Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 258 - Cheater Tamer, Player Patinder - 5

”Do you also want the beast I prepared for you?” he asked, with a slight smile. ”I should warn you it was the most expensive of all.”

Luna clenched her fists, forcing herself to overcome her embarrassment. ”I apologize if I seem ungrateful,” she finally said. ”But first, may I ask what beast it is? There was one I wanted before obtaining the wolf, but it was difficult to obtain due to... particular circumstances.”

”Itʼs the beast that best complements your shadow wolf, in my opinion,” Ren responded. ”Although it seems that because of your family it was quite costly... Itʼs the base form of the celestial white tiger. A striped light cat.”

Luna brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes widening with surprise and something more complex:

A long-repressed yearning.

”Oh, Ren...” Liora shook her head with an expression between amused and concerned. ”Rather, itʼs my family thatʼs the problem now.”

”What do you mean?” Ren asked, confused by the reaction.

Larissa smiled with a certain melancholy. ”Lunaʼs family has had economic problems for some time. An unfortunate situation forced them to negotiate with their jurisdictions to stay afloat.”

”One of the concessions,” she continued, her voice softer, ”was the celestial tiger market, which passed into Selphiraʼs hands. Luna couldnʼt obtain the tiger she would have traditionally received as part of her family inheritance.”

”They also tried to disguise her as someone less important when entering her into the academy, taking advantage of the situation of the lack of tiger eggs,” Liora added. ”But the Goldcrests ruined the plan, preventing Luna from changing her surname when registering.”

”As you probably already know from Kleinʼs outbursts,” Larissa intervened, ”the Goldcrests have particular interests in Luna. Theyʼve been trying to get her father to accept a marriage between the families.”

”Although Liora has reasons to believe that wonʼt happen,” Larissa continued.

Kleinʼs nonsense sounded too improbable to them for this reason.

”But the alternative isnʼt ideal either...” Liora added, shaking her head.

”Liora is happy with the prospect of strengthening ties with her favorite cousin, of course,” Larissa concluded with a slightly mocking tone that made Liora shoot her a warning glance. ”But the Ashenways arenʼt exactly a charity institution either.”

Luna, who had listened to the explanation with growing discomfort, finally intervened:

”You donʼt have to worry about any of this, Ren,” she said firmly. ”The high nobility is an unpleasant and fake world that has nothing to do with you.”

”Iʼm not so sure about that,” Larissa murmured, though only Liu clearly managed to hear her.

”Please, forget everything youʼve heard,” Luna continued, her voice gaining determination. ”I belong neither to the Goldcrests nor the Ashenways, and Iʼll prove it starting with the semester battles and ending with the interschools tournaments.”

Her eyes fixed on Renʼs, a renewed intensity shining in them. ”Iʼll thank you for the rest of my life for getting me precisely the beast I wanted, although it might have been luck. Iʼll pay you the cost multiplied by a hundred one day, but let me be clear… Iʼll use this extra strength and all my present power to defeat you in the semester final battle exams.”

The last words werenʼt a threat, but an honest challenge.

Ren smiled, his eyes reflecting the same competitive spirit. ”Here,” he said, offering her the crystalline egg and its corresponding cultivation book. ”Iʼm sorry, but this time Iʼm not going to aim for a good battle to look good, but for victory.”

Luna accepted both with a formal bow, her shadow wolf partially manifesting in response to her emotions, creating undulating patterns in the shadows at her feet.

”You should proceed with the bonds now,” Ren suggested, looking toward the door. ”I donʼt know how much longer Liu can maintain his sonic field active and Taro the decoy in the courtyard.”

”Iʼm fine for a few more minutes on my part,” Liu responded, although small drops of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead from the continuous effort.

The binding ritual with Liora was quick and efficient. The demonic Bashe egg opened with a hissing sound, revealing a serpentine creature with black scales and red eyes that immediately coiled around her arm, establishing the bond with a crimson flash.

”Itʼs perfect,” Liora murmured, feeling how the Basheʼs energies harmoniously interwove with those of her will-oʼ-wisp.

Luna was the last to perform the bond. Unlike the previous ones, her ceremony had an almost solemn character. When the celestial white tiger egg opened, an intense light flooded the room for a few seconds. In its center appeared a small feline with white fur and luminescent stripes that seemed to be made of pure condensed light.

The cat looked at Luna with bright eyes that dramatically contrasted with the deep black of her wolfʼs eyes. Light and shadow, perfectly balanced.

When the bond was established, a momentary crown of intertwined light and shadow formed around Lunaʼs head before fading. Even Ren seemed surprised by the intensity of the reaction.

”That was... unexpected,” he commented, his mushrooms pulsing with what appeared to be scientific interest.

”Itʼs the royal resonance,” Larissa explained. ”The Starweavers from 10 generations ago discovered a ruin with a strange medicine that gave the leader of that time unconventional capabilities connected with other ruins... They say some of the descendants still inherit that power.”

Luna ignored the account of her family history while reverently stroking her new companion, as if fearing it might disappear at any moment. ”I canʼt believe I really have it,” she murmured, more to herself than to the others.

”Well, congratulations to everyone on their new beasts,” Min intervened, who had been unusually quiet during the ceremony. ”But I think we should consider how weʼre going to get three princesses out of our dormitory without causing a bigger scandal than before...”

Suddenly, a crash resonated from the courtyard, loud enough for everyone to hear it even through Liuʼs sonic field. Min ran to the window, slightly parting the curtain to take a peek.

”Oh no,” he murmured. ”Taroʼs living mineral dome underground has broken.”

The others hurried to the window, crowding to see what was happening. In the courtyard, Taro was surrounded by a group of guards and several adults in castle uniforms, all with severe expressions. Crystalline fragments of what had been an earth dome lay scattered around him, and Taro was gesturing animatedly, his face a mixture of badly feigned confusion and genuine nervousness.

”We have problems,” Liu said, his concentration momentarily faltering. ”I miscalculated... I wonʼt be able to maintain the field much longer.”

As if confirming his words, the sound of firm footsteps resonated in the hallway outside the room, followed by forceful knocks on the door.

”Open immediately by order of the royal guard,” demanded an authoritative voice from the other side.

Min and Liu looked at Ren with expressions of panic, but to their surprise, Larissa began to laugh softly.

”Donʼt worry, Ren,” she said calmly, approaching the window and opening it completely. ”This is nothing we canʼt handle.”

She looked down, to where Taro continued his distraction, and without warning, she jumped. The next instant she appeared a few centimeters above the ground and landed with feline grace next to Taro, startling the guards.

”Excuse the interruption,” she said with a charming smile. ”Is there a problem with my classmate?”

Liora observed her cousin with a mixture of exasperation and admiration. ”Always so dramatic,” she murmured, shrugging with resignation. ”I guess thatʼs my cue, see you.”

With much less theater but equal elegance, Liora jumped too.

Luna remained a moment longer, her eyes meeting Renʼs.

”Thank you again,” she said with a smile that illuminated her entire face, an expression of pure joy she rarely showed in public. Her white tiger purred with satisfaction from her shoulder.

Before Ren could respond, Luna took a step back, entering the shadow cast by the cabinet. Her body seemed to merge with the darkness, fading until only a slight glimmer of her new felineʼs bright eyes remained before disappearing completely.

The knocking on the door intensified.

”Last warning! Open now or weʼll be forced to enter by force!”

Min looked at Ren with panic. ”What do we do?”

”Open, of course,” Ren responded calmly, his mushrooms pulsing with their usual rhythm. ”We havenʼt done anything wrong.”