"A practical test on the first day?"
"Other classes are having temporary lessons, so why only us?"
Professor Yura, observing the startled students, spoke seriously.
"I told you, if you’re here without proper resolve, leave. Do you think we’re the same as the other two majors?"
The students fell silent at her question.
"As summoners, you should know. Summoning isn’t something you can learn just with mana sensitivity. To form a contract with a spirit, you need spirit affinity, and to control mythical beasts, you need 'taming' abilities."
Yura spread her arms wide.
"Because of this, the number of summoners is overwhelmingly smaller than that of knights or mages. That’s why there are fewer summoners who rise to the rank of hero."
The summoning students clenched their teeth at her undeniable words.
"But! The summoners who have risen to the rank of hero have accomplished even greater feats compared to other heroes!"
She shouted with pride on her face.
"Do you think it makes sense for you to be treated the same as students in other departments?"
"No, it doesn’t!"
"You are chosen people, right?"
"Yes, we are!"
"Then let’s start boldly from the first day!"
"Yes, ma’am!"
"Good! Let’s go!"
"Let’s go!"
As Yura raised her fist and shouted, the first-years responded in kind, raising their fists enthusiastically.
The atmosphere heated up in an instant.
As Yura, satisfied with the students' heightened focus, smiled, a silver-haired female student raised her hand.
"So, what kind of test are we taking on the first day?"
"Good question, Eliza Hergin."
The students murmured at the name.
The Hergin family.
A family of summoner heroes from the northern continent.
"This island is home to all the mythical beasts managed by Lumerne."
Mythical beasts are like weapons to summoners.
"I will test your taming abilities."
Yura pointed to the forest.
"Tame one mythical beast from the forest and bring it back. Your score will depend on the type of beast you tame."
After hearing the test instructions, Eliza asked another question.
"What if we successfully tame and contract a beast?"
The students swallowed hard.
Taming and contracting are distinctly different. Taming is the ability to form a bond with a mythical beast, the first step toward making a contract. After taming, one can form a contract if they have the ability.
At Eliza’s question, Yura grinned.
"If you succeed in forming a contract, the beast is yours."
"Ohhh!"
"As expected of Lumerne! They recognize contracts made during lessons!"
There are two ways to form a contract with a mythical beast. The first is through a summoning contract using a catalyst. The second is by meeting the beast in person and forming a direct contract.
In the latter case, the tamed but uncontracted beast can even be sold.
For this reason, mythical beasts are often traded at very high prices.
The idea of freely forming contracts with mythical beasts during class fired up the students’ motivation.
"Professor, what about students focusing on Spirit Summoning?"
This time, Chen Xia asked.
"Summoners are fundamentally capable of handling both spirits and mythical beasts. While there are specializations, Lumerne’s summoning curriculum is designed to maximize abilities in both areas, so work hard."
Chen Xia nodded in understanding.
"Mythical beasts, huh."
In his previous life, Leo had also formed contracts with powerful mythical beasts.
"Although they all disappeared in battles."
As Leo reminisced about the ancient pact bearers, Yura announced.
"You have three hours! Begin!"
"Ohhh!"
The first-years enthusiastically dashed off.
"Huh? Why aren’t you moving?"
Yura tilted her head as she looked at Leo, Chen Xia, Warren, and Eliza, who remained at the starting line.
The so-called standout students of this year’s first-year class weren’t moving.
Eliza, casually grooming her nails, spoke up.
"I have no interest in lower-tier beasts."
She blew on her fingers and smiled brightly.
"......"
The reserved Warren didn’t respond.
"Hmm… I only know taming in theory, so I’m hesitating," Chen Xia said with an awkward smile.
Finally, Leo, who had been quietly gazing at the forest, started walking.
"Oh my, the class representative?"
Eliza turned to Leo.
"I heard about your performance in the Knight Studies class. Should I expect something impressive in the Summoning class too?"
Eliza asked with a faint smile, but Leo just shrugged.
"I’ll just do my best."
Eliza, finding his casual response dull, looked unimpressed.
As Leo entered the forest, Yura chuckled.
"Ah, youth."
"Well, Professor, you’re also getting o—"
Thud!
"Ack?"
Yura punched Carlo in the side and smirked as she watched Leo’s back.
"I have high hopes for him personally."
Her instincts told her so.
***
"I never thought creating an ecosystem like this for mythical beasts would be possible."
Leo admired the forest as he walked.
Even in his past life, he had never seen such a diverse range of mythical beasts gathered in one place.
To a summoner, this forest was like a treasure trove.
The students were combing through the forest, frantically searching for mythical beasts.
Many were so competitive that they fought over beasts, only to lose them in the chaos.
A skilled summoner would likely proceed cautiously.
The stronger the mythical beast, the less likely it was to reveal itself to humans.
This was why Warren and Eliza remained at the starting line. They knew better.
Eliza, in terms of skill, was on par with Warren.
"Isn’t he going in too deep?"
Some students looked baffled as they watched Leo venture deep into the forest.
Though the students were rummaging noisily through the forest, most avoided venturing too deep.
High-tier mythical beasts often harbored hostility toward humans.
Besides, this was not just a class—it was a practical test.
The scores mattered.
If someone recklessly aimed to tame a powerful mythical beast and failed, it would result in a zero.
Lumerne is a place of endless competition.
Excuses like "bad luck" or "it was a good attempt" held no weight here.
"Leave him be. He probably thinks he can just switch to Knight Studies if it doesn’t work out."
"That must be it."
Some students scoffed and stopped paying attention.
Leo, having ventured deep into the forest, looked around cautiously.
After confirming there were no people nearby, he pulled out the gray feather he found upon arriving at the island.
"As I thought, this is…"
Leo’s eyes sparkled as he activated his aura.
A gray aura began to burn brightly.
It was the power of Phoenix Breath, a skill Leo had mastered.
The aura flames spread to the feather, burning even more intensely before turning to ashes and scattering.
Whoosh—!
"As I suspected, this is a phoenix feather. Is there really a phoenix in this forest?"
The phoenix, one of the mightiest mythical beasts, was especially difficult to contract with.
Its summoning catalyst, the Burning Phoenix Feather, turned to ash upon reacting to mana, making it unusable as a catalyst.
Ultimately, the only way to contract with a phoenix was to find it in person.
However, due to their pride, phoenixes were notoriously difficult to form contracts with, even when found.
For this reason, summoners considered them the dream mythical beast.
"Lumerne truly is incredible."
As Leo’s eyes gleamed, a crimson flame flared above his head.
"…!"
The blinding light and intense heat forced Leo to lower his stance instinctively.
Whooshhhhhh!
Recognizing what was happening, Leo looked astonished.
The fierce flames soon took the form of a massive bird.
Every flap of its wings sent waves of fire cascading through the air.
Leo activated his aura flames to protect himself.
In response, the mythical beast revealed itself—the phoenix—and spoke.
"The flames of Zerdinger? I thought it would be Reyna's flame… but it’s not. I must have been mistaken."
At the murmuring, Leo asked in surprise.
"Do you know my mother?"
"Your mother?"
The phoenix's eyes widened before it let out a hearty laugh.
"Ah, I see! I wasn’t entirely wrong! Yes, if she had a child, they’d be about your age."
The intense flames subsided.
"Hahaha, do I know your mother? Of course! I owe your mother, Reyna, a great debt."
With its magnificent wings spread, the phoenix gently perched before Leo.
It was hard to believe this was the same phoenix species known for its arrogance.
Leo, stunned by the phoenix's demeanor, couldn’t help but compare it to another phoenix he had encountered.
"This one is completely different from the phoenix Risinas had. That one was unbearably rude."
Leo recalled how Luna had jokingly suggested cooking and eating that phoenix.
"Reyna’s son, what is your name?"
"I’m Leo Plov."
"Ah, Leo. My name is Pirina."
"What was your relationship with my mother? You mentioned she helped you."
At Leo’s question, Pirina smiled warmly.
"Reyna was the savior of my pact bearer, Elan Runda."
"Elan Runda?"
Leo was startled by the name.
The Runda family was a renowned elven hero lineage.
Elan, in particular, was the head of the Runda family and a hero listed in the Hero Record.
"At the time, Elan was a dungeon raider tasked with conquering a dungeon in Seyrun."
"You mean the hero dungeons created by the Hero Record’s lost pages running wild?"
"Correct."
There are five known locations holding Hero Records.
However, the lost pages of the Hero Record were scattered across the world.
Occasionally, these pages would go berserk, creating a hero's world.
The phenomena created in this way were called hero dungeons.
"Hero dungeons intrude into reality. Over time, the monsters in the hero’s world break through the dungeon entrance and invade our world. One of the main tasks of the Hero Academy is to locate and conquer these dungeons."
Many nations concealed the discovery of hero dungeons.
Clearing a dungeon allowed one to inherit abilities akin to those in the hero’s world.
However, countless nations that tried to hide hero dungeons ended up destroyed.
This was why only the most skilled individuals were entrusted with conquering them.
"One day, Elan was assigned to clear such a dungeon. The raid failed, and all his comrades died. When Elan was on the verge of death, it was Reyna who saved him."
Pirina reminisced bitterly about the past.
"In the process, Reyna lost her flames. If not for that, Reyna could have risen to the rank of hero herself…"
"My mother doesn’t regret the past. She always says the present is what matters most."
"Haha… I see her personality hasn’t changed."
Pirina laughed softly, and Leo asked her another question.
"So, why are you here in Lumerne, Miss Pirina?"
"I came at the request of Lumerne’s headmaster, Kalian."
"The headmaster’s request?"
"Yes, though I can’t share the details."
The secrecy piqued Leo’s curiosity.
"But why are you here, young one? As a first-year Knight Studies student, you have no reason to be on this island."
Pirina naturally assumed Leo was in the Knight Department, given his lineage.
"I’m also attending Summoning classes."
"What?"
Startled, Pirina noticed the faint spiritual energy surrounding Leo and admired it.
"The amount of spiritual energy is small, but… the potential is remarkable."
As she assessed Leo’s aptitude, Pirina burst into laughter.
"Haha. It seems this is fate."
"Pardon?"
"Leo, would you like to form a contract with me?"
End Of Chapter
