Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 43

The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed with renewed energy as he walked toward the exchange area with his friends.

Lin’s pill, combined with last night’s brutal training session, this morning’s workout, and some meditative circulation had effectively cleansed the excess mana from his system.

"I can’t believe how well it went today!" Taro practically bounced as they walked, his beetle’s markings shimmering with excitement. "I thought I’d struggle again, but the circulation was so much smoother. I could almost feel the patterns!"

A smile tugged at Ren’s lips as he recalled their morning session.

Watching Taro’s progress was satisfying, like seeing a complex puzzle slowly come together.

"You’ve improved tremendously. Soon you won’t need my guidance."

’And the sooner he masters it,’ Ren thought, ’the sooner I can focus on my own advancement.’

The exchange area buzzed with life, a hive of activity where students from all years crowded around the counters.

The air hummed with haggling voices and the subtle resonance of magical items changing hands. Crystals clinked against scales, while preserved beast parts gleamed in their glass containers.

"How much did you get with the duplication?" Min’s water snake coiled lazily around his shoulders as he asked.

"They gave me 2500 crystals," Ren replied as they approached the beast parts counter.

Glass containers lined the shelves, their contents casting prismatic shadows on the worn wood.

"I have almost 4000 usable, the rest are materials. Though I doubt it’s enough for much cultivation, I hope it’s sufficient to begin cultivation..."

♢♢♢♢

His heart sank when he inquired about the prices of what he needed.

Bronze-rank beast parts, meticulously preserved in crystal containers, glowed tantalizingly. Each piece cost a fortune, 1000 crystals apiece.

Thankfully, he didn’t need those pristine specimens.

But even the discarded parts, the ones slowly rotting that he actually required...

"100 crystals for a daily portion’s worth for my crystals," he muttered, examining a fragment of common crocodile skin that had begun to decompose. Its scales still held a faint iridescence despite the decay. "And I need a hundred portions..."

They were cheap by comparison, but far from free. His spore wasn’t the only creature that could utilize materials in that state for cultivation.

Liu whistled low and long. "Wow, 10,000 crystals just for that garbage. And you still need other materials, right? That spore really is a pain in your side. Sure the investment’s worth it?"

It was undoubtedly worth it, but the timeline...

Ren nodded grimly and made his way to the poisonous fungi section. The vendor, an older woman with burn scars crisscrossing her hands like a roadmap of past mistakes, gave him a sympathetic look.

"3000 per piece," she said before he could ask, gesturing to the glowing specimens. "And yes, it’s expensive. We have to import them from Yino City, and relations aren’t exactly friendly with our Yano City right now."

’Each one will process 10 crystals. Another 30,000 crystals...’ Ren felt a headache building behind his eyes.

"And the intelligence rune?" He pointed toward the artifacts section with a trembling finger, hoping against hope.

The intelligence rune pulsed with a soft blue glow. It was among the most basic, but still...

"That’s one of the cheap ones, like vitality runes it costs 10,000," the vendor sighed.

’I need 50,000 crystals total.’

Min scribbled quick calculations in his notebook, his water snake peering curiously at the numbers. "Based on what you say you need... Assuming luck keeps striking, you maintain your current gathering pace, and factoring in the school’s duplication..."

"Ten months minimum," Ren completed the thought, shoulders slumping slightly. "And that’s if I maintain this level of production."

’If I could go deeper... but mana poisoning is already a problem at this depth.’ The mushrooms in his hair pulsed weakly at the thought.

"Hey, it’s not so bad!" Taro tried to lift the mood, his beetle’s markings brightening with his optimism. "Ten months will fly by! Besides, meanwhile I can keep improving my control and…"