Chapter 9

The Genius Tamer of the Academy - Chapter 9 (9/252)

The Genius Tamer of the Academy Chapter 9

Adella couldn't help but doubt her eyes.

Each slime was weak, but their numbers were overwhelming.

To pop them like popcorn in an instant...

The fact that he did it with only basic magic was hard to believe.

"...Are they all gone?"

Hansha withdrew his mana and muttered softly.

Despite pouring out such an enormous amount of mana, his face showed no signs of fatigue, and Adella couldn't help but blurt out,

"Hey... What's going on?"

Whoosh.

Looking down at the slimes that had turned to ashes in an instant, Adella dropped her sticky sword to the ground.

Of all people.

The fact that the failing student, Hansha, had saved her was hard to believe...

But Adella forced herself to look cool, lifted her head, and awkwardly extended her hand.

It was awkward to approach the famous Hansha, but he probably felt the same way.

Saving a commoner's life wasn't something noble children were used to.

So, she had to say this.

"This time, I owe you my life. Thanks."

"..."

Her awkwardly extended hand still hung in the air.

"Huh?"

Hansha was too busy crawling around on the ground, his face flushed.

He didn't even have time to shake her hand.

"What... are you doing?"

Shuffling around.

When she looked, he was excitedly picking up slime beads that had gotten stuck in the barricade.

"Ah, I found this here. Wow, it's really expensive."

What is he saying while picking up trash?

Even if you sold them whole in the market, you wouldn't get a single silver coin.

"Hey?"

"Wait, Basil. I'm picking up something important."

"Hey...?"

Adella hid her rapidly stiffening expression with a fake cough.

"Thanks."

"Ah."

Hansha, who had been filling his bag with slime beads, finally looked up and stood up.

While she was grateful, to outright ignore her attempt at a greeting was a bit much, wasn't it?

Adella looked at Hansha with a slightly hurt expression.

At that moment, Hansha spoke in a calm voice.

"If you're grateful, do me one favor."

Favor?

The word sounded so out of place that Adella's lips stiffened.

Ah, right.

Of all people, it's Hansha.

Is he trying to lure me into learning dark magic together?

That's what the necromancers usually do.

Adella bit her lower lip anxiously.

But he is still a savior of sorts, so rejecting him outright would be a bit much, wouldn't it? No, even if he is a savior, there are other things to consider. Hansha's request was indeed a bit...

After much deliberation, Adella spoke carefully.

"Well, if it's something I can do... Hmm. But if it's too much of a favor, I might have a hard time accepting it..."

However, what came out of Hansha's mouth was completely unexpected.

"Keep it a secret."

"Huh?"

"Keeping the fact that I caught a venomous slime in one go, tamed your hellhound in one go, and even dragged a dragon around. So, everything that happened today."

To sum it up.

"Keep my awesomeness a secret."

Then he put his finger to his lips.

"Shh, got it?"

It's all true, but...

Something feels off.

Adella frowned and muttered.

What is this kid trying to say?

* * *

Bang.

An hour later, a deafening sound shook the dungeon walls.

The rescue team, which had been nowhere to be seen, finally arrived.

"Student Adella! Student Hansha!"

Dean Ernest, accompanied by Professor Selen and other assistant professors, pushed through the wooden vines, hoping not to find the students' mangled bodies.

"I hope they held on..."

But even as he said this, he knew the chances were slim.

It had been two hours since the dungeon mutation began.

Could they have fought off the endless slimes?

"This side is also empty?"

"...It seems they didn't make it."

Dean Ernest, with a darkened face, bowed his head in the silent dungeon.

At that moment, an urgent voice stopped him.

"Ah... Ah!"

"There they are!"

"Professor! Professor!"

This voice?

Dean Ernest opened his eyes wide and turned his head.

In the center of the dungeon, surrounded by the swamp, Adella was waving her arms.

"Student Adella!"

Indeed, they held on.

"Professor! I'm not dead yet!"

That kid can talk his way out of anything.

Selen burst out laughing in disbelief and hurriedly ran over.

While it was hard to judge her exact condition from the outside, she looked relatively fine considering she had been with the venomous slimes for hours.

Adella, drenched in muddy water, struggled to stand up.

"Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine. Just my arm is a bit sore. I really went crazy for two hours, you know."

"I'm relieved to see you're okay."

Selen sighed in relief and pulled Adella by the hand.

But.

Upon reflection, one person was missing.

"Where is Student Hansha?"

"Ah."

Dean Ernest, who had been listening to the conversation from behind, his face turned cold.

In fact, Hansha, who had not adapted to the dungeon mutation as well as Adella, might have been caught by the slimes while wandering.

They didn't go in together, so it was also possible that he was caught separately. Selen asked urgently.

"Where is Student Hansha...?"

"Over there."

Swoosh.

Adella scratched her head and pointed to a corner of the wooden vines.

Selen jumped up in shock.

"Student Hansha!"

"Ouch..."

Whoosh.

Selen rushed to the wooden vines and reached out to Hansha.

To her relief, Hansha, who had been groaning, seemed to be in better condition than expected.

Apart from his tattered pants, he didn't seem to have any major injuries.

Actually, for a student of Hansha's level to survive this dungeon was nothing short of a miracle.

Hansha, with a choked voice, said,

"Phew. I almost died..."

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, Professor. I'm feeling dizzy..."

Thud.

Hansha, who had been acting fine, suddenly fell to the side.

His face, however, was full of energy.

Adella was speechless at the sight.

"Student!"

"..."

When it was convenient.

She had pretended not to notice, but...

This acting is a bit much, isn't it?

Adella couldn't help but curse under her breath.

"Crazy kid."

"!"

No, outside.

* * *

The next morning, the underground dungeon incident was more or less resolved.

The analysis concluded that there was an error in the spell, but the exact cause was still unknown.

It wasn't something I needed to worry about.

I only stopped by the infirmary for a bit at Dean Ernest's suggestion. My body was fine, with just a few scratches and some dehydration from the rapid use of mana.

But...

"Student Hansha, come in a little later!"

Today, I was summoned to the dean's office, who said he would give me some points.

Maybe a few points would help with my promotion.

"Ugh..."

I sat in the wooden chair of the waiting room, looking down at Basil, and smiled.

Actually, the one who really suffered was me.

I couldn't hide this guy in the chaos, but I managed to pass him off as a hatchling supported by my family, and they bought it.

They probably thought I couldn't properly tame him anyway.

"Basilus! Come here."

But I succeeded in taming him, and he's doing more than his share.

Despite being just a hatchling, his growth rate is more than twice that of a regular dragon, which is starting to raise some questions.

What did they keep in that underground prison, anyway?

"Basil!"

"Roar!"

Well, it's a stroke of luck for me.

When the short-haired girl was busy slashing slimes with her sword, Basil supported her like her tamed monster.

It wasn't so much coordination as using his small mouth to burn the slimes with his breath.

Ding.

I extended my hand to check his stats.

<Basilus Atraxis>

A cheerful red dragon who is very serious about cheese.

He is quite friendly towards you.

Level: 5

Mana: 53

Strength: 63

Agility: 38

Intelligence: 13

His fire breath skill, which he used enthusiastically, had improved by two levels since we first met, and he had learned a new defensive skill to protect himself.

And his poison resistance...

Well, he did work hard to defeat those dangerous slimes.

I smiled and petted him, then put down the heavy bag.

There was a reason I picked up the sticky slime liquid and slime beads with a branch in the slime dungeon.

"Hey, I really went through a lot of trouble to get these, you know?"

"Roar!"

Basilus, unlike "Hansha," was born with a talent for mana.

It wasn't just because he was a dragon; his growth rate and breath control were astonishing.

So, I decided to raise him properly.

I would need his help to graduate from this Ardel Academy safely.

This was the first step in raising him.

At this point, it wouldn't be revealed in the early part of the original story.

Slime beads are not just cheap decorations.

That short-haired girl treated them like trash, but they're not.

"Besides cheese, do you want to try this?"

"Roar...?"

Squish.

The slime bead that came out of the bag didn't seem to please Basilus, who kicked it with his left foot and stepped back with a frown.

"No, it's really good."

Of course, I haven't tried it myself.

And I won't in the future.

My mouth started to chatter easily.

"Try, try. One bead might make two of us die, you know?"

Ah, my true feelings.

Fortunately, the kid missed my words and swallowed the slime bead in one bite, and his expression soon turned sour.

It was either delicious or not, and it seemed to be the latter.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

He got so angry that he jumped up and grabbed my collar...

Ding.

Level: 5

Mana: 54

Strength: 63

Agility: 38

Intelligence: 13

"See? It's fast, right?"

Just by eating one bead, his poison resistance increased rapidly, and even his basic mana stat, which usually doesn't increase easily, went up.

This was the characteristic of slime beads. They condensed the abilities of the slime and transferred them to the consumer.

Since it was a venomous slime, his poison resistance naturally increased quickly.

I had read about it in a book, but seeing it in action was surprisingly fast.

The instinct to get stronger. It must have overcome his appetite, as Basil, who had been sticking out his tongue with a sour expression, started to crawl over.

"Want to eat?"

Mumble.

"..."

Now, without a word, Basil swallowed the bead in one bite.

Well, he eats well without being told.

Ding.

Ding.

As I watched his skills and stats increase rapidly, I smiled contentedly.

Bang.

The door opened, and the familiar short-haired girl walked out.

"Hey."

Huh?

Surprised by the sudden call, I slowly lifted my head.

The short-haired girl, with her arms crossed, approached and looked at me with an unreadable expression, then spoke bluntly.

"Are you really okay with it? That I took credit for solving this?"

Ah, what's this about?

We both received points for our excellent handling of the situation, but it was known that she had personally defeated the mutated slimes.

Therefore, the points were distributed differently.

She got 5 points, and I got 2.

Well, I already knew that.

"Sure, I'm fine with it."

I really don't care. The points are nothing compared to saving my life.

A regular student of Ardel Academy closed the dungeon.

This side, on the other hand, looks impressive, but a failing student like Hansha taming mutated slimes with basic magic is too sensational.

There would undoubtedly be all sorts of speculations, from using dark magic to using cursed tools.

I didn't want to be entangled with the main characters of this novel.

In fact, keeping the events of the dungeon a secret would be the real help.

I tilted my head and spoke nonchalantly.

"You did most of the work, right?"

"But at the end... "

"Enough."

No, why is she so dissatisfied when I'm willing to give in?

The short-haired girl blew her bangs and frowned.

"What's your reason? Trying to help me get points? Or is it pity? If it's pity, just... "

Suddenly, what pity?

From the way she spoke, it seemed she had some tragic backstory.

But how many people have such stories?

"Pity? What are you talking about?"

I'm not in a position to pity anyone. I chuckled and shook my head.

"I don't even know who you are."

"Wh-What?"

My words made the short-haired girl's eyes widen.

"You don't know me?"