Spirit Taming

Chapter 219: Shaped By Defeat

While Clark slept, Devi and Crim were very busy in the taming space. Clark had made the decision to let Devi begin to consume the death energy in the reaper's skull. The decision had been made purely on strength. Clark needed Devi to become stronger and the potential that Devi could awaken a hidden requirement to grow in to an even more unique beast was all that and more.

Crim was slowly absorbing the remnant energy from the lightning orc bones. Clark had dropped them in to the taming space immediately. What was slightly odd was that Crim completely refused to absorb the bones within his body.

The only theory for this was that the lightning orc bones were so lowly compared to the dragon bones that he had. He was a proud and powerful dragon slime that could never lower itself to absorbing the bones of weaker beasts.

Since Clark could sense this, he did not get angry. It was just the beast he was raising. He would not change that for the world. Although, he did feel a small tinge of regret since he could have used the bones to make some lightning resistant armor for himself. Unfortunately, he believed that he had to strengthen his body first, armor would just leave him weaker in the long term.

The taming space seemed to also become influenced by the changes in Crim and Devi. there was a stronger deathly energy in the air overall while the sky seemed to darken with distant sounds of thunder.

Part of Clark felt that he had taken a major step toward unlocking another portion of the taming space while part of him also felt that he needed to get stronger to be able to truly understand the taming space. Something was telling him that he had not truly even started to unlock the edens end taming space.

So you came by yourself? Good. That's what I would have made you do anyways." The morning had come too soon and Clark had found himself in front of Alexander even sooner. "I take it you have healed your injuries? The energy around you proves that your bands are still tempering your body. You must have gotten decently stronger after your last battle."

Since Alexander had felt it, Clark recounted their trip to the fallen orc dungeon. Alexander's face grimaced when he heard the mistakes that Clark had made but soon turned to acceptance. Clark had learned a valuable lesson that most tamers would end up failing.

For those that were not as talented or open to learning, they would rush in to another dangerous situation too early and doom themselves without properly understanding their faults.

"Since it sounds like you have learned a lesson, I will not punish you. However, I do not wish to see you showing a single injury in public. Even if you are a breath away from death, you hide it. You enemies must fear you under any circumstance. They must see you as an unbreakable wall. An endless ocean of energy waiting to strike at them in the most minuscule offense to your person."

The atmosphere had changed radically. Alexander seemed to be releasing pressure that would make a normal person tremble as if they were looking the god of death in the eyes. "Today we will leave for the most dangerous dungeon you have ever been in." Clark knew that any idea of resting had evaporated before he had even made it to the dungeon entrance.

"I will train you as I trained. You will work as I worked and you will listen to the story I tell you. I expect you to surpass your fellow student who has completed my trainings. If you do not believe you can do so, leave now and never show your face within this city again."

"I will do better than you expect. I will not stop until I have gone beyond my goals." The heart that Clark had heartened became clear to Alexander. But it was unrefined. Clark lacked the ability to drop his emotions perfectly. To make a pure battle instinct and rational decision.

"Follow me, we are running to the dungeon. If you can not keep up you will not hear the story I tell you and you will not learn about the dungeon we journey to." Alexander promptly stood up and left the office where Clark had met him.

Since Alexander was much older than Clark and most others, he had not expected Alexander to be so fast, let alone have the ability to run at all. But here he was, trying to keep up with the long and calm strides of an old man who clearly hid his strength from all around him.

"When I was younger, I was the bane of my parents and their hired bodyguards. I ran off from school, home, and the teachers hired for me. I went to the wilderness, the dungeons, and even picked fights with professional tamers. It was too fun. That's why I decided to take it upon myself to challenge small thievery groups. I could do good and have my fun.

Just like a book I read in my younger days."

Since Alexander was running, Clark expected to hear an out of breath story or for Alexander to stop to tell him. But that was not the case. It was the same as Alexander sitting at afternoon tea. The way he spoke was unhindered and perfect.

"Small thieves in so random dungeon hidden away within a cave? An easy target. But I was foolish. A complete imbecile at that age. I rushed in to the cave and found much more than I expected." This was where Clark was sure to find the important information about the dungeon. He could feel it.

"I found organized enemies living with beasts they worshiped. I found a small cult. To be exact, the cult of living stone that had reshaped a dungeon with beasts they thought were proof that the very stones that made mountains were alive; gargoyles."

"So you…were…able to free…them? Or…beat them..?" Clark's out of breath response made Alexander raise an eyebrow. He had thought that Clark had more stamina than this. The mocking look made Clark nearly push himself to move faster before he realized he was falling for a taunt.

"Good catch. And no, I was defeated badly. My right arm was nearly cut clean off, my beast that I had raised was the only reason they did not kill me. I have a fledgling gargoyle as my beast. A beast that I could barely find information about since they were so rare." The running was becoming more and more difficult but the southern hills were coming closer little by little.

"They saw my spirit beast attempt to fight their golems and other stone beasts. They instead trapped me there to change my mind and show me that I was chosen to be a saint of their living stone faith. They would have succeeded too since they had powerful magic beasts that affected the mind. The stone imps were the worst." The look of pure hatred in Alexander's eyes could kill.

He truly hated these beasts to his core.

"After five months I was able to learn what they did, how they moved, what their patterns were. I studied them as if they were an experiment. My mind had become a rock like the stones around me. The stone church they built was just a small prison for an ever thinking mind. The lasting effect of their tortures became my stone altar taming space. A spot for each of my precious partners."

For Alexander having happened on to a place that held beasts the same as his spirit beast was lucky. But the circumstances were easily a curse. Five months of whatever torture these cultists had done shaped his childhood personality to grow in to the powerhouse he was now. But it had left clearly defined scars.

"I discovered secrets to grow a gargoyle. To break the stone mold of the basic stone gargoyles. To find their hidden strengths dn bring them to their elemental gargoyle growth stages. That was when we went on a rampage. I lost myself and my beast to rage and revenge. But I escaped and used that power to… we will stop here.

You are too weak. Unless you wish to track me through the grasses and small woods up ahead?"

"Rest…? Never" Clark was defiant until he realized his legs were unsteady. If he continued at this pace he would be useless when they got to the dungeon. But his pride refused to let him stop.

"Then you walk and track. I will see what you can do when we face the beasts of the wild. They might not touch me, but they are fairly annoying little things. Grass pixies are very mischievous. They might even bite you leaving poison." Alexander saw that Clark was not giving up. The perfect passing grade of his first small hurdle.

Now to start moving again and see how his student fared with tracking him through tougher terrain.