Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 564: Chapter 564 - Taming the Fourth Year: Journey - 2

”This place is completely different from Master Zhao’s favorite zone,” Min murmured, observing with fascination the circular trees that rose like natural towers around them. The wood glowed with an internal heat that made the air shimmer slightly, creating visual effects that distorted the evening light.

The phenomenon was as beautiful as disorienting.

”Of course it’s different,” Liu adjusted his position to avoid getting too close to one of the trunks. ”We’re in Ashenway fire territory. This ecosystem is adapted around the fire element of those trunks.”

Ren stopped next to one of the smaller circular trees, observing the characteristic marks on the bark that indicated active habitation.

”Liu learned well... Also these are host trees for the commonly used elemental Wind Boars,” he explained, pointing toward the perfectly round cavities that perforated the trunk. ”They live in a mutualistic relationship. The boars get the heat they need to evolve in their natural line by adding fire to their wind element, and the trees get protection against their natural predators.”

As if summoned by his words, a guttural sound resonated from inside the tree. A pink, wet snout poked out from one of the upper openings, followed by small curious eyes that watched them cautiously.

The creature’s intelligence was clearly visible in its gaze.

”Are they different from the ones we eat?” Taro asked, maintaining a respectful distance.

”Yes, in elemental specialization... But also not really,” Ren shook his head. ”The ones in the city are pure wind element and ”fattened” to Bronze Rank... this one is Iron rank... Their main defense mechanism is inflating to generate explosions of hot wind, but they’re easy beasts to capture. They don’t attack in groups like Shadow Stalkers or Moon Toads.”

Min approached too close to another tree, and immediately a sharp shriek came from its interior. The Boar inhabiting that cavity visibly swelled, preparing to expel superheated air.

”Min, stop being an idiot!” Liu dragged him backward just as a gust of burning wind shot out of the hole with a strong sound.

”Nothing would happen to me against an Iron rank... I was just looking,” Min defended himself, although his hair now had slightly curled tips from the heat.

”You have to save energy to use invisibility when it’s important, and even though the trees are big... if you generate so much noise disturbing the creatures, you’re going to make them find us fast if they’re looking for us.”

Ren continued his explanation as they resumed their march, staying on paths that would avoid bothering the local inhabitants too much.

”The trees are definitely the foundation of this system and will help us hide. Here the soil is perfect for these plants that are actually also beasts from an evolutionary branch close to dwarf treants... their only problem in the zone are the Fat Water Birds. They live in the central lake of the territory and have elemental advantage over the trees. When they find one that doesn’t have a boar protecting it, they can cancel its fire defenses and absorb all its mana accumulation.”

Taro frowned, processing the information.

”So beasts wherever they live are always in constant war?”

”More like dynamic equilibrium,” Ren jumped over a root protruding from the path. ”Almost all Iron rank species are displaced from deeper rings by stronger beasts. They arrive here and establish their niches, but there’s always pressure from predators with advantageous elements... All creatures seek to obtain more mana in any possible way to evolve.”

Ren was somehow accustomed to being explanatory when there was something new. He found himself explaining everything he remembered from his fungus’s knowledge... information he no longer had access to but had managed to learn and didn’t want to forget.

The act of teaching helped him hold onto memories that sadly felt increasingly distant as time passed.

As they advanced, they began to notice signs of human activity. Bronze rank mana marks were common, which was expected. But they also detected several Silver signatures, which was unusual for this low-mana zone.

”It must be thanks to you making Silver rank more accessible,” Liu observed when Ren murmured about the strangeness, pointing toward a temporary camp they could see in the distance. ”More people can afford to hunt here now.”

”Must be good business for Bronze tamers,” Ren nodded. ”Not too lucrative for Silvers, but really safe. The beasts are predictable and not especially strong or with abilities difficult to counter...”

The economic implications of his cultivation methods spreading were something he’d never fully considered. How many lives had changed because his techniques were now accessible instead of exclusive?

When they finally crossed into the Bronze ring, the ecosystem changed notably. The Boars now had rudimentary flight capabilities, launching themselves from treetops like living projectiles when the trees felt threatened.

The Fat Birds had grown twice their size, and their territorial battles created spectacles of steam and wind.

”Look at that!” Min pointed upward, where one of the flying boars had just shot out of a tree, chasing two birds that were spitting pressurized water jets.

The boar inflated in the air like a balloon, then expelled all the air at once, creating a wind explosion that dispersed the hungry attackers. It landed heavily in another nearby tree and disappeared into a cavity, apparently satisfied with its defense.

”It’s like watching Mins against Mayos,” Taro laughed. ”Are all beast zones in the world like this?”

”Each ecosystem adapts to its own dynamics,” Ren explained as they navigated around a tree that was now larger. ”This one is relatively simple. Wait until we get to the Silver rings.”

The transition to the Silver ring was gradual but notable. The terrain expanded significantly, and new elements began appearing in the ecosystem. Stone Lurkers, or more precisely, their evolutions that had been displaced from the depths, added the earth element to the ecological mix.

These creatures had developed a symbiotic relationship with the Boars too in competition with the host trees, creating tunnel systems that provided additional refuges for the Boars while draining excess heat from the trees in an environment that was already becoming saturated.

”It’s fascinating,” Liu murmured, watching how one of the Stone Lurkers partially emerged from the earth near a tree. The creature was somewhat different from the one he had seen eliminated by Zhou Liwei that day. This one also looked like a living mound of rock, but its bright veins were arranged differently and pulsed with more intensity.

Being able to see evolutionary lines advance in such a visible demonstration was more interesting than expected. They could almost forget they might already be being pursued.

The natural world continued its ancient dance of survival and adaptation, indifferent to human politics and teenage adventures.