Book 1 Chapter 41
【41】40
Chen Sia and Eliza’s eyes widened.
“That’s strange. I’ve never heard of such a monstrous beast.”
“You’re right. There are no wyvern-type monstrous beasts.”
Eliza chimed in at Wareden’s words.
“It is a monstrous beast. A monstrous beast that was driven to extinction by the great heroes in the Age of Calamity. Though I don’t know why it has appeared in this era.”
Hwar-reu-reu-reuk-!
Fafnir breathed fire.
Leo, who easily dodged the attack, said.
“And that doesn’t look normal, does it?”
“Indeed… it resembles the side effects of contracting with a monstrous beast.”
Eliza stroked her chin.
“Then we’ll need a strategy. Among us, I know the most about dual summoned beasts.”
Eliza puffed out her chest and said.
“Are you saying we should follow your orders?”
“I didn’t intend to say that, but to be frank, it’s similar.”
“How amusing.”
Wareden gave a cold laugh and spurred his griffin, charging alone towards Liu.
Hwa-reuk! Kwaang-!
A fierce explosion attack using spirits erupted.
Watching him, Eliza clicked her tongue.
“As expected, that man is unreasonable. The two of you, please follow my instructions.”
Chen Sia scratched her cheek.
“I agree that Miss Eliza knows the most about summoned beasts among us. However, young master Leo seems to know a lot about that monstrous beast, so I think it’s right to follow young master Leo’s instructions.”
“Hmph, even if this person knows information about the monstrous beast, I can give more correct instructions…”
“What's with all the instructions? It’s obvious that coordination won’t work properly in this state.”
Leo grabbed the griffin’s reins.
“We just need to coordinate according to the situation.”
“Wait a minute! Are you saying you’re going to charge in recklessly? As expected, I can’t entrust instructions to you! I, a direct descendant of the Hergen family…!”
Hwa-ak-!
Before Eliza could even finish her sentence, Leo charged towards Fafnir.
Following him, Chen Sia also charged after giving a apologetic smile.
Eliza, left alone, trembled, her shoulders shaking.
“I’m a direct descendant of the Hergen family! Don’t ignore my words!”
Eliza, with glaring eyes, also spurred her griffin and charged.
Hwar-reu-reu-reuk! Kwaang!
A powerful explosion engulfed Fafnir.
As the smoke cleared, an unharmed Fafnir revealed itself from within.
“Haha… hahahaha! Amazing, as expected! My summoned beast is truly amazing!”
Liu, who had been pale, let out a joyful laugh.
“This is it! With this, I can aim for 1st place in Summoning Studies… no! Even class representative! Yes! I’m the best! I always have been! There’s no way I’m not the best!”
Wareden clicked his tongue, watching Liu clench his fist and break into a deranged laugh.
“He’s definitely lost it.”
“Seems like you’re struggling?”
Wareden snorted at Leo’s words, who had flown to his side.
Goooooooh-!
Behind Wareden, a massive mass of earth began to gather.
Leo’s eyes widened.
‘Golem Magic Spell Formula?’
An artificial giant puppet made by magic.
He had combined that spell formula with an earth spirit to create a giant spirit golem.
‘This guy is a monster too.’
While Leo was admiring.
Liu’s face turned pale at the sight of the giant earth golem.
Bu-ang-!
With an immense sound tearing through the air, the earth golem swung its arm.
“D-dodge! Dodge it!”
Liu, pale with terror at the tremendous mass attack, urgently gave orders.
However, Fafnir did not listen to Liu’s command.
Kuaaaaaaaah!
Instead, it let out a fierce roar.
Just before the earth golem’s arm struck Fafnir, it scattered and fell to the ground.
Wareden’s eyes twitched.
“Fear?”
It was a technique that emitted a powerful aura, instantly disrupting the flow of mana.
The griffins trembled in fear for a moment.
‘That Fafnir is a hatchling. Fear is a technique that can only be used by adults!’
Leo frowned.
‘To say that Liu has drawn out its potential with a summoner’s ability, his skill is terrible. What's going on?’
Bbyak! Bbyak!
At that moment, Fiona, who was in Leo’s inner pocket, chirped irritably.
Krrrr!
Suddenly, Fafnir’s murderous eyes turned towards Leo.
Kyaaaaaak!
It opened its mouth wide and charged at Leo.
Leo calmed the trembling griffin and soared into the sky.
Wareden unleashed a spirit explosion.
Kwaang-! Kwaang-!
Despite being directly hit by the explosion, Fafnir did not change its target.
It chased Leo like crazy, as if he were its sworn enemy.
‘Did it sense the Phoenix’s aura?’
Phoenixes and monstrous beasts possessed opposing attributes.
Drawn by that power, Fafnir revealed a powerful hostility.
“Leo Flobe! Prepare yourself!”
‘The contractor’s thoughts must also be playing a part.’
Leo glanced back.
It was closing the distance at an incredible speed.
‘If it’s only targeting me, I might be able to end this surprisingly easily.’
Leo glanced at Fiona, who was chirping irritably in his pocket, and tightened his grip on the griffin’s reins.
Peol-leok-!
Kkyaa-aaak!
The griffin roared, powerfully flapped its wings, and accelerated.
Kyaaaaaak!
Fafnir shrieked and pursued Leo.
“Wait a minute! Young master Leo! If you go too far alone…!”
“What kind of summoned beast’s blessing did you receive?! And why are you going alone?! We need to fight together!”
Chen Sia and Eliza, who were about to join forces, were flustered.
Leo and Liu disappeared from sight at an incredible speed.
***
-Ah! What is happening?! Player Liu! Suddenly violating the rules…!
-Hey! You idiot! Is this the time for commentary?!
Yura ran to the flustered commentator Runba, kicked his backside, and snatched the microphone.
-Summoning Studies TAs! Prepare your flying summoned beasts immediately! This is an emergency! The match is suspended!
She shouted.
As the students buzzed, the professors gathered around Yura.
“What is it, Yura?”
When Sedjen asked, furrowing his brows, Yura spoke urgently.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s certain that Cen Liu has contracted with a monstrous beast!”
“What did you say?”
The professors’ expressions changed immediately.
“Don’t you think it’s strange? Cen Liu is not the kind of student to cause such an incident!”
Yura took out a crystal ball from her pocket and said.
The magic screen for the audience was off, but the magic crystal ball Yura held continued to transmit video.
At Yura’s words, the homeroom teacher of Class 3 said in a serious voice.
“He certainly showed an inferiority complex as the semester progressed… but that’s true for other students too. It wasn’t to this serious a degree.”
All new students at Lumerne feel an inferiority complex at the beginning of the semester.
They were always the best when they were young, but at Lumerne, they inevitably encounter students superior to themselves.
There are various types of students: those who acknowledge it and try harder, those who deny it and grind their teeth, etc.
Cen Liu was a student who belonged to the latter.
But as Yura said, he was not a student who would cause an incident of this magnitude.
“Anger control issues, rational paralysis, and so on. Liu’s behavior is typical of someone who has contracted with a monstrous beast.”
The professors’ expressions immediately hardened.
“But for a monstrous beast to affect a summoner to that extent, it must be a high-ranking one?”
To Halind’s question, Sera, who was staring at the screen, said cautiously.
“Could that mutated wyvern species that Liu is riding possibly be a monstrous beast?”
“…!”
“…!”
The professors trembled slightly.
“No way…”
“If so, isn’t it an unknown new species of monstrous beast?”
Seeing the agitated professors, Yura said.
“For now, what’s important is to stop Liu…”
Just then, Liu on the screen began to pursue Leo.
“Wait! Hey! Leo! It’s dangerous alone! Quickly switch the screen!”
Yura was terrified watching Leo disappear at an incredible speed.
The magic major professor took the crystal ball from Yura with a flustered face and manipulated it.
“It seems they’ve gone beyond the range of the magic!”
“Aaaaaah! Seriously!”
Yura evoked spiritual power and summoned a Black Wyvern.
“TAs! Let’s go! Find Leo and Liu immediately!”
“Yes!”
***
Leo flew at an incredible speed, sharpening his senses.
‘I’ve left the range of the video magic.’
Leaving the range of the magic was no accident.
It was thoroughly Leo’s intention.
“Fiona.”
Bbyak?
“Time to shine.”
Leo, who took his contractor out of his pocket, smiled broadly and simultaneously activated his aura and spiritual power.
Hwar-reuk-!
Fiona’s feathers began to burn.
Hwar-reu-reu-reuk-!
Fiona’s feathers, as she sat on Leo’s palm, stood up one by one.
Fiona spread her wings and looked around as if bewildered by the changes happening to her body.
Soon, Fiona’s body began to swell.
Hwa-reuk!
Fiona’s feathers burned even more fiercely, then grew to the size of Leo’s torso.
“Now you look more like a Phoenix, don’t you?”
At Leo’s words, Fiona raised her head and elegantly sat on the back of Leo’s arm.
Fiona had shed her small, red chick-like appearance and had transformed into the beautiful form of a firebird.
Though she couldn’t yet be called an adult Phoenix, she emitted an immensely powerful aura compared to before.
Kya-reuk?
Fafnir, who had been revealing murderous intent, also wore a bewildered expression.
“Fly!”
With Leo’s command, Fiona flapped her wings and soared high into the sky.
Kwaa-aaak-!
Fiona drew a fiery trajectory and shot high into the sky.
Bbyak-! Bbyak-!
Fiona chirped with joy, seemingly pleased with her 180-degree changed appearance.
‘Still chirping like a chick, huh?’
While Leo let out a wry chuckle.
Fiona, who had soared high into the sky, spread her wings wide and descended.
Hwar-reuk!
An even more intense flame flickered around Fiona’s body.
Drawing out the potential abilities of a summoned beast is the summoner’s ability.
But Leo possessed one more special ability in addition to that.
That was strengthening summoned beasts with aura.
Summoned beasts are creatures with spiritual power.
Therefore, they cannot accept aura.
But Kyle made it possible.
‘I was versatile, but I didn’t have the ability to reach the ultimate in anything.’
In aura ability, Kyle lagged behind Arion and Dweno.
In magic, he couldn’t follow Luna; in summoning, he couldn’t follow Lysinath.
So, what Leo chose was the fusion of abilities.
Aura and magic power.
Magic power and spiritual power.
Spiritual power and aura.
If he couldn’t reach the ultimate, he had to create something similar.
To end the Age of Calamity, that was absolutely necessary.
However, everyone who saw it, even his comrades, said it was impossible.
‘They said that once the pure form of mana is lost, power cannot be mixed.’
After countless attempts, he succeeded, and Kyle, along with his comrades, rose to the ranks of the great heroes and saved the world.
Goooooh-!
Aura gathered on Fiona’s wings.
Fiona’s eyes widened, and she flapped her wings even more excitedly.
“Kuk! What is it?! This bird!”
Liu shouted irritably.
“Deal with it!”
Kyaaaaaak!
Fafnir shrieked.
Towards such a Fafnir, Fiona body-slammed.
Kwaang-!
“Kuk?”
Fafnir was sent flying and crashed weakly towards the ground.
Liu, too, seemed to have fainted upon impact, as his eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground.
“…”
Leo gazed at Fiona, who flew back with graceful movements, with a blank face.
“What? Why is it so strong?”
He had drawn out Fiona’s potential abilities using spiritual power and enhanced them using aura.
Even that alone was enough power to defeat Fafnir, who was still just a hatchling.
However, Fiona’s power just now far exceeded Leo’s expectations.
A flustered Leo noticed that his own aura, residing in Fiona’s body, was burning even more fiercely.
Leo looked at his palm.
‘The aura I’ve mastered now is the Zeldinger family’s aura. And the Zeldinger family’s aura is a power derived from the Phoenix.’
A peculiar light flickered in Leo’s eyes.
‘What if the Phoenix flames fused with each other and strengthened the power?’
This was an effect even Leo hadn’t anticipated.
‘Does this mean there are still parts to refine and strengthen?’
Just as Leo was curling up the corners of his mouth.
Beon-tteuk-!
The eyes of the unconscious Fafnir flashed.
Then, carrying Liu on its back, it flew towards Leo.
Leo’s face hardened as his eyes met Fafnir’s.
“You… who are you?”