Ren took only the tentacle and crystal with trembling hands. “And the… Did you find them too?”
“Yes,” Taro nodded, nervously watching the infirmary door. “But I still think this is a terrible idea… If she arrives before…”
“Just don’t let them interrupt me for a few minutes, I’m faster at the process now and quieter.”
Ren turned to look at the busy nurse, unwrapped the crystal, and positioned the tentacle over his stomach. He breathed deeply before beginning the absorption.
The pain was immediate and intense, burning through his system like liquid fire. His veins began to glow as mana flowed through his system, creating intricate patterns under his skin. The tentacle worked frantically, absorbing the excess where the veins threatened to burst, its movements precise despite the chaotic energy flow.
But after a few minutes, Taro finally couldn’t hide the glow in Ren’s veins from the nurse with his body anymore.
“What are you doing?!” the nurse burst into their cubicle, her eyes widening with horror. “Stop immediately!”
“He can’t!” Taro interposed himself in her path, arms spread wide. “He’s cultivating! If you interrupt him, he could get hurt!”
“He just suffered mana poisoning and his veins are glowing again!” the nurse tried to get around Taro, her professional concern evident. “He needs medicine now!”
“He’s perfectly fine!” Taro moved to block her again, almost tripping over a small table in his enthusiasm. “Just look!”
“Step aside, young man!” the nurse pulled out a potion. “I need to give him this!”
“No, no, no!” Taro waved his arms dramatically. “No potions! It would ruin the whole process!”
The nurse tried to push Taro’s arm aside, who responded by hugging her tight, his face reddening at his own boldness.
“This is ridiculous!” the nurse tried to remove Taro, who responded by spinning and hugging her from behind.
“I am his designated bodyguard!” Taro continued hugging while the girl dragged him. “Officially appointed like… five minutes ago!”
Meanwhile, Ren struggled to maintain concentration. The crystal was almost completely absorbed, but each second was a battle against searing pain. The tentacle moved constantly, following the points where mana threatened to saturate his veins with deadly precision.
“Just a little more!” he shouted through clenched teeth.
“See?!” Taro pointed dramatically toward Ren. “Just a little more!”
“He’s a patient recovering from poisoning!”
Ren let out a final gasp as the crystal finally dissolved completely. The tentacle made one last pass over his veins before becoming completely saturated.
“Done,” he sighed, falling back against the pillows.
Taro and the nurse stopped mid-drag-fight.
“See?” Taro smiled triumphantly. “Everything under control!”
The nurse quickly approached to check on Ren. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed his vitals were… perfectly normal. Better than normal, in fact.
“This is impossible,” she murmured while checking his pupils. “A moment ago he was on the verge of collapse from mana saturation.”
“Cultivation can be like that,” Ren smiled weakly. “Full of surprises.”
“And reckless idiots,” added Taro, but he was smiling too.
The tension in the room finally broke. The nurse even let out a small laugh while storing her unused potion.
“It’s been a great day,” Ren stretched, satisfied. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed with renewed energy.
“The best,” Taro nodded. “Escaped training, survived poisoning… And I hugged a pretty nurse!” he proclaimed proudly.
The nurse gave him a gentle tap on the nose. “Very gallant, little one. But I’m a bit old for you.”
A shadow appeared in the doorway.
The smile froze on Ren and Taro’s faces. Color drained from their cheeks so quickly that the nurse almost pulled out her potion again.
Lin stood in the threshold, her expression unreadable.
“So…” her voice was dangerously soft, “who escaped from training?”
♢♢♢♢
“What were you thinking?!” Lin paced in front of Ren’s bed. “How did you trick the guards?”
“I didn’t trick anyone,” Ren tried his best innocent face. “I just… took a shortcut.”
Lin pinched his cheek. Hard.
“Ow, ow! Alright!” Ren rubbed his sore cheek. “I have… a small secret tunnel. Sometimes I go down to 150 or 200 meters. To get crystals.”
“A secret tunnel?” Lin’s eyes narrowed. “With all those minor and common worms around? With a beast that can barely process mana at that depth?”
“It’s not so dangerous if you know the worms’ patterns and only stay there a while,” Ren avoided her gaze. “Besides… I was looking for something special for you.”
“What thing?”
“A crystal flower,” Ren drew the shape in the air with his fingers. “It’s a very rare formation. The crystals grow in the shape of petals, but finding one is like…”
“Like finding a five-leaf clover,” completed Lin, still skeptical.
“Exactly! But no luck again, I thought I’d have it in the new vein I found,” Ren looked back. “Taro… Did you bring option B?”
Taro cautiously peeked his head in. “The flowers? Yes, here…”
Lin blushed slightly at seeing the small bouquet, but her expression hardened immediately. Her hand descended in a precise chop on Ren’s head.
“Ow!”
“The truth,” she demanded. “What did you really go looking for?”
“It was for the flower!” Ren rubbed his head. “Why does no one believe me when I try to say thanks?”
“Maybe because the last time you tried to ‘say thanks’ you also ended up trying to escape training,” Lin extended her hand. “Show me what you found.”
“I didn’t find the flower, just the usual,” Ren pointed to the shadow stalker skin bag that Taro had brought. “Just some crystals and deep earth. You can check.”
Lin examined the bag’s contents. Indeed, there were only common crystals and some dark earth.
“All this risk for this?” she shook the bag. “Going so deep you ended up with mana poisoning?”
“I need to gather a lot for my cultivation,” Ren shrugged. “And the crystals…”
“Then,” Lin interrupted him, her voice dangerously soft, “what was all that about the hydra?”
The color drained from Ren’s face. Taro, who had been listening from behind, almost dropped the small bouquet.
“The… what?”
♢♢♢♢
The hydra lay motionless, its single remaining head lifeless. The man approached the body.
“At least it won’t be a total waste,” he murmured while beginning the extraction.
A hydra core could become an egg again. He just needed another silver rank hydra and wait… Keep living in the damn caves for at least 10 extra days…
Eating that garbage…
Defecating and sleeping in the caves…
“To hell with it! I’m going to recover that egg.”
The griffon’s claws sank into the crystallized skin, searching for the exact point where the core rested.