Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 335 - Taming Frustrations - 5

”You four! What are you doing outside your rooms at this hour?”

Linʼs voice resonated through the hallway as she pointed accusingly at a group of students who had ventured out to investigate the source of the energy disturbance. The boys, from another section of the gray wing, shrank under the intensity of her gaze.

”P-Professor Lin,” one of them stammered, ”we just wanted to see what was happening. We felt that strange energy and...”

”Silence!” Lin cut him off. ”Students must remain in their rooms for their own safety, go inside now!”

While Lin continued her scolding, Min discreetly approached Ren, placing a hand on his shoulder.

”Itʼs now or never,” he whispered, activating his aquatic amphibian. ”Borrow its invisibility.”

Ren felt the translucent creature separate from Min and adhere to his shoulder, extending its effect over him. His body began to vanish, gradually becoming transparent. The sensation was peculiar, like being immersed in cool water that somehow passed through his skin rather than around it.

Liu positioned himself strategically behind Lin, combining with his bat and making a subtle gesture with his hands. The sound around Ren seemed to fade, dampening any noise he might make.

Taro, understanding the plan without needing words, deliberately advanced toward Lin.

But Lin sensed Taroʼs footsteps and turned around, narrowing her eyes suspiciously…

”...And… where is Ren?”

Taro averted his gaze and began to sweat. ”He needed a moment. In the bathroom. Said heʼd be right back.”

While Lin divided her attention between Taro and the troublesome students, Ren had already taken advantage to slip through the window, moving with the utmost caution. Thanks to Minʼs invisibility and Liuʼs sound suppression, he managed to reach the windowsill without being detected. The cool night air brushed against his invisible form, a strange sensation when he couldnʼt see his own body.

ʼSorry, Lin,ʼ he thought as he jumped to the exterior. ʼBut I need to recover my mischievous beast.ʼ

From the courtyard, still invisible thanks to the borrowed amphibian, he could hear Linʼs furious exclamation when she finally realized she had been deceived, promising retribution that made Ren wince in sympathy for his friends.

”Iʼll remember your sacrifice, guys,” Ren murmured to himself as he hurried away. ”Once I find my fungus Iʼll pay you in full…”

However, the task proved more complicated than he had anticipated. The absence of his main beast deprived him of much of his enhanced perception. He felt partially blind, trying to navigate a world that suddenly seemed more opaque and confusing.

Ren attempted to establish contact through the mana bond he shared with his fungus, a connection that normally allowed a tamer to synchronize even at a distance. But for some reason, the connection seemed blocked, as if his small beast was deliberately ignoring his calls with immense strength.

Ren felt like he was trying to pull a giant tree with roots hundreds of kilometers long.

”Whatʼs suddenly happened to you?” he murmured worriedly as he moved cautiously between bushes and trees, avoiding the professors and auxiliaries patrolling the grounds, returning curious students to their dormitories.

The invisibility borrowed from Minʼs amphibian gave him a significant advantage, allowing him to go unnoticed even when he nearly stumbled upon a group of professors discussing in low voices near the building. Their hushed tones carried fragments of concern about ”Goldcrest demands” and ”potential conflict.”

Rounding a particularly dense hedge, Ren heard familiar voices. Jin and Kai were being escorted back to their dormitory by a visibly irritated auxiliary teacher.

”...unacceptable behavior,” the professor was saying. ”Especially during a sensitive situation like this.”

”We just wanted to see what was happening,” Jin protested with his usual arrogance, though considerably diminished in the face of authority. ”How are we supposed to learn if they keep us away from everything interesting?”

Ren crouched behind some bushes, waiting for them to pass. It was then that he noticed another figure moving stealthily several meters behind the group. It was Han, who had been following his roommates at a prudent distance and used them as bait. His movements were precise, fast, nothing like the casual wandering of a curious student.

While the professor continued reprimanding Jin and Kai, Han suddenly stopped. His head turned, as if he had perceived something, and to Renʼs surprise, looked directly at the bushes where he was hiding.

With quick and natural movements, as soon as the professor and the others disappeared from view, Han approached the bushes, his posture alert but outwardly casual.

”Ren,” he whispered, so low it was barely audible. ”I know youʼre around here.”

Ren remained motionless, impressed by Hanʼs perceptive ability. Despite the invisibility, he had somehow detected his presence.

Carefully, Ren approached Han, the amphibian still attached to his shoulder, maintaining his invisibility.

”Donʼt make noise,” Ren whispered near Hanʼs ear, who gave a small start despite having been the one to initiate contact.

”Ren?” Han turned his head, his eyes searching the empty air. ”It is you, right?”

”Yes,” Ren confirmed in a barely audible whisper. ”Iʼm using Minʼs invisibility.”

Han nodded, maintaining a neutral expression. His eyes continued to scan the area, the practiced vigilance of someone accustomed to surveillance.

”Itʼs dangerous to be here,” Han warned in a low voice. ”Whatʼs happening isnʼt something you should explore as you always do. You should return to your room.”

”I appreciate your concern,” Ren responded. ”But Iʼm not here out of curiosity. My fungus escaped.”

Han blinked, genuinely surprised. For a moment, his carefully maintained composure slipped. ”Your fungus? Escaped? How is that possible?”

”I donʼt know,” Ren admitted, frustration evident in his whispered voice. ”It had done something like this once before, but I canʼt control it... We were in the room, felt those waves of power, and suddenly it jumped out the window and ran off.”

Han frowned, processing the information. Something about this didnʼt align with his understanding of beast behavior. ”But nothing will happen, right? Beasts always return, you should go back to your room and...”

”Han,” Ren whispered, ”if itʼs so dangerous to be outside, why are you here?”

A tense silence followed the question.

Han hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. The warning words in the last letter he had received resonated in his mind, along with the implicit threat against his sister if his reports continued to be ”useless.” His training urged caution, silence, deflection… but something else pushed against those instincts.

Seeing that Han wasnʼt responding, Ren decided to press a little more.

”I understand if you have your own reasons,” he said softly. ”I have mine too.”

When Ren made a move to continue advancing, Han extended his arm, blocking the path although he couldnʼt exactly see where his invisible friend was.

”Wait, please,” Han requested, his voice barely audible. The strain of indecision was evident in the tight line of his mouth.

He considered using his spider thread to stop him, but knew that Ren was exceptionally agile and quick. Although at that moment Ren faced perceptive difficulties without his fungus as the main beast in his body and probably couldnʼt detect his invisible threads, Han didnʼt know this.

After a moment of inner indecision, Han made a decision he would never have considered possible weeks ago.

”I can sense abyssal energy,” he confessed, carefully choosing his words. ”Whatʼs happening now... it seems the Goldcrests are preparing for a confrontation with Yanoʼs main families. The probability of conflict is...” he paused, ”high.”

”How do you know that?” Ren asked, feigning ignorance although he had actually perceived the same situation thanks to his fungus before it escaped.

”Itʼs an ability of my spider,” Han responded automatically, masterfully adding the lie to the truth.

There was a silence charged with tension.

”If youʼre going to tell me lies,” Ren said with surprising coldness, ”I prefer you donʼt tell me anything. Iʼll continue alone.”

Han felt as if an invisible fist was squeezing his chest. Ren knew something, or at least suspected enough to detect his falsehood. Indecision paralyzed him momentarily.

All his training as an agent screamed at him to maintain his cover, to invent another, more credible explanation. But something deeper, something that had begun to change since he met Ren and the others, since he stood in front to save… to protect him, urged Han to do the unthinkable.

”Wait,” he called again, perhaps making the most important decision of his life. ”Iʼll trust you...”

And to his own surprise, Han bowed until his forehead touched the ground, a gesture of absolute humility.

”Iʼm a spy,” he confessed, his voice barely a whisper. ”From Yino. My sister is being held there as a guarantee of my loyalty. If I donʼt fulfill my assignments, she would suffer the consequences.”

Ren remained silent, allowing Han to continue.

”Youʼre special, Ren,” Han continued, still with his forehead to the ground. ”Iʼve known it for some time. And I know you have the third ring.”

These last words made Ren tense.

”You must not approach the Goldcrest patriarch,” Han warned urgently. ”If they somehow discover the ring is with you, they would realize that neither the King nor the most powerful families have it at hand. That revelation could unleash war, as it would eliminate one of the main uncertainties about the balance of power between Yano and Yino.”

”How do you know so much about the ring and politics?” Ren asked, genuinely surprised. ”I donʼt even know exactly what this... Third ring? Is exactly.”