Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 665: Chapter 665 - Taming the Fifth Year: 1st Gathering Exam - 3

The statement had been simple and direct. Carrying the weight of certainty that came from knowledge, not speculation.

Selphira knew something. Something she thought Ren couldn’t handle right now.

”That’s not...”

”It’s the truth. Seeing it isn’t what you need right now.”

Julius had been present too, standing by the window with that rigid posture he adopted when dealing with an uncomfortable conversation.

”Sirius...” Ren had begun, Luna’s father’s name weighing on his tongue.

”You can’t do anything,” Julius interrupted, his voice flat. ”That’s the present truth. There’s no point in you suffering and risking yourself for something like that...” his voice became very low, dropping to a whisper. ”At least not yet.”

The words hung in the air like a sentence.

”But I could...”

”No.” Selphira was sharp... Final. ”Three days isn’t enough to get that deep down in the first place.”

Down... Implications about where Sirius was, or what remained of him.

”Then Luna,” Ren had whispered, thinking of his friend. Of how this would destroy her if she knew. ”She would...”

”Luna can’t know yet,” Selphira said immediately, cutting him off. ”Not yet, not like this. She has... enough situations to worry about.”

The emphasis on ’enough’ suggested she knew something about Luna’s current struggles. About the distance, the isolation, the walls.

”You know what she is...?”

”Ask her directly,” Julius interrupted, his tone becoming even more somber. ”We don’t have the complete information. And if she hasn’t told you... it’s her decision. All the more reason for you not to go.”

The logic was sound... Infuriating, but sound.

The silence was oppressive.

”You can’t go down there, Ren,” Selphira insisted softly. Gently, but with steel beneath the gentleness.

”But...”

”No buts,” her voice hardened. ”You’re not going to that place. Not now, not in this competition. Understood?”

Ren had nodded, because what else could he do?

And as he left that office, with the weight of secrets he couldn’t share and knowledge he couldn’t use pressing down on his shoulders...

He’d made a silent promise.

Someday.

Someday, when he was strong enough, when he had the necessary power...

He’d go there.

He’d find the truth about Sirius Starweaver.

No matter what that truth turned out to be.

♢♢♢♢

”I promise,” Ren nodded finally, returning to the present. To Zhao watching him with concern in his expression. ”We won’t go this time.”

”Good,” Zhao visibly relaxed. The tension bleeding from his shoulders, his stance becoming less guarded. ”Then, shall we see this famous efficiency of yours in action?”

Ren nodded.

Time to focus. Time to prove himself through results rather than reputation.

♢♢♢♢

”How much farther?” the first girl asked, trying not to sound nervous. Failing somewhat, her voice carrying a tremor she couldn’t quite hide.

They’d been moving for almost forty minutes now, deeper and deeper into the gold ring. The forest growing denser, darker, more alive with each step.

”Around another twenty minutes,” Ren responded without stopping, his pace steady and confident. ”The area we’re looking for is deeper in.”

”Of course it is,” the boy muttered, his voice carrying bitter sarcasm. ”Because going straight to the deepest point of the first Gold ring in the south side is so brilliant.”

”Do you have a problem with that? Scared? Too much mana?” Ren finally stopped, turning to look at him directly. Meeting his gaze without flinching. ”Because that’s the third time you’ve commented on the route. If you don’t trust your beast, you were free to stay at the IRON ring base camp.”

The challenge was clear and direct... No room for misinterpretation.

The boy clenched his jaw, muscles jumping beneath his skin. His hands curled into fists at his sides, but he didn’t move.

”I don’t have a problem, my beast can handle the mana for 3 days just fine... with only... 2 antimana potions,” he said finally, though the resentment was obvious in every word. ”Just making observations.”

”Good,” Ren turned again, resuming their march. ”But save your observations for when they’re useful.”

Liu let out a strangled giggle that he tried to convert into a cough when the boy glared at him with fury. But his hyena made a low sound that might have been laughter. The boy didn’t glare at the huge beast though...

They continued in relative silence for another fifteen minutes. The forest became denser with each step. The vines more numerous, hanging like sleeping predators waiting for prey to pass too close.

Ren could feel the presence of wolverines in the distance. Multiple groups, their territorial boundaries creating invisible lines of tension through the forest.

Zhao, who’d been observing from a respectful distance, moved closer. His steps were careful, making no unnecessary noise. ”Interesting choice of entry point. Why here specifically?”

”Lower wolverine concentration,” Ren explained, pointing to subtle marks on the trees. Scratches and scent markers that most people would miss. ”This is border territory between two groups. Greater territorial aggression but fewer fruits consumed. And the vines here are in their active growth cycle.”

He gestured to the nearest vines. Thick as a man’s thigh, dark green with veins that pulsed with elemental energy.

”See the glowing veins? That indicates elemental mana accumulation. In approximately two hours, they’ll produce ’small mana fruits’. Right now, they’re almost at optimal harvesting point. Maximum mana content, minimum defensiveness.”

”Wait,” Kade spoke, his tone more curious than hostile now. ”The vines are less defensive before producing? I thought it’d be the opposite.”

Well... At least this was a somewhat useful question instead of just complaints.

”It is for most plants,” Ren nodded, appreciating the engagement. ”But elemental vines are different because the fruits aren’t a mana accumulation for their own evolution. We still need to be careful, during production, they secrete a toxin that makes them almost untouchable in Gold Ring 1. It’s their primary defense mechanism now. Before that, they rely on rapid movement and entanglement.”

”So the trick is harvesting now, in the toxin cycle?” fan 2 asked, her undine swirling with interest. The elemental seemed to be paying attention too.

”Exactly. And doing it without damaging them, because damaged plants produce toxic gas.”

The implication was clear. One mistake could turn this from a harvesting expedition into a survival situation.

”And how do we do that?” fan 1 asked, her nervousness returning. ”We can’t just cut them, right?”

”No,” Ren confirmed, shaking his head. ”Cutting triggers the defense response.”

”Fire is their obvious weakness,” Kade commented, as if Ren were an idiot for not seeing something so simple. ”Just burn them and...”

”And destroy the materials,” Ren interrupted. ”Not all vines are wood element, and the ones that are... well, burned ones are useless for cultivation. The tissues decompose, most of the mana disperses. We need to harvest without damaging those tissues.”

The whole point was intact samples. Perfect specimens that could be used for beast cultivation, to be sold.

”Then how...?”

”We need a more... delicate approach.”

Kade made a skeptical sound in the back of his throat. ”Delicate... With plants that can trap you and squeeze you to death.”

”That’s why,” Ren smiled slightly, ”we need to be like the wolverines.”

There was confused silence.

”The wolverines?” Liu blinked, confusion written across his face. ”The ones that live here? The ones that are our secondary objective?”

”The same ones,” Ren nodded, continuing forward and gesturing for them to follow. ”Wolverines and Vines have a symbiotic relationship. Wolverines hunt the giant ants, the only ones that can resist the toxin and eat the vines. In exchange, the vines let them nest and give them mana fruits.”

He began walking toward the forest, signaling for them to follow. Teaching as they moved, making use of travel time.

”But here’s the interesting part: wolverines only nest in vines of their element and perform a spiral elemental mana technique that makes the vines relax. It’s part of how they coexist without the plants constantly attacking them.”

The pieces of the ecosystem clicking together.

”So,” fan 2 said slowly, understanding dawning in her eyes, ”if we can perform that technique...”

”The vines become docile,” Ren completed, nodding with approval at her understanding. ”Not completely, but enough to allow careful harvesting.”

Simple. Elegant. Using the natural ecosystem instead of fighting against it.

♢♢♢♢

The gold-rank elemental vine twisted around Kade like a serpent, its thorns glowing with energy that threatened to pierce even his bear’s tough hide.

”Get it off, get it off!” he screamed, trying to tear the plant off without success. His movements were panicked, making everything worse.

Ren sighed, watching him struggle uselessly against the aggressive vegetation.

They’d been at this for only five attempts and had already had three similar incidents. The learning curve was steeper for them than he’d hoped.

”Stop moving,” he ordered, approaching with empty hands. His jade wolverine remained in his body, its translucent furry skin around Ren’s torso and arms, the markings pulsing softly beneath his skin. ”The more you struggle, the tighter it gets.”

”But...”

”Stop.”

The tone made clear it wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order. One that needed to be followed immediately.

Kade froze, his eyes filling with tears of frustration as the vine continued coiling, now reaching his shoulder. Panic was beginning to install itself on his face, true fear breaking through his hostility.

He was imagining being crushed. Being squeezed until bones broke and organs burst.

Ren extended his hand and touched the plant.