Chapter 343
The House Heads nodded their heads as if it were a matter of course.
“I look forward to it. Seeing what a fool that Hero whelp will make of himself in front of our Aiden.”
“Still, Aiden shouldn't humiliate him too much.”
“Haha. I will tell him to go easy.”
And with that, the House Heads’ pleasant conversation came to an end.
Except for one person.
There was one man who had worn a heavy expression throughout the entire conversation.
It was William, the Head of the War King House.
A companion of the Hero’s party in his past life, and the only one who had met Chris in person.
‘…Will this really be alright?’
He knew Aiden’s skills well.
Aiden was the young Raging Tiger of the Round Table and was at a level in no way inferior to his own, which was at the peak of 7-Star.
He didn't know what the Hero’s current achievement was exactly, but Aiden would surely be more than a match.
However, William recalled the sneer Chris had given him when they had last met.
-And they call you the Raging Tiger of the Round Table. Is this all you've got? How pathetic.
William’s expression darkened.
It wasn't simply a matter of a higher or lower achievement.
He was someone you shouldn't mess with.
That was what William had felt from Chris.
Yet here they were, baring their fangs at such a person. It was a frustrating situation, but William, whose house was relatively minor in the Round Table, could not stop the others.
‘…It feels like dark clouds are gathering.’
William let out a sigh.
But there was something William did not know.
That what was approaching was no mere gathering of dark clouds.
A disaster named Chris had begun to cast its shadow over the Round Table.
* * *
Keinper City, where the training center was located, grew boisterous.
The first day of the training session had finally arrived.
People flocked from all over the continent, and the citizens let out cries of admiration.
“Whew. There seem to be an unusual number of dazzling people this time.”
“Didn’t they say some incredible people were coming?”
The training session is not held every year.
It is held only once every five years.
The most outstanding talents who have shown the greatest performance on the continent over the past five years are carefully selected and invited.
Therefore, those who attended the training were all formidable figures, but this year’s class was particularly exceptional.
Evan of the swordsmanship noble house.
Ranya of the Celestial Magic Tower.
And even the Hero, who was making a name for himself.
“Didn't they say the Hero was coming as a professor?”
“So I heard. But there’s a story going around that he’s not the real Hero?”
“That’s what I’m saying. They say the real Hero is Sir Aiden.”
The citizens tilted their heads.
It was because the noble houses of the Round Table had been subtly spreading rumors to slander Chris.
However, it wasn't very effective.
“Sir Aiden is the Hero? A passing dog would laugh.”
The citizens scoffed.
Aiden possessed a talent that no one could deny, but he was not an excellent person in terms of character.
On the contrary, he was the height of arrogance.
A man drunk on his own talent who stereotypically looked down on others.
“Given Sir Aiden’s temper, I doubt he'll stay quiet. Isn't he going to cause trouble again?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
As if it were a familiar occurrence, the citizens spoke with concern.
But unexpectedly, the first person to cause trouble was not Aiden.
It was before the training had officially begun.
Chris whistled as he set foot in the training center.
‘This is my first time at the Keinper Training Center.’
Naturally, he had had no connection to it in his past life.
He turned his gaze and saw those who had come out to greet him.
“We greet His Highness, the Prince of the Karn Empire.”
They were the professors of the training center.
Since Chris was currently disguised not just as the Hero, but as a royal of the Karn Empire, they had come out to greet him.
At the very front of the faculty was a familiar face.
It was the Raging Tiger, William.
As one of the House Heads of the Round Table, he was serving as the head professor for this training session.
“Sir William, is it? It’s been a while.”
Chris tilted his chin toward William and gave a smirk.
“Thankfully, it looks like your core has healed up a bit.”
William’s face contorted into a deep frown.
In their previous meeting, William’s core had been injured after his duel with Chris, and he had suffered greatly.
Yet he had brought it up as soon as they met, as if to tease him.
“…It has been a while for me as well, Your Highness.”
“Yes, it’s good to see you again. I have something to discuss with you privately. Can you spare a moment?”
“…Follow me.”
He had a bad feeling.
Facing Chris, his sense of foreboding intensified.
His intuition was correct.
As soon as they were alone, Chris immediately began with an insane proposal.
“Aren't you grateful to me?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I, the Hero, have come in person to be a professor. It should be an honor for the training center, no?”
It was an utterly absurd statement, but William simply nodded his head for the time being.
“…That is correct. We have high expectations for you, Your Highness the Hero.”
“Good, then hand over your authority as head professor to me.”
“…What did you say? Are you insane?”
At this completely nonsensical bullshit, William asked back as if aghast.
“There shouldn't be a problem, should there? In the first place, isn't it the principle of the Keinper Training Center that the most outstanding professor takes the role of head professor?”
Chris let out a sneer.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s pretty clear I'm more qualified than you.”
William was incensed, but it was the truth.
Since reuniting with Chris, William had been in a state of great shock.
‘Impossible. How could he have grown so much in the short time since we met?’
In their previous encounter, Chris had just barely reached 7-Star.
In terms of pure achievement, he had been inferior to William, who was at the peak of 7-Star.
But now, he couldn't even fathom the depth of his achievement.
That meant only one thing.
‘He reached 8-Star in that short amount of time?’
8-Star!
If it were true, it was a story that would shock the entire Alliance.
No, for someone so young to reach 8-Star was impossible even for a magus of the Magus Empire.
‘Not even the Demonic Radiance of the Dark Demonic House, said to be the greatest genius in the history of the Magus Empire?’
In any case, even if it were true that the Hero before him had reached 8-Star, he could not accept the demand to be head professor.
“Still, it is impossible.”
“Because I’m an outsider? As I thought, the Keinper Training Center is rotten, too.”
“!!”
Chris sneered.
“Aren’t you ashamed of the name ‘Cradle of the Alliance’?”
William could not give any reply.
In truth, the Keinper Training Center, said to be the Alliance’s greatest training institution, had been ineffectual for a long time.
Originally, the Keinper Training Center had strived to bring in the best professors from all over the continent.
There had even been times when 9-Star Sacred Ones were invited as professors, but now, it had long since become a place for figures from the Round Table to show off to one another.
Even those who attended the training only hoped for the honor of having been a student there and were not desperate to improve their achievements.
“It’s not just the Keinper Training Center. The Round Table is the same.”
“……”
“You’re so drunk on your own arrogance that you’ve gone past stagnant and are now rotten. And you’re just frogs in a well.”
To call the Round Table, the greatest elite of the Alliance, frogs in a well.
But it was the truth. Something William also knew all too well.
He could tell just by seeing them conspire behind the scenes to harm the Hero.
“Don’t you want to change the Round Table?”
“!!”
William’s expression hardened.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“You must know. That if things continue as they are, the Round Table will never be able to withstand the coming tribulation.”
Chris said in a firm voice.
“Give me the authority of head professor, and I will have not just the Keinper Training Center, but the entire Round Table be born anew.”
William wore a confused expression.
Becoming the head professor was one thing, but how did he plan to change the Round Table?
It was an impossible task, but seeing the Hero’s face, William clamped his mouth shut.
He was twisting the corner of his mouth as if to say that something of this level was simple, and for some reason, a shiver ran down his spine.
For a moment, an image of the Round Table being turned completely upside down flashed through his mind.
“Besides, don’t you owe me a debt?”
“…What debt are you talking about?”
“It seems you’ve gained a great achievement thanks to me. When a person receives a grace, they should know how to repay it.”
William’s face contorted into a deep frown.
After their duel in their previous meeting, Chris had insulted William like this.
-Is this all? It’s so dull I could yawn. Follow my example and try a little harder.
But, absurdly, that shameful duel had allowed William to grow to a higher state.
In particular, he had been inspired by the trick the whelp had used on him and had greatly improved his mana circulation, which had been a chronic problem, allowing him to wield far greater power than before.
He wanted to deny it, but he had indeed benefited from the insufferable whelp before him.
“Try to believe in me, the Hero.”
Chris gave a grin.
“The duties of a Hero include rehabilitating the rotten.”
At that chilling smile, William swallowed hard.
* * *
In the end, William accepted Chris’s demand.
It was a partial acceptance.
He decided to grant him the authority of head professor on a limited basis for just one week.
After that, he would decide based on Chris’s performance.
‘Well, that’s enough.’
Chris whistled as he set foot in a large hall.
100 people.
Talents, hand-picked from all over the Alliance, stared at him.
“It’s a pleasure. I suppose I don't need an introduction. You must be sick of hearing my name by now.”
Chris raised his chin and looked around at the 100 talents.
It was a gaze as if he were appraising them, and in the moment the talents’ faces faintly creased into a frown.
“You’re all pathetic.”
“!!”
“You’re telling me that you lot are the greatest talents in the Alliance? You must be joking.”
The atmosphere in the hall turned ice-cold.
But Chris was being sincere.
‘I was expecting it, but this is worse than I thought.’
As he had said numerous times, this training center was not an academy for raising sprouts.
It was a place for the rising stars who had shown the most outstanding performance in the Alliance over the last five years.
And yet, those at 6-Star or above were rare.
Most were 5-Star.
There were even some at 4-Star.
‘They’re not even as good as our Dark Alliance.’
A hollow laugh escaped him.
At that sincere, hollow laugh, the students were incensed.
“You go too far.”
“Shut your mouth. With skills like that, are you in any mood to run your mouth?”
“!!”
“If it were me, I’d be so ashamed I wouldn't have a word to say, even if I had ten mouths.”
His remarks grew more and more outrageous, but the students couldn't bring themselves to say anything more.
It was because Chris was subtly emitting an intimidating pressure.
‘What is this presence…?’
The students swallowed hard.
He wasn't even strongly raising his energy.
But they couldn't open their mouths.
It felt as if they were standing before a being of a completely different class.
Meanwhile, Chris frowned inwardly.
It was because he was genuinely annoyed.
It wasn't simply because the students’ level was low.
There were people here who shouldn't be.
Chris let out a sigh, then raised his finger.
“You.”
“…Yes?”
“And you, you, and you.”
Chris continued to point out several talents.
It wasn't just one or two. After he had pointed out nearly thirty talents.
“Pack your bags and go home at once.”
“!!”
The ones who had been pointed out shouted in bewilderment.
“What do you mean by that? Why us?”
“Why, you ask?”
Chris stared at them intently.
“Are you really asking because you don't know? You yourselves should be well aware that you are not qualified.”