Villain's Valor: A Noble Fantasy Resurrection

The conversation between the two lasted quite a while until Catalina decided it was time to leave.

Along with Charlotte, who had an excited smile on her face, we were guided by Professor Athena. The hallways of this place were entirely different from the first-year faculty. The pillars were so large they reached up to 20 meters in height. They were a rocky skin color with small stones of other colors embedded within.

The outside landscape resembled a forest, with lush green trees and a small river flowing through it. There was a small artificial sun above, and small animals ran across the branches. It was a garden, Catalina's garden. Mounted on her contracted animal, she ventured into the garden.

There were all kinds of animals, both carnivores and herbivores. The largest one I saw was a 4-meter-tall tiger lounging lazily on the grass. Upon sensing our presence, it raised its head to look at us before closing its eyes again, as if we were nothing of importance.

"A beast of Emerald rank," I murmured in surprise. It was strong, too strong for my current state. With just one of its paws, it could crush me to death.

The tiger raised its head again and immediately stood up. Its orange eyes with black slits looked at a certain girl. She had a loving smile on her lips, and her beautiful golden eyes sparkled. Her braided hair swung in the air...

Angela. The tiger approached and lowered its head, like an ordinary cat. Angela began to pet the animal.

Everyone... well, our class was already used to Angela's ability to connect with animals in seconds, so it wasn't that surprising; we had seen it countless times. However, the other classes were wide-mouthed with shock, staring in disbelief at the interaction between the two.

"Kya! How cute!" A small voice joined in the admiration, but this praise wasn't directed at Angela and the tiger.

Looking at a red-haired girl on her knees hugging a small rat-like creature lovingly. Or whatever that small animal was, it looked more like a mix between a squirrel and a rat. Stephanie cradled it in her arms like a human baby...

In an instant, the beautiful tiger with orange and black fur, its enormous body disappeared and reappeared in front of the kneeling Stephanie. Feeling an enormous shadow over her, she looked up.

"Hii!" Surprised, she stood up in fear, and the rat-like creature in her hands also fled in terror, disappearing into the forest undergrowth. The tiger stared at her for a few seconds, then lay down. Stephanie, frozen with fear, stood still like a statue. The tiger's huge paw gently dragged her body towards it, bringing her close to its chest, then wagged its tail as if it were happy.

- "No way..."

Mana glowed on the tiger's body, its eyes looking directly at Stephanie. She felt fear at first, thinking she was about to be eaten alive, so she stayed still, waiting for death. But her eyes widened when her body was covered in the tiger's pure mana.

She looked up at the tiger in bewilderment, her pink eyes meeting its beautiful eyes. They remained silent for a few seconds.

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, her voice tinged with a small hope but also fear. The tiger nodded, understanding Stephanie's words.

She fell silent again. Her characteristic mana emerged from her body. When the two types of mana combined in the air, they formed a seal of two colors—Stephanie's reddish and the tiger's orange.

They were forming a contract right now, in front of all the students. Their mouths opened even wider in surprise. They had never seen anything like this in their lives. Even Anthony was surprised. He hadn't expected it to be so quick. He had some idea she intended to form a contract, but she hadn't been confident in herself. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

"No matter if her rank was gold like mine," were Stephanie's words. But what a surprise, she was forming a contract right now with an animal that could kill me in seconds...

"I'll have to treat her well from now on," I murmured to myself. Though I was sure she wouldn't be able to sustain the summoning of such a tremendous animal for long. But it's always better to be cautious. Right now, she's much stronger than all the first-years. Am I not supposed to be the protagonist? I'm a bit envious right now. I also want an animal as incredible as that.

The air around us heated up, the seal in the air grew larger, and more ambient mana gathered into it. A great whirlwind of mana surrounded the tiger before disappearing instantly. The contract was successfully completed.

Stephanie had a big smile on her face, small tears trickling down, but her body collapsed. Persephone quickly caught her friend in her arms. Stephanie was extremely mentally exhausted, having just formed a contract with an animal much stronger than her. This reaction was normal in her case. If someone stronger tried to forcefully form a contract with an animal slightly weaker than the contractor, both could die in the attempt.

"That tiger was the strongest in this garden," Catalina's voice, filled with sadness, looked at Stephanie with a pout, glaring disdainfully. It had taken her a lot of effort to bring that beautiful animal to this garden. She had tried multiple times to form a contract with it, but it always refused or ignored her completely. After two years, she finally gave up entirely.

But now, in front of her eyes, her pet was taken away. A girl who was seeing it for the first time and it accepted forming a contract without hesitation. Was it a theft? In her own house? Is this even legal? Practically, that tiger is mine, right?

She looked at Athena, who shrugged indifferently with a big smile.

- "Why me...?"@@novelbin@@

She grumbled but eventually decided to give up once more. It wasn't so bad after all, was it? Another girl successfully formed a contract with an animal after two generations; that was something good. In fact, the goal of this expedition to the magical forest was for each of the selected students to have the opportunity to form a contract.