It's a mystery story. The princess is investigating why the hero died after the defeat of the demon king and is currently conducting interviews of the party.What's the point of this story, just to clarify for all the other manga authors what a hero is, unlike the junk we see about harems and exiles and blabla?
If so that's fine I guess.
Oh I sure do want me some spoilers!Just read the WN, it's short, but i really liked it. The twist and the progress to uncover the truth are very good even though the story is not that deep. I heard the LN is expanding the story, but even without that it's a decent, one of the better ones in the "Hero" genre IMO.
Let me know if someone wants some spoilers...
I'm guessing that the hero isn't the actual prophecied hero. That's his sick little sister or something. He went in their place to spare them from the burden.
Adding onto this (from the LN, not sure how much the WN differs):
the hero is the hero, but the hero is already dead years before the story begins, but who is Ares?
He is the hero's childhood friend, after the properchy was told, they traveled together to the academy,
then they ecounter a demon, the original hero was fatally wounded and Ares delivered a final blow to ease his suffering,
Ares feels guilty for his friend, then he shoulder the responsiblity of the hero
Hold on, what distinguishesAdding onto this (from the LN, not sure how much the WN differs):
His childhood friend is his cousin Zack. Zack's parents were adventurers who went to help one of the kingdoms that's being invaded by the demon army and left Zack in Ares' parents care. Ares was actually pretty gifted, being able to learn swordsmanship, attack magic, and healing just by practice. On the other hand, Zack was inferior to Ares in swordsmanship and was never able to learn magic while at the village. Zack had more determination/grit/tenacity than Ares while learning and that inspired Ares to continue honing his skills.
The prophecy doesn't specifically state who the hero is. The villagers just assumed it was Ares because he can fight/use magic/heal just like the past heroes. Ares decides to attend the academy to continue honing his skills and he asks Zack to accompany him. Along the way they encounter the demon while in a forest and Zack was too weak to participate in the fight. Ares kills the demon but the demon inflicts fatal wounds to Ares in return. Zack abandons most of their supplies to try and carry Ares out of the forest but the wounds become infected due to lack of healing/proper medical care. Ares begs Zack to put him out of his misery and Zack complies. Here's an excerpt from the LN:
Ares’s eyes were shut. He was clenching his face in an effort to withstand the pain.
“What am I supposed to do when I get to the capital? You’re the Hero, aren’t you? If you die, the world’s gonna end!” I cried.
He didn’t respond for a moment.
“In the end,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t the Hero. The Prophet only said the Hero would come from our village. They didn’t say it was me. And you know what? When I heard what they said, something told me it wasn’t about me. They were talking about you, Zack.”
“How could it be me?! I can’t even use magic! If only I could, I would have healed you! I’m not even that good with a sword…”
I was bawling now, unable to rein myself in.
“I…don’t know why I thought that. I just…did.” Ares’s face was contorted in agony. “Argh, it’s like I’m on fire. It hurts so much. Please, Zack, I’m begging you. Put me out of my misery.”
I could tell just by looking at him that his suffering was immense. Deep down, I knew what had to be done.
My face was damp with tears as I drew the sword. I placed the tip against Ares’s chest as he lay crumpled on the ground.
Ares’s eyes were shut tight as he forced a smile on his face. He was trying to smile even though his last moments were full of pain.
He was doing it for me.
My hand trembled. A moment passed—just a tiny sliver of time—and Ares’s face contorted in pain again. That was when I ran the sword through his chest.
At first, his hard flesh resisted me. I could feel the tremor against my hand. And then the sword sank smoothly into Ares’s torso.
His mouth moved faintly. His last breath barely amounted to a sound.
“Mom,” I thought I heard him say.
To atone for killing Ares, Zack goes to the capital after taking on Ares's name and spends 4 years learning swordsmanship/magic/healing. He embarks on the quest to kill the Demon lord and succeeds, before confessing to Leon, Maria, and Solon that the real Ares died and he was a fake the entire time. He asks them to tell the King that the Hero died to a demon on the journey back. Meanwhile Zack returns to his village, returns Ares's sword to his mother, and leaves the country.
the "real hero" from the "fake one"? It seems to me that Zack was wrong about OG Ares all this time and the villagers were right: Zack's the hero, not Ares. If someone dies before they reach Level 1, by definition they can't be the hero. A hero is defined by what they achieve, not whether they belong to a vague "Hero class" category from a shitty RPG. OG Ares' only achievement was serving as the Uncle Ben to Zack's Peter Parker. Regardless of what he calls himself, Zack is by all accounts a hero and The Hero.
Oh neat! That's kinda tragic but in a bittersweet sorta way. I like it.Adding onto this (from the LN, not sure how much the WN differs):
His childhood friend is his cousin Zack. Zack's parents were adventurers who went to help one of the kingdoms that's being invaded by the demon army and left Zack in Ares' parents care. Ares was actually pretty gifted, being able to learn swordsmanship, attack magic, and healing just by practice. On the other hand, Zack was inferior to Ares in swordsmanship and was never able to learn magic while at the village. Zack had more determination/grit/tenacity than Ares while learning and that inspired Ares to continue honing his skills.
The prophecy doesn't specifically state who the hero is. The villagers just assumed it was Ares because he can fight/use magic/heal just like the past heroes. Ares decides to attend the academy to continue honing his skills and he asks Zack to accompany him. Along the way they encounter the demon while in a forest and Zack was too weak to participate in the fight. Ares kills the demon but the demon inflicts fatal wounds to Ares in return. Zack abandons most of their supplies to try and carry Ares out of the forest but the wounds become infected due to lack of healing/proper medical care. Ares begs Zack to put him out of his misery and Zack complies. Here's an excerpt from the LN:
Ares’s eyes were shut. He was clenching his face in an effort to withstand the pain.
“What am I supposed to do when I get to the capital? You’re the Hero, aren’t you? If you die, the world’s gonna end!” I cried.
He didn’t respond for a moment.
“In the end,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t the Hero. The Prophet only said the Hero would come from our village. They didn’t say it was me. And you know what? When I heard what they said, something told me it wasn’t about me. They were talking about you, Zack.”
“How could it be me?! I can’t even use magic! If only I could, I would have healed you! I’m not even that good with a sword…”
I was bawling now, unable to rein myself in.
“I…don’t know why I thought that. I just…did.” Ares’s face was contorted in agony. “Argh, it’s like I’m on fire. It hurts so much. Please, Zack, I’m begging you. Put me out of my misery.”
I could tell just by looking at him that his suffering was immense. Deep down, I knew what had to be done.
My face was damp with tears as I drew the sword. I placed the tip against Ares’s chest as he lay crumpled on the ground.
Ares’s eyes were shut tight as he forced a smile on his face. He was trying to smile even though his last moments were full of pain.
He was doing it for me.
My hand trembled. A moment passed—just a tiny sliver of time—and Ares’s face contorted in pain again. That was when I ran the sword through his chest.
At first, his hard flesh resisted me. I could feel the tremor against my hand. And then the sword sank smoothly into Ares’s torso.
His mouth moved faintly. His last breath barely amounted to a sound.
“Mom,” I thought I heard him say.
To atone for killing Ares, Zack goes to the capital after taking on Ares's name and spends 4 years learning swordsmanship/magic/healing. He embarks on the quest to kill the Demon lord and succeeds, before confessing to Leon, Maria, and Solon that the real Ares died and he was a fake the entire time. He asks them to tell the King that the Hero died to a demon on the journey back. Meanwhile Zack returns to his village, returns Ares's sword to his mother, and leaves the country.
Well...Hold on, what distinguishes
What'sWhat's the point of this story, just to clarify for all the other manga authors what a hero is, unlike the junk we see about harems and exiles and blabla?
If so that's fine I guess.
Since people already wrote a bunch of spoilers, i'll just summarize it a bit...Oh I sure do want me some spoilers!
Bro went and done the god's work. Seems like a good story, I'll be sure to read the manga till the end, if it does not get the axe (read: WN ad).Since people already wrote a bunch of spoilers, i'll just summarize it a bit...
Haha atleast its the translation wise.The elusive manga with once chapter translated per year! (So far that is)