Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 254 - Cheater Tamer, Player Patinder

The classroom was unusually quiet when Wei entered, carrying a folder with what everyone assumed were the partial results of the unit.

The students straightened in their seats.

The professor seemed different lately, less rigid, as if an enormous weight had been partially lifted from his shoulders.

He cleared his throat and observed the students, momentarily pausing on Ren, who occupied his now habitual place, his mushrooms pulsing calmly while he reviewed another text.

”Before continuing with todayʼs lesson,” Wei began, ”I have an important announcement concerning this unitʼs evaluation.”

The students felt a tense anticipation floating in the air.

”After thoroughly reviewing the works presented to date, and considering the exceptional contributions to the correction of course material,” he continued, ”I have made the decision to assign the first place of the unit to Ren Patinder in advance.”

A murmur traveled through the classroom. It wasnʼt a complete surprise, considering the joint work Ren had been doing with Wei in recent weeks, but the formality of the announcement made it official. The whispers rose in volume, a mixture of awe, resentment, and grudging acceptance.

”This means,” Wei continued, raising his voice slightly to overcome the murmurs, ”that Patinder is not only exempt from this unitʼs final exam, a grade of 100 alone will not be a tie with him.”

The reactions were varied. Some students, particularly those who had adopted Renʼs corrections for their own cultivation methods, nodded in approval. Others seemed indifferent, focused on their own grade prospects. Several exchanged glances, recalculating their chances in the semesterʼs remaining challenges.

But in two specific places in the classroom, the reactions were notably more intense.

Klein Goldcrest maintained a carefully controlled expression, but the tension in his jaw and the slight golden glow that occasionally appeared in his eyes betrayed his inner fury.

ʼAnother insult,ʼ he thought, his fingers imperceptibly tensing on the edge of his desk. ʼFirst gathering, then crystals, now this. How can it be that this... this rotten intruder keeps triumphing over me?ʼ

His mind frantically reviewed the calculations he had been making for weeks. With this first place secured for Ren, his own path to the semester honor was dangerously narrowing. He would need a perfect grade in Meiʼs unit, plus decisive victories in combat.

ʼIt doesnʼt matter,ʼ he assured himself. ʼCombat exams are where a tamer is truly measured. And there he wonʼt stand a chance against my Bronze 1 lion.ʼ

The rage inside him gradually transformed into a cold, calculating determination. He would prove to everyone… the professors, the other students, his family, especially Kassian, that he was a Goldcrest and as such could not be surpassed by someone so insignificant. It was a matter of natural order.

Of hierarchy.

ʼEnjoy your moment, Patinder,ʼ he thought, as a tense smile formed on his lips. ʼBecause it will be brief.ʼ

In another sector of the classroom, Luna observed Ren with a much more difficult expression to interpret. Her shadow wolf created subtly changing patterns in the shadow beneath her desk, rippling like dark water.

ʼFirst place. Again.ʼ Her admiration for Ren struggled against her own competitive spirit, creating a conflict she physically felt as pressure in her chest.

Unlike Klein, Luna didnʼt resent Renʼs success. She found it fascinating, inspiring even. The way the boy defied all expectations, how he ignored the initial taunts and obstacles to follow his own path... it was exactly what she herself aspired to do, though for different reasons.

ʼBut I need to be first,ʼ she reflected as she gently pressed the letter in her pocket, her determination reaffirming.

ʼI can beat him in Meiʼs, Linʼs and Yangʼs exams,ʼ she calculated, mentally organizing her strategy. ʼThe battles... there I have my chance.ʼ

Her shadow wolf stirred, responding to the intensification of her determination. Luna had been diligently practicing, refining techniques that most of her classmates wouldnʼt even suspect she possessed.

As Wei continued with his class, Klein and Lunaʼs gazes occasionally converged on Ren, both loaded with intentions, though of fundamentally different natures.

Klein saw a usurper, someone who threatened the natural order of things, who stole recognition that by birthright and status belonged to him.

Luna saw an equal, perhaps even someone she admired, but also an obstacle she must overcome to achieve her own goals. Her view of Ren carried respect, but also resolution.

Ren, apparently oblivious to these intense reactions, calmly continued his corrections. His mushrooms pulsed in their steady rhythm, illuminating the pages before him.

And while Klein planned his defeat and Luna his overtaking, Ren remained focused on what truly mattered to him: correcting what was wrong.

♢♢♢♢

Weiʼs classroom was about to go empty after the lesson as the students were getting ready to leave.

Larissa, always surrounded by her retinue of guards, was reviewing some notes when Ren approached her table. His steps were measured, deliberately casual.

”Larissa,” he said with an unusual formality for him, his mushrooms pulsing with a pattern that suggested certain nervousness, ”Iʼve been thinking a lot about what you told me the other day.”

Larissa looked up, an expression of curiosity crossing her face. ”Oh, really? And...?”

”Youʼre right,” Ren interrupted, his voice audible enough for several nearby students to clearly hear. ”Iʼm going to take responsibility for what I did.”

Luna, who was collecting her materials a few meters away, almost dropped her book.

Klein, who was conversing with Astor near the window, turned sharply, his expression oscillating between disbelief and malicious delight.

”Responsibility?” repeated Mira from her seat, her eyes widening as she exchanged glances with Sora. The two girls leaned forward, eager not to miss a word.

”I always knew there was something between them,” Mayo whispered loudly enough for others to hear, a smile forming on her lips. ”I warned my lady...”

Larissa, oblivious to the reactions the conversation was provoking (or perhaps perfectly aware and enjoying it) smiled enigmatically, not even fully understanding Renʼs intentions but playing along. ”Iʼm glad youʼve made the right decision, Ren. When do you plan to... act?”

”Right now, if youʼre available,” Ren responded naturally.

Several muffled gasps resonated through the classroom. Astor choked on the water he was drinking, causing a boisterous cough that Feng tried to silence by patting him on the back. Other students whispered frantically to each other, theories growing wilder by the second.

”I am completely at your disposal,” declared Larissa, standing with princely grace. A shimmer of light danced around her hair and shoulders before fading again.

”Close your eyes for a moment,” Ren warned just before releasing a flash from his head. The mushrooms blazed with sudden brightness, temporarily dazzling anyone looking directly at them.

It was at that moment that the plan was set in motion.

With coordination that suggested previous practice, Min seemingly appeared out of nowhere next to Larissa. His amphibian, the small herbivorous tadpole as Liu called it, had extended its partial invisibility field.

Simultaneously, Liu from the door activated his banshee hyena, creating a discrete bubble of sonic distortion around the small group. Sounds within this bubble would not escape, creating a pocket of privacy amid the bustling classroom.

”What are we...?” Larissa began to ask, but Ren interrupted her with a gesture.

”Trust me,” he whispered, as Min controlled the invisibility to include them all.

For the other students, it was as if the three had vanished into thin air. The initial confusion quickly gave way to an uproar of increasingly far-fetched theories.

”He took her!” exclaimed Roran, jumping from his seat. ”Ren just kidnapped Larissa!”

”Impossible!” protested Trent. ”No one can be that precocious!”

The guards in question, alerted by the sudden commotion, rushed to where Larissa had been. But it was already too late. The trio, protected by Minʼs invisibility and Liuʼs sonic distortion, skillfully slipped through the academyʼs hallways.

”Where are we going?” Larissa asked in an excited whisper. Far from being frightened, she seemed to be greatly enjoying this clandestine little adventure. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

”To our dormitory,” Ren responded. ”I have something for you.”