Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 365 - Taming Childhood - 2

The straw war ended when all three collapsed in laughter. For a moment, time seemed to rewind, as if Ren had never left the outskirts, as if he were still just one more among the districtʼs children.

But quickly he felt bad again... No, worse.

Here in the outskirts, children grew up with modest expectations. Their basic beasts guaranteed them lives of manual labor, perhaps as miners or farmers if they were lucky. Military service would be their first and only contact with the developed part of the city.

In contrast, his academy classmates, mostly children of nobles and wealthy merchants, were being prepared for positions of power and influence. Even those who began with seemingly mediocre beasts, like Taro, Liu, and Min had been, had prospects these children couldnʼt imagine.

”Hey,” Tao suddenly said, sitting up and pointing directly at Renʼs head, pulling him from his thoughts. ”You havenʼt told us what those glowing things in your hair are.”

”Right,” added Li, moving closer to get a better look. ”They look like mushrooms.”

The direct question took Ren by surprise. He had spent so much time among people who knew the general taxonomy that he had almost forgotten how strange it must appear to fresh eyes.

”They donʼt just look like mushrooms,” he responded, running a hand through his hair where the small mushrooms pulsed softly. ”They are mushrooms... Itʼs my main beast.”

The boys exchanged looks of confusion, their expressions almost mirror of each other.

”Your beast is...?” asked Tao, furrowing his brow so deeply his eyebrows nearly met.

”Surely youʼve heard about it.” Ren smiled at their confusion, finding their bewilderment oddly refreshing. ”My beast is a mushroom. Or more specifically, a spore.”

The silence that followed was awkward. Tao and Liʼs faces transitioned from confusion to amazement, and finally to an expression of utter disbelief.

”A spore?” repeated Li, as if the word were incorrect or he had misheard. ”You mean the...?”

”The weakest beast,” Ren confirmed with a resigned smile. ”Yes, exactly that one.”

The admission carried none of the shame it once had, transformed by time and achievements into something approaching pride.

Tao shook his head vigorously, sending bits of straw flying. ”But that canʼt be. Spores are the worst bad luck. A total failure. They only appear once every ten thousand invocations of the gray egg and...”

”And I was that one,” Ren replied. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed slightly brighter.

”But...” Li looked alternately at Ren and the adults ʼexpandingʼ the storehouse, trying to reconcile this revelation with the stories of the prestigious academy. ”With everything you just told us about your achievements and your super special school... It canʼt be that you have the most useless beast and still show off insignias, right?”

Ren shrugged, a gesture that carried both nonchalance and quiet confidence. ”Letʼs see... Where should I begin?

My beast gives three 30% increases and...”

With a fluid movement, Ren extended his palm. A soft luminous flash appeared, and above his hand materialized a small figure: a mushroom barely six centimeters tall, with a bright cap and tiny but remarkably expressive eyes. The creature looked around with evident bad temper, especially when its gaze fell upon the children. Its tiny face scrunched into a scowl that seemed impossibly detailed for its size.

Tao and Li burst into laughter, the sound explosive after the moment of shocked silence.

”Itʼs tiny!” exclaimed Tao between fits of laughter, clutching his sides. ”I thought spores were gray, withered clouds, or at least thatʼs what the horror stories of the unfortunate say... but yours isnʼt a cloud at all and even looks angry!”

”Look at its frowning face!” added Li, pointing at the small mushroom. ”It looks like a grumpy baby!” His laughter doubled him over, shoulders shaking with mirth.

The mushroom, apparently offended by the mockery, puffed out its cheeks and its small cap as if holding its breath. The gesture only made the boys laugh harder, their faces reddening with the effort.

”He doesnʼt take it well when people laugh at him,” Ren warned, though his own lips curved into a smile.

”Let us show you real beasts,” declared Tao, standing up with exaggerated pride. He puffed out his chest and planted his feet wide. ”Behold and be amazed!”

With a gesture similar to Renʼs but notably less refined, Tao invoked his beast. A greenish light enveloped the air in front of him, materializing into a plant approximately fifty centimeters tall. The creature resembled a collection of vines organized around a central stem, with three small roots functioning as feet.

”A Weak Iron Seedling!” announced Tao with disproportionate pride. ”Increases my vitality by 30%, everything else by 10%, and allows me to perceive and control plants a bit within ten meters!”

Not wanting to be outdone, Li performed his own invocation. The light emanating from his hands was a bit more intense, forming a similar figure but notably larger: a plant almost a meter tall, with thicker and more abundant vines, a robust stem, and roots that firmly gripped the ground.

”Common Bronze 1 Seedling!” proclaimed Li, inflating his chest. ”Vitality increased by 60%, everything else by 20%, and I can sense and control plants up to fifteen meters!” His smug expression dared Ren to be impressed.

”Oh... Well, theyʼre the plants everyone has. Iʼve seen my parentsʼ a thousand times, and theyʼre mature so theyʼre bigger than these, but... How did you manage to bring it to Bronze 1?” asked Ren, interested in something intrinsic to the situation.

The boys sighed upon seeing that Ren wasnʼt surprised in the slightest. He was right that they were very common though, and the new nomenclature was something he himself made…

”The governmentʼs new method,” Li responded with resurging pride. ”Everyoneʼs using it now. Itʼs fast and guaranteed. Though itʼs a bit wild with crystal sizes... At first there were some problems with mana poisoning, but now they send tutors who have already mastered it, so everyoneʼs fascinated and says that in the future, the Iron labor force will be entirely Bronze.” His voice rose with excitement as he spoke of this revolutionary change.

”Even the schools that had complained now promote it,” added Tao, nodding vigorously. ”The government pays for medicine if there are problems.”

Ren contained a smile, recognizing the description of his own method, adapted and distributed by Julius and Selphira as part of their strategy against the Goldcrests. The realization that his work had reached even this remote corner of the outskirts filled him with a quiet pride.

The small mushroom in his hand observed the plants. Though Ren couldnʼt access all the details at the moment without fully merging with it, he could sense the evaluation his beast was performing: incorrect cultivation values...

ʼAround 200/1000…ʼ Its tiny eyes narrowed as it assessed the plants with professional disdain.

”They sound impressive,” commented Ren, slightly uncomfortable with the position he found himself in. ”Itʼs interesting how a new method has changed traditional cultivation so quickly...” He carefully kept his tone neutral.

”Iʼm already following it too, and one day... One day mine will be just as big,” assured Tao, looking enviously at Liʼs plant. His expression carried the universal longing of children to catch up with their peers.

”You only have 800 left… If you keep adding silly steps, then no you wonʼt...” murmured Renʼs mushroom, its tiny voice unexpectedly clear despite its size.

The boys seemed not to believe what they had heard, their eyes widening at the talking mushroom. Ren intervened quickly to calm them and divert their attention from what appeared strange.

But… Was it normal for some beasts to talk? The question reflected in their startled faces.

”Donʼt worry.. If you follow the new methods to the letter, youʼll do well,” Ren commented, steering the conversation away from his unusual beast. ”Itʼs a matter of a thousand small actions that can ruin cultivation if done incorrectly. Itʼs easy to mature the beast prematurely if youʼre not careful so donʼt add extra stuff.” He slipped naturally into the didactic tone he used when explaining methods to academy students.

”You talk like Master Huang,” complained Li, rolling his eyes dramatically. ”All technical and boring.” He mimed falling asleep, complete with exaggerated snoring.

”But seriously,” insisted Tao, returning to the original topic while pointing at the small mushroom. ”How do you survive at that school with... that?” His tone carried genuine curiosity beneath the teasing.

The mushroom seemed to inflate even more with indignation, its cap swelling visibly.

”Even as grumpy as it is, Iʼve learned to care for it,” explained Ren, looking at his small beast with affection. ”Our relationship isnʼt perfect yet, but I try to interact more with him now, right?”

The mushroom turned its face away with an audible snort despite its size, before vanishing in a flash and returning to Renʼs body.

”See?” Ren laughed. ”Heʼs temperamental.” Yet the fondness in his voice was unmistakable, so different from how he might have spoken of his beast a year ago.

”So it really is a spore?” asked Li, his voice dropping as if mentioning something taboo. ”The ʼweakest beastʼ from the horror legends?”

”Exactly,” confirmed Ren. ”But itʼs not as they portray it. I was lucky and discovered its true utility.”

”What utility?” asked Tao, evidently skeptical. His crossed arms and raised eyebrow challenged Ren to convince him.

”Well, for starters, now at Bronze 2 it gives me 30% increases in Strength, Intelligence, and Vitality,” explained Ren, keeping his tone matter-of-fact.

The children looked at each other before bursting into laughter again.

”Thatʼs still terrible!” exclaimed Li between laughs. ”My plant gives me 60% in Vitality already at Bronze 1! When it reaches Bronze 2, itʼll be 90% plus your 30% but in all aspects.”

”Yes, the increases are terrible... And only in three categories,” Ren pointed out. ”But increases arenʼt the only good thing about my mushroom.”

”What else can something so small do?” challenged Tao, his hands on his hips in a defiant pose.

In response, Ren activated a partial fusion. Then the light extended through his body, forming crystalline patterns that hardened into a translucent armor. He kept the glow to a minimum to avoid alerting distant patrols, but the effect was sufficient to leave his friends gaping in astonishment.

”Whoa,” whispered Tao, approaching to examine the armor. ”Your tiny mushroom does that?”

”Something like that... Letʼs say itʼs part of one of its abilities,” confirmed Ren, flexing an arm to show how the armor moved with him. ”Crystal protection, though the complete version of this power is much more impressive.”

”Thereʼs a complete version?” asked Li, suddenly much more interested. The mockery had vanished from his voice.

Ren nodded, but didnʼt elaborate. His three-meter-tall hydra was already too large to invoke in this confined space, and the glow would be visible from afar.

”Itʼs still tiny,” insisted Tao. ”But I guess itʼs cool that it can do that.” The grudging admission was as close to approval as childhood pride would allow.

”So youʼre famous at your school for having the weakest beast and still kicking butt?” asked Li, summarizing the situation in his own way.

Ren smiled, deactivating the armor as the crystalline patterns receded back into his skin. ”Something like that.” The simple phrase carried the weight of a yearʼs worth of struggles, victories, and transformations, a journey these children could scarcely imagine but might someday understand.