"But one day my influence will touch every corner of the world! I'll know all the secrets! All of them!"
Sothing about seeing the tiny creature claim it occupied such an enormous expanse of land made the boys unable to stop laughing.
"Hmph!" the mushroom puffed its cheeks in what had to be the most adorable display of indignation they'd ever seen. "Ren! I don't want to be in front of these mocking troglodytes! I'm going back inside!"
Without waiting for a response, the small mushroom vanished, returning to Ren's body. The mushrooms in his hair sprouted and pulsed once more with their characteristic glow.
♢♢♢♢
"Well, what now?" Liu asked, still smiling at the spore's peculiar evolved personality. "How are you supposed to get your second beast?"
"It's simple," Ren smiled while approaching the hydra egg resting on his desk, its crystalline surface catching the morning light.
"Simple?" Min arched an eyebrow. "Nobody outside the highest-ranking nobles and the royal family knows about thods for a second contract... It can't be simple."
The words died in his throat when Ren touched the egg.
Fine mana roots, invisible to the normal eye but clearly perceptible when gathered in large quantities, began erging from Ren's body. They spread like an ethereal web, each strand pulsing with power.
"What's...?" Taro stepped back as the roots completely enveloped the egg, creating a cocoon of pure energy.
Before their astonished eyes, the egg began transforming. Its physical form gradually dissolved, becoming a pure mana construct that pulsed with its own light. The air around it seed to bend and twist.
There was no ceremony. No rituals or magic circles like in the stories they'd heard.
The egg, now a brilliant mass of pure energy, simply flowed into Ren's chest as if it had found its natural ho.
"Impossible!" Lin moved closer to see better. "That's not... that's not how..."
Ren's body glowed for a mont, the energy reorganizing and settling within him. When the glow faded, the mushrooms in his hair had disappeared.
In their place, new features began manifesting.
His teeth visibly sharpened, becoming similar to a predator's fangs. His ears lengthened and refined, taking on a more reptilian aspect. Crystalline claws replaced his nails, and scales of crystal blue began covering his arms in elegant patterns that caught and reflected light.
"Is that... an iron rank hydra?" Liu whispered in awe.
"So this is what it feels like," Ren flexed his hands, observing how light played across his new scales. "The knowledge was correct."
"But..." Min shook his head, his snake coiling anxiously. "Getting a second beast is supposed to require special rituals! Potions! Preparation!"
"Only if you do it like in the stories, but we don't even know the true traditional way," Ren smiled, his new fangs gleaming. "My spore uses a different path, their own one."
"Your mushrooms?" Taro looked around. "Where are they?"
As if answering the question, the mushrooms briefly reappeared in Ren's hair before vanishing again.
"I can alternate between manifestations like any normal double tar," he explained, shifting between forms with ease.
"Can you invoke them outside your body, or can't the hydra co out since it's entwined?" Lin asked, her professional curiosity evident.
"Everything works the sa, I can summon the mushroom outside while keeping the hydra manifested or vice versa," Ren explained while admiring the scales on his arms. "They're both part of my being now. But the mushroom's physical manifestation doesn't have much use outside my body, so there's not much point in using it."
"What kind of boosts does the hydra give you?" Liu asked, studying Ren's new features with fascination.
"Forty percent in strength and defense, 20% in everything else," Ren flexed his crystalline claws. "It doesn't reach Luna's wolf's boost levels, which can hit fifty percent per rank, but it's not far behind."
"And with your mushroom's twenty percent..." Min began calculating.
"Sixty percent total strength," Ren nodded. "Similar to Taro's defense buff. And the hydra is still iron rank."
Lin approached. Her expression had turned serious, her crane's feathers ruffling with concern.
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"Writing theories that challenge five hundred years of knowledge is one thing," she said quietly. "But being a double tar... that's more complicated than you think."
Ren looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"Because only the highest-ranking nobles and the royal family are supposed to know the thod," Lin crossed her arms. "And they're... quite protective of that knowledge."
The other boys exchanged worried looks, their beasts manifesting slightly in response to their anxiety.
"I recomnd you don't manifest the hydra for now," Lin continued. "At least until we find a way to handle this. Did you tell Julius anything about this?"
"No," Ren shook his head. "I didn't discuss this with him."
"Maybe you should next ti you see him," Lin nodded. "I've known Julius since we were children. He's trustworthy. But his siblings..." she made a significant pause. "They're another story entirely."
"What do you suggest?" Ren asked while his scales slowly faded.
"Let talk to soone first," Lin moved toward the door. "There might be a simpler solution that doesn't involve having powerful people asking you questions you shouldn't answer right now."
"Questions like 'where did you learn to make a second contract'?" Min suggested, his snake coiling nervously.
"Or 'how did a child with a mushroom discover sothing only royalty knew'?" Taro added, his markings shifting uneasily.
"Exactly," Lin paused at the door. "For now, keep a low profile. You're already drawing enough attention with your evolution theories. We don't need to add more fuel to the fire."
"And training?" Ren asked, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Oh, that continues as always," Lin smiled mischievously. "Though now that you have sixty percent more strength, we can intensify it a bit."
Ren groaned while his friends laughed.
"One more thing," Lin added before leaving. "When the ti cos to talk to Julius, let prepare the ground first. As I said, he's trustworthy, but even he might have a strange reaction when he learns a first-year student achieved sothing supposed to be exclusive to royalty."
After Lin left, the boys remained silent for a mont, the weight of their new secret settling over them like a heavy cloak.
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