Spirit Taming

Chapter 226: Statues

' Stone imp- rare (dormant)

The stone imp is the weakest monster that can claim the title of living stone beast. It has a very thin layer of stone that grows around its gray skin. This ensures that it can hide and blend in with similar stones. They have sharp claws but weak bodies making them easy to defend against if the defender knows of them.

It is extremely rare that they manifest any elemental attack ability at this stage of life.

They have a very slow growth potential making them considered weak. However, if they are nourished properly they can become gargoyles of four separate core elemental affinity. They are also often sold while in dormant states as a way to assassinate targets, even though this practice has become non existent nowadays.

The best way to defeat them is not to awaken them from their slumber. They prefer to rest while absorbing natural energies to grow. This is why they will often be found hiding on mountains as shrines or ornately carved stone buildings…'

"So I should sneak through here." Clark had considered calling out Crim but held Crim back in the taming space. Devi could move around without being heard or seen was safer. Crim could be seen and heard which might awaken the dormant stone imps that were resting on the rooftops.

"Scout ahead and find a path with the least amount of stone imps. The more space I have in case I have to fight them the better." Clark remained still while Devi moved on. He could tell that the stone homes could become cramped. Using his spear would be much harder to defeat them which meant he would be a useless tamer that needed to rely on his beasts to defeat enemies.

"Maybe I should get a short spear instead of a long spear…" This was the first time that Clark had encountered the issue of space. It had been something he did not think about too much since he had always battled in an arena or outside with a lot of space.

Now that he had encountered a place where he might not be able to unleash all his skills with a long spear, it drove him a little crazy. Knowing that he had trained to use strength that could defeat others but that it was useless in certain situations made Clark wonder what other flaws he had that he had unintentionally ignored.

"First thing I do when I leave here, short sword and maybe dagger skills. Or shield. We will see." Clark made himself this promise out loud as Devi softly laughed beside him. "Good, you're back. Let's get to sneaking."

The idea that Clark would not face any imps at all was something that was only going to exist in a fantasy world. He could accept that he would awaken a few on the way, that was why Devi had not completely ignored the imps and had just tried to pass them.

Whenever Devi stopped, Clark knew that a target was there. The first was a single imp that seemed to have settled on a stone wall of a small home. The wall had an entrance made with two stone pillars. For an imp statue to only be on one was something that no one would build in real life, it was obvious that this was a beast.

What surprised Clark was that when he began to approach, the imp's skin began to crack. A thick layer of stone fell revealing the true layer of stone protection that the imp had. It had been able to hear his footsteps while brandishing a spear. "This might be harder than I thought." Clark used the falling moon pierce to easily stab the small imp.

But in doing so, he managed to crack more of the stone that had built up around the imp.

The sound echoed through the stone village which soon caused many more cracking sounds. "Damn it all to hell!" The sound was many imps awakening to defend their territory from a new invader. Clark could no longer follow his desire to sneak through the small village toward the living stone church.

The skittering of stone claws on the cobblestone was making Clark's skin crawl. Devi had become invisible so that he could strike out from behind while Crim began to growl. If he managed to keep the focus on himself then Clark could attack more easily. Unfortunately, this was not the case since four of the stone imps leaped from the rooftops before they could come up with a solid plan of defense.

One crescent moon slash was all Clark could use to knock two of them back. The other two stone imps were easily able to jump away. They had some decent agility while brandishing their claws for an attack. The two that had been knocked back became targets for Devi.

The single note that Devi used to expertly latch on to the small stone imps was more than Clark had expected of him. He had used the perfect timing to capture the two and drain their energy. Naturally, the stone imps were weak and ended up being defeated in just seconds. However, the two that were attacking Clark were not so easily beaten.

One had dashed forward slashing Clark's arm. It was not a deep wound but it stung and drew blood nonetheless. The second took the chance to attack Clark as well but was tackled to the ground and torn to pieces by an enraged Crim. He could not accept that these weak beasts could harm Clark.

With only one of the imps to focus on, Clark spun his spear to reach over his head and stab upwards. He knew that the mp would jump again and attack his face. Their sharp claws were perfect for attacking weak points. Clark had trusted his instincts and used the upward stab.

"Good work, I even used a move I was thinking about. But for now, we run." Clark wanted to revel in the fact that he had managed to use the upward piercing move with the spear. He had thought of it after seeing a priest use a staff to praise the heavens and the creator of everything while healing with their beast. But with a spear, it was a devastating move that made use of gravity.

The run that Clark had was not going to be a short one. As Crim and Devi watched his side and back, Clark was able to make out more and more imps that were approaching. They had all begun to wake up and screech. Their screeching was waking up the others that were further away and calling them to defend the stone village where they rested.

"There are easily forty of them. This is insane!" The sheer number of stone imps was more than he could handle under any circumstance. Crim wanted to turn and attack them with his flame breath but it was a one time use skill. Chrome could not rest enough to use it over and over again. If he used it now, then Crim would be too weak to face a more dangerous beast within the church.

As the imps seemed to get closer and closer while Clark ran past homes, he realized that some of them had begun to run in a different direction. This was not something that would make anyone happy. Especially since Clark soon discovered why.

'Elder stone Imp- ultra rare

The elder stone imp is in the mid growth stage of the stone imp. It is considered a much tougher and larger opponent when in battle due to the thicker stone skin it has. Whenever it moves, the skin cracks but easily reforms once it becomes still.

The attacks it can use are focused on heavy dull claw strokes. As it has aged, the sharper claws were dulled but became much tougher. It is also able to move slower due to the weight but that adds to the strength of the hits it puts out.

This is the first time that it is able to manifest the elemental affinity it has gained from constantly absorbing elemental energy. It is extremely rare for a stone imp to be able to manifest elemental attacks before this stage of their life.'

Water was forming in the mouth of the elder stone imp. The anger on its face carved in to the stone that it had built up as a defense. It was not going to let an intruder or the stone imps near it. The elder imp was easily three times the size of the small stone imps which made Clark realize that he had nowhere to go.

He had to face the ball of water that had just formed in the toothy maw of the elder stone imp.

"Crim, come to me now!" Crim knew exactly what Clark needed. He could sense the desire that Clark had to escape the damage coming to him. But they would only have a fraction of a second to do it and if they were not perfect then they would fail completely.