Chapter 522

By the time dinner rolled around, news of Kaodin's disgraceful behavior in the knight department had already spread across all of Lumene.

Normally, an incident like this would have caused an uproar. After all, for a hero to use force against hero candidates was a serious matter.

However, despite the gravity of the situation, Lumene remained quiet, because Kaodin had been carried to the infirmary in a pitiful state.

"Even so, I was worried that class rep might get disciplined since the opponent was beaten so badly. Glad that's not the case."

"The one who caused the disturbance first was him, and he knows how humiliating it is, so he's probably keeping his mouth shut. Still, the rumors spread faster than I expected."

"Yeah, mostly because Carl found out as soon as class ended."

Carl was already a well-known information broker within Lumene. If something reached his ears, it was only a matter of time before it spread to the entire school.

In fact, the story might have already reached Lumeria City.

"Of course, I was the one who told him," Eliana giggled.

Leo smirked.

Just then, Carl and Eliza entered the dormitory cafeteria.

Eliana, who had just stabbed a meatball with her fork and popped it into her mouth, narrowed her eyes upon noticing them. "Those two have been acting suspicious lately."

Muttering with her mouth full, she chewed slowly, looking skeptical.

Chloe, sitting beside her, tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Doesn't it seem like they've been spending a lot of time together lately? And Carl has been looking out for Eliza more than usual."

Chloe didn't find it odd and gave a puzzled look. "Carl is always looking out for other people."

Chen Xia and Eiran, who were also at the table, nodded in agreement.

Eliana clicked her tongue at their reactions and waggled her finger. "This is why book-smart honor students won't do. I can feel the a bittersweet scent in the air between those two."

The three girls turned to look at Carl and Eliza again. Carl was casually greeting other students, while Eliza focused on her meal, looking indifferent.

Then, Carl playfully teased Eliza, and Eliza immediately grabbed him by the collar, and Carl pleaded for his life.

"They seem the same as usual."

"You don't get it. A romance between a noble lady and a man of low birth is a classic love story, a tale as old as time."

"That might happen in novels, but what does that have to do with them?"

"Hmph, since Chloe doesn't believe me, I'll share some real inside info." Eliana lowered her voice dramatically. "I personally saw them sneaking out together in the middle of the night. And lately, both of them have been looking exhausted, right? They must be meeting in secret at night!"

"A s-secret rendezvous?" Eiran swallowed hard.

"Shh… keep it down." Eliana glanced around cautiously.

Watching her antics, Leo remarked, "That's not what's happening."

"And how would you know, class rep?"

"Because I was there too."

"Gasp! D-Don't tell me, the three of you—!"

Thud!

"Urgh!" Eliana collapsed onto the floor as Chen Xia jabbed her in the side.

For a moment, all the students in the cafeteria turned to look at her. Then, realizing it was just Eliana, they went back to their meals with disinterested expressions.

"Class rep! Xia hit me!" Eliana whined as she got up, looking at Leo with teary eyes.

Chen Xia smiled sweetly. "You said something weird, so of course, you got hit."

Eliana squeaked before scurrying behind Leo.

Leo tore off a piece of bread and ate it. "Carl is just helping Eliza train."

"That's boring," Eliana grumbled, sitting back down. "Still, that's surprising. I never thought she'd be the type to train at dawn. She never struck me as diligent."

Leo replied, "It would be strange if a summoner at her level wasn't diligent. Either way, don't go around spreading nonsense. Eliza won't let it slide."

Crackle—!

That night, Eliza bit her lip as her entire body was enveloped in the essence of lightning.

Bzzzzzzzt—!

"Kh…!"

She felt like she would lose consciousness at any moment, but she endured.

Fwoosh—!

As the essence of lightning dispersed, Eliza exhaled heavily as she suppressed it, keeping the escaping power contained within her body as much as possible.

Thirty seconds at most.

She clenched her fist tightly.

Leo narrowed his eyes as he observed her. Her vessel is growing at an incredible rate.

He had suggested this reckless training method, but even he hadn't expected her to adapt this quickly.

"Impressive," he remarked.

Eliza scoffed. "I don't need empty compliments."

"I meant it."

The results weren't visible just yet, but Eliza was undoubtedly growing stronger.

Of course, it was only possible because of Leo's assistance, but transforming that help into her own power was a different matter entirely.

"Then I suppose it's time to move on to the next stage."

Eliza tensed. Even now, her training was excruciating, but she knew this wasn't all there was to Leo's methods.

If enduring pain alone was enough to get stronger, then there wouldn't be anyone who failed to grow.

The essence of lightning inflicted both physical and mental torment, to the point where even pegasi struggled to withstand it. Enduring it with a human body was proof of Eliza's unshakable willpower.

Once she fully develops, most mental attacks won't work on her. I thought this before, but Eliza has the potential to contract with an overwhelming number of spirit beasts.

As Leo analyzed her, he activated his spiritual energy.

Whoooom—! Crackle—!

A powerful surge of energy pulsed around him.

Eliza's eyes widened at the sight. "This is…?"

"Come forth."

Zzzt—!

A summoning circle formed as pure white lightning roared. From within it, a woman with flowing silver hair stood, arms crossed.

It was Arty.

"A pegasus!" Eliza gasped as she took in the sight before her.

Arty, who gazed at her with an expressionless face, was the very image of what Eliza considered the ideal pegasus.

Emerging from the summoning circle, Arty glanced briefly at Leo. Then, without hesitation, she clung to Leo's feet, whining, "Master! When will you bestow the pure white lightning upon me? How could you let some brat enjoy it while leaving me out?! You're so cruel!"

Crackle—!

At that moment, Eliza swore she heard something precious inside her shatter. She rubbed her eyes multiple times, convinced she was seeing things, yet the noble spirit beast, the pegasus, remained attached to Leo's feet, pouting.

"Get off." Leo scowled and shook his foot to pry Arty off.

However, even as she was dragged across the ground and left in a disheveled mess, Arty only moaned, "Ahh! Master, you're so rough! As expected of you!"

Carl, also caught off guard by Arty's behavior, gaped wordlessly.

"L-Lies… This has to be a lie. There's no way a noble spirit beast like a pegasus could act so disgracefully." Eliza clutched her head, crouching down in despair.

"Hey, are you okay?" Carl asked, conncerned.

"Carl Thomas. This is a dream, right? It has to be."

"…Seems pretty real to me."

"No, this is definitely a dream. Slap me. I need to wake up."

"You're just gonna get mad."

"It doesn't matter if it's a dream."

Carl hesitated for a moment before smacking Eliza's cheek hard enough for her to feel it.

"……" Eliza rubbed her cheek a few times before her expression turned ferocious. "You dare slap me?! Even my parents never hit me!"

"I told you it wasn't a dream! You said you wouldn't get mad!"

Carl panicked and bolted as Eliza lunged at him.

"Eliza."

Whooom—!

Leo approached and extended his palm. A small, pure white contract sigil shimmered above it.

Eliza's eyes widened. "Is this… Did you modify the pegasus' contract sigil?"

"Yeah. It'll put you in a temporary contract state. Try handling this one in that state."

Eliza stared at Leo. He must have an incredible understanding of summoning magic to modify a contract sigil like this, but…

"As impressive as this is, you don't seem to understand. Pegasi are creatures of immense pride. Even if it's an order from their destined contractor, they would never allow themselves to form a contract with someone unqualified…"

Before Eliza could even finish speaking, Arty shrieked, "Y-You're planning to hand me over to another summoner?!"

"See?" Eliza sighed in exasperation.

Arty continued, "To think I'd be handled by another summoner… And not just any summoner, but an unqualified brat… I feel so defiled! This is the worst! You, brat.. hurry up and take my contract!"

"……" Eliza felt something deep inside her completely shatter. Holding her face in her hands, she let out a quiet sob.

"For the record, this one is just weird. The other pegasi are normal," Leo sighed, attempting to comfort her.

Flash—! Rumble—!

Suddenly, a surge of powerful aura erupted into the sky.

Leo, Eliza, and Carl instinctively turned toward the source.

"Wait a minute. Isn't that where the Hero Dungeon appeared?" Carl exclaimed in shock.

The faculty and investigators had been pouring all their efforts into figuring out why a mysterious Hero Dungeon had manifested in Lumene and what kind of Hero World it connected to.

And now, an immense aura was bursting from that very place.

"Something must have happened," Eliza said firmly.

Crackle—!

A surge of pure white lightning burst from Arty's body as Leo grabbed both Eliza and Carl by the wrist and climbed onto Arty's back, who had now taken her true form.

"Carl, hold on tight," Leo said.

Seated behind Leo, Carl tightened his grip around Leo's waist. "Y-Yeah! Eliza!" he called out.

However, Eliza, sitting at the rear, simply scoffed. "I'm a spirit beast summoner. Worry about yourself instead!"

With that, Leo pulled on the reins.

Flash—!

Arty became a streak of light, cutting through the night sky. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the site where the Hero Dungeon had formed.

Leo looked down, only to see that the entire area was in ruins and professors from Lumene, along with visiting heroes, were all standing off against a single dwarf.

Judging by the scene, the dwarf was undoubtedly the cause of the incident.

"Hey, hold on," Carl muttered, his voice laced with shock.

Eliza's eyes widened as well. "That person is…"

Leo narrowed his gaze at the familiar face. He had never met this dwarf in person before, but this was a face he had seen many times in books.

Three thousand years ago, during the return of the calamity, there was a man who fought countless battles.

A man who, even when facing the impossible, stood alone against the advancing forces of Erebos and Tartaros.

Despite knowing his efforts were futile, he never wavered.

He suffered loss after loss.

He had every reason to fall into despair, but he never broke.

He always returned to the battlefield.

He always stood at the forefront, defending everyone.

And so, the world called him…