Chapter 087
Chapter Title: Survival on the Isle of Phantasms
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【88】87.
“Professor. Is it true that a fairy was discovered on the Isle of Phantasms?”
Eliza raised her hand and asked with a serious expression.
Yura, who had been grabbing Ulta by the collar like a gangster, sighed and let him go.
“There was a sighting among the second-years who were training here two days ago.”
At her words, the students began to murmur.
“Of course, it's all nonsense! In all my time as a teacher, and even as a student, I've never heard of a fairy being found on the Isle of Phantasms—!”
Yura, who had been shouting with a tone full of conviction, paused and looked at Leo.
‘Wait. Come to think of it, the phoenix was also a phantasm said not to exist on this island.’
But then one day, some first-year just waltzed in with a contract.
‘And a young phoenix, at that.’
Yura's expression turned serious.
‘Could there really be a fairy here, too?’
Just as that doubt crept into her mind.
Freed from Yura's grasp, Ulta straightened his uniform and shouted.
“Juniors! As summoners, surely you all share the dream of the Three Great Phantasms!”
The first-years' eyes sparkled.
How could they not?
Every summoner dreams of it at least once! The day they contract with one of the Three Great Phantasms!
Of course, fairies are phantasms that typically contract with elves, but that didn't mean there hadn't been non-elf contractors in the long course of history.
A chance to meet a powerful summon!
It was in the nature of summoners to dive headfirst into such opportunities, whether it led them into a pit of fire or the depths of the sea.
“Don't you want to see it! The fairy!”
“We do!”
“Hey! Stop inciting the first-years with unconfirmed stories!”
Yura, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality and flared up.
Watching her, Ulta let out a deep sigh.
“Professor, I'm disappointed. When I was a first-year, you were an associate professor full of dreams!”
“...You try being a full professor at Lumerne for three years. See what happens to you.”
“Ah! It saddens me to see you've become a weak adult who compromises with reality! Isn't it because you live such a bleak, dreamless life that your personality keeps getting worse?”
A vein bulged on Yura's forehead.
Fwoosh-!
As Yura lunged at Ulta, Carlo grabbed her and shouted.
“P-Professor! Calm down! Please, calm down!”
“Let me kill him...! Let me kill that insolent brat who runs his mouth off like that!”
Even for a fifth-year, Ulta was the only one who could speak so recklessly in front of a professor.
Seeing the veins pop on Yura's hands, the first-years cowered in fear.
A moment later, after barely managing to calm down, Yura asked.
“Alright, Ulta. The interdepartmental competition is just around the corner. You're not just planning to play 'find the fairy,' are you?”
At her words, Ulta smirked.
“Isn't that obvious?”
Seeing Ulta's brilliant smile, the female students squealed.
“Juniors. What did I tell you was the fundamental mindset of a summoner?”
“Receptiveness.”
“No, it's love.”
All the first-years looked at Yura.
“You'll just have to learn to filter out the nonsense. He's skilled, though, so his advice should be helpful.”
The first-years nodded.
Having gone through their fair share of trials and tribulations since coming to Lumerne, the first-years took it in stride.
“I'm not saying you should only love the summons you've contracted. You must be able to love all summons! And you must be able to achieve harmony based on trust! Yes! A state of oneness where the summon becomes you, and you become the summon! Harmony with nature! That is true love for a summon!”
The first-years looked at Yura with distressed faces.
They tried to filter his words as Yura had advised, but at their level, the first-years still found it difficult to properly understand Ulta.
Yura pressed her temples.
“So... to translate, he's saying you need to increase your affinity so you can communicate even with summons you haven't contracted... Hey! Speak normally! Normally!”
The exasperated Yura yelled before taking a deep breath.
“Alright. I understand what you're getting at. So that's the plan? It's a bit advanced for these first-year brats, but...”
Yura's lips curled into a smile.
Seeing that cat-like smile, the first-years felt a sudden sense of unease.
Whenever she made that expression, something ominous was sure to happen.
“Senior Ain and that insolent brat Ren are both pushing their first-years hard. We'll have to do the same.”
“Indeed.”
“But to do that, there's quite a bit of paperwork involved...”
“It's all been taken care of.”
As Ulta held out a stack of documents, Yura let out an impressed, "Hoh-!"
“That's Ulta for you. Excellent.”
“You praise me too highly.”
As the two, who had been at each other's throats just moments before, got along so well, the first-years felt an even greater sense of foreboding.
The truth was, Yura herself wasn't exactly a person with a normal way of thinking.
No, in fact, she was the most eccentric professor at Lumerne.
Yura grinned.
“First-years. Starting now, you will be staying on the Isle of Phantasms for three days of special training! Your senior here has already submitted the overnight stay forms to the dorms, so there's no problem!”
“What?”
“It's the weekend starting tomorrow anyway.”
“B-But I made plans to meet someone in Lumeria tomorrow!”
“We're supposed to rest on the weekend!”
The students protested, but Yura spoke dismissively.
“Like I care about that stuff. Weren't you all excited about finding a fairy just a moment ago?”
“W-Well, we did say that, but...”
“Eliza, say something. Professor Yura at least listens to you!”
The top student of the Summoner Department was Woreden, but the student most trusted by the professor was Eliza.
This was because while Woreden had no interest in department affairs, Eliza diligently helped out.
But Eliza's reaction was indifferent.
“Since the professor and Senior Ulta proposed it, it must be for our own good. As long as we're provided with comfortable beds and good food, I'm fine with it.”
Eliza's words made the students' faces fall in despair.
But Yura looked dumbfounded.
“Huh? Eliza Hergin. What are you talking about? Comfortable beds and good food? Where do you think you'll find that?”
“What?”
This time, even Eliza was slightly taken aback.
“What you'll be experiencing is the wild.”
Yura crossed her arms and flashed a feral smile.
“Surviving in this great wilderness, which has built its own unique ecosystem! That's your task starting today!”
“What did you say?”
“You want us to live in that forest for three days?”
“It's not just about spending three days in the forest.”
Ulta smiled brightly.
“For three days, summoning will be forbidden. Of course, using aura and magic is also forbidden. You are to survive in that forest purely with your own strength.”
“Eeeek?”
“How is that possible! The Isle of Phantasms is home to all sorts of phantasms and spirits!”
Uncontracted phantasms and spirits are extremely dangerous.
An encounter with a phantasm or spirit hostile to humans could prove fatal.
Being told to survive for three days on an island teeming with such wild phantasms and spirits, the first-years couldn't help but be terrified.
“A summoner must know how to handle summons even without taming them.”
“B-But that's...!”
“Of course, anyone who doesn't want to do it can give up.”
Yura said with a deadpan expression.
“However, I won't be giving any special training to those who quit during the interdepartmental competition. The gap between you and the students from the Knight and Magic Departments will just keep widening.”
The faces of the Summoner Department students hardened.
“I told you on the first day of class, didn't I? You can't be the same as students from other departments.”
The students clenched their fists.
“Considering the phantasms and spirits you might have to deal with in the future, this barely even counts as dangerous. Do you think I'd throw you into a dangerous place without any thought?”
“N-No, ma'am.”
“Then you must understand the reason for this training, right?”
Yura's question was met with silence.
It was a moment when no one dared to speak rashly.
“Is it because young summoners these days lack an understanding of their summons?”
All eyes turned to Leo.
Yura grinned.
“Why do you think so?”
“Because we live in a world where you can easily obtain the necessary mediums for summoning if you have money. You can even contract powerful summons through the World of Heroes.”
Leo looked out at the dense forest.
“Many summoners have become able to acquire powerful summons, but I believe they've strayed just as far from the essence of what it means to be one.”
“...”
“Because there's a certain view you can only see when you seek out a summon and form a contract yourself.”
“Such old-fashioned words, junior.”
Ulta's eyes shone.
“But that's precisely why they're correct.”
Yura chuckled.
“Leo's right. Contracting with a summon through a medium certainly makes it easy to get a powerful phantasm. But it's difficult to draw out its true abilities.”
Yura looked at the students and said.
“We summoners are humans who communicate with special beings that wield the power of nature. In that sense, we both submit to a part of nature and, at the same time, rule over it.”
Everyone focused on Yura's words.
“That's why Ulta spoke to you about receptiveness. How many of you have witnessed the true nature of the summons you command?”
Yura narrowed her eyes.
“Did you see their true forms for yourselves before making a contract? Aren't they all phantasms you conveniently obtained through mediums provided by your families or during class?”
Not a single student answered her question.
“You can't use true summoning that way. You must experience nature and gain a deeper understanding of the phantasms and spirits that live there. That is one of the paths to reaching a higher level as a summoner.”
Yura grinned.
“Now, do you still long for warm beds and meals?”
“No, ma'am!”
“You want to reach greater heights, don't you?”
“Yes, we do!”
“Good! That's the spirit!”
Yura pumped her fist.
“Alright, then. I'll hand out daggers for each of you to use.”
“And I'll hand out these butterfly nets.”
Ulta said with a smile.
“...You don't really think you can catch a fairy with that, do you?”
Yura narrowed her eyes.
“Don't you think I could?”
“Sometimes I'm ashamed that you're the top student of the Summoner Department.”
Yura said it with all her heart, but Ulta merely smiled.
***
The Isle of Phantasms was one of the largest islands in Lake Lumeria.
In terms of size alone, it was far larger than the main academy island where the Lumerne students resided.
As such, a vast wilderness unfolded the deeper one ventured toward its center.
Suddenly thrown into the great outdoors, the Summoner Department students all wore tense expressions.
Unable to use summoning, they had to be prepared for any situation.
At the same time, however, they harbored a strange sense of anticipation.
It was because of Ulta's story about the fairy.
And so, the students began to prepare their own shelters for the next three days.
This training was also preparation for the battle royale in the interdepartmental competition, so it was based on the premise of individual survival.
‘Fighting each other is forbidden. Cooperation is allowed in emergencies. But you must find your own shelter and food.’
Those were Yura's words before sending the students into the forest.
‘This training will also serve as a practical exam, so do your best!’
‘The summoning class is surprisingly the most hardcore.’
Leo was searching for edible berries to prepare a meal.
“A-A fairy! It's a fairy!”
An urgent voice called out from a distance.
At the shout, nearby students could be seen moving quickly.
Leo also moved swiftly.
But when he arrived, a male student from the Summoner Department was shouting with unfocused eyes, his head caught in the jaws of a flower-shaped plant with teeth.
“It's a fairy! A fairy!”
“...Did that idiot just get caught because he couldn't even recognize a plant-type phantasm and approached it recklessly?”
“Ugh! What an idiot!”
A few students approached to help their classmate, their faces full of pity.
“I feel like an idiot for getting my hopes up and running over here.”
Eliza said with a frown and turned away sharply.
Just as the students began to disperse again.
Leo looked up into a tree.
There, he saw an immature Fairy Prince, clutching his stomach and rolling around on a branch with laughter.
‘Looks like he needs a good smack to come to his senses.’
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