Chapter 11 - Taming the Way Home (5th E)

The information in Ren's mind was clear but limited, like a map showing only the beginning of a much longer journey.

He could see the first steps of his spore's cultivation with perfect clarity, the specific types of fungi needed, the exact conditions for growth, the strengthening rituals.

And there was something in the tunnel he could use for the final step of his Bronze 1 cultivation.

'The sporocarp should be ready… the mantis body should have been enough for one.'

But the other parts needed? None of that was anywhere near.

"The first fungi I need are not Iron, but Bronze-rank..." he murmured, processing his new knowledge, "and they grow in the swamp zones north of Yino, the rival city. Not in this forest." 

The realization hit him with both frustration and relief.

However, there was something else at the edges of this new knowledge, a promise.

When his spore reached Bronze rank, a possibility would open that made his heart race.

 A second contract. A second beast.

The rest was nebulous, like looking through murky water.

But the certainty was there, each evolution of his spore would not only strengthen it but also expand his understanding of beasts and their paths.

Yet, that was a task for another moment.

"I have to go back," he said aloud, this time with resolution rather than fear or regret. "I need a lot of materials to start cultivating."

The mushrooms in his hair pulsed softly, as if nodding.

It was time to return home. 

His parents would be worried sick if he arrived too late, and now... now he had a real plan. Not a desperate search, but a clear path.

Although first, he'd have to find a way out of this cave.

♢♢♢♢

The mana density in this cave was insane; Ren would be poisoned if he didn't get out soon.

How there could be so much mana in a place in the Iron ring was a mystery to him, even with his expanded knowledge.

He glanced at the crystal formations. Huge, beautiful, and completely fused together. This was a weirdly joint mana structure, maybe forged… someone's work from the past.

"No way I'm breaking that," he muttered. "Maybe in the future…"

Larger crystals grew harder, exponentially so. Even a Bronze-rank creature like the mantis couldn't have scratched it.

Ren observed the tunnel through which he'd arrived and decided to retreat.

The ancestral spores were still there, dancing in the darkness with their golden glow.

But now he saw them differently, understood their nature with great clarity.

"They're not aggressive by default," he murmured. "They attack because they're hungry after centuries of hibernation, but their true method of finding prey is..."

He stopped, an idea forming.

The ancestral spores, like all fungi, followed basic behavioral patterns. They sought nutrients, yes, but more importantly, they responded to specific biochemical signals.

Ren took some mud.

"And if I combine this with..."

A yellowish mold formed where the ancestral spores fell. Ren closed his eyes, concentrating, analyzing its composition…

The mushrooms in his hair pulsed, releasing gray spores that mixed with his sweat. 

He smeared the mud making a mixture over his spore-covered skin.

Disgusting… but now his beast's spores gave signals that told the Ancient Spore colony he was one of them.

"They should recognize me as another fungal colony now," he murmured. "That should keep them at sufficient distance to..."

He slided back to the tunnel. The golden spores swirled around him but didn't attack. To them, he was now just another fungal organism of the same species, not prey.

"It works," he whispered, stunned. "It actually works."

Ren knelt beside the Mirror Mantis's remains. Under the broken plates and yellowish mold, he could see what he was looking for, the golden sporocarp and a crystalline core, a structure of the beasts that acted as their power center.

It was a sphere, 15 cm in diameter. Now mana depleted after its owner died. 

"Beast cores," he whispered, the knowledge unfolding in his mind, "are like proto-eggs. They contain the creature's body plan, information, its mana patterns, its essence... And there's a way to 'revive' them." 

He took some of the non broken mantis's plates, those he could carry in his backpack, the core and the golden mushroom from the ancestral spores that had formed while consuming the mantis.

While carefully advancing through the tunnel, Ren couldn't help but smile. 

A few hours ago, he'd been convinced his spore was useless. Now, that same "weakest monster" had given him the knowledge to survive where a Bronze-rank beast had perished.

And the core in his hands... anyone else would see it as a mere useless trophy. But Ren could see its true value: an option to obtain the Mirror Mantis.

A creature that, someday, he might want.

♢♢♢♢

The ancestral spores tunnel ended up being the easiest stretch of the return journey.

Ren emerged covered in mud and a mixture of gray and some stray golden spores, but alive and with valuable treasure in his backpack.

He carefully cleaned off the mud and golden spores.

Now, facing the return path, everything looked different. Where before there was terror and uncertainty, now there was understanding.

The Night Excavator tunnels weren't a random maze as he'd thought...

"They always dig in spirals," he murmured to himself, recognizing the patterns in the den's ceiling. "And they mark their active territories with deeper scratches on the eastern walls."

Thanks to this, he could avoid zones where other excavators might be active while looking for a less steep trap hole to exit through.

Emerging into the Moon Toads' territory, he stopped to listen. The melodic croaking came from the distance, but now he understood its meaning.

"Three ascending tones, they're hunting. Four descending tones would be mating," he whispered. "And they always leave one toad watching escape routes while the others chase prey."

He waited patiently until the croaking pattern changed, indicating the toads had moved away following some prey's trail.

Only then did he move, keeping to areas where the ground was compressed and dry.

"Moon Toads hate hard, dry earth," the knowledge flowed naturally now. "Their feet are designed for soft terrain where they can bury themselves quickly. On firm ground, their bodies lose moisture."

Even the natural trap zones were obvious now.

The Excavators always left small signs: oddly placed stones, patterns in soil erosion, pressure dips.

To untrained eyes they would look like coincidences, but to Ren now they were like warning signs glowing in the night.

The mushrooms in his hair, still shining with that more intense yellowish tone, lit his path as he advanced with renewed confidence. They were constantly showing the pattern of the frogs' eyes; Ren was no longer worried about being ensnared by their light, now they even served as camouflage.

Every step was calculated, every decision informed by knowledge that just hours ago he didn't even know existed.

"It's as if I'd been blind my whole life," he thought while skillfully avoiding a zone that showed clear signs of Toad activity.

"And now I can finally see."

The night that had begun as a desperate struggle to survive had become a practical lesson about the true nature of beasts. His supposed "curse", the weakest spore, turned out to be the key to understanding all these secrets.

The magical forest's end finally appeared before him, the last 'magical trees' glowing, from what was actually frog urine, against the night sky.

Ren stopped a moment, unconsciously touching the Mantis core in his bag. He had set out seeking a second beast, a miracle to change his destiny.

What he'd found was something far more valuable...

Understanding.