Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 526: Chapter 526 - Taming the Fourth Year: The Weight of Success (Part 1)

Ren was in his fourth year at the academy, and many things had changed...

His parents had successfully completed the thousand-day method, transforming their weak plants into Intermediate Mature Weak Plants, creatures that now rivaled Bronze 2 beasts in raw power, even approaching Silver when considering synergy and Vitality alone.

The leaves and vines manifesting in their hair now gleamed with a silver-green intensity that made other citizens look at them with respect instead of the condescending pity from before. They were no longer the poor cooks from the outermost district. They now ran the most successful restaurant in the middle district, frequented by minor nobles and prosperous merchants.

Fern Patinders smiled as she watched her husband Reed add the finishing touches to their signature sweetroot stew, the now stronger recipe that had once been their son’s favorite comfort food. The kitchen of their new establishment was spacious, well-equipped, and filled with the sounds of prosperity: sizzling pans, chopping knives, and the constant chatter of satisfied customers.

”Ren was right about everything,” Fern murmured, her enhanced vines gracefully managing six different cooking tasks simultaneously. The natural coordination that came from their improved beasts made their cooking appear almost like performance art.

”He indeed was,” Reed replied, his own plant manifestation carefully seasoning multiple dishes. ”Though I wonder if he is as happy as should be...”

Success had brought new challenges.

They had begun the ten-thousand-day method, a cultivation process that Ren had ’developed’ specifically for beasts that had already reached their theoretical differentiation limit. It was uncharted territory that they would be the first to explore, an incredibly long period even for people as dedicated as they were.

Yet the early results were so remarkable that they never missed a single day with the new method, which was essentially the same process but with slightly more energy density.

Their plants now pulsed with energy that should have been impossible for creatures of their original evolutionary line.

The twin turtles that Ren had given them had also prospered. Both had reached Silver 1 after absorbing Ren’s optimized cultivation methods.

But the most dramatic progress had been Ren’s own.

His fungus had reached Silver 3, a rank that officially placed him among the most advanced cultivators of his generation in the entire kingdom. The other contenders were, in fact, his own friends pushed by the same advantages. The mushrooms in his hair now glowed with a more metallic sheen, and the capabilities they granted had evolved as well.

The knowledge that flowed through him had become so comprehensive that he could analyze beast patterns of any tamer in the kingdom. His understanding of cultivation methods, evolutionary paths, and beast biology had reached levels that impressed even the academy’s most senior professors.

His hydra had reached Silver 2, gaining two additional size categories in the process. Each evolution brought it closer to Gold and to finally obtaining its first extra head, becoming a true hydra rather than its current single-headed form.

The wolverine, his most recent addition, had reached Silver 1 after a particularly complex cultivation process to guide it through a special development route. This beast granted him not only enhanced regeneration but also elevated his total elemental control to 250%... a power that Ren loved experimenting with constantly.

Yet earth and light remained his stronger ones by his beasts elemental bias.

During practice sessions, he could reshape the training field’s terrain with casual gestures. Earth responded to his will like clay in a master sculptor’s hands. Light bent around him in seemingly impossible patterns.

That power had also been responsible for several recent ”incidents” where students had ended up in the infirmary after challenging the ”mushroom genius”... a foolish trend that had emerged recently, supposedly to gain popularity by defeating the rising star who climbed the ranks too quickly.

They were somewhat right to doubt... the numbers were impressive by any standard.

According to his most conservative projections, his fungus would reach Gold 1 before the end of the academic year. His hydra would reach Silver 3 by semester’s end, and his wolverine would reach Silver 2 by mid-semester. These were milestones that normally took decades for most to achieve, not the first few years of school.

At this rate, the famous Gold 1 graduates that rarely appeared in 8th grade would look like a joke.

The only person who had managed to surpass him, ironically, was Taro.

His friend had religiously followed every cultivation method Ren developed, applying them to his digger beetle with dedication that bordered on obsession. The result was that Taro had reached each milestone approximately one month before Ren, an advantage he maintained with quiet but evident pride.

”I always knew the beetle had potential,” Taro would say with a grin whenever someone expressed amazement at his progress. His confidence had grown along with his power, transforming the once-shy boy into someone who commanded respect.

This extraordinary progress had brought tangible rewards. The four original members of the Gray Wing had been moved to dormitories for ”high-performance students”, more spacious rooms with better facilities and access to resources previously reserved for the academy’s elite.

When offered individual private rooms, Min, Liu, Taro, and Ren had decided to maintain their shared living arrangement. The familiarity and camaraderie they had developed during their most difficult years was something none wanted to sacrifice for any additional comfort.

”We started together,” Ren had declared when the housing coordinator looked confused by their choice. ”We’ll finish together.”

”Besides,” Liu added with a rare smile, ”who else would tolerate Ren’s midnight cultivation sessions or Min’s funny talk at dawn?”

The academy’s support had also increased dramatically. Ren now received 10,000 crystals (one bronze-gleam crystal) daily... an amount that would have been unimaginable during his early years.

He had shattered the record for best student in a crushing fashion for six consecutive semesters, earning 12 privilege increases and 6 actual rank promotions. He had been a Silver 3 student with a Silver 3 beast, making the symbolic rank seem like the normal rank. Now, for the new year, he already carried a Gold 1 insignia with Platinum student level rewards.

It was only a matter of time before he became a real Gold Rank to match his insignia. The school now supported him perhaps more than any student in history.