Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

The dawn of the following day brought great expectation to every corner of the academy.

The stadium was packed beyond its normal capacity. Students from all years crowded in the stands. Late academy years professors, who normally showed little interest in first-year competitions, had heard the rumors and now occupied the last positions.

Ren completed his final preparations. Min and Taro accompanied him, offering words of encouragement with attempts to lighten the tension.

“Remember,” insisted Min, “don’t undress like the day we found you with her in the room.”

“You’ll be in front of many people,” added Taro. “You should wait until after the tournament.”

Ren rolled his eyes, but despite the silly jokes, he was grateful for his friends’ support. His mind, however, was already partially focused on the way he would face the upcoming combat.

Not far away, in her own preparation space, Luna was also getting ready. Her maids Mayo and Matilda dressed her with methodical movements, each adjustment to her battle uniform made with the efficiency of those who have turned preparation into ritual.

Liora and Larissa, accompanied by Maria, discussed the best possible strategies to give Luna the best chance. But after Klein’s defeat and Ren’s new discovered techniques and speed, morale was low.

Despite everything, Luna gave Mayo the crumpled letter she usually carried in her pocket after caressing it for a moment, afraid of breaking it, and said nothing, but the determination in her eyes was not that of someone who had yet accepted her defeat.

♢♢♢♢

“The final of the first group of the individual tournament is about to begin,” announced Yang. “Luna Starweaver against Ren Patinder, in what promises to be an exciting confrontation.”

The two finalists emerged from opposite ends of the arena, advancing with firm steps toward the center where Lin awaited them. The contrast between them was notable: Luna with her innate aristocratic grace, each movement elegant and measured; Ren with his pragmatic simplicity, the mushrooms in his hair softly pulsing with their own light.

“Both have demonstrated exceptional capabilities throughout the tournament,” declared Lin as they positioned themselves before her.

In the upper boxes, Sirius Starweaver observed with a neutral but attentive expression. Those who knew him would have said it was unusual to see him so focused on a simple school tournament, but his daughter’s presence in the final had altered his demeanor. Luna, normally indifferent to others’ opinions, couldn’t help casting furtive glances toward where her father was located.

“The rules remain the same,” continued Lin. “Victory by incapacitation, displacement, or surrender. There is no time limit.” She looked alternately at both contenders. “Are you ready?”

Luna nodded, a slight smile on her lips as her shadow wolf began to partially manifest over her skin. For a second, she looked toward Ren, noticing his calm expression and the way his mushrooms glowed with a constant and serene rhythm.

‘His face looks so relaxed, as if he were going to a simple practice and not a final exam,’ thought Luna. That irritating face… and cute at the same time.

Irritated with herself for that last thought, she frowned and lowered her gaze slightly.

“Ready,” confirmed Ren as he prepared to fuse with his hydra.

Lin stepped back, aware that she was about to witness a combat she would remember for a long time. “Begin.”

Neither of them immediately launched into attack. Instead, they began to circle slowly, studying each other.

Until… Luna was the first to move.

The shadows beneath her feet seemed to take on a life of their own, extending like tentacles over the arena.

Ren, for his part, activated his hydra, his body covered with that now familiar translucent armor that reflected the inner light born from the combination of his fungus roots and the ring. The light veins began to visibly pulse under his skin.

When Luna executed her first jump between shadows, disappearing in a blink to reappear behind Ren, she encountered a surprise. The place where the shadow should form was flooded with light. Ren’s luminous veins had intensified their glow precisely at that point, eliminating the darkness necessary to complete the jump.

Luna appeared several meters from her target, right in front of Ren.

“So soon with…?” she began, but interrupted herself upon seeing the slight smile on Ren’s face and that he hadn’t launched into attack.

“Shadows hide from light,” explained Ren.

Luna narrowed her eyes, irritation forming within her. “Why didn’t you attack me directly?” she asked, maintaining her composure. “I hope you’re not underestimating me and avoiding hitting me like Liora and Larissa…”

“I’m not going to hit you,” interrupted Ren with a determining decision. “You’re not using the cat I gave you either, beyond the enhancements… So a handicap for me too isn’t bad.”

Luna narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowed at what she perceived as an insult. She became irritated and with a fluid movement, her wolf completely separated from her, materializing as an independent entity.

“You don’t need to make things easier for me by separating from your beast…” Added Ren.

Luna attacked again, this time from a lateral shadow. Her claws, reinforced with shadow energy, sought Ren’s flank. Simultaneously, the wolf emerged from another shadow, attacking from the opposite direction.

Or that would have been the case… Ren had anticipated this tactic. Instead of trying to hit the 2 targets, he used light to direct the shadows to join precisely at the points where Luna and her wolf emerged.

The impact to their own heads was considerable, but Luna managed to stay on her feet, quickly absorbing her beast into her body to negate most of the inertia.

Then she retreated, jumping toward another shadow while rubbing her forehead. However, Ren changed the jump again with extreme precision, projecting light exactly where Luna was trying to go to show her he was in control.

“He’s tracking my mana,” realized Luna, not just the shadows but the mana flow betrayed her.

The light manipulated by Ren had rendered her transportation technique practically useless.

Determined not to surrender, she directed her wolf to jump once more to distract Ren while she circled to the right. The shadow beast jumped.

“I warn you for the last time,” said Ren just as Luna approached, “that your wolf is at a disadvantage against me.”

As if to demonstrate, he manipulated the shadows once more and launched a phantom light claw that cut the ground centimeters from where the wolf had appeared, destroying the surface but clearly missing on purpose.

“Poochy!” exclaimed Luna, realizing that the wolf could have been eliminated.

“A hand-to-hand battle would be a bit less unfair,” continued Ren.