Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 143 - Taming Changes

No sooner had the students spilled into the hallway than a crowd formed around Taro, the power dynamics visibly shifting before their eyes.

Hanʼs group was the first to approach, followed closely by Lunaʼs maids and cousins.

Even Jinʼs usual errand-runners now orbited nearby, trying to catch Taroʼs attention.

The corridor buzzed with excited whispers.

”Itʼs incredible!” Han beamed, his spiderʼs web patterns shimmering with excitement. ”First student with a bronze beast! And only 130 days after starting school!”

”Actually...” Taro scratched his head, clearly uncomfortable with the attention, his new beastʼs markings shifting beneath his skin, ”it was only 100 days of cultivation.”

”A hundred days?” one of the maids moved closer, her cloud bird manifesting in her hairt. ”How is that possible?”

”It was all thanks to Ren,” Taro smiled, his newfound confidence evident in his posture. ”He knew exactly what to do from the beginning to the end.”

Luna observed from a distance, leaning against the wall while her cousins and maids mingled with the group. A small smile played on her lips as her shadow wolf rippled at her feet.

”A Living Tunnel?” someone asked eagerly. ”What else can it do besides that crystal?”

”Oh, well...” Taro began, but was interrupted.

”Itʼs not that impressive,” Kleinʼs voice cut through the crowd like a knife. He approached with arrogant steps, his lion manifesting in bright patterns that seemed dimmer than usual. ”Itʼs still a mediocre beast. My lion will reach the same rank soon, and it will be much stronger.”

”Exactly,” Jin joined in, his group following automatically. ”I defeated you once, remember? Extra defense means nothing if my spirit punches can pierce through it like it doesnʼt exist.”

Taro rolled his eyes, remembering something that made his lips curve into a knowing smile.

”Itʼs funny you mention how good your beasts are,” he said casually. ”Ren mentioned your beasts are on the wrong path. That they wonʼt reach gold rank.”

Silence fell over the group. After the demonstration with the beetle, Renʼs words carried entirely different weight.

”In fact,” Taro continued, enjoying the moment, ”he said your lion, Klein, will stall at silver rank 3 from what he can see in your cultivation patterns... Not so golden after all, huh?”

Klein visibly paled, his lionʼs manifestation flickering erratically. ”Lies! My lion has golden lineage, everyone knows...”

”Like everyone ʼknewʼ my beetle could only evolve into a Great Digger, right?”

Han let out a laugh that others quickly joined, the sound echoing through the corridor.

”Ren promised to help me reach at least gold,” Taro added as if commenting on the weather, though his eyes sparkled with mischief.

”Gold?” Jin scoffed, but his voice betrayed uncertainty. ”A gold beetle? Now youʼve really lost your mind.”

”Like Professor Wei lost his?” Taro continued. ”You know what Ren says about your beastʼs rank? Bad news, itʼs...”

”Itʼs ridiculous,” Klein tried to regain control of the situation. ”A nobody with an inferior beast reaching gold...”

”Inferior?” Han stepped forward, his spiderʼs web glowing faintly. ”The only bronze beast in the first semester, the only tamer of a Living Tunel in history doesnʼt seem inferior to me... The odds of how far it can advance arenʼt set yet. And in only 100 days… When did you say your lion would reach that bronze rank?”

Jin groupʼs usual followers keep subtly backing away further from him, gravitating toward the group around Taro. The shift in power was almost palpable.

”Itʼs just luck!” Jin spat, his tiger manifesting in agitated stripes. ”Tricks and crazy theories from a rotting mushroom, theories that wonʼt work again!”

”Theories that worked once,” Mayo commented from where she watched with the other maids. ”They could work again.”

The crowd had clearly divided now. Jin and Klein with their most loyal noble followers on one side, while the majority clustered around Taro.

”When my lion reaches bronze rank...” Klein began, but his voice lacked its usual conviction.

”Bronze is just the beginning, and one day only one of us will reach gold,” Taro interrupted. ”Ren mentioned something about an error in the golden lionʼs cultivation pattern. Something about using the wrong light...”

Klein choked on his own words. Doubt flickered across his face like a shadow.

”You know?” Han smiled, his spiderʼs patterns weaving with interest. ”I wonder if Ren would be willing to check other beasts. You know, to help poor classmates avoid cultivation mistakes...”

Several students nodded enthusiastically.

”This is ridiculous!” Klein spun around. ”Letʼs go! We donʼt need to hear more nonsense.”

But as they walked away, it was evident their influence had been severely damaged.

”So, Taro,” Han threw an arm around his shoulders. ”What else has Ren said about alternative evolutions? Perhaps something about weaver spiders?”

Luna finally pushed off from the wall, a satisfied smile on her face as her cousins and maids fell in step behind her.

”Things are going to be very different from now on,” she murmured.

♢♢♢♢

”Master,” Ren paused after completing a series of exercises, his mushrooms pulsing softly in the morning light. ”Thereʼs something I want to tell you about your crane.”

Lin stopped correcting his posture, a shadow of something… Pain? Resignation? Crossing her face briefly.

”Thereʼs a method,” Ren continued while wiping away sweat, ”a thousand-day one that could bring your crane to Silver rank 1 or 2 power, at least in its speed specialty... and with your technique...”

Lin regarded him silently for a moment, her crane partially manifesting in feather patterns across her skin. At any other time, she would have dismissed such a suggestion as the well-intentioned delusions of a student trying to cheer her up.

But after what she had witnessed today in his room and Weiʼs class...

”A thousand-day method?” she finally asked, trying to keep her voice neutral though her eyes shone with what might be hope.

”Yes,” Ren nodded. ”It requires absolute consistency. Miss one day and you have to start from zero but...”

Lin sat on one of the training area benches, gesturing for Ren to join her. Her craneʼs patterns shifted with interest.

”Explain,” she said simply.

”Every dawn youʼll need to absorb a crystal,” Ren began, his mushrooms pulsing as he shared his knowledge, ”youʼll need to process crystals of your beastʼs rank, in this case bronze 1, with 10 minutes of first dawn light. But not the traditional way.”

”The time of day matters that much?”

”Itʼs crucial,” Ren smiled. ”Your crane has a natural affinity with dawn. Thatʼs when its speed peaks, isnʼt it?”

Lin blinked in surprise. It was a detail about crane beasts that very few had noticed.

”The crystal needs exactly 10 minutes,” Ren repeated. ”Plus it must be sealed with bronze rank aquatic plant root extract and...”

As Ren explained the methodʼs details, Lin felt something she hadnʼt experienced in years: true hope for her beastʼs future.