The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 70

In a rational group, Solia’s words would have been heeded.

She was the only one in the hunting party capable of truly confronting Drake.

Unfortunately, Derrick was anything but rational.

“What?”

He had formed the hunting party, and now she was telling him to let the key to finding Drake walk away? Derrick’s temper flared.

“Let her go? Are you out of your mind?”

“Hey, Derrick.”

His friends quickly tried to calm him down, but Derrick’s face was already flushed with anger.

In Ardel Academy, status and wealth were supposedly irrelevant, but that was just on the surface. In reality, they mattered greatly.

Derrick, whose father was a nouveau riche, didn’t care much about money, but he was sensitive about honor.

No matter how much money he accumulated, there would always be a stark difference between him and the nobility.

When he left Ardel Academy, that difference would become even more apparent.

No matter how ruined a noble family might be, their honor remained intact due to their long history.

And Derrick hated that.

His resentment was now spilling out in full force.

“You walked in here on your own, didn’t you? If you don’t want to be here, just leave.”

The extreme stance Derrick was taking made the other members of the hunting party murmur among themselves.

“Is he really out of his mind? What if she actually leaves?”

“Derrick’s just angry. He doesn’t mean it.”

“Well, Derrick does have a point. How are we supposed to set traps if we don’t know the location?”

They were chaotic and disorganized, lacking any real strategy.

Solia briefly considered going off on her own, but quickly dismissed the idea.

‘Even if they’re lacking, it’s better than going in alone.’

As a Light Mage, Solia believed in keeping her promises and sticking with her comrades, so the argument ended there.

Instead of getting angry, Solia stepped forward calmly.

“I’ll check the location myself.”

“W-What?”

Derrick was caught off guard by Solia’s unexpected offer.

Without a word, Solia waved her staff through the air.

Light’s Memory.

It was Solia’s signature skill, a useful tool for exploring dungeons in the future.

The skill allowed her to detect and reveal her target with light.

It had its drawbacks, though—it only worked on targets that were as strong or stronger than her.

“….”

The light particles shimmered in the air before descending to the ground.

A radiant path formed on the wooden floor, leading the way.

It was a breathtaking sight, truly magical.

“Wow….”

Several members of the hunting party couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

Even Derrick, who had been fuming just moments ago, was left speechless.

“Uh… uh… that actually worked.”

“Let’s go.”

Solia looked down at the path of light and took a decisive step forward.

* * *

The Drake’s main skill, *Invisibility,* would have made it impossible to detect under normal circumstances, but with Solia’s detection skill, they found it quickly.

It was in the third section of the long-abandoned specimen room.

Solia stopped in front of the door.

A low, menacing growl rumbled from behind the wooden panels.

The expressions of the hunting party members turned cold in an instant.

Only Derrick, oblivious to the danger, was grinning with excitement.

“See? I was right. It was here! Imagine the reward when we sell this thing!”

The Drake was indeed a formidable monster, but Solia assessed that it was a foe she could defeat.

The element of light was Drake’s natural weakness, and while it was a highly intelligent monster, it wasn’t as strategically complex as those that moved in groups.

Moreover, its large size made it somewhat cumbersome.

But then…

‘What’s this?’

The light particles she had scattered began to tremble and dissipate.

A massive surge of mana.

It was far stronger than what she had expected from Drake.

Solia’s unease grew as she peeked through a crack in the wooden panels to get a better look at Drake.

And at that moment, her eyes met the Drake’s.

“What?”

Before she could fully comprehend the situation—

Crash!

The wooden panels splintered as the Drake lunged forward with frightening agility.

Solia was sent flying back.

“Aaaah!”

*Light’s Shield*, her defensive spell, activated just in time to save her from what could have been a fatal blow.

Talented mages can gauge their opponent’s strength after just one exchange.

Solia was no different.

“…Ah.”

Her face twisted in horror.

Meanwhile, Derrick, who was too dense to understand the gravity of the situation, began barking orders at the terrified hunting party members.

“Alright, it’s finally out! What are you all standing around for? Set up the traps!”

“R-Right!”

“Get it at the entrance, you idiots! Don’t just stand there!”

No, this isn’t right.

Solia shook her head, retreating a few steps.

‘We can’t win.’

This was not the Drake she had prepared for.

First, its incredible agility.

It had shattered the wooden panels in one blow, and now its eyes were quickly scanning the other students.

It wasn’t standing still out of stupidity.

‘It’s analyzing the traps’ positions.’

This is impossible.

Drakes weren’t supposed to be this intelligent.

Unless… someone was controlling it.

Solia was certain.

They couldn’t win with the current group.

Derrick’s shout snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Solia! Hurry up and trap it!”

Drake turned its head, baring its sharp teeth.

Derrick, now filled with misplaced confidence as the traps were set, grinned and raised his staff.

And then—

Crash!

“Gah!”

“What’s happening?”

“Aaaaah!”

The Drake easily broke through the traps and lowered itself into an attack stance.

In a flash, it lunged forward and snatched Derrick, who was at the front of the group.

His piercing screams echoed through the room.

“What? What the…?”

“S-Save me! Save me! Solia! Solia!”

After treating her so poorly, Derrick now called out to Solia for help, as she was the only one left to rely on.

Zap!

Solia shot a bolt of lightning at Drake.

But Drake wasn’t about to just stand there and take it.

Grrrr.

Drake barely grazed by the lightning, skillfully avoiding a direct hit.

Turning its head sharply in irritation, it bit Derrick with a snarl.

“Arghhhh!”

Witnessing this, the subjugation team quickly fell apart.

The scene devolved into chaos as everyone fought to escape first.

Derrick groaned in pain as he was thrown to the ground.

Given Drake’s nature, it wasn’t yet time for it to devour him.

The creature’s cold eyes now scanned the students, searching for its next prey.

“N-No, stay back!”

“Arghhhh!”

A second victim quickly followed.

Zzzap.

Solia’s attack struck again, but it was far too weak.

She had thought that she could overcome it with elemental advantage, but it was a mistake.

Cold sweat dripped down Solia’s forehead.

‘This can’t be happening.’

Her attack wasn’t weak.

Had it hit properly, it would have dealt a critical blow.

The problem was…

‘How did it dodge?’

Was there ever a Drake with such agility and intelligence?

Solia’s face turned pale with disbelief at the reality before her.

Grrrr.

Drake’s yellow eyes now locked onto Solia.

Its anger was palpable, as if it intended to tear her apart in one strike for the two attacks she had landed.

“…Gasp.”

Solia instinctively took a step back.

Even when she had been kidnapped by the Devil’s Tree, she had remained calm, but now her face was drained of color.

She was going to die.

Her trembling hands raised her staff. A desperate attack, determined not to go down without a fight.

All of her remaining magic concentrated at the tip of her staff.

Of course, it still wouldn’t be enough.

But if it could at least…

“Please….”

At that moment—

“Ow!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed Solia and yanked her hard.

She reflexively looked up, hearing a low voice resonate right above her.

She saw a face staring down at her with an expression full of contempt.

“Are you out of your mind, trying to get yourself killed?”

“…Huh?”

“Save your magic. You need it to heal me if I go down. There’s no other capable healer but you.”

It was Han Siha.

* * *

Han Siha took out a small orb from his pocket.

Given Drake’s nature, it would bite at anything that moved quickly.

Swish—

As expected, the moment Han Siha threw the orb, Drake instinctively chased after it.

It swallowed the orb on instinct, but its hunger wouldn’t be satisfied. Drake’s fierce eyes turned back towards them.

Grrrr.

As it took a step closer, Drake seemed to sense something was wrong and stopped.

“…!”

“It worked well.”

It was a vomiting orb he had hurriedly obtained from the shop.

The poison inside should cause Drake to feel excruciating pain, as if its insides were burning.

“Screeeee!”

Drake began retching immediately.

The effect was faster than expected.

“Solia!”

“Lightning!”

Solia calmly struck with her lightning.

This time, Drake was unable to react, and the lightning hit it directly.

Grrrr.

Drake struggled and thrashed in place.

“The timing is right.”

Taking down a Drake isn’t easy, especially if there’s someone controlling it.

So the first priority was to sever that connection.

Han Siha carefully gauged the distance, his eyes locked on the area near Drake’s heart.

‘That’s the spot.’

To break the connection, a precise strike was needed.

Just below the heart. Han Siha pulled out a dagger.

“Please hit…”

Swoosh—

The sharp dagger Han Siha threw pierced Drake.

It drove into the spot just below Drake’s heart.

The more it struggled, the deeper the blade sank.

The moment he threw the dagger, Han Siha knew.

“It’s done.”

He grinned and nodded in satisfaction.

“Screeeee!”

Finally, the connection was severed.

Unlike before, Drake’s movements became wild and erratic.

Han Siha grinned, nodding again.

‘Finally, the control is gone.’

The reason this Drake from the specimen room was so difficult was that it was being controlled by a Tamer.

The agile and strategic movements that had bewildered Solia were all due to this control.

Naturally, it was more intelligent than a wild Drake.

Had it been a wild one, it might have fallen into Derrick’s clumsy traps.

Now that the control had been momentarily cut off, it didn’t know what to do and thrashed around aimlessly.

Screech! Screech!

Of course, it still looked terrifying.

Solia’s face briefly turned pale again but quickly regained its composure.

That was because of Han Siha’s calm voice echoing through the air.

“We can take it down, easily.”

Drake’s form wavered briefly before becoming clear again.

It tried to use its ‘Stealth’ skill, but it seemed too confused to manage it properly.

This was the moment.

“Arghhhh!”

Han Siha launched a magic orb.

Drake let out a pained scream as it was struck by the heavy magic.

Solia quietly admired Han Siha’s attack and assisted him.

Solia’s skills were more aligned with support than offense.

So, in this situation, her abilities shine even brighter.

Sizzle.

When she buffed Han Siha’s attack, the already powerful magic became even more ferocious.

His ability to control his magic had improved considerably through repeated real combat.

The cramped space made it difficult to use magic arrows effectively.

Han Siha pulled out another dagger from his belt.

The previous one was as good as gone.

Following Lee Han’s teaching, Han Siha infused the dagger with his magic.

The energy fluctuated freely, sharpening the blade even further.

“Screeeee!”

Every time the dagger’s blade grazed Drake, it inflicted deeper wounds than expected.

Han Siha was gradually turning the tide of a battle that would have been impossible one-on-one.

His movements were quicker than Drake’s, exploiting its weaknesses in an instant.

It was an uncharacteristically aggressive attack for Han Siha.

‘Was he always like this?’

Solia swallowed hard in disbelief.

Boom—

A wave of blue energy surged over Drake, enveloping it in an instant. A pained cry echoed again.

Derrick, who had been watching from a distance, trembling, widened his eyes as he gazed up at the wave of magic.

Drake was slammed into the wall by Han Siha’s attack, which had used more than half of his magic.

One final blow would finish it off.

Han Siha raised his staff high.

At that moment—

Ding—

[You have awakened a new skill.]

[Would you like to use ‘Tamer’s Touch’?]

A new ability awakened after just two days, thanks to the ‘Light of Healing.’

Han Siha frowned and came to a halt.

“Th-That… Grrrr….”

It wasn’t Basil’ skill, but his own.

As he carefully read the skill’s description, Han Siha unintentionally let out a gasp.

“What the heck is this?”

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