Seeing the flustered students, Professor Yura spoke seriously.
"I told you. Those who listen with half-hearted thoughts should leave. Do you think we are the same as the other two majors?"
The students fell silent at her question.
"You should know, if you are students of summoning. Summoning isn't something you can learn just by having mana sensitivity. To make a contract with a spirit, you need spirit affinity, and to control a summoned creature, you need 'taming' ability."
Professor Yura spread her arms wide.
"Thanks to this, the number of summoners is overwhelmingly fewer compared to knights or mages. That means fewer people reach the position of hero."
The summoning students clenched their teeth, unable to refute her words.
"But! The summoners who do reach the position of hero have accomplished greater feats compared to other heroes!"
She shouted with a proud face.
"Does it make sense for you to do the same as students from other departments?"
"No!"
"You are the chosen ones! Isn't that right?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"Then let's start with a bang on the first day!"
"Yes!"
"Great! Let's go!"
"Yes! Let's go!"
As Professor Yura raised her fist and shouted, the first-year students did the same, raising their fists.
The atmosphere heated up instantly.
Professor Yura, who had quickly raised the students' concentration, smiled in satisfaction when a silver-haired girl raised her hand.
"So, what kind of practical exam will we have on the first day?"
"Good question. Eliza Herkin."
At the name, the students murmured.
The Herkin family.
A renowned lineage of summoner heroes in the northern continent.
"All the summoned creatures managed by Lumern are gathered on this island."
Summoned creatures are a kind of weapon for summoners.
"I want to test your taming abilities once."
Yura pointed to the forest.
"Go into the forest and tame one of the summoned creatures. I'll give you points based on which creature you tame."
After hearing the exam instructions, Eliza asked again.
"What if we tame and also make a contract?"
The students swallowed hard at her words.
Taming and contracting are distinctly different.
Taming is the ability to befriend a summoned creature, the first step toward making a contract.
After taming, if you have the ability, you can make a contract.
Eliza's question made Yura smile.
"If you succeed in the contract, that summoned creature will be yours."
"Wow!"
"Typical of Lumern! To recognize a successful contract during class!"
There are two ways to make a contract with a summoned creature.
The first is through a catalyst for summoning, and the second is by meeting the creature directly and making a contract.
In the latter case, a summoned creature that hasn't been contracted can also be 'sold.'
That's why summoned creatures can be sold for very high prices.
Given that they could freely make a contract with such a creature, their enthusiasm couldn't help but surge.
"Professor, what about the students aspiring to be spirit mages?"
This time, Chen Xia asked.
"Summoners can basically handle both spirits and summoned creatures. While there are specialized areas, Lumern's summoning classes aim to maximize abilities in both areas, so work hard."
Chen Xia nodded.
'Summoned creatures.'
In his previous life, Leo had also made contracts with powerful summoned creatures.
'But they all disappeared in battle.'
While the students were pondering, Professor Yura said,
"Three hours! Start!"
"Wow!"
The first-year students enthusiastically rushed forward.
"Huh? You're not going?"
Professor Yura tilted her head, looking at Leo, Chen Xia, Woredden, and Eliza, who remained at the starting line.
The so-called pre-selected students among this year's first-years were not moving.
Eliza, while tidying her fingernails, said,
"I'm not interested in low-level summoned creatures."
Huff! Eliza blew on her fingers and smiled.
"..."
The taciturn Woredden didn't respond.
"I'm still only theoretically familiar with taming, so I'm hesitating."
Chen Xia smiled awkwardly.
Finally, Leo, who had been staring at the forest, took a step forward.
"Oh, the class representative?"
Leo turned to look at Eliza.
"I heard you did well in the knight class. Can I expect the same from the summoning class?"
Leo shrugged, looking at Eliza, who was grinning.
"Of course! If it doesn't work out, I can always take the knight class."
"Probably that's what he's thinking."
Some students snickered and lost interest.
Leo, who had entered the deeper part of the forest, looked around.
After confirming that no one was nearby, he took out the gray feather he had found upon arriving on the island.
'Sure enough, this is...'
Leo's eyes gleamed as he summoned aura.
A gray aura began to burn.
It was the power of the Phoenix Breath that Leo had mastered.
The aura flames transferred to the feather and burned even more fiercely.
Then, it turned to ashes and scattered.
Whoosh!
'Sure enough, this is a phoenix feather. Is there even a phoenix in this forest?'
The phoenix, one of the strongest summoned creatures, is particularly difficult to contract with.
The burning phoenix feather, a summoning catalyst, disappears as ash the moment it reacts to mana, making it unable to serve as a catalyst.
Ultimately, the only way to contract with a phoenix is to find one directly.
However, the phoenix is a proud summoned creature, and even if you meet one, it's not easy to make a contract.
That's why it's called the dream summoned creature for summoners.
"Sure, Lumern. Impressive."
As Leo's eyes gleamed, a fiery red flame flickered above his head.
"!"
Blinded by the intense light and heat, Leo crouched down.
Whoosh!
Leo, who knew what this phenomenon was, looked incredulous.
The intense flames soon transformed into the shape of a giant bird.
Flames surged with each flap of its wings.
Leo summoned aura flames to protect himself.
The summoned creature, the phoenix, revealed itself and spoke.
-Is this Jarding's flame? I thought it would be Reina's flame... The familiar scent of the flames made me come, but it wasn't. Was it just my mistake?
Leo, surprised by her muttering, asked,
"Do you know my mother?"
-Mother?
The phoenix's eyes widened, and it laughed pleasantly.
-Indeed! I wasn't completely wrong! So, if you have a child, you'd be about your age!
The intense flames subsided.
-Haha, you ask if I know your mother? I do! I owe a great debt to your mother, Reina.
The phoenix, with its beautiful wings, sat in front of Leo.
Its demeanor was surprisingly gentle, unlike the arrogant phoenix known to many.
Leo couldn't help but look bewildered at the phoenix's reaction.
'The phoenix that Rishinas had was worlds apart. That bird was so rude.'
How could Luna have even suggested cooking and eating me?
-What is your name, son of Reina?
"My name is Leo Flaub."
-Right, Leo. My name is Firina.
"Mother, what is your relationship with her? Didn't you just say you owed her a debt?"
Firina smiled at Leo's question.
-Reina was my pledge holder, and she was the life-saving benefactor of Elen Lundar.
"Elen Lundar?"
Leo was surprised by Firina's words.
The Lundar family was a prestigious lineage of elven heroes.
Moreover, Elen was the head of the Lundar family and a hero listed in the Hero Record.
-At the time, Elen was a dungeon raider tasked with a dungeon raid mission in Seiron.
"By dungeon, do you mean the hero dungeons that were created when the lost pages of the Hero Record went berserk?"
-Yes.
There are five places that possess the Hero Record.
However, there are also other places in the world where the Hero Record exists.
Specifically, the lost pages of the Hero Record.
These scattered pages sometimes go berserk, creating a hero's world.
Such creations are called hero dungeons.
-Hero dungeons invade reality. Over time, the monsters from the hero's world will cross over into reality. Finding and raiding these dungeons is one of the main tasks of the Hero Academy.
Many countries conceal the discovery of hero dungeons.
This is because raiding a dungeon can lead to succession, just like in the hero's world.
Countless countries have fallen by concealing hero dungeons.
Hero dungeons are so dangerous that only the most skilled can take on the mission.
-One day, Elen was assigned to raid a hero dungeon. The raid failed, and all her companions died. Elen was also in mortal danger when Reina saved her.
Firina muttered bitterly, recalling the past.
-In the process, Reina lost her flames. If that hadn't happened, Reina might have also become a hero...
"My mother doesn't regret the past. She believes the present is most important."
-Haha... It seems her personality hasn't changed.
Firina, who smiled gently, asked Leo,
"But why are you on this island? A first-year knight student shouldn't be here."
Firina naturally assumed that Leo, Reina's son, would be in the knight class.
"I'm also taking the summoning class."
-What?
Firina, who was surprised, noticed the faint spiritual energy in Leo's body and was amazed.
'His spiritual energy is weak, but... his vessel is excellent.'
Firina, who was gauging Leo's potential, burst into laughter.