“The mana poisoning medicine,” Zhao smiled slightly, his severity beginning to crack, “was going to be our little secret. A lesson about prejudice for your classmates… and my help for the unfortunate student.”
He reclined in his chair, his owl manifesting more relaxed now. “But it seems I underestimated your… initiative. Instead of needing help to last three days, you decided to venture alone into dangerous territory.”
The laugh that followed was genuine, the change in his attitude flowing naturally. He hadn’t stopped being the strict professor, but now Ren could see the admiration mixed with the reprimand, like a master craftsman acknowledging a particularly clever apprentice.
“The medicine is still yours if you want it,” he offered, sliding the flask across the desk with deliberate care. “Though I suspect you might have your own method for handling the poisoning.”
Ren took the flask with gratitude. “Thank you, professor. And yes, I had a plan involving that Shadow Stalker body, but I’ll keep this as backup.”
“I see you’re relaxing… Now,” Zhao leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with genuine interest, his owl’s gaze equally intent. “How about you tell me the true story of how you acquired all this?”
The mushrooms pulsed while analyzing the professor’s new attitude. After considering for a moment, Ren decided to be more sincere.
The medicine in his pocket was a reminder that sometimes, people could surprise you in the best ways, luckily not everyone was like Wei or Jin…
♢♢♢♢
Professor Zhao’s laughter broke the tension like sunlight piercing storm clouds, transforming the atmosphere in the small office.
“Well, well,” he reclined in his chair with more curiosity than threat of reprimand now. “How did you manage to enter that cave then?”
Ren carefully considered how much to reveal so his story wouldn’t seem false again, sometimes truth was indeed stranger than fiction… He decided to begin with the basics and build from there.
“The larger Bark Stalkers are slightly dangerous,” he explained, gaining confidence as he saw the genuine interest in the professor’s eyes. “But they have so much accumulated vitality that they’re perfect targets for Shadow Stalker sentinels. I just needed to make one move to the right place…”
“And how did you manage that without it returning to its spot?” Zhao leaned forward, fascinated by the technical details of Ren’s plan.
Ren described his use of the worm crystal to imitate drainage waves. The professor’s eyes widened with professional appreciation.
“Ingenious. I believe the story of that worm crystal must also be interesting, but tell me first… How did you obtain so many Shadow Stalker skins in such a short time? Eliminating them, even while sleeping, isn’t so simple…”
“The females molt regularly in the deep caves,” Ren continued, carefully omitting exactly how he knew to find the molting chamber in the labyrinth of the enormous cave system.
“The high concentration of individuals makes obtaining numerous skins easier, I just had to take the ones that had naturally molted.”
“Fascinating,” Zhao murmured while examining one of the skins with expert attention.
“In all my years exploring, I’ve only seen such perfect specimens twice… We had destroyed nests in an expedition, finding skins after days of exploring the caves, but most always show damage… It’s difficult to obtain them without marks of violence…”
“I didn’t need force,” Ren smiled slightly. “Just understanding of their natural cycles.”
The professor nodded thoughtfully. “You know? The King’s policy is clear, we must reward those who show true talent for exploration and gathering.”
He stood and began pacing.
“It was incredibly risky, of course. With your… limitation,” he gestured toward the mushrooms, “venturing so far could have ended very badly.”
“But,” he continued, a smile forming, “you’ve demonstrated something many forget. Knowledge and cunning can sometimes overcome brute force.”
Zhao studied him for a long moment, his owl’s gaze equally penetrating. “The ‘miserable one’ everyone says will belong to the grey wing all his life… Seems there’s much more to you than appears, isn’t there?”
Ren maintained a modest expression, though the mushrooms pulsed with quiet satisfaction.
“You know,” the professor smiled, “I think I’m going to be very interested in seeing how you develop. With proper support… I almost regret having to stay watching other students collect basic silk.”
“I’d like to see firsthand how you work. Gathering with you in one of those caves, seeing how…”
An assistant professor entered hurriedly, his face showing concern that quickly turned to disdain upon seeing Ren.
“Professor Zhao, the Shadow Stalkers… they’re acting strangely. I’ve never seen so many hitting against the protective tent.”
Zhao raised a hand to silence him. “It’s not so unusual. When there are territorial changes, sometimes the colonies…”
But Ren had gone rigid in his seat while listening to the impacts above the tent. They were quick, erratic, different from the usual cave migration pattern.
“Silence,” he requested, raising a hand. “Listen to the rhythm.”
The assistant looked at him with contempt, what could this troublesome student mean by that? ‘How arrogant’, he thought but Zhao turned with interest.
“What did you notice, Ren?”
“This isn’t a normal territorial change, excuse me professor,” Ren murmured, his mushrooms pulsing faster. “They’re flying too low, too fast. Almost as if…”
“As if what?” Zhao prompted.
“As if they were fleeing,” Ren completed, standing up. “And Shadow Stalkers don’t flee from…”
“Other beasts?”
“The Bronze ring beasts in this section, the Wood Colossi, the Metal Serpents, even the Rock Scorpions, never venture here,” Ren chose his words carefully. “Even when displaced by territorial fights or hunger.”
“Why are you so sure?” the assistant crossed his arms skeptically.
“Because Shadow Stalkers kill them,” Ren responded with quiet certainty. “A Bronze beast might be stronger individually, but at night a Shadow Stalker colony can drain all its mana in seconds. It’s suicide for them to enter this territory.”
Zhao nodded slowly, his owl’s feathers ruffling with growing concern.
“They would stay in the mana-richer zones, even if displaced, they’d seek other hunting grounds,” Zhao completed, his expression turning thoughtful. “You’re right. This is unusual.”
“And a Silver-rank beast…” Ren continued his analysis, “if it was displaced from its territory, why come here? It would be more logical to stay in the second ring, hunting Bronze beasts. The mana concentration there is much higher and hunting would be easier.”
“I suppose that’s why this zone is safe for students,” Ren added. “The iron ring has nothing to attract more powerful beasts.”
“This is… too artificial,” Ren frowned. “As if something had altered the natural cave structure. Or perhaps…”