Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons-Chapter 204 - Taming Coverts - 2

Han approached Ren. "Thanks for all the help and information today," he said. "And for letting us gather these crystals. I had no idea we'd find so many in one day."

Seeing this, Mira also approached. "Thank you. It was much more interesting than I expected," she admitted. "I learned things they hadn't taught us in class."

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"It's nothing," Ren responded modestly. "You can come to gather occasionally if you take turns with the others. We don't have enough Bronze ranks to bring everyone with the guards' permission so..."

"Does that mean I can come every day too?" Larissa instantly appeared next to Ren, startling him with her sudden proximity.

"And me," Luna added, though she tried to appear less interested than she actually was, her shadow wolf was shifting restlessly in her shadow.

"I think it's already clear that I'll be coming as well," Liora smiled slightly.

Ren looked at the three cousins, resigned to his fate. "I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?"

"None whatsoever," Larissa confirmed cheerfully.

The group began their final ascent, passing through the guard checkpoints at the 150 and 100 meter levels. At each post, the guards observed with amazement the quantities of crystals they carried and the severed Assassin's head.

"All this from just one trip?" asked one of the guards, examining the overflowing bags with widening eyes.

"Taro's living tunnel gives us a huge advantage," Min explained proudly. "It can block the worms and we can just gather without fear."

Taro blushed at the attention, unaccustomed to having his beast viewed as something extraordinary.

Upon finally reaching the surface, the entrance guard reviewed their forms with increasingly larger eyes.

"It's very rare for assassins to come up to 200 meters... And these numbers can't be correct," he muttered while verifying the declared quantities.

"Every crystal has been correctly counted by the previous guards," Ren assured, placing his own bag on the counter.

The guard proceeded to verify, becoming even more surprised when confirming that the quantities were exact.

"Lucky shroom," he shook his head with an incredulous smile, "you always find a way to exceed expectations."

As they left the caves, the group began to disperse to head to their respective dormitories. The shared experience had strengthened the bond between them.

"Well, it's been an interesting day," Ren yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "I think I'll go finish processing these crystals."

"I'll follow," Taro nodded, clearly anxious to escape before more complications arose.

"We are leaving too," Larissa announced, though her tone suggested she wasn't finished with Ren. "But I want to insist that we'll continue accompanying you to the tunnels from now on."

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"Purely for safety reasons," Luna quickly added, avoiding looking directly at Ren as a faint blush crept across her cheeks.

"I am interested in other reasons," Liora admitted straightforwardly. "Especially in that technique you used to drive away the deep worm."

Ren sighed with resignation and amusement. "See you tomorrow then..."

As the cousins walked away with their guards, Ren remained contemplating the Assassin's head he still carried.

♢♢♢♢

When they opened their room door, Liu dropped the book he was reading. His eyes widened at the sight of the Deep Assassin's head that Ren held as if it were any ordinary and perfectly normal stick.

"What the hell is that?" he exclaimed, his bat ears manifesting by reflex, twitching nervously at the edges.

"A Deep Assassin head," Ren responded casually while placing the head on the table, as if bringing monster parts to their dormitory was the most natural thing in the world.

"I can see that," Liu approached cautiously, studying the proboscis that still gleamed threateningly. "The question is why you brought it here, those things only last 2 days and are worthless."

"Rare uses for materials," Taro explained, collapsing onto his bed with a tired groan. "You know Ren by now."

"Please tell me you're not planning to sleep with that thing in the room," Liu grimaced in disgust. "The smell will start seeping through."

Min, who had been organizing his newly collected crystals, laughed softly, remembering something from their shared experiences.

"Actually," Ren pointed toward the proboscis, his mushrooms pulsing softly, "the membrane will last 2 days. The internal structure contains several reservoirs of concentrated acid that I'll need to neutralize tomorrow."

Liu shook his head. "Those things are useless. The academy stopped accepting them as study material years ago. The acid is in many porous parts of the exoskeleton and as soon as you break the membrane, the monster's weapon is ruined… Right?"

"The acid weakens the structure," Ren corrected him with what appeared to be amusement. "The important thing is to inject the right material to process the acid without breaking the sacs from the base."

"And I suppose you know what that material is?" Liu asked, though his tone made it evident he already knew the answer.

"Of course," Ren smiled. "Though I'll buy the materials and do it tomorrow. Tonight I have another more urgent project."

He headed toward a corner of the room where he had prepared a special space. From his backpack, he removed the hydra plates he had collected during his adventure with the prince, along with the specially processed crystals from the deposit.

"Can the hydra be cultivated already?" Min asked, approaching with interest.

"It's time to start its cultivation, yes," Ren confirmed while methodically beginning to organize the plates.

Liu observed with growing curiosity. Despite his initial apparent concern, scientific fascination was winning. "Are you going to create a cultivation environment there? In the plates? How?"

"It's not as complicated as it seems," Ren responded while carefully forming a cube with the hydra plates, securing them at the corners with the special fabric he had made from the shadow stalkers. "The important thing is maintaining the correct conditions."

Taro, recovering from his exhaustion, approached to observe. "The hydra is a light element, right? Shouldn't it be in a bright environment?"

"That's a perception error I suppose most people make," Ren explained, his mushrooms pulsing with educational enthusiasm. "The hydra is quite an illogical creature in that aspect to them. It's a light element, but it needs darkness to evolve correctly."

"That doesn't make sense," Liu frowned, adjusting his position to get a better view.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense if you understand its natural ecology," Ren continued while carefully sealing the cube's joints. "Young hydras live in underground tunnels, protected by adult hydras. The glows they receive in their early life come from pure mana reflected in the accompanying hydra, which is usually a higher-level hydra."

"And you plan to emulate that with...?" Min asked, genuinely interested, leaning in closer.

Ren smiled, his mushrooms pulsing with a soft glow. "With these Gold-level hydra plates."

The other three boys exchanged understanding looks.

Ren continued working. The cube was almost complete now, the plates subtly shining in the dormitory's dim light.

"The trick," he explained while carefully placing the processed crystals inside, "is to simulate the natural evolution environment. The tunnel darkness, but with pure mana reflecting light on what would be the accompanying hydra plates."