Chapter 019
Chapter Title: A Fateful Encounter
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“A practical exam on the first day?”
“The other classes are just introductory, so why only us!”
Seeing the flustered students, Professor Yura spoke with a serious tone.
“I told you, didn't I? Anyone with a half-baked attitude should leave. Do you think we're the same as the other two majors?”
The students fell silent at her question.
“As students of summoning, you should know this. Summoning can't be learned just by having mana sensitivity. You need spiritual affinity to contract with spirits, and the 'taming' ability to handle magical beasts.”
Professor Yura spread her arms wide.
“Because of this, the number of summoners is overwhelmingly smaller than that of knights or mages. And consequently, fewer have risen to the rank of hero.”
Unable to refute her words, the summoning students clenched their teeth.
“However! The summoners who have become heroes have achieved far greater feats compared to other heroes!”
she shouted, her face filled with pride.
“Do you really think it makes sense for you to be treated the same as students from other departments?”
“No, ma'am!”
“You are the chosen ones! Aren't you?”
“Yes! We are!”
“Then let's start things off with a bang from day one!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
“Alright! Let's go!”
“Let's go!”
As Professor Yura raised her fist and shouted, the first-years mirrored her, raising their fists and shouting back.
The atmosphere ignited in an instant.
As Professor Yura, who had instantly captured the students' focus, wore a satisfied expression, a silver-haired female student raised her hand.
“So, if it's a practical exam on the first day, what kind of test will it be?”
“A good question, Eliza Hergin.”
The students murmured at the name.
The Hergin family.
A renowned family of summoner heroes from the northern continent.
“This island is home to all the magical beasts managed by Lumerne.”
For a summoner, a magical beast is a kind of weapon.
“I'm going to test your taming abilities.”
Yura pointed toward the forest.
“Tame one of the magical beasts in this forest and bring it back. Your score will be based on the kind of beast you manage to tame.”
After hearing the full explanation of the test, Eliza asked another question.
“What if we not only tame it, but also form a contract?”
At her words, the students swallowed hard.
Taming and contracting are two distinctly different things.
Taming is the ability to befriend a magical beast, the first step toward forming a contract.
Only after successfully taming it can one with the ability proceed to form a contract.
Yura grinned at Eliza's question.
“If you succeed in forming a contract, that magical beast is yours to keep.”
“Whoa!”
“This is Lumerne, after all! To think they'd let us keep a beast we contract with during class!”
There are two ways to form a contract with a magical beast.
The first is a summoning contract using a catalyst, and the second is meeting the beast directly to form a pact.
In the latter case, an uncontracted magical beast can even be 'sold'.
That's why magical beasts can be traded for extremely high prices.
So, hearing they were free to contract with such beasts, they couldn't help but feel motivated.
“Professor. What about the students who want to specialize in spirit arts?”
This time, it was Chen Xia who asked.
“A summoner can fundamentally handle both spirits and magical beasts. While there are specializations, Lumerne's summoning classes are designed to maximize your abilities in both areas, so work hard.”
Chen Xia nodded.
*Magical beasts, huh.*
In his past life, Leo had also formed contracts with powerful magical beasts.
*Though they all perished in battle.*
As he reminisced about his old pact-bearers, Professor Yura spoke.
“You have three hours! Begin!”
“Yeah!”
The first-years charged forward, full of enthusiasm.
“Hmm? Aren't you four going?”
Professor Yura tilted her head, looking at Leo, Chen Xia, Woreden, and Eliza, who remained at the starting line.
The so-called top prospects among this year's first-years hadn't moved.
Eliza said, tidying the tips of her nails.
“I have no interest in low-level magical beasts.”
*Hoo-!* Blowing on her fingertips, Eliza smiled sweetly.
“...”
The taciturn Woreden didn't answer.
“Umm... I only know taming in theory, so I'm still thinking about it.”
Chen Xia gave a troubled smile.
Finally, Leo, who had been gazing intently at the forest, began to walk.
“Oh my, the class representative?”
Leo looked back at Eliza.
“I heard about your performance in the Knight Division class. Can I expect great things from you in the Summoning Division class as well?”
Leo shrugged at Eliza, who asked with a bright smile.
“I'll just do my best.”
Seeing Leo casually brush off her provocation, Eliza made a bored expression.
As Leo entered the forest, Professor Yura smiled.
“Youth is a fine thing.”
“Indeed. After all, you're getting on in years, Professor...”
*Thwack-!*
“Gah?”
Professor Yura, having just jabbed her fist into Carlo's side, grinned at Leo's retreating back.
*Personally, I have high hopes for him.*
Her intuition was telling her so.
***
*I never thought it was possible to create a magical beast ecosystem like this.*
Leo marveled inwardly as he walked through the forest.
He'd never seen such a diverse collection of magical beasts gathered in one place, not even in his past life.
For a summoner, this forest was a literal treasure trove.
The students were busy combing the forest, searching for magical beasts.
Fights frequently broke out over a beast, often resulting in it getting away.
Anyone with some knowledge of summoning magical beasts would have moved with much more caution.
The more powerful the magical beast, the more reluctant it was to reveal itself to people.
That was why Woreden and Eliza had remained at the starting line.
In terms of skill alone, Eliza was on par with Woreden.
“Isn't that guy going too deep?”
A few students looked dumbfounded as they watched Leo venture deep into the forest.
Though they were searching the forest noisily, the other students were refraining from going too deep.
High-level magical beasts were often hostile toward humans.
Besides, this wasn't just a class; it was a practical exam.
They were being graded, after all.
If they recklessly took risks trying to contract a high-level beast and failed to tame it, they'd get a zero.
Lumerne was a place of endless competition.
Excuses like 'bad luck' or 'it was a good try' didn't count.
“Just leave him. He probably thinks he can just fall back on the Knight Division if this doesn't work out.”
“Must be, right?”
A few students snorted and lost interest.
Having come to a deeper part of the forest, Leo glanced around.
After confirming no one was nearby, he took out the gray feather he had found upon arriving on the island.
*Just as I thought, this is...*
Leo's eyes gleamed as he summoned his aura.
A gray aura began to burn.
It was the power of the Phoenix Breath that Leo had learned.
The aura flame spread to the feather, which then began to burn even more fiercely.
Then, it turned to ash and scattered.
*Whoosh-!*
*It really was a phoenix feather. Is there even a phoenix in this forest?*
The phoenix, one of the strongest magical beasts, was particularly difficult to form a contract with.
The summoning catalyst, a burning phoenix feather, turns to ash the moment it reacts to mana, rendering it useless as a catalyst.
In the end, the only way to contract with a phoenix was to find one directly.
However, phoenixes were proud creatures, so even meeting one didn't guarantee a contract.
That's why they were called the dream beast for summoners.
“This is Lumerne, after all. Impressive.”
Just as Leo's eyes were shining,
*Fwoosh-!*
“...!”
A crimson flame flickered above Leo's head.
He flinched and lowered his stance as a blindingly bright light and intense heat washed over him.
*FWOOOOOOOSH!*
Leo, knowing what this phenomenon was, wore a look of disbelief.
The intense flame soon took the form of a giant bird.
With every flap of its wings, flames billowed.
Leo summoned his aura flame to protect himself.
Seeing Leo's reaction, the magical beast that had appeared, the phoenix, opened its beak.
-*Is that the flame of a Jerdinger? I was certain it would be Reina's flame... I sensed the familiar scent of fire and came, but it seems I was wrong. Was I mistaken?*
Leo, surprised by the murmur, asked.
“Do you know my mother?”
-*Mother?*
The phoenix's eyes widened, and then it laughed cheerfully.
-*Indeed! It seems I wasn't entirely wrong! Yes! If she had a child, he would be about your age!*
The intense flames died down.
-*Hahaha, you ask if I know your mother? Of course, I do! I am greatly indebted to your mother, Reina.*
Flapping its beautiful wings, the phoenix landed in front of Leo.
Its gentle demeanor was unbelievable for a phoenix, a creature known for its arrogance.
Faced with the phoenix's reaction, Leo couldn't help but look bewildered.
*A world of difference from the phoenix Lisinas had. That damn bird was a real piece of work.*
*It was so bad that Luna even suggested we catch it and boil it for a meal.*
-*Son of Reina, what is your name?*
“My name is Leo Flove.”
-*I see, Leo. My name is Pirina.*
“What is your relationship with my mother? Didn't you just say you were indebted to her?”
Pirina smiled brightly at Leo's question.
-*Reina is the savior of my pact-bearer, Ellen Lundua.*
“Ellen Lundua?”
Leo was surprised by Pirina's words.
The Lundua family was a renowned heroic lineage of elves.
Moreover, Ellen was the head of the Lundua family and a hero whose name was recorded in the Hero Record.
-*At the time, Ellen was a dungeon conqueror on a mission to clear a dungeon in Seirun.*
“When you say dungeon, you mean a Hero Dungeon, created when a lost page of the Hero Record goes berserk, right?”
-*Yes.*
There are five places that possess a Hero Record.
But besides those, Hero Records existed elsewhere in the world.
To be precise, they were the lost pages of the Hero Record.
These pages, scattered across the world, would sometimes go berserk and create a World of Heroes.
What was created in this way was called a Hero Dungeon.
-*Hero Dungeons encroach upon reality. Over time, the monsters from the World of Heroes within will cross the dungeon entrance and enter the real world. Finding and clearing them is one of the main missions of the hero academies.*
Many nations conceal the discovery of a Hero Dungeon.
This is because clearing a dungeon allows for succession, just like in the World of Heroes.
Countless nations had been destroyed by concealing Hero Dungeons in such a manner.
That's how dangerous Hero Dungeons were, which is why only those with the greatest skill could undertake the mission.
-*One day, Ellen was deployed on a mission to clear a certain Hero Dungeon. The attempt failed, and all her comrades died. Ellen, too, was on the verge of death when Reina saved her.*
Pirina murmured bitterly, recalling the past.
-*In the process, Reina lost her flame. If not for that incident, Reina would have surely risen to the rank of hero as well...*
“My mother doesn't regret the past. 'The present is what matters most'—that's her philosophy.”
-*Hehe... It seems her personality hasn't changed.*
Leo asked the gently smiling Pirina.
“By the way, Pirina, why are you here at Lumerne?”
-*I came here at the request of Lumerne's headmaster, Kalian.*
“At the headmaster's request?”
-*Yes. I cannot tell you the exact reason.*
Leo felt a sense of mystery at the secret.
-*What about you? Why are you on this island? A first-year from the Knight Division should have no reason to be here now.*
Pirina had naturally assumed that Leo, being Reina's son, was in the Knight Division.
“I'm also taking Summoning Division classes.”
-*What?*
Startled, Pirina then noticed the faint spiritual power dwelling in Leo's body and was impressed.
*His spiritual power is weak... but his vessel is magnificent.*
Pirina, who was gauging Leo's potential, burst into laughter.
-*Hehe. This must be fate.*
“Pardon?”
-*Leo, will you form a contract with me?*