Spirit Taming

Chapter 104: Different Path

The room immediately felt warmer as the soldier raised a hand to open his taming space. There was a dry heat radiating from it as a brown and red turtle stepped out of the space. There were flames furling around the shell as if whatever was inside was on fire. The turtle itself had a tough looking head made of smoldering stones. The eyes burned with white flames.

The shell was the most interesting part. The turtle's shell had spikes around it that were clearly layered so that parts of them could come off. It was an amazing defense mechanism that some unique beasts had. Clark was already looking at it with respect.

'Burst shell turtle- rare

The burst shell turtle is known to live in extremely hot areas. They may be unable to swim in lava but they do swim in bubbling chemical pools that escape the underground volcanoes. They are incredibly resistant to poison due to this. They have the ability to release the layers of spikes from their shell in a burst of flames. Hence they have the name burst shell turtle.

They are normally stuck at a single phase of evolution unless they are given proper materials. Many will raise them to be giant flame shell turtles but the more powerful branch of growth is a volcanic turtle. The requirements for this growth plan are…'

There was way too much information for Clark to grasp until he had read it five times. The analysis was spectacular. Not only did he see the in depth information of a powerful beast that had grown past adolescents and in to adulthood, but he saw the potentials it still had.

Most of the time when Clark looked at an analysis, he had not seen multiple growth paths. Whether it was due to his own failure in knowledge or that he had not properly read what was given to him didn't after. He was going to learn a lot here.

"Very healthy. The red and orange flames within its shell seem full of life. You have been feeding it very good meals. The shell and rocks covering its head have fair thickness so it is able to process its food without taking too much damage. That means you are consistent in training." Doc was slowly going through what he saw and how he would appraise it.

He used more details because he wanted the three new students of his to see.

"I can see that she has had the chance to grow larger because of how you have trained. That last tournament between cities must have been a great growth potential. But there is a single injury just below the eye. Small swelling that could harm her fights for now. I recommend a little rest before another battle." Clark had missed the small injury below the burst shell turtle's eye.

"Do you want to continue its current growth or would you look to bring her to the next stage?" Doc wanted to see what both the tamer and beast wanted.

The small burst of flames and deep growl was all Doc needed from the beast. He knew that any beast would react with anger if it was not going to keep getting stronger. Especially a beast that fought for its home. "I wish to bring my trusty partner to the next stage of growth. Staying on this one would do nothing for our future."

"A perfect match then. I will get you the materials for the giant flame shell turtle. It's an evolutionary growth that was discovered many years ago when we watched a turtle eat certain materials in the wilderness. They have stronger defenses, and powerful shell attacks using flames across their body.

Agility is an issue but I can tell you two are defenders and not runners." Doc was walking to a nearby table to pull out vials and bags of materials.

"Why not consider a volcanic turtle? It has better agility and better attacks. Not to mention it will have roughly the same defenses." Clark was confused. He thought that it would only make sense to aim for the attack oriented growth plan.

"Ha! That kid only reads fairy tales. No one has seen a burst shell turtle grow in to a volcanic turtle." One of the older students couldn't hold back his laughter. He had heard something considered ridiculous.

"Silence. This is a learning opportunity. Do not speak out of line unless it is a question." Doc showed rare annoyance. Not many were able to bring this side out of him. "My new student. Why do you think such a thing?"

"Well…isn't it simple? You have the materials there. I saw them. Just try to get the best growth possible for a soldier. Especially one promoted who will have to handle tougher fights." Clark was still feeling that he might be saying something obvious. He had never realized that the volcanic turtle wasn't something people could raise.

To him, it just seemed easy. The system made it so.

"Get the materials and show me. I will consider it if it has merit." Doc was not one to shoot down theories. He had formulated over seventy growth plans in his life. Just because one student had an idea he didn't have would not make him cruel. If he stomped out his student's ideas, he would doom the world.

"You already took out the charred grasses, the sulfuric daisy, and the shifting iron. But if you add the molten core of a lava serpent…here it is, you will have the perfect mix of materials. The core will absorb the properties of the other three and allow the turtle to use stored energy to molt its shell and change form of it. I would say it will take three to seven hours."

The depth of information showed Doc that Cark was not foolishly throwing around falsehoods. Clark had the knowledge to base this off of and that was most important in a theory. From there all that was left would be to prove theories.

"Now, will our guest allow for this theory to be tested? If this fails I will personally give you a lightning hawk to raise as a new beast." The lightning hawk was a beast that could literally create lightning storms. No one would turn it down.

"I will trust you with my beast and my future." the soldier was naturally agreeable.

"Then here I go." Doc dropped the materials in to the super sturdy storage container of the molten core. It bubbles and hissed when the other materials melted in to it. Small flames and different fumes broke from it causing the inside of the container to look like an explosion. "Now come here and have a snack."

The burst shell turtle moved faster than its tamer had ever seen. It was as if someone had dangled the best food ever in front of it. One single chomp was all the turtle needed to consume the core and the entire glass container. No one was more surprised than Doc seeing that the turtles' reaction was so great. He had never recorded such a reaction from a beast like this.

"I try not to lie about these things. It would hurt my credibility when Maria, Isa, and I go in to business." Clark spoke with confidence while witnessing the turtle swallow.