The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student-Chapter 40: Shadows of Tartaros

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The Legendary Hero is an Academy Honor Student

[Original — Yerona]

[TL — MiT7]

[PR — Spades]

[QC — Lumi]

Chapter 40 — Shadows of Tartaros

——————

"Leo's surprisingly relentless," Nella said, watching the race on the magic screen, sticking out her tongue.

"Good thing he's in our class," Iliana said, shuddering.

The Summoning students, battered by Woreden, were easy prey for Leo.

"Serves them right! Go, Leo oppa! Crush them all!" Chelsea shouted, bouncing.

"Fly, Leo! I bet a fortune on you!" Carl yelled, spinning his uniform jacket, cheering wildly.

"Nella," Professor Harlind said coldly.

"Yes, Professor?" Nella replied.

"Bring Carl Thomas to me. I'd like to know who told him to treat his uniform like that."

As Nella approached Carl, Class 5 students laughed at his scolding.

"Oh! At the lead, Woreden and Eliza finally clash!" Runba announced.

The magic screen shifted to the front group, and cheers erupted for the Summoning aces' showdown.

***

Eliza, speeding through the sky, spotted a small flame ahead and swerved sharply.

Fwoosh!

The flame flared, then contracted, exploding with a boom.

Eliza frowned. 'An explosion using fire and wind spirits.'

The technique was simple: a fire spirit created a powerful flame, compressed by a wind spirit to prevent spreading, then released at peak potency.

Issuing two commands to one spirit type was advanced, but Woreden managed it across different spirit types—amplifying and controlling simultaneously.

'Not just spirit mastery. I heard he doesn't take Magic Studies,' Eliza thought.

The explosion blended magic formulas with spirit power, a sophisticated approach.

Eliza smirked. 'Worthy of the monster title.'

But she wasn't outdone.

As a direct Helgen heir, she'd placed second in the northern exam, narrowly behind Chloe.

Woreden's spirit control was impressive, but Eliza's griffon handling was near-miraculous.

Unlike others hit by Woreden's attacks, she dodged effortlessly.

"No matter how strong, an attack that misses is meaningless!" Eliza shouted.

Woreden smiled coldly. "Can you dodge this?"

Water droplets formed around him, sharpening into needles and firing at Eliza.

She snorted, summoning spirit power.

Screech!

Her griffon roared, growing one-and-a-half times larger.

Woreden's eyes twitched. 'Beast enhancement?'

The griffon inhaled deeply, unleashing a wind breath that scattered Woreden's needles.

'She made a griffon use breath? Impressive,' Woreden thought.

Griffons didn't naturally use breath, yet Eliza manipulated hers to mimic it, pushing its limits.

Her skill as a beast summoner shone.

As spectators marveled at the aces' battle, Chen Xia shouted, "Take this!"

Having dodged Woreden's earlier attack, she'd lurked behind, now surging to the lead.

Eliza laughed at Chen Xia's opportunism. "Not on my watch."

Swish!

"Huh?" Chen Xia gasped.

Eliza drew a whip, lashing it out.

The ten-meter whip moved like a living snake, coiling around Chen Xia's neck.

Flames gathered before Chen Xia.

She pushed her griffon downward with her legs.

Whoosh!

The griffon dove, and Chen Xia used the momentum to escape the explosion, ripping the whip free.

Her griffon caught her mid-fall, barely avoiding the blast.

"Phew! Cough! That's too much, Miss Eliza," Chen Xia said.

Even in their fierce fight, they left no openings. novelbuddy.cσ๓

A massive wingbeat sounded.

"Black wyvern?" Chen Xia said, eyes wide.

"Damn it!" a coarse voice cursed.

Sen Liu, thought eliminated, rode a small black wyvern, catching the rear.

"Liu! Riding anything but a griffon is a foul!" Chen Xia shouted.

"Shut up! Like I care! This was my trump card! Woreden! Eliza! Chen Xia! I'll crush you all!" Liu roared.

Roar!

His black wyvern bellowed.

"How'd that idiot contract a black wyvern?" Woreden asked, puzzled.

"It's not a black wyvern. A variant, maybe," Eliza said, frowning.

As the wyvern breathed dark mist, a griffon's roar echoed.

Whoosh!

Leo, at blinding speed, crashed into the lead group.

"Young Lord Leo!" Chen Xia said, waving.

Leo waved back lightly, spotting Liu and narrowing his eyes.

"No idea how you caught up, but perfect! Leo Flove, I'll crush you too—" Liu began.

"Hey," Leo said, voice low.

The air grew heavy.

"Where'd you get that lizard?" Leo asked, red eyes blazing.

Liu's mount wasn't a wyvern or beast.

'Fafnir,' Leo thought.

A Tartaros ancient beast, extinct by great heroes in the Calamity Era.

"What?" Liu flinched under Leo's gaze.

"I asked where you got that lizard," Leo said.

"It's my contracted beast! Jealous of my great contract?" Liu taunted.

"Beast?" Leo's face twisted.

Calling a Tartaros sorcerer's monster a beast was absurd.

Leo scanned the others, who showed no concern beyond caution, clearly mistaking it for a beast.

'Summoning Studies doesn't cover Fafnir,' Leo thought.

In the Calamity Era, Fafnir were Tartaros's mainstay beasts, hunted to near-extinction by Kyle and allies.

'By the era's end, they were practically gone.'

If they vanished, it explained modern ignorance.

'But then, why's one here now?' Leo's expression hardened.

As Leo pondered, Liu grinned smugly. "Hmph! Shocked by my superior beast contract, huh?"

"Liu, no matter how great your summon, you're out. Keep this up, and it's more than a scolding," Chen Xia said.

"Shut it! This restricted race is nonsense! I've got the power to sweep you all, and I'll prove it!" Liu shouted.

Roar!

Fafnir opened its maw, spewing fiery breath and charging.

"No sense of limits," Eliza mocked.

"Quiet! You're just lucky to be born rich!" Liu snapped, targeting her.

Fafnir outmatched griffons in speed and strength, but Liu's control was lacking.

Eliza dodged its attacks with near-acrobatic skill.

Leo clicked his tongue. 'He's not controlling it. The beast's power is overwhelming him.'

Unable to handle Fafnir, Liu was swayed by its strength, losing judgment.

Chen Xia leaped from her griffon onto Fafnir's tail.

Fafnir thrashed, but she held firm, charging Liu with blue aura.

Liu paled. "Huh?"

He tried to react, but close combat against Chen Xia was hopeless.

Whoosh! Snap!

Fafnir's wing twisted unnaturally.

Chen Xia, dodging the warped wing, lost balance and fell.

"Haha! How's my beast's power?" Liu laughed as she plummeted.

Her griffon dove to catch her but was disrupted by Liu.

Eliza clicked her tongue, descending to save Chen Xia.

Whoosh!

Leo outsped her, catching Chen Xia by the waist and pulling her onto his griffon.

"Thanks, Young Lord Leo!" Chen Xia said.

"Don't be reckless," Leo said, chuckling, diving again.

'So fast. What'd he do to that griffon?' Eliza thought, narrowing her eyes.

"Leo Flooooove!" Liu roared, enraged.

'He's losing reason to the beast contract,' Leo thought, glancing at him.

He returned Chen Xia to her griffon.

Woreden and Eliza approached.

"Worthy of the student rep," Eliza said, eyes narrowed. "Pretending you had no beast contract, but you've got a blessing skill with a high-tier beast?"

"Good eye," Leo said.

"No one fools a Helgen like me. What beast did you contract? Fire-based, right?" Eliza asked.

"That's a secret," Leo said, pressing a finger to his lips with a smile.

Eliza snorted. "Hmph. Anyway, Liu's handling a high-tier beast. Poorly, but its specs are superior. We need to team up."

"That's not a beast," Leo said.

"What?" Eliza asked.

"It's a monster."