Three days until his match against Serin Blackwood.
Dan spent the first day recovering from the Minor Essence Crystal's effects. His bond with the spore had strengthened significantly, but the sudden influx of energy had left him exhausted—a strange fatigue that wasn't physical but seemed to emanate from his very soul.
Tae brought him food from the dining hall, carefully avoiding the Elite Resonance students who'd begun whispering about Dan's upcoming match.
"They're calling it 'the execution,'" Tae said grimly, setting down a tray of rice and roasted vegetables. "Jae Stonefist has been telling everyone his girlfriend is going to 'put the mushroom boy in his place.'"
Dan ate mechanically, his mind elsewhere. "Tell me everything you know about Shadow Cats."
Tae pulled out a worn bestiary he'd borrowed from the Academy library. "Bronze-rank feline beasts. Specialized in stealth and speed. They can blend with shadows, making them nearly invisible in low light. Their claws are coated with a mild paralytic toxin—not enough to immobilize you completely, but enough to slow your reactions."
"Weaknesses?"
"They're fragile compared to other Bronze-rank beasts. Their defense is their speed and stealth, not durability. If you can land a solid hit, they go down fast." Tae paused. "But that's the problem. Landing a hit on something you can't see is nearly impossible."
Dan stared at his depleted crystal on the desk. "Unless you can force it into the open."
"How?"
"I'm still working on that part."
***
The second day, Dan returned to the Survival Grounds during open training hours.
Arena Three was occupied by Elite students practicing formation combat, so Dan claimed a smaller training area at the complex's edge—a circular platform with practice dummies and basic obstacles.
He summoned his spore cloud, which materialized larger and brighter than before. The luminescent mushrooms in his hair grew immediately, glowing with steady bioluminescence.
Dan no longer dismissed them out of shame. If they were part of his abilities now, he needed to understand how to use them.
He focused on his new skill: Fungal Growth.
Following instinct more than instruction, Dan directed his spore to deploy threads into the ground. Gray-white filaments spread from the cloud like roots, burrowing into the stone platform.
After several minutes, small mushroom clusters sprouted across the surface—tiny at first, but growing steadily.
Dan experimented, learning the technique's limitations:
- The growth was slow. It took at least five minutes to establish a useful network of fungal threads.
- The mushrooms couldn't grow on pure stone or metal—they needed organic material or at least porous surfaces.
- Once established, Dan could sense movement through the fungal network. Anything stepping on the mushrooms sent vibrations through the threads directly to his spore.
It was a detection system.
Crude, limited in range, but functional.
"That's clever."
Dan spun to find Riu standing at the platform's edge, her Celestial Wyvern coiled behind her. The massive creature had grown again—now easily the size of a house, its starlight scales gleaming in the afternoon sun.
"How long have you been watching?" Dan asked.
"Long enough." Riu stepped onto the platform, careful to avoid the mushroom clusters. "You're adapting your spore's abilities for tactical use. Most summoners with weak beasts never think beyond direct combat."
"Direct combat isn't an option for me."
"Exactly." Riu crouched beside one of the mushroom clusters, studying it with professional interest. "These can detect movement?"
"Yes. Through vibrations in the fungal threads."
"And the mushrooms themselves? Do they have any other properties?"
Dan hesitated. "I don't know yet. The manual you gave me mentioned fungal toxins, but my spore is too weak to produce anything dangerous."
"Yet," Riu corrected. "It's too weak yet." She stood. "Have you considered using the mushrooms as distractions? Their glow is quite distinctive. In a dark arena, they'd be very visible."
Dan's mind raced. "Bait."
"Exactly. Serin's Shadow Cat relies on stealth. If you can create enough visual clutter with glowing mushrooms, you might force it to reveal itself just to navigate around them."
"But that requires setting up the network before the match starts."
"So set it up during the match. Use the first minute to deploy your threads while staying defensive. Make Serin think you're just trying to survive." Riu's golden eyes gleamed. "Then, when her guard is down, spring the trap."
Dan felt hope kindle in his chest. "That might actually work."
"It will work, if you execute it properly." Riu turned to leave, her wyvern following. "One more thing, Dan. Don't try to fight the Shadow Cat directly. You'll lose. Your only chance is to neutralize its advantages and force it into a situation where your abilities matter more than raw power."
"Understood."
Riu paused at the platform's edge. "Oh, and Dan? Jae Stonefist is in the observation stands. He's been watching you train for the past twenty minutes."
Dan's blood ran cold. He looked up at the terraced seating surrounding the training areas and spotted him immediately—a tall, broad-shouldered third-year student with Kael's same sharp features but harder eyes. An Iron-Scaled Armadillo sat beside him, its metallic plates gleaming, flames flickering across its body.
Bronze-rank, level 3.
Jae met Dan's gaze and smiled—cold, predatory.
Then he stood and walked away, his message delivered without a single word: I'm watching you.