyone in the world—how could she be anything less now?
She was so beautiful that the baseless rumor of her being the reincarnation of one of the Seven Deities felt like absolute truth.
“Mm.”
As Iris drew near, she studied me for a moment, her gaze sweeping up and down as if assessing my condition, then turned to glance around.
During lunch hour, when the candidates had rushed to the Cafeteria, the Dormitory hallway was utterly deserted.
Iris.
Looking at her before me, I recalled her from my memories.
She, whose title of Saint felt entirely fitting—always gentle and kind.
She, with a heart so tender she would hesitate to crush even a single insect.
She, who held my hand with a worried expression every day, asking if I was alright, if I was hurt anywhere—even though I would simply resurrect in the blink of an eye no matter what happened to me.
The more I recalled memories of her, the more I felt my eyes grow hot and stinging.
And then.
—Crack!
My head snapped to the side as a sharp, burning pain shot through my cheek.
“What?”
As I touched my cheek and let out a dazed sound, Iris grabbed my collar roughly and opened her mouth.
“Hey, why are you speaking informally to me? Do you even know who I am?”
Huh?
Excuse me?
Iris?
“Yeah, fine, we’re the same year so I’ll let the informal speech slide. But what about yesterday? Huh? Why did you lay hands on my friend without permission, you bastard?”
“….”
Even in my confusion, it wasn’t difficult to understand why she was so furious.
From her perspective, it was only natural.
A complete stranger—a fellow cadet I’d never even exchanged words with—had approached, thrown her escort and closest friend to the ground, and then suddenly burst into tears right before her eyes.
It was the kind of thing that would anger anyone, whether ordinary or extraordinary.
“I’m sorry. Yesterday I… I lost my composure for a moment. I’ll apologize properly to Camilla later.”
“Hmm.”
Just as she was about to lash out more harshly, my straightforward apology caused her to loosen her grip on my collar.
“Well. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but an apology will do.”
Iris shrugged and stepped away from me.
“Oh, right. You absolutely must forget everything that happened today, okay? Otherwise….”
A smile bloomed.
A smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
The same one that remained vivid in my memory.
Her voice turned impossibly gentle.
“You’re dead?”
She whispered it like that.

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