"What's this about being the class representative and the top student in the South? We haven't even started, and you're already at the bottom!"
The students from the Summoning Department who had just ganged up on him chuckled and laughed.
"Hey! How does it feel, Eliza? Isn't it satisfying?"
The male student, Liu from Class 3, who had led this incident, grinned and called out to Eliza, who was leading the group.
"Not really."
"What?"
"I can beat Leo Frob and Warden Taiden anytime. The same goes for Warden Taiden."
Eliza glanced at the students with a critical eye.
"By ganging up and interfering like this, you'll only make Leo Frob and Warden Taiden stand out even more. And how do you think people will view the Summoning Department?"
"Haha, well, those guys will still be properly humiliated..."
"Think before you act. And remember, this is an exam. Focus."
Eliza, who spoke coldly, sharply turned her head and soared high into the sky.
Liu frowned as he watched her retreating figure.
'What a pain in the neck! Just because she was born into a good family, she acts so high and mighty!'
Liu sneered inwardly at Eliza.
'Anyway, with this kind of gap, even Warden can't catch up. I'm the best at handling flying familiars, except for Eliza. Now I can easily take second place. And I just made a new contract with a familiar, right?'
Liu blew hard through his nose.
Just before the exam.
Leo had managed to buy a summoning catalyst in Lumaria City by luck!
'Because of that stupid merchant who didn't know its value! Even though I can't control it yet... If I summon it at the last moment and take down Eliza... I'll be first! I'll see if she can still act high and mighty then! Eliza!'
"Hey? Liu. Someone's coming from behind?"
One of the female students from the Summoning Department looked puzzled.
They thought they were in an overwhelming lead, but someone was catching up.
"What? Who... Huh? Chen Xia?"
Chen Xia was flying at an incredible speed.
However, her posture on the griffin was a bit strange.
"What's with that stance?"
"She's following us in that stance? Impressive."
"She's just slowing down to catch up. She wouldn't be able to keep up if she went full speed."
For summoners, spiritual energy was not just the power to summon familiars but also to enhance them.
Chen Xia's griffin, enhanced by spiritual energy, was difficult for the Summoning Department students to catch up with in terms of speed.
"Still, we don't know what kind of variable she might create."
Liu grinned.
"Let's eliminate her from the race."
In the familiar race, cooperation was allowed.
Thus, it was possible to combine forces against strong competitors.
Eliza, who was in the lead, glanced back and yawned.
"Hmm. It would be better to just run away, but you've chosen the hard way."
Eliza, with a slight curl of her lips, watched as if she were an observer.
"What's this about being the top student in the East? How annoying."
One of the female students from the Summoning Department summoned a spirit with a fierce smile.
"I'll make sure you can't even finish the race! Go!"
A wind spirit shot toward Chen Xia, who was standing on the saddle in an unstable position.
Realizing this, Chen Xia lowered her stance even more.
Whoosh-!
Chen Xia's griffin suddenly shot upward.
While the Summoning Department students were taken aback, Chen Xia's griffin turned around, with the saddle facing the ground.
Chen Xia, now hanging upside down from the griffin, kicked the saddle and released the reins.
"What, what, what?"
The female student who had attacked Chen Xia was shocked.
She hadn't expected the leader to attack directly.
Chen Xia, who had adjusted her trajectory in mid-air using a wind spirit, smiled and kicked the female student.
Before the female student could react, she was kicked and fell to the ground, screaming.
"Ah-! This, this is a foul!"
"Only if you used aura, it isn't."
Chen Xia, with her usual friendly smile, pulled the reins of the griffin, which had lost its rider and was panicking, to calm it down.
"Ugh! Chen Xia! You!"
"Hello, Liu."
"Not bad, but look at your situation now! You made the wrong choice!"
Although it was a surprise attack at first, now that he knew the method, there were plenty of ways to counter it.
"Hmm. You're right, I'm at a disadvantage in aerial combat. But you're not the only ones with enemies, right?"
"What?"
"Someone is upset by your pranks."
Selia smiled and pointed behind them.
Boom!
A massive explosion occurred at the back.
"What, what is it?"
Boom! Boom!
The explosions continued in a chain reaction.
They could see the eliminated students falling from a distance.
"Looks like Warden is the type to repay what he receives."
Chen Xia waved and jumped off the griffin without hesitation.
Her waiting griffin caught her on its back and soared high into the sky.
"Ugh! Catch her and drop...!"
Squawk!
Liu shouted in a hurry, but the sound of a griffin's cry came from a distance.
Turning his head, he saw Warden's griffin flying at an incredible speed.
Warden, who had caught up to the leading group in an instant, laughed.
"Thanks for the gift. Scum."
Whoosh!
A massive flame gathered around him.
"This is my way of repaying you."
"Scatter!"
Boom-!
Warden's urgent cry was followed by a massive explosion that enveloped the area.
***
Leo, who was in a clear last place, jumped over the fence.
He then approached the last remaining griffin.
Rrrr-!
Seeing the griffin, which was highly alert, Leo looked puzzled.
'The griffins given for this match are all managed by Lumern, right?'
A familiar that had been tamed by humans wouldn't show hostility.
Leo soon realized that the griffin's wing was injured.
'Is it hurt?'
Looking closely at the wing, Leo frowned.
'This isn't a wound from a fight with other griffins. Someone must have deliberately injured it.'
Leo recalled the group's interference just before the start and clicked his tongue.
"Looks like there's someone who's dirtying the game."
Leo approached with a smirk.
Squawk!
The griffin showed a fierce reaction, but Leo didn't back down.
Squawk!
-Oh! Leo! He's approaching too recklessly! Even if the griffin is a low-level familiar, approaching so hastily while it's on high alert can make taming difficult! He's making a mistake out of impatience!
Selia, watching from the audience, stomped her feet.
"Good grief! Why is he being so reckless?"
Seeing Selia's frustrated expression, Riz stroked his chin.
"He must have a plan."
Squawk! Squawk!
Leo, who was taming the griffin, grabbed the reins.
Squawk!
Finally, the griffin, having lost its mind, swung its claws at Leo.
Everyone was taken aback by the unexpected situation.
Snap!
Leo firmly pulled the reins and glared.
"Kneel."
Leo's strong voice made the griffin flinch.
It lowered its raised claws, cautiously looking around, and then lowered its stance.
As if submitting, the griffin offered its back, and Leo smiled in satisfaction as he mounted the saddle.
"Good boy."
He stroked the griffin's neck, but the griffin trembled.
-Well. What's happening here? The griffin is submitting on its own! Leo, the time it took to tame the griffin is the shortest.
The commentator, Runba, said in a surprised voice.
Indeed, the time it took for Leo to tame the griffin and mount it was the shortest.
Yura, watching, clicked her tongue.
'Subdued by his presence? What can't this guy do?'
The idea that he would be weak in practical situations was a complete misjudgment.
'If Warden has overwhelming power, then Leo has overwhelming skill.'
Yura's eyes sparkled.
'This match might be more interesting than I thought.'
Squawk!
Leo pulled the reins, and the griffin roared as it soared into the sky.
However, due to its injured wing, it couldn't gain much speed.
-Oh! Leo's griffin! Its wing is injured! Despite barely starting, he's hit with bad luck! It seems he's definitely going to be last!
Runba exclaimed with a hint of sympathy.
Leo stroked the griffin's neck, which was struggling to flap its wings, and focused his spiritual energy.
"In the name of the pact, I command you to reveal yourself."
Whoosh!
Flames swirled around Leo, and a massive sphere of fire obscured his figure.
"What's that?"
"It looks like he's summoning a fire-type familiar?"
"Didn't he say he hasn't made a contract with any familiars or spirits yet?"
The audience buzzed at the unexpected summoning.
"What? That fire?"
Selia's eyes widened.
Riz's eyes twitched.
'Zerdingo's flames? No, it's not aura flames. Then what is it?'
A summoning circle appeared on Leo's palm within the flames.
The circle, which had been spewing flames, soon spat out a small bird.
Peep! Peep!
"Still looks like a chick, doesn't it?"
Leo's comment made the baby phoenix, Fyora, peck his thumb.
"Oh? Can you understand me now?"
On Leo's palm, Fyora flapped her wings gracefully and raised her chin.
As if showing the majesty of a phoenix.
Of course, to Leo, it still looked like...
'A chick.'
"Since we can communicate, it'll be easier. Fyora, can you bless this griffin?"
Blessing.
One of the unique abilities of a phoenix, which allows it to manifest a portion of its power in a specific target.
This ability is one of the reasons why phoenix summoners are called the strongest summoners.
Fyora, nodding, jumped from Leo's palm and landed on the griffin's head.
The griffin, already scared of Leo, trembled even more.
Instinctively, it was terrified of the high-ranking familiar, the phoenix.
Fyora stretched her neck gracefully and gently pecked the griffin's head with her beak.
Grrr!
The griffin's feathers began to stand on end.
Its weak flapping began to gain strength.
The white feathers started to glow red, and the yellow eyes turned orange.
Leo, smiling, placed Fyora on his shoulder.
Whoosh!
The flames surrounding him dispersed.
Squawk!
The griffin roared powerfully.
"Let's go!"
Leo pulled the reins, and the griffin shot into the sky at an incredible speed.
"What? It's so fast!"
"Can a first-year use such a high-level familiar enhancement?"
The audience gasped in shock.
Leo, who had quickly passed through the first obstacle, pulled the reins.
Having limited his speed to avoid the obstacles, Leo now had room to accelerate.
Leo, who had left the starting area, quickly crossed the sky.
In the process, he noticed other students flying unsteadily.
'That Warden. It seems he's been destroying everything in his path.'
Of course, not everyone was eliminated.
But they all seemed to have taken significant hits and couldn't maintain proper speed.
Thanks to this, Leo quickly joined the rear group.
"Huh? Leo Frob?"
"He got out of that spirit's attack? No, how could he join us so quickly?"
The Summoning Department students were shocked to see Leo flying in from behind.
"Leo!"
Lora, a student from Class 5, smiled brightly.
Seeing Lora, who was being restrained by other students, Leo pulled the reins.
"Looks like you've already been hit by Warden..."
The front claws of Leo's griffin grabbed the neck of the male student restraining Lora.
"You, you bastard!"
"I have a temper that demands repayment for what I receive."
Leo smiled at the male student.
The male student tried to urgently free himself from Leo, but before he could do anything, Leo's griffin shot up into the sky.
The male student, with his neck caught, flailed.
Leo, controlling the griffin, threw the male student at another student.
"Aaaaah!"
"This, this way? What if they fly into me...!"
Crash!
They collided, and both students fell to the ground.
The students in the rear group were taken aback by this.
Flap! Flap!
Leo looked down at them from the sky and smiled coldly.