Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons novel Chapter 628

Chapter 628 -628 – Taming the Fifth Year – Failing Chances

“But they might cheat,” Liora murmured, she was someone who’d seen too much noble duplicity already.

“Exactly,” Larissa confirmed, nodding. “That’s why the first ten exams may be critical. They don’t just establish your record. They establish expectations. They reveal your real level.”

“And then they’ll know exactly how much more pressure they need to apply to make me fail?” Luna finished with bitterness.

“Not just you,” Larissa added, her expression darkening. “Anyone with significant rewards. You, Liora to a lesser extent, but especially Ren.”

“Ren?” Luna asked, straightening slightly. Her wolf’s ears perked up at the name.

“Because of his enormous rewards,” Larissa explained, her fingers drumming on the armrest in a rare show of nervous energy. “A quarter of the new vault, all the Goldcrest territory, official high nobility. There are many nobles who would prefer to see him fail. His very existence is a threat to many people. And in the first exams, they’ll have a clear idea of whether they can accomplish it or not.”

“They can’t really affect him, he has so many allies…” Luna began, but her voice lacked conviction.

“But,” Liora made a face, her usual playfulness completely absent, “tutors have big influence on practical evaluations. They can recommend what kind of scenarios to present, what aspects to emphasize.”

“Yes,” Larissa added. “They can coordinate to create scenarios specifically designed to expose weaknesses. Or worse, to create situations where no matter what he does, he’ll be seen as inadequate.”

“I’m jealous, don’t you want to adopt me?” Liora asked Larissa with a weak attempt at humor. “Royals have different rules…”

“I would if I could,” Larissa confirmed, her expression softening with something that might have been guilt. The privilege of her birth was something she’d never queried for but couldn’t escape. “You wouldn’t have to take noble protocol exams because royals govern ourselves differently…”

“How convenient,” Liora murmured, but there was affection in her tone more than true resentment. She knew it wasn’t Larissa’s fault.

“How many exams can Ren fail before losing everything?” Luna asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

“With his rewards,” Larissa said slowly, “he can probably fail less than anyone in the academy’s history. His achievements are so extraordinary that he’ll have less margin…”

“The previous record was Sirius’s,” Luna added quietly. The mention of her father brought a tightness to her expression. “He could fail only six exams.”

“If it depends on the rewards…” Larissa responded carefully, “Luna, with your significant rewards, you can probably afford to fail up to… seven before it’s really problematic?”

“Nine,” Luna corrected. “Selphira verified. I can fail up to nine exams before my faction leadership is in real danger.”

The three girls exchanged glances, each processing what this meant.

“He can probably fail… three?”

♢♢♢♢

Days later, in the comfortable classroom that Ren was beginning to think of as safe territory, Aldric continued his easy-going instruction.

“If I want to help you… it’s because I’m against all those dummies who think nobility is about lineage instead of capability,” Aldric made a dismissive gesture with his hand, as if physically waving away the concept. “The same ones who were murmuring during your ceremony. The ones who think that because they were born into the right family, they’re inherently superior.”

He leaned forward conspiratorially, lowering his voice as if sharing a dangerous secret.

“Between you and me, most of those nobles couldn’t organize a decent banquet if their lives depended on it. It’s all facade and delegation. But you,” he pointed at Ren with emphasis, “you actually built something from scratch. That requires real intelligence, not just following a script someone else wrote.”

Ren found himself genuinely relaxing. There was something about Aldric’s way of speaking, direct but not rude, honest without being cruel, that made him feel like he was talking with a person he could just speak the truth with.

“So,” Aldric stood up, walking to one of the shelves and pulling out several books, “since you mastered the basics, here’s the intermediate level.”

He stacked the books on the table in front of Ren. Again, slim volumes with pragmatic titles. Nothing like the massive tomes Ren had seen his friends carrying around.

Ren read the first title, feeling a weird mix of relief and shame. It was almost too simple…

“No shame,” Aldric said firmly, as if he could read minds. “Everyone starts somewhere. I had to learn this too, you know? My great-great-great-grandfather was a merchant before the family ascended. So these same frustrations, my father lived them. And he passed them on to me with a patience I now appreciate much more.”

He sat down again, pushing the book toward Ren across the polished wood surface.

“As long as you don’t paralyze yourself trying to remember every little rule. The secret of noble protocol,” he leaned forward as if sharing the forbidden knowledge of the universe, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “is confidence. If you act like you belong, most people will assume you belong. It’s pure psychology.”

“And if I don’t feel confident?”

“Then you fake it until you do,” Aldric shrugged with the ease of someone who’d done exactly that many times. “It’s what we all do. Do you think I felt confident the first time I had to give a speech before the royal court? I was terrified. But I acted like I knew exactly what I was doing, and it worked.”

He opened the book to the first page, revealing diagrams of postures and positions. Simple stick figures showing correct and incorrect stances.

“Well, let’s start with the most fundamental thing of all: how to stand without looking like you want to use the bathroom to take a…”

The casual vulgarity made Ren laugh despite himself, the tension in his shoulders easing.

♢♢♢♢

“For next class,” Aldric said as they packed up at the end of the session, “I want you to practice these three basic postures. You don’t need perfection, just familiarity. I want your body to remember the movements without having to think about them.”

“Understood,” Ren nodded, storing the new books in his backpack. They barely added any weight.

“And Ren,” Aldric stopped him at the door, his expression serious but kind, “if you ever feel I’m being unfair or too hard, tell me. This tutor-student relationship only works if there’s honest communication.”

The words sounded so reasonable, so caring. Ren felt warmth in his chest at the offer.

“I will,” Ren promised.

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