Forefounding Heroes-I

…

The Hero Society is founded by 4 people— the Solemn Saint, the 13th Emperor, Praised Peasant, and the Second Hero King.

The Solemn Saint is benevolent and selfless. She saw the world through the lens of the innocents. She believes that everyone is originally good, and that will never change. Even if a person does evil, that person should not be condemned for the evil he has done, but for his unfortunate circumstances.

Poverty, unfairness, avarice, rage, arrogance, idleness, jealousy, and apathy— are the true evils that forced people into these inescapable circumstances.

She believes that if there is a hero that can lead by example, cannot be tempted, and have the power to move people's hearts, then it is worth it even with the cost of her own life. This is the Saint's conviction.

~

The 13th Emperor, the last of Pendragon, and the first of Arandragon have both wisdom and foresight to raise his empire to a zenith the empire has never seen before. But he didn't, for he is not power-hungry.

He saw the world as a chessboard with his side standing for humanity, and the enemy side being everything that is not part of humanity.

At first, he felt conflicted about the ‘existences’ wielding magical powers annotating in the many imperial texts that these existences are freaks born to annihilate humanity— abominations meant to bring forth a new era... (Or mutants... an alien word the 13th emperor learned from the oldest texts in the imperial library.)

Then… the first Hero King came. His existence gave the luxury of hope in the most trying times when the most horrible Demon King roamed the lands. His legends echoed in the lands as his tale of slaying the Demon King at the cost of his life spread far and wide.

People thought that peace will finally come. However, they are gravely wrong. The evil that gathered with the Demon King scattered. Not to oblivion, but to the world.

Most precisely, it was the Demon King’s subordinates, villains! All of them!! Even without the Demon King, many people continued to do evil. They became the most deplorable of villains.

Then… the second Hero King came. This time, the luxury became a charity. From the lowest peasant to the highest ruler, hope has become a symbol.

This time, the 13th emperor wants to make sure that there would be a third Hero King, then a fourth, fifth, third, and so on! For the emperor saw far and beyond, a world filled with fairness and faith forever etched in his vision. He shall make this happen.

~

The Praised Peasant is a lowly beggar, insignificant and without worth. He is merely a lowly cripple from the slums, but that didn't stop him from reaching his dreams— of a better world. He is humble, knowledgeable, and reliable.

Despite all of his defects, he is someone that the masses never stopped praising— for his stories, knowledge, inventions and the countless inspirations he imparted throughout the generations— are contributions that never stopped being of value to everyone he touches.

It even touched the Hero King and the many Hero Kings that followed. The Praised Peasant fashioned the first and second Hero King's gear, tutored the founding heroes that symbolized the 12 heroic pillars, and built the Hero Code that become the basis of the known Hero System today. He is truly worthless, a one-of-a-kind person that cannot be praised enough. A person whose head can't weigh in gold, for he is worth more than the mortal trifles for the greatness he has shown.

~

The second Hero King is but a nameless stranger, adopted by the first Hero King himself. The second Hero King is justice incarnate. He is headstrong, unrelenting, and forever faithful.

But he doesn't know of a power that went far beyond his Special Abilities— his charisma. People like the Solemn Saint, the 13th Emperor, and the Praised Peasant gathered to his side, and eventually, the Hero System was created.

The system endured time and eventually evolved into a Society.

This is the SPIRIT! The HISTORY!

And in the IN-BETWEENS are the machinations of the 13th Emperor that maintained the Hero Society's self-sustainability.

The first thing he did is exclude political involvement— that means himself, the supporting kingdoms, and even the various merchant organizations.

Second, he made a charity system ranking the heroes with numbers, the Hero King and 12 pillars are excluded from this ranking. He calls it the 'Heroes for Hire' circuit— targeted subjugation of villains namely terrorists, monsters, and corrupt rulers. These three yield a lot of money.

The Heroes get a monthly commission appropriate to their ranks. This is inspired by the Adventurer guild's operations. The only difference is that the Hero Society has insurance, vacations, and very friendly customer service. Heroes don't ask for pay, they just accept whatever is given to them- it sounds so dreamy...

The sinker here is that the 13th Emperor's planning is so meticulous, Hero-work became the most lucrative job in the known world.

‘Except SPIRIT, I guess it was all about money then. Sorry for the infodumps, but you have to take this simple historical lesson just to get a hang of where you are going. This is your career we are talking about Deron, so you have to remember it carefully.’

Deron scratched his head as he accidentally recalled Eron's rants. Since awakening his Special Abilities, other than his sensitive danger-sensing powers, his memory has also improved by leaps and bounds. Because of remembering Eron's words very carefully, he is now having a flashback of the crammed lesson.

*BUMP

"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't see you."

"..."

Dark hair, a mole under his right eye, and danger. It was so subtle, Deron thought that he is hallucinating. The danger looked at him, for a second, Deron felt familiarity coming from this person. But the nonchalance this person is showing says otherwise.

Suddenly…

The dangerous feeling is no more, and there is only nothing. It's like Deron is looking at a mass of people, a mob— an extra in a play, and without significance in the grand scale of things. It is a weird thought.

"Watch where you step, what if you were a giant? I will be stomped if that's the case."

"..."

Giant? Deron was left speechless by the extra's choice of words. And he was gone, the extra, blending in the chaotic flux of people.

“Ugh… Sheesh, why the assembly is not starting yet? It’s boring, but I’ll have to be patient I guess.” Deron stood in solitary under the shade of a tree. He imagined the future, recalled the past, and wondered…

“How far can I reach?” Staring at the empty skies above, Deron subconsciously touched the sword by his waist.

…