Spirit Taming

Chapter 137: Light Training

From what they could see, there was a very efficient set up for the star shaped coliseum. There were smaller outer arenas for training while the central arenas were used for real competitions and betting.

"I think we should take a chance at the small arenas. That one has very free people and we can test Ella." Clark didn't hesitate to put Ella on the spot right away.

"If that is what you want to research, I will oblige." Ella seemed a little unsettled. This was because she had not had to actually fight in a long time.

The arena had a large open training space around it. This gave those that were there just to train the room to have practice and then unofficial matches. Star city had found ways to keep their tamers, students, and guards always sharing their knowledge when it came to battle and survival.

Seeing that Clark and Maria were in strange outfits, they drew the attention of a few people. However, this was still not much of a distraction since this was fairly normal. Clark had even noticed a few people wearing larger white cloaks to hide their appearance.

The small area that the group claimed for themselves was enough for a one on one battle to happen. Clark had Devi move away while Ella didn't have her wisp show itself at all. It was still in a spiritual energy form but not doing anything to physically be seen.

Once Clark pulled his spears flashy wooden spear from his spatial ring, Ella tensed up. She seemed to be on edge more so than before knowing that she was going to have to fight Clark. She had seen him battle before and it was not going to be an easy fight.

"Draw your weapons." Clark didn't give any other words of encouragement. He had become much more serious than usual. His desire to see Ella's strength was going to guide his future plans for the group.

"Come and make me." The defiant response was not what anyone thought Ella would retort with. But Clark obliged. He dashed forward without using his ghostly steps. He had to feel out Ella's strengths and weaknesses.

Just as Clark slashed with his crescent moon slash, he felt a clang reverberate through his shield. Ella had pulled out a small round shield made of some type of metallic shell. But what was even more surprising was the pointed silver rapier that plunged toward his head.

Without a choice, Clark used his ghostly steps to jump backwards. He had to put some distance between him and Ella before he went in for another attack. Clark also wanted to analyze the new gear that Ella had clearly bought the night before this training.

'Iron ant hide shield- uncommon

The iron ant hide shield is from an iron ant. They are weak unless in groups. They have unique skills that boost each other's defenses causing their skin to become even tougher than steel. Their skin is easily moldable over tough and light materials. This allows for a great lightweight defensive shield or armor. The only issue is that it is weaker to fire based attacks.

Needle rapier- rare

Crafted in the shape of an acupuncture needle, this light weight rapier is used to pierce the spaces in armors. It can cause devastating internal injuries while also remaining flexible. It is easily repaired and can be enhanced with other materials if a gifted crafter or forge master is hired. The largest weakness is that it is unable to block attacks which often leaves the user without defense.'

"So you found a tough shield and a light weapon. Not bad. But something tells me you have used a rapier before?" Clark waited to see what Ella would say and do. It was her turn to show off a little.

"More than a little. My mother taught me when I was little. Swords were too heavy to pick up so she made me one of these. I refused to use it until now." Ella moved much more quickly than Clark expected. The weight of the shield and rapier was nothing to her. Therefore, she was able to push herself faster and faster.

This speed led Clark to have to defend, something he was not used to recently. The spear arched out to meet the rapier. When Clark came in to contact with it, he was met with the bounce back of the spear. The vibrations from the rapier were much different than the solid metal weapons he had encountered thus far.

"Ella can use a small shield and rapier. I never would have thought she was a light weight fighter. Especially not close combat." Maria was trying to learn as much as possible watching this. She had not seen Clark struggle with a battle style before. Ella's was making him work harder.

"It's the way she moved. She isn't fazed by his attacks because she is used to being the lighter opponent. So far, Clark has had opponents that are heavier." Isa could easily understand the problems Clark had. He wasn't the most muscular person in the world meaning that he was a lighter person. He would normally fight those that had denser muscle and eaten better than him.

"I don't want to sit here all day." Maria got annoyed seeing that Clark was adapting to Ella's fighting style. She watched him start to change the way he sent in to attack and how fast he was dodging. It made her realize that he was taking great leaps ahead of her yet again.

In the annoyance that she felt, Maria leaped forward. Her daggers glinted in the sun before she stabbed out at Ella. The battle awareness that Ella had was more than most people. She had been training herself to carefully observe details all around her at all times. This fight was not any different.

With a swift duck and movement of her arm, Ella blocked Maria easily. The pushback was not what Ella could handle though. Maria had not held back any strength. She may be smaller than Ella but Maria had trained more as a child. Maria had the muscles hidden on her slender frame that not many her age would have. This strength pushed Ella off balance just as Clark moved in to attack.

"Ah, Ah, Ahh, don't go and try to take down my genius there Phantom." Isa sent a single burst of flame at Clark when he was trying to slash with the falling moon slash. This required Clark to give up on his attack and suffer from the sudden heat.

"Now we have a real battle. Two against two. How about the loser will buy lunch." Clark taunted both Ella and Isa. The mental attack proved successful as another burst of fire came at him.

This two on two battle continued on for some time. They attracted the looks of many and in turn, caused their training area to gain more and more passerbys. Even a few of the students that had come with Clark's group saw them and wondered who Isa and Ella had teamed up against as sparring partners. It was unusual for research students to be committed to training in this way.

Only Doc who had followed his students around the city, knew what was really going on. He was too wise to miss the similarities between his students.