-Hello, everyone! It’s here again! The biggest event of the first semester for first-years! Welcome to the Summoned Beast Race! I’m Lunba Tes, a third-year student from the Summoning Department, and I’ll be your commentator today!
Wooooooaaah!
The students filling the summoning practice grounds erupted in cheers.
Celia made a displeased expression.
“Is this really an exam?”
Even during the Knight Department duels, there had been spectators, but the Summoning practical exam was on a whole different scale.
Not only was there a commentator, but the event had proper spectator seating.
There was even a video projection spell set up for better viewing.
Rhis, sitting next to Celia, chuckled.
“Summoned Beast Races are a long-standing tradition in the Summoning exam, so they’re really popular. Plus, it’s a featured event in exchange matches with other Hero academies, so there’s a lot of interest.”
“Student Council President! We’re from the newspaper club! The first-year next to you is your younger sister, Celia Zerdinger, right?”
A male student with a magical recording device around his neck approached, holding a notebook and pen.
“That’s right.”
“Oh! Could we do a quick interview with you both?”
The newspaper club student made his request.
“Popcorn for sale! Ice-cold drinks available!”
“Come on, place your bets! Who’s going to take first place? Here are the current odds!”
Students from the merchant club had also set up stalls, selling goods and even organizing gambling.
‘How is this an exam?!’
The first-years internally screamed at the chaotic marketplace atmosphere, which was completely different from the previous serious exam settings.
Meanwhile, the ones suffering the most mental damage were the first-year Summoning Department students.
“Why is everyone so loud?! I can’t concentrate!”
Tade clutched his head and shouted, and the other first-years wore expressions of agreement.
The already nervous first-years found themselves overwhelmed by the lively festival-like mood that had drawn in nearly the entire school.
Instead of easing their tension, it only made them feel even more pressure.
Of course, some people remained composed.
Among them were the Summoning Department’s top students, Eliza and Warren Tiden.
“To think they would treat me, a lady of the Hergin Family, as mere entertainment. How unpleasant.”
Eliza frowned, and her followers nodded in agreement.
Warren, as always, simply stood with an expressionless face.
Eliza glanced at Warren before shifting her gaze to Leo, who was warming up on one side.
As Leo bent and stretched his knees in a light warm-up, Eliza scoffed and asked,
“You showed impressive skills in the Knight practical exam. Did you prepare just as well for the Summoning practical exam?”
“Of course.”
“You really are overflowing with confidence, aren’t you, class representative?”
Eliza narrowed her eyes.
“But you were nowhere to be seen during the Summoning practical training… Do you think the exam is a joke?”
The Summoned Beast Race was originally meant to be done by riding a contracted beast.
However, since many first-years had yet to form contracts with flying beasts, Lumerne Academy provided them.
The key to this exam was how quickly one could tame their provided beast.
Summoning students had been given practice sessions throughout the exam period—but Leo had never attended a single one.
“Hey, Eliza, do you have to say it like that?”
Tade frowned at her sharp words.
However, the surrounding students didn’t look kindly at Leo.
“To be fair, it’s true he’s been slacking.”
“He’s well-known in the Knight and Magic Departments, but in Summoning, he just has a high mana pool. I’ve never seen him contract a spirit or summoned beast.”
“Is he looking down on Summoning?”
“If he’s not serious, he should just back out.”
The Summoning Department had fewer students, but that meant they had a strong sense of pride.
With Leo never attending a single practice session yet displaying confidence, it was only natural for them to feel resentment.
The Summoned Beast Race required full use of summoning techniques to overcome obstacles and reach the finish line.
The obstacles were difficult, and interfering with other racers was allowed.
It wasn’t uncommon for participants to suffer serious injuries.
Since Leo had never practiced for this dangerous event, the Summoning students didn’t take kindly to him.
Of course, none of them knew that Leo had experienced countless aerial battles as a summoned beast in his past life.
“You’re being too harsh.”
“Ha! Are you defending him just because he’s your class rep?”
A Class 5 student snapped back at another classmate from a different class.
“This isn’t looking good.”
Chen Xia stepped in to mediate.
“I understand that everyone is tense before the exam, but still, this kind of hostility—”
“Chen Xia, you can afford not to care about Summoning since you have good grades in the Knight Department, right?”
A female student sneered.
Now, Class 10 was getting agitated.
The Summoning students glared at each other, the atmosphere turning tense.
Leo clicked his tongue just as a deep, heavy voice rang out.
“This is annoying.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted.
Warren, who had been sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if uninterested, had suddenly opened his golden-brown eyes.
“If you want to bark at each other over who has ridden more summoned beasts, do it somewhere else, not in front of me.”
“What did you just say, Warren?!”
“I said listening to people act like riding a beast a few more times makes them superior is irritating.”
His expression remained blank as he spoke.
A male Summoning student from the eastern continent, Sen Liu, stepped forward, his face contorted in anger.
“Hah? You feeling guilty now? You barely showed up for taming practice either.”
Warren let out a short laugh.
“What’s that laugh supposed to mean?”
“Do you want me to tell you why I didn’t attend taming practice?”
“What?”
“Because it wasn’t worth my time. Unlike you fools who can’t even properly handle a griffon, I don’t need it.”
At those words, Liu and the other students’ eyes burned with anger.
“You bastard!”
Liu swung his fist at Warren.
Grab-!
Before it could land, Leo caught Liu’s fist.
“If you get into a fight before the exam, you won’t just get scolded.”
“Tch! I don’t need to hear that from you!”
Liu shook off Leo’s hand and stormed back toward the Summoning students.
Leo sighed as he watched before turning to Warren.
“You should choose your words more carefully.”
“Was stating a fact a problem?”
“I don’t know how amazing you are, but I don’t think you have the right to mock other people’s efforts, Warren Tiden.”
Leo, looking up at the much taller Warren, spoke firmly.
Warren smirked coldly before walking away.
“The atmosphere isn’t great.”
Leo had only been attending Summoning classes, but he hadn’t expected the students to be so divided.
Tade sighed.
“Since you take classes in other departments too, you wouldn’t know, but our Summoning class has a pretty bad atmosphere right now.”
“Why?”
“In our year, the top Summoning students are you, Xia, Warren, and Eliza, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Summoning is a department where the skill gap between primary and secondary majors is usually huge, but with you and Chen Xia taking top ranks, the second-year seniors made us all gather once.”
“They called a meeting just for that? That’s ridiculous.”
“Right? And on top of that, Warren completely ignored them and didn’t show up.”
Because of that, the second-years got even angrier and took it out on the first-years.
“Anyway, that already made everyone upset, and then… while preparing for this exam, you and Warren barely participated in training. That only made things worse.”
“I can see why the atmosphere is bad.”
“Exactly. So try to understand.”
“Got it.”
With that, Leo looked around at the students preparing for the race.
While most were visibly nervous, there was also a strange hostility in the air.
‘So this kind of problem exists too.’
From their perspective, it probably looked like he had been neglecting the exam.
‘Of course, I have no intention of slacking off.’
Since it was a race, his only goal was first place.
***
-Ladies and gentlemen! The time has finally come! All competitors are at the starting line!
The first-year students lined up at the starting line.
Beyond the fence ahead, griffons could be seen.
At the signal, students would have to tame a griffon and take off.
The Summoning students, their faces tense, prepared for the race.
“Rookies! Stay calm and just do what you practiced! If anyone messes up because of nerves, I’ll kick their butt afterward!”
Yura, the referee, shouted as she raised the starting signal.
The Summoning students laughed, their tension easing thanks to Yura.
“Alright, then!”
Yura raised the signal.
“Three, two, one!”
BANG-!
CRACK-!
As soon as the race began, elemental magic rained down on Leo and Warren.
Leo hesitated at the sudden situation.
-Oh! What is happening?! The Summoning students seem to have teamed up against Leo, the class representative, and Warren, the top student from the Southern Exam!
The audience murmured in shock at the unprecedented event.
The Summoning students from Class 5 were also stunned.
“What the hell is that?!”
“That’s so dirty! Summoning students, are you serious?!”
“Aren’t you ashamed?!”
“Compete fairly!”
-Haha! Boos are pouring in from Class 5!
The spectators were in an uproar.
“C-Captain!”
“Hey, Leo! Hold on! We’re coming to help!”
“Don’t worry about me, just go!”
Leo shouted urgently as his teammates hesitated, refusing to start while trying to dispel the magic targeting him.
“This is an exam! I’ll handle it, so don’t fall behind! Get going!”
“Ugh!”
“Leo! Sorry!”
The Class 5 students clenched their fists in frustration but finally took off.
The ground beneath Leo had turned to mud due to water magic.
Fire and wind blocked his path.
Warren, who was being targeted the same way, released his mana.
“How foolish.”
FWOOOSH-!
Despite the collective efforts of the Summoning students, Warren easily dismantled their elemental magic.
Only someone with overwhelming power could do that.
“Looks tough for you. Want some help?”
Warren smirked.
Leo chuckled.
“No, I’ll handle it.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll go ahead.”
Warren casually walked toward the griffon enclosure.
Meanwhile, the other students had already tamed their griffons and taken off.
Watching from the starting line, Leo activated his mana.
“I knew they didn’t like me, but I didn’t expect them to all gang up on me.”
Leo chuckled as Yura clicked her tongue.
‘That’s rough.’
If this weren’t an exam, he could have broken through easily.
But in this race, only summoning techniques were allowed.
From what Yura had observed, Leo’s main summoning ability wasn’t elemental magic but beast summoning.
And now, the entire Summoning department had targeted him with elemental interference.
Given that he was still inexperienced in real combat, overcoming this challenge seemed nearly impossible.
‘I didn’t think the first-years had such deep-seated resentment. Even so, for them to all gang up on him like this…’
It wasn’t against the rules, but it wasn’t a good look.
As a professor, she had tried to manage the students, but clearly, she hadn’t done enough.
Yura sighed, thinking about how to address this later—
“─!”
Then, Leo’s voice rang out, sending a chill down Yura’s spine.
His words were smooth, almost like a song—but they weren’t in human language.
“──! ─!”
As his chant continued, the elemental forces weakened.
FWOOOSH-!
Soon, the forces restraining Leo vanished.
The spirits, who had been obeying their summoners, giggled and danced around Leo before disappearing.
The ability to influence spirits contracted by others.
‘That crazy kid… Did he just use Spirit Speech? That’s something they only teach in the second-year Spirit Summoning course!’
Yura let out a laugh of disbelief as she watched Leo take off.
‘This kid is a real deal! We need to make sure he stays in the Summoning Department!’
End Of Chapter
