Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 620: Chapter 620 - Taming the Fifth Year

The fifth year marked the halfway point, and with it came a total, almost extreme change in the kingdom’s educational system.

Having reached this milestone, the midpoint of their education, young people entered a period of intensive preparation for adult life that they would attain at the year’s end.

The shift was as dramatic as moving from childhood to adolescence.

This year’s classes differed dramatically from previous years, focusing much more on practical application and social roles, leaving regular classes almost entirely behind. No more theoretical lectures about beast biology or historical battles. Now it was all about real-world application, about proving you could function in the complex machinery of the kingdom’s social and political structures.

Once they reached sixth year, students would be considered adults with defined roles in society. Not only students anymore, but half-functioning members of the hierarchy.

As Ren had already noticed many times in past years’ tournaments, students from 6th to 8th year were rarely found within the academy’s walls.

They spent most of their time fulfilling collection missions in dangerous territories, guard duties at border posts, and other responsibilities that solidified their place in the kingdom’s hierarchy. They returned only for evaluations and special training sessions.

But before reaching that point, before being able to call themselves ”upper grade students” with the respect that title commanded, the fifth year brought with it a series of tests that would determine everything about their futures.

These important tests were administered by the most influential academic organizations of the three largest academies in the kingdom. Each institution brought its own standards, its own expectations and its own biases.

These institutions cooperated as a large collegiate body to finally determine the results of this important transitional year’s tests. The cooperation was supposed to ensure fairness, though everyone knew politics still played a role.

In the end, nobles would earn their official place in the nobility, not just the courtesy titles their families granted them, but real legal standing with all the rights and responsibilities that entailed. And warriors would have a clearly defined hierarchy based on demonstrated merit rather than family connections.

And not only that..

This was considered one of the most important years because the three academies took advantage of this transition to compete with each other.

Rankings were published.

Reputations were made or broken.

The academies maintained a competitive level and a spirit of improvement both among the institutions and among individual students.

An environment where excellence was demanded and mediocrity was visible to everyone.

♢♢♢♢

”So basically,” Larissa summarized after explaining all this to Ren while they traveled in the carriage, her hands gesturing as she organized the complex information, ”the fifth year is when all your rewards become official.”

Ren nodded, processing the information. The carriage swayed gently as it moved through the city streets, the clip-clop of hooves providing a rhythmic background to their conversation. He had understood this year would be different, but hadn’t fully grasped the magnitude of the transition.

Larissa studied him, her blue eyes sharp and wide open despite the soft afternoon light filtering through the carriage windows. ”So, are you ready for the nobility ascription protocol?”

Ren blinked, his brain catching on the unfamiliar term like a foot on a root.

”The what?”

Liora began laughing from her seat, a genuine burst of mirth that made her cover her mouth with her hand. Luna simply covered her mouth to hide a smile, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. The maids and guards exchanged glances, clearly enjoying Ren’s obvious confusion. Even Mako and Shizu, normally stoic, had slight smiles playing at their lips.

”The ascription protocol,” Larissa repeated, her expression becoming more serious as she leaned forward slightly.

Her future husband would have to rise in nobility rank to be able to properly ”steal” her from the royal family, so this was important. After thinking this she blushed slightly, hoping the others wouldn’t notice she continued...

”Ren, this year won’t be anything like the previous ones.”

”I got that,” Ren responded, feeling a growing apprehension that settled in his stomach like a stone. The way they were all looking at him suggested he was about to learn something he really didn’t want to know. ”But what exactly is this ascription protocol?”

”It’s the formal process by which nobility candidates are evaluated, categorized, and finally integrated into the official noble hierarchy,” Larissa explained with the tone of someone reciting from a manual she’d been forced to memorize.

”The nobility lessons for future nobles this year are strict and tedious, so it’s best you’re prepared for what’s coming.”

Ren felt his stomach sink further, like dropping into a pit with no visible bottom. ”How strict?”

”Full time surveillance strict. There’s a system of personal tutors for this year... You’ll have an assigned tutor from the academy,” Larissa continued. ”In your case, probably Zhao, since he’s been handling your lessons with Arturo. But you’ll also have a tutor from another school.”

”Why two tutors?” Ren asked, genuinely confused. Wasn’t one person telling him what to do enough?

”To avoid favoritism or corruption and nepotism,” Luna responded. ”It’s part of the inter-academic cross-verification system established by the Royal Educational Consortium.”

”The... what?” Ren looked between the three girls, clearly lost. His expression was that of someone who’d just been told they’d need to learn an entirely new language overnight.

Mayo laughed from her position near the carriage door, unable to contain herself. ”Royal Educational Consortium? Are you really using those terms with him?”

”It’s the official name,” Luna defended, straightening in her seat with the dignity of someone who took these things seriously. ”And he needs to familiarize himself with academic bureaucratic terminology if he’s going to navigate this successfully.”

”Honestly,” Ren said, sighing long and talking slowly, ”I feel like I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

All the girls in the carriage laughed, the sound filling the enclosed space. Even the normally stoic guards smiled, their professional masks cracking. The Ren who knew everything, who could calculate elemental synergies instantly and devise revolutionary cultivation methods, was finally showing a more normal side... A blind spot that made him seem human again.

Larissa sighed deeply, recognizing she would have to simplify or risk completely overwhelming him before they even reached the academy. ”Okay. Let’s leave formal terms aside for now. The basics are this: since you’ll receive a noble rank, you’ll have to take special classes to pass the noble protocol exams.”

”More noble stuff...” Ren’s shoulders slumped slightly. ”Like what classes?”

”Like formal etiquette, how to stand, sit, eat, speak in different contexts. Precedence at social events, who enters a room first, who sits where, who speaks when. Territory management, tax collection, dispute resolution, resource allocation. Noble law, the legal frameworks governing noble conduct and responsibilities. Genealogical history of important houses, who’s related to whom and why that matters. Official document design protocols, how to format requests, grants, declarations...” Larissa counted on her fingers, each point making Ren’s eyes widen further.

With each term, Ren’s eyes widened more, like someone watching a mountain grow before them. ”Wait. Document design? Genealo... what?”

”And that’s just the theoretical component,” Liora added with obvious amusement, clearly enjoying watching Ren squirm. ”There are also practical components.”

”Practical how?” Ren’s voice had gone slightly higher.

”Organization of formal events, you’ll actually have to plan and execute a noble gathering. Mediation debates for simulated territorial disputes, you’ll play both arbiter and advocate. Administrative audits of fictional properties, you’ll review made-up estates and find errors or inefficiencies...” Luna continued the list where Larissa had stopped, her voice taking on a lecturer’s cadence.

Ren looked genuinely terrified now, his face paling. ”Audits and disputes?”

”The first is mainly paperwork,” Mayo said casually, waving a hand dismissively. ”Mountains and mountains of boring paperwork that makes your eyes cross. The second is twisting things to your advantage. Mountains and mountains of empty talk where you say a lot without saying anything.”

”With the mansion you got, you must have done the patrimony verification documentation,” Matilda added with a more serious tone. ”It’s the same thing, but for many more things... Lineage certifications proving your family line, territorial claim validations showing your right to lands, rank elevation justifications explaining why you deserve a higher position...”

”Stop!” Ren raised his hands in surrender, his voice almost desperate. ”Certifications of what? Justifications of what elevation?”

The twelve girls looked at him with expressions mixing amusement with genuine sympathy. It was like watching a brilliant scholar discover they’d have to take a class in professional basket weaving.

”Oh, Ren,” Liora murmured, shaking her head with fond exasperation, ”you really know nothing about high society, do you?”

”I know a lot about other things that seem less boring to me... like beasts,” Ren defended, his pride stung. ”I can tell you exactly how to optimize evolution based on elemental affinities and growth patterns. I can calculate synergies between multiple beasts in my head. But this...” he gestured vaguely toward Larissa and the invisible weight of bureaucracy she represented, ”this is a completely different language. It’s like you’re speaking in code designed specifically to confuse people.”

María laughed softly, the sound gentle. ”It’s adorable in a way.”

”And terrifying,” Hikari added, her smile sympathetic. ”Considering he’s going to have to pass formal evaluations all year for all those enormous rewards of his.”

Ren visibly paled, the blood draining from his face. ”Evaluations all year?”

”Multiple ones,” Larissa confirmed with the air of delivering bad news. ”The Nobility Accreditation Committee administers at least seven separate evaluations of the common curriculum for each reward during the transition year.”

”Seven,” Ren repeated weakly, the number echoing in his head like a death sentence. ”Seven separate evaluations.”

”At least seven,” Luna clarified, holding up fingers to count. ”And there are also supplementary evaluations if your performance on the main ones generates concerns about jurisdictional competence.”

”Competence... what?” The words were becoming meaningless sounds.

”Jurisdictional,” Luna repeated patiently, as if explaining to a child. ”The demonstrated capacity to exercise noble authority over assigned territory according to regional statutes and customary expectations of aristocratic management.”

Ren stared at her, his expression showing both disbelief and dawning horror. ”Luna, I swear you just made up those words.”

Everyone burst into laughter, the sound filling the carriage and spilling out into the street beyond.