Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 147 - Taming New Beginnings

”One more thing,” Lin added before leaving. ”When the time comes to talk to Julius, let me prepare the ground first. As I said, heʼs trustworthy, but even he might have a strange reaction when he learns a first-year student achieved something supposed to be exclusive to royalty.”

The silence that followed Linʼs departure was heavy.

Min, Liu, and Taro watched Ren with concern, their excitement diminished by the metaphorical rain falling on his achievement while he remained unusually still, apparently lost in thought.

”Hey,” Min began, ”itʼs not so bad, you just need to keep the hydra secret for a while and…”

He stopped when a big smile began forming on Renʼs lips.

”Lin...” Ren murmured, his smile growing. ”Lin was so worried about the hydra issue that she...”

His eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous realization.

”SHE FORGOT ABOUT MY TRAINING!” he jumped from his bed with explosive energy. ”This is our best chance!”

”Oh no,” Taro recognized that look. ”Oh no, no, no...”

Ren grabbed Taro by the shoulders, his new muscles enhanced by the stacked 60% buff making his grip surprisingly firm for a 10-year-old.

”Ren!” Taro blinked in surprise. ”Since when are you this strong?”

”Fifty percent extra strength increase...” Liu reminded him.

Ren practically glowed with excitement. ”This time we donʼt need an elaborate distraction like last time!”

”Last time?” Min narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

”I wanted to start gathering materials for the hydra and my world mushroomʼs next level but theyʼll have to wait... We need to seize this morning!” Ren was already dragging Taro toward the door. ”The ruins await us!”

”Wait!” Taro tried to resist, but Renʼs new buff made it surprisingly difficult. ”Shouldnʼt we at least discuss what you want to do or...?”

”There is no time to talk!” Ren was already running down the hallway, dragging a resigned Taro by the arm. ”Lin could remember about our training at any moment!”

Min and Liu looked at each other for a moment.

”Should we...?” Liu began.

”Follow those idiots before they get into trouble?” Min sighed while his snake coiled nervously. ”Probably.”

♢♢♢♢

In Yino territory...

Morning light barely illuminated the path when a figure crawled out of a mine.

Its anthropomorphic silhouette was grotesque: where arms should be, two enormous scorpion pincers moved erratically.

The guard at the entrance noticed the movement and raised his lamp, tense and prepared to face a threat.

The light revealed a disturbing sight: a man covered in dirt and dried blood, his uniform in tatters.

The guardʼs initial tension dissipated upon recognizing the characteristic marks on the uniform of a Yino abyssal soldier, though heʼd never seen one in such poor condition.

”Registration?” the guard asked automatically, following protocol despite the obviously abnormal situation. ”I need to note the materials that...”

The scorpion pincers vanished, revealing stumps where the manʼs arms should be. His blood-shot eyes tried to focus on the guard before his body finally gave out.

The soldier collapsed at the entrance, his last incoherent mumblings about lost cores and stolen eggs.

”Itʼs Hagen!” the guard shouted. ”The abyss cartographer!”

Other guards near the entrance came running.

Few people in Yino didnʼt know Hagen, the man who had mapped the depths longer and across greater expanses than anyone. His maps had discovered dozens of new mana veins for the city in recent years.

”Bring a healer!” another guard was already running toward the emergency post. ”And notify the Captain!”

Transport was complicated. They didnʼt want to cause more damage...

When they finally reached the infirmary in the city center, the head healer was already waiting.

”By all the...” the healer stopped upon seeing Hagenʼs condition. ”What in hell happened here?”

The damage was extensive, not just the lost arms, but massive internal trauma suggesting heʼd been crushed and beaten multiple times.

♢♢♢♢

When Hagen finally awoke, his first instinct was to reach for his bag, only to find himself moving a bloody stump.

ʼRight…ʼ

He tried with the other arm, achieving the same pathetic result.

”Damn it,” he muttered, concentrating to manifest the hippogriffʼs claws.

The transformation was painful, his beast as exhausted as he was.

The claws werenʼt the best ”hands” now, they were clumsy, designed for tearing, not fine manipulation. Though they were better than the pincers...

After three frustrated attempts to reach his bag, Hagen let out a curse that would have made a sailor blush.

”Mr. Hagen,” the healer rushed in. ”I need to administer more treatment. The damage was too severe to heal in one session. My mana wasnʼt enough to heal everything in the first round.”

Hagen tried to wave his ”hand” dismissively but with his claw… only succeeded in knocking over a tray of instruments. He rolled his eyes, frustrated by his new clumsiness.

He sighed heavily, concentrated, and moved his claw slowly... He felt his bag, confirming he still had what he needed.

”About your arms...” the healer began cautiously. ”Iʼm afraid we have no way to...”

”Donʼt worry about that,” Hagen interrupted. ”Soon it wonʼt be a problem.”

A familiar laugh resonated from the door. ”Wonʼt be a problem? What are you planning to do? Grow new arms?”

The east zone supervisor entered, followed by the guard who had found Hagen. The smile on his face froze upon seeing the damage to his body.

”Hell, Hagen, you look terrible,” he whistled. ”Did you run into the King of Yano or what?”

Hagen let out a laugh. ”The King? No, no... from what I heard, if it had been the King, Iʼd be dead.”

He straightened with difficulty.

”This one,” he raised his left stump, ”I gifted to that Director Ignatius when I tried to recover the first egg someone stole from me. And this other one,” he raised the right, ”was a farewell gift to the prince when I tried to save the second egg.”

”The eggs?” The supervisor frowned. ”The ones you were supposed to find in the deep zones?”

”You see...” Hagen told him most of what had happened.

”Why the hell did you leave the depths?”

”Because Iʼm a proud imbecile,” Hagen rolled his eyes. ”A stubborn idiot who wouldnʼt accept to lose what was lost...” Hagen sighed, making the hippogriffʼs claws disappear and raising his stumps. ”But I learned my lesson.”