2 Top of the Class

"And with great honor, we present this Hero's Badge to the number one graduating student of this year to Enoch Frosner."

The person speaking was a middle aged man with handsome facial features, with a scar on his left cheek. His black hair and emerald eyes made him stand out from the crowd. However, the crown and regal outfit was what truly attracted the attention of others. This was the sovereign entity of the kingdom. The famed Hero-King of Flora, Mordred. His eyes were filled with familiar warmth, making people feel safe around him.

Enoch accepted the bronze badge in front of him and examined it. This is a Hero's Badge. Enoch thought to himself. It was made out of bronze, and was a circular badge with wings on either side of it. An image of a rose was engraved in the center of the badge. This was proof that he had officially become a hero.

"Thank you, my lord." Enoch's response was terse. However, he was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Out of all the eighteen students within his graduating class, he was the best performer, and was, without question, the best student in the Flora Heroes Academy.

After the First Hero defeated the Demon King, an era of heroes ushered in. Heroes were now the main military power of major nations, such as this Flora Kingdom. The bronze Hero's Badge was his rank within the kingdom. The bronze rank denoted himself as a recruit level hero, who just started his career.

Enoch sat back down in his seat and waited for the rest of the members of his graduating class to receive their badges. From the low chattering that they had with each other, it was clear that they were excited to finally graduate and become official heroes. Heroes were, after all, a symbol of prestige and honor. To be one mean to be looked up to by others, they were protectors of a nation, and defenders of the world.

Enoch sat by himself, he didn't interact with his peers. It wasn't that he looked down on him, but rather, he felt out of place.

It has something to do with that necklace. Enoch thought to himself. That's right. Enoch was Hakim, who had, by mysterious means, reincarnated 1,100 years into the future. When he came to this world and learned of its history, he was proud of that fact that his student, David, had turned out to be the First Hero. Now that it was the age of heroes, and with Enoch's knowledge of magic, he felt that he would be able to make good use of his knowledge to bring the world to greater heights and make it a better place.

Once the graduation ceremony finished, everybody went about their ways. Many of the students were talking to each other and were going out to celebrate their graduation. Enoch, however, did not socialize with the other students and immediately headed straight home. There was nobody waiting for him to return home, for his parents were not around. He did not know their names nor did he know where they were, so he had always presumed that they were dead. He felt no need to celebrate either, for becoming a hero was just another milestone for him. Enoch had once been hailed as the Great Sage in his previous life. A bronze-ranked hero was but a trifling matter to him. Graduation? He had done that in his previous life.

While heading home, Enoch was lost in thought. I'm officially a bronze ranked hero right now, after that is silver, gold, then platinum, and eventually diamond. Diamond ranked heroes can then become Hero-Kings. Enoch thought to himself. Now that I'm a hero, I should strive to become the very best. No less than a Hero-King.

The path of becoming a Hero-King shouldn't be too difficult for somebody like Enoch. It was just a matter of how he was gonna do it. Enoch could already claim to be the best at magic, but in this era, just being good at magic wasn't going to be enough. He had heard of the stories of the greatest heroes being unparalleled in magic and the sword at the same time. Magic was now a common staple in this world now, after all.

In the previous era, magic was a phenomenon that only the few could see. However, something must've happened between David and the Demon King that changed the world, because Enoch could see that magic was common nowadays. The fundamentals of magic didn't change, but rather the people themselves did. Common folk were now able to use magic. This was something Enoch very much wanted to investigate.

I'll have to go to the library to see the history of the world. I'll go when I have some free time. Enoch thought to himself.