Spirit Taming

Chapter 121: Grab And Go

"There are a few telltale signs that there are nests near us. I managed to take a walk while all of you slept and found three. I was thinking we can have Isa and Maria as long range support while Myself and Ella distract the sandworms." Clark's plan was simple.

"I agree, it is easier for me to watch the sky for the stone falcons than for you to do it while handling the sandworms. And Isa can use her other beast that's not fused with her to steal away eggs." Maria followed Clark's plan perfectly. It was the plan she would have thought up. However, she also wondered what Clark would do if he separated from the group. It was too tempting.

"Do you think we shouldn't split up? Maria's beast can float and grab eggs while you distract and she watches the sky. My beast can bring others to grab eggs with Isa's beasts while we watch the sky and distract." Ella wanted to be more efficient.

There was a small smile that told them all that Clark was hoping she would say that. Maria realized that her mind had gone exactly where Clark's had. "Then we should do that. We will meet back here when we have gathered multiple eggs and check what we have. If you see a stone falcon, toss an egg behind you and run. There's no need to worry about them as an opponent."

Everyone nodded in agreement before Ella and Isa went their own way since the Cain family had the risk of completely failing this course due to their prior failure and if they went near another group, Clark didn't worry about interference. He would still be on the watch for it though. There was no line that an angry person full of pride would cross.

"You planned that all before we even woke up." Maria's slight whisper followed by giggling made Clark red faced. He hadn't wanted to admit it.

"You looked like you expected it though." His response made Mara try and turn her face away so Clark couldn't see that he had hit the nail on the head.

"It's better this way. I had Devi check things out last night. There's one very large nest I want to check out. It's definitely home to an older and tougher sandworm. If that's the case, we will have a better harvest." Clark said three nests nearby but it had actually been four. He wouldn't bring others to the fourth because there was more danger.

"And you hid it because you didn't know Isa and Ella's ability to fight with us. Right? It's better that way. Safer." Maria didn't want to see their new friends hurt either. She wanted to make sure that she could figure them out and grow alongside them. They would be working together to make a lot of gold come the return of class.

It was better that they had a positive start.

"You know, this is actually the best way for us to start a business. We are going to learn about who Ella and Isa really are compared to other people that use contracts only. We have something no one else will." Clark could recall that businesses founded on passion and friendship in his previous life normally became the top of the food chain before being passed down to younger generations.

He was able to do that in this life without expecting to.

"I didn't think there would be many trees around here if there is sandstone. Isn't sandstone kind of weak?" the environment that they had made it to seemed very strange to Maria because of what she knew.

"Normally, you would be right. If this was a mountain with a sandstone vein then nothing would grow on it because the roots wouldn't hold. But, this is flat ground so the small particles of sand get stuck between soil and rotting plant matter.

It traps valuable nutrients so the trees grow roots deep enough to be able to stay." The information was from a game show Clark had heard in his previous life and somehow he was able to use it here again.

Lately, he felt that a lot of memories had been coming back to him for just moments. It wasn't a bad thing. It was just a little distracting. He had to focus fully on the life he was living now. The life he would be living for as long as he knew.

"Look, that's the nest." Clark pointed to a large pile of sand that had been kicked up by the sandworm. The trees were also knocked down all around it making a large open space that could have been good for resting if someone was ignorant.

"So those spikes sticking up from the sand…" Maria could tell that the sandworm was dangerous. There were hooked spikes poking from the sand that were hard to discern from rocks. However, when Maria carefully examined them, she saw strange scratches and the fact that they were moving slightly with every mild breeze of the morning.

"Elder sandworm- rare

The elder sandworm is a sandworm that has lived longer than fifty years. They rarely live this long in the wilds and will normally become so large that they can control entire territories as the single breeding sandworm. This rarely happens though. They will be slightly slower due to their worm body armor but have much tougher defenses and strength.

Their eggs will inherit more traits from it causing them to be of a higher quality at birth with the chance to directly hatch in to a giant sandworm which is a weak bloodline all sandworms have.'

"That's the golden ticket there. A perfect chance to sell high quality sandworm eggs that we will make a lot of gold from." Clark said this only to make Maria realize that this was their main target.

Once Maria had her bow at the ready, Devi and Lit floated over toward the nest. "Crim, let's do this." Clark brandished his black needles and threw them in to the ground near the nest. The elder sandworm felt the vibrations and immediately revealed itself.

The yellow armor around this body was covered in spikes. But its mouth was the most terrifying. It had many razor sharp hooked teeth so that anything it swallowed would be trapped. This was why the sandworm was so terrifying, it could rip off arms or legs with its teeth even if someone tried to pull away. A wonder of terrifying nature.

"Come here little worm. Come here." Clark activated the runes on the black needles and they appeared in his hands again. His next set of throws drew the elder sandworm further from the nest while Devi and Lit started to examine what was exposed now that it was not wrapped in sand.

Devi sent excited thoughts to Clark making him realize that they had definitely made the right choice. "Crim, we will need time so circle around to my right side and knock over some tree branches to confuse it." The small vibrations in the nest might alert the sandworm so Calrk was fully distracting it.

Maria fired an arrow now and then toward the worm to keep its attention. She was keeping an eye on the trees and the sky but had no signs of the stone falcons coming their way. It was as it should be.

The speed that Devi and Lit moved was as fast as they could without alerting the sandworm. They gathered the yellowish eggs in a pile while Clark kept luring the sandworm further away. After twenty minutes of this. The sandworm finally had enough. It reared up and made a grotesque screech that could only be described as crushing and scraping rocks.

"Maria, we reached the line. Time to retreat." This screech would lure any other beasts in the area while also attracting the other students. Before things became too much to handle it was better to leave.

Clark watched Crim topple a large branch near the nest causing the elder sandworm to rush back to defend. It didn't even look back toward the others as Clark reached the pile. "Seventeen sandworm eggs, ten earth crystals, and one large weird rock. Got it stored , come on!" Clark rushed away with Crim and Maria next to him.

Lit had climbed on Maria's shoulders with his stingers and Devi was holding on invisibly to Clark's shoulder.

They heard commotions of other students rushing there. They thought they had heard a great chance, a sandworm being slain by a stone falcon would leave the nest completely undefended. An easy good grade and easy money.

"They don't even realize we already took the best away." Maria felt very alive. They had been sneaky and even watched the others run to something they already claimed. It was exhilarating.

"We won that round. The best part is, there is Isa and Ella. they didn't even fall for something so foolish." Clark watched a small nest that Isa and Ella had found. He wanted to see them work together before showing them that he was there.