Book 1 Chapter 20
【20】19
“Practical exam from the first day?”
“Other classes are temporary classes, but why only us!”
Seeing the flustered students, Professor Yura spoke seriously.
“I told you. Those who listen with clumsy thoughts should leave. Do you think we are the same as the other two majors?”
At that question, the students fell silent.
“If you are also a summoner, you would know. Summoning cannot be learned simply by having mana sensitivity. To contract with spirits, spirit affinity is needed, and to tame mythical beasts, ‘taming’ ability is needed.”
Professor Yura spread her arms wide.
“Thanks to that, the number of summoners is overwhelmingly insufficient compared to knights or mages. The number of people who have risen to the position of hero is also small.”
At the undeniable words, the summoning students gritted their teeth.
“But! Summoners who have risen to the position of hero have achieved greater feats compared to other heroes!”
She shouted with a face full of pride.
“Do you think it makes sense for you to do the same as students from other departments?
“No, sir!”
“You are the chosen ones! Aren’t you?”
“Yes! We are!”
“Then, we’ll go all out from the first day!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Good! Let’s go!”
“Let’s go!”
As Professor Yura raised her fist and shouted, the first-years also raised their fists and shouted.
The atmosphere instantly heated up.
As Professor Yura, who had instantly heightened the students' concentration, wore a satisfied expression, a silver-haired female student raised her hand.
“So, if it’s a practical exam on the first day, what kind of exam will it be?”
“Good question, Eliza Hergin.”
At that name, the students murmured.
The Hergin family.
It was a renowned family of summoner heroes in the northern part of the continent.
“All the mythical beasts managed by Lumerne are gathered on this island.”
A mythical beast is a kind of weapon for a summoner.
“I will test your taming abilities.”
Yura pointed to the forest.
“Tame one mythical beast from this forest and bring it back. Points will be awarded depending on what kind of mythical beast you have tamed.”
Eliza, having heard all the exam explanations, asked again.
“What if we tame and even contract it?”
At those words, the students gulped dryly.
Taming and contracting are distinctly different.
Taming is the ability to become familiar with a mythical beast, and it’s the first step towards forming a contract.
After taming, if one has the ability, they can form a contract.
At Eliza’s question, Yura grinned.
“If you succeed in contracting, that mythical beast is yours.”
“Oohh!”
“It’s Lumerne after all! To be recognized if you succeed in a contract during class!”
There are two ways to contract with a mythical beast.
The first is a summoning contract using a catalyst, and the second is meeting the mythical beast directly and forming a contract.
In the latter case, an uncontracted mythical beast can even be ‘sold’.
Therefore, mythical beasts are sometimes traded at very high prices.
Hearing that they could freely contract with such mythical beasts, their motivation naturally surged.
“Professor. What about students aspiring to be spirit mages?”
This time, Chen Shia asked.
“Summoners can basically handle both spirits and mythical beasts. Although there are specialized areas, Lumerne's summoning classes are designed to maximize abilities in both, so work hard.”
Chen Shia nodded.
‘A mythical beast.’
In his previous life, Leo also made contracts with powerful mythical beasts.
‘Though all disappeared in battles.’
While he was recalling his old sworn allies, Professor Yura spoke.
“Time is three hours! Start!”
“Oohh!”
The first-years enthusiastically rushed out.
“Huh? Aren’t you guys going?”
Professor Yura tilted her head, seeing Leo, Chen Shia, Woredon, and Eliza remaining at the starting line.
The so-called "chosen" students among this year's first-years weren't moving.
Eliza said, tidying her fingertips.
“I’m not interested in low-level mythical beasts.”
Whoosh-! Eliza, blowing air on her finger, smiled brightly.
“……”
The taciturn Woredon did not answer.
“Hmm… I only know taming theoretically, so I’m deliberating.”
Chen Shia wore an awkward smile.
Finally, Leo, who had been gazing at the forest, took a step.
“Oh my, class representative?”
Leo looked back at Eliza.
“I heard about your performance in the Knight Studies class. Can I expect great things from your Summoning class as well?”
Seeing Eliza ask with a gentle smile, Leo shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m just doing my best.”
Seeing Leo casually brush off the provocation, Eliza made a bored expression.
As Leo entered the forest, Professor Yura smiled.
“It’s nice, youth.”
“Well, Professor, you’re also getting… old…”
Wham-!
“Gah?”
Professor Yura, who had punched Carlo in the side, grinned as she watched Leo’s retreating figure.
‘I’m personally quite looking forward to this, you know?’
Her intuition was telling her so.
***
‘I never thought such a mythical beast ecosystem could be created.’
Leo walked through the forest, marveling inwardly.
He had never seen such a diverse range of mythical beasts gathered in one place, even in his previous life.
For a summoner, this forest was literally a treasure trove.
Students scoured the forest like hunters, busy searching for mythical beasts.
Among them, it was common for students to argue over a mythical beast and then lose it.
Anyone proficient in summoning mythical beasts would probably move very carefully.
The more powerful the mythical beast, the more reluctant it was to show itself to people.
That was why Woredon and Eliza had remained at the starting line.
Eliza, too, if judged purely by skill, was on par with Woredon.
“That guy, isn’t he going too deep?”
Some students looked dumbfounded, watching Leo go deep into the forest.
Although they were noisily searching the forest, other students were refraining from going too deep.
In the case of higher-tier mythical beasts, many harbored significant hostility towards humans.
Moreover, this was not just a simple class, but a practical exam.
In any case, points would be awarded.
If one recklessly took a risk to contract a high-level mythical beast and failed in taming, it would result in 0 points.
Lumerne was a place of endless competition.
Stories like ‘bad luck’ or ‘good try’ didn’t apply.
“Let him be. He probably thinks if it doesn’t work out, he can just take Knight Studies.”
“He must be thinking that, right?”
Some students snorted and lost interest.
Leo, who had ventured deep inside, looked around.
After confirming there was no one around, he took out a gray feather from his pocket, which he had found upon arriving on the island earlier.
‘Indeed, this is…’
Leo’s eyes gleamed as he activated his aura.
A gray aura began to blaze.
It was the power of the Phoenix Breath that Leo had mastered.
The aura flame transferred to the feather, then began to burn even more fiercely.
And then it turned to ash and scattered.
Whoosh-!
‘This really was a phoenix feather after all. Is there even a phoenix in this forest?’
The phoenix, one of the strongest mythical beasts, was especially difficult to form a contract with.
A burning phoenix feather, which acts as a summoning catalyst, turns to ash and disappears the moment it reacts with mana, thus unable to serve as a catalyst.
Ultimately, there was no way to contract with a phoenix other than to find one directly.
However, a phoenix was a proud mythical beast, so even if one met it, it was not easy to contract with it.
Thus, it was called the mythical beast of dreams by summoners.
“It’s Lumerne after all. Amazing, isn’t it?”
It was then that Leo’s eyes shone.
Whoosh-!
“……!”
A crimson flame flickered above Leo’s head.
As a blinding light and intense heat surged, he flinched and lowered his stance.
Fwoosh!
Leo, who knew what phenomenon this was, wore an incredulous expression.
The intense flames soon transformed into the shape of a giant bird.
Flames surged every time it flapped its wings.
Leo activated his aura flame to protect his body.
In response to Leo’s reaction, the mythical beast, a phoenix, which had revealed itself, opened its mouth.
-Is that the flame of Zerdlinger? I thought it was Reina’s flame for sure… I came because I sensed the familiar scent of flame, but it wasn’t. Was I mistaken?
At its murmur, Leo asked in surprise.
“Do you know my mother?”
-Mother?
The phoenix’s eyes widened, then it laughed pleasantly.
-Indeed! It seems I wasn’t entirely wrong! Yes! If she had a child, they would be around your age!
The intense flames subsided.
-Heeheehee, do I know your mother? Of course! I owe a great debt to your mother, Reina.
Flapping its beautiful wings, the phoenix settled in front of Leo.
An atmosphere so gentle it was hard to believe it was a phoenix, famous for its arrogance.
At such a reaction from the phoenix, Leo couldn’t help but wear a bewildered expression.
‘This is a world of difference from the phoenix Licinas had. That little bird was so rude.’
To what extent did Luna suggest catching it and boiling it for food?
-Reina’s son, what is your name?
“My name is Leo Plov.”
-Yes, Leo. My name is Pirina.
“What is your relationship with my mother? Didn’t you say you owed her a debt just now?”
At Leo’s question, Pirina smiled gently.
-Reina is the savior of my sworn ally, Elen Rundar.
“Elen Rundar?”
Leo was surprised by Pirina’s words.
The Rundar family was a renowned noble family of Elven heroes.
Furthermore, Elen was the head of the Rundar family and a hero whose name was on the Hero Record.
-At that time, Elen was a dungeon raider assigned to a dungeon raid mission in Seirun.
“By dungeon, you mean the Hero Dungeon that occurred when a lost page of the Hero Record went rampant, right?”
-Yes.
There were five places that possessed Hero Records.
But besides those, Hero Records existed somewhere else in this world.
To be precise, the lost pages of the Hero Record.
Pages scattered across the world occasionally went rampant, creating a world of heroes.
What was created that way was called a Hero Dungeon.
-Hero Dungeons invade reality. As time passes, monsters from the hero’s world will cross beyond the dungeon entrance into reality. Finding and conquering them is one of the Hero Academy’s main missions.
Many countries conceal the fact even if they discover a Hero Dungeon.
This is because if a dungeon is conquered, a succession can be achieved, similar to the world of heroes.
There were countless countries that perished by concealing Hero Dungeons in such a way.
Hero Dungeons were that dangerous, so only those with the best skills could undertake such missions.
-One day, Elen was deployed on a mission to conquer a certain Hero Dungeon. And he failed the conquest, and all his comrades died. When Elen was also on the verge of losing his life, it was Reina who saved him.
Pirina, muttering bitterly, recalled the past.
-In that process, Reina lost her flames. If it hadn’t been for that, Reina would have also risen to the position of a hero…
“My mother doesn’t regret past events. ‘The present is most important,’ that’s her philosophy.”
-Huhu… It seems that personality is still the same.
Leo asked Pirina, who smiled gently.
“By the way, Ms. Pirina, why are you in Lumerne?”
-I came here at the request of Lumerne’s principal, Kalian.
“The principal’s request?”
-Yes, I cannot tell you the exact reason.
Leo felt a sense of doubt at the secret story.
-And why are *you* on this island? A first-year from Knight Studies wouldn’t have any reason to be on this island right now, would they?
Pirina naturally thought Leo, Reina’s son, was from the Knight Studies department.
“I’m also taking Summoning classes, you see.”
-What?
Pirina, who had been surprised, realized that a faint spiritual power resided in Leo’s body and marvelled.
‘Though the spiritual power he possesses is weak… his vessel is excellent.’
Pirina, assessing Leo’s qualities, burst into laughter.
-Huhu. This seems to be fate as well.
“Excuse me?”
-Leo, will you not form a contract with me?
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