Immediately after he lost consciousness, Ulan's vision went black in an instant.
He was engulfed by a vast darkness; a place where neither the senses nor the passage of time could be perceived.
How much time had passed like that?
The consciousness that had suddenly faded away began to return gradually, like the rekindling of a smoldering fire. Simultaneously, memories he thought he'd forgotten surfaced one by one.
Huh? What's going on? Isn't death supposed to be the end of everything?
Why are my memories suddenly returning?
He was enveloped in a strange feeling at the time when -
〔···Failure〕
- he heard a strange voice, sounding like metal scraping.
〔Memory···. Save···. Restarting…]
It was a heterogeneous voice devoid of the slightest trace of emotion as if it came from another world.
However, without a doubt, Light had come to the dark world.
Soon, Ulan's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he saw was the ceiling of a tent.
His eyes reflected a brightly embroidered red pattern and soon, the wind soon blew outside the tent - a vast expanse of grassland.
'This place······'
– was where he was born and raised.
The grasslands of the northern part of the continent - Ulan's homeland.
What the hell is it? Am I still reminiscing about my past life? Various questions flooded his mind, so he pinched his cheeks hard without realizing it.
Ouch!
It hurt. Ulan winced, not because it hurt, but because he couldn't feel the touch of his thick beard that stretched from below his ears to the tip of his chin.
It was then, he saw a basin next to the bed – a basin full of warm water.
Ulan approached the place as if possessed. And as soon as he saw his reflected face in the calm water –
"······!?"
– both his eyes filled with bewilderment.
It was completely understandable. What was reflected in it was Ulan with a youthful face. It was a boy's face.
It's not just the face that has changed over time.
The agonizing pain that had been plaguing his body before had vanished all of a sudden. Instead, it displayed a well-defined muscular upper body.
Ulan muttered inaudibly, "I definitely died…"
Then he was surprised again. Because the voice was different from before.
He hadn't gotten over his confusion when suddenly he heard several people talking outside the tent.
"He's really something."
"I will say so."
"I never thought he would pass the Trial of a Hero."
"Then the next chieftain will be Ulan?"
"Haha haha! Of course, he is!"
"Of all the warriors in the meadow, there is no one strong enough to defeat Ulan."
It was a loud clamor of conversation and as Ulan listened to this, he recalled that he had experienced the same situation as now, long ago, in a distant past.
'·······The Trial of a Hero.'
It was late summer when he was sixteen.
Ulan, who had passed the Trial of a Hero earlier, had challenged the legend of the clan.
The ancient ruins on the outskirts of the village; the ruins, infested with all kinds of monsters and golems, were called the 'Cave of the Hero' by the clan, and challenging this cave, defeating all monsters, and bringing the tokens stored at the end of the ruins was called the 'Trial of a Hero'.
'Those who have passed the trial were awarded…'
Any one thing. You can get what you want. That's what the legend said.
At the time, 16-year-old Ulan, who was vigorous, challenged the legend and barely survived the ordeal after a ten-day struggle.
The moment he was trying to remember this far, suddenly his eyes widened.
'Yes, the Mark of a Hero!'
He passed the trial, so there must be a mark.
Ulan hurriedly looked around in panic.
Then he soon realized that he was wearing the 'mark of the hero' around his neck. There was, however, one thing that was different from before.
'The jewel is missing.'
Originally, a large jewel had to be embedded in the center of the token. The very jewel that radiated light before the ritual.
But now, the place where the jewel should have been was empty, as if someone had taken it out. Just as he was feeling confused -
Flutter!
- someone entered the tent.
It was a young man with a slim body; a man with a lean, muscular body, reddish-brown hair, and faint crimson eyes.
"Ulan. Are you awake now?"
His eyes were warm and he spoke with a smile.
"Congratulations on passing the Trial of a Hero. I'm proud to be your brother."
It was a familiar face with a familiar voice making eye contact with him.
Ulan muttered with a blank face, "······Brother?"
Alk Bator.
He was the blood brother of Ulan and was six years older than Ulan.
And now it was a family that didn't exist in the world. Alk lost his life in the winter, just before Ulan turned seventeen.
'But how…'
– is my brother here?
Ulan's eyes trembled slightly.
Did he recognize him? Alk spoke with a worried expression on his face.
"If you are not feeling well, tell me anytime. You are now our pride and the hope of our clan."
Those words were full of warmth. Alk turned around again, "The preparations will be completed soon. I'll call you when it's completely over, so take a little break."
He had a rough idea of what 'preparation' he was talking about. The day he passed the trial of the hero. Because the village held a festival to commemorate this.
But now.
Ulan was not interested in the festival. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he couldn't be bothered.
'Let's get this straight.'
Ulan had died in the final battle with Largtan, the Giant King. But when he opened his eyes, he returned to the time when he had passed the ordeal of the hero.
And the mark of the hero which was said to grant any wish was left in a state of missing a large jewel.
The moment he remembered this far, Ulan assessed the current situation.
'Does this mean that I have returned to the past?'
Wanting to live life again - this was Ulan's wish and now, his wish had come true.
'If it really is…'
This moment right now, Ulan got the opportunity he so longed for.
A chance to acquire a body and weapons far stronger than in his past life, and a chance to rip the heads off monsters!
'I won't miss it this time.'
Ulan's eyes lit up. It was the gaze of one who seized the opportunity.
⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰
Doodung! Dung Dung Dung!
There was a loud drumming sound.
The flames raged, and loud shouts rang out. A festival to commemorate the passing of the hero's ordeal had begun.
The clan of the meadow was wildly drunk.
They ate and drank happily, forgetting about tomorrow and living in the present. At such a time when the atmosphere was ripe for a while. Suddenly, all was silent-
Step!
-as a figure emerged; a woman clad in the skin of a giant snake.
She was a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her late thirties. Her black hair, braided up to her waist, swayed at her footsteps.
Soon after, the woman stopped walking.
The place she arrived at was the center of the village. Ulan was sitting in front of her. The woman pointed at the Ulan with a staff adorned with an assortment of feathers.
"Warrior of the meadow, Ulan Bator."
"Ulan! Ulan!"
As the woman spoke, the warriors all around her pounded their weapons on the ground. It was a show of support, respect, and adoration for Ulan.
"You have challenged the legend and accomplished the feat of passing the trial. In accordance with this, show proof that you have passed the trial."
As soon as she finished those words, Ulan silently handed over the necklace to her.
The woman, who had been examining the necklace for a while, grinned, revealing her pure white teeth.
"Um, it sure is the mark of a hero."
"············."
Ulan, on the other hand, had a dejected expression.
Since the jewel that should have been there was gone, he thought it would not be recognized as a mark of a hero.
'So I prepared an excuse…'
He never thought it would be recognized so easily.
Around the time when he felt a bit empty.
Her shout continued.
"With this, the warrior Ulan has completed the proof of being called a hero. If anyone has any objection to this ceremony even now, come out!"
The room was dyed with silence.
It means there weren't any. The woman, who looked around for a moment, smiled broadly and shouted.
"Then, judging by the consensus of all, I will recognize the warrior Ulan as a Hero!"
"Waaaaaaa!"
"Hero Ulan!"
A raucous cheer rang out. All shouting their blessings for Ulan.
Meanwhile, Ulan was lost in other thoughts.
'Now I am 16 years old.'
He had traveled back about 30 years.
In his last life, he died at the age of forty-five. After estimating the gap, albeit roughly, Ulan looked around.
He could see several familiar faces.
Among them was a woman who is currently performing a Hero's ritual.
'Shaman Azur.'
She appeared to be in her mid to late 30s from the outside, but she was actually an elderly woman who was over 70 years old. Nonetheless, she was able to maintain her youth because she was a skilled shaman.
'Did she say she made the Elixir of Fire?'
That's probably what he had heard. For the rest of her life, Azur wandered across the continent, returning to the meadows at the age of just under sixty.
'In the past, I used to think she was just a greedy old woman, obsessed with youth…'
It was Ulan's bias. Looking back, Azur was a wise shaman and priest and she was famous enough to make a name for herself outside the meadow.
Just as he was getting to this point.
Suddenly, he heard a voice that broke his thoughts.
"Well, then, choose. Hero Ulan!"
A staff pointing to the altar. Azur let out a loud shout.
"I have prepared a reward commensurate with your feat, so choose whatever you want!"
There were three rewards.
A spear that glowed azure. A coquettish beauty with a bewitching smile. And a banner emblazoned with the symbols of the clan.
Each of these meant different things.
'First of all, choosing a weapon means….'
To fulfill his mission as a protector of the clan. And beauty means that he will leave a strong seed for the future of the clan, and the banner means that he will become a chieftain who will lead the future of the clan.
'I've said this in the past.'
I want all three. Ulan would not concede a single thing. Because he thought he deserved it.
So he had them all. But now he felt differently.
'The azure spear.'
Of course, it was a useful weapon. However, weapons of that level were widely spread outside the grasslands.
'The most beautiful woman in the clan.'
A beautiful face and voluptuous body. But that was all. Outside the meadow, there were as many as the stars who were more beautiful and charming.
'Finally the chieftain's flag.'
That, too, did not suit Ulan.
Because the chieftain had to be a wise man, not a strong warrior. Ulan didn't realize this until he was forty.
In other words, there was nothing there for him.
Ulan calmly pondered what he really wanted. He decided on three goals.
'First, to reach the realm of superhuman.'
The first goal was to have a much stronger body and strength than in his past life. Only then will he be able to stop the Rulers of the Abyss without dying.
'Second, to acquire a powerful weapon.'
The ax Ulan used was a precious weapon that received all kinds of blessings. If he were to list the most powerful weapons in the world, it would fit in the top ten.
But even that ax was broken by the Giant King Largtan. So this time, his goal was to get a better weapon than that.
'Third, to acquire diverse knowledge.'
Strength was not everything in this world. Wisdom was needed to create and lead a force. So, it would be better to accumulate a certain amount of knowledge in many ways.
And one more thing.
There was a reason to gain knowledge.
Once upon a time, Ulan heard this by chance from Azur. Outside the meadows, there was a place where all the knowledge of the world was stored.
'Arsene Academy.'
It was the best educational institution on the continent and a treasure trove of knowledge, both in name and reality, and had produced numerous talented people.
If it were there, there must be clues and knowledge that will lead him to the realm of superhuman. Maybe there was a way to get a powerful weapon.
Of course, this was only a vague conjecture.
But even if it was a glimmer of hope, Ulan was determined not to lose sight of it.
'But if I want to enter the academy…'
He must have at least some basic knowledge.
Arsene Academy was famous for its difficult entrance exams. But Ulan had a bad head. To the extent that it was called the best stone head in the clan.
There was no need to worry though.
'Because there is Azur here.'
She was the best shaman in her clan.
In her youth, she wandered the continent, broadening her knowledge, and now she was reputed to be the most knowledgeable figure in her clan.
'There is no shortage of people to learn from.'
With the goal of entering Arsene Academy, he needs to seek instruction from Azur. Ulan, his eyes shining seriously, immediately turned to her.
Then he immediately opened his mouth.
"What I want is not there."
Right after Ulan's words were finished, the hall shook for an instant.
But that was only for a while.
"Be quiet!"
A shrill shout rang out. And soon silence followed, and Azur's gaze turned to Ulan again.
"Hero. Then what do you want?"
The question returned.
Ulan replied as if he had been waiting.
"I want to learn."
"Yeah, learn…! What?"
Azur, who had been nodding quietly, suddenly opened her eyes. Her expression was startled as if she had seen a ghost.
"Shaman Azur."
Meanwhile, Ulan was serious.
He bowed his head to Azur and said, "Teach me."
On the day a Hero was born in the meadow, the bustle of the festivities quickly turned to silence as if cold water had been poured over it.