The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 49

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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 49. The Sword of the Sun (1)
The day after I showed Iris the Republic’s spicy cuisine.
[Please don’t contact me for a while.]
I clicked my tongue at the message that appeared on my Hero Watch.
“Even so, ginger tea was a bit much, wasn’t it?”
I felt a belated twinge of regret, but there was nothing I could have done at the time.
‘How could I have held back?’
I’d always thought I didn’t have the hobby of enjoying others’ suffering.
But watching Iris—who’d been boasting that this level of spice was nothing—crying her eyes out with tears and snot streaming down her face, I couldn’t resist the urge to torment her.
‘Well, it’s already spilled milk anyway.’
The best I could do was wait patiently for her anger to subside.
“Let me see what’s on the schedule….”
Today’s class was originally supposed to be a sparring session exclusively for Warrior Department Candidates, but a notice had come down last night that it was cancelled due to Lucas Kane’s health issues.
“What? The man was perfectly fine just yesterday—what health issues are we talking about?”
Curious, I sent him a message on my Hero Watch, but no reply came back.
‘Well, it’s probably nothing serious.’
It’s Lucas Kane we’re talking about, after all.
No matter how poor his condition got, he’d bounce back as if nothing had happened.
“I’m meeting Berald in the evening anyway….”
That meant I had the entire afternoon free.
‘I should head to the Training Ground.’
It was better to move my body than to sit idle in my Dormitory room.
‘Though I won’t be able to use the Training Ground as freely as during the break period.’
According to my original plan, I’d intended to borrow money from Juliet before the break ended and apply for a Private Training Ground.
But those plans fell through when I ran into Berald in the middle of my “work.”
‘Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.’
The sparring match with Vincent yesterday would draw even more attention to me than usual, but I couldn’t exactly shut myself in my cramped Dormitory room and swing a sword.
“Hmph.”
I grabbed my sword and headed to the Training Ground.
Perhaps because the break had only recently ended.
The number of Candidates using the Public Training Ground wasn’t very large.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that him? The last-ranked guy from that practical combat training Class C?”
“Hey, the guy who beat an instructor—how is he still last rank? Wasn’t he just acting all this time?”
“Why would he deliberately stay at the bottom? There’s no benefit to it.”
“I don’t know the reason either. Anyway, some of the Class C kids have been comparing him to Yuren Helios.”
“Nah, that’s too much of a stretch.”
“Right? Those Class C kids have never even taken a class with Yuren, and they’re just making a fuss for no reason.”
Of course.
Just because there weren’t many Candidates around didn’t mean I wasn’t drawing attention.
‘What a commotion.’
I turned to look at the Candidates whispering amongst themselves the moment I entered, offering a wry smile.
I passed through the crowd of Candidates and made my way toward a corner of the spacious Public Training Ground.
After setting down the towel and water jug I’d brought, I began with some light unarmed combat as a warm-up.
Whoosh! Huff! Crack!
Fists and feet carved through the empty air, the sharp sound of displaced space echoing outward.
The intensity of the noise made it hard to believe I hadn’t used any magical power at all.
‘My body’s improved considerably at this point.’
When I first returned, my body was nothing more than that of an ignorant fool relying solely on brute effort—yet in just over two months of consistent training, it had undergone a dramatic transformation.
My upper body was covered in sharply defined abdominal muscles and lean, sculpted musculature without a trace of excess.
From my waist through my thighs and down to my calves, my lower body was equally developed, reminiscent of a great feline predator.
One might question whether such intense physical training was necessary when the body could simply be reinforced with magical power anyway.
But that was the complacent thinking of reclusive mages who only channeled their power outward for spellcasting.
‘Why pour magical power into a wooden staff to harden it like steel when you could simply use a weapon made of actual steel?’
The body was no different.
Even with the same amount of magical power, reinforcing a poorly conditioned body and reinforcing a well-trained one made an enormous difference.
‘Still not enough.’
Thanks to the experience Berald had taught me, my body had improved faster than the time invested would suggest.
But to achieve the near-flawless, perfect physique I’d possessed in my past life, I couldn’t afford to slack on my training.
“Exhale.”
As my body began to warm up properly.
I drew the sword at my waist and began my formal sword training.
“Breathe.”
I inhaled deeply and swung the blade in my grip.
First, the Sunburst Sword forms one through four.
Upward slash, downward slash, horizontal slash, thrust.
Four fundamental movements that were both the foundation and the entirety of swordplay unfolded in sequence.
Whoosh! Huff! Swish!
Even though I called it the Sunburst Sword for convenience, the swordplay that flowed from my hands had evolved so far beyond its original form that little of it remained recognizable.
‘It changed even more after my realm advanced last time.’
I even wondered if Yuren from my past life, were he to return to life, would recognize it as the swordplay he’d taught me.
‘That’s fine.’
Even if it had evolved beyond recognition, the fact that my sword’s roots lay with Yuren would never change.
‘So.’
Whoosh!
Sweat dripped down my forehead.
My blade, sheathed in ashen aura, savagely tore through the space around me.
‘Don’t worry, Yuren.’
Even if you forget.
I remember.
-Don’t be so anxious when you swing the blade.
-Clear your mind, and move slowly.
-Don’t think about where you want to direct it—think about where the sword wants to go.
The teachings you gave me.
The insights you shared with me.
Even after hundreds of years have passed, even as thousands of years have flowed by.
Vivid and clear.
I remember them.
“Phew.”
I steadied my slightly ragged breathing and sheathed the blade.
‘Well, I remember them, but I can’t say I fully understand everything.’
Honestly, that instruction about thinking where the sword wants to go rather than where I want it to go still sounds like nonsense to me.
‘That kid always says things that sound impressive. But how is anyone supposed to understand that?’
As I recalled those days when I learned swordplay from Yuren Helios, a quiet chuckle escaped my lips.
Clap, clap.
Then, the clear sound of applause reached my ears.
I turned my head toward the sound, and what I saw was—
“Impressive.”
A young man with golden hair that gleamed brilliantly like the sun.
“You are….”
“Ah, I apologize for watching your training without permission.”
The golden-haired youth bowed respectfully.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yuren Helios, a third-year Candidate in the Warrior Department.”
“….”
Yuren’s unexpected appearance left me speechless, my mouth firmly shut.
Perhaps seeing my rigid expression, he misunderstood something.
Yuren Helios scratched his head with an awkward smile.
“I apologize for showing up so suddenly without notice.”
“Ah, yeah. No, it’s fine. But why did you come looking for me?”
“Yesterday, I happened to see Dale sparring with someone.”
“Ah.”
So he saw me sparring with Vincent.
“After watching that match, I became eager to cross swords with Dale at least once.”
So that’s why someone with his own Private Training Ground came all the way to the Public Training Ground to find me.
‘That kid really hasn’t changed.’
It was typical of him—ever since the old days, whenever he heard rumors of someone skilled with a blade, he’d light up like a starving hyena and hunt them down.
I suppressed a smirk and nodded.
“Sure.”
I’d been wondering how to approach Yuren Helios and build a connection with him anyway, so I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.
“Ah… thank you so much!”
“Speak comfortably. We’re the same year.”
“Got it. I’ll speak comfortably.”
“We’re doing the match here?”
“No. I have my own Private Training Ground, so let’s go there. This place has too many eyes watching.”
Yuren turned his head to glance at the murmuring Candidates.
Was it because Yuren had arrived?
Candidates who hadn’t been visible just moments ago were now gathering to fill the Training Ground.
“Let’s leave before more people show up.”
“Sure.”
As Yuren led the way forward, the crowd parted down the middle as if some miracle of the seven gods had occurred.
‘Wow, I thought I was getting a lot of attention lately, but standing next to Yuren really puts things in perspective.’
Then again.
The Candidate before me was a descendant of the legendary “Sword of the Sun,” Reynald Helios.
It was only natural that he’d receive this much attention.
“This is my Private Training Ground.”
“Wow! The facilities are excellent.”
The size itself couldn’t compare to the Public Training Ground.
But the interior was immaculately organized, the walls lined with training equipment, and it even had a private shower room and sauna.
The facilities were embarrassingly superior to the Public Training Ground.
‘Seeing it in person makes me want it even more.’
I gazed around Yuren’s Private Training Ground like a country bumpkin fresh from the countryside, swallowing hard.
“How should we conduct the match?”
“However you want.”
“Hmm… how about we try it first without using magical power?”
Yuren made the suggestion in a cautious voice.
‘So he knows I have low magical power.’
Since Yuren possessed far more magical power than most professors, let alone other Candidates, he must have judged that a match using magical power wouldn’t allow us to have a proper contest.
‘Well, he’s not wrong.’
Unless I used a stigma amplifier.
With a simple difference in magical power exceeding tenfold, I’d be at a disadvantage in any match involving magical power.
“Fine, then let’s have at it without using magical power first.”
“Thanks.”
I stood before Yuren, gripping a training wooden sword in my hand.
As Yuren manipulated his Hero Watch, a hologram materialized in the center of the Training Ground.
[Match mode settings confirmed.]
[Match begins in 5 seconds.]
[4, 3, 2, 1.]
The moment the numbers floating in the air vanished.
Whoosh!
Yuren and I launched forward simultaneously, our feet pushing off the ground.
And then.
* * *
“Huff, huff, gasp!”
Yuren collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.
“This… this can’t be real….”
He trembled as he stared down at his sword scattered across the floor, as if unable to believe what had just happened.
I drank from a water bucket I’d placed nearby, waiting for Yuren’s shock to subside.
“Dale!”
Yuren shot to his feet and strode toward me with wide steps.
He gripped my hand tightly and shouted with a trembling voice.
“Who on earth did you learn that swordplay from?!”
Who else would it be?
‘From you, obviously.’

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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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