The golden hippogriff manifested completely outside his body, its 5-meter form filling the chamber.
The abyssal scorpion remained fused with him, its influence evident in the way his body had transformed. The mutations it caused were different from anything she had seen in Yano.
They weren’t subtle and stylized like their kingdom’s methods, these were more bestial, as if he was becoming the beast rather than merely controlling its power.
‘Yino,’ she thought while observing the mutation patterns. ‘Father told me that only they have perfected fusion with abyssal beasts. He’s like those from the attack with Professor Zhao.’
The hippogriff launched forward with impossible speed, its massive form moving with a grace that defied its size. The hydra tried to defend itself, but its movements were already too slow.
In an instant of perfect violence, the griffon’s claws cut cleanly through one of the hydra’s diamond necks.
The girl held her breath, watching in horrified fascination. A hydra’s scales were legendary for their hardness, said to be impenetrable by normal weapons. That this man’s beast could slice through them so easily…
The head fell with a dull thud while blood fountained from the severed neck. The hydra roared with its remaining head, a sound of agony and fury that echoed through the chamber.
‘It will die soon,’ the girl realized.
‘What a waste,’ she thought while watching the magnificent beast stagger. She herself had been lucky, her own beast was “superior” by current standards. But seeing this understudied creature, its beautiful gleam even in its moment of defeat…
It was time to leave. She had enough information.
If the man was strong enough to kill a two-headed hydra…
The girl began her own ascent, processing what she had witnessed. The headmaster needed to know about this. The presence of someone from Yino with beasts of that level, the hydra, the mentioned egg…
In her last glance at the scene, she saw something that made her blood freeze. The man had slightly turned his head, his eyes focusing for an instant on the spot where she had been observing.
She began blinking backward, using her ability to move between visual anchor points. One blink, then another, each taking her further from the battle.
Her heart pounding. He had noticed her, perhaps not clearly, but he had sensed her presence.
♢♢♢♢
The light filtering through the infirmary window made Ren blink.
His head throbbed, but the effect of the potion they had given him was making the pain fade gradually.
“Finally!” Taro almost jumped from his chair. “Are you okay? I thought you had died!”
“What…?” Ren tried to sit up, but the world spun momentarily.
“Stay still!” Taro gently pushed him back to the bed. “The nurse said mana poisoning is no joke. What were you thinking?”
“Why are you here, the classes…?”
“Did your brain melt? Wei isn’t at school today, remember?” Taro resettled in his chair. “And Lin left me here to wait for you to wake up and wait for punishment too… when she found out I helped you escape training.”
“Lin already knows about…?”
“Oh, yes,” Taro grimaced. “I confessed everything when she started threatening to triple my training and fail me in the battle unit. We were on our way when we saw you being carried out of the cave by the guards. But by then they were already bringing you to the infirmary.”
Ren closed his eyes, processing the information. “How angry is she?”
“Let’s say when you return to training, you’ll wish you had died from poisoning.”
“Fantastic…”
“And speaking of that…” Taro leaned forward, “what the hell happened down there? The guards seemed really shaken up.”
“It’s… complicated.”
“Complicated?” Taro raised an eyebrow. “Ren, you were foaming at the mouth. Your veins were glowing brighter than your mushrooms. They CARRIED you RUNNING to the infirmary.”
“I need a favor.”
“Oh no,” Taro crossed his arms. “You’re not changing the subject that easily.”
“It’s important and urgent,” Ren tried to sit up again, this time more slowly. “I need one of the processed crystals from my room. For today’s cultivation before Lin returns and I lose the whole day suffering.”
Taro looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
“You just woke up from mana poisoning!”
“Exactly,” Ren lowered his voice. “My body is more receptive now that the potion just finished its effect. It’s the perfect moment.”
“The perfect moment to do what? Die?”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“Dramatic?” Taro stood up, his beetle briefly manifesting from agitation. “You almost died!”
“Shhh,” Ren looked to one side. “The nurse will throw you out if you shout.”
“Good! Maybe she should throw your brains out too, since you’re clearly not using them!”
“Taro…”
“No,” his friend shook his head. “I’m not going to help you kill yourself. I’ve had enough with lying to Lin. Do you know how terrifying she is when she’s angry?”
“I do know… I’ll owe you one.”
“You owe me like fifty!”
“And I’ll take you to gold rank,” Ren smiled weakly. “Please.”
Taro stared at him for a long moment, then looked aside feigning disinterest. “I don’t believe you… but fine. If you die, I get your stuff.”
“Deal.”
“And what you have in the bank.”
“Now you’re abusing.”
Taro sighed dramatically. “Fine. What do you need?”
“The usual processed crystal,” Ren lay back down. “And… one more thing.”
“What?”
Ren smiled mysteriously.
♢♢♢♢
“A hydra?” Lin frowned while the guard finished his story. “Are you sure?”
“Completely,” the supervisor nodded. “Two heads, transparent scales. I’ve never seen anything like it… and for it to be so close to the surface…”
“And you say it was chasing Ren specifically?”
“Followed him until it had to return from lack of energy. The boy must have really bad luck for a beast of that level to waste so much energy in a place without mana in a chase… Or maybe it was good luck because he survived…”
“…He even got us out of the initial surprise and suggested how to stop it. An interesting kid, shame about his beast, I guess he does have very bad luck… without doubt.”
Lin processed the information. Something didn’t add up. Ren wasn’t weak, but his beast was, even with all his training. How could he have found a hydra, how deep had he gone? And if that was the case… How had he survived so long at that depth?
“Thank you for your time,” she turned to leave, when something caught her attention.
A presence in one of the nearby trees. This wasn’t the kind of concealment a normal student would use, there was something… semi-professional about it.
Lin took off running to the guard’s surprise.