Book 1 Chapter 42
【42】41
[Did you notice my presence? Oh, contractor of the young Phoenix.]
“Tartaros.”
[You even saw through my true identity? Interesting. Very interesting.]
“Your schemes are obvious.”
Having faced Tartaros to the point of being sick of them during the Age of Calamity, Leo knew their methods well.
“Perfect timing. There was something I wanted to ask.”
[The hero candidate wants to ask me something… Yes, what are you curious about?]
“That Fafnir, where did you get it? It should have gone extinct during the Age of Calamity.”
[You know about Fafnir too? What exactly is your identity?]
“Do you think I’d answer?”
[You’re right. Interesting. Very interesting.]
Fafnir tilted its head and mumbled.
[But no. As interesting as you are, I think it’s right for you to disappear from here.]
Black energy poured out from Fafnir’s body.
“If you have no intention of answering, I have no reason to keep that unlucky demon beast alive either.”
Leo chuckled and concentrated his aura.
Accordingly, the flames blazing on Fiona’s body grew stronger.
‘I haven’t learned it yet, but I know the principle.’
Leo recalled the skill Celia used during the entrance exam.
‘If I were alone, it would be a skill I couldn’t use just by knowing the principle. But.’
Leo grinned and concentrated his aura on Fiona.
The powerful sword technique that only direct descendants of Zerdinger, which Celia had mastered, could learn.
Phoenix Breath Secret Skill - Prominence. Summoning Incantation.
Crimson flames enveloped Fiona.
Kwaaaaah-!
Fafnir spewed black flames from its sword at Leo.
Fiona charged towards those black flames.
Hwarrrruk!
As if purifying them, the black flames touched Fiona’s flames and turned crimson.
And the flames that had changed like that became Fiona’s fire.
Seogeok-!
Fiona’s wings, which had turned blade-like by the aura, sliced Fafnir’s neck.
Pu-hwak-!
Black blood splattered and Fafnir’s body crashed to the ground.
Just before it hit, Fiona extended her foot, grabbed the hem of the unconscious Ryu’s clothes, and flew to Leo.
Hwarrrruk-!
Fafnir’s corpse soon turned into black flames and disappeared.
And it vanished without leaving even ashes, as if it had never existed in this world.
Fiona placed Ryu on Leo’s griffin and then gently settled on Leo’s head.
Then she examined her appearance this way and that.
She struck various poses, as if a child showing off new clothes in front of a mirror.
‘What in the world was that?’
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The appearance of an extinct demon beast.
Tartaros’s demon beast tamer controlling such a demon beast.
‘And how did this guy summon that Fafnir?’
Leo’s face became serious.
Whatever it was, it was clearly no ordinary matter.
‘Is this related to Pirina being in Lumern?’
Leo stroked his chin, recalling Pirina, a Phoenix who was his mother’s friend and staying in Lumern at the request of the principal.
‘I’ll have to meet her and ask.’
Leo sighed and withdrew his spirit power.
Pong-!
Fiona, enveloped in flames, returned to her original form and then plop-! fell onto Leo’s head.
Bbyak! Bbyak!
Fiona pecked Leo’s crown with her small beak, as if protesting.
“You want to go back to that form from earlier? That’s not even your original form.”
Bbyak-! Bbyak-!
Fiona seemed annoyed, bit a few strands of Leo’s hair with her beak, and tugged.
Ignoring the small Phoenix, Leo spotted a black wyvern flying from afar.
It was Yura, the professor in charge of summoning magic.
Leo scratched his cheek.
“What about the match?”
***
“Ah! It was cancelled after all~”
Kyle grumbled, his hands clasped behind his head.
The spirit beast race, a practical exam for summoning studies, was cancelled.
Of course, since it was an exam and scores had to be given, the grading would be based on the assessment of how students utilized their abilities shown in the exam.
“You seem more disappointed than I am?”
“Of course! How much money did I bet on you? The upset payout could have been huge!”
“You bet money?”
Leo let out a hollow laugh, looking at Kyle’s genuinely regretful face.
‘Since Kyle doesn’t know, it seems other students aren’t aware that Cen Ryu made a contract with a demon beast.’
After the match ended, Leo, Chen Xia, Worreden, and Eliza were called by Yura.
Afterward, they were warned not to talk to other students about anything related to the demon beast.
‘A Lumern student making a contract with a demon beast is a huge incident. But how did that demon beast tamer give Fafnir to Cen Ryu?’
Leo left the dormitory with Kyle, a serious expression on his face.
“Speaking of which, Leo. It seems the magic department kids have been talking behind your back recently.”
“When is it not a day or two that people talk behind my back?”
Leo chuckled.
As the class representative and an unprecedented all-class student, Leo was the most famous first-year.
Until the beginning of the semester, not many people paid much attention to Leo, other than the fact that he was an all-class student.
Even dual-class students find it difficult to properly handle two different abilities.
‘But I excelled in all three.’
It was natural for Leo, but not so in the eyes of others.
Naturally, he attracted the attention of the professors.
Especially Ain, Yura, and Ren, the first-year department heads.
All three professors showed great interest in Leo, trying to entice him into their departments.
Other students couldn't possibly be unaware of this.
In Lumern, gaining the attention of professors and learning more was advantageous for school life.
But Leo had become the object of intense interest, monopolizing the affection of three department professors.
Naturally, students who were envious of Leo were bound to appear.
Leo understood that too.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I intend to be kind to them.’
Understanding other students’ feelings and treating them well are entirely different things.
If there was someone talking behind his back right in front of him, he planned to punish them without hesitation.
“It’s not just a day or two. But it’s a bit annoying that Chloe’s clique has been openly talking behind your back lately.”
“Chloe’s clique?”
“Yeah. You know, those kids from prestigious magic families who hang out together.”
“They don’t seem like the type to hang out with Chloe.”
Chloe was from the Northern Magic Tower, but her family wasn't a prominent one within the tower.
Because of that, Chloe also had a bad relationship with the so-called prestigious family group at the beginning of the semester.
“That’s what I mean! They used to talk behind not only your back but Chloe’s too, back then? But recently, during exam season, they started acting friendly with Chloe? Lately, it looks like they’re even trying to use Chloe to form a faction.”
“Chloe isn’t the type to be swayed by those guys.”
“That’s true, but there’s also your and Chloe’s match, and I’m worried that she’s drifted too far from us recently.”
Kyle sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, the two arrived at a two-story building located between the male and female dormitories.
It was a study room that first-year students could use to study together.
Leo and Kyle, who had gathered their study materials, entered the end room on the second floor.
Inside the room was a long study table, with long chairs on both sides.
Chelsea, who occupied one of the chairs, was lying on her back, looking at the ceiling, legs crossed, holding a book in one hand and eating snacks with the other.
“Hm? You’re here?”
Chelsea, with a long stick-shaped snack in her mouth, greeted the two.
O-dok-o-dok-
Watching Chelsea slowly put the stick-shaped snack, coated with cream except for the part she held with her fingers, into her mouth, Kyle whispered to Leo.
“Leo. I used to have a fantasy about noble ladies, you know? That elegant lady vibe.”
“And?”
“It all shattered when I entered Lumern.”
As Kyle spoke sadly, a notebook flew at him.
“Can you hear me?!”
“I don’t know what you said, but you said something rude, didn’t you?”
Chelsea stood up, exclaiming “Hoit-!”
Sitting in front of her, Kyle looked at the pile of snacks on one side of the desk and asked.
“Didn’t you eat dinner?”
“I did?”
“What are those snacks then?”
“Dessert.”
“This is dessert? You’re going to get fat if you keep this up?”
“Unlike Kyle, I exercise diligently~”
Chelsea hummed a tune and stood up.
“So, what’s the reason you specifically wanted to meet tonight?”
“The reason we gathered, as I mentioned earlier, is to present our unique spells to each other before tomorrow’s practical exam for the magic department and complement each other, so we made time for this.”
“That’s the intention, but you’re actually asking us for help, aren’t you?”
Chelsea said teasingly, crossing her arms.
At her words, Kyle put his hands together and bowed his head.
“That’s right! The spell activation isn’t working well because of one magic incantation! So please give me some good ideas! Please! Brother! Sister! I beg you!”
“Can’t be helped.”
Chelsea chuckled “Hmph-” and sat down gracefully.
Kyle exclaimed “Ooh!” and praised Chelsea for her dignified appearance, fitting for a young lady from a prestigious family of magic heroes.
Looking at Kyle, Chelsea smiled brightly and clapped her hands “Clap-!”
“Snacks.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you hear? Snacks.”
“What are you talking about out of nowhere?”
“You’re not thinking of asking a lady of the Rwalin family for a favor empty-handed, are you? My advice is usually expensive, but since it’s us, I’ll take snacks.”
Having said that, Chelsea spoke as if giving an order.
“Go to the cafe on the first floor and buy all kinds of snacks.”
“…Excuse me, Miss Chelsea? There are still a lot of snacks left here.”
“Yes. I know.”
“Damn it! This demon!”
The snacks sold at the Lumern cafe were as delicious as they were expensive.
Chelsea smiled brightly, watching Kyle go to buy snacks, shedding tears of blood.
“Speaking of which, Brother Leo, you never told us what kind of original magic you created, did you?”
Kyle had created an original magic of the alchemy system that manipulated metal freely.
In Chelsea’s case, naturally, under the influence of her family, she was creating original magic of the wind system.
“You must have created something amazing, right?”
“It’s a magic system based on non-attribute magic power.”
“A magic system based on non-attribute magic power?”
“Yes. I’ve created a magic incantation system that allows you to use all elemental magic without penalty.”
Every mage has a specialized attribute.
In Chelsea’s case, she specialized in wind attribute magic.
Of course, it wasn’t that she couldn’t use other attribute magic, but there was a penalty.
The most typical penalty was that when using magic of an opposing attribute, the power would be halved and the magic consumption would be doubled.
Leo was saying he would create an incantation system that could use magic without such penalties.
“Is that possible?”
Chelsea expressed her doubt.
Looking at Chelsea, Leo spread his palm.
Wheeng-!
Above his palm, a magic incantation system woven from threads of magic power was materialized.
Chelsea stared blankly, mouth agape, upon seeing the incantation.
“…If the magic practical exam goes well, Brother Leo might get first place.”
------------------==