The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 7

A round face with long bangs that gave off an eerie vibe.

No matter how many times she looked, it was certain.

Han Siha.

The failure that was infamous among the first years.

The most likely candidate for the most socially despised necromancy class, and the foolish tamer who couldn’t even tame a slime properly.

What did that guy just say?

Adela failed to keep her expression in check.

Adela, who had never fallen out of the top three at Ardel Academy, the empire’s most prestigious school.

Even though she was often looked down upon due to her commoner background, few could criticize her based on skill alone.

She was a mage of the earth.

If she wanted to, she could bury those slimes all at once with her power, but there was a reason she had come to this beginner’s practice ground.

‘Why did it have to be taming?’

Thanks to a disastrous outcome in a cursed gacha game, she ended up having to take the basic taming subject for the entrance exam.

She came here with a Hellhound to practice her weakest area, knowing well that her taming skills were lacking.

But still, to take advice from someone like that?

“It seemed like you were too excited. If you handle it like that, it’ll think it’s being rewarded and will just get more excited.”

Reward? What nonsense. Adela sighed briefly and rubbed her forehead.

For someone who couldn’t even properly handle a single monster, what business did he have interfering?

Adela smirked inwardly.

‘He should mind his own….’

“…!”

Adela was muttering to herself when she looked up, eyes wide open. Her Hellhound, which had been rampaging like a maniac just moments ago…

Was now listening?

Woof!

“Sit. Good, good. Well done.”

Woof woof!

“Seems like a very obedient dog.”

That’s impossible.

Hellhounds are notorious for disobeying their masters and are particularly aggressive towards strangers.

A creature that might bite your throat out for giving it an order like “sit,” was now sitting obediently, wagging its tail?

It made no sense. No, it was impossible.

Adela stared at the Hellhound, which had become remarkably calm, with her mouth agape.

“How… how did you do that?”

“Just?”

Han Siha tilted his head, responding nonchalantly.

“It listens better than I thought.”

What the hell is he talking about now?

Adela was about to retort to his ridiculous statement, but instead, she bit her lower lip.

Because, in reality, the Hellhound under Han Siha’s hand was listening far better than she could have imagined.

His affinity was astonishing.

She couldn’t comprehend how it could be Han Siha, of all people, who was achieving this.

But what choice did she have?

She was witnessing it with her own eyes.

“Y-you… just who are you?”

Adela muttered quietly, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve.

The rumors from first year about him failing to tame a slime and getting a failing grade.

Even Adela knew those rumors weren’t just gossip. She had seen it with her own eyes.

It was hard to believe that the awkward Han Siha from back then was the same person standing before her now.

“Shake. Good boy.”

Han Siha smiled as he petted the Hellhound’s head.

His head was lowered so much that his expression was hard to see, but from the slight curve of his lips, it was clear he was smiling.

Han Siha, smiling?

It was shocking enough that he had tamed the Hellhound, but the fact that he was smiling was even more surprising.

She didn’t entirely believe the absurd rumors about him being a hidden descendant of a dark wizard or secretly practicing forbidden magic in Ardel Academy’s basement, but the sight before her was so different from what she remembered of Han Siha.

Faced with this completely unfamiliar scene, Adela was at a loss for words.

“….”

Just then.

As Adela stood there blankly, Han Siha casually spoke to her.

“Why don’t you help instead of just standing there? At this rate, he might start following me more than you.”

“W-what?”

Han Siha, with his practice staff tucked into his pocket, walked over to Adela.

Adela hurriedly embraced the slightly calmed Hellhound into her arms.

“Th-thanks.”

The Hellhound panted as it looked up at Adela, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like it would go on another rampage.

Did Han Siha actually tame this creature? In such a short time, how?

Just as her thoughts started to spiral, Han Siha’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Hellhounds are tough to handle for beginners. Why did you bring it here? Do you like rolling around in the mud or something?”

“…!”

Adela pursed her lips in response to Han Siha’s blunt remark.

“It’s a tricky monster, so the scoring is higher. I have to get first place in the basic taming class exam.”

She declared confidently but then hesitated, lowering her gaze. After all, she had been struggling with just this one Hellhound.

Adela blushed slightly and cleared her throat.

“That’s all. Shall we move on?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Oh, and there’s something I’ve been curious about….”

Distracted by the Hellhound and Han Siha, she had overlooked something.

Adela cautiously pointed at Basilus.

She couldn’t quite believe it, but her trembling voice asked anyway.

“Is that a salamander or a dragon?”

“A dragon that looks like a salamander.”

What?

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

* * *

And so, somehow, they ended up traveling together in this cramped dungeon. Adela, with a sword embedded with cubic stones, took a step forward.

Even as Adela slowly moved forward without saying much, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

First, about the dragon that Han Siha had with him.

It was understandable if he, a noble, had somehow acquired a hatchling from somewhere, but it was astonishing that Han Siha, who couldn’t even handle a slime before, was now managing both a Hellhound and a dragon so well.

Secondly,

The casual way he spoke to her was even more surprising.

“The area over there was nearly wiped out earlier, but the slimes have returned. Their vitality is relentless.”

“….”

“The terrain over there isn’t great. Maybe we should avoid it? Oh, but you do like mud, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t!”

Despite his skills, no noble had ever approached her, a commoner, so freely before.

Although status didn’t hold much meaning within Ardel Academy, that was only the surface rule. In reality, discrimination was still prevalent in subtle ways.

Adela, at least, was spared from much of it due to her overwhelming abilities.

But a noble approaching her, a commoner, so familiarly? Nobles were not usually this magnanimous.

Adela, with a confused expression, responded to Han Siha’s remark.

“It’s fine. I can handle it.”

In truth, Adela’s skills shone when it came to utilizing magic.

The image of her struggling with the Hellhound earlier was gone, and with a sharp sword in hand, she raised the earth wherever she stepped.

Slash.

She struck down the slimes that charged at her, burying them in the ground within seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Adela swung her sword without hesitation.

A couple of slimes foolishly lunged at her, only to be swallowed by the earth.

Seeing the ground writhe and devouring the slimes, Han Siha let out a low exclamation.

“That’s a pretty tough method. You’re into burying things alive?”

“Want me to bury you too?”

“….”

Han Siha shrugged his shoulders in response, gripping his practice staff.

At that moment.

Adela suddenly spun around, startled by the wind brushing past her earlobe.

A slime that had bounced towards her burst with a dull sound.

“…!”

“It was coming at you from behind.”

She hadn’t even sensed its presence, but he had noticed?

Even in a mere beginner’s practice ground, Han Siha hadn’t let his guard down for a second. She could see his eyes constantly moving behind the curtain of his bangs.

If it weren’t for Han Siha, she might have been caught off guard.

Adela, hiding her surprise, spoke tersely.

“…I knew that.”

“If you say so. Let’s go, reptile!”

“Kwooo!”

With Basilus in tow, Han Siha began to move ahead at a brisk pace.

“Go, salamander!”

“Right, right. That way—no, not there! Hey!”

“Sorry, I watched too much Pokémon back in school.”

The more she watched, the more mismatched he seemed.

Was this really the same person as the gloomy failure Han Siha from first year? She had never been close to him, but her eyes had always been sharp.

“….”

Just as she was struggling to reconcile the easygoing nature she now sensed in him.

Flicker.

Suddenly, it was as if the lights had gone out; the dungeon interior flashed brightly.

“Huh?”

It was quite a bright flash.

Adela muttered softly as she stepped lightly on the moss-covered stone.

“Did I imagine it?”

But then, another flicker.

Han Siha also paused, turning to look at Adela.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know either….”

She had been in and out of practice grounds, even ones with intermediate difficulty, but the dungeon had never become this unstable.

Then.

Pop.

A sound like something bursting from the ceiling was followed by the dungeon plunging into darkness in an instant.

A pitch-black void where even the nearest objects were hard to see.

“Aaah!”

Adela nearly stumbled forward but managed to regain her balance, grumbling.

“What the hell is this? Are they not maintaining the dungeon properly?”

“….”

“This has never happened before. What’s going on today?”

Meanwhile, Han Siha stood frozen, his face serious.

Although he had no real combat experience, he had read countless texts about dungeons. One of many possibilities flashed through his mind.

“Could it be… no, it can’t be.”

“What can’t?”

A similar situation had appeared in the original story.

After a dungeon completely lost power, monsters of the dark magic type had emerged.

He hoped that wasn’t the case now, but if it was…

His instincts, honed by years of reading, were warning him.

This could be a dangerous situation.

“Step back.”

“Huh?”

What confirmed his suspicion were the familiar monsters approaching silently.

Adela, who noticed them belatedly, gasped in horror. Even though she had experienced countless real battles, this was not a scene anyone could easily face.

“Holy…”

Screech…

Luminous slimes, their eyes glowing blue and far larger than the ones they had faced before, were now advancing towards them.

“Damn it.”

They were slowly but surely drawing closer.