Ren had dreamed of evolution routes and paths of power, but among all that knowledge, one simple idea had crystallized.
His parents were cooks.
"Can I ask you something about cooking?"
His parents turned, surprised.
Ren had never shown much interest in the technical details of cooking, and though he always helped, he didn't do it to learn.
"When you make bread," Ren continued, "why do you let the dough rest for exactly twelve hours?"
"Well," his father smiled, always happy to share his knowledge with his son, "that's the time natural yeast needs to..."
"And if someone told you that you only need two hours?"
His father raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn't work the same. Fermentation needs..."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've tried it. All bakers have tried it. We look for shortcuts at first, but with time, you learn that some processes simply need their time."
Ren smiled. "And if someone told you you're wasting your time? That twelve hours is too much, that nobody waits that long..."
"Then," his father crossed his arms, "I'd show them two loaves: one with two hours of rest and one with twelve. The result would speak for itself."
"Even if everyone says you're crazy for waiting so long?"
A spark of understanding appeared in his father's eyes.
"This isn't about bread, is it?"
"Mom, Dad," Ren said, drawing their attention again as he held hundreds of small mana crystals he had collected over the years. "Before I go to school, could you promise me something?"
Mana crystals this small weren't very valuable. Ren was offering about 500, a significant amount for a child.
You needed about 10 to buy a decent loaf of bread. Thankfully, everyone here had Weak Seedlings, which helped with the food problem, since they were very useful in enhancing the fields.
An average Iron Rank worker earned around 50 a day, which provided barely enough extra food variety and payment for rental shelter, but no other commodities.
Though Ren's parents, despite also being Iron Rank, earned around 150 a day thanks to their unique cooking skills...
Fern and Reed Patinder exchanged glances.
The kind of glances adults share when a child is about to say something that will break their hearts.
"I found... I found a way to make your plants stronger," Ren continued, trying to sound confident despite the lump in his throat. "It's a ritual that takes a thousand days, but..."
"I promise," Ren added firmly, "that if you trust me and follow exactly what I tell you, your plants will reach the power of a Silver Rank 1 beast."
"Son..." his father began with reluctant skepticism
"Like bread, Dad. The result would speak for itself ."
"Oh, darling," his mother said, kneeling before him, her eyes welling with tears again.
"I know it sounds impossible," Ren continued quickly. "But you only need to absorb this each day. With these mana crystals, and..."
He understood what they were thinking, their little boy, desperately trying to convince himself and them that everything would be alright, that his weak fungus and their mature plants didn't mean a future of misery.
"Please," he whispered. "Just... just promise me you'll try it."
His father wiped tears with the back of his hand. "Son..."
"Even if you don't believe me. Even if you think it's foolish. Just... just do it. Please."
His parents looked at each other again, their eyes filled with pain and love so deep that Ren's chest ached.
"Of course we'll do it," his mother hugged him, her voice trembling. "Every day, without fail."
"A thousand days," his father nodded, joining the embrace. "We promise."
His father looked at one mana crystal, then he manifested his Seedling outside his body.
"What do we need to do?"
Ren knew they were just playing along, that they thought this was his way of coping with the trauma of having the weakest beast, of having to leave for school where he would be mocked for years.
But they had promised to try. They never had broken a promise to him.
And for now, that was enough.
♢♢♢♢
The last six days had passed in a blur of detailed instructions and practices on how to process the crystals.
His parents followed each step with a dedication that broke Ren's heart, not because they believed it would work, but because they couldn't bear to see the hope in their son's eyes fade away.
He didn't even have time to play with his friends Anuar, Li, and Tao.
Now Ren had 2 years to get them 2 vitality runes, he would have to pay about 20,000 crystals or find a way to…
He would see how to achieve it. If the school was as they said, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult... or maybe it would.
Now, while packing his last belongings, Ren mentally reviewed the requirements for his own spore's evolution.
The components were far more demanding than the mana crystals, sunlight and pollen his parents needed.
Fortunately, the Imperial Academy of Cultivation and Evolution wasn't just any school. It was one of the city's three most prestigious institutions, if not the most prestigious.
"Do you have everything ready?" his mother asked from the door, holding a food package she had prepared for his journey.
Ren nodded, unconsciously touching the Mantis core that was next to the plates and golden fungus in his bag.
They hadn't believed how he obtained these things, though they pretended to… how could they believe something like that?
The mushrooms in his hair glowed softly as he hugged his parents one last time.
In a year, when he returned, their plants would have completed a bit more than a third of the ritual. And in a bit less than three years, though they didn't believe it possible now, they would reach a power that would change their lives.
He couldn't wait to return for the second time and give them their runes as a gift.
"Remember, don't miss a single day," were his last words before boarding the carriage that would carry some of the new students.
As the wheels began to turn, Ren took a deep breath.
The coming years would be difficult; being the child with the weakest beast at one of the most prestigious academies wouldn't be easy.
But he had a plan. He had knowledge that no one else possessed. And most importantly, he had something to prove.
The carriage had arrived before sunrise, since he lived far from the city, and the trip to the academy would take eight hours. It moved away from the outskirts, heading toward the heart of the city, where the Imperial Academy's spires rose like spears against the dawn sky.
It was time for the boy with the "useless" fungus to begin his true path to power.