Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 197

"It has to be now," Ren whispered to Taro while the others were distracted gathering. "Every day I spend without cultivating the hydra is a day lost."

"Now?" Taro nearly shouted, but Ren quickly covered his mouth.

"Keep your voice down," Ren hissed, his mushrooms pulsing with urgency. "The excursion with Zhao is in 3 days and I need to start the hydra’s cultivation or I’ll go crazy with the feeling of stagnation during the gathering trip."

"But going deeper alone..." Taro tried to protest against Ren’s hand over his mouth once more, but it was too strong.

"Listen," Ren released him but kept his voice low. "I’ve already started cultivating the fungus to get rank Bronze 2 in 100 days, that was just a matter of money. But the hydra..." his mushrooms pulsed intensely, "needs this specific location to start. No amount of crystals can replicate the small vein that’s further ahead."

"It’s too dangerous to be alone in the Bronze beast zone," Taro murmured, glancing nervously in the direction where their tunnel had stopped.

"I’m the one helping you reach Bronze 2 and will continue until at least Gold 1," Ren reminded his friend. "Couldn’t you show a little solidarity for my hydra’s cultivation to Bronze 1?"

Ren’s mushrooms pulsed as he continued: "I just need you to open a small exit space in the mineral with your Living Tunnel when most of them move away to gather. Something discrete, quick."

Taro looked around nervously. Most of the group was focused on a particularly rich vein Min had found.

"But the monsters..." he began to protest.

"We already have the whole tunnel covered," Ren interrupted. "I just need to get out quickly, and you can close it immediately after. Monsters won’t enter and the girls won’t even notice we’re gone."

"We?" Taro frowned.

Before Ren could respond, he noticed Liora watching them from a distance. Their eyes met briefly, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Not you, it’s… Just trust me," Ren turned his attention back to Taro. "Will you do it?"

Taro sighed deeply, his living tunnel manifesting in his arm to control the mineral. "If something goes wrong..."

"Nothing will go wrong," Ren assured. "I already got there twice… will only need half an hour, maximum."

While the group continued gathering, Taro began working discretely on a small crack in the wall. His movements were so subtle they looked like he was simply examining the rock.

"Look at this, more Silver-sized crystals!" Mira suddenly exclaimed from the other end of the tunnel, drawing everyone’s attention.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Taro finished the crack. It was barely visible, but enough for someone thin to slip through.

"Now," Ren whispered, moving toward the opening.

"Be careful," Taro murmured as his friend began sliding through the space.

At the exact moment Ren disappeared through the crack, Liora, who had gradually fallen behind the group, vanished. Her movement was so fluid, so natural, that no one immediately noticed her absence.

"Thirty minutes?" Taro whispered toward the crack.

"Thirty minutes," Ren’s voice confirmed from the other side.

"I hear it," Liora murmured, fascinated. "It’s like... underground music."

"Exactly," Ren’s mushrooms pulsed with approval. "If you walk following that shared rhythm, your vibrations will blend with the natural ones. The assassins and worms won’t be able to distinguish you from the background noise as long as you don’t step too hard."

Liora pulled away from the wall, processing the information. "Is this how you move around here without being detected?"

"It’s one of the secrets," Ren nodded. "Living Tunnels are actually gentle giants, not very dangerous, but the other beasts, though aggressive, have their own patterns, their own rules. You just have to learn them."

"We have to finish the tunnel to at least 275 meters to find open chambers," Ren warned as they approached their objective. "When we do, we’ll inevitably make noise. If there’s any monster nearby, it might attack."

Liora nodded, tensing slightly.

"If you get scared," Ren continued, his mushrooms pulsing with seriousness, "stay completely still. I’ll handle it. Your other option is to move to the rhythm you just learned, but only if you’re sure you can maintain it under pressure."

"I understand," Liora responded, determination clear in her voice.

Ren hurried the hydra, which began working on the new opening, its movements as precise as possible to minimize noise. The ground gradually yielded, creating a narrow but passable passage.

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Just as they finished emerging on the other side, Ren’s mushrooms pulsed with alarm. His eyes widened and he raised a hand, stopping Liora dead in her tracks.