The next morning, Yurina groaned weakly as she sat up, looking as if life itself had drained out of her. “Ughhh!”

“You okay?” I asked.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

“Our assembly’s soon. You should wash up and get ready.”

“Mm.”

As she pushed herself out of bed, she turned to look at me, already dressed neatly in uniform. Her still-dazed eyes suddenly widened. “Huh? Wait, what?”

She frantically touched her lips, her face reddening in panic. “D-Dale, did we, um, yesterday, did we?”

“Hmm? Yesterday what?”

“Ah, no, it’s just... k-kiss...”

I tilted my head innocently. “Kiss? What kiss?”

Relieved, Yurina let out a long sigh and patted her chest. “Never mind. I must’ve just dreamed it.”

It hadn’t been a dream. But honestly, letting her believe that was probably for the best. After all, if her first-ever kiss ended with her vomiting into a toilet immediately after, that was a memory best buried forever.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

I arrived at the meeting point with Yurina, who had adopted her Yuren disguise. The other cadets had already gathered in front of the inn, chatting noisily.

Professor Kane surveyed the group. “All right, everyone. Did you rest well yesterday?”

Most of them had barely slept, having stayed up drinking and partying. But despite the fatigue, a glimmer of excitement flashed in their eyes; perhaps the magic of the word field trip was enough to keep them awake.

The professor continued, “Before we go over today’s schedule, there’s someone very special I’d like you all to meet. It’s a very important guest. So please, mind your manners.” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The cadets exchanged puzzled looks. Professor Kane’s unusually respectful tone was unlike him.

“Important guest?”

“Who is it?”

Professor Kane said with a small smirk, “You’ll see soon enough.”

He tapped his Hero Watch to contact someone. Moments later, the sound of heavy metal clinking echoed through the air. A formation of knights in gleaming white armor marched forward, their steps perfectly synchronized. Just their presence alone was enough to make it hard to breathe.

The cadets were shocked to see them.

“Are they...”

“T-the Order of the Seven Stars?”

“No way! This is my first time seeing them in person!”

“Same here.”

The Order of the Seven Stars was the most elite order of holy knights in the Holy Empire. It was led by Johan Basilio, who was ranked fourth among all heroes and known as the Sword of the Holy Empire.

Though the individual combat prowess of each member of the Order was said to be slightly lower than that of the members of the Empire’s Order of the Golden Knights or the Republic’s Hwarang Corps, in terms of unity and loyalty, the Order of the Seven Stars was second to none.

Even in my previous life, they were the only elite force with no record of betrayal. They were also famously reclusive, rarely leaving the Holy Empire’s capital.

Naturally, the same question lingered in every cadet’s mind: “Why are they here now?”

As if to answer this question, step by step, someone appeared behind the knights. Clad in pure white priestly robes and surrounded by the Order of the Seven Stars, an elderly woman with soft white hair and kind eyes approached us.

She smiled warmly and bowed her head to us. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, cadets of the Hero Academy. I’m truly honored to stand before the heroes of the future.”

Her voice was calm and gentle, yet it carried clearly through the entire crowd of hundreds. The moment recognition dawned, murmurs spread like wildfire among the cadets.

“W-wait, isn’t that...”

“No way!”

“Lady Marianne? That’s Lady Marianne, right?”

“Holy crap! The Pope came here?”

Pope Marianne, the Hero currently ranked second in the world, was the leader of the Holy Empire and one of the most powerful Masters alive. No one had expected the Pope herself to appear, and the crowd erupted in whispers of disbelief.

Professor Kane stepped forward, microphone in hand. “Quiet! Upon hearing that you cadets would be visiting the Holy Empire, Her Holiness the Pope personally decided to come and welcome you.”

Even though the Hero Academy held enormous importance across all three nations, the very idea that the ruler of a country would show up in person, for a field trip, no less, was unthinkable. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize the reason. Almost in unison, all eyes turned toward Iris.

Iris looked stunned, clearly not expecting this. “Lady Marianne?”

Marianne waved softly at Iris. “Heh. It’s been a while, Iris. Have you been enjoying school?”

Iris nodded quietly.

Marianne turned her gaze back to the cadets, her smile returning. “I know many of you are surprised, but I didn’t come here today just to see Iris. I heard of your bravery during the recent invasion of the demonic monsters. Even full-fledged heroes would’ve hesitated to face such danger, but you, still mere cadets, stood your ground and fought courageously.”

Her warm, melodic voice carried with sincerity. “To honor your courage, the Holy Empire has prepared a little event for you all.”

The cadets tilted their heads curiously.

“An event?”

“What kind of event?”

Marianne’s smile deepened. “Hehe. The event we’ve prepared is a Treasure Hunt.”

At the mention of “treasure,” several cadets’ eyes gleamed with interest.

“Oooh!”

“A T-Treasure Hunt?”

Marianne explained, “As you all know, Termal is home to the resting place of Lady Grace. On the path leading to her tomb lies a vast and ancient ruin.”

Just as Marianne said, Grace’s tomb had been built beneath a vast and ancient ruin. Some claimed it was to prevent grave robbers from breaking in; others believed it was to seal away a dangerous monster slumbering beneath the ruins. The truth of the matter had long been lost to history.

“At first, we simply planned a lighthearted event, which was to find the clues hidden within the ruins and retrieve the tokens we’ve placed there. Those who succeeded would have been rewarded with treasures worthy of their efforts. That was the original idea...”

Every cadet stiffened, sensing something ominous.

“‘Was’?”

“Why is she speaking in the past tense?”

Marianne continued, “But thanks to a proposal from the Hero Academy, the event has taken on... a slightly different form.”

The cadets went silent, waiting to hear the rest.

“The basic rule remains the same: you’ll explore the ruins, find hidden tokens, and exchange them for treasures.” She paused briefly, then smiled. “However, to help you develop your combat skills and gain real battle experience, we’ll be placing obstacles inside the ruins.”

All eyes turned toward Marianne, filled with unease and curiosity.

“Obstacles?”

“Like the Guardians from the last exam?”

“Hey, there are way too many of us here. If they release Guardians, do you know how much that would cost in repair fees?”

“Besides, the Holy Empire’s Guardian tech is the weakest among the three countries.”

“Then what kind of obstacles are we talking about?”

Marianne said gently, “The obstacles we’ll place inside the ruins are... the people standing right before you.”

The cadets were shocked.

Still smiling sweetly, Marianne uttered the most unsweet words imaginable. “In other words, the Order of the Seven Stars will be your opponents. They’ll, well, beat— no, restrain you to keep you from finding the treasures.”

A heavy silence fell over the group. The lively energy from before vanished as if someone had opened a window to a freezing gale. The cadets’ faces twisted in disbelief, and rightfully so. Then came their questions.

“So you’re telling us...”

“We have to find the treasure while being hunted by the strongest knight order in the Holy Empire?”

“What kind of insane idea is that?”

How could unlicensed cadets, who hadn’t even graduated yet, stand against a knight order of top-tier knights led by active heroes? It was ridiculous.

Professor Kane stepped forward to address the murmuring crowd. “Now, now, calm down. As you all know, this isn’t just a vacation. This field trip to Termal isn’t for fun; it’s for learning!”

He stomped, his voice booming with theatrical passion. “Does anyone here know what the words ‘field trip’ or ‘suhak yeohaeng’[1] originally meant in the old Republic language?”

The cadets from the Empire and the Holy Empire just stared blankly, unable to answer.

“They use the characters for ‘to cultivate’ and ‘to learn,’ don’t they?” said one cadet from the Republic.

Professor Kane’s expression hardened dramatically as he pointed at the cadet. “Wrong!”

“Excuse me?”

“The ‘su’ in ‘suhak’ uses the character for ‘head,’ meaning, you learn by cracking your skull open! That’s the true essence of a field trip!”

Whispers of disbelief spread among the Republic cadets.

“What is this man even saying?”

Professor Kane roared on. “In any case! Anyone who wishes to participate in the Treasure Hunt, step forward now!”

“Huh? So it’s optional?” someone asked.

“Indeed. But...” A wicked grin crept up the professor’s face. “Those who don’t participate will get to enjoy some quality one-on-one endurance training with me.”

The cadets’ faces collectively darkened. It was a choice between hell number one and hell number two: face the Order of the Seven Stars or suffer through Professor Kane’s infamous training.

“P-professor! Can you tell us what the treasure actually is?” asked a cadet.

Professor Kane nodded confidently. “Of course. There will be various prizes depending on the rank of the token you find. But for now, I’ll tell you only about the top prize.”

He tapped his Hero Watch, projecting a shimmering hologram of a small, crystal-clear bottle into the air. “The Blessing of God. A divine elixir of the Holy Empire said to bring the dead back to life.”

The Blessing of God was a miraculous potion capable of instantly healing any wound and fully restoring one’s mana. It was considered the Holy Empire’s greatest treasure. For heroes who constantly danced on the edge of death, such a potion was essentially a spare life. Its value was immeasurable, and so was its price.

The cadets’ eyes burned with renewed determination, and they immediately expressed their excitement.

“Holy crap! That stuff costs a fortune!”

“I heard even a single bottle is worth enough to buy a mansion in central Valhalla City!”

“If we somehow manage to avoid getting beaten to death by the Order of the Seven Stars and find the treasure...”

“This could be a once-in-a-lifetime jackpot!”

Unlike the others, I simply clicked my tongue at the mention of “the Blessing of God,” unimpressed. To me, that potion was utterly useless. I wondered if I should skip the treasure hunt. Those who didn’t participate in it would have to endure Professor Kane’s training, sure, but before my usual training regimen, even his so-called endurance training was like child’s play.

Yeah. Better to skip it than waste time chasing after something I can’t even use, I thought.

Just as I was about to step back, Professor Kane added with a grin, “Oh, and one more thing, those who find treasures will also receive bonus points toward their final rankings, proportional to the grade of the treasure.”

I shot my hand straight into the air and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, “Third-year Warrior Division, Dale Han, sign me up!”

1. This is the Korean romanization of the term “field trip.” As mentioned earlier in the novel, the Republic’s old language is Korean. ☜