Ren stood outside the arena, surrounded by his friends who were all talking at once about his victory. "Not even three seconds! You didn't even give him the three seconds he gave me!" Min gesticulated wildly, recreating the scene with his hands. "He deserved it for doing the same to me... Liu's face was priceless!" Liu crossed his arms with mock indignation. The light streaming through the arena's high windows cast long shadows across the gathering area, highlighting the contrast between the jubilant Gray Wing team and the dejected expressions of the noble students passing by. Word of their dominance had spread quickly throughout the academy. Lin approached the group, her professional expression slightly softened by an approving smile. "Ren," she called, making everyone turn toward her. "Congratulations on winning the Best's Honor prize." "Honor price?" Ren blinked, his mushrooms pulsing with curiosity. "I thought the tournament was just an exam." "It is," Lin confirmed. "But there are additional recognitions for the winner. And because of your overall average scores, you've received the Best's Honor." "The Best's Honor?" Ren repeated, clearly having little idea what that meant. Liu dramatically gasped, his eyes widening. "The Best's Honor? Did you seriously outperform everyone in at least two other units as well? That's incredible!" "What exactly is it?" Ren asked, ignoring Liu's theatrics. Lin crossed her arms, adopting her typical instructor posture. "It's essentially an extra recognition. When advancing to the next grade, several things are evaluated, but the Honor allows you to skip some requirements and receive more benefits." "So?" Ren leaned forward slightly, his interest evident. "Now you'll advance from Iron to Bronze 1, and your emblem will change," Lin explained. "That's normal… any average student with a decent beast achieves that." Liu glanced away, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face. "Though the real advantage will be noticed in the next emblem levels..." Lin continued. "Although, honestly, I don't think you'll need those advantages." The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed, reflecting his interest. "Is there anything else?" "What might interest you more is that the Honor gives you an extra step in the benefits you receive," Lin continued. "For example, you can eat in the Bronze 2 area, and instead of receiving 10 crystals daily as Bronze 1, you'll receive 20, as if you were Bronze 2." "Twenty crystals daily?" Taro quickly calculated. "That would be only about 3,600 additional crystals in a semester." "It's not much for you now," Lin acknowledged, "but it will be significant when you reach Silver or Gold levels, especially if you earn more Honors in the future." Min whistled in admiration. "The system rewards those who stand out from the beginning." "There's also the base prize," Lin added. "It's 100,000 crystals for the first-year champion of each dynamic, 166,000 for you and 66,000 for Taro and Min." Min, Taro, and Liu sighed in unison. "That's nothing for the mushroom magnate," Min commented, shaking his head with feigned sadness. "The crystal producer of Gray Wing," Liu added. "The future mycological millionaire," Taro finished with a smile. Ren ignored the jokes. "I'll need everything I can get," he finally responded, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "My fungus will require enormous amounts of resources to advance to the next levels." Lin nodded, apparently satisfied with the response. "The prize details will be processed administratively to the bank today and doubled with your month-end reports tomorrow. You'll receive the new emblem at the beginning of the next semester." "Thank you, Master," Ren replied with a slight bow. "I have one more question, if I may." Lin arched an eyebrow. "Yes?" "I want to contact my parents," Ren explained, his voice softening slightly. "Do you know any way to send letters or packages?" The question seemed to take Lin by surprise. "Letters? That's not something I usually get involved with," she admitted. "I understand," Ren replied, a subtle disappointment in his tone. Lin seemed to consider something for a moment, tapping her finger against her arm. "I don't know much about the postal system, but I know Liora regularly sends information to Selphira. You could ask her." The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed with renewed interest. "I will. Thank you." "Enjoy your last days of rest," Lin added with a hint of mischief in her voice. "We'll start the new training regimen at the beginning of the semester." Ren and the boys audibly gulped, their faces paling simultaneously. Lin smiled briefly before walking away, presumably to attend to her duties with the closure of the battle week. Taro observed Ren attentively, his eyes reflecting concern and admiration. "Are you planning to send them part of your earnings?" "Everything I can," Ren confirmed, his expression determined, a fire burning behind his eyes. "Helping them is my main goal." The three friends exchanged glances, understanding once again that there was much more to Ren than anyone could see at first glance. The Light Claw Champion's priorities remained firmly anchored to his humble origins. ♢♢♢♢ Ren considered the best way to locate Liora. According to Lin, the Ashenway would have information about sending letters, something that had become his immediate priority. "Where do you think we could find her?" asked Taro, who had decided to accompany him. "I'm not sure," Ren admitted. "Maybe in…" "Ren!" The familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Turning around, he saw Liora entering the arena's rest room alongside Larissa. Their elegant uniforms, still pristine despite the school rigors, contrasted sharply with the Gray Wing team's more unkempt attire. A few steps behind, almost hidden behind a column, Luna observed them with evident shyness, clearly still not daring to look directly at Ren. "We were just looking for you," Larissa commented with a smile that softened her aristocratic features. "We wanted to formally congratulate you on your victories." "The final battles were impressive," Liora added, looking alternately at Ren and Liu. "Although the last one was surprisingly brief." Liu shrugged with a resigned smile. "You can't win if you can't even blink before this monster is on top of you." "Congratulations to both of you, anyway," Larissa said. "We knew that Ren's and Gray Wing's level was exceptional, but surpassing all first-year students..." Ren noticed that Mayo and Matilda accompanied Luna at a distance, the former giggling while observing her mistress, the latter giving her a discreet knock on the head to make her behave. "Have you seen Julius, Selphira, or any of the other VIPs?" Maria asked cautiously. The boys shook their heads in unison. "They all seem to still be meeting since the incident with Klein," Larissa deduced, her brow furrowing slightly. "Apparently, even Sirius quickly withdrew at the end of your battle with Luna." "What about Klein?" Ren couldn't help asking, remembering the dark mana he had neutralized. "They haven't released him yet," Liora responded, slightly lowering her voice and leaning closer. The air around her briefly flickered with heat from her will-o'-wisp. "They must have him under observation, wherever he is." There was a brief uncomfortable silence that Ren decided to break with his original query. "Lin told me that you might know about sending letters," he said, addressing Liora. "I need to contact my parents." All three girls reacted, even Luna momentarily seeming to forget her embarrassment. "Letters?" Larissa was the first to ask. "It's not very common for people without businesses; most simply visit and…" She stopped, reconsidering what she was about to say. "Well, I suppose it depends on the circumstances..." "Generally, they're private services that the heavy users build," Larissa explained in more detail. "I'd like to help you, but mine is too bureaucratic since it's from the castle." Luna touched something in her pocket, a crumpled letter, but still didn't dare to speak. "What exactly do you need it for?" Maria asked. "I want to send some crystals, a message, and two potions to my parents," Ren explained frankly. Liora and Larissa exchanged worried glances. "You shouldn't send the potions," Liora warned, her tone unusually serious. "Trusting someone to transport them would be very risky, even for me." "I agree," Larissa added, nodding. "Even a million crystals isn't much, but a potion is too valuable, hundreds or thousands of times more, and there would be too many interested in stealing them." Ren swallowed as he realized he had greatly underestimated the value of those potions. He tried to forget about that to concentrate and nodded, accepting the advice. "Then I'll take them myself at the end of the year... if it's just the crystals and the message. How much does a service like that cost?" "It depends on the amount and distance," Liora responded, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "How much are you planning to send, and where to?" "Everything I have for now," Ren said without hesitation. "Around half a million crystals. My parents live in the outskirts, about seven or eight hours of travel." The expressions of surprise were general, even more among his friends who knew about his earnings. "Everything?" Min asked, genuinely astonished. "Wouldn't it be better to keep something for next semester?" "I want them to recover the house," Ren responded simply. "I already have cultivation materials for the next three months, and I'll receive more money tomorrow with the end-of-month report." Liora seemed to calculate mentally. "A large package could take about five bronze glow crystals, but..." "I'd prefer to send much smaller crystals," Ren interjected. "My parents probably won't be able to easily exchange those of high value." Liora looked thoughtful, clearly reconsidering the plan. "For so many small crystals, we'd practically need a cart," she murmured, putting a hand to her chin. "Is there any way to do it?" Ren insisted, leaning forward slightly. Liora finally smiled, her confidence returning. "Actually, I think I can help you," she said. "Tomorrow they'll let us out to the city for half a day. We could go place the order then." "To the city?" The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed with renewed interest.