Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 550: Chapter 550 - Taming the Fourth Year: Connections - Good Guidance - 3

Ren explained his new situation in broad strokes.

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”I see, so that is what happened the day we had to rescue you and Julius from those new mutants... but you don’t have to worry.”

Selphira continued, ”if you tell me that your fungus’s cultivation worked today despite everything and the processed crystal entered the mana flow system, it means you can still take it to Gold 1...”

”...Something might change in your understanding when you achieve it at the end of your fourth year... It will be the perfect moment since your noble titles will also obtain true value after your 4th year is over...”

Selphira brought her hand to her chin for a moment.

”If you still haven’t recovered by then and don’t remember more advanced cultivation methods to obtain the 40-something million necessary, I’ll support you with materials and crystals to reach Platinum if necessary, so stop worrying about that...”

Selphira touched his shoulder and smiled.

The offer was staggering in its generosity. For Selphira to offer such support so casually demonstrated not just her resources, but her genuine interest in his future.

”Now,” she continued, switching into what was obviously full grandmother advice mode, ”let me give you some advice about how to deliver these gifts appropriately.”

”More advice?”

”Of course! There are right and wrong ways to apologize to young girls, especially when you’ve hurt their feelings.”

During the following twenty minutes, Selphira proceeded to give Ren a crash course in appropriate apologies.

”First, you have to be specific about what you did wrong. Not ’I’m sorry if I had hurt you’, but ’I’m sorry for yelling at you when you were trying to help me’.”

”Second, you have to explain why it happened without using excuses. ’I was stressed and handling it badly’ is an explanation. ’I couldn’t help it because I was stressed’ would be an excuse.”

”Third, you have to promise specific behavior change. Not ’it won’t happen again’, but ’I’m going to work on handling my stress better so I don’t take it out on you ever again’.”

”And finally,” Selphira smiled warmly, ”you have to ask for their forgiveness, not assume they have to give it.”

Ren nodded, trying to absorb all the information.

”And the gifts?” he asked.

”Good gifts are the ones to show you care about them, not just to ’buy’ forgiveness. Give them after the apology, and explain why you chose each specific thing.”

”Should I explain the runes too?”

”Definitely! It shows you put real thought into making something useful for them with your abilities specifically, not just pretty things.”

Selphira paused, studying his face carefully.

”Also,” she added more gently, ”you might want to acknowledge that growing up is complicated and that you’re still learning how to handle big emotions appropriately. They’re also early teenagers; they’ll somewhat understand.”

Ren felt some of the tension he had been carrying in his shoulders finally begin to relax.

”Do you think they’ll forgive me?”

”Oh, my dear boy,” Selphira reached out to pat his shoulder maternally, ”those girls care about you quite a lot more than you think. If your apology is sincere and thoughtful, of course they’ll forgive you.”

She paused, then added with slight mischief in her voice, ”Though Liora might make you squirm a bit first. She’s quite good at making people work for her forgiveness.”

Ren couldn’t help but laugh slightly at that.

”Now,” Selphira said briskly, ”let’s go back so you can practice your apology. And remember... honesty, specificity, and genuine remorse. Those are the keys.”

As they walked back toward where Luna and Liora were waiting, Ren felt significantly more prepared for what needed to happen next.

Sometimes, he reflected, having scary adults around could actually be helpful.

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Selphira indicated the direction of the private training area where the girls were practicing, and Ren headed there with some determination and a lot of nerves that turned his stomach.

When he arrived at the designated area, he stopped for a moment to observe before announcing himself.

Luna and Liora were immersed in an intense battle, moving with jumps and quick techniques that demonstrated how much they had progressed. Their beasts worked in perfect coordination: Luna’s Wolf (Now a Greater Elemental Devourer) was combined with her and helped her slide between shadows while her Light and Wind Tiger attacked Liora from above.

Liora kept dodging the tiger while coordinating perfectly with her demonic Bashe and while jumping thanks to being merged with the power of her Will o’ Wisp Greater Spirit.

Quickly calculating their power levels, Ren realized something that hit him like an uncomfortable revelation: right now, they were slightly above him in total beast boosts. They had obtained their second beasts before he got his third, and without his additional bonuses, the difference was notable since they also had the highest tier beasts.

Their combat was impressive. Every movement flowed seamlessly from defense to attack, every beast ability was integrated naturally into their fighting style.

He realized again that he had been a complete fool to feel on top of the world when he had quite unfair advantages. The girls had never really been weak; he had simply had aids that made them seem less capable in comparison.

This realization gave him renewed energy to make proper apologies. He had been arrogant and unfair, and they deserved to know he now fully recognized they weren’t weak or less than him at all.

When he finally entered the training area, the girls noticed him immediately.

And they launched at him, attacking with everything they had.

”We will show you we are not dead weight for your expeditions, Ren!” Liora shouted, apparently deciding that combat training could include a new target.

Ren, still quite tired and sore from his previous battle with Lin and Yang, barely had time to react. His reflexes, trained by combat with the ridiculously agile Lin, activated automatically to defend against the coordinated storm of attacks coming toward him.

His multi-elemental control and the knowledge he had repeated so many times about the girls’ specific beasts, theory of combinations he himself had developed, barely served to avoid losing in a completely lame way against two opponents with more power, and stamina at the moment, than him.

He managed to deflect some attacks and block others, but it was clearly desperate defense rather than a display of superior skill.

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When he finally ended up knocked down on the ground, breathing heavily, the girls stopped and looked at him with evident confusion.

”What the hell was that?” Luna asked, frowning. ”Since when are you so...”

”Slow?” Liora finished, looking at him suspiciously.

Luna became visibly angry, completely misinterpreting the situation.

”Pretending to be weak isn’t going to make us feel better!” she reproached him, and stomped on his chest hard.

Ren managed to activate his diamond armor in time to avoid real damage to his ribs, but the position he had ended up in, on the ground with both girls standing over him, gave him a perspective that his new mind full of adolescent thoughts found quite difficult to ignore.

He turned completely red.

His thirteen-year-old brain immediately focused on the wrong aspects of the situation, his memory of the idiot trio and the supposed underwear creating a feedback loop of embarrassment that made coherent thought nearly impossible.

Luna was about to misinterpret his blush as evidence that he didn’t want to tell the truth about pretending to be weak, but Ren managed to close his eyes firmly and force himself to finally concentrate.

”Wait!” he said quickly. ”I’m not pretending. I lost most of my power when Moo.. Mooshito sacrificed himself to protect me when I went underground to be an idiot. But that’s not the point right now!”