Spirit Taming

Chapter 227: Timed Search

The force that Crim used to attach himself to Clark was more than usual and would surely leave a bruise. But at the moment it was not an issue. The only thing that mattered was how fast Crim took on the armor form and allowed his wings to open behind Clark. Unlike Devi, Clark could not float away from damage.

The water ball burst from the elder imp's mouth toad Clark. It was moving at a much faster speed because of the soft rain that was falling around the stone village. But Clark had already allowed Crim's wings to open behind him.

In a single powerful push, the wings carried Clark up for a moment. That moment was long enough for Clark to dodge the water ball and aim his spear in to the head of the elder stone imp. The single falling moon pierce was all that Clark needed to bury his spear in to the skull of the elder stone imp.

The stone skin of the elder imp proved to be too weak compared to the hard metal of the black lightning spear. Clark even swore he saw a glimmer of black lightning stealing away the energy of the elder stone imp before it collapsed on the ground.

Without any hesitation, Clark wrenched the spear free and stored the imp's body away. The smaller stone imps became fearful seeing the elder stone imp defeated. It was the ruler of the area and only another elder imp could dare challenge it. Now it had been slain by something they had angered. Any beast would feel fear in this situation.

"Come on, we are getting out of here." Clark was about to step away from the small stone village that had caused him pain. He did not want to face the stone imps in mass again.

'Chain quest- second link

The small stone village houses many enemies. Once awake they are a tough opponent. The host has managed to instill fear in them that will last for an hour. During that time it is required for the host to accomplish a single goal.

Requirement: Claim the lost artifacts of the church of the living stone cultists

Reward: Third link, 10 shadow crystals, shadow hatching potion.'

Clark's eyes grew wide. Not only did he see that the system was not letting him run away from the danger to safety, but had given him a tough quest to handle. But the rewards were something he had only heard the richest of the rich could afford. One reward was an egg hatching potion.

The egg hatching potions were not uncommon. They were potions unique to certain beasts due to the fact that the potion had to be tailor made for the beast hatching. If the wrong potion ingredients were used it was the same as creating a poison that would kill the egg before hatching.

Furthermore, Clark had no idea what the egg was. He only knew that it had shadow type energy. This was not at all enough for a hatching potion to be derived. Yet, the system had done so and offered it as a reward.

If Clark wanted to have the egg evaluated, it would take a team of at least ten extremely experienced breeders to write ingredients. Then it would take a tram of five extremely meticulous alchemists that could focus on the creation with everything they had. That wasn't even including the cost of the ingredients which could be upwards of a thousand gold coins. If they were able to be found at all.

"Change of plans. We are going to acquire the potion we need to welcome our third partner in to the world properly." Knowing that he had an hour before the stone imps became courageous was a massive boon. With this knowledge, Clark could prioritize hunting the imps while checking the nearby buildings.

"I just wonder why Alexander wouldn't have taken away all the cultist's items?" This was the single question that Clark was stuck on. Devi and Crim had returned to his side to search as well. The imps had seen their relation to Clark and feared them equally.

"Go to the buildings and search for hidden compartments. If you find one, call out to me in your mind." The bond between them was enough for Clark to know if they found anything. "And if any imp comes too close, kill it." This would be the continued warning that they were not to be messed with.

Devi and Crim darted off in opposite directions while Clark laid eyes on the smallest of the stone buildings. He wanted to start there and work in a circle back to where he was standing now. It would take some time but he would have to return to where the elder imp had been defeated before running toward the church in the distance where he would surely face another danger.

One that could prove his greatest nemesis in this dungeon.

The stones of each building had been intricately placed. They were not carved in ways that allowed them to be put together but instead, had been chosen perfectly to fit in place. The natural curves of each stone made them lock together, explaining why the dungeon's rain did not cause these buildings to fall apart completely over time.

This made Clark believe that there had to be things hidden away. Alexander had surely searched around the stone village. He definitely found some things but had missed something here or there. Since this was a cultist hideout, then they would be sneaky. The real question was, how would Clark find something that Alexander had missed?

The answer was simple, Devi and Crim were unique. Devi could search out things using his senses. Ghosts were not the same as other beasts. Crim was a slime, a dragon slime. He had a very sharp sense of smell. If even the slightest detail was off in scent, then he would know.

Every dragon had incredible senses. Only a fool would think otherwise.

"No you don't!" Clark saw a stone imp approaching out of the corner of his eye. He easily spun his black lightning spear and stabbed it through the center of its chest. The imp couldn't even cry out. That did not stop the message to the other nearby stone imps though. They saw one of their kind easily killed.

"The next building is this way," Clark mumbled as he pushed building to building looking for loose stone or odd crevasses. He didn't find a single thing out of place in four of the stone homes. It was incredibly frustrating, that was until he felt Devi calling him and Crim. "Good."

Clark dashed out of the current stone building only to find that Devi was in the building right next to his. It was fairly large compared to some of the others but when he walked through the entrance he felt something was off. "This room is too small."

Devi laughed a little confirming this was why he had called Clark. The room inside was smaller than the outside. Devi had circled the building three times to confirm this suspicion. Not that Clark was here, he focused on the wall that seemed to be too close.

Once Crim had arrived, he began the same. The three were testing the wall over and over before Crim broke the silence they worked in with a growl. He had become frustrated which was understandable. Clark could feel the time ticking away from them. Their time to get something good was wasting away.

"Wait don't just-" Crim slammed in to the wall causing the entire stone structure to tremble. "Huh? Why would it all shake? All the buildings are built so perfectly." This was what made Clark stop and step back. By the time he charged forward, Crim was doing so as well.

The wall collapsed with the sound of cascading stone. The entire home seemed to have been made to fall away once attacked like this. The things revealed were nothing special. However, they were clearly pieces of armor made by the church of living stone cultists. Pieces of armor that mimicked stone features.

The carved stone was definitely from this dungeon's gargoyles. It was carved with images of stone statues attacking other beasts. The armor was in multiple pieces but would cover most of the skin. The helm mimicked the face of the elder stone imp making it fairly terrifying to look at. Almost as if it was alive.

"If I give this to Alexander he might reward me with something extra." Clark wanted to use the system to identify the armor but knew it was unwise. He had spent much more time than he thought doing this. Before leaving though, he grabbed up some ruined books on the ground. They might be useless but they were something. He just stored them in his spatial ring before sprinting away.

The roars of the stone imps calling his name. Wishing to battle him again now that they had rested and recovered their courage.