[Did you notice my presence? Contractor of the young phoenix.]
"Tartarus, huh."
[You even saw through my identity? Interesting. Very interesting.]
"Your tricks are obvious."
Having faced Tartarus countless times during the Age of Calamity, Leo knew their methods well.
"This is perfect. There’s something I wanted to ask."
[A hero candidate wants to ask me something…? Fine, what is it?]
"That Fafnir, where did you get it? It should have gone extinct during the Age of Calamity."
[You even know about Fafnir? Just what are you?]
"Do you think I’ll answer that?"
[Fair enough. Interesting. Very interesting.]
Fafnir tilted its head and muttered.
[But I can't allow this. As intriguing as you are, you should disappear here.]
Black energy poured out of Fafnir's body.
"If you won’t answer, then I have no reason to let that wretched beast live."
Leo smirked as he focused his aura.
In response, the flames surrounding Piora burned even stronger.
'I haven't learned it yet, but I know the principles.'
Leo recalled the technique Celia had used during the entrance exam.
'I couldn’t use it on my own just by understanding the principles. But...'
Leo grinned and focused his aura into Piora.
A powerful sword aura that only the direct lineage of the Zerdinger Family could wield.
Phoenix Breath Secret Art - Prominence. Summoning Technique.
Bright crimson flames enveloped Piora.
Fwoooosh!
Fafnir spewed black flames toward Leo.
Piora charged straight at those flames.
Whoosh!
As if purifying them, the black flames turned crimson upon contact with Piora’s fire.
And those transformed flames became part of Piora’s own.
Slash-!
Piora’s aura-infused wings, now as sharp as blades, sliced through Fafnir’s neck.
Splurt-!
Black blood spurted as Fafnir’s body plummeted to the ground.
Just before that, Piora stretched out its claws and grabbed the unconscious Liu’s clothes, flying back toward Leo.
Whoosh-!
Fafnir’s corpse soon turned into black flames and vanished.
It disappeared completely, leaving not even a trace of ashes behind.
Piora gently placed Liu on Leo’s griffon and then perched lightly atop Leo’s head.
It examined itself from different angles.
Like a child admiring new clothes in front of a mirror, Piora struck various poses.
'What was that just now?'
Leo narrowed his eyes.
The appearance of an extinct beast.
A beast tamed by Tartarus’s beast tamers.
'And how did that guy summon that Fafnir?'
Leo's expression grew serious.
Whatever was happening, it was far from ordinary.
'Does this have something to do with Pirina being in Lumerne?'
Leo stroked his chin, recalling Pirina—the phoenix staying in Lumerne at the request of the headmaster, a close friend of his mother.
'I’ll have to ask her.'
Leo sighed and retracted his spirit energy.
Poof-!
Wrapped in flames, Piora reverted to its original form and plopped onto Leo’s head.
Chirp! Chirp!
Piora pecked at Leo’s head as if protesting.
"You want me to turn you back? That wasn’t even your real form."
Chirp-! Chirp-!
Annoyed, Piora bit a few strands of Leo’s hair and tugged on them.
Ignoring the little phoenix, Leo noticed a Black Wyvern flying in from the distance.
It was Yura, the summoning professor.
Leo scratched his cheek.
"So, what happens to the match?"
***
"Ahhh! It got canceled after all~"
With his hands clasped behind his head, Karl grumbled.
The Summoning Practical Exam, the Beast Race, had been canceled.
Since it was still an exam, they had to assign scores based on how well the students had utilized their abilities.
"You sound more disappointed than I am."
"Of course! Do you know how much money I bet on you? The odds were going to be insane!"
"You bet money on me?"
Leo chuckled as he looked at Karl, who wore a genuinely regretful expression.
'If Karl doesn’t know, then it seems other students weren’t told that Sen Liu had made a contract with a beast.'
After the match, Leo, Chen Xia, Warren, and Eliza had been called in by Yura.
They were then told to keep quiet about anything related to the beast.
'A Lumerne student making a contract with a beast is a huge scandal. But how did that beast tamer hand over Fafnir to Sen Liu?'
Leo left the dormitory with Karl, deep in thought.
"Come to think of it, Leo, the Magic Department students have been talking behind your back a lot lately."
"That’s nothing new, is it?"
Leo smirked.
As the first-year representative and the unprecedented All-Class student, Leo was the most famous first-year student.
At the beginning of the semester, few paid attention to him beyond his All-Class status.
Even Dual-Class students struggled to master two disciplines.
'But I excel in all three.'
For Leo, it was natural, but for others, it wasn’t.
He inevitably drew the interest of professors.
Especially the first-year department heads—Ain, Yura, and Ren.
All three were eager to recruit Leo into their respective departments.
The other students obviously noticed this.
In Lumerne, gaining a professor’s attention and learning more from them was key to a successful school life.
But Leo had monopolized the favor of all three department heads.
It was only natural that some students grew envious.
Leo understood that.
'That doesn’t mean I plan to be nice to them.'
Understanding their feelings and treating them kindly were two different things.
If anyone badmouthed him openly, he wouldn’t hesitate to put them in their place.
"It’s not just the usual gossip. Lately, the group hanging around Chloe has been openly talking about you."
"The group hanging around Chloe?"
"Yeah. You know, the kids from the prestigious magic families who stick together."
"They don’t seem like the type to get along with Chloe."
Chloe was from the Northern Magic Tower, but her family wasn’t particularly influential within the tower.
Thanks to that, Chloe also didn’t get along with the so-called prestigious family group at the beginning of the semester.
"That’s what I’m saying! They used to badmouth not just you but Chloe too. But now, since it's exam season, they’re acting all friendly with her? Lately, it looks like they’re trying to use Chloe to form a faction."
"Chloe isn’t the type to be swayed by people like that."
"That’s true, but with your match against Chloe and how she’s been distancing herself from us lately, I’m worried."
Karl let out a deep sigh.
While talking, the two arrived at a two-story building between the boys' and girls' dormitories.
It was a study hall where first-year students could gather and study together.
After grabbing their study materials, Leo and Karl entered the room at the far end of the second floor.
Inside, there was a long study table with extended benches on both sides.
Chelsea was lying on one of the benches, staring at the ceiling, crossing her legs while holding a book in one hand and snacking with the other.
"Oh? You guys are here?"
With a long stick snack in her mouth, Chelsea welcomed them.
Crunch crunch—
Karl whispered to Leo as he watched Chelsea nibbling on the coated end of the snack, leaving only the uncoated part for her fingers.
"Leo. I used to have this fantasy about noble ladies, you know? That elegant, refined kind of image."
"And?"
"It all shattered when I entered Lumerne."
As Karl spoke in a sorrowful tone, a notebook flew toward him.
"I can hear you, you know?!"
"I don’t know what you said, but I’m sure it was rude."
Chelsea huffed as she sat up.
As Karl sat down, he glanced at the pile of snacks on the table and asked,
"Did you not have dinner?"
"I did."
"Then what’s with all the snacks?"
"Dessert."
"This is dessert? You’re gonna turn into a pig at this rate."
"Unlike you, I actually exercise regularly~"
Chelsea hummed a tune as she stood up.
"So, why did you insist on meeting tonight?"
"Like I said earlier, since we have the Magic Department’s practical exam tomorrow, I wanted us to present our original magic spells and help each other refine them."
"That’s the official reason, but you’re actually asking for our help, aren’t you?"
Chelsea crossed her arms and teased him.
Karl clasped his hands together and bowed his head dramatically.
"Yes! Because of one magic formula, my spellcasting isn’t working properly! Please, give me some good ideas! I’m begging you, big brother! Big sister!"
"No choice then."
Chelsea chuckled and sat down gracefully.
Displaying the dignity of a noble lady from a prestigious magical family, she impressed Karl.
Watching Karl’s admiration, Chelsea smirked and clapped her hands.
"Snacks."
"Huh?"
"Didn’t you hear me? Snacks."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"You’re not expecting advice from me, a lady of the Lewallin Family, for free, are you? My advice is usually expensive, but since we’re friends, I’ll settle for snacks."
She then added as if giving an order,
"Go to the café downstairs and buy one of every kind of snack."
"…Wait, Miss Chelsea? There are still plenty of snacks here, you know?"
"I know."
"Damn it! You devil!"
The snacks sold at Lumerne’s café were delicious but expensive.
Watching Karl leave with tears in his eyes, Chelsea beamed.
"Come to think of it, Leo, you’ve never told us about the original magic you created."
Karl had developed an original magic spell related to alchemy, allowing him to manipulate metal freely.
As for Chelsea, she naturally leaned toward wind-based magic due to her family's influence.
"It must be something amazing, right?"
"It’s a magic system based on non-elemental mana."
"A magic system based on non-elemental mana?"
"Yeah. I created a spell structure that allows the use of all elemental magic without penalties."
Every mage has a specialized elemental affinity.
In Chelsea’s case, she specialized in wind magic.
Of course, she could use other elements, but it came with drawbacks.
The most well-known penalty was that using an opposing element would halve its effectiveness while doubling mana consumption.
Leo was saying he had developed a spell structure that removed such penalties.
"Is that even possible?"
Chelsea looked skeptical.
Leo simply opened his palm.
Whirrr—!
A spell structure woven with threads of mana materialized above his palm.
Seeing it, Chelsea’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
"...If this works, Leo might just take first place in the magic practical exam."
End Of Chapter
