“Rumelia City!”
The regular ferry between Lumeran and Rumelia City.
As Iliana disembarked at the dock, she called out in a cheerful voice.
Following her were the students from the 5th class of the 1st year.
“Nella just reminded us not to conduct reconnaissance between dormitories since this is a day out.”
Nella smiled mischievously, and Iliana smirked.
“Of course! Why would you even think of doing that?”
“Yeah… Yeah…”
Kal also nodded.
“You seem the most suspicious, you know.”
Iliana half-opened her eyes and poked Kal’s side.
“Anyway, aren’t the current departmental assignments too intense?”
Teid muttered in an exhausted voice.
The second-year instructor of the Department of Summoning, Yura, had given the summoning students a tremendous challenge.
“In the case of the familiar masters, it was the enhancement of familiars through spirits. In the case of the spirit masters, it was the enhancement of spirits through familiars, right?”
Chelsea tilted her head.
“How was it? I heard the summoning department students worked hard until after class.”
“…How was it?”
Recalling the events of yesterday, Teid’s face turned pale with terror.
“Basically, if you have talent in summoning, you can handle both familiars and spirits. It means you have two potential paths.”
Yura smiled gently at her students.
“Of course, when you grow up and become an adult, these potentials will close. Blooming hidden talents is also a privilege of your teenage years.”
Saying this, Yura easily summoned a high-class spirit of wind.
Many summoning students were amazed to see Yura summon a high-class spirit of wind so effortlessly, even though she usually handled many superior-level familiars.
She had taught the summoning magic lecture for a whole year, but there was a separate professor specializing in spirit magic.
“Professor Yura, if you have such deep knowledge of spirit magic, why don’t you teach spirit magic as well?”
A spirit-major student asked in a shocked voice, and Yura replied with a face that seemed to ask, “What strange question is this?”
“What are you talking about? To teach spirit magic in Lumeran, you must have at least a contract with a superior spirit.”
Hearing this, the students of the summoning department once again were reminded of the greatness of the Lumeran professors.
Although Yura frequently squabbled with professors from the Department of Knights, like Ain, and the Department of Magic, like Ren, over trivial matters and got scolded by Halind, she was a graduate of Lumeran. Moreover, during her school years, she had demonstrated nearly top-tier skills, close to being the class representative.
The ranks of familiars and spirits were indicators of a summoner’s talent.
Of course, just because one controls high-ranked familiars doesn’t necessarily make them a strong summoner.
Even among second-year students at Lumeran, there were a few who could handle high-ranked familiars.
Nevertheless, they were easily subdued by Yura using just low-ranked familiars.
This showed that a summoner’s prowess mattered more than the rank of their familiars.
To enhance a summoner’s capabilities, experience in handling various familiars was necessary.
Yura wanted to remind her students of this fact.
“Professor, it seems we don’t have the same talents as you!”
“I’m trash… trash!”
“…Wrong. We probably can’t manage it.”
However, many students struggled to handle familiars outside their specialized field.
Even those with latent abilities to use both elementals and familiars found it difficult. Students who had spent their entire lives handling a single type of familiar found it particularly challenging to suddenly use another type.
Among them, Eliza, who consistently ranked top in the second-year summoning theory class, was the most shocked. Both her competitor Warden and the summoner ranked third, Juleden, managed to summon both familiars and spirits quite easily.
Not to mention Leo, who had long been capable of using both familiars and spirits with ease.
“Hmm! Admittedly, asking a spirit master to handle familiars or a familiar master to handle spirits is indeed a challenging task.”
Yura nodded understandingly after having confidently assigned such a task.
“But don’t worry! There’s special training for you!”
“What, what kind?”
Excitedly, Jester, who specialized in fire familiars, asked Yura, who seemed unfazed.
“It’s nothing much. Jester student, step forward.”
Without much hesitation, Jester stepped forward.
“For fire-summoners, here’s the special training.”
Yura summoned a fire familiar.
Whoosh.
“Huh?”
“Burn.”
Whoosh!
“AAAGH?!?!”
“Burn! Turn into ashes! Feel the spirit of fire by becoming ashes! HAHAHAHAHA!”
Yura, watching the burning student, wielded her whip in a mad frenzy, laughing maniacally. She looked like a witch in every sense.
Seeing this, the summoning students panicked and tried to escape.
Chlack
A cruel whip flew in front of the summoning students.
Swoosh
Clutching the whip tightly, Yura licked her upper lip.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Professor… The class is almost over…”
“Uh-huh, I know. It’s bonus class today.”
Yura, with the sunset behind her, gave a mysterious smile.
Normally, this smile would make male students swoon, but this time it was downright terrifying.
“Alright, line up based on the attributes of your specialized familiars.”
“So, what happened?”
At Kal’s question, Teid shivered, clutching his arms.
“The ones handling light attributes ended up crying through the entire bonus class after staring straight into blinding light. The ones with darkness attributes had to wander around, falling and bumping their heads in a labyrinth of darkness. The water attribute ones were drowned, while the wind attribute ones were thrown into a windstorm to fly around.”
“You handle earth attributes. How was it for you?”
As Iliana tilted her head, Teid grabbed his head.
Watching the situation from aside, Leo chuckled and said:
“The students with earth attributes were buried alive underground.”
“Wow…”
“Seems harsh.”
“So, that’s why the summoning department students were bruised everywhere.”
Chelsea whistled, Iliana broke into a cold sweat, and Nella let out a small sigh.
“That’s why Eliza returned yesterday in a daze.”
“Yeah. Since Eliza could handle familiars of all attributes, she had to go through the full course.”
Teid clicked his tongue with a look of pity.
Eliza was always conceited, but yesterday, with her hair and attire disheveled, she wobbled home, took a bath without washing, and went straight to bed.
“What’s the supplementary task for the Department of Knights?”
“They told us to master auxiliary weapons and are conducting combat tests with those weapons.”
“Auxiliary weapons?”
“Yep.”
Nella smiled faintly.
“Nella-nee, what kind of weapon are you using?”
Chelsea asked brightly as her eyes sparkled.
Right at that moment, Nella gave an awkward smile.
“Morning Star.”
Before Nella could answer, Iliana giggled and answered instead.
Nella glared at her.
“Morning Star?”
“Isn’t the Morning Star a blunt weapon? There’s a heavy ball at the end with thorns on it?”
Chelsea and Teid exchanged puzzled looks.
Looking at the two of them, Iliana explained.
“Nella found a weapon that’s even better for close-range combat than a sword. It’s easy to handle like a sword but has different uses and destructive power. Recommended by the class leader, she chose the Morning Star. By the way, I wield an elegant spear.”
Iliana stood up straight and chuckled.
“Yeah, I’m not interested.”
“Agreed.”
“Class Leader! Why’re you being so cold to me?”
Iliana complained to Leo with an unhappy expression.
“But… It doesn’t seem to fit somehow.”
Kal chuckled meaninglessly at the comment, and Iliana giggled.
“We thought the same thing. It was when she first tried it out… Ow!”
Nella, with her usual lazy smile, punched Iliana’s side.
As Iliana grabbed her side and fell to the ground, the other three looked perplexed.
Seeing their expressions, Leo chuckled slightly.
“Nella smashed the training golem’s head with the Morning Star. She laughed delightfully at that moment, and it suited her well.”
The other knight students who witnessed this were shocked.
“Stop teasing.”
Nella hit Leo on the shoulder with her typical disinterested expression.
Watching this, Kal and Teid muttered to each other.
“Scary.”
“Yeah…”
“Quiet people often harbor tremendous destructive instincts… Ow!”
As Kal and Teid muttered this, Iliana was laughing and talking when she was hit again on her side and fell down.
After this incident, the group finally began to enjoy their walk around Rumelia City.
“By the way, what happened with the fairies?”
“Who knows? They vanished after that day, right?”
“Of course, it’s probably a rumor. Would a fairy really be in Lumeran? Especially, not on the Island of Beasts but on the school grounds? Would the summoning department students believe that?”
“But, did you hear? Someone broke into the food storehouse.”
“Someone with guts actually broke in?”
“I also heard that the lecture materials of the Department of Magic were in disarray. I overheard Professor Anna yelling about finding the culprit and not letting them off easily.”
“In the Department of Knights, there were scribbles on the teaching materials. I heard Professor Clarra saying she would tear the culprit apart alive when she found them.”
The alarming rumors around the school.
Listening to these rumors, Iliana clapped her hands.
“Isn’t that something like a fairy’s prank?”
“Are fairies that childish? Do they play such trivial pranks?”
“You dare mock the sacred familiars! Go apologize to the summoning department!”
As the summoning department students scolded Iliana, Leo pondered.
‘It was really the fairy though.’
Leo’s three familiars were the overweight phoenix, the mischievous fairy, and the perverted Pegasus.
Leo observed the summoning department students who held romantic ideals about the three familiars with pity.
As they were enjoying their peaceful weekend, it happened right as they arrived at a famous restaurant in Rumelia City for lunch.
“Hmm? What’s the occasion for you all to come together?”
“Strange indeed. It’s great to see everyone hanging out together.”
Inside the restaurant, Sedgen and Halind were eating together.
Sedgen, noticing the 5th class students from 1st year who once thought of each other as rivals gathered together, became irritable with Halind.
“We in 1st class do too! We gather as often as this!”
“…Not my problem.”
“We in 1st class also have good teamwork! It’s just that we didn’t come out to Rumelia City to play!”
In 1st year, when Sedgen’s fits of anger flared up, he fanned his competitive spirit and screamed.
Seeing this, Halind spoke coldly.
“What are you doing while the professor in charge of your year is making a spectacle of himself?”
“What… What should we do…?”
“Take him away.”
With Halind’s icy words, students hurriedly took Sedgen aside.
“Sedgen professor! Stay steady.”
“1st class students have good cohesion! We know that already!”
“Let me go! Are you mocking me?! You dogs of Halind! Isn’t my role as your instructor just as important?”
“Yes, yes…”
“We are fully aware.”
The students from the 5th class who obediently followed Halind’s orders.
As such, there was a commotion.
After Sedgen calmed down, a few students approached the two professors still eating.
“Professor.”
“Will you treat us to lunch? Hmm?”
Iliana, whose eyes sparkled and blinked cutely, made Sedgen smirk.
“Are these not adorable students? You should treat them.”
In response to that, Halind casually said,
“I entrusted my students to you, Sedgen. It’s because I trust you. I didn’t realize it’s necessary for me to take care of them.”
“Stop joking! I’ll pay for the meal!”
Halind’s simple provocation enraged Sedgen.
‘…Professor Sedgen quietly gives in to Professor Halind, but it doesn’t matter to us who pays.’
Iliana chuckled mischievously inside.
Then naturally, the students joined the two professors at the table for a meal.
Since Sedgen was a professor who favored a free atmosphere and Halind also didn’t adhere to formality in such settings, a friendly ambiance naturally developed.
Sedgen gave plenty of advice to the students to help them prepare for the mid-term exams.
Halind, too, attended to the students’ consultations while having lunch.
After the meal,
“Professor Sedgen! We enjoyed our meal heartily!”
“It was so delicious!”
“Professor Sedgen! You’re so cool!”
As they watched Sedgen pay the bill, the students from the 5th class cheered.
“Hmm, cheer more if you can.”
With arms outstretched, Sedgen, immersed in self-absorption, urged for louder cheers.
Just as the students cheered even more,
“Chelsea LeWalyn.”
“Yes?”
Looking at the joyful scene, Chelsea was puzzled when Halind called her and came forward.
“What is it, Professor Halind?”
Halind looked down at Chelsea, whose eyes were sparkling, and said,
“How is your school life these days?”
“I am the excellent top student just like in my first year!”
Chelsea stood tall.
“Did I disappoint you, Professor Halind, at any point in my first year?”
“There were many occasions…”
“That’s just because Professor Halind’s standards are too high.”
Chelsea pouted her lips.
Halind, looking at Chelsea, smirked.
“Right, you were an excellent top student.”
“See?”
Halind said looking at the triumphant Chelsea.
“But recently, Sedgen consulted me about you.”
“Me?”
Surprisingly, Chelsea widened her eyes at the unexpected words.
“Sedgen seemed to be somewhat concerned about you.”
“Would Professor Sedgen… Why…”
Chelsea appeared somewhat discomposed at the remark that the second-year head professor was worried about her.
“Of course, Sedgen’s concern is nothing but an old man’s worry. In my view, there’s no problem with your current status.”
“My current…”
Chelsea blinked.
Halind, looking at Chelsea then, spoke with his usual expressionless face.
“Right. Even if you don’t have a specific goal, it’s fine. That’s what your high school years are for—finding that goal.”
Hearing Halind’s words, Chelsea’s eyes slightly widened.
The conversation about goals she had just had with her friends resurfaced.
When mentioned by Halind, Chelsea felt somewhat taken aback.
“You’re an excellent student. I believe that, after graduating, you will gain great fame as a combat mage.”
Halind said offhandedly.
“Students with great potential naturally develop the capacity to fit that potential.”
Halind turned to look at Sedgen.
“I required my students to act within their limits. I’ve seen many students who dream beyond their capabilities eventually couldn’t go far. Rather than dying a pointless d*ath, I make them withdraw. That’s my teaching philosophy.”
The Wall of Lament in Lumeran.
The professor most feared by senior students.
The core of Halind’s educational policy was the result of prioritizing student survival over their dreams.
“But Sedgen always wants students to dream big.”
Sedgen desired the full blossoming of student potential.
He wanted them to reach their desired destinations.
He hoped to propel them forward, to rejoice in the achievement of goals together.
Therefore, to senior students, he was as strict—or perhaps, in some sense, even stricter—than Halind.
Because surviving is essential to realizing dreams.
Because adequate preparation is necessary to challenge one’s limits.
“The students who dream of becoming heroes might benefit more from him.”
Halind turned his gaze from Sedgen to Chelsea.
“It shouldn’t be surprising that you worry him.”
“Why, professor?”
“Because all you do is follow behind Leo Flove and Abad LeWalyn.”
Halind’s words startled Chelsea.
“So, in a way, I want to ask you too, Chelsea LeWalyn.”
Halind narrowed his eyes.
“Are you planning to chase after their backs? Or will you walk your own path?”
Chelsea clenched her fist.
“The privileges of youth don’t last as long as you might think. If you don’t make choices, you will end up, whether you like it or not, simply content to chase after the ones you admire.”
Will you chase after the dreams of others?
Or will you find your own?
“It’s about time for you to make a choice, Chelsea LeWalyn.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
