Helios Orb Chronicle – Chapter 519

Here is the translation:

**Side: Seras**

Three months have passed since I enrolled in Memoria General Academy.

Small problems have occurred from time to time, but they were due to fights between students or minor misunderstandings, so they weren’t significant issues.

Otherwise, things have been peaceful. If I hadn’t heard about it from the teachers, I might not have even known about the Kobaldia incident last month. We, being close to the involved parties and even family, are privy to the details, but since the academy is a kind of closed space, it would be very difficult to learn about such things otherwise.

We are enjoying our academy life. Although there’s a disparity in age, the class content is the same, making lectures incredibly boring. However, that doesn’t mean we can slack off. In combat training, while Reinna and I are fine, Raus, Rebecca, and Carol seem to be struggling, not even giving their all and seeing no point in learning. Even when they hold back, their exceptional movements appear at times, making it quite difficult. Because of this, I hear that Tigerly, a girl hunter who is the most skilled among the new students excluding us, harbors animosity towards Raus. She appears to be Level 32 and the same age as Carol, but she doesn’t like that Raus’s level is undisclosed and has apparently approached him several times. Raus has been running away each time, but I have a strong premonition that something will trouble him eventually.

Since that is not unrelated to us, we are paying attention to her movements, but surely she will be safe during this class.

“Today, we have invited a special lecturer.”

The teacher then introduced Lord Yamato, Lady Mako, and Isra, all P-rank Hunters. Today’s lecture is on familiar spirits and summoned beasts, and while popular monsters like Battle Horses, Grantpus, and Wyverns are raised on ranches, making contracts relatively easy with some compatibility considerations, there are a few hunters who have made contracts under special conditions. Today’s lecture is about these special contracts. The lecturers called for this purpose are Lord Yamato, Lady Mako, and Isra. While Prim and Sister Fram are also in similar situations, they are nearing their due dates and cannot be expected to lecture. Aria is also in such a situation, but she is attending as a student. Moreover, her familiar, Wind-Lock Felk, has not evolved, so it doesn’t fit the current lecture’s theme.

“Before we begin the lecture, let’s have a review. You cannot contract with monsters of P-rank or higher as a familiar or summoned beast, but this changes if they evolve after the contract. The reason is unknown, but it is believed that it’s because in the early days of the Helios Orb’s creation, monsters of P-rank or higher only existed within labyrinths.”

Today’s lecture is being held on the first ground, as the actual lecturers have brought their familiars and summoned beasts.

Although we’ve heard this many times and learned it in class, everyone is listening intently as this is the core of today’s lecture.

“However, contracting with G-rank Monsters is extremely difficult, and more importantly, the risk to life is significant. Therefore, most people contract with a compatible, affordable C-rank Monster at a ranch in a nearby town. Some Crafters contract with T-rank or I-rank Monsters, but this is related to their work. While you can only contract with one monster as a familiar, there’s no such restriction with summoning contracts. That’s why they contract with monsters regardless of their Monster Rank.”

Among the well-known cases, there is a seamstress who has a summoning contract with several T-rank Caterpillars. The difference between familiar contracts and summoning contracts is that with summoning contracts, you can use the summoned beast’s magic power as your own, but this is something only Hunters and Ritters would worry about. For Crafters, in particular, the more summoned beasts they have, the more they can assist with their work. There’s the issue of feeding costs, but a Caterpillar’s food is inexpensive and not needed in large quantities, which is also an advantage for raising them.

“With that in mind, please introduce the monsters you have contracted with. Lord Yamato, Lady Mako, and Isra, please begin.”

When the teacher called upon them, Lord Yamato and the others began their self-introductions and familiar introductions.

“I am Yamato Mikami Fraydlancia. I am a Tenshaku, and also the husband of Frederica Mikami Amarissta, the lord of this land. This is my familiar, Jade, a Hippogriff Philius.”

“I am Mako Katagiri Fraydlancia. I am one of Lord Yamato Tenshaku’s wives. The summoned beasts I brought are Kaede, a War Horse, and Shirayuki, a Snow Mirage Tiger. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I am Isra Manatial. I usually work as a Hunter in the town of Okeanos. The only summoned beast I have contracted with is Maar, a Wraithspark Dolphin, and she is in this pool right now.”

All the students know that Lord Yamato is a Tenshaku and Rika’s husband, as they were greeted at the entrance ceremony. Lady Mako is also known as one of his wives, and Isra is known as one of the Strongest Hunters of Okeanos, so the gazes from aspiring Hunters and those in the Knight-Hunter Department are particularly intense.

“I’ll go first. I can’t use summoning magic, so I contract using familiar magic.”

With that preamble, Lord Yamato began to tell the story of his encounter with Jade. We already know it, but for the other students, it was a new story. The setting, Mylight Mountains, and the situation of being attacked by an Evil Drake and then being begged by the leader of the pack, all contributed to everyone listening intently.

“Because of that, Jade has evolved into a rare species called Hippogriff Philius. A normal rare species would be Hippogriff Lord, but it’s said to be one rank above that. This isn’t just about Jade; it applies to Shirayuki and Maar here, and even Jade’s mate, Fluorite, a Hippogriff Philia.”

Since Prim is pregnant, Fluorite rarely comes out of Alka, but he has plenty of food and apparently goes for walks with Prim occasionally, so he doesn’t seem to have any complaints. Therefore, Lord Yamato hasn’t summoned Jade much recently, allowing him to stay with Fluorite. However, Jade seems to want to be summoned a little more.

“Just like Lord Yamato Tenshaku, my contract with Maar began when I saved her shortly after her birth. Like Jade, when such things happen, they seem to place great trust in their contractors, and often evolve upon contracting.”

Isra’s story was also very interesting to everyone. Hunters over Level 30 looked as if they were considering it for themselves, but it requires a great deal of luck. The reason Jade, Fluorite, and Maar underwent special evolution is not just that they were saved while being attacked, but also because they lost their parents or pack members during that time. Therefore, for the familiars, perhaps they feel a parental emotion in addition to recognizing their contractors as new companions?

“Mine is even more special. Kaede was contracted normally at a ranch, so her evolution is still War Horse, but Shirayuki was different from birth. Since I have permission, I’ll talk about it. Shirayuki’s mother was the Slume Lord that Lord Yamato Tenshaku and I defeated.”

Lady Mako, who spoke last about her encounter with her summoned beast, is contracted with the offspring of a monster they defeated. Furthermore, when that parent was a Demise Species, it’s not a matter of just luck. Moreover, Shirayuki had not even been born when the Slume Lord was defeated, so under normal circumstances, she would have died. That story was withheld from public disclosure out of consideration for Torencia, but it cannot be hidden forever. More importantly, Shirayuki, who hadn’t even been born yet, was uninvolved, so it was publicly announced about six months ago as a reward for those who defeated the monster.

“Th-then, if I save a monster being attacked and contract with it, it will specially evolve, right?!”

“No, it’s not that simple.”

“More importantly, if evolution were possible with just that, wouldn’t there be quite a few specially evolved individuals? But in reality?”

“Ah…”

Wisteria, the Tigerly girl who likely thought of doing the same after hearing Lord Yamato and the others, was easily refuted by Lord Yamato and Isra.

“We know of familiars who were saved while being attacked and then contracted with, but we haven’t heard of any special evolutions.”

Indeed. Mana’s Frost Bird Sirius, Sister Fram’s Ridoceros Floe, and Aria’s Wind-Lock Felk were contracted as familiars or summoned beasts when they were saved, but they did not specially evolve. I’ve heard of other similar stories, but specially evolved monsters are truly rare. Besides Jade, Shirayuki, Maar, and Fluorite who is at Alka, there should only be a few others.

“Luck is involved, but if you don’t have the strength to defeat the monster attacking them, you’ll only end up losing your own life. Or worse, if you have companions, you’ll drag them down, and if there are towns or villages nearby, you’ll cause trouble for them as well. The term ‘special evolution familiar’ might sound appealing, but if you overestimate your own strength, such worst-case scenarios can happen. I know of your abilities, but even so, there are limits to what a Normal Class can do. This is a practical problem.”

“Y-yes…”

Wisteria said that to Lady Mako and her shoulders slumped. As a Level 32 B-rank Hunter, and having the highest level of skill among minor Hunters, she tends to overestimate her own abilities. However, monsters have individual differences, and there are stories of monsters that were thought to be weaker actually being able to defeat even stronger ones. I can’t say much, but it seems Wisteria has only been registered as a Hunter for about two years, so her experience is barely beyond that of a rookie. Yet, being expected to be a top-tier young Hunter, she probably thought she could do it.

“And then… Maar, come out.”

When Isra called out, Maar peeked her head over the edge of the pool. Maar’s body fills most of the pool, but the rear enclosed space has been fitted with mirroring, making it much more spacious than it appears, which is where she’s been swimming.

“As you can see, Maar is a Wraithspark Dolphin, so she cannot operate on land. Even though she has evolved and can handle aerial combat, it’s still not sustainable for long periods. I am based in Okeanos and usually hunt sea monsters, so it’s not a problem for me. However, when you actually contract, you need to carefully consider what you usually hunt and why you desire a familiar or summoned beast.”

“If a familiar dies, you can contract with a new monster, but if it’s deemed to have been done intentionally, you can no longer use familiar magic. In the first place, such a selfish person would never gain the trust of those around them.”

“There is no limit to the number of monsters you can contract with in summoning magic, but in return, you need to pay for food. This applies to familiar magic as well, but some monsters can incur exorbitant feeding costs. Therefore, when using familiar magic or summoning magic, you need to consider these aspects carefully.”

You are absolutely right. At Wing Crest, food costs are included in operational expenses, but for some raids, you have to earn individually. Hunters operating as Ritters or solo have to earn it themselves. However, pushing oneself too hard only leads to injury, and many have sadly had to part with their familiars as a result. This is true even for familiars who have achieved special evolution. Therefore, when forming familiar or summoning contracts, one must consider not only the selection of the monster to contract with but also the associated expenses. We have already learned this in class, and we have been told about it countless times, but for the other students, it seemed like an unreal issue, and some of them looked embarrassed. I think it’s valuable that this lesson made them understand that.

Oh, the class isn’t over yet. There are many monsters that can be contracted with besides those available for purchase at ranches, and many people actually contract with them, so this is a very informative discussion. Even though I can hear about it anytime, since I’m attending school, I should also listen attentively.