Chapter 577: Chapter 577 - Taming the Fourth Year: Journey - 15

Julius followed Ren’s gaze, noting the altered tree formations and movement patterns in the ground that suggested massive underground activity.

"The surroundings have changed a lot," Ren continued, feeling a pang of loss as he realized how much his relationship with this place had depended on the intrinsic vision and perception his fungus had provided during those previous expeditions. "Many of the landmarks I remembered have been lost, but..."

He stopped, orienting himself using some of the left reference points that were still engraved deeply in his memory, the angle of certain hills, the way some far tree formations caught the light and the clearing with almost the same size and form.

"This place is too important to me. I would recognize it even without the help of mana patterns and energy lines."

But that didn’t solve the problem...

Despite having arrived at the source, the mutant creatures seemed to be emerging from very deep below, exactly as Julius and Ren had feared. The flow appeared constant and organized, suggesting a massive underground source that extended far beyond what they could perceive.

The ground trembled periodically with their passage, and the air carried a strange acrid scent that spoke of corruption and unnatural transformation.

"It doesn’t look like we can do anything to stop them here that couldn’t be done anywhere else along their route," Julius observed pragmatically, recognizing the futility of trying to stop a river by standing alone in its path.

Ren nodded, but instead of suggesting they return to the city, he remained motionless, listening to something that made his blood run cold.

Julius tensed, recognizing the same energy signature that Ren had perceived first.

"There’s a different energy signature. Very similar to that of the largest abomination from that day..."

Julius immediately understood what Ren was referring to. The day they had faced the corrupted creature, when Ren had been affected in a disturbing way by its proximity. The day they hadn’t truly won but had barely managed to survive and escape, leaving behind more questions than answers.

He looked at Ren with concern. The boy had changed considerably since that traumatic experience, since the loss of his fungus in the emotional upheaval.

But facing something similar again, especially in his current state...

However, when Ren met his gaze, Julius saw a resoluteness that hadn’t been there during their previous encounter with such a threat. This wasn’t the desperate bravado of someone trying to prove themselves, nor the reckless abandon of someone with nothing to lose.

This was the focused resolve of someone who had found their purpose.

Julius recognized the look from his own mirror during his darkest political crises, the moment when uncertainty transforms into commitment, regardless of personal cost.

"What’s your plan?" Julius asked, making the conscious decision to trust the boy’s judgment despite every instinct screaming caution. "Why would it be different this time?"

The question hung between them, weighted with the memory of their previous failure and the lives that depended on their success.

"Did you bring any of the diamond potions?" Ren asked directly, cutting straight to the chace.

Julius coughed uncomfortably, a reaction that immediately confirmed Ren’s suspicion. The diplomatic training that usually made him unreadable in negotiations proved useless against someone who knew him well enough to read the subtle tells.

"That means you did bring them," Ren smiled slightly, the expression carrying both relief and the kind of confidence that came from having contingency plans. "We need to use it."

Straight to solution with that efficiency that reminded Julius why he had come to respect the boy’s mind. Still...

"No," Julius shook his head immediately, his voice carrying the weight of someone who understood the true scarcity of what they were discussing. "There are too few of them and they’re incredibly important. I brought it just in case of an emergency where I found you gravely injured, not for..."

"If we don’t use it now, then when?" Ren interrupted him. "Isn’t this a big enough emergency?"

Julius sighed deeply, remembering that Ren had a certain level of authorization over the use of those potions, granted by his own father.

"Alright," he conceded reluctantly, pulling out a small bottle that glowed with internal light. The liquid within seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat, radiating warmth that could be felt even through the container. "But tell me, who are you going to heal to help us? Zhao?"

"No," Ren responded immediately. "Everyone."

Julius frowned, processing the implications of the declaration. His mind automatically began calculating dosages, distribution methods, and the limitations they faced.

"Selphira isn’t here to amplify the potion’s effect..."

"My friend Min isn’t Selphira," Ren interrupted him, his plan clearly already formed in his mind, "but his level of water control thanks to the synergies he’s developed isn’t too far off. We just have to give it to him and make him fuse completely."

He paused, considering the risks.

"He’s going to exceed his control capacity a little, but I can heal his small overload and any system crystals afterward with what I remember from the treatment."

Julius studied Ren’s expression for a long moment, noting how confidence had replaced the impulsivity the boy had shown earlier.

A small but genuine smile appeared on his face, the kind reserved for moments when potential lived up to expectation.

"I like you better when you’re like this," Julius admitted, his diplomatic reserve dropping enough to allow genuine warmth into his voice. "When you trust your allies and act with intelligence instead of your emotional impulses."

Ren immediately blushed, his momentary maturity being replaced by typical adolescent discomfort when receiving direct praise.

"Yeah, well," Ren mumbled, gesturing toward the area where creatures continued emerging to change the subject, "there are things to do. We don’t have time for..."

"Of course," Julius laughed softly, enjoying the moment of human normalcy in the middle of crisis. These glimpses of ordinary teenage behavior somehow made Ren’s extraordinary capabilities more remarkable rather than less. "Let’s proceed with your plan."