Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 113 - Guide Tamer Ren Patinder - 4

”As for the rest...” the prince manifested his second beast.

The wolverine that emerged was massive. Its fur had an earthy tone and its body seemed to partially merge with the ground beneath its paws. Crystals and minerals sprouted from its skin like natural armor, each one catching and reflecting the Qilinʼs light.

”Watch,” Julius commanded his beast.

The wolverine approached the hydraʼs corpse and, to Renʼs surprise, began to devour it systematically. But something was weird, the pieces it swallowed seemed to disappear into some kind of internal space.

”It has a special cavity,” the prince explained upon seeing Renʼs expression. ”It can store objects without digesting them. Quite useful for transporting things... or eliminating evidence.”

Renʼs mushrooms pulsed with fascination while observing the wolverine methodically consume the hydraʼs remains. When it finished, the beast simply vanished, returning to Juliusʼs body.

”Are... are the remains inside you now?” Ren couldnʼt help but ask.

”In a way,” Julius smiled. ”Though I prefer not to think too much about the details. Do you have everything you need?”

Ren nodded, carefully securing his bounty.

ʼA beast that can store objects,ʼ he thought as they advanced. ʼWould be really convenient...ʼ

His mushrooms pulsed, reminding him there were more immediate things to worry about.

♢♢♢♢

”Now,” the prince resumed their path, ”since Iʼve answered your questions, how about you tell me more about that spore of yours?”

”Well...” Ren began, but stopped abruptly. His mushrooms pulsed with a different rhythm.

”Whatʼs wrong?”

”Weʼre close,” Ren pointed ahead. ”The vein is just past that ʼbridgeʼ turn.”

Julius noticed the topic change but decided not to press. For now. The boy was more skilled than he appeared at handling difficult conversations.

Before Julius could ask more, his mushrooms pulsed with intensity.

”Itʼs here,” he pointed to the large chamber as they exited the tunnel.

The vein revealed itself as a crystal bowl that glowed with pure energy. The mana pressure was considerable, for someone with a common spore, it should be almost unbearable to approach the flow.

Ren knew he still had about ten minutes before really needing the medicine, but...

His mushrooms pulsed erratically while he pretended to stagger slightly.

”The mana...” he murmured, taking out the vial the prince had given him. ”At this depth...”

Julius observed how Ren drank the medicine, his eyes studying every movement. The boy seemed genuinely affected by the pressure, which was consistent with someone bearing a simple spore.

And yet...

”Better?” he asked while Ren recovered his ”balance.”

”Yes, thank you,” Ren nodded, hoping his performance was convincing. If the prince thought he could barely handle himself at this depth, maybe he wouldnʼt insist on exploring further down, filling him to the brim with potions.

”The vein is impressive, itʼs rare to have them at this low depth,” Julius approached to examine the crystals. ”Is this what you were looking for that day?”

”Something like that,” Ren responded vaguely, his mushrooms pulsing while searching for the mantis core.

The dangling core should be here, oscillating right where he had left it, but...

ʼDisappeared,ʼ he thought with a touch of sadness. At least he still had the hydra egg as backup.

”Interesting location,” Julius commented while descending to examine the geyser more closely. ”You were right, itʼs not particularly inaccessible. Though with recent... problems... Itʼs not worth the effort to come here to...”

”To create more random eggs for the kingdom?” Ren completed the thought.

His mushrooms pulsed while considering something. ”Is that how... how you make the random colored eggs, using the veins?”

Julius stopped mid-inspection.

He turned slowly toward Ren, a smile forming on his lips.

”You know, I really should kill you for asking such perceptive questions.”

Julius observed the boy. His knowledge was too precise to be coincidence, too specific to be just reading... but it also didnʼt fit the profile of a spy... Perhaps it was even worse.

It was as if Ren was a mystery that grew deeper with each answer.

ʼEvery time I learn more,ʼ thought Julius. ʼI understand this boy less and less.ʼ

Ren tensed for a moment before noticing the gleam of amusement in the princeʼs eyes.

”I realize,” Julius continued, ”that itʼs quite difficult to hide things from you. Youʼve probably already deduced most of it...”

He approached to examine a particular crystal formation. ”Yes, the kingdom has a massive mana vein. Thatʼs where we get the eggs we distribute.”

Renʼs mushrooms pulsed with interest while absorbing this confirmation of his suspicions.

”The problem,” Julius sighed, ”is that we can barely control what type of eggs form there. Most methods for obtaining specific beasts require a dragon brooding or at least a platinum rank beast, and we donʼt have...”

He stopped, but Ren had already caught the implication. The Kingʼs platinum Qilin probably had played a crucial role in producing eggs for the royal family, but that wasnʼt a detail that needed mentioning.

ʼToo late to hide it... Though it was obvious to me.ʼ

”This vein is too small,” Julius continued, apparently oblivious to Renʼs thoughts. ”There is a method to revive cores using concentrated mana, but here we could barely produce one egg per month. Maybe one every ten days if we found a creature willing to brood but few could live at this depth. Oh, the hydra perhaps...”

”But itʼs not worth the effort, right...?” Ren left the question hanging so the prince wouldnʼt follow the conversation thread that would lead back to why the hydra had followed him up.

”Exactly. The gold rank beasts that can survive here canʼt brood, or arenʼt strong enough to make the effort worthwhile...”

Renʼs mushrooms pulsed while looking around.

”Anyway,” Julius straightened, ”Iʼll discuss the possibilities with the Director. Though small, a pure mana vein always has its uses.”

Ren nodded, his mind working quickly. If the kingdom had a massive vein somewhere it must be in...

”Donʼt bother trying to find the big one we have,” Julius smiled, reading his expression. ”The main vein is very well protected. Though,” he added with a wink, ”I have the feeling youʼd find a way to get there if you really tried.”

Renʼs mushrooms pulsed with what might have been embarrassment or amusement.

”After all,” the prince continued, ”you seem to have a special talent for finding trouble and things that are supposed to be well hidden.”

ʼIf you knew I already know where it is… maybe you would actually kill me...ʼ thought Ren.