Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

The Gray Wing dormitory was quiet that night.

Exhaustion after the day’s intense emotions had left most students deeply asleep as soon as they touched their pillows. However, in the room shared by Ren, Min, Taro, and Liu, excitement still kept them awake.

Ren sat cross-legged on his bed, his mushrooms pulsing with a soft glow that dimly illuminated the room. The light was sufficient to distinguish the expressions of Taro and Liu, who looked at him with admiration and camaraderie.

“So,” said Ren, addressing Liu, “how was your battle? We couldn’t see it even though ours was short because it had also already ended when we arrived at the other arena.”

Liu smiled, his eyes shining with enthusiasm. He seemed very different from the bitter and distant student he had been at the beginning of the semester.

“Twenty seconds,” he responded with evident pride. “We were right behind you in the global time record. It was… incredible.”

“Twenty?” Taro whistled softly, impressed. “How did you manage it?”

Liu leaned forward, instinctively lowering his voice. The excitement made his usual reserve fall away, his hands gesturing animatedly as he spoke.

“I used what I saw from the sound specialist student, Zhou Liwei. Remember I went to observe his combat?” He looked directly at Ren. “Applying what you taught me about the synergies between the bat and the hyena, I was able to adapt his technique.”

Ren nodded, his mushrooms brightening slightly in response to Liu’s enthusiasm.

Liu continued, still excited. “It wasn’t as precise as Zhou’s technique… he, I suppose, has years of practice and his beast is Silver 2. But my Big Stone Lurker was less problematic than the Stone Mountain he faced.”

“You managed to copy the technique of someone from seventh year?” Taro asked, surprised.

Liu made a face, half guilt and half retrospective amusement. He put a pillow in front of him, slightly embarrassed.

“My control wasn’t perfect,” he admitted. “My teammates ended up with injured ears despite the earplugs. And a part of the audience too.”

“Oh,” Taro contained a laugh. “Those screams must have been painful to hear then.”

Liu nodded, his smile growing wider. “Fortunately, the healers easily repaired the damage. It was minor, just temporary ringing and some disorientation. Very few bled…”

“The important thing is that it worked,” Ren pointed out. “And how do you feel about the hyena now?”

“That’s the best part, I still can’t believe it and you’ll surely become insufferable, but now I adore it,” Liu shook his head in disbelief. “From being the worst treated in my class, now they look at me as number one in potential. Everyone knows I’m a double thanks to you because they connected some dots and I didn’t know how to deny it… Sorry. But, the looks of amazement when we left the arena… Worth every second.”

He paused, as if still processing the change. “It’s like I stopped being the ‘failed repeater’ overnight.”

He turned to Ren, his expression transforming into something more serious, almost solemn. The usual distance in his eyes was replaced by genuine gratitude.

“I thank you, Ren. I truly thank you. And I always will.”

Ren shook his head, visibly uncomfortable with the intensity of the gratitude. He shifted slightly on his bed, the mushrooms dimming momentarily.

“Don’t thank me,” he responded simply. “Anyway…”

A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he added: “Don’t think that just with that attack you’re going to beat me, or that I’ll go easy on you in the individual matches.”

Liu blinked, momentarily surprised, before bursting into laughter. “Is that a challenge, lucky shroom?”

“It is,” confirmed Ren, widening his smile. “In fact, I won’t go easy on any of you…”

“You won’t win… against the best camouflage… stupid Klein…” Min mumbled just before beginning to snore softly. He was already lying in an incorrect position with his rear facing up on his bed, one arm dangling over the edge.

Ren cast a glance toward Min, who continued to snore peacefully, completely oblivious to the conversation. “Though someone has already missed the warning.”

Taro let out a soft laugh. “You won’t have it easy either,” he responded, accepting the challenge with good humor. “And I know Min feels the same, although he’s too busy dreaming about starring in battles right now.”

Ren laughed, a genuine sound that briefly resonated in the quiet room. The friendship that had grown between them over the months was evident in the easy way they ribbed each other.

“Anyway, in the team battles we’ll work together,” he pointed out. “The individual ones will just be a competition between us friends… But I’ll win.”

His mushrooms pulsed with a more intense glow for a moment, as if reflecting his enthusiasm. “I hope you all go far so I can face you.”

An unexpected yawn interrupted his next thought, suddenly reminding him of the day’s exhaustion. His shoulders slumped slightly as the fatigue finally caught up to him.

“But I think it’s time to sleep,” he concluded, settling into his bed. “We need energy to overcome the other ninety-two students tomorrow.”

Taro and Liu nodded, each heading to their respective beds. Silence gradually fell over the room, interrupted only by Min’s occasional snores and the soft pulsing of Ren’s mushrooms.

♢♢♢♢

The arena for team combat was the same one used for battles against beasts. But the auxiliaries had transformed it, with a diversified floor that included small rocky, aquatic, and forested areas, providing multiple environments for each type of beast to maximize its potential.

Of the thirty-two initial teams, sixteen would be eliminated in this first round. The tension was palpable as students waited their turns, studying their opponents with intensity after the previous day’s surprises.

Liora, Larissa, and Maria’s team had started the day with a crushing victory against their opponents, a demonstration of elemental power that had left the audience open-mouthed. The precision of their coordination had been even more impressive than their battle against the Stone Lurker.

The Group D team that had eliminated the Big Stone Lurker faster than them had turned out much less effective in battle as they didn’t give the damage dealer time to charge.

It seemed that performance in the monster battle wouldn’t define the winner in the other categories. Raw power against a big stone wasn’t necessarily translating to tactical prowess against other students.

“Team Ren from Group B against Team Jin from Group B,” announced Lin, her amplified voice resonating throughout the stadium. “Prepare to enter.”

A murmur ran through the stands. Ren’s team, the new sensation from the Gray Wing, against Jin and his companions. Both had performed well against the monster, but would it be like the previous battle in which the time difference hadn’t been definitive?

Everyone was eager to find out.