Spirit Taming

Chapter 176: Popular Rumors

Days of training with their beasts passed them by. Clark had made a huge focus on the fact that as a group they had to train with their beasts. Everyone had begun to help their beasts grow, now they were unfamiliar with their strength.

The main point was also to strengthen their bonds with new beasts. Since Ella had just helped her wisps combine and become stronger, she knew that she had to strengthen the bond again. It was a different and more powerful beast that needed to stand equal in some way with its tamer.

With the help of Doc, Clark had purchased a large number of darkness crystals and even so swaying illusion grass. The illusion grass was a unique darkness material that was always giving off three shadows. The energy within it caused this to protect it from predators. Some people used to believe it was a plant type beast before they learned more about it.

The materials had been constantly swallowed by the egg within Clark's taming space. He was astounded that such a beast could exist. It needed the most materials out of any beast egg he had seen as of yet. There were multiple theories among the group, the most common being that the egg had been dormant.

"If your beast egg was dormant, then it had absolutely no energy within it before you started to add energy. You probably saved its life." Isa had heard of this happening to beast eggs that were left in the wilderness. Many lost merchants would have their goods recovered at some point. This included beast eggs at times as well.

"I know, but what if it is a giant beast of some kind? I could end up destroying my dormitory if I'm not careful." This worry was another of the theories that Clark had. He knew that giant type beasts required very many resources to hatch.

"I am still shocked that you can not find information about it. You always have an answer." This made Maria excited and worried. New beasts were good but also bad. Good because they could increase strength and become the foundation of their research. Bad because it could be a troublesome beast that might hold them back in their goals.

"I am confident that with research and experimentation we can understand the beast you are caring for. If you feed it enough energy we will be able to pick out traits through your connection with it." Ella had seen this happen before between string beast eggs and tamers.

"If a werewolf beast egg is tamed, the tamer might act extra territorial or have a heightened sense of smell. That has been documented in other beasts as well. You may have such side effects due to the new source of energy shaping your body."

Hearing this, Clark wondered if the same thing had happened with Crim when he had contracted him as a beast. There was a larger sense of pride when it came to his actions and the actions of the group. Clark also found himself more protective over Maria and since he saw her as his very first real partner by his side in his goal to get revenge other than his beasts.

"You know, this is probably why Ralph is so in everyone's face. His boar is a beast that charges right on." Clark laughed a little. The reason he had thought of their classmate Ralph wasn't just because he was someone that had this side effect from their beast. But because Clark thought of him as the fourth person that would be in the top eight of their year.

"Oh, that does make sense. He is a lot stronger now though. Did you see his boar bump in to the desk today? The hairs on it scrapped away some parts of it. There are runes on our desks to protect them." Maria had been very observant while in class. Especially when it came to beasts since she was trying to train herself to gather more details while looking at them like Clark did.

"That's a good sign. If his boar's hair is that tough already then he has been working hard to strengthen it. Evolving to a steel boar general is a matter of time." Clark fully believed this to be possible. However, he had the feeling that Ralph might be able to grow the boar in to something even more unique. That was if Clark could give some form of guidance.

Since the four had been meeting in the research building for days now, they had not been around to hear the rumors spread by the few merchants that had come to the merchant class. The mayor of Star city had also referenced the geniuses of Nova academy research and beast growth planning. Therefore, the entire group was surprised when the first person came knocking at their lab door.

"Hello?" Maria had no idea who might come knocking. Doc didn't even knock.

"Um, this is the elite class genius researcher, right?" The girl that asked this was very frail looking. Her body could be blown away by the wind.

"Geniuses? I guess you could call us-"

"Yes, that's right. Have you come for a beast growth plan or just an analysis?" Isa stood up from where she had been meditating. She wanted to make this business thrive so she had absolutely no qualms with interrupting Clark.

"A growth pan, please. I tried to ask the older students but they said it cost triple what I had." The girl held out a handful of gold coins. Some were dirty which proved she had been saving up for a while to make this small amount.

"How could we charge outrageous prices? If we did we would deprive everyone from the best possible growth plan we could find." Isa brought the girl to the center of the lab. Surprisingly, her hair was longer than most people's. As they were waiting for the girl to say something, the group saw a small fuzzball pop out of her long brown hair.

"This is my beast. He is a little shy but will definitely be strong one day." The determination was the clear driving force for the girl. Clark could see it in her eyes and tough stance despite her frail body.

'Snowball- uncommon

The weak beast known as a snowball is rare in areas without snow. They have almost zero attacking and defending ability making them very afraid of other bests. They will not hesitate to throw their lives away for their family, however.

What is hidden is their amazing growth potential. With the addition of fresh fallen snow, ice crystals, and a large amount of training they can grow exponentially. Their very rare and powerful final adult form is called the mountain yeti which is known for completely occupying mountain tops as their territory. They can…'

Clark mumbled these things to Maria. The report was quickly drawn out from the basic recommended training methods, materials, and even the mid level growth points of the snowball beast. Overall it was the most in depth analysis the girl had ever seen. Even the class reports in the teaching materials were not this in depth.

"How can this…" the girl was slowly reading the first portion of the report as the gold coins were practically falling to the ground.

"Like we were telling you, we are the best and everyone deserves such a high quality report. Just remember to stop and take the sketches and material merchant information from Ella. she has them just about ready for you based on books and our current knowledge. Just remember that all reports are not one hundred percent accurate. You may unlock a bloodline or something.

You never know if a unique mutation will happen either."

"Just be sure that you follow the training strictly. Your snowball beast will be able to gain the proper confidence through training." Clark was able to get this sentence in before Isa guided the girl and her beast out. She was still too attuned to say anything.

"I am going to make a copy of that growth plan for us to sell. It should be useful, right?"

"I already started the sketches. Clark can check them."

Both Maria and Ella were on the move. They were not hesitating. Isa had nothing more to say since this was exactly the plan. The snowball beast may have been rarer for this area. However, it was a plan that students could purchase from the library or research building. This was one thing that was very good about any academy.

The knowledge would not be shared for free if it was made private. Even those that were given it would not share it. This was also a matter of giving away their beast's secrets.

With another person in the academy passing around their reputation, students started to arrive outside their door when they were in the research building. It was the ideal situation for Clark to build up his mental bestiary skill. The perfect way to scout out their competitions in the next student tournament.