Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons-Chapter 307 - - Tamer’s Battle Week - 43
The boys were about to leave the rest area as they had no serious injuries.
While healers attended to any minor injuries and administered pills to restore their mana veins, Ren and his friends observed the battles of students from other years with some interest.
But, a slightly mocking one…
"Look at them," commented Min, pointing to a pair of second-year students who were facing each other with Iron-rank beasts using rather basic techniques. "They're a bit worse than our irons."
Taro nodded, distractedly chewing an energy bar instead of pills since he had no more combats today. "It's normal. Most keep their beasts at Iron until third or fourth year… fear of ruining their cultivation before mastering the basics."
"Exactly," confirmed Liu, who had joined them as he also awaited his group's individual combats. "Normally there are always fewer than five students who dominate the competitions, they do it almost for free by luck, since having family techniques for their specific beasts and reaching Bronze before the others is a huge advantage."
"Like Klein and Jin, I suppose," deduced Ren, his mushrooms pulsing softly as he observed a second-year student executing an inefficient defensive ability, it fared poorly against the attacker's elemental advantage.
"That must be another reason for their arrogance," huffed Min. "Although I suppose it's been knocked down several notches with the defeats they've received... I'm counting on you to lower another 10 points off Klein's ego, grind his brain."
After finishing the treatment, the boys moved to a different arena to watch higher-level battles.
The combats continued. Fourth-year battles showed a somewhat superior level, with more Bronze-rank beasts and much more practiced techniques. But they weren't very far from the first-year battles of this year...
"Those at least are more fun to watch," pointed out Min, genuinely interested in a confrontation between a tamer with a Bronze 2 superior fire lizard and another with a Bronze 1 ice snake.
As they walked toward the student food area, Min continued in an excellent mood, clearly still satisfied for having finally been able to show his water figure technique.
"By the way," he said casually, changing the subject, "why didn't you hit the girls? I mean, thanks for giving me more time to shine, but if you had knocked out Larissa like you did with Jin instead of covering her eyes..."
Taro slightly choked on his drink at the thought of Ren hitting the poor girl, but his curiosity for the answer was evident in his eyes.
"Or Maria," continued Min. "You could have prevented her from using her armadillo if you had knocked her out from the beginning. And Liora, well, I had already canceled her with my incredible and phenomenal technique, but still, you were very gentle with them, weren't you?"
Ren considered the question for just a second…
"They're tough," insisted Min. "Surely they wouldn't hate you for a little knockout. Among themselves they don't fear damage that much either, like when Larissa left Liora unconscious in their confrontation not long ago, remember?"
"My father once told me that a girl should never be hit if it can be avoided," Ren finally responded, his tone casual but with a hint of respect for paternal advice. "Something about being popular, gentlemen, and about men's pride."
He paused briefly before adding: "I don't fully understand it, but my father is usually right about many things so..."
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Min and Taro exchanged glances, amusement in their expressions.
"Well, if that makes you popular, maybe we should also try this gentleman's pride thing," joked Min, giving Taro an elbow nudge that provoked another smile from the boy.
Ren took advantage of the pause to change the subject. "By the way, I've been thinking about sending a letter to my parents. Have either of you sent one?"
Both Min and Taro shook their heads.
"I've never sent a letter," admitted Min. "Although I've heard that my uncles and other noble adults use them occasionally for urgent communications... they always complain about how expensive they are."
"Same in my family," added Taro. "Letters are for business."
"I really should ask the girls," murmured Ren, more to himself than to his friends. "Maybe they know more about how they work."
They continued observing battles of senior students, especially impressed by confrontations from fifth-year and above, where control and strategy reached levels from which they could learn a trick or two.
Finally, the announcement they were waiting for resonated through the arenas: "Individual combats of the first group will begin shortly, Ren Patinder against Klein Goldcrest. Present yourselves in arena 1 in five minutes."
The moment had arrived.
♢♢♢♢
The expectation was noticeable as both competitors entered the arena from opposite ends. The crowd's murmurs grew to a steady hum of excitement as the two first-years took their positions.
Among the audience, opinions were divided, but the majority still favored Klein. The general consensus was that, despite the surprising tournament results so far from Ren's group, a Bronze golden lion was still superior to the supposedly Iron beasts of the new "double not so double" tamer of the rare and unexpectedly strong hydra.
What very few understood was that Ren actually possessed a Bronze-level beast. It wasn't skepticism from others; simply, Ren had never found it necessary or important to make everyone see it.
Explaining why his fungus was Bronze rank would have been complicated, and the reduced size of his fungus core wouldn't help, given the general perception that core size determined a beast's real rank.
This collective ignorance was precisely the reason why many believed Klein's roar would be devastating against the supposed Iron beasts of the newly generated double tamer, even if there were two of them.
For his part, Ren wasn't particularly concerned about the roar, the effect of which worked much better on opponents of lower rank. Which he was not...
The phantom claws and the slight abyssal sensation he had perceived in Klein represented a much greater threat in his book. Klein would have considerable enhancements thanks to his superior lion, and his beast wouldn't be easy to take down if launched at Ren in a direct confrontation.
Ideally, Ren would seek to get close enough to connect a precise blow to the Goldcrest's face, similar to their first confrontation. But it was evident that Klein wouldn't make the same mistake twice when he took as his initial position the edge of the demarcated area.
Lin positioned herself between the two, her professional expression hiding any personal preference. Her crane's feathers ruffled slightly in the arena breeze as she prepared to begin the match.
"This combat will determine who advances to the finals of the first group," she announced. "The rules remain the same. Are you ready?"
Both nodded, their expressions reflecting different types of determination. In Klein, a cold and anxious fury; in Ren, an analytical tranquility that had come to characterize him.
"Begin."
