Spirit Taming

Chapter 134: Star Students

"Small glass beads…garbage. Bubble fruit…trash. Green berries? How did those even get here, they are poisonous?" Clark was analyzing everything. He had started to mumble to himself after seeing so many useless materials that were really just basic forging materials for household items.

What was stranger was the fact that it seemed that the merchants were buying from these freelance tamers in bulk. They bought everything. However, the more that Clark thought about it the more he realized this was what people did in his past life.

A business would buy a large property for an average price because they could make a deal to get everything within it too. That meant they were shouldered with the clean up. Yet that was what they wanted. There were always valuables to be salvaged. Always things left behind that could be broken down and sold to others. This method had the chance to gain profit even if the rare items were not there.

Overall, it was to be expected. Clark already knew that the tables he was looking at would be full of things like this. He was there to catch the things that people missed. The things that looked terrible but would really be useful.

'Cracked water gems- uncommon

The water gems are valuable items for water type beasts. They are used to help them gather the water elemental energy needed to grow. These are unfortunately remains of larger water gems but can help nurture the youngest and weakest of a water type species.'

The description was simple. Nothing amazing but very useful for Ella. Clark found the nearest merchant and was looked at as if he was crazy. "Kid, you really want these pieces of glass? I'm selling them for one copper. I will give you the entire box of them to clear the space!" the merchant had actually missed the item's true nature.

It was another understandable thing. These little shards looked like the same pieces of glass but broken that were already on the table. With a grin, Clark responded to the merchant. "Of course, I am working on a project for my school. It will be to showcase the unique forms of local materials sold in Star city!" Clark pretended to be a student here just looking for basic things.

The merchant just shook his head having dealt with similar students before.

The single copper ended up giving Clark seventy cracked water gems. They were not the best but something Ella would use. The remainder were glass pieces that he could sell to any glass maker he happened to walk by later.

' swamp thing- Rare

The swamp thing is a beast that lives in murky and stale water. They cover themselves in living vines that slowly become their body over time. Their weakness is the soft and weak slug like body at the core. They have control of these plants to use as weapons and are often known for being tough to defeat due to the large number of plants they grow.

They are also immune to any water based poisons derived from plants and swamp beasts. The best…'

Clark only focused on this beast because he saw it was walking next to a group of people his age. They were clearly students of some form from another academy. However, what Clark really was interested in were the materials they were looking at.

From what it seemed, they had a deal with one of the merchants. The merchant was showing them a selection of materials that were held aside for them. "So that's how they do business here. A smart way to make some big money from big spenders."

This deal that Clark witnessed was easy to figure out. Now Clark just needed to find a way to sneak in to this group and get the same benefit. "Your swamp beast is very powerful. I have to say, I have never seen one quite like it." the boy that had the swamp beast next to him was instantly alert.

"You aren't wearing the same uniform. You must be the Nova academy students that came in today. We knew you would be here but not this fast. You are coming to our academy at some point, correct?" There was still no introduction but Clark had already piqued the boy's interest with his initial compliment.

"Of course, I am saving the best for last. Today is a rest day before the coliseum tomorrow. So I came to the market. Lucky me, I found some locals and students that know the tips and tricks." Clark gestured to the materials that the merchant was showing off.

"You did get lucky. So you want to butter us up and get some benefits? Show me your beast then. If it's as good as mine I might share a little." There was some laughter from the students around. It was clear that they thought that this was an impossible task. The swamp beast was a beast considered to be tough to nurture but also powerful.

That alone set it aside from other beats.

"Sure thing, this is Crim." Clark released Crim from the taming space. He came out with a soft growl before flexing the small wings on his back and showing off his body. "He is a slime dragon. A little rare but always growing. What do you say? Does this pass your test?"

"Dragon!? How!? No one has had a dragon beast around here for over three years. Ever since the water dragons were listed as an absolutely restricted species to hunt." The boys were up in arms. They were fawning over Crim. And Crim, was loving the attention.

The dragon essence in his body enjoyed the attending, this was a dragon's pride.

"I can share more about him with you. It's only fair that students share amongst each other. I am from the research and beast analysis specialty after all." Clark held out a hand. The boy with the swamp beast didn't hesitate to shake it. Clark had judged their character well from a distance.

"We came here to check out the good materials brought in. Star academy has a contract with most merchants. We get to check out materials brought in the first day before they are sold. We can buy them at a minor discount." This explanation sounded very much like Nova academy. Nova academy had its own ways of selling things though so not many merchants had contracts with them.

"Not a bad deal. So are you all friends coming to check it out?" There were many nods.

"Classes finished up and there's nothing much else to do. We aren't preparing to join any competitions so we thought we would have some fun around the market. What about you? Are you trying to the competitions between academies? There are only a few months left." This was even better than Clark imagined.

"I might try for it. I am a first year though. Myself and a few friends managed to get in to an advanced class. Something about being able to analyze materials, beasts, eggs, and make growth plans. Blah blah blah. Just a bunch of adults arguing over stuff." Clark made it seem that it was a dramatic acceptance which attracted more attention.

He wanted to have these students under his arm for a little bit while he searched out materials.