Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Bringing the Bashe down with 10 semi-simultaneous shots was a solid plan based on simple mathematics Ren trusted he’d calculated correctly.

The numbers were sound, the theory was proven. Three stakes had created a noticeable effect; 10 would be overwhelming.

The problem was that the same simple calculation also showed him he couldn’t simply make 10 of those stakes and fire them in succession as rapidly as he’d executed the previous 3.

It was a too costly attack in terms of mana expenditure.

Making 10 stakes required slightly more than 20% of the wolverine’s total internal mana to create with appropriate density and launch with the necessary speed to ensure the shot wouldn’t be dodged. And although it could recharge mana from its core during battle, it would have to do so mid-attack if it attempted to fire all 10 in an already somewhat slow sequence.

The wolverine’s internal + external reserves were still at almost 80%. But creating all 10 new simultaneously required drawing on reserves that simply weren’t there that readily since 20% was the max that could be used at once. Even with continuous regeneration during the construction process, there’d be a gap.

And that meant losing the roots’ momentum.

There’d be a pause between the 5th and 6th stake where the roots from the first half would die under miasma assault before reinforcements arrived. It was a timing problem converting the 10-stake plan into something less effective than simple calculations suggested.

The network would begin forming then collapse as the regeneration pause permitted the Bashe to overwhelm the partial formation. By the time stakes 6-10 arrived, he’d basically be starting over rather than building on an established foundation.

Failure through mana depletion in the end.

He could fire the stakes slower as an alternative, reducing power invested in initial propulsion and relying on precision instead of speed to ensure impacts.

That would save approximately half the mana per stake launch, reducing the cost to around 18% each instead of 22%. With that savings, he could maintain more consistent cadence without needing a pause for complete recharge.

10 stakes × 1.8% = 18% total, the process would be manageable. No pause required. Continuous assault that wouldn’t give the Bashe time to recover between hits.

But he risked the Bashe managing to dodge the slower projectiles, which would be worse than the momentum problem because it would mean complete waste of mana.

A stake that missed was a stake that accomplished nothing. No damage, no network formation, no pressure on the enemy. Just mana down the drain and anl opening for Liora to exploit.

And Liora wasn’t stupid. She’d recognize the pattern after the first few stakes and would do everything possible to avoid subsequent impacts. The serpent could weave, could rise higher until the maximum permitted altitude, could hit back at the worst moment.

The strategy required all 10 to connect or it simply didn’t work.

For which reason Ren decided he needed to make extra preparations before executing the final assault.

He needed to establish conditions guaranteeing the 10 stakes would connect regardless of evasion attempts, and that the roots would have sufficient time to establish the complete network before miasma destroyed them.

The problem needed a solution. So he’d build one.

Liora remained attentive from her position, observing the wolverine with care that came from knowing Ren rarely made moves without multiple purposes.

Every action served 2 or 3 goals simultaneously. That damned knowledge of his, never seeming to be out of options. It was admirable and infuriating in equal measure.

She knew she couldn’t show her cards yet and that actively attacking still wouldn’t help her.

The wolverine on the ground could hide easily using shadow jumps or simply digging deeply where the Bashe couldn’t reach it effectively. The serpent’s flotation gave it superior positioning but the wolverine’s mobility in the underground made it nearly impossible to pin down.

Chasing it would be pointless. Worse than pointless, it would waste the Bashe’s energy and potentially expose it to attacks during the pursuit.

It was basically a stalemate where only Ren could attack without significant risk while Liora had to maintain a defensive position waiting for Ren to exhaust most of his mana or provide an opening that hadn’t yet presented itself.

She had no mana to waste…

While she watched and waited, Liora recalled a conversation she’d had with Mayo weeks back when they were discussing strategies for the final exams.

Mayo had asked why she didn’t want to “preload the Bashe” before entering battle, feeding it sufficient mana so it could attack with more freedom from the start without needing to absorb enemy attacks first.

Entering with the Bashe full of mana would have been an advantage for offense. The serpent could have been 50% larger from the beginning, could have generated more miasma, could have executed techniques that currently required absorption buildup.

And she only needed the serpent to eat some beasts from already-defeated teams to achieve that, a “resource” that would have been relatively easy to obtain.

There’d surely be tamers willing to feel a bit of pain in exchange for appropriate compensation, especially those eliminated early whose futures weren’t too promising. Easy money for some desperate students.

Mayo had been genuinely confused when Liora rejected the idea. “Why not? It’s perfectly legal. You’d be stupid not to take every advantage.”

But Liora had told Mayo it felt like cheating to use that method.

Not technically prohibited by the rules, true. The regulations said nothing about a beast’s state upon entering the arena. You could arrive fresh or exhausted, empty or full, wounded or healthy. All that mattered was what you did during the match itself.

Besides, it wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface. There was a specific reason for not wanting to enter “big” into the fight that Mayo hadn’t considered in her suggestion.

A reason Liora wouldn’t explain even to close friends because it touched on the Bashe’s deeper capabilities, secrets she had decided to keep hidden until absolutely necessary.