Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 153 - Taming the Ancient Ruins - 5

Liu was worried about losing friends again due to the smell that would linger in his mouth...

”Ah!” Liu snapped his fingers. ”The dried herbs! There are some boxes in the back, next to the oil barrels. Theyʼre not tasty at all, but theyʼre perfect for killing smells if you chew them.”

Liu began walking toward the back of the storage, directly toward the old barrel furniture that no one had moved in months.

ʼHeʼs just looking for herbs to...ʼ thought the cousin.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed something strange in the shadows near the barrels. Was it her imagination, or had something moved?

Liu kept approaching, cheerfully chewing his smelly preserve while his bat rested lazily on his head. Completely oblivious that he was heading directly toward...

The cousin narrowed her eyes, trying to better distinguish what she had seen. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw the gleam of eyes in the darkness.

♢♢♢♢

In Lunaʼs room...

The absence of Weiʼs class had made the morning unusually peaceful.

Mayo hummed softly while brushing Lunaʼs hair with expert movements, taking her time to create Lunaʼs perfect favorite hairstyle that she normally had to rush.

Matilda moved around the room with silent efficiency, folding yesterdayʼs pajamas and organizing the training uniform for later classes.

Lunaʼs shadow wolf dozed lazily in a corner, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

”We should thank Ren... I have a feeling weʼll have several mornings like this after Weiʼs humiliation,” Mayo commented while braiding a section of hair. ”I could send him a bouquet of roses... with a note saying something like, ʼThanks for an unhurried morning, with love: Lunaʼ.”

Luna rolled her eyes and was about to respond when three firm knocks resonated on the door.

The girls exchanged glances and following protocol...

Matilda opened the door to find two of the new ”students”. The usual formality in their faces had been replaced by a sense of urgency.

Luna noticed the change immediately. ”Matilda, close the door.”

The newcomers didnʼt even wait for the door to close completely.

”Two energy anomalies underground,” the first reported without preamble. ”Our companions with perception beasts detected them 1 minute ago. Somethingʼs happening under the school.”

”And thatʼs not all,” the second added. ”The four caretakers assigned to your cousins sent a message. They believe they might be in danger again from their ʼspy gamesʼ shenanigans.”

Lunaʼs wolf entered her shadow, responding to her concern. ”Which game?”

”They went out monitoring again, escaping early and unwatched, it seemed safe as always so our team followed from afar, but apparently one decided to follow the mushroom boy,” responded the first agent.

”...But the boy went to the caves again today. The energy anomalies... theyʼre enormous. The kind that shouldnʼt exist under the academy.”

”We need to act together,” the second agent looked meaningfully at Luna.

As agents infiltrated in a childrenʼs class, Julius couldnʼt form too strong a team since age greatly affected the rank children could reach through cultivation time. Individually they barely reached bronze rank 1 and 2.

Luna vividly remembered the incident with the gold rank 1 agent.

If something similar was happening...

”The six of us together can protect them even then, our beasts are specialized in protection and recovery,” continued the first. ”But if there are serious problems, weʼll need total team coordination.”

”First we want you to get to safety,” added the second agent. ”But we need someone to inform the director. If there are intruders of the level of the last incident...”

”Excuse me?” Luna arched an eyebrow.

”Youʼre our primary protection target,” the other agent added. ”We canʼt risk anything happening to you while weʼre all investigating the anomalies.”

Luna clenched her fists, her shadow wolf manifesting with more intensity. ”My cousin could be in danger.”

”And weʼll handle it,” the first agent insisted. ”Please, stay where we can guarantee your safety when we return.”

”My lady,” Mayo intervened, her usual playful tone completely absent. ”What are your orders?”

Luna held her gaze for a long moment before sighing. ”Fine. Iʼll stay... Iʼll go to the director,” Luna decided. ”You gather with the others.”

The agents nodded, apparently satisfied, and headed for the door, but Luna stopped them.

”And girls,” her voice turned icy, ”if you find my cousin... make sure she returns safely.”

The ”students” exchanged a look before nodding.

When they left, Mayo and Matilda were already ready, their beasts partially manifested.

”Do you think itʼs another Yino intruder?” Matilda asked as they followed Luna down the hallway.

”I donʼt know,” Luna clenched her fists. ”But if someone hurts my cousin, theyʼll discover there are things worse than a gold rank 1 beast.”

Mayo and Matilda knew that expression on Lunaʼs face too well.

”My lady...” Matilda began.

”Mayo,” Luna interrupted while her wolf began merging with the shadows. ”Go to the director. Inform him of the situation.”

”And you?” Mayo asked, though she already knew the answer.

Luna smiled while the shadows enveloped her. ”Iʼm going to find my cousin. And let no one tell me who I can protect.”

Before they could protest, Luna had disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the echo of her last words.

♢♢♢♢

”Stop,” Ren raised a hand when the tunnel ended abruptly against a crystalline wall that glowed with strange energy. ”Itʼs here.”

Taroʼs Living Tunnel stopped, its segments pulsing while evaluating the new barrier. Renʼs hydra sniffed the surface, its crystalline scales resonating slightly with the material.

”Is this...?” Min approached to better examine the wall. ”The mana cristal barrier?”

”Yes,” Ren ran his fingers over the surface. ”But look at this.”

His mushrooms pulsed while pointing to an irregularity in the crystal. What appeared to be a solid, impenetrable wall had a crack, barely visible under the living crystal light that coated their tunnel.

They used their beasts and began digging around it until they finally had an entrance...

”Itʼs small,” Taro observed, studying the opening. ”Very small.”

”Weʼll have to return the beasts,” Ren began vanishing his hydra into his body. ”Itʼs the only way to get them through.”

Ren was the first to try. Used to moving in the small secret tunnels heʼd made, it wasnʼt difficult for him.

Min followed, though he had to contort a bit to pass. His snake remained manifested, being long but not thick managed to slide through the crack with relative ease.

Taro stayed looking at the opening with apprehension.

”Iʼm not going to fit,” he declared after studying it. ”Iʼm more... robust.”