Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 247

"However," Zhao continued, with a slight smile, "this doesn't exempt you from the theoretical exam, which constitutes fifty percent of your final grade."

A murmur of discontent spread through the classroom, primarily from the newly incorporated students who had hoped for an easy pass.

For Ren, however, the news presented no problem whatsoever. His enhanced processing capacity, a product of his fusion with the ring, allowed him to assimilate information at a rate that bordered on superhuman.

The mushrooms in his hair pulsed with quiet confidence as he reviewed his mental catalog of crystallographic knowledge.

He had already memorized practically the entire syllabus, extracting knowledge from textbooks and notes borrowed from Min and Taro.

He wouldn't need to present a thesis specialized in his beast either since Wei had already approved him. Despite his mushroom having reached bronze rank, fulfilling another of the possible requirements, it was very difficult to demonstrate that this was the case and not incorrect maturation.

The only obstacle to officially verify this rank was that his core remained abnormally small, even tinier than that of his hydra, despite technically being his main beast.

A specialized crystal could see his interior cores, but the mushroom's would still not reach the minimum size of a bronze 1. The two 20% increases his mushroom had managed to obtain also fell far below traditional standards. A bronze 1 rank beast should provide a minimum 60% increase in its main attribute and a maximum of 100%.

'The true advantage of my beast is being able to obtain multiple beasts,' Ren reflected as Zhao began the lesson. 'I could explain to them in detail... But having them believe I've simply taken a potion is convenient for now.'

The idea of having to explain to Julius, the Director, or any of the intimidating adults at the academy how his beast really worked seemed an unnecessary risk. The obtained potion provided the perfect shield, a reasonable explanation that required no further questioning.

At the end of class, Ren caught Klein's gaze, laden with barely contained frustration. The Goldcrest heir must have already understood that it was too late to surpass him in this subject. In his eyes, Ren had practically lived underground the entire semester, giving him an unfair advantage in crystal collection.

His only hope would be to obtain a perfect grade in Mei's class, tie with Ren in Wei's, and then defeat him decisively in the battle class, both in individual and team modalities. Since the combat subject carried more weight than the theoretical ones, he could still snatch the semester honor.

A logical plan considering he would soon be Bronze 1. The lion's increased power would give him a significant edge in combat scenarios.

But it didn't contemplate that Ren already had more total increases than the 80% Klein would obtain. The mushroom boy's hidden advantages remained precisely that for him, hidden.

In the following days, classes gradually resumed their normal rhythm. Han and Larissa fully reincorporated after their interrogations, and although Han initially seemed uncomfortable, especially around Ren, he slowly began to relax again in the group's presence.

Whatever had been discussed in the Director's office remained private, but the tension in Han's shoulders had visibly decreased with each passing day.

Ren's group's incursions into the depths were temporarily suspended, diverting the boys' attention toward theoretical preparation.

Ren took advantage of this time to work on his eggs and his cultivation.

♢♢♢♢

Upon returning to the dormitories after the day's classes, they found a surprise. The auxiliaries had finally delivered all the materials collected during the expedition. Carefully labeled packages occupied every available space: piles of shadow stalker skins, bark stalker parts, and other materials.

The room now resembled a warehouse more than a living space, with barely visible paths between the beds.

"Where are we supposed to sleep?" Min asked, contemplating the now crowded room with amazement.

"We can process and sell them for a bigger cash out, but first will need to reorganize," Ren suggested, already evaluating how to use the vertical space.

"All this... is really just ours?" Taro asked, incredulous.