Seiya was walking back from the store at night. He had forgotten to buy dinner earlier, so he would have to settle for instant noodles tonight.
" Damn it, I always do this, if I had left earlier. " He let out a sigh while waiting for the traffic light to turn so he could cross the street. Seiya was listening to loud music through his headphones, a new band that had been gaining popularity recently.
" In my name, hear me! "
A female voice echoed inside his mind. Seiya froze for a moment. Looking around, he quickly removed one of his headphones and stared at it in confusion, but the music was still playing.
" In my name I call upon the strongest dragon! "
Seiya felt the voice echo through his entire body, making him stagger even though he was standing still. The world seemed to spin around him.
" What is this? Who is it?! " he shouted while looking around, but there was no one there at this late hour. The city was strangely empty.
" The one who will make a blood pact, and conquer everything in this world with me! "
The voice echoed even stronger inside Seiya's mind and he fell to his knees on the ground. His body felt as if it were starting to burn, his veins bulging while a sharp ringing sound began echoing inside his head.
" In the name of the royal bloodline of Ishigar! I seal a pact with you! In the name of Aria Ryuka, the third princess of the kingdom, appear before me now! "
Seiya's vision darkened as he felt himself falling somewhere. Somewhere very far away.
" Good morning students! Today we will conduct the summoning class that all first year students must pass in order to obtain their summons! I hope you have prepared an offering for it! "
The academy professor spoke while several students began whispering among themselves. However, near the middle, a young girl with silver hair sat alone, isolated from everyone else. No one sat beside her.
The third princess of the kingdom was the black sheep of the class. Without political power or family influence. Aria sighed as she looked down at her desk and at an object wrapped in cloth. She had struggled greatly to obtain it.
' It is the tip of the tooth of the legendary black dragon that the founding king had as his summon. All the royal children afterward received something from the black dragon so the royal family could continue the lineage of summoning dragons... '
However, the object wrapped in the cloth was not larger than a writing feather. She knew her brothers and sisters had done everything to take it away from her. In the end they had only managed to reduce the amount of material she would receive.
' No one has ever had a piece this small... If I cannot summon a powerful dragon or at least something equally good... My days are numbered. '
While Aria thought about all of this, she soon noticed the class was already walking toward the field where the summons would take place. She stood up and followed along with the rest of the class. There were twenty students in her class.
All of them were sons and daughters of noble families of the kingdom. And even so, no one attempted to approach Aria. The daily life of the third princess was mostly lonely.
When they arrived at the open field, the professor took out a sheet of paper that had several runes inscribed on it.
" Everyone will receive a small scroll with the summoning rune like this one. All you need to do is place it on the ground in front of you, and place on top of it the material you chose to act as the summoning catalyst. As you all know, the level of a mage is determined by the level of the summon they can perform. "
He spoke while distributing the papers one by one to the students.
" And once you summon a monster, it will remain with you until it is killed. If that happens it is possible to attempt another summoning, but there will be a real risk of failure, and you may die or even be dragged into the spiritual world where the creatures reside. "
Some students shivered at that while others made jokes.
" I bet Aria would like to disappear like that, then we wouldn't have to see her anymore. " One of the girls said quietly, just low enough that the professor would not hear but Aria could.
She simply closed her eyes and sighed for a moment. She knew nothing good would happen if she tried to confront them, and it was not as if she had not spent the entire school year hearing them mock her.
" Ros Field, you may go first. "
With the professor's call, a young man with golden hair walked to the center and placed the symbol on the ground, followed by what appeared to be a red horn.
" Look, he has a fire basilisk horn! He will definitely get one! " one of the students said from the back. Aria looked at the red horn and tightened her grip on the dragon tooth fragment in her hand.
' He comes from one of the great noble families. And their fire mages have excellent synergy with basilisks... '
Mana began to rise around Ros, like an aura slowly expanding outward from the center of his chest and then infusing the symbol and the horn.
" In the name of Ros Field, second in the line of succession of the family, I summon you creature that will accompany me! Come and seal a contract with me! "
An explosion of fire erupted in front of the young man as soon as he finished speaking. A fire basilisk almost the size of the young man appeared there, with two large horns on its head similar to the one used in the summoning.
" Mhm, very good Ros. A rank B fire basilisk. " The professor said while writing something in his notebook.
" Next! "
One by one the students began summoning their monsters with the help of their catalysts. Some had lower ranks, D or C, but most were managing to summon monsters from rank B to A.
' The highest rank is S. The black dragon was S. There are records that it could even reach the mythical SS rank. '
Aria drifted into her thoughts.
" Aria, Aria Ryuka. "
Aria blinked a few times and looked at the professor.
" It is your turn, go. "
The students laughed again as the princess walked toward the center of the field, unable to hide her nervousness.
Placing the symbol on the ground, she opened the cloth and placed the fragment of the dragon tooth on top of the circle. More laughter followed.
" Ohoho... I think our dear princess wants to summon a goblin with that little piece. " another girl said while she and her group laughed mockingly.
Aria ignored them all. The moment of truth was now.
Placing her arms forward, she spoke.
" In my name, hear me! Servant from beyond. In my name I call upon the strongest dragon! In the name of the royal bloodline of Ishigar! I seal a pact with you! In the name of Aria Ryuka, the third princess of the kingdom, appear before me now! "
Aria's mana exploded outward with force and ferocity, forcing everyone to cover themselves or even use their new summons to protect themselves. The red aura of the princess's mana was intense, even hot.
" I... It cannot be! She cannot have something that strong! " one of the girls said while using something that looked like a giant eagle to shield herself from the wave of mana.
" Step back students! " the professor shouted, warning everyone to protect themselves in case something happened.
All that power concentrated into a sphere of mana in front of her. Inside it, something slowly began to take shape. Her summon was coming into the world. However it did not appear to be a monster. The form being created was smaller and simpler.
Then the gigantic sphere of mana exploded outward in every direction, raising a cloud of smoke across the field.
Seiya slowly opened his eyes while looking around. His body felt lighter for some reason. But he still could not see anything clearly. Feeling dizzy, he fell to his knees on the ground. The grass beneath him was hot, almost burning.
" What... happened? " he said, trying to understand where he was.
The smoke soon cleared with a gust of wind from the professor.
" Look! She summoned a human! "
" All that show for nothing! "
Laughter erupted among the students.
" Sorry princess, but it seems you are finished. "
Aria felt a tight pain in her chest.
' No... I failed?... Summon a human?... How is that even possible? '
Aria fell to her knees on the ground, unable to even look up anymore. She could only hear the heavy footsteps of one of the girls approaching her.
" Ohoho... It seems you lost princess. "
It was a young girl with crimson hair, decorated with ornaments and braids throughout her hair. Her name was Rin Hawk. She grabbed Aria's arm and pulled her upward.
Aria felt her arm being yanked, but she had no strength to resist. Her mind was filled with a thousand thoughts, yet she still felt the pain of being pulled. And more than the physical pain, it was the mental one.
" Hey bitch... let her go... "
A serious voice came from the center of the field. Seiya slowly stood up.
" Insolent! How dare you! Teach him a lesson TomaHawk! "
What looked like an eagle the size of a person flew toward Seiya at high speed. It was a rank A creature, far more than a mage could handle alone.
The massive hawk rushed forward like a crimson lightning bolt. Seiya did not move. Then his arm moved once.
SLAP
The creature was sent crashing across the field like a broken toy.
" I told you to let her go... " Seiya said in a serious tone. He did not understand why he was doing this, but when Aria was grabbed he felt anger rising inside him.
Now he walked toward Rin and with a fluid motion threw the girl aside.
Before Aria could fall again, Seiya caught her by the waist and lifted her from the ground. Looking at Aria, he gave a small smile.
" You are the one who summoned me, princess? "