Chapter 125 - Taming Promises

เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2569 07:36

The room was illuminated by the light of three moons when they returned from the infirmary, casting triple shadows that danced across the walls. Their injuries had been minor, bruises and scratches that the auxiliaries had healed quickly. "Well, at least you made it to the semifinals," Liu tried to lift the mood as he settled at his desk. "That's more than most people expected." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮 Min collapsed onto his bed, stretching muscles that still ached despite the healing. His water snake coiled dejectedly around his belly. "Yeah, and now we get to face the strongest team in the tournament. Perfect." "Maybe Luna's team is stronger, though it depends on how you look at it... If you'd been matched against Jin's team, you'd have had a chance," Liu continued, trying to find silver linings. "Their beasts are strong but not at Klein's team's level… Those are too much, even with Ren's strategies..." "Yeah, no... strategies don't help much when there's such a huge power gap," Taro muttered. Ren stood by the window, his mushrooms pulsing softly as he mentally reviewed every possibility. He wanted to tell them there was a way, that if they tried hard enough and executed the perfect plan... But even with all his knowledge, he couldn't find a viable solution. The gap was simply too wide. Klein's golden lion, Feng's red cobra, Astor's rhinoceros, all beasts with explosive growth in their early stages. Their raw power was evident in every movement, every manifestation. In contrast, Taro's beetle would need time to reach its true potential. Min's snake was just beginning to develop its water abilities. And his mushrooms... Well, the intense glow only worked up to a point and wouldn't surprise anyone anymore. He didn't want to give them false hope. It wouldn't be fair to promise an impossible victory. "Hey, don't make those faces," Liu tried again, his night bat manifesting slightly in response to his concern. "Nobody expected you to get this far. Just being in the semifinals is..." "Maybe we can find a way to lose with style," Min completed with a resigned smile, his snake mimicking his defeated posture. Ren finally turned to face his friends. His mushrooms pulsed steadily as he made a decision. "You should be happy," he said, drawing everyone's attention. "At least you're guaranteed 1500 crystals each." "Each?" Taro blinked in confusion, his beetle's markings swirling with surprise. "But third place is only a thousand points." "I'll give you my share," Ren explained, his mushrooms casting gentle light patterns across the room. "I don't really need it and..." "Oh," Min sat up straighter, a hint of his usual humor returning. "The generous magnate doesn't need his prize because he has a trunk full of hydra plates." "Which are from the prince," Liu added automatically, triggering laughter that helped ease the tension. "It's not because of that," Ren smiled, his mushrooms pulsing with amusement. "It's because you worked hard following the plan and..." A knock at the door interrupted him. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed with sudden alertness as everyone turned toward the entrance. It was late, and after the day they'd had... Another knock, more insistent this time. Ren approached the door, his mushrooms analyzing the presence on the other side. Whoever it was carried an aura of purpose that seemed unusually intense for this hour. ♢♢♢♢ Stay connected with freewebnovel.com The male wing's corridors were practically deserted at this hour, moonlight creating patches of silver and shadow across the wooden floors. A girl moved with the practiced grace of someone accustomed to avoiding notice, her blue hair barely visible in the darkness as she slipped between shadows. Each step was precisely placed, each movement calculated for silence. Like so many other nights, her destination was Ren's room. It had become routine, listen, observe, report. But tonight something was different. A movement in the perpendicular hallway made her quicken her pace. For an instant, a flash of her blue hair was illuminated by moonlight through a window before she vanished around the corner. Klein, passing by, froze mid-step. "Luna?" The blue hair, the direction... his eyes narrowed as he processed that this corridor led directly to Ren's room. His golden lion stirred beneath his skin, responding to his rising tension. ♢♢♢♢ The knocks at the door startled the room's occupants from their contemplation. Ren approached cautiously, his mushrooms' light revealing his friends' concerned expressions. When he opened it, Klein shoved the door with enough force to make Ren step back instinctively into a defensive stance. Feng and Astor flanked Klein but remained in the hallway, their beasts partially manifesting as their leader scanned the room with narrowed eyes, as if searching for something... or someone. "Hey!" Min jumped up, his water snake coiling protectively around him. "You can't just barge in like that!" "Ren, hide the plates," Taro whispered urgently. "Maybe they're here to steal them." "If he steals anything he'll be expelled, noble or not," Liu interjected. "The academy is extremely strict about obtained items. The value must be doubled by them so they're very careful about where things come from..." Klein diverted his attention from the corner he'd been examining. "I'm not interested in your miserable possessions," he spat, though it was clear he had no idea of the wealth Ren had accumulated. Not that it mattered, as the Goldcrest heir, money was the least of his concerns. His eyes swept the room one final time before focusing on Ren with laser intensity. "I came to tell you something directly." His golden lion manifested partially, creating brilliant patterns across his skin and expanding his mane into a corona of power. "Tomorrow I will humiliate you in front of everyone. When they see the abyssal difference between us, perhaps you'll finally understand your place." Ren's mushrooms pulsed with growing irritation as Klein spoke of humiliation. It was one thing to know the battle would be difficult for them, he himself had been considering it moments before. But seeing how his friends lowered their gazes before Klein's threats... Ren's mushrooms pulsed as he studied Klein. There was something more than simple arrogance in his bearing, an extra tension, an irritation that went beyond his usual disdain. His golden lion's manifestation seemed almost unstable with emotion. "Once I demonstrate how insignificant you are," Klein continued, his voice carrying an edge of something personal, "it will be perfectly clear that approaching Luna is forbidden." Taro and Min exchanged confused looks. Luna? What did she have to do with this? "After all," Klein raised his voice slightly, as if wanting someone else to hear, "a promised girl shouldn't be meeting other men in secret." The silence that followed was absolute. Ren's friends stared at Klein uncomprehendingly, while Feng and Astor seemed equally confused by their leader's comment. The tension in the room grew thick enough to cut. "Promised?" Min finally broke the silence. "What are you talking about?" Klein ignored the question, his eyes fixed on Ren with burning intensity. "Tomorrow you'll learn your place, mushroom. And I hope that afterward, certain people remember their... obligations to..." "I told you before," Ren stepped forward, cutting off Klein's monologue. "That kind of discourse is for halfwits." Klein froze in the doorway, his golden lion manifesting more fully until its power filled the corridor with shimmering light. "What did you say?"

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