As if purifying them, the black flames turned crimson upon contact with Fyora's flames.
And those transformed flames became Fyora's own.
Swoosh!
Fyora's wings, sharpened by aura, sliced through Paphnir's neck.
Puhwak!
Black blood splattered as Paphnir's body fell to the ground.
Fyora stretched out her foot just before that, grabbing the unconscious Liu's clothes and flying back to Leo.
Hwar!
The flames surrounding Fyora dissipated, and she returned to her original form, landing softly on Leo's head.
Peeak! Peeak!
Fyora pecked Leo's scalp with her small beak as if protesting.
"Want to go back to that form? That's not your original form, you know."
Peeak! Peeak!
Fyora, as if upset, grabbed a few strands of Leo's hair with her beak and pulled.
Ignoring the small Phoenix, Leo noticed a Black Wyvern flying towards them.
It was Professor Yura, who was in charge of summoning.
Leo scratched his cheek.
"What about the match?"
***
"Ah! It's finally canceled~"
Kai, with his fingers interlocked behind his head, grumbled.
The summoning practical exam, the Familiar Race, was canceled.
Of course, as it was an exam, they still had to be graded, so the evaluation would focus on the methods they used during the exam.
"Seems like you're more disappointed than I am?"
"Of course! How much money did I bet on you? It could have been a huge payout!"
"You bet on me?"
Leo burst into a hollow laugh at Kai's truly regretful expression.
'Since Kai doesn't know, it seems the fact that the strong Liu made a pact with a monster hasn't spread to the other students.'
After the match ended, Leo, Chen Xia, Warrington, and Eliza were called to Yura.
They were then warned not to talk about the monster to other students.
'Having a student from Lumerin make a pact with a monster is a big deal. But how did that monster mage give Paphnir to the strong Liu?'
Leo, with a serious expression, left the dormitory with Kai.
"By the way, Leo. It seems the noble girls have been talking behind your back lately."
"Talking behind my back isn't new."
Leo chuckled.
As the class representative and the unprecedented all-class student, Leo is the most famous figure among the first-year students.
Until the beginning of the semester, no one paid much attention to Leo beyond his all-class status.
Even dual-class students find it difficult to handle two abilities properly.
'But I stood out in all three.'
It was a given for Leo, but not for others.
Naturally, he attracted the attention of the professors.
Especially the first-year department heads, Ein, Yura, and Ren.
All three professors showed great interest in Leo, trying to pull him into their departments.
The other students couldn't help but notice.
In Lumerin, it's advantageous to catch the attention of professors and learn as much as possible.
Leo, however, became the subject of intense interest, monopolizing the affection of three department heads.
Naturally, students who envied him began to appear.
Leo understood this.
'Of course, that doesn't mean I'll be nice to them.'
Understanding the feelings of other students is different from treating them well.
If someone openly gossiped about him right in front of him, he would punish them without hesitation.
"It's not just a day or two. But recently, it's been really annoying, especially from the group that hangs out with Chloe."
"Group that hangs out with Chloe?"
"Yeah. You know, the kids from prestigious magic families who stick together."
"They don't seem like the type Chloe would hang out with."
Chloe was from the Northern Magic Tower, but her family wasn't one of the prominent ones.
As a result, Chloe didn't get along well with the so-called prestigious family group at the beginning of the semester.
"Exactly! Not only did they gossip about you, but they also gossiped about Chloe. But recently, during the exam period, they've been pretending to be close to her. It seems they're trying to form a faction using Chloe."
"Chloe isn't the type to be swayed by such people."
"Yeah, but I'm worried because of the match between you and Chloe, and because we've been drifting apart recently."
Kai sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, the two arrived at a two-story building between the boys' and girls' dormitories.
It was a study room where first-year students could gather to study.
Leo and Kai, who had brought their study materials, entered the last room on the second floor.
Inside, there was a long study table with long benches on both sides.
Chelsea, occupying one of the benches, lay on her back with her legs crossed, reading a book with one hand and eating a snack with the other.
"Huh? You're here?"
Chelsea, with a long stick candy in her mouth, greeted the two.
Crunch, crunch—
Seeing Chelsea slowly eating the stick candy coated in cream, Kai whispered to Leo.
"Leo, I used to have fantasies about noble girls. You know, the elegant and refined type."
"And?"
"Those fantasies were shattered after I entered Lumerin."
As Kai spoke sadly, a notebook flew at him.
"Did you hear me?!"
"Even if I don't know what you said, it was definitely rude."
Chelsea, with a huff, got up from her seat.
Sitting in front of her, Kai asked, seeing the snacks piled up on one side of the table.
"Didn't you eat dinner?"
"I did, but?"
"What are those snacks for?"
"Desert."
"Is that supposed to be dessert? You'll turn into a pig if you keep that up."
"I exercise a lot, unlike Kai~"
Chelsea got up from her seat, humming a tune.
"So, why did you insist on meeting us tonight?"
"As I said earlier, we gathered to share and complement each other's original magic before tomorrow's magic practical exam."
"But the real reason is to ask for our help, right?"
Chelsea, with her arms crossed, teased.
"Right! I can't get a spell to work properly because of one magic formula! So, give me some good ideas! Please! Big brother! Big sister! I'm begging you!"
"Can't be helped."
Chelsea, with a soft laugh, sat down gracefully.
Seeing her dignified manner, Kai exclaimed, "Oh!"
Chelsea, seeing Kai's reaction, smiled and clapped her hands.
"Snacks."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you hear me? Snacks."
"What's with the sudden request?"
"Did you think I, the young lady of the Rwalin family, would beg you with my bare mouth? My advice is usually expensive, but since we're friends, snacks will do."
Saying that, Chelsea spoke as if casting a spell.
"Go to the café on the first floor and bring back all kinds of snacks."
"......Miss Chelsea? There are still plenty of snacks here?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Damn! You devil!"
The snacks sold at the Lumerin café are as expensive as they are delicious.
Seeing Kai leave to buy snacks with tears in his eyes, Chelsea laughed brightly.
"By the way, Leo, you've never told us what kind of original magic you created."
Kai had created an original magic that allowed him to manipulate metal freely.
Chelsea, naturally influenced by her family, was creating an original magic of the wind element.
"Of course, you must have created something amazing."
"It's a magic system based on neutral mana."
"A magic system based on neutral mana?"
"Yeah. I created a magic formula system that allows the use of all elemental magics without penalty."
Mages have specialized elements.
Chelsea, for instance, is specialized in wind magic.
Of course, she can use other elemental magics, but there are penalties.
The most representative penalty is that when using opposing elements, the power is halved, and the mana consumption doubles.
Leo was saying he had created a magic formula system that allowed the use of magic without such penalties.
"Is that even possible?"
Chelsea showed her skepticism.
Seeing her, Leo spread his palm.
Whirr!
A magic formula system woven from threads of mana appeared above his palm.
Seeing the formula, Chelsea gaped.
"......If you do well in the magic practical exam, Leo, you'll definitely come in first."