Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 263 - Tamer’s Battle Week

Dawn brought a palpable change to the academyʼs atmosphere.

The hallways, normally organized with students of the same year maintaining their usual routines on slightly different schedules, now teemed with a mixture of uniforms from all eight different years.

But it wasnʼt just the year colors that differentiated the students.

Performance levels were also distinguishable by the emblems they wore on their lapels: the simple iron badges of all first-years and some second-years; the bronze emblems in their two variants for the intermediates from the second year onward; and the scarcer but resplendent silver emblems adorning the more advanced students from the third year up.

Gold students were generally surrounded by others, creating small galaxies of admirers. They were exceedingly rare, and it had always been difficult to approach them.

Their emblems caught the light, drawing eyes like beacons. But they were not the best…

Of platinum rank, there were only five students in their final years, engaged in special assignments or work, and they werenʼt often seen among the common students.

Their presence was so unusual that whispers followed in their wake, their emblems gleaming with an almost otherworldly luminescence.

However, today it was possible to see some of these rare academy members. Today...

Battle Week had begun.

In the corners of the main gardens, external auxiliaries and healers with curative beasts established treatment stations. Their green and blue robes contrasted sharply with the austere black of the academic uniforms as they meticulously organized vials of potions and magical herb bandages.

”Look at that,” Taro pointed as they walked toward the central notice board, excitement raising his voice an octave. ”They even brought someone with a Medical Mermaid, this year from the start.”

Ren followed his gaze to a woman with the lower half of her body transformed into a tail of iridescent scales. Her hands glowed with a blue-green aura as her tamer calibrated instruments.

”Mermaids are rare,” Min commented, his eyes wide with wonder. ”I heard there are fewer than ten in the entire city.”

”And all of them work for the castle,” added Liu, his last year experience evident in his knowing tone. ”For the academy to have managed to bring one means theyʼre expecting injuries this year... as always.”

Min nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his amphibian beast briefly phasing into visibility with his anxiety. ”Is it really that intense?”

”You have no idea,” Liu replied, a grim smile forming on his lips. There was a certain pride in his voice, the satisfaction of being the veteran among them. ”Last year, three high-ranking students lost limbs while facing the fifth-year Silver beasts because a teacher lost control for a second. Of course, they recovered the limbs from the beastʼs stomach after other professors intervened and killed it, but they spent weeks in recovery to get them reattached.”

Taro and Min audibly gulped, exchanging looks of apprehension. Their beasts unconsciously manifested further, responding to their tamersʼ emotions.

♢♢♢♢

The crowd densified as they approached the main plaza.

Students from all years had gathered, their beasts partially manifested in an unconscious display of intimidation. The air itself seemed charged with mana, the competing energies creating subtle currents that Ren could perceive through his mushroomsʼ enhanced sensitivity.

A final-year student passed close to them, his skin covered by a pattern of silver feathers that captured the morning light. His eyes, transformed into those of a hawk, scrutinized the crowd with supernatural acuity, seeming to catalog every detail in an instant.

”Tian Xingwu,” Liu murmured with reverence, his voice dropping to an awed whisper. ”Silver 3, eighth year, everyone wants to know if heʼs going to be able to evolve until Gold 1 to become the third Gold rank student in the school. His Greater Steel Hawk is legendary. He earned his Platinum student emblem by finding the best materials in gathering for six consecutive years.”

Behind Tian walked other advanced students, moving with the casual confidence of apex predators. Among them, Ren noticed a girl whose right arm had completely transformed into a stone claw etched with blue runes.

”Ravena Gravemore, eighth year,” Liu continued, following Renʼs gaze. His knowledge of the academyʼs hierarchy was impressive, a survival skill heʼd clearly cultivated as a gray wing student.

A glimpse of what Renʼs life in this school could have been…

Liu continued. ”Her Superior Magic Gargoyle is one of only two Gold-ranked student beasts in the academy. Tier 1, but still impressive. She earned her Platinum student emblem through perfect performance in classes and her victories in the interschool battles.”

”And the other with the Platinum emblem is the famous Pegasus boy, right?” Taro asked, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the academyʼs elite.

Liu nodded, a hint of envy coloring his expression. ”Seiya Galehart, seventh year. Tier 2, technically more powerful, but less resistant in combat... Though he also earned his Platinum emblem through his performance in the interschool tournaments.”

Lunaʼs Tier 3 Shadow Wolf potential to Gold 1 getting so much praise made more sense now.

”Why havenʼt we seen them if they have so many followers?” Min asked, clearly interested in the prospect of having that many admirers one day.

”In the final years, the students spend more time gathering outside the city... Itʼs difficult to see them outside of battle week because theyʼre almost never at school to begin with.” Liu answered, remembering himself a year ago asking the same questions to companions who had left him behind.

Renʼs mushrooms pulsed at a steady rhythm as he absorbed the scene, processing and cataloging the information with his characteristic thoroughness. He noted the subtle hierarchies, the posturing, the way mana signatures interacted.

Once in the center and surrounding the podium, students were organized by years.

The murmur of the crowd gradually died down when Director Ignatius ascended the stage in front of the notice board. His phoenix was partially manifested, creating a golden-reddish aura that seemed to emanate heat even at a distance. Despite this, the absence of his left leg was noticeable to Ren, despite the carefully designed clothes to conceal it.

The directorʼs posture remained regal, however, his bearing that of someone whose authority came from within rather than physical presence.

”Welcome to the two hundred and forty-eighth Semester Tournament,” his voice resonated across the plaza without need for amplification, the energy of his mana empowering his words. ”For first-year students, you are about to face what could be the most challenging, and perhaps revealing, week of your academic career thus far.”

The board behind him illuminated, displaying the tournament structure in brilliant blue detail.

”Three trials await you,” the Director continued, his gaze sweeping across the gathered students. ”The Professor and auxiliaries of your specific years will explain the details to each group.”

♢♢♢♢

For Renʼs group, Yang and Lin were the ones tasked with explanation.

Yang stepped forward, his Stone Behemoth manifesting completely, making his muscles appear twice their normal size, his granitic skin gleaming under the morning sun.

”First trial: the Bronze Beast Challenge,” he explained in his characteristic rough tone. ”Teams of three students will face a Bronze 1 rank beast. Your performance here is fundamental. Failing means possibly repeating the semester.”

Nervous murmurs coursed through the first-year crowd. This wasnʼt a surprise, but hearing it stated so directly underscored what was at stake.

Lin stepped forward.

”Second trial: the Team Tournament,” her voice was softer but equally authoritative, carrying to every ear. ”Here you will face your fellow students, demonstrating your growth and cooperative technique.”

On the board, tournament brackets began to appear.

”And finally,” Lin continued, a subtle smile playing at her lips, ”the Individual Tournament, where you will learn that even the strongest beast is only as effective as the person behind it.”