Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 663: Chapter 663 - Taming the Fifth Year: 1st Gathering Exam

But honestly, they weren’t what Ren was worrying about. He sighted...

Luna was still his biggest worr...

”Don’t mind them,” Liora murmured at his side, interrupting the thought when noticing the direction of his blank, unfocused gaze. Her voice was casual, dismissive. ”Half of them probably won’t even make it to the final exams. They’re just here to fill space.”

”And the other half?” Ren asked, curious about her assessment.

”The other half,” Liora smiled, the expression sharp, ”will be what we get to crush. So I hope you’ve been paying attention during our training.”

The confidence in her voice was absolute. Not arrogance... Certainty.

”When don’t I pay attention?”

”Do you want the chronological list or alphabetical?”

Before Ren could respond, a voice resonated through the hall, amplified by mana until it filled every corner of the space. Impossible to ignore, commanding attention through sheer presence.

”Attention, students.”

Everyone turned toward the front, where an elevated platform now held three figures.

The director of each academy.

Director Ignatius, Double tamer of the Central Academy with the famous Fire Fenix. His posture perfect, his expression the neutral mask of a professional evaluator.

Director Yue of the Eastern Academy, a woman with Fire Lizard markings that glowed softly as she surveyed the crowd. Her eyes were sharp, missing nothing.

And Director Kwan of the Western Academy, an older man whose Fire Fox markings made him look cunning.

”The end-of-semester exams will officially begin in one hour,” Director Ignatius continued, his voice carrying an authority that made every word feel like law being laid down. ”This will give you a preliminary taste of what awaits you at year’s end. Here, in these three categories, the score doesn’t determine whether you pass, as you’ve already presented your adulthood and nobility exams separately.”

A pause... Letting the anticipation build.

”However, you must not relax or underestimate their value to your present and future.”

The weight of that statement hung in the air. Futures being decided in the next few days. Opportunities opening or closing based on performance.

”But first, there are some rules that must be clearly understood.”

Another pause, this one heavier an more ominous.

”First: During the Gathering and War exams, lethal attacks are strictly prohibited. Any student who crosses that line will be immediately expelled and face criminal charges.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Unnecessary clarification, perhaps, but one that also underscored the level of danger involved.

”Second: Cooperation is expected during the Gathering exam, regardless of group affiliation. You’re not here to represent your group. You’re here to represent your academic institution. Teams will be mixed. Sabotage toward teammates will result in punishment beyond immediate disqualification.”

More murmurs, these less comfortable.

No one wanted to work with ”just anyone”. Everyone had their preferences, their allies, their carefully cultivated team dynamics.

But rules were rules.

”Third: Some exams will be observed by representatives from the kingdom’s highest houses. Your conduct during these will not only affect your grades but will be recorded and potentially used in future employment or assignment considerations.”

Silence now.

Everyone knew what was really at stake.

Because that was what really mattered for many here. Not just passing. Not just excelling.

But impressing the right people.

Making the right impressions on those who could open doors or slam them shut.

”And finally,” Director Ignatius looked over the crowd, his eyes seeming to touch each student individually, ”remember that you represent not only yourselves, but your academies, your families, and the kingdom’s future. Conduct yourselves accordingly.”

With that, the three directors bowed slightly and retreated.

The crowd immediately erupted in conversation, tension breaking into dozens of simultaneous exchanges.

”Well,” Min said at Ren’s side, his voice dry. ”That was ominous.”

”Appropriately so,” Ren responded, feeling little anxiety compared to what other things produced in him.

The distance. The not knowing.

Those created anxiety. Real, stomach-churning worry that kept him awake at night.

But this?

This was just competition. Just testing himself against others. Simple. Straightforward. Honest in a way nothing else in his life felt lately.

Yet buried under all that lack of anxiety...

Excitement.

Real, genuine excitement that made his heart beat a bit faster. That sent energy coursing through his limbs.

Because finally, after three months of feeling lost and powerless, he had something where he could act.

Could fight.

Could compete.

Could win.

And he planned to do exactly that.

♢♢♢♢

”Team 15, present report.”

Professor Zhao’s voice resonated through the forest. It was early, too early, and the morning fog still clung to the ground like grasping fingers.

Ren stood alongside his assigned team, evaluating them with the same attention they were probably giving him.

Two girls and two boys, besides himself.

Liu, his roommate, was practically vibrating with energy. His eyes shone with the look of someone who’d just won the lottery and couldn’t believe his luck. Who kept checking his ticket to make sure it was real.

”Brother!” Liu had whispered when teams were announced, grabbing Ren’s arm with enough force to leave marks on stone. ”I’m with you! WITH YOU! Do you know what the odds were? I calculated them!”

Ren had smiled weakly, still processing his own random assignment.

The air in the Elemental Vine Forest was different.

Ren felt it the moment they crossed from the silver ring to gold. It wasn’t just the mana density, which was considerably higher, nor the way the trees became older, larger, more present.

Like they were watching. No, they were...

But it was something more fundamental, more general.

All life here was more aggressive. More hungry.

Everything competing for space, for mana, for survival in an ecosystem where weakness meant death.

”This is intense,” murmured one of the girls, her deer markings glowing nervously on her neck as she looked at the hundreds of vines hanging between trees like lazy serpents. Thick as human torsos, dark green with veins that glowed softly with elemental mana.

Beautiful and deadly in equal measure.

”Already scared?” the boy spoke from behind, his voice carrying that tone of superiority he’d maintained during the entire journey. Contempt dripping from every syllable. ”I thought you came prepared.”

”Nobody asked your opinion,” the other girl cut him off, her eyes already scanning the area with enhanced perception from her undine that floated partially materialized around her, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Ren observed the exchange without commenting.

They’d been like this since forming the team a few hours ago. The two girls oscillating between fanaticism directed at him and hostility toward the third member. The boy alternating between aggressive skepticism and resentful silence.

Liu, walking at his side, was the only positive constant.

”Brother,” Liu whispered, his bat partially manifested in his ears, positioning them in the dense forest’s gloom, ”that guy isn’t going to cooperate. You know that, right?”

His tone carried concern. Worry about how this could affect their performance.

”I know,” Ren responded equally quietly. ”But I don’t need him to cooperate. I just need him not to interfere so Zhao doesn’t disqualify him and so he can carry things on the return trip...”

Liu nodded, his banshee hyena growling softly from where it walked at his side. The beast was enormous now, almost three meters tall at the shoulder, its grayish fur fading at the edges like smoke. Despite its size, it moved with surprising silence.

All the group’s beasts were this large. Years of cultivation using the methods Ren had released had taken them from weak cubs to impressive silver-rank monsters.

Well, almost all.

The boy still had his bear at bronze 2. A deliberate decision, Ren suspected, to reject anything associated with ”the commoner genius” and his methods.

Pride and stubbornness keeping him weak.

His loss.

The first girl, a brown-haired student and the one with deer markings, hadn’t stopped looking at Ren since she introduced herself. Her eyes carried that intensity Ren had learned to recognize with growing discomfort.

Admiration.

The kind that bordered on fanaticism.

”I’m Yuna(Or Fan 1),” she’d introduced herself, her voice coming out too high, too excited. Words tumbling over each other in her rush to speak. ”It’s an honor, a true honor to be on your team, Ren Patinder. I’ve followed your achievements and I just... wow. Simply wow.”

The second girl (Fan 2) was more reserved but no less obvious. She’d tried to seem casual when she introduced herself.

The attempt had failed spectacularly.

”I’ve read about your cultivation methods,” she’d said, trying to sound academic but unable to completely hide the excitement in her voice. ”The documents you released completely changed my training approach. My beast advanced two levels in the same year thanks to...”

And then there was the boy.

Tall, with robust build and bear markings covering his forearms. His expression had been obvious disgust from the moment he heard his team assignment.

”Fantastic,” he’d muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. ”I got stuck with the miracle boy and his fan club.”

Ren had sighed internally.

This was going to be a long journey.