Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Chapter 7 - Taming Danger

Ren closed his eyes instinctively, but it was too late.

For a fraction of a second, he had seen the toad's three hypnotic eyes.

His muscles began to go numb.

The melodious croaking intensified, now coming from all directions. He could hear the soft padding of their feet approaching, the wet sound of their skin secreting acid...

The paralysis was spreading through his limbs when the spore, without warning, fused with his body.

Ren wanted to scream in frustration, 'Now's not the time to be stubborn, a miserable strength increase won't help me here!'

The weak glow of the mushrooms in his hair would only serve to attract more predators, making him a more visible target in the night.

The Moon Toads were getting closer.

He could hear the rhythmic padding of their feet, the wet sound of their skin secreting acid. The acrid smell already reached his nose, like rotting fruit and hot metal.

But something was strange.

The toad in front of him, the one that had paralyzed him, tilted its head.

Its three eyes blinked in an erratic sequence, breaking the hypnotic pattern. The melodious croaking turned to discordant, confused notes.

The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed with bioluminescence similar to the toads', creating patterns that mimicked the glow of their internal organs. It was as if his head had become a distorted version of his predators.

The leader toad jumped forward, its three eyes now fixed on the glowing mushrooms. The confusion broke its concentration, and with it, the paralyzing spell.

Ren felt control of his body return just as the ground beneath the toad began to give way.

Everything happened in an instant.

The toad, disoriented by the luminescent mushrooms, didn't notice it had landed on the edge of an Excavator tunnel. The earth crumbled beneath its weight with an ominous crunch. Its bright eyes widened in surprise as it fell, its melodious croak transforming into a shriek of panic.

A deep roar rose from the tunnel's darkness, followed by the unmistakable sound of jaws snapping shut.

The other Moon Toads froze, their bioluminescent patterns becoming erratic with fear. The acid smell intensified, an involuntary defensive reaction.

Ren didn't stop to think.

His legs, newly freed from paralysis, moved by instinct.

A jump to the right, away from the formerly invisible tunnel edge he could now see thanks to the freshly collapsed earth.

"The tunnels!" he gasped as he ran. "They form a pattern!"

Night Excavators were methodical, territorial. Their tunnels always followed the same design, a main entrance with traps in a semicircle around it. If the toad had fallen into one...

Another crunch to his left confirmed his theory. Two of the remaining toads, in their rush to chase him, had jumped directly onto another weak section.

The earth opened beneath them like a hungry mouth.

More roars from the depths. More abruptly interrupted shrieks.

The last Moon Toad, perhaps wiser than its companions, disappeared into the night with a terrified croak.

♢♢♢♢

Ren stopped, panting, his heart threatening to burst.

The mushrooms in his hair still pulsed weakly, but now they seemed more like a reminder of his luck than a curse.

"You," he whispered to his spore, still fused with it, "are still the weakest beast that exists. But... thanks. I guess."

A distant crunch reminded him this was no time to celebrate. Somewhere beneath his feet, a Night Excavator had just enjoyed an unexpected dinner of Moon Toads.