Chapter 6: The Hero Appears in the Beginner Adventurer Exam
After parting with Will, Hero Dan was training with Tamika.
Hero Dan handed Tamika a single sword—an iron sword with a red grip and a chipped blade.
“Heh, so this is the sword of beginnings?”
“That’s right. Try using it.”
“I see… It certainly has weight to it, and it looks quite well-used too.”
“…Yeah.”
Tamika drew it from its sheath and tested its feel. Her expression looked somewhat pleased.
“So this is that legendary…”
Tamika let a slight smile slip from her usual stern face. Though she spoke impudently, she respected Hero Dan. She saw a different side of him than Will did, but her high regard for him was the same.
The joy of receiving a sword from the hero she respected was considerable.
“Alright, I want to test its cutting power. Dan, draw your sword too.”
“…Of course.”
Dan readied a wooden sword. This would be sufficient for someone of Tamika’s level, he figured. Though Tamika frowned slightly at this, she immediately swung her sword.
Clang—the swords crossed. Tamika brought down the iron sword. The hero lightly cast protective magic so the wooden sword wouldn’t break easily, allowing him to receive it with ease.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
“I’m… going to become an adventurer.”
“What about knight training school?”
“I’ll just keep my enrollment on paper. That’s enough.”
Normally, it was tradition for nobles and royalty to attend knight training school. Commoners rarely attended, but since it was mostly nobles, they would be looked at with contempt—that’s how much nobles typically attended.
And once upon a time, being an adventurer was said to be a profession anyone could take up.
In contrast, knights were an elite profession that only those chosen few who attended school could become, creating a hierarchical relationship. Some knights looked down on adventurers as people anyone could become.
However, this too underwent major reform due to Hero Dan’s influence. A boy who rose from being an adventurer became a hero, and furthermore accomplished feats no one else could achieve. As a result, some nobles began thinking they’d rather become adventurers—something anyone could easily become—rather than attend knight school, graduate, and become knights.
To prevent a massive flow of people from knight training schools to adventurers, the kingdom first implemented population limits and examinations for adventurers, and furthermore had the hero regularly give speeches at knight training schools.
Fortunately, since Sakura—a former hero party member and noble swordsman—had once attended this knight training school, knight training schools and adventurers now had an equal relationship.
[Please, Hero-kun, could you come to my alma mater for a bit…]
[Why should I…]
[Please, I’m begging you!]
[…I can’t say I don’t understand the desire to hear my speeches]
[Thank you, Hero-kun!]
Given the hero’s personality, he wasn’t really one to get along with just anyone, so Sakura, who had connections, would ask the hero every time—such was their past.
“You’re just keeping enrollment on paper?”
“Yeah, my father and older brother are annoying flies.”
“I see.”
There was still a trend that nobles should attend knight training school. Temporarily, due to Hero Dan’s influence, nobles wanting to become adventurers increased, but afterward, as Dan gave more speeches at schools, nobles wanting to catch even a glimpse or seek his teachings gathered at knight training schools to maintain even the slightest connection.
“But I’m going to become an adventurer. As I said before, I will become a hero. So Dan, I’ve decided to see from the same place as you—to see exactly what kind of scenery you’ve been looking at.”
“I see. I have nothing particular to say about that.”
Saying this, the hero swung his sword. Though he swung it lightly, Tamika’s sword was sent flying through the air.
“Changing tools doesn’t make that much difference, huh?”
“Of course not. That sword was only strong because I was the one using it.”
“Damn… One more time.”
Not giving up, Tamika picked up her sword and charged again. Illuminated by the setting sun, they crossed swords once more.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
And so, several days passed. The days went by surprisingly quickly, and finally the day of the adventurer examination arrived.
The examination was held on a grand scale in a place called Popo Town. Though the exam was held simultaneously in other towns, this particular town’s adventurer exam had an especially large number of applicants.
It was noisy and bustling. Numerous races and many skilled individuals had gathered.
In the midst of this, Will was walking through Popo Town while trembling. His movements were robot-like and jerky—stage fright had already thrown his thoughts into confusion.
(Here… this is where the adventurer registration exam… um, what should I do?! First, the reception desk!?)
In front of him stood an impressive two-story large building. Will realized this was the Adventurer’s Guild that managed adventurers.
“Ah, is that the place?”
He also noticed there was a large bronze statue in front of the guild, and his eyes were glued to it. A statue of a hero wearing an iron mask, face unseen, holding up a sword. There stood the figure of Hero Dan.
Of course it would be there—after all, this town was where Hero Dan first registered with a guild.
Therefore, this was a place of admiration for all those who aspired to be adventurers. The legend began here. Adventurer exams were held once a year in various towns, but Popo Town had the most applicants for this very reason.
Like a symbol, Hero Dan’s bronze statue was erected there. Will rushed over and looked up at the statue. Though it was the hero’s figure he always saw, the bronze statue had a different flavor to it.
“Wh-whoa! H-Hero Dan’s statue…”
“…”
Will looked up at the bronze statue. However, absorbed as he was, he didn’t notice that beside him was another person also looking up at the statue.
“Amazing, this is the hero’s statue. Someday I too… if I become a hero, I’ll have a bronze statue like—”
“That’s impossible.”
“Eh?”
“I can certainly understand why you’d admire it. I can understand wanting to become such a great talent that you’d get a statue. But however, becoming a [Hero] is impossible.”
“…Why?”
“Because I will become the hero.”
The person beside Will was wrapped in confidence overflowing from within. A girl about the same age, with magenta hair and crimson red eyes. Her appearance seemed somehow familiar.
She wore an eyepatch over her left eye and had earrings—a distinctive girl.
“Uh, um, I won’t lose either. Because I want to become a hero too.”
“I see. So you have the same goal as me then. Are you here to take this exam too?”
“Yeah. Um, I’m called Will. P-please take care of me.”
“Tamika Trelvarner. Nice to meet you.”
“…!”
(Tamika Trelvarner!? [Trelvarner]—that means she’s royalty! I’ve heard the name Tamika before!!)
(First Hero Albert… and not just that, she’s a descendant of successive heroes like Second Hero Darwin…)
(This is… a hero’s descendant.)
Will looked at Tamika and involuntarily widened his eyes.
—As a major premise, there was no one in this world who didn’t know Hero Dan. He was at the world’s peak. An existence who broke through the ceiling and stood even higher.
The strongest of all heroes throughout history—that was Hero Dan.
—But there was another existence with fame equal to Hero Dan.
First Hero Albert. The first existence called a hero in the world. The man who defeated Demon King Satan and saved the world.
(A descendant of the hero who defeated Demon King Satan… Well, Demon King Satan was revived in Hero Dan’s era and Hero Dan defeated him, so if we’re talking total number of demon kings defeated, Hero Dan is far and away superior, so in terms of pure strength, Hero Dan is easily stronger.)
(But the First Hero’s legend has incredibly high name recognition. Even I’ve read about it many times in books… He’s undoubtedly a hero. His descendant…)
“What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet for a bit. Are you intimidated by my heroic aura?”
“Ah, no, it’s just my first time meeting a hero’s descendant, so I got nervous.”
“I see. Well, we have an exam coming up. I’ve made you even more nervous. Sorry about that.”
“Ah, n-no, it’s fine.”
She was probably being considerate of Will. Tamika bowed her head. Will gestured with his hands and body that she needn’t worry about it, but his movements stopped. Tamika had two swords at her waist.
He focused on one of them. It was an old sword.
(If she’s royalty and a hero’s descendant, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have a better sword. Why is she using such an old, beat-up sword?)
“Good eye, noticing this sword.”
“Ah, yeah. I was curious because it’s old.”
“Hehe, of course it’s old. This sword is none other than the [sword of beginnings] that Hero Dan used.”
“Eh?”
Will instinctively reached for the sword at his own waist. He had also received a sword of beginnings from him. Directly from the person himself. Which meant the sword of beginnings in front of him was definitely fake.
(This sword of mine is the real sword of beginnings I got from Hero Dan. So Tamika-san’s must be fake. She probably got tricked by an antique dealer or something—royalty seems like they’d be naive about worldly matters.)
“Ah, um, Tamika-san. That sword is fake. Um, this sword of mine is the real one.”
“What?”
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
