Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 303 - Tamer’s Battle Week - 39

The first seconds of combat continued with this pattern: perfectly timed spatial jumps, attacks that found only air, defenses that anticipated movements that hadnʼt yet begun. It was a demonstration of profound mutual knowledge, each cousin moving with the anticipation that comes only from years of training together.

”Shared experience is a double-edged sword,” commented Ren, looking at Taro. ”You know your opponentʼs weaknesses, but they also know yours. Without a clear advantage...”

Despite the recent battle against Kleinʼs team, neither cousin showed signs of mental fatigue. Their movements were intense, each seeking the single opening that could unbalance the combat.

What was particularly interesting to Ren was how Liora seemed to be containing part of her power. Her will-oʼ-wisp maintained that characteristic sky-blue tone, showing no indications of the darkening she had exhibited in her combat against Klein.

”She doesnʼt want to use the Bashe,” murmured Ren. ”Sheʼs respecting Larissaʼs decision to keep her second beast secret.”

”Do you think Larissa will never show her second beast?” asked Taro.

”Iʼm not sure how bad it really is for her to show it,” murmured Ren, feeling a bit guilty again for having forced her to do what she seemed to desire in her subconscious.

In the arena, the balance began to subtly tilt. Despite having a much more powerful offense, Liora was finding it very difficult to connect a single significant attack. Larissa, with much less attacking power but a more defensive and calculating style, employed her spatial jumps with absolute economy.

”Theyʼre on opposite sides of specialization,” observed Ren. ”Liora has devastating offensive power, but relatively weak defense. Larissa possesses extraordinary defensive control, although her attack capability is more limited.”

”So who wins in a confrontation like this?” asked Min, curious.

”Larissa has less damage but itʼs not low; a single well-executed attack would eliminate Liora too... In theory, whoever connects the first significant blow will win,” replied Ren. ”Liora only needs to connect once in the same way to break Larissaʼs high defense and the combat would end almost instantly... Theyʼre evenly matched due to the rules specific situation.”

As if hearing Renʼs analysis, Larissa executed a maneuver that risked all her mana to achieve that single direct attack. After several spatial jumps that seemed random but followed a specific pattern, she created crystalline formations that dispersed light in a peculiar way, generating multiple reflections of herself. The mineral constructs shimmered throughout the arena, each one a perfect mirror image of Larissa, poised and ready to strike.

Liora, who could see her opponentʼs mana, wasnʼt concerned about the situation and activated her mana vision, forcing her eyes to avoid confusion with the reflections. Her gaze sharpened as she scanned the crystalline duplicates, searching for the true signature of Larissaʼs power.

Larissa, who had been waiting precisely for this decision, appeared instantly behind one of the mirrors.

Liora was confident that Larissa couldnʼt use this to hide from her attacks that could be guided, so she launched her fire spirits to surround the crystal, but Larissa didnʼt intend to use the crystal as defense.

Her mineral fairy projected a powerful flash of golden light, in the style of Renʼs kidnap from that day, which reflected off the crystal and blinded Liora, who had her eyes wide open using mana vision.

Larissa jumped just as Liora closed her eyes and appeared with her mineral spear right beside Liora. She didnʼt stab her... she just struck her hard in the head with the handle.

The impact was clean and decisive. The will-oʼ-wisp vanished in a blink of blue light, and Liora fell to her knees while struggling to maintain consciousness, her connection to her beast momentarily disrupted by the strike.

”You tricked me,” she declared, staggering. ”Well played, cousin.” She said just before the lights went out.

Lin advanced to the center of the arena. ”Victory for Larissa Dravenholm!”

The applause was immediate and respectful. Despite its relative brevity, the combat had shown a level of speed and technique that impressed even older students.

Larissa approached Liora while an auxiliary healed the possible contusion before it could generate permanent damage. ”Your fire is still terrifying,” she commented with a genuine smile. ”If I had lost concentration for one second...”

In the stands, Selphira Ashenway observed the scene with a neutral expression. Her lips tensed briefly before letting escape a barely perceptible sigh. It wasnʼt the victory she would have preferred, but at least there was a consolation.

”At least Liora can still win the final with Larissa in the team section,” she murmured to herself, her fingers gently drumming on her seat. ”Larissa had better win the individuals too. Only then will Liora have lost to the number one.”

Her gaze momentarily shifted to another sector of the arena, where a boy with luminescent mushrooms in his hair attentively observed the combat. Her eyes narrowed slightly before returning her attention to the central arena.

The rest of the dayʼs combats transpired without particularly memorable incidents. Some students showed promising techniques, others confirmed expectations, but none generated the level of interest that the battles between members of Group B had provoked.

♢♢♢♢

The next day began with the semifinals of the team combats. Renʼs team faced a trio from Group D that had surprisingly advanced far thanks to a combination of compatible beasts.

However, the Gray Wing proved to be vastly superior. The victory was clear and quick again, their strategy dismantling their opponents in less than one minute.

The second combat pitted Larissaʼs team against a trio from Group A.

The cousins, along with Maria who had completely recovered, deployed a defensive strategy that systematically frustrated each attempt at approach by their opponents. Larissa and Lioraʼs spatial jumps, combined with the solid defense of Mariaʼs armadillo against a team that didnʼt have the firepower of Kleinʼs, resulted in a victory that made clear why they were considered favorites by many.

The teams final ended up entirely in the hands of Group B. Team Ren versus Team Larissa, in what promised to be an exceptional confrontation.

It wasnʼt just a clash between talented students; it was a collision between different philosophies of power, between aristocratic talent and the new lucky ones of the supposedly ”mediocre wing”.

With enough time before the end of the day, Lin announced that they would continue advancing in the individual tournament.

”To select the eight finalists among the twenty-four qualifiers,” she explained, ”a system of ʼbyesʼ has been implemented based on previous performances and accumulated scores.”

The announcement generated some confusion among less familiar first-year spectators with the tournament procedures. Lin quickly clarified:

”Participants with the highest scores in previous battles will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the rest must compete to obtain the remaining places.”

The list appeared on the stadiumʼs giant screens, provoking a new wave of murmurs. Ren Patinder, Larissa Dravenholm, Klein Goldcrest, and Luna Starweaver had qualified directly to the quarterfinals thanks to their exceptional previous performances.

The qualifying combats determined the four remaining students: a single student from each Group A, B, C, and D.

At the end of the day, when the pairings for the quarterfinals were announced, new expectations arose among the audience:

”Larissa Dravenholm will face Luna Starweaver. Klein Goldcrest will match with Ren Patinder. Both combats will take place tomorrow, after the teams final.”