“Alright, let’s give a round of applause to Telos for today’s special lecture!”

Wooaaah!

As the introduction from Teacher Eve concluded, a man walked forward, and the children erupted into applause and cheers.

Telos Dolos, who had reportedly spent a significant amount of time on the front lines among legendary heroes, responded to the children’s cheers with a slight nod of his head.

At first glance, it might seem like a nonchalant gesture, but it didn’t feel that way at all.

His hair was completely white, as if to prove the passage of time.

Yet, there was no sign of frailty in his robust physique and the gleam of determination in his eyes.

It made one wonder just how well the term “veteran” suited him; seeing him made even the smallest of his actions feel full of meaning. Unlike other commanders like Martina or Leon, looking at him instilled a strong sense of reliability, as if he simply wouldn’t lose.

Even I, who had seen him lose and die to lesser demonic beasts in the original story, felt this way, so surely the other kids must have felt even more so.

That must be the trust that comes with experience.

I had heard stories about him multiple times, but witnessing it firsthand left me utterly amazed.

As I was blankly admiring a living legend of the hero community, Telos opened his mouth to speak.

“Hello. Most of you probably know me, but I’m Telos Dolos, who served as the captain of the 2nd Squad of Astra for quite some time until recently. I believe you’re already acquainted with my successor, Captain Yoon Si-woo, who is about your age. I’m glad to see so many excellent students here, so there’s no need to worry about the future.”

He casually glanced over the faces of the kids, and with a satisfied smile, they appeared visibly excited and were trembling with joy at receiving recognition from someone they admired.

Telos, with a gentle smile on his face, watched the students with kindness before continuing as they settled down a bit.

“I heard from the other commanders that you’ve been learning how to get stronger. I was initially asked to teach that, but it turns out I’m not really suited for teaching since I’ve mostly just relied on my body for most things. So today, instead of that, I’m going to share some stories about what I’ve experienced so far.”

When he mentioned he would just share stories, the kids felt relieved yet slightly disappointed.

The lessons they had received when other commanders visited in the past, though tough, had been incredibly beneficial.

How often does one get a chance to learn from someone who has reached the pinnacle?

Given how much they had been pushed by Teacher Eve lately, the relief of not having to undergo difficult training was palpable, yet they seemed to feel a lingering regret at missing out on receiving wisdom from such a legendary figure.

Sensing this atmosphere, Telos smirked subtly and said,

“It seems you wanted to train under me. But for now, I’d really like you to listen to my stories. They might be interesting for you too.”

With that, he began unraveling the tales he had to share.

“Do you know that the gluttonous beasts have a weakness? Though they might seem to have no special vulnerabilities, they actually have a core within them, which I suppose you could call a weakness. It’s quite small relative to their size, so it’s a problem that it’s often faster to simply crush the entire body than to take the time to find and destroy that core. But through tirelessly hunting them, I managed to figure out how to locate that core. If you observe carefully, each beast has tiny variations in their structures, and most of those differences are found in specific spots—”

Telos shared this information with us.

The weaknesses of the lesser demonic beasts and how to combat them easily.

“Thinking back, on a day when a large horde of demonic beasts invaded the frontline of the western front where the 2nd Squad was stationed, there was a time when no other squads could come to aid us. We had to manage by ourselves, and everyone fought desperately. Many lost their lives, and one member suffered such severe injuries that they lost almost all of their limbs, save for one leg. Watching those comrades…”

He continued sharing the experiences he had endured on the battlefield and the lessons he learned from them.

We couldn’t help but be drawn into his narrative.

The stories of a man who had survived on the front lines for over fifty years were intense, intriguing, and extremely enlightening.

It was the kind of insight one couldn’t buy with money, and there was even a student who took out a notebook to jot down notes, clearly not wanting to miss a single word.

However, the downside was that Telos’s demeanor had completely transformed.

He initially appeared as a solemn, reserved veteran, but unexpectedly displayed traits reminiscent of a chatty baseball player from LA.

I was grateful he was a good speaker, for without that, enduring this long session might have been quite a challenge. Just as I was having these thoughts, someone’s voice broke through Telos’s speech.

“…Captain, you’re as talkative as ever. Shouldn’t it be time to wrap things up?”

With a prosthetic arm and leg, excluding his right leg.

It was the history teacher.

It seemed these two had some history together. Upon seeing the teacher enter through the classroom door, Telos looked pleased and greeted them.

“Ah, you… it’s been so long! Have you been working here? How are your limbs?”

“It’s been 25 years. Now I’m teaching here. As you can see…”

“Wow, really. This makes me realize I should start considering retirement. Anyway, it’s good to see you. We should catch up soon…”

“I’m really happy to see you as well, but can we save the conversation for later? You need to finish your talk first so the other students can hear it too.”

“Got it. I’ll say just one more thing and wrap it up.”

With a firm response from the history teacher, Telos chuckled and turned to us.

“Everything I’ve been able to fight without rest until now is because I firmly believed it was for humanity’s happiness. Every person has the right to be happy. I merely did what I must do to ensure that they can enjoy their happiness. I want you all to become people who can do what you must do. And lastly…”

He hadn’t he said just one word?

Everyone seemed to have a similar thought, sharing a smile as they watched him speak. Telos gazed at us with warm eyes and continued.

“You too have the right to be happy, so please, don’t die. That’s all I wanted to impart.”

The sincerity behind his words was palpable, and everyone nodded, smiling in agreement.

Just as a warm conclusion was about to take place and we were prepared to bid him farewell.

Weeeeeeeng—

A siren blared loudly.

It was a sound signaling something unusual had occurred.

As the foreboding sound echoed through the classroom, one student who glanced out the window suddenly exclaimed.

“…Huh?”

And let out a shocked noise.

Naturally, everyone turned to see where the student was looking, and there stood a beast.

It was some sort of canine creature, a wolf or something akin to that, with four limbs.

Not just a simple beast, as the absence of eyes caked in scars hinted at something sinister, and the whole body was sprouting something pulsating like tentacles.

With that grotesque appearance, everyone instantly recognized that the creature was a lesser demonic beast.

Had that been all there was to it, we wouldn’t have been so shocked.

We had seen plenty of strange-looking demonic beasts by now.

However, the reason everyone froze up, like a machine malfunctioning upon witnessing the beast, was because we could visually identify its form.

It shouldn’t have been possible.

Because that beast was standing outside the barrier.

No matter how close to the barrier this academy might be, it was still a considerable distance away from where the beast was positioned.

Yet, we could see the beast.

It was somewhat smaller, but clear enough to confirm its appearance.

If we could see it from this position, then how large must it be?

I recalled once learning the difference between intermediate and advanced lesser demonic beasts.

Unlike intermediate ones, advanced ones give off an unmistakable aura; you know right off the bat that it’s an advanced one.

And based on my instincts, that creature was at least advanced.

It meant that it was a lesser demonic beast formidable enough to be unchallenged without a captain-level hero.

But if it’s just that one beast…

I thought perhaps Yoon Si-woo and the other captains could team up to take it down.

As I pondered that, the beast suddenly lifted its head and opened its mouth.

[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]

A long, resonating howl that could be distinctly heard even from here.

A few students stumbled backward in fear and fell, landing on their behinds.

Yet, many students held their ground firmly, but the sound that followed was enough to instill despair in most of our hearts.

It echoed.

[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]

A sound similar to the one just heard.

[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]

Faintly.

[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]

A series of yells, back-to-back, one after another.

With that noise, we couldn’t avoid the realization.

It was not just a beast.

It was beasts.