I was led to another building. It was incredibly large in size, probably the largest or second largest building on campus.
("The design is pretty similar to… Roman? Greek?") [Solace]
It looked like a giant rectangular structure. Maybe it was because this world wasn't very technologically advanced, but it appeared they used quartz or marble to make the building. It was also gilded with gold as if to make it stick out more than the others.
"Why is it so fancy?" [Solace]
"To honor the heroes. It contains their legacy, so it must be decorated to suit it." [Leyhna]
("Never thought I'd hear something educational from her mouth.") [Solace]
I followed Leyhna into the building, weaving through the surprising amount of people entering and exiting.
("This place looks popular.") [Solace]
I entered to see that the inside was actually fancier than the outside. Golden lights shone down on me and the walls had depictions of grand adventures. It was built like one giant hall with massive statues lining the walls.
"Woah…" [Solace]
"Cool, right?" [Leyhna]
"I'm speechless. Why does this place look bigger inside than the outside?" [Solace]
"Magic." [Leyhna]
Fair enough.
"So, what hero do you want to hang out with?" [Leyhna]
I looked at all the statues and couldn't recognize a single one.
"Any recommendations?" [Solace]
"How about I answer that question with another question. What kind of experience do you want?" [Leyhna]
"No clue." [Solace]
"You can pick from joining a war, sparring with the heroes party, or joining their adventure. Which one would you like?" [Fina]
War seemed a bit too chaotic, sparring felt like I would get whooped, and adventuring means going outside. To be honest, I was an indoors kind of guy.
"Sparring I guess." [Solace]
"Great choice. What kind of hero do you want to fight?" [Leyhna]
"What heroes are there?" [Solace]
"A bunch. I suggest starting here since the heroes get stronger the further you go down the hall." [Leyhna]
"Hm." [Solace]
That made me curious.
("I kind of want to go down the hall now.") [Solace]
As much as I would have liked to take a long look at the end of the hall, I decided to stick with the heroes nearby.
"Which one is the weakest?" [Solace]
"Probably the warrior from another world, Astos." [Leyhna]
"Astos?" [Solace]
I felt like I heard that name before.
"Yep, c'mere." [Leyhna]
She dragged me to a statue of a boy that didn't look much older than me. He held a sword with an image of a griffin engraved into the blade. He also wore somewhat modern clothing, minus the random pieces of medieval armor on him. He had a shoulder pad on his left arm and leg bracers on his shins, which was a weird place to keep armor.
("His entire body is exposed.") [Solace]
"Put your hand on this book." [Leyhna]
"What?" [Solace]
Grabbing my hand, she placed it on a floating book in front of Astos' statue.
"Please state your name." [???]
A cold female voice spoke to me.
"Uh… Alt Account?" [Solace]
"Name registered. Please select a mode." [???]
I glanced at Leynha for help.
"Say sparring." [Leyhna]
"Sparring." [Solace]
"Sparring mode selected. Welcome to the Heroes Trials." [???]
My vision blurred as my environment vanished. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of a group of three.
"Oh, hey Alt." [???]
"Huh?" [Solace]
Three figures were casually hanging about in front of me. It appeared that my surroundings consisted of a forest, where the three of them crowded a campfire during the day.
"What are you doing over there? Aren't you going to sit?" [???]
One of the three spoke to me. From what I could see it consisted of two boys and one girl. One of the guys had blindingly blonde hair and the girl had a beautiful silver. As for the last boy, I was certain that he was the hero Astos.
"...Are you good?" [Blonde Haired Guy]
"Y-yeah… Who are you guys again?" [Solace]
"Did you already forget our names?" [Astos]
I assumed that the magic that sent me here made it so the heroes party already knew me, so all I had to do was interact with them.
"...Sorry." [Solace]
Astos laughed it off.
"No worries, I do that too." [Astos]
The blonde haired guy raised a hand.
"I'm Fable. The girl here is Til. I'm sure you know the idiot here, Astos." [Blonde Haired Guy]
Then I remembered.
"OHHH…!" [Solace]
I recalled seeing their fight against a demon lord back in Lapis' tower.
"It's you guys!" [Solace]
Fable raised a brow.
"...Are you okay?" [Fable]
They seemed surprised by my sudden outburst.
"Yeah. My bad. Anyways, are we sparring?" [Solace]
The three glanced at each other.
"Who wants to go first?" [Astos]
"How about asking who he wants to fight?" [Fable]
"Sounds good." [Astos]
They looked at me with expectant eyes.
("Who do I want to fight?") [Solace]
Aiming a finger and drumming it along with a song in my head, I managed to pick.
"I choose you." [Solace]