Chapter 7

In the Academy of Genius Tamers - Chapter 7 (7/252)

Chapter 7: The Genius Tamer of the Academy

A round face with a long, somewhat eerie fringe.

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

Hansiha.

The notorious underachiever of the first year.

The most promising candidate for the neglected discipline of taming, and a foolish tamer who couldn't even tame a slime properly.

What did that kid just say?

Adella failed to maintain her composure.

At the prestigious Ardel Academy, Adella had never ranked outside the top three.

Although she was often ignored due to her commoner background, few could match her in terms of skill.

She was a master of earth magic.

With her ability, she could bury a slime in an instant if she so desired, but there was a reason she had come to this beginner's practice ground.

‘Why of all things, taming?’

Due to a disastrous gacha game, she had to take the basic taming exam at the start of the semester.

To practice her weakest area, she brought her hellhound here, knowing her taming skills were lacking.

Still, she wasn't at a level where a kid like him could give her advice.

“Seems like you’re too excited. If you treat it like that, it’ll think it’s being rewarded and get even more rambunctious.”

Rewards and nonsense. Adella let out a short sigh and rubbed her temples.

What right did he have to meddle when he couldn't even properly care for a guide monster?

Adella scoffed inwardly.

‘He’s just trying to show off…’

“…!”

Adella muttered to herself, then lifted her head and widened her eyes. Her hellhound, which had been wildly rampaging just moments ago, was now...

Listening to her?

Woof!

“Sit. Yes, that’s right. Good job.”

Woof woof!

“He’s really well-behaved.”

No way.

Hellhounds are known for not listening to their owners and are quite aggressive towards strangers.

To have this fierce creature, which might tear her throat out if she gave it a command, now wagging its tail and sitting down?

It was impossible. No, it couldn’t be.

Staring at the hellhound, which had become surprisingly calm, Adella couldn’t close her mouth.

“Eh… How did you do that?”

“Just like that?”

Hansiha tilted his head and spoke nonchalantly.

“He listens pretty well, doesn’t he?”

What a load of rubbish.

Adella was about to retort but instead bit her lower lip firmly.

Because the hellhound, under Hansiha’s control, was indeed listening much better than expected.

An astonishing level of affinity.

While she couldn’t understand how Hansiha, of all people, could do this, there was no denying it.

What could she do?

She was seeing it with her own eyes.

“Y-You… How exactly.”

Adella rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and muttered softly.

The rumor about him failing to tame a slime and getting a failing grade in the first year.

Adella knew it wasn’t just a rumor; she had seen it with her own eyes.

It was hard to believe that the same Hansiha, who had been so inept back then, was now taming this hellhound.

“Good boy. Yes, that’s right.”

Hansiha smiled and patted the hellhound’s head.

Though his head was bowed so low that his expression was hard to see, the slight upward curve of his lips indicated he was definitely smiling.

Hansiha smiling?

Taming the hellhound was shocking enough, but seeing him smile was even more surprising.

While she didn’t believe all the rumors about him being a hidden descendant of a dark mage or practicing forbidden magic in the basement of Ardel Academy, this was a far cry from the Hansiha she remembered.

The scene was so bizarre that Adella couldn’t close her mouth.

“…”

Then, Hansiha casually spoke to the dazed Adella.

“Instead of just watching, why don’t you help? This guy might start following me more.”

“Eh… Eh?”

Hansiha, with his practice wand still in his pocket, walked over to Adella.

Adella barely managed to pull the now calmer hellhound into her arms.

“T-Thanks.”

The hellhound panted and looked up at Adella, but fortunately, it didn’t seem like it would go wild again.

Did Hansiha tame it? How, in such a short time?

As her mind began to swirl, Hansiha’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Taming a hellhound must have been tough at first. Why did you bring it here? Does it like rolling in mud?”

“…!”

Caught off guard by Hansiha’s blunt question, Adella pouted.

“Because it’s a difficult monster, so the score is higher. I need to be first in the basic taming exam.”

Adella spoke confidently but then hesitated and looked down. It wasn’t a good time to boast when she was struggling with a single hellhound.

Adella cleared her throat and said, her face turning red.

“Just, that’s all. Shall we go this way?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Oh, and I’ve been wondering….”

A fact she had missed while focusing on the hellhound and Hansiha.

Adella cautiously pointed to Basil.

Though she didn’t think it was true, her voice trembled.

“Is that a salamander, or a dragon?”

“A dragon that looks like a salamander.”

What?

“…Crazy.”

* * *

They ended up traveling together in this narrow dungeon. Adella, holding a sword with a cubic gem, took a step forward.

“…”

Even as they moved slowly without much conversation, Adella’s mind was a whirl of thoughts.

First, about the dragon Hansiha carried.

It made sense that a well-off noble could have a hatchling, but it was surprising that Hansiha, who couldn’t even handle a slime, could manage a hellhound and a dragon.

Secondly.

His casual attitude in talking to her was even more surprising.

“Just a moment ago, this area was almost wiped out, but it’s regenerating. They have quite a tenacious life force.”

“…”

“That side has a bit of a rough terrain. How about we avoid it? Oh, you like mud, right?”

“No, I don’t!”

No matter how skilled they were, nobles didn’t approach commoners like her so casually.

Of course, in Ardel Academy, status didn’t matter much, but in reality, it was just a surface rule. Discrimination was still widespread.

Adella, with her overwhelming skills, didn’t face much discrimination.

So, it was unusual for a noble to approach her so familiarly. Were noble children naturally this generous?

Adella, with a confused look, replied to Hansiha.

“I’m fine. I can handle them.”

Indeed, Adella’s skills shone in the use of magic.

The hellhound, which had made her fidget earlier, was nowhere to be seen. With a sharp sword, Adella lifted the earth wherever she stepped.

Swoosh.

Swinging her sword to knock down the approaching slimes, she buried them in the ground instantly.

Adella took a deep breath and swung her sword without hesitation.

A few slimes, which had clumsily rushed at her, became the earth’s prey.

The ground beneath her feet writhed and swallowed the slimes, and Hansiha let out a low exclamation.

“…That’s quite a tough method. Do you have a thing for live burials?”

“Want to be buried with them?”

“…”

Hansiha, instead of answering, shrugged and gripped his practice wand.

At that moment.

A sudden gust of wind startled Adella, and she turned around.

A slime, which had been bouncing towards her, burst with a dull thud.

“…!”

“I saw it coming from behind you.”

I didn’t even sense it, and he saw it?

Hansiha, even in this beginner’s practice ground, remained vigilant. His eyes, hidden behind his fringe, moved constantly.

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

Adella, trying to hide her surprise, spoke curtly.

“…I knew.”

“Good to hear. Let’s go, reptile!”

“Grrr!”

Hansiha, leading the way with Basil, called out.

“Go, salamander!”

“Yeah, yeah. Right, right. Not there! Hey!”

“Ah, sorry. I watched too much Pokémon in my school days.”

The more she saw, the less it made sense.

Was this really the same Hansiha, the depressed underachiever from the first year? She hadn’t seen him up close, but her eyes were usually accurate.

“…”

As she followed, confused by the ease he exuded.

Suddenly.

The dungeon interior flickered as if the power had gone out.

“Huh?”

It flickered quite brightly.

Adella, stepping casually on the mossy stone, muttered.

“Did I see it wrong?”

But, it flickered again.

Hansiha, who had stopped and turned to look at Adella, asked.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never….”

Even in intermediate dungeons, she had never seen the interior become so unstable.

Then.

Pop.

Something exploded from the ceiling, and the flickering dungeon instantly turned pitch black.

A darkness so deep that she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

“Aah!”

Adella, nearly falling forward, regained her balance and grumbled.

“What’s happening? Is the dungeon management not working properly?”

“…”

“I’ve never seen this before. What’s wrong today?”

In contrast, Hansiha’s face was serious.

Though he lacked practical experience, he had read about countless dungeons. A possibility flashed through his mind.

“Can’t be… right?”

“What?”

A similar situation had appeared in the original story.

After the dungeon went completely dark, dark magic-type monsters appeared.

If this was the case, it was a dangerous situation.

“…Fall back.”

“Eh?”

What confirmed his suspicion were the familiar monsters that approached without a sound.

Adella, who had noticed them late, screamed in shock. Despite her extensive practical experience, this was not a sight she could take calmly.

“C-Crazy.”

Squeak…

Glowing slimes, much larger than before, were staring at them with bright eyes.

“Damn.”

They were slowly approaching.