Chapter 36 : Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Beginner Summoner
But when their gazes landed on him—especially when they noticed the conspicuous tuft of cyan fluff on his shoulder—their expressions quickly revealed a range of emotions.
Surprise. Curiosity. And then… envy.
Even if the creature looked like nothing more than a harmless little chick—perhaps even excessively cute—it was undeniably a living being that had formed a bond with Ryan.
That meant that in this practical lesson, Ryan Velt—the guy with the terrible reputation—had actually taken the first step on the path of a Summoner and earned the recognition of a magical creature.
Recognition like this naturally carried with it an aura of innate talent.
However, Ryan’s infamous reputation acted like an invisible barrier, keeping those envious gazes at a safe distance. No one stepped forward to congratulate him, and no one initiated conversation.
They simply watched from afar, their expressions complicated, their whispers noticeably subdued.
Ryan paid no attention to any of it. His calm gaze swept across the crowd before settling on the place where Andre Garcia and Woodgreen were standing.
The smug smile on Andre’s face froze the moment he clearly saw Ryan walk out completely intact.
Beside him, Wood’s eyes widened dramatically, his mouth hanging open as if he had just seen a ghost. He instinctively tried to say something.
Andre reacted faster. He abruptly jabbed Wood with his elbow, discreetly cutting off the shocked exclamation that had nearly escaped his companion’s mouth.
But his eyes remained fixed on Ryan—particularly on the injury at Ryan’s waist, where the clothing had been crudely treated yet still showed obvious tears and faint bloodstains.
He is injured… so he did encounter them!
Andre’s heart sank, only to be swallowed by an even greater sense of disbelief.
But how is he still alive?! Those things… those things took quite a bit of effort for me to arrange… Two Mid-Tier Magical Beasts—Shadow-Claw Wolves! Even students from the academy’s intermediate division would struggle if they encountered them alone! And he’s just a first-year…
At that exact moment, Ryan’s gaze turned in their direction, meeting Andre’s uncertain eyes perfectly.
For an instant, Andre felt his breathing stop, as if his heart had been seized by an icy hand. Karl’s face turned pale as well, and he instinctively shrank half a step behind Andre.
Ryan’s face showed no particular expression. His eyes were calm—almost indifferent. He merely glanced at them, his gaze lingering on Andre and Karl for less than a second before casually moving on, as though he had simply been scanning the crowd.
Yet that single glance caused a layer of cold sweat to instantly form on Andre’s back.
There was no anger in that gaze. No questioning. In fact, there was barely any emotional fluctuation at all. But for some reason, Andre felt a chill run through him.
He knows. He must have guessed something!
Ryan no longer paid them any attention. Instead, he walked straight toward the female instructor in charge of this practical lesson.
The instructor had already noticed him—especially the unusual splash of cyan on his shoulder. When Ryan approached, a relieved smile appeared on her face.
“Student Velt, it is good to see you come out safely. It seems… you gained something from this lesson?”
Her curious gaze fell upon the cyan fluff ball that was fast asleep. Leaning closer, she examined it with interest.
“Oh? Is this… your contracted partner? Such a distinctive appearance and color. It carries the aura of life and wind… very interesting.”
She tried to search her memory for a similar low-tier magical creature.
A Puffball Monster? No—the color and magical aura were far too different.
Perhaps some kind of juvenile elemental spirit in bird form? Yet among the academy’s recorded low-tier elemental spirits, none possessed such a pure cyan coloration along with such a fresh and natural presence.
“May I examine it more closely?”
The instructor asked for Ryan’s permission, her eyes shining with a scholar’s curiosity. She extended a finger, a gentle point of probing mana gathering at the tip, and carefully moved it toward the tuft of cyan fluff.
The little creature on Ryan’s shoulder seemed to sense the unfamiliar magic approaching. In its sleep, it stirred in annoyance, burying its tiny head deeper while letting out a muffled chirp.
“Chiu…”
The faint, nearly invisible cyan halo surrounding its body seemed to brighten slightly.
The instructor’s finger stopped in midair, the surprise in her eyes deepening.
“What incredibly pure natural mana shielding… Though it is weak, the quality is exceptionally high. This is definitely not something an ordinary low-tier creature could possess.”
She looked at Ryan with keen curiosity.
“Student Ryan, what exactly did you encounter in the forest? In which area did you establish contact with it?”
Her question immediately drew the attention of many students nearby. Several people pricked up their ears, including Andre and Wood, whose expressions still looked rather unnatural.
Ryan lowered his gaze and glanced at the completely unpresentable-looking contracted creature on his shoulder. Then he looked back at the instructor, speaking in his usual calm tone.
“I followed the stream upstream into a relatively quiet part of the woods. It approached me on its own.”
He omitted every detail about the ambush, the fierce battle, the mutation of the gemstone, the arrival of the sacred beast, and the devouring of the magical wolves.
“As for what it is… I do not know either. Have you ever seen something like it, Professor?”
The instructor shook her head. Her brows knitted slightly as she sensed the creature again, but in the end she could only smile helplessly.
“Unfortunately, with my current knowledge, I cannot determine its exact species. There is no matching entry in the academy’s Whispering Forest bestiary. Perhaps it is a rare mutated indivuidual, or… a special existence that drifted into the forest with the fluctuations of magical tides.”
She patted Ryan on the shoulder, carefully avoiding the little cyan fluff ball.
“In any case, successfully forming a contract is a good thing. Raise it well. Although it appears that… well, it may require some patience.”
Her tone carried a hint of teasing as she looked at the little creature sleeping soundly.
Ryan nodded.
“Yes, Professor.”
The practical lesson officially came to an end.
Students began leaving in small groups, excitedly discussing their own gains or lamenting their lack of success.
The gazes directed toward Ryan were still complicated, but now they contained a bit more curiosity. For the moment, everyone’s interest in the mysterious creature he had contracted seemed to outweigh their pure dislike of the academy’s “scoundrel.”
Andre and Karl also hurried away with the crowd, their backs looking somewhat hurried. The arrogance they had displayed earlier had completely disappeared.
Ryan remained where he stood, watching them walk away. After thinking for a long moment, he raised his hand and gently touched the soft cyan fluff on his shoulder.
The little creature rubbed against his finger in its sleep, still sleeping soundly.
“Troublesome little thing.”
Ryan murmured quietly.
It was unclear whether he was referring to those two sneaky vermin—Andre and Karl—or to the mysterious contracted companion on his shoulder that had nearly shocked everyone senseless the moment it appeared.