Book 1 Chapter 39
【39】38
“Haha! Serves them right!”
“What’s a class representative, what’s a southern chief? They can’t even start, they’re definitely last!”
The students from the Summoning Department, who had carried out the mob lynching, chuckled and laughed.
“Hey! How about it? Eliza. Don’t you feel refreshed?”
Ryu from Class 3, the male student who spearheaded this incident, snickered and spoke to Eliza, who was ahead.
Currently, these students were among the top-performing first-year Summoning Department students and were in the lead group of the race.
To Ryu’s words, Eliza, who was in the very front, replied.
“I don’t like it.”
“What?”
“I can beat Leo Flobe anytime. The same goes for Woreden Tyden.”
Eliza looked at the students with a reproachful gaze.
“If you obstruct them as a group like this, it will only make Leo Flobe and Woreden Tyden stand out even more. And what do you think people will think of the Summoning Department?”
“Hahaha. B-but, those guys will be utterly disgraced…”
“Next time you do something, think about it first. And right now, we are in the middle of an exam. Concentrate.”
Eliza, who spoke coldly, sharply turned her head and glided high into the air.
Watching her retreating figure, Ryu frowned.
‘What a snobbish bitch! Acting all high and mighty just because she was born into a good family!’
Ryu, who cursed Eliza inwardly, snorted.
‘Anyway, with this much difference, that Woreden guy won’t be able to catch up. Besides Eliza, I’m the best at handling flying beasts! Now I can easily take second place. And I just made a contract with a new beast, didn’t I?’
Ryu blew hard through his nostrils.
Just before the exam.
A summoning catalyst he was lucky enough to buy in Lumeria City!
‘I was able to buy it because of that stupid merchant who didn’t know its value! I can’t control it yet, but…! If I summon that guy at the last minute and even take down Eliza… first place is mine! Let’s see if she can still act snobbish then! Eliza!’
“Huh? Ryu. Someone’s coming from behind?”
One of the female students from the Summoning Department wore a puzzled expression.
They thought they were overwhelmingly in the lead, but someone was chasing them.
“What? Who… huh? Chen Sia?”
Chen Sia was flying over at an incredible speed.
But her posture on the griffon was a bit strange.
Chen Sia was squatting, standing on the saddle with both feet.
“What? What’s that posture?”
“She came all this way in that posture? She managed to catch up.”
“We just got caught up because we slowed down. If we speed up, she won’t be able to follow, right?”
For a summoner, spiritual power was not just the power to control a summoned beast but also the power to strengthen it.
Since Chen Sia enhanced the griffon’s abilities with spiritual power, it would be difficult for her to be caught if she matched the speed of the Summoning Department students.
“No, you never know what kind of variable that guy might create.”
Ryu grinned.
“Let’s just eliminate her completely while we’re at it.”
In a beast race, cooperation is optional.
As such, it was possible to combine forces against a strong competitor.
Eliza, who glanced back from the front, narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm. It would be better to just run away quickly, but you’ve chosen a difficult path.”
Eliza curled the corners of her mouth and watched as if she were observing.
“What’s a chief of the East? How annoying.”
One of the female students from the Summoning Department smiled fiercely and summoned a spirit.
“I’ll make sure she can’t even finish and disgrace her! Go!”
The wind spirit turned into a bullet and flew towards Chen Sia, who was standing precariously on the saddle.
Feeling it, Chen Sia lowered her stance even more.
Whoosh-!
Chen Sia’s griffon suddenly shot upwards.
While the Summoning Department students were flustered, Chen Sia’s griffon turned around so that the saddle faced downwards.
Chen Sia, hanging upside down from the griffon, kicked off the saddle and let go of the griffon’s reins.
“Wh-wh-wha-what?”
The female student who attacked Chen Sia shrieked in surprise.
She had never expected that the rider herself would come to attack.
Chen Sia, who summoned a wind spirit and corrected her trajectory in mid-air, smiled faintly and delivered a kick.
Kicked by Chen Sia before she could even react, the female student screamed as she plummeted to the ground.
“Kyaaaaaaah! Th-this is cheating!”
“I’m not even using aura, though.”
Chen Sia, with her characteristic pleasant smile, grabbed the reins of the griffon, which was flustered after losing its rider, and calmed it down.
“Tsk! Chen Sia! You!”
“Hello, Ryu.”
“Not bad, huh? But look at your situation now! You’ve made the wrong choice!”
Initially, it was a surprise attack, but once they knew the attack method, there were plenty of ways to counter it.
“Hmm. Indeed, I’m at a disadvantage in aerial combat. But I’m not your only enemy, am I?”
“What?”
“There’s someone who’s quite upset by your antics.”
Celia smiled faintly and pointed behind her with a finger.
Bang!
A huge explosion occurred at the rear.
“Wh-what was that?”
Bang! Bang!
Explosions occurred in succession.
In the distance, eliminated participants were seen falling.
“It seems Woreden is the type to repay as much as he’s been subjected to.”
Saying that, Chen Sia waved her hand and jumped off the griffon without hesitation.
Chen Sia’s waiting griffon caught her on its back as she fell and glided high.
“Tsk! Catch and drop…”
Screech!
As Ryu shouted urgently, the cry of a griffon was heard from afar.
He flinched and turned his head to see a griffon carrying Woreden flying at an incredible speed.
Woreden, who caught up with the leading group in an instant, laughed.
“Thank you for the gift, you riff-raff.”
Whoosh!
A huge mass of flames gathered around him.
“This is my repayment for that.”
“Scatter!”
KABOOM-!
Along with Ryu’s urgent shout, a massive explosion engulfed the surroundings.
***
Leo, who was overwhelmingly in last place, crossed the fence.
And approached the last remaining griffon.
Grrr-!
Leo looked at the highly wary griffon with a puzzled expression.
‘All the griffons provided for this competition should be ones managed by Lumern, right?’
Tamed beasts do not show hostility towards humans.
Leo, feeling curious, soon realized that the griffon was limping on one wing.
‘Is it injured?’
Leo frowned, staring intently at the wing.
‘It’s not an injury from fighting other griffons. Someone deliberately hurt it.’
Recalling the group obstruction just before the start, Leo clicked his tongue.
“Looks like there’s someone playing dirty.”
Leo chuckled and approached.
Caw!
The griffon reacted fiercely, but Leo did not back down.
Caw!
-Ah! Leo! He’s approaching too recklessly! No matter how low-level a beast a griffon is, if he approaches carelessly while it’s so wary, he might have trouble taming it! He’s making a mistake out of impatience!
Celia, watching from the stands, stamped her feet.
“Oh, come on! Why is that guy pushing himself so hard?”
Seeing Celia’s frustrated expression, Rhys stroked his chin.
“He must have a plan.”
Caw! Caw!
Leo grabbed the reins of the agitated, rampaging griffon.
Cawwwww!
Finally, the griffon, having lost its temper, swung its claws at Leo.
It was a moment when everyone was flustered by the sudden situation.
Thwack-!
Leo tugged hard on the griffon’s reins and put force into his eyes.
“Kneel.”
When Leo spoke, putting force into his voice, the griffon flinched.
Then it lowered its raised claws, cautiously looked around, and lowered its stance.
Seeing the griffon give its back as if in submission, Leo smiled contentedly and mounted the saddle.
“Good boy.”
He stroked its neck, but the griffon trembled.
-Uh-huh. What is this situation? The griffon is submitting on its own! Leo, your taming time is the fastest.
The commentator, Runba, said with a flustered voice.
As he said, the time it took Leo to tame and ride the griffon was the fastest.
Yura, watching the scene, gasped.
‘Did he subdue it with sheer presence? What can’t he do?’
The idea that he would be weak in real combat was a complete misjudgment.
‘If Woreden possessed overwhelming power, Leo possessed overwhelming skill.’
Yura’s eyes sparkled.
‘This competition. It might become interesting after all?’
Cawww!
As Leo pulled the reins, the griffon roared and soared into the sky.
However, it awkwardly flapped its injured wing, so it could not gain much speed.
-Ah! Leo’s griffon! It has a damaged wing! He barely managed to start, but bad luck keeps piling up! By all accounts, last place seems certain!
Runba cried out regretfully.
Leo stroked the neck of the griffon, which was struggling to flap its wings, and concentrated his spiritual power.
“In the name of the covenantor, I command thee. Appear before me.”
Whoosh-!
Flames flickered around Leo, and a giant sphere of fire obscured Leo’s figure.
“What is that?”
“It looks like he summoned a fire-elemental beast?”
“Didn’t he say he hadn’t contracted with any beasts or spirits yet?”
The audience buzzed with surprise at the sudden beast summoning.
“What? What’s that flame?”
Celia’s eyes widened.
Rhys’s eyes twitched.
‘Zeldinger’s Flame? No. It’s not an aura flame. Then what on earth is that?’
Within the flames, a summoning circle was drawn on Leo’s palm.
The summoning circle, which was spewing flames, soon spat out a small bird.
Chirp- Chirp-
“…It always looks like a chick.”
At Leo’s words, the baby phoenix Fiora pecked Leo’s thumb.
“Oh? You understand what I’m saying now?”
On Leo’s palm, Fiora gracefully flapped her wings and lifted her chin.
It was as if she was trying to show the dignity of a phoenix.
Of course, from Leo’s perspective…
‘Definitely a chick.’
“If we can communicate, things will be easier. Fiora, would you bestow a blessing on this griffon?”
Blessing.
One of the unique abilities of a phoenix, it is the power to manifest a part of the phoenix’s power in a specific target.
This blessing ability was one of the reasons why phoenix summoners were called the strongest summoners.
Fiora nodded, hopped from Leo’s palm, and landed on the griffon’s head.
Then the griffon, already terrified of Leo, trembled even more.
Instinctively, it was afraid of the phoenix, a supreme-tier beast.
Fiora elegantly stretched her neck and gently pecked the griffon’s head with her beak.
Goooh-!
Then the griffon’s fur began to stand on end.
Its struggling wing flaps began to gain strength.
Its white fur started to turn reddish, and its yellow eyes changed to orange.
Leo grinned and placed Fiora on his shoulder.
Whoosh-!
The flames surrounding him scattered around.
Cawwwwww-!
Along with that, the griffon let out a powerful roar.
“Let’s go!”
As he pulled the reins, the griffon soared high into the sky at an incredible speed.
“What? It’s incredibly fast!”
“A first-year student can use that level of beast enhancement?”
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the audience.
Leo, who glided high in the sky, narrowed his eyes upon spotting the distant rear group and then descended.
Then screams erupted from the audience.
“Wait! No matter what, isn’t that too fast?”
“If he flies at that speed, how will he avoid the obstacles?”
A pillar of light appeared in front of the descending Leo.
The magical pillar of light continuously fired red magic projectiles in all directions without a break.
The most basic trap in a beast race!
The moment one was hit by a sphere, enormous physical damage was inflicted, and one could be eliminated at once if careless.
Naturally, the faster one flew, the harder it was to avoid.
But there was a pattern, not randomness.
‘Up-down-down-left-left-right-up-left.’
Leo’s eyes instantly grasped the pattern of the magic projectiles being fired.
Whoosh! Swish-! Swish!
And without reducing his speed at all, he flew, avoiding the magic projectiles at incredible speed.
Watching Leo show incredible control, as if he and the griffon were one, exclamations poured out from the crowd.
-Oooh! Leo! Incredible beast control ability!
The commentator also shouted excitedly.
Leo, who passed one obstacle in an instant, pulled the reins.
Having limited his speed for evasion, Leo had left room to accelerate further.
Leo exited the starting area and quickly streaked across the sky.
Meanwhile, he spotted other students flying unsteadily.
‘That Woreden guy. It looks like he destroyed everything in his path.’
Of course, they weren’t all wiped out.
But everyone seemed to have taken considerable damage and couldn’t pick up proper speed.
Thanks to this, Leo was able to quickly join the rear group.
“Huh? Le-Leo Flobe?”
“He escaped that spirit magic? No, more importantly, how could he join us so quickly?”
The students from the Summoning Department shrieked in surprise, seeing Leo fly in from behind.
“Leo!”
Laura, a student from Class 5 of the Summoning Department, showed a bright expression.
Leo looked at Laura, who was being targeted by other students, and pulled the griffon.
“It seems Woreden already took care of them, but…”
The front paw of the griffon Leo was riding grabbed the scruff of the neck of a male student who was hindering Laura.
“Th-this bastard!”
“I’m also the type to repay as much as I’ve been subjected to, you see.”
Leo smiled faintly at the male student.
The male student urgently tried to shake Leo off, but before he could do anything, Leo’s griffon quickly soared into the sky.
The male student thrashed, his neck grabbed.
Leo controlled the griffon and threw the male student he was holding directly towards another student.
“Aargh!”
“Wh-what if you fly over here…!”
Thud-!
Colliding directly, the two students plummeted to the ground.
Watching that, the students in the rear group were flustered.
Flap-! Flap-!
Leo looked down at them from the sky and smiled coldly.
“Alright, so everyone’s prepared, right?”
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