'Why did I say no?'

I mindlessly swung my sword around the empty training field.

After a couple minutes, I stopped and sat down. I just had too many questions with no one to answer them. My thoughts were in complete disarray. I put my practice sword on my back and decided to head back to the dorms since nothing productive would come out of me in this state.

As I walked around the dark campus, I noticed it was a lot quieter than normal nights. Around this time, there should still be a few people hanging out. I didn't know what was up but I was certain something was amiss. The chirping of crickets that could be heard before were now gone. Nights at the academy were quiet, but this was almost too quiet.

All of a sudden, I heard the grass behind me rustle. I wasn't exactly adept at magic but I could still sense the magic particles gathering behind me. I turned around with my right hand gripping the handle of my training sword that was straddled on my back. I had expected it to be a wild animal or something of that sort but my guess was completely off the marks.

Behind me, was a black ellipse that stretched vertically. It was double my height and just a bit wider than my shoulders.

'What is this?'

I took my training sword and went into a proper stance. My instinct told me that this black oval was bad news. Just as I had gotten into a fighting stance, a green arm lunged out from the oval. Reacting quickly, I side stepped next to the arm and cut down at the elbow joint. The training sword cut the forearm completely off. It was just like cutting air.

My Battle Sense started tingling which signaled to me that something else was coming. I immediately gripped my sword with both hands and leapt backwards. Another green arm came out of the oval with a saber slashing at my previous location.

'What the h*ll was that?'

Before going back in with another chop, I decided to refrain and observe what was going on. My best course of action as a student was to rush to the staff dormitories and alert the professors but remembering what that senior said made me stop.

'Was I really weak?'

The thought of weakness started reminding me of back then, when I couldn't do anything against the goblins. If I hadn't awakened the power of a hero, the goblin chief would have obliterated all three of us.

Even though I was a "hero," I knew somewhere deep down, that I didn't deserve to be called one. I had not trained at all to become a hero. It was simply something that was given to me at the right place and at the right time. That's right, I'm still the same person as I was years, months, and days ago. Nothing really changed. I was still weak.

The creature with green arms finally made its appearance. Its limbs were all green while its body was purple to a terrifying degree. The head was covered completely in moss which made it look even more like a monster. Its hands and feet were just like that of a human, but bigger. Upon leaving the black portal, it looked at me and started walking slowly to me.

'W-what the h*ll is that.'

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

My body completely froze in place and would not move when I wanted it.

'MOVE! WHY CAN'T I MOVE?!'

Even though it walked slowly over to me, with my body petrified like this, it was impossible for me to run. From the corner of my eye, I saw another one of those things coming out the portal.

'There were more?' I thought, knowing that I couldn't even handle a single one of them.

At this moment, I had a thought. If I had spent all my time training and preparing, would I have stood a chance against this thing? I laughed in my head. My body was still frozen in place and not listening to my mind at all. He was right. I was incapable. Thinking about all the time I spent at ease while I was in the academy, it disappointed me even further.

'I should have known.'

I wasn't just a student. I was also the "hero." I have lost sight of my goal. What was I doing; thinking that I could be lax since I was at an academy. Now that I was a hero, I had a job that had to be done. I didn't come to the academy to have fun, I came to get stronger. My previous mindset was weak. Everything was weak. I wouldn't get stronger like this.

The thing was finally in front of me. It held its arm with the saber up and slowly moved down on me as if mocking my plight.

I had so many things I needed to do. I had to live yet I can't... No, living is all that mattered. When I thought that, I started emptying everything in my mind but the will to live.

'To protect my people, I must live.'

My body started loosening as if it finally realized the danger I was in. When that monster noticed I could move, it stopped playing around and slashed the saber down.

'MOVE!!!'

I tried to roll back, but my body was still tensed up. All I managed to do was fall on my back which allowed me to dodge the slash that nearly cut through me.

Realizing that its first attack had missed, it brandished the saber and swiped down at me again.

Seeing the saber rushing down at me, I put my sword out in front of me and closed my eyes. Hoping that it would somehow withstand the impact of the saber. Sadly, the reality was that it was only a measly training sword.

Clang

I heard a clang in front of me but I had felt no impact. Opening my eyes to look at what happened, a person in a black robe was in front of me. It was the senior. He held the saber with his hand and crushed it just by squeezing. He then punched the monster and it was blown away. I could even feel the air rushing past my face from that single punch.

The black portal then started to shrink and disappeared as if it was scared of him. There were still two more of those things left. Before they could hold their sabers up, they were already met with a fireball each. The senior did not chant nor did he move his hands to signal the firing of the spells.

'He killed one of them with a punch and cast two spells at once, meaning he can Multi Cast.'

Multi Cast was something that only a few of the professors in the entire academy could do. As for his physical prowess, it was overwhelmingly strong.

Without thinking, I subconsciously said, "yes."

He turned around and looked at me with a questioning glare.

"Please make me your disciple, master."

He said, "Very well. I have some cleaning up to do so leave."

As I got up off the ground, prepared to leave, he said one more thing, "Your training will begin directly after lunch. Meet me behind the academy building."

"Yes master!" I bowed towards him and rushed away from the scene.

—Dray's PoV—

'Pfft, Hhahahahaha!!! It actually worked!'

Against a hero, I didn't think a simple Spring Masquerade Formation would work. Hahah, it was only a measly level 4 Grand Formation, yet it worked wonders. To think a hero couldn't even tell it was all an illusion. My plan was just way too simple. All I did was exert some of my accumulated killing intent and he froze like a statue.

Now that I have the hero as my disciple, I will sculpt him into the ultimate weapon. Be prepared, Demon God!!!