Chapter 42

【42】41

[So, you’ve noticed my presence, young Contractor of the Phoenix.]

“Tartarus.”

[Impressive, you even know my identity. This is getting interesting.]

“You think your tricks are mysterious? I know them all.”

During the Era of Catastrophe, Leo had faced Tartarus countless times, and he was well acquainted with their tactics.

“Actually, this is quite convenient. I had something I wanted to ask you.”

[The Hero Candidate has a question for me? How curious… Ask away, what is it that you seek?]

“You, where did that Paphnir come from? I thought it went extinct during the Era of Catastrophe.”

[You know of Paphnir too? Who are you really?]

“Are you going to answer?”

[Perhaps… This is truly fascinating.]

Paphnir tilted his head and muttered.

[But no, it seems you must disappear before I reveal too much.]

A black aura began to pour out from Paphnir’s body.

“If you’re not going to answer, then I have no reason to keep you around either.”

Leo smirked as he concentrated his aura.

The flames enveloping Fiora grew even stronger.

‘I haven’t officially learned it yet, but I know the principle.’

Leo recalled the technique Celia had used during his entrance exam.

‘While I can’t fully use a technique knowing only its principle, Fiora can help.’

With a sly smile, Leo focused his aura onto Fiora.

Zerdinger’s renowned blade technique, known only to his direct disciples, could now be harnessed.

Phoenix Breath Secret Skill – Prominence. Summoning Ritual.

Fiery red flames engulfed Fiora.

Kuaaaar-!

Paphnir spat flames at Leo.

Fiora charged straight into the flames.

Hwoorrrr!

The dark flames touched Fiora’s flames and instantly turned crimson, purifying them.

And with that transformation, they became part of Fiora’s flames.

Sweeet-!

One of Fiora’s wings, sharpened by aura, decapitated Paphnir.

Puuuff-!

Black bl**d sprayed as Paphnir’s body fell to the ground.

Just before landing, Fiora stretched her leg, grabbing Riu’s collar, and returned to Leo.

Hwoorrrr-!

Paphnir’s body soon turned into black flames and vanished without a trace.

After ensuring Riu was safely aboard Leo’s griffin, Fiora returned, sitting delicately on Leo’s head.

She preened herself, posing like a child admiring a new outfit in front of a mirror.

‘What in the world was that?’

Leo narrowed his eyes.

An extinct monster’s reappearance.

And Tartarus’ Monster Tamer controlling such creatures.

‘How could this person summon Paphnir?’

Leo’s expression grew serious.

This was definitely not an ordinary event.

‘Could this be related to Pirina’s presence in Lumeran?’

Thinking of the phoenix, Pirina, who was residing in Lumeran at the request of both his mother’s friend and the principal, Leo rubbed his chin.

‘I’ll have to ask her.’

With a sigh, Leo withdrew his mana.

Poomph-!

The flames surrounding Fiora faded, and she returned to her normal form, landing lightly on Leo’s head.

Peeeek! Peeeek!

Fiora pecked Leo with her small beak as if protesting.

“You want to return to that form earlier? That’s not your original appearance anyway.”

Beeeep! Beeeep!

Fiora pulled a strand of Leo’s hair with her beak and tugged, clearly unhappy.

Ignoring the sulking phoenix, Leo glanced into the distance, spotting a Black Wyvern flying towards them.

It was Professor Yura who specialized in summoning techniques.

Leo scratched his cheek.

“How’s the competition going?”

*

“Ahh! The race got canceled~”

Kal scratched the back of his head, clearly annoyed.

The summoning magic practical exam, the Familiar Race, had been canceled.

Of course, since it was an exam, evaluations had to be made, and thus they decided to assess the practical application of skills demonstrated during the test.

“Isn’t it obvious you’re more upset about the cancellation?”

“Of course! Think about the bet I had on you! I could have hit the jackpot!”

“You actually placed a bet?”

Leo chuckled at Kal’s exasperated tone.

‘Since Kal doesn’t know, it seems the students aren’t yet aware that Riu has contracted a monster.’

After the match ended, Leo, Chen Sia, Warden, and Eliza were summoned to Professor Yura.

They were told not to disclose the information related to monsters to the other students.

‘A Lumeran student contracting a monster is indeed a big deal. But how did that Monster Tamer manage to provide Paphnir to Riu?’

With a heavy expression, Leo bid farewell to Kal and walked towards the dormitory.

“By the way, Leo, the students from the Department of Magic seem to be gossiping about you.”

“Gossiping about me is nothing new.”

Leo smirked.

As the representative of his year, and the unprecedented “All-Class” student, Leo was the most renowned person among the first-years.

Until the early part of the semester, apart from being an “All-Class,” no one had paid much attention to Leo.

It was already challenging enough to handle two abilities effectively in Dual Classes.

‘Yet, I’ve excelled in all three.’

While this was routine for Leo, it was anything but common in others’ eyes.

This drew the attention of many professors, especially the first-year department heads: Ain, Yura, and Ren.

Each of the three professors took great interest in Leo, attempting to pull him into their respective departments.

Other students couldn’t have been unaware of this.

In Lumeran, attracting a professor’s attention and learning more from them is considered advantageous for school life.

However, Leo ended up becoming the center of attention, monopolizing the professors’ affection.

Naturally, it led to envy among some of the students.

Leo understood this.

‘Of course, understanding their feelings doesn’t mean I’ll treat them kindly.’

Treat them kindly, but if someone openly slanders him behind his back, Leo had no qualms about retaliating.

“It’s been going on for a while now. But recently, there’s another group I find annoying. The clique hanging out with Chloe is spreading rumors about you openly.”

“Chloe’s clique?”

“Yeah. Those kids from prominent magical families who stick together.”

“They don’t really seem like the ones Chloe hangs out with.”

Chloe hailed from the Northern Mage Tower but wasn’t from one of its influential families.

Thus, she hadn’t had good relations with the so-called “elite family” group earlier in the semester.

“My point! Those types who not only spread rumors about you but also gossiped about Chloe. Recently, during the exam period, they started pretending to befriend Chloe. Nowadays, it seems like they’re trying to form a faction using her.”

“Chloe’s not someone who’d be swayed by such people.”

“True, but there’s also the matter of the contest between you and Chloe. And lately, she’s been drifting apart from us, which is concerning.”

Kal sighed deeply.

In the meantime, they reached a two-story building between the men’s and women’s dormitories, which housed study rooms for the first-year students.

Leo and Kal entered the last room on the second floor, ready to study.

Inside, there was a long study table with extended benches on either side.

Chelsea lay sprawled in one of the chairs, munching on snacks, her legs crossed while reading a book.

“Huh? You’re here!”

Chelsea greeted them with a long candy stick in her mouth.

Crunch Crunch!

Watching her eat the cream-covered candy, Kal whispered to Leo.

“Leo, I used to have this fantasy of noble girls being elegant and refined.”

“And?”

“Completely shattered after starting school here.”

Kal’s melancholy comment was interrupted by a flying notebook.

“Did you hear that?!”

“Whatever it was, it was definitely disrespectful.”

Chelsea sprang from her seat.

Sitting in front of Kal, she asked casually while eying the snacks on the desk.

“Did you eat dinner?”

“I did, why?”

“What’s with all these snacks?”

“Desert.”

“Call that desert? You’ll turn into a pig like this.”

“I work out more than you do, unlike Kal here~”

Chelsea hummed a little tune as she got up.

“So, why’d you ask me to meet tonight?”

“The reason, as mentioned earlier, is to review each of our Unique Magic creations for the Magic Department’s practical exam tomorrow, and to offer mutual feedback.”

“In short, you’re asking for help, aren’t you?”

Chelsea grinned, crossing her arms.

Nodding humbly, Kal clasped his hands together.

“Exactly! I’m struggling with a specific magic circle, and the spell activation isn’t working! Please, give me some good ideas, Brother! Sister! I earnestly beseech you!”

“Can’t be helped.”

Chelsea smiled, sitting properly again in a manner befitting the young lady of a heroic magical family.

Watching this, Kal exclaimed in admiration.

Then, she smirked, clapping her hands lightly.

“Snacks.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear? Snacks.”

“What’s with the sudden snacks?”

“Are you seriously asking the daughter of the LeWalyn family to do anything without compensation? My advice is usually expensive, but I’ll make an exception for you if you bring snacks.”

She declared dramatically.

“Go to the café downstairs and bring back every kind of snack.”

“…Miss Chelsea, there’s still plenty of snacks left here?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“d*mn! You devil!”

The snacks at the Lumeran café were not only delicious but also expensive.

Grumbling silently and shedding imaginary tears, Kal trudged off to buy more snacks.

Meanwhile, Chelsea beamed, turning to the others.

“You know, Leo, you’ve never revealed what your original magic creation is.”

Kal had created an original magic system based on alchemy, allowing him to manipulate metals freely.

As for Chelsea, naturally influenced by her family’s magic lineage, she focused on wind-based original magic.

“Surely, it must be amazing?”

“My magic system is based on non-elemental mana.”

“Non-elemental mana?!”

“Yeah. I’ve created a magic circle system that allows me to use all elemental magics without penalty.”

Every wizard has a specialized element they’re strongest in.

Chelsea, for example, excels in wind magic.

While she can use other elemental magics, penalties come with those. One major penalty is that using an opposing element results in reduced power and doubled mana consumption.

Leo’s creation was essentially a system that allowed him to bypass all such penalties.

“Is that even possible?”

Chelsea raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Smirking, Leo held out his palm.

Whoosh-!

A magic circle made of mana threads appeared.

Staring at it, Chelsea’s mouth hung open.

“…It looks like you’re going to ace the practical exam, Leo.”