Chapter 020
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“A contract with Pirina?”
-Yes. Reina refused when Ellen and I offered to repay our debt to her. She said it was only natural to save a friend. But it has always weighed on my mind.
Pirina smiled warmly.
-The source of the Jerdinger family's power is the phoenix's flame. If you have the aptitude of a summoner, there is no one more qualified to be a phoenix's contractor.
*'Even so, I never thought a phoenix would offer a contract directly.'*
The proud phoenix was not a beast that would ever be the first to propose a contract.
-Of course, I'm not suggesting we form a contract right now. Once you've grown as a summoner…
“Would it be possible now?”
-Hmm?
Even if Pirina was willing, Leo lacked the power to form a contract at his current level.
But Leo was confident he could succeed.
He was, after all, the one who had ended the Age of Calamity and had commanded powerful beasts in his past life.
*'I never managed to form a contract with a phoenix in my past life.'*
Even as Kyle, he had wanted to contract with a phoenix.
A contract with a powerful beast would, in itself, expand his capacity as a summoner.
But Pirina looked troubled.
-I understand your eagerness, but you cannot form a contract with me as you are now. A reckless attempt would cost you your life.
Contracting with a phoenix is a particularly arduous trial.
Even Pirina could do nothing about that.
“I know. But I'm confident.”
*'His willingness to challenge the impossible is just like Reina. But I can't let her son put himself in danger.'*
After a moment of thought, Pirina had an idea.
-If you are so determined, then I will grant you a contract. However, the phoenix you will contract with is not me.
“Pardon?”
*Fwoosh-!*
A crimson flame flickered before Leo's eyes.
When the flame subsided, revealing a fist-sized golden egg, Leo's eyes widened.
*'A phoenix egg?'*
-That egg contains my child, who will soon hatch. Try taming this one.
Taming the egg of an unhatched phoenix would naturally result in a contract.
Since it was still in an egg, there would be no danger in attempting the contract.
However, the difficulty of taming it was on par with a top-tier beast.
*'A phoenix egg. She's given me an impossible test.'*
Leo smiled as he received the golden egg.
*'For an ordinary person, that is.'*
*Fwoosh-!*
As Leo summoned his spiritual power, the phoenix egg responded by erupting in crimson flames.
Leo gritted his teeth against the intense heat.
*'Even if it's faint, it's still the flame of a phoenix. It's not something a young human boy can handle.'*
Pirina expected Leo to give up soon.
But Leo did not give up. He closed his eyes and focused his mind.
His consciousness began to drift.
When he finally opened his eyes, he was met with pitch-black darkness.
This was the spiritual space where one underwent the trial of a top-tier beast.
It was, quite literally, a world of trials to determine a contractor's worth.
In the world of the unhatched phoenix, there was nothing.
Only a blazing crimson flame.
Leo reached out without hesitation.
In response, the flame wrapped around Leo's body and began to burn fiercely.
A phoenix burns its own body to unleash immense firepower.
In the process, it feels endless pain.
In exchange for that pain, it is revered as the most powerful of beasts.
A pact with a beast is built on a bond.
And to build a bond with a phoenix, one had to understand its pain.
This was why contracting with a phoenix was especially difficult.
“Guh!”
Leo's face contorted in agony as his entire body burned.
Only immense mental fortitude could overcome this trial.
Pirina's eyes widened.
-Could it be...?
*FWOOOOSH-!*
The intensely burning flames were sucked into the golden egg.
*Crack-!*
A crack appeared on the egg's surface.
Pirina wore an expression of disbelief.
-Did he succeed?
*Whoosh-!*
As the egg absorbed all the flames, Leo opened his eyes.
For a moment, Leo's red eyes flashed crimson.
*Thud-*
Exhausted, Leo collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
But he was clearly smiling.
“The contract was a success.”
-Ahahaha!
Pirina burst into laughter.
-Incredible! Simply incredible! Leo Flove! You are a genius!
“More like... hard work than genius, I suppose.”
-If a summoner who can tame a phoenix egg at your age isn't a genius, then what is! You were born with the aptitude of the greatest summoner in history!
Watching the genuinely delighted Pirina, Leo struggled to his feet.
*'What does a young phoenix even look like?'*
Even as Kyle, he had never seen a young phoenix.
*Crack-crack-crack-!*
-It's hatching. My child.
The cracks spread across the entire surface of the egg.
*Shatter-!*
Golden fragments scattered in all directions, as if a piece of glasswork had broken.
Seeing the phoenix that emerged from the egg, Leo's expression turned peculiar.
*'A chick?'*
The newborn phoenix looked just like a chick.
*Fwoosh-!*
Just then, Pirina transformed into her human form with a burst of flames and gently lifted her child from Leo's hands, cradling it.
-This child's name is Piora. Leo. You have a contract, but she is still just a baby. So, I will look after her for the time being.
“Yes, but I need to have my contracted beast verified by the professor for the exam.”
-Then I shall entrust her to you for that period.
Smiling, Pirina placed Piora on top of Leo's head.
Despite being just born, Piora, brimming with the vitality befitting a phoenix, pecked Leo's head a few times with her small beak.
Then, as if satisfied, she settled down.
*'Is this really a phoenix? No matter how I look at it, it just looks like a chick.'*
But seeing the loving way Pirina gazed at Piora, he couldn't bring himself to say she looked like a chick to her face, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
*Peep-!*
*'Yep, definitely a chick.'*
***
Professor Yura took a watch from her pocket.
The allotted three hours were coming to an end.
Most of the students had already had their tamed beasts evaluated by Professor Yura.
Among them were even some who had successfully formed a contract.
*'Let's see... there are four left?'*
And the remaining students were the very ones Professor Yura had the highest hopes for.
*Thump-! Thump-!*
Just then, the ground shook.
As students' eyes widened in surprise, a massive blue bear emerged, parting the bushes.
“Agh!”
“Kyaa!”
The students screamed and scattered.
A few students recognized the blue bear and stared in shock.
The blue bear walked up to Professor Yura and lowered its posture.
Chen Xia, who had been riding on its back, hopped off.
“Professor, time's not up yet, is it?”
“Correct.”
*'Judging by the tears in her uniform, she must have had quite a fight.'*
“You said you only knew the theory of taming, yet you've brought back a tamed Aqua Bear cub, an intermediate beast.”
“I'm not sure if you'd call it taming... or if it just decided to follow me.”
Chen Xia laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek.
In truth, it wasn't a complete taming.
“If it follows you this well, a little more study on taming should complete the process.”
*'Maybe I should just snatch her up and make her major in the summoning department.'*
An Aqua Bear cub might not have the same taming difficulty as a full-grown intermediate beast, but it's still an impressive feat.
To think someone this talented is the top prospect for the knight division.
As a professor of summoning, she couldn't help but lament.
While Professor Yura was licking her lips, Chen Xia sent the Aqua Bear back into the forest.
A moment later, Woreden appeared from the bushes.
A small crow was perched on his shoulder.
“What kind of beast is that?”
“For the top student, that's a pretty plain beast.”
The students looked puzzled.
But Assistant Professor Carlo and the TAs were startled.
“Oh? To think you tamed a Shadow Crow. That's impressive, especially since your main focus is spirit arts.”
Professor Yura exclaimed in admiration as she looked at Woreden standing before her.
The Shadow Crow, like the Aqua Bear, was an intermediate beast, but unlike Chen Xia's, this one was a full adult.
Moreover, the Shadow Crow was a tricky beast, with a taming difficulty comparable to that of a high-tier beast.
*'His talent as a beast summoner is top-class as well.'*
“I couldn't form a contract.”
“That's more than enough.”
Just taming an intermediate beast placed him at the very top of the entire first year, across all departments.
*'Though in this Beast Summoning course, Eliza will probably take first place.'*
As if to meet those expectations,
Eliza returned a moment later.
Unlike the other students, she appeared just as pristine as she had before class, approaching Professor Yura with her hair swaying.
“Where is your beast?”
In response to the professor's question, Eliza chuckled and held out her hand.
A summoning circle appeared, and a giant snake materialized.
*Hiss-! Hiss-!*
“Aack!”
“A-a snake!”
The massive white snake, large enough to swallow a person whole, flicked its tongue, sending the female students scattering in terror.
“Hoh... to contract with a Gorgon Snake.”
“It's a beast my family doesn't have. I took this opportunity to form a contract.”
The Gorgon Snake.
An intermediate and very rare beast.
*'As expected of the heir to the Hergin family.'*
“Excellent work, Eliza!”
“Thank you.”
Eliza gave an elegant curtsy, lifting the hem of her uniform skirt slightly.
*'Hehehe. This year is a bountiful harvest, a bountiful harvest indeed.'*
Laughing inwardly, Professor Yura tilted her head.
*'But where is Leo Flove? Is he not back yet?'*
There was very little time left.
Once time was up, he would fail, no matter what beast he brought.
Feeling thirsty, Professor Yura said,
“Give me some water.”
“Yes, Professor. Here you are.”
Opening the water bottle handed to her by Assistant Professor Carlo, Yura checked the time.
Just then, Leo emerged from the bushes.
“Young Master Leo. Welcome back.”
Chen Xia smiled and waved, then tilted her head in confusion.
Taming often involves a struggle.
That was why, with the exception of Eliza, every student's uniform was either torn or covered in dirt.
But Leo's appearance was incomparably worse.
His uniform was scorched and burnt all over.
Judging by his appearance, one would expect him to have brought back some incredible beast, but all that could be seen was…
*'A chick?'*
On top of Leo's white hair, a small, red bird was chirping valiantly. *Peep, peep.*
“Pfft! Did he really just tame a chick?”
“No way! The class representative with a chick!”
“Hey, hey, don't laugh, he'll hear you! Hehehe-”
The students tried to stifle their laughter.
“Student Leo showed promise when he handled the griffin earlier. This is rather disappointing.”
Carlo let out a snort of derision and turned his head toward Professor Yura.
“Pfft-?! Ack! Cough! Cough! Choke!”
And he ended up getting drenched by the water Professor Yura had just choked on and spat out.
While Assistant Professor Carlo grimaced, Professor Yura, having finally composed herself, stared at Leo with eyes wide in shock.
*'Did that crazy bastard just tame a phoenix?!'*