Chapter 127: Age of Heroes

“Is it really unlimited, Professor?” one of the students asked.

“Yes, it is. But most of them are already extinct after the end of the Sixth Era and before the beginning of our current Seventh Era. Right now, only about fifty types still exist in our world.” Pazala explained.

“What happened, Professor? Where did they go?” Oliver suddenly asked.

He was very eager to learn more about this world. After all, this was one of the main reasons he had come to this academy.

“Huh… you really don’t know about that?” Lucretia said. “Were you really living in a pond before this? Hahaha.”

A group of students from House Noctis immediately laughed at him.

“Tch!” Oliver clenched his teeth.

“Please don’t laugh at someone for asking a question. There is no such thing as a stupid question. There are only stupid people who let their arrogance stop them from asking questions.” Pazala said.

She then began explaining.

“The current year is 2665 of the Seventh Era. In other words, it has been 2665 years since the dawn of the current era. What happened between the Sixth and Seventh Eras is 1000 years of what we call the Period of Breaking, and it is one of the most important periods in our history.”

“Period of Breaking…” Oliver muttered.

“All of you must have asked yourselves why the dungeons in our world only go up to Rank 20, and why even those are so rare that their numbers can be counted on one hand within our kingdom.”

“The truth is that during the Period of Breaking, there were many dungeons beyond Rank 20. Some of them even reached Rank 100.”

“But where did all of them go, you may ask. During that period, there were simply too many dungeons. It was impossible for all the tamers of that era to raid them all.”

“As a result, dungeon breaks began to occur, mostly in higher rank dungeons, and countless monsters poured out from their dungeons. Whenever a dungeon break occurred, the dungeon itself would vanish afterward. It was a period of massive dungeon breaks, which is why it became known as the Period of Breaking.”

The classroom became silent as the students listened.

“Soon, monsters began ravaging the land. Many kingdoms and empires fell under the relentless nature of their attacks. At the time, it seemed as though all hope was lost for humanity.”

“However, that period also gave rise to a new age. The Period of Breaking is also known by a far more famous name, the Age of Heroes.” A smile appeared on her face.

“Through hard times, talented individuals were born. Many gifted tamers began appearing across every continent. Each of them tamed monsters that were once thought impossible to tame. Using those monsters, they launched a counteroffensive against the endless hordes.” Pazala’s voice grew more passionate as she continued.

“For a thousand years, the war continued. The fight was passed down from one generation to the next, with countless heroes rising and falling along the way.”

“And among them, one of the most famous was Cyden Azure, the founder of this academy and the founder of the former Cyden Empire.”

Even the students who had been half-asleep earlier immediately paid attention when they heard that name. After all, every student sitting in this academy was familiar with the name of its legendary founder.

“At the end of that period, there were one hundred legendary tamers who played a role in stopping the calamity and ushering in the new era. Cyden Azure was the most powerful tamer in our region. Together with his seven powerful monsters, he defeated the strongest boss monster on the continent.”

“And the seven monsters that fought alongside him are the very names of the Houses that each of you now belong to.”

A murmur spread throughout the classroom as many of the students realized that the House names they proudly wore were not simply symbols. They were the names of legendary monsters that had helped save the continent during the Age of Heroes.

Klade felt proud as he listened to the story of his ancestor. Even though he had heard it countless times since he was a child, he never grew tired of listening to it.

Oliver, on the other hand, felt motivated. At times, he thought he was special because of the system he possessed. However, someone without a system had managed to achieve such incredible feats, and he had done so without taming a boss monster.

That realization inspired Oliver. If Cyden Azure could accomplish so much through his own abilities, then Oliver had no excuse to be complacent. One day, he wanted to achieve the same greatness as Cyden Azure.

Or perhaps even surpass him.

“And lastly, the only remaining dungeons that can be controlled and prevented from causing dungeon breaks are Rank 20 and below. That is the reason why only dungeons of Rank 20 and below exist today. As for many of the monster types, they are long extinct, with only records of them remaining in books and ancient scrolls.”

All the students nodded their heads as they listened to the explanation.

“Now, the most common monster types that exist today are warrior, spellcaster,

insect, beast, fiend, fairy, machine, reptile, undead, plant, and dragon. There are still other types, but they are much rarer. Now then, can anyone tell me how many monster elements there are?”

Several students immediately raised their hands and answer in unison.

“Nine!”

“Yes. That’s right, we have nine elements, fire, water, wind, earth, ice, thunder, darkness, light and nature. And do not forget the last one,

neutral or non-elemental. Please remember these elements and which ones they are strong against or weak against, based on the chart in the textbook in front of you.”

Oliver looked at the textbook on his desk and saw a large circle containing the ten elements. Arrows connected each element, showing their strengths and weaknesses against one another.

‘From what I’ve learned today, I can summarize that Nyx is a Nature-element insect, and Queen is also a Nature-element insect. Flora is a Nature-element plant.’ Oliver rested his chin on his hand as he thought.

‘As for Bloob and Husk, I’m not sure what elements they have. Husk is definitely a beast, but I don’t know what element he possesses. As for Bloob… I have no idea.’

Oliver frowned slightly as he looked at the elemental chart again. It seemed there was still a lot he didn’t know about his own monsters.

‘It seems I have too many Nature-element monsters. If I fight against Fire-element monsters, I’ll surely be in trouble.’ Oliver then remembered his battle against Auron five years ago.

‘From now on, I also need to pay attention to monster types and their elements before taming them.’ Oliver began planning his future taming choices.