Ch. 91 - Familiar Contract Ceremony (4)

I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy

Chapter 91: Familiar Contract Ceremony (4)

In truth, the phrase ‘Familiar Contract Ceremony’ was rather awkward. After all, the reason why divine beasts and mages formed contracts was not to gain a family-like bond but rather to reap mutual benefits.

A general misconception was that once you form a contract with a divine beast, they could be summoned from anywhere. However, it was not that simple.

The contract between a mage and a familiar was one where they gave each other certain benefits, and unless they desired something more from each other, summoning was impossible.

For example, if one contracted with a flame familiar, they could passively receive the effect of increased casting speed and power within the attribute of fire.

But to reach the stage of actually summoning the familiar, an immense level of intimacy was necessary.

In reality, in the original fantasy novel, mages who reached the stage of directly summoning familiars were not very common.

And among them, there was one named Eisel Morph.

Flame walked alone on the third layer with that thought in mind. She didn't bring any other friends along. After all, she was entering a slightly dangerous area with the intention of forming a contract with the luminal flower.

In the original fantasy novel, the luminal flower, a rarely mentioned and elusive existence, had the perfect effect of amplifying light-attribute affinity, making it ideal for Flame.

"Ah, there it is."

As expected.

At the edge of a cliff, a place where light barely reached.

There was a description in the novel that the luminal flower would be there, but she was still surprised to find it.

Floral divine beasts were extremely rare, and at this level, it was safe to say it was close to a 4-star existence.

Flame calmed her heart and reached out her hand towards the luminal flower.

Whoosh!

Like dandelions fluttering in the wind, the luminal flower spread a cluster of light in all directions. Although there was no communication, it was undoubtedly a sign of affirmation.

"Great...!"

As someone who was born with a strong affinity for the light attribute, Flame thought it would be easy.

Contracting with the luminal flower filled her with joy, making her whole body tremble.

She had exerted a lot of stamina rushing here, and now there was nothing else to do for the remaining time. Her only priority was finding a suitable spot to pass the time.

"Let's see..."

Since there happened to be a flat and decent-looking plain nearby, Flame moved there.

However, there were already people there.

"Hello, Flame."

"Oh, hello?"

"Ma Yu-Seong? Eisel?"

A stylish tent was set up. She had no idea how he could have gotten it.

Ma Yu-Seong was sitting by the campfire and grilling meat. Beside him, Eisel sat quietly, basking in the faint glow of the flames.

Flame felt the mysterious charm of the man, and looking at the woman who could even turn a campfire into the best lighting, she gulped.

The feeling was different when reading about them in a novel compared to seeing them in person. Human descriptive power could never fully express their appearance.

"What a coincidence, meeting in a place like this."

"Yeah. Why did you set up a tent in this secluded place?"

"I also happened to pass by and ran into him."

"I... just wanted to pass the time."

"Ah."

She suddenly remembered that Ma Yu-Seong had a characteristic that made it impossible for him to get along with divine beasts. All of them would avoid him and run away, so he never had a proper interaction with them.

Knowing that, he set up a tent in a sparsely populated area to pass the time. She felt it was unfortunate, but what could be done?

"Got food for one more?"

‘Eisel probably happened to pass by this place and coincidentally encountered him, and he allowed her to have a meal.’

Flame sat down on a patch of grass in front of Ma Yu-Seong, casually picked up a skewer, and then rummaged through her backpack for seasoning.

"It's tasteless when you eat it like this. Here. Try sprinkling this on it."

"What’s this?"

"You should always have salt and pepper with you. Just by looking, I can tell you're eating it blandly."

How did she know?

That was the expression on Eisel’s and Ma Yu-Seong’s faces.

Recalling how tasteless their meals were in the original story, she shook her head mentally.

Ma Yu-Seong sprinkled the salt on his skewer and said, "Flame, have you made a contract yet?"

"For now, yes."

"Really?"

"Already?"

They were greatly surprised by the news that she had already made a contract so early.

Eisel and Ma Yu-Seong were astonished.

Flame felt a sense of unease and scratched her cheek.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder what that man is up to.’

Flame remembered Baek Yu-Seol wanted to head to the fourth layer. It was a place that wasn’t mentioned in the original storyline, so it was an unknown space for Flame as well.

However, she believed he was a regressor and had some information about that place.

She didn't know what he was going to do there, but it was undoubtedly a dangerous space.

‘Well, he's Baek Yu-Seol, so he probably won't die,’ Flame thought, casually at Ma Yu-Seong's meat.

Boom! Crash!!!

From a little distance away, a violent explosion resounded and spread. The trio immediately stood up and surveyed the nearby area.

"What's that sound?"

"It sounds like there's a battle happening nearby..."

But could a student create such a loud explosion?

There was one person who could. Among the first-year students was one person, Hong Bi-Yeon.

However, the situation was strange.

Emanating from the origin of the explosion was an unpleasant sensation.

"It's probably nothing. Anyone who’s here in the third layer has to be confident in their skills."

"Yes, that's true, but still..."

Just as Eisel was about to say something, shivers ran down their spines.

A repulsive energy, tingling through their entire bodies, swiftly passed through the air.

As soon as they felt it, Flame and Ma Yu-Seong simultaneously looked in a certain direction.

"This is...!"

There was no mistake. It was dark magic.

'Why?'

Flame was certain that nothing like this happened in the original storyline. The Familiar Contract Ceremony should have been a simple event where Eisel and Hong Bi-Yeon clashed and nothing more.

Thinking that far, she immediately realized.

'What foolish thoughts am I having again? It's not the first or second time that something that wasn’t in the original is happening.'

While she blamed herself, Ma Yu-Seong stood up from his seat and leaped toward the source without a word.

Bang!

"Whoa?! Wha…"

Watching Ma Yu-Seong soar into the sky, stirring up dirt and dust, Flame hardened her expression and swiftly followed suit.

"Eisel! Let's go too!"

"Yeah, got it!"

Something had happened.

There was no doubt about it.

However, she couldn't grasp what had happened at all.

'What on earth is going on...?'

The thick smoke gradually dissipated, and Hong Bi-Yeon let out a dry cough.

Feeling the sensation of something pressing against her chest, she reached out her hand and felt a warm touch.

"Cough...!"

Coughing violently, she tried to raise her upper body and confirmed the identity of the object pressing against her chest.

"Prin...cess..."

"Arshuang...?"

Arshuang lapsed into unconsciousness. Although she was covered in dirt, she didn't seem to have any major wounds.

"What’s going on?"

"Princess!"

Hastily laying Arshuang down on the side, Hong Bi-Yeon turned around as the members of the faction screamed out.

Thump! Thump!

Something had been shattered into pieces, sending fragments flying around.

Hong Bi-Yeon could immediately recognize the identity of that thing.

'The boundary of the fourth layer...'

The barrier that sealed off the dangerous creatures in the fourth layer was completely shattered.

And from the broken cracks, a single creature emerged and soared through the sky while emitting ultrasonic waves.

Whoosh!

"Aaah!"

"Ugh!"

The students covered their ears and screamed, but Hong Bi-Yeon calmly looked at it amidst that.

Although it was writhing in pain and engulfed in dark energy, there was no mistake.

It was the creature Hong Bi-Yeon had been searching for, the frostfire dolphin.

There was no time to be happy about finding it. Its appearance, covered in sparks of black, looked incredibly unstable and precarious.

'The corruption of a divine beast by dark magic. It was common a thousand years ago when dark mages ran rampant, but now it's rarely seen since all the divine beasts have hidden away in the shadows of the world.’

‘Divine Beasts are particularly vulnerable to dark magic, and once they start to be consumed by it, their emotions and magic go out of control.'

'I have no choice but to subdue it quickly.'

Crack!

As Hong Bi-Yeon raised her staff to conjure flames, a massive chunk of ice fell from the sky, hitting the back of the dolphin.

The dolphin froze, unable to move. Then, a chain of light fell from the sky and wrapped around its body.

Above it, Ma Yu-Seong revealed himself and struck it with a giant rock fist, sending it crashing to the ground and scattering dust.

Rumble!

Thud!

A wind blew shortly after, restoring visibility.

With that, a boy and two girls came into view.

Flame had imbued mana into the chains to contain the dark magic.

Clang!

Perhaps because the corruption of dark magic hadn't progressed much, the dark energy was quickly purified. The dolphin soon lost its strength and closed its eyes.

"Phew... That was close."

It was a close call. An important creature that appeared in the main story almost succumbed to corruption by darkness.

Flame took a deep breath and shouted at Hong Bi-Yeon, "Hey! Princess! What's going on here!"

However, before an answer could come back…

Crack.

The red barrier that blocked the fourth layer was crumbling into pieces.

"What is this...?"

And through a crack in the barrier, a person walked out.

The students huddled together and aimed their weapons toward the barrier.

"The most delicious food is meant to be eaten last, but it seems the plan has gone awry."

The person revealed was none other than Professor Maizen.

"Professor?"

Someone called out to her, but there was no need for a response.

A pair of red horns. Eyes covered by a membrane of blood. A gigantic body almost reaching three meters in height. Grotesque pieces of bone protruding from all over her body.

She was no longer human, but a dark mage.

Maizen scanned the students quickly. There were a whopping four students from Class S, and an estimated 18 students from other classes, most likely all Class A.

She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and flicked a finger.

Poof!

A storm of dark energy spread in all directions.

"Aah!"

"Ugh!"

Despite just releasing mana, the students were forced to retreat by the tremendous force.

'Sigh... Yes, this power.’

Maizen was originally an alchemist, and her talent as a mage was mediocre at best, barely reaching the level of a Class 4.

Her shift to alchemy was somewhat forced due to a lack of talent.

But now, things were different.

If she exerted her maximum output she could even unleash the destructive power of a Class 6.

No longer limited to potions and trivial tricks, she possessed true power.

With her magic, she would gradually make the name Maizen Tyren widely known in the world.

Ch. 91 - Familiar Contract Ceremony (4)

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