Ten days passed by in a blink of an eye.

“We’re finally here…” Fel let out a hiss-like sigh as he stretched out his sore limbs.

The carriage that he rode on was not of poor quality. In fact, it was one of the best carriages in the entire empire. Even his father would not have any complaints riding on one. Still, he couldn’t help but jump in joy after they finally reached their destination.

It couldn’t be helped, really. After all, he had stayed inside that damn wooden box for three days in a row. Add to that the unpaved roads that dotted the Empire’s countryside, and it made for one hell of an annoying journey.

Even back on Earth, Fel disliked cars. One could only imagine his feelings towards a primitive (at least, by his standards) carriage.

“Well, let’s forget about all that. Where are we?” He shifted his attention over towards his surroundings.

From a glance, he was standing on the edge of a forest. The trees here were short and stubby, almost like stumps. Even to a small child like him, this forest appeared particularly miniature.

“A forest? Could this place be Maarsham? No, that shouldn’t be the case… Maarsham is known for its black trunks and towering trees. This place looks nothing like that…”

“It’s Ophelia Forest.” A voice from behind answered him.

Fel instinctively turned around. “Rivel…”

A slightly pale little boy stared back at him.

The crown prince of Pharsheille had not been the only one on that carriage. Riding alongside him was a fellow Hero.

Rivel Mortimer was a chubby-cheeked child with long black hair that covered the entire top part of his face. His limbs were skinny and his face appeared somewhat cowardly, but that was only a deceptive front. Few people knew just how tenacious this child really was.

Like Fel, he too had turned seven this year. In fact, all eight of Lull’s otherworlders shared the same birthday.

Despite the unapproachable impression that Rivel gave off, Fel felt a certain sense of comradery from this guy. At least when compared to the other Heroes. Unlike the others, Rivel was the only other person who died as a teenager.

Back on Earth, Fel had been a moderately popular high-schooler. He had good grades, a few friends and was a member of his school’s varsity basketball team. In other words, he was a young man who lived a very fulfilling student life.

Such a thing was cut short by an unexpected car accident. The accident had not been his fault. A drunk driver had slammed into him while Fel had been out walking his dog. The dog survived, but Fel didn’t.

Rivel died at around the same age as he did. Of course, his circumstances were markedly different.

He had plummeted to his death from atop a thirty-story building. Rivel had not been pushed, prodded or goaded into doing so. In other words, it was a suicide.

When the two first met, Fel was somewhat taken aback by Rivel’s straightforwardness. To reveal such a secret was definitely not something most normal people would do.

Well, Rivel was not a normal person. He viewed his life on Lull as a second chance. Thus, he had no qualms about revealing anything from his past life. After all, why should he care? All of that was in the past. The current Rivel was far too busy to care about such trivial matters.

Still, other than his weird quirks, the Rivel of Lull was an otherwise normal child. It was to the point where Fel wanted to get along with him.

He wanted to do just that during the journey here, but something stopped him. For some reason, Rivel stared intently at him with a weird expression. This persisted throughout their entire journey.

After three days, Fel couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t help but ask, “what is it?”

“What?” Rivel widened his eyes in surprise. For a split second, Fel caught sight of the face beneath all that hair. Rivel could be described as a handsome child with a few Asiatic features.

Rivel was a noble born from a country that bordered the Eastern coalition. Like Earth, the eastern regions of Lull also possessed Asiatic features. The Princess from Merrack should also be the same, although Fel did not really get a good look on account of all the hair that covered her face.

“You’ve been looking at me this whole time,” Fel explained. “What’s up?”

In truth, Fel felt a weird form of animosity within Rivel’s eyes.

“That’s…” Rivel hesitated for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he turned around and pointed towards the carriage. Fel subconsciously looked.

Coincidentally, at that exact moment, a certain cat-eared little girl stepped out of the carriage. It was Melo, Fel’s trusty slave-turned-maid. She too had accompanied him on today’s expedition.

“Who is she?” Rivel asked.

“Her? Um, that’s Melo. She’s…” Fel hesitated to explain. After all, he could only imagine what his fellow earthlings would think about him owning a slave. Such a detestable and backward act would only serve to generate scorn and ire.

“She’s a slave, right?” Rivel suddenly stated. “To be honest, I noticed the tattoo around her neck.”

In this world, slaves were identified through a black tattoo that curled around their neck. It was a mark of submissions, something that symbolized a slave’s position in society.

Fel bitterly nodded. He inwardly winced. He fully expected to be reprimanded, but to his surprise, Rivel only nodded his head.

“I see… we are living in a fantasy world, it’s only natural to build yourself a slave harem… I’ve been cooped up in that damn wizard tower filled with stinky old men. It’s about time that I also… no, from the very start, a beautiful girl should have been what I aimed for… now that I’m seven again, it’s also the best time to build up the childhood friend flag…”

Strange words constantly leaked out of Rivel’s mouth in a hushed murmur, most of which Fel had trouble understanding.

Eventually, Rivel looked back up at Fel. Is intense gaze subconsciously forced the crown prince to take a step back.

“You did good.” Rivel simply stated as he flashed a thumbs up. “Also, your taste is also good. A tanned cat girl… I’m not into little girls myself, but considering your current age, I guess you’re barely safe. You haven’t eaten her up yet, have you?”

Hearing his words, Fel’s expression fell. A seriously terrible misunderstanding was forming, but before he could put a stop to it, two people suddenly walked towards them.

Rivel paid him no further attention as he turned towards the two approaching individuals. Almost immediately, his face soured. Fel unconsciously followed his gaze.

The first person he noticed was Instructor Howler. He looked no different from his usual appearance. The only exception would be the beret-like hat on his head and the rapier that dangled from his hip. On the other hand, the person beside him was a face that Fel had only seen a few times in his life.

It was an old woman with silvery-grey hair. She wore a loose-fitting grey robe that dragged across the ground like a wedding dress. There was an emerald emblem pinned to her chest. The emblem depicted a simple stone tower, the official symbol of the Wizard Tower Coalition.

This old woman was Rivel’s training instructor. In shorter terms, she was equivalent to Reedlim Howler. What made her special though, was the fact that she came from an outside force. Unlike Reedlim, who was a member of the Church’s First Guard, this lady was an accomplished wizard from Pharsheille’s regional tower.

Usually, an outside force like the Wizard’s tower would never be allowed to get anywhere close to a budding hero, but Rivel’s talent in magic was simply too great to ignore. In order for his full potential to blossom, the church was forced to rely on the continent’s leading authority on magic.

Rivel’s situation was one in which the Wizard tower co-operated with the church. Of course, if it was just that, then the church would not have the confidence to expose their hero to such potential threats.

The Wizard coalition was a strong force with branches all across the globe. Leaving a hero to such a power would only result in the church’s loss. Fortunately, the particular branch within Pharsheille could no longer be classified as something purely owned by the coalition. After so many years, the church’s influence could be seen all over the Tower, whether that be in its students, faculty, or even the council of elders that stood at the very top.

In fact, even Rivel’s trainer was no exception. Her true identity was that of a mole implanted by the church.

When the newcomers first arrived, the old lady, whose name Fel later learned was Doris, smiled kindly at him. Her warm and homely expression was a far cry from Reedlim’s cold callousness.

“Are you boys ready?” Dorsi asked, her voice withered and frail.

Fel silently nodded his head. Meanwhile, Rivel’s lips twisted into a frown. He did not respond and instead, turned his head away with an audible snort.

Seeing his attitude, Doris merely laughed. In fact, she actually reached over and pinched his cheeks.

“Your cheeky attitude is always such a sight to see, dear.”

“You…” Rivel’s face further darkened. He swatted her hand away before he hurriedly retreated. A seriously aggrieved expression morphed his facial features.

Doris’s smile only widened.

To be honest, Rivel had developed a sort of trauma towards this woman.

Back when he first arrived at the tower for training, he had been initially greeted by a beautiful woman with bountiful breasts. Naturally, this virgin fell in love at first sight. Wild fantasies of a glorious and romance-filled fantasy life soon filled his head.

Unfortunately, he would only be met with disappointment. Initial impressions weren’t always accurate. In this case, his initial impression was completely and utterly fake. When he entered the tower, the beautiful woman was gone. she was replaced by an old lady with crow’s feet eyes.

Shortly after, it was revealed that the beauty he met in the beginning was nothing more than an illusion, something created out of magic. His heart was never the same since then. After such a betrayal, he learned the hard way to never trust this cruel and faithless world.

What made it worse was that, to this day, Rivel still did not know why Doris had played such a prank on him.

“…”

Fel silently watched the teacher-student pair interact with one another. To be quite honest, the scene of Rivel and Doris resembled that of a grandmother placating her stubborn grandchild. After a while, Fel decisively ignored the two of them and glanced over towards his own instructor.

“So, where’s this place supposed to be?” He asked Reedlim. The quiet forest in front of him certainly did not look like the secret lair of a world-renowned evil cult.

“In a cavern.” Reedlim succinctly answered.

“Their hide-out is located a few miles from our current location.” Doris further elaborated. “What we’re looking for is an old mine.”

“A mine? In this forest?” Fel frowned.

Instead of answering his question, she asked her own, “Do you know why this Forest is named Ophelia?”

Fel thought for a moment before he shook his head.

“In truth, the name originates not from what exists above the forest, but rather, what lies underneath it.” She gestured to the ground. “This place used to be a giant deposit for Opal ore.”

“Opal ore…” Fel recognized the name. Opal was a precious gem that the nobles of Pharsheille valued highly. Not only was it an excellent mana conductor, but it was also very beautiful, rivaling that of other precious gems such as diamond or ruby.

“Back in the day, this place brought great wealth to the Empire. Unfortunately, the ore deposit eventually ran dry and the mine was later abandoned. The cultists found it and repurposed it for their own use.” Doris paused for a moment. “A junior knight from the Church’s third guard discovered this place roughly two weeks ago. Our estimates put their numbers somewhere around three hundred people.”

She suddenly turned towards Reedlim. With a soft smile, she said, “I’m sure it's not something that the church’s First Guard can’t handle.”

“Naturally.” The wood-faced Instructor coolly nodded.

At this point, Fel couldn’t help but glance back.

There, standing in formation just a little bit away from him was an army of one hundred people. It was a mix of men and women, but they donned the same white-and-gold plate armor. All of them exuded out strong energy, of which not even Fel could rival… at least, not the current him.

Naturally, they were the knights of the First Guard. Strictly speaking, these guys were the cream of the crop, the Church’s very best warriors. Each and every single individual here possessed incredible strength, the type that would be valued anywhere and everywhere.

When it came to exterminating the cultists, the church held nothing back.

Even though they were severely outnumbered three to one, Reedlim’s confidence did not waver nor did any of the knights behind him show any signs of fear or hesitation. It was a natural confidence born from experience.

After a moment’s silence, Fel turned back around and asked another question. “Which cult are we facing?”

From the information that he knew of, there were seven major Pagan cults that threatened the safety of mankind. Each one was a thorn in the church’s side. They not only undermined the religion’s influence, but they also brought immense danger to the people of Lull.

“This one is… the Cult of Malignant Tumors.” Reedlim answered.

“Malignant Tumors…” Fel’s unconsciously frowned. It certainly was a unique name.

In truth, the Church did not bother naming the cults nor did they specify which evil entity they worshipped. Doing such things would only validate the cults’ existence and bolster their resistance.

Still, the code names that the church gave them provided more than enough information. For example, the Cult of Malignant Tumors… in other words, unwanted life.

After hearing Reedlim’s cold words, Fel couldn’t help but shiver. He hesitated, but only for a moment. After a few seconds, he shook his head and psyched himself up.

This would be his first ever mission. Even if he was not really all that enthusiastic about becoming a hero, he still needed to handle it with the utmost seriousness.

His excitement was understandable. After all, the Cults were the main reason for his rebirth into Lull.

In this world, there were no Calamitous evil dragons or demonic Demon kings. Sure, they might exist, but they did not warrant the summoning of otherworldly heroes. No, the real threat, the disruption of order and the ruination of peace, all of it stemmed from the rise of the corrupted cults.

Seven evil cults, of which worshipped seven demonic abominations that wore the false mask of God.

The seven nameless cults bred disharmony and sowed the seeds of chaos within the hearts of the people. They not only endangered countless lives, but they also threatened to snuff out the very concept of order.

Unless they were fully destroyed, the world would never know peace ever again. It would enter an endless era of death and chaos.

Such was the message that God gave to the Church. Such was the message that God gave to the eight heroes.

“…”

The young crown prince took a deep breath. The glint in his eyes changed. A rather serious expression morphed his childish face.

With God’s solemn mission reverberating through his head, Fel took his first step into becoming a Hero.