This World Needs a Hero

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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Karen informed Luke that Evergreen and Deindart had formed a team and decided to participate in a 2v2 martial arts match.

“Huh? Weren’t you supposed to not participate because you didn’t have time? That’s what Gerald said.”

“No, that’s… ugh…”

“Hmm, a bit late to the party, aren’t you?”

Luke had no choice but to accept it.

Why Deindart, of all people?

Of course, Deindart, being someone who rarely used a shield in extreme situations, would complement Evergreen, who was an archer, very well.

Unless they encountered a major variable, they could aim for victory.

It was a great opportunity for Evergreen.

But for Luke, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Why hadn’t he thought of suggesting going out together with Evergreen first?

Luke felt an urge to go back a few hours and thoroughly scold his past self for being so thoughtless.

Training together.

Traveling to other academies.

While Deindart would be building a strong bond and more with Evergreen, Luke would just be twiddling his thumbs.

It couldn’t get any worse.

Recalling Deindart’s skillful maneuvers (from Luke’s perspective) around Evergreen lately, Luke felt a vein throb on his forehead.

So, he made a decision.

To enter the Battle Arena.

Shrrrrp!

Luke printed out a paper containing all the rules of the Battle Arena and stuck it on the wall of his dormitory room.

Currently, he had three types of matches he could participate in.

1v1 martial arts.

2v2 martial arts.

Party play.

But Leciel had already taken the party play.

They said she just picked anyone on the spot and submitted the application.

‘No matter how elite a team I form, there’s no chance of beating Leciel.’

Party play out.

Luke crossed it out heavily.

So what about a 1v1, which is one of the remaining options?

“Hey, I’m participating in a 1v1 match. Would you like to have a fight with me?”

That was Cuculli’s charge.

This one was less successful than Leciel, but the odds of winning were equally slim.

Luke moved his pen boldly.

Then what about the remaining option, the 2v2 martial arts…

“Hey, Luke…”

Gerald and Ban, who were watching, were stunned.

They continued to criticize Luke.

“There’s no way you’re thinking of going into a 2v2 match, right?”

“I’m scared. Will you destroy things if you can’t have them?”

“Then Evergreen will miss out on the prize money and the trip. Even if you’re jealous, that’s a bit…”

“Luke has completed a world where everyone gets hurt…”

Luke looked irritably at them.

“You guys. There’s no way I’d do that.”

Ban and himself.

If they went out together, winning the 2v2 martial arts match was a given.

However, if that happened, Evergreen’s victory would be lost according to their words.

What was the point of trampling on a kid who was filled with hopes and dreams about the prize money? Even if they won.

His original goal wasn’t just the joint training; it was ‘joint training with Evergreen’.

Or rather, it was ‘preventing Deindart’s moves’.

“So.”

As Luke opened his mouth, he pointed at one of the densely written Battle Arena rules with his finger.

“My plan is…”

Mercenaries always had to devise ingenious solutions and strive for survival with quick judgments.

Just like now.

“Ban.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“We’re going into the magic 2v2.”

*Eligibility: All those who have mastered magic.

Once the decision was made, a detailed plan (which Ban did not agree to) was quickly formulated.

.

.

.

Ban looked at Luke with bewildered eyes.

“Are you, by any chance, an idiot?”

There was a big flaw in Luke’s plan, to a degree rare for Ban to criticize.

…That the two of them couldn’t use magic at all.

“No, hear me out till the end.”

Luke’s face turned red.

He, too, knew that this was a hopeless plan.

But there was no other way.

Otherwise, Evergreen would fall victim to Deindart’s moves.

…Even though Evergreen had no thoughts about it, Luke, whose rational judgment had flown out the window, did.

But as a boy whose brain was half eaten away by jealousy, he could see the flaws in the rules of this competition that others couldn’t see.

“It says qualification for magic battles. It means anyone who can use magic can participate.”

“…And?”

“You just have to ‘fight’ with magic. You don’t necessarily have to be good at magic.”

Then Luke briefly explained his plan.

Gerald’s mouth hung open.

Was that the creativity of a mercenary who had survived in the wild?

Thinking up and executing such absurd ideas, a newcomer like him would be unprecedented in the history of Rosenstark.

“…Is he a genius?”

“No, ha. Is this even right?”

Initially, Ban was greatly puzzled by Luke’s sophistry.

However, upon reconsideration, there was nothing wrong with what he said.

Once you could use magic, you qualified to participate in magic battles.

‘It’s not a contest to evaluate the completeness of magic.’

In other words, as long as you could ‘fight with magic’, there shouldn’t be a problem with qualification.

The boy, half convinced, cautiously asked.

“…But we can’t even do basic magic. What about that part?”

Luke looked at Ban defiantly.

“We’ll learn.”

“…What?”

“The Battle Arena will be held in two days. We still have time to learn basic magic.”

Novice, Apprentice, Ars, Elegancia, Genius, Calidus, Maester, Beyond, Zero.

The last one was practically non-existent, so magic is divided into a total of seven ranks.

As you go up the ranks, acquiring them becomes increasingly difficult, but the situation was different for the lowest rank.

Just as a trained person could quickly learn the basics of swordsmanship, magic was a subject that could be learned quickly if one was prepared.

Moreover, Luke and Ban had been accumulating mana from a young age, dealing with it.

For them, who could sense and control mana, entering the novice rank of magic was a piece of cake.

In fact, among the students of the Combat Department, there were several magic users who had learned flashy spells like Fireball just for fun.

Of course, for those considered proper magicians, starting from the Ars rank, which could be said to be impossible to simultaneously pursue with martial arts, most of them remained at the beginner level.

After finishing his thoughts, Luke strode towards the dormitory door with determined steps.

“If it’s learning novice rank magic in an appropriate field… There’s plenty of time.”

Yes, acquiring eligibility was the priority for now.

The rest could be thought about later.

With that in mind, Luke led the dazed Ban and set out to find a fellow student who could use magic.

.

.

.

However, there was one aspect that he, in his haste, had failed to consider.

While there were indeed fellow students who could use magic… it was extremely rare to find someone skilled enough to teach beginners the basics in just a day.

At best, they were at the Novice or Apprentice level, so it was only natural.

“What? You want me to teach you magic?”

Even Karen, whom he trusted, shook her head, saying it was impossible.

Although she had acquired simple wind magic during her time with the elf tribe and could assist in archery, she was by no means skilled enough to teach anyone.

The same was true for other exceptional magic users.

…Returning to the dormitory for another strategy meeting.

Luke looked at Ban with trembling eyes.

“Ha, don’t you know anyone in the Mystical Studies Department?”

Suddenly, Ban remembered a letter he had received a few weeks ago.

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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It was from the top-ranking freshman of the Mystical Studies Department.

I’d like to test your resistance to mental magic.

Drop by when you have time.

However, not only did they not have any close acquaintances to ask for help, but somehow, the contents of the ominous letter bothered him.

Ban shook his head with a darkened face.

“I don’t.”

“Well, I guess we have no choice.”

But Luke’s expression wasn’t so despairing.

Because he still had one last resort.

“In the end, there’s only one answer…”

…Excluding the fact that he was extremely reluctant to ask that person, she would be the most suitable for the position of teacher.

Luke dragged Ban to a corner of the lounge with determination.

Whoosh-!

Right in front of the air conditioning artifact blowing out strong cold wind, some blankets were rolled up one by one.

“Ugh.”

Someone enjoying a nap inside groaned.

“Hey.”

“Ugh, this annoying voice… is it Luke?”

“Just wake up for a moment.”

“I don’t want to.”

With animal fur scattered all over the green towel like hair, Ban could immediately recognize her identity.

“Ah, it’s urgent!”

As Luke grabbed the end of the towel, it coincided with her waking up.

Swish-!

“Geez.”

As she rolled off the towel onto the floor, Cuculli placed her hands on her waist as if protesting.

“What!”

“Do you know how to use magic?”

Cuculli looked at Luke with skeptical eyes.

“Don’t you think it’s too pathetic to ask that of a descendant of a dragon?”

“I’m asking if you can use any human magic besides dragon magic.”

“Of course. What do you think the master of magic is?”

Luke nodded satisfactorily.

“Then teach me any of those roughly.”

Cuculli’s expression became subtle.

…Something was strange.

Luke was asking for instruction from none other than himself.

Wasn’t he the guy who, due to his pride, had gone to Leciel to learn aerial techniques?

“What do you need magic for?”

“For a magic 2v2 battle.”

“…Pohanghang-!”

Indeed, it was worth the anticipation.

Cuculli laughed, rolling around on the towel.

Luke wanted to leave immediately due to embarrassment… but he held back.

If he didn’t endure the current irritation, he would be even more irritated in a few months.

“Ha… this was the funniest thing I heard this year….”

Cuculli, who had been laughing heartily, wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes and got up.

Although she detested bothersome tasks, she wasn’t the type to get involved in something that seemed fun either.

But offering help outright didn’t really suit her either.

A sly grin crept onto Cuculli’s lips.

“Mercenary, isn’t it a rule in your industry to set a fee when making a request?”

Luke nodded in response.

The fee had already been considered.

“I’ll cover all your food expenses for a month.”

“Oh, not afraid of bankruptcy?”

“I’ve made some money recently.”

“Ah, so the riches of the Dietrich family are flowing to you!”

Cuculli playfully retorted, then straightened up and chuckled.

“Once you accept that.”

“What else do you want to say?”

“Help me out when I need it later.”

Luke hesitated for a moment.

He could help out when that lanky fellow needed it, like sneaking into the kitchen or playing a mischievous prank.

Those kinds of demerits could easily be offset by a few bathroom cleaning sessions.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

The love-struck Luke, in an uncharacteristic manner for a mercenary, accepted the abstract terms of the contract….

“All right! The party to this agreement will be none other than Ban, the legitimate son of the honorable Dietrich family!”

Only then did Cuculli suddenly jump up and beam with a broad smile.

“Everyone, greet Professor Evans!”

…And so they headed to the empty classroom.

.

.

.

At the most basic level, the transmission of magic skills continued.

During this process, there was one unexpected aspect for both Ban and Luke.

Namely, Cuculli’s teaching talent.

She smoothly conducted classes so that even they, who had sparse knowledge of magic could easily enter the world of magic, a far cry from Leciel’s rigid teaching methods.

“…Even the grass roller has a talent for it.”

“Luke, have you ever eaten multiple servings of course meals at once? Just thinking about eating like that is really exciting.”

“…Sorry.”

Thus, they succeeded in mastering completely useless and shoddy magic in just two days.

* * *

Glitter-

Jace, a staff member who was present at the Battle Arena site, looked at Ban with an incredulous expression.

A light the size of a fingernail floating in the air.

Despite a few clouds gathering, it was a brightness that wouldn’t have been visible on a typical sunny day.

Ban buried his head in the ground with a reddening face, as if about to explode.

On the other hand, Luke was confident.

“He’s using a flashy spell, while I’m using reinforcement magic.”

Eeeeeee-

With a mosquito-like buzzing sound, the stiffness of the stick Luke was holding increased by about 1.05 times.

“See, haven’t we met all the eligibility requirements?”

The employee, facing the boy’s ominously glowing dark red eyes, had no choice but to slowly nod.

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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