Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 688: Chapter 688 - Taming the Fifth Year - Cheating with a Red Nose

The sap from the same kind of Plant that almost all ”poor” families now had access to thanks to the methods Ren had released, democratizing access to resources that now were needed even by nobility.

Ren knew exactly how they’d discovered the process thanks to Wei’s enthusiastic experimentation.

Almost two years ago, someone with mana eyes had accidentally gotten their face stained with elemental plant sap during a battle. And the sap, which was normally transparent like water, had turned reddish with the mana the person was using in their eyes when they’d shouted a taunt at their opponent, color changing thanks to the invisible energy.

Wei had heard about the incident and, as Wei did with everything lately... he’d begun experimenting immediately, seeing potential where others saw only a weird reaction of mana in the ”new beasts”.

Specifically, he’d remembered something Ren had told him during one of their conversations about ”how mana from lies and truth was perceived by those who can see it”, it was in different colors. How truth shone blue or green while deception burned red, how emotions colored the spectrum in ways that revealed intention beneath words.

With help from some students with mana eyes, among them Liora and Hikari who was beginning to develop them through careful cultivation of her Firefly until gold thanks to Ren...

Wei’s experiments had discovered that the tip of the nose, being in the place of the strongest flow before mana circulated through the eyes, was what painted the sap most clearly.

And there were specific color patterns for many ”emotions”... it was proved by putting some sap in their noses when mana eyes users were asked questions, and while keeping their eyes active, the changes showed colors that corresponded reliably to mental states.

If someone lied, their nose turned red.

If they told the truth, green or blue depending on the mood of the truth they spoke, calm confidence versus aggressive certainty painting different shades.

Purple or some intermediate tone depending on how ambiguous the statement was, partial truths and technical accuracies creating spectrums that revealed complexity beneath surface claims.

It was the perfect way to observe, even without mana eyes, whether specifically someone who had them was lying or telling the truth.

A bridge between those with special sight and those without, democratizing verification.

The problem before had been impossible to solve: your word against mine, circular accusations with no external arbiter. Someone who had lie detection could declare another was lying, but there was no way to verify if the detector themselves was lying about their detection, creating infinite regress of doubt.

But now there were two opposing detectors in play, political enemies who’d never collaborate on deception. And this sap that revealed mana visually even for those who didn’t have the eyes to see it directly, even if only on those with mana eyes...

They’d generated the ”red nose method”.

The method was almost infallible, though it still remained new and poorly understood in all its implications. They’d used it on Zhao in the first semester, testing to see if his reports about Ren’s conduct had been truthful.

His nose had turned more blue than green, not from lies but from sarcasm and boredom, emotions coloring truth in ways that revealed attitude without invalidating accuracy. Still, many nobles had alleged that being so much on Ren’s side, Zhao could play with words or simply ”truly believe” he hadn’t done ”anything wrong”, conviction masking complicity.

That’s why this extra effort with the Strahlfang observer.

Independent verification from someone whose house allegiance ensured he’d report anything suspicious, whose reputation depended on finding impropriety if it existed.

’I don’t care what they do,’ Ren thought simply, looking at the watcher without expression, face carefully blank. ’I have nothing to hide.’

♢♢♢♢

When Ren and his team left the meeting point, the other groups didn’t know where they were going.

Many watched them sideways, eyes following their movements with interest. Clearly wanting to follow them, hoping to piggyback on whatever strategy the champion had planned. Perhaps because Ren Patinder had a reputation for finding the best gathering locations, for identifying resources others overlooked.

Following him discreetly seemed like intelligent strategy for several opportunistic teams who’d rather copy success than create their own.

But then Ren began moving in the opposite direction from where everyone thought he should go.

Not toward the known gathering zones that everyone had studied in class, territories mapped and documented in textbooks and teacher lectures.

But toward the city center...

”What’s he doing?” someone murmured from another team, confusion evident in their tone as they watched the unexpected route.

”Maybe he forgot something or needs additional provisions,” another suggested, grasping for explanations that made sense. ”He’ll turn back soon.”

But Ren didn’t stop at any store. Didn’t buy anything, didn’t pause to check inventory or acquire last-minute supplies. Simply kept advancing, his team following behind him in a formation that showed trust.

Klein walked close, observing everything but saying nothing. His expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes tracked every detail. The Strahlfang watcher followed at appropriate distance, his birds still on his shoulder like living ornaments that saw everything.

But one bird...

It took off with a flutter of wings, rising rapidly toward the sky where it could observe from above, where its magical sight could track movements across distances that would make human surveillance impossible.

Several other teams decided to follow anyway for some reason, their logic unclear even to themselves. They didn’t know where Ren was going, but somehow they seemed unwilling to let him go alone when they should be more concerned about their own exam, about maximizing their own gathering time in the more familiar territory.

They crossed through the city, streets gradually changing character around them. Main streets first with their merchant stalls and noble carriages, then secondary roads where buildings grew less ornate. The landscape changing gradually from dense buildings pressing against each other to structures more spaced out, architecture becoming simpler and more practical.

And then they reached the edge.

The enormous bridge that crossed the massive crack dividing the territories, a structure of stone and metal that had taken years to build and represented one of humanity’s greatest engineering achievements... To then be destroyed and remade bigger in minutes, by the same legendary king who made his own everlasting crystal statue, ’himself’...

The bridge that led to Yino.