Spirit Taming

Chapter 249: Setting Camp

Professor Wright had not said much as she led them away from the small forest and toward the larger forest in the distance. Her centipede had returned to her without much of a show but it remained out and about watching everyone. Ella carefully studied it while resisting the urge to take out a notebook to record every single detail.

By the time they made it to the edge of the trees in the larger forest, Professor Wright started to make a camp. She would not be pushing them to go any further in the day since it was clear that Ralph was still recovering. On top of that, the other non elite first years were too weak to keep up. They had yet to develop the stamina that the other had.

But even if they matched Clark's team, they would still be well behind her when it came to stamina. It was a difference in the training over years.

"Clark, I know you plan to go off alone tonight. I am not so foolish to believe you would be wasting a chance to go to another dungeon. You may have marked this one because it has unique metal materials, but I know of another nearby." Professor Wright had caught Clark gathering some firewood. She had left under the guise of doing a quick safety patrol.

The others were behind at the camp making sure they set things up properly. Since Isa proved to have the most knowledge of camping she was teaching the others. This came from the mercantile knowledge in traveling. She had gathered a lot of camping in the wilderness teaching from her family and was always grateful for it.

"You want to go to the dark imp dungeon nearby? It might be a small two floor dungeon but it is dark and dangerous." Professor Wright knew that this had to be due to the new beast that Clark was holding.

"I should know that you are ten steps ahead of me. You are the professor of the elite class for a reason." Clark praised professor Wright a little because he knew he had been seen through. "It's because of Shy here. She is a unique beast that needs shadow energy to grow. I need to help her become even stronger than she should be at this stage of her growth.

It will take some time for her to grow but if I can focus on it now she can do a lot."

Clark had been holding Shy in his arms the entire time. It was to get her accustomed to the world while also sharing energy with her better. The closer they were the more their bond could develop in a short time. "Would you tell me what kind of beast that is?" Professor Wright was sure that this was some sort of disguise. Or maybe it was a spiritual type beast that Clark had found hidden somewhere.

"I know that you work with Alexander closely. I can trust that you won't break this trust." Clark was sure to say this. He wanted to make sure that Professor Wright knew that he was not going to fight against her.

"This is Shyama, she is a puppeteer doll. An extinct species that used to hunt humans. They disguise themselves as dolls and can use threads of shadow to control other beasts or even people. She is weak now but she will be able to help me out immensely in the future. Shy, this is Professor Wright, she won't hurt you."

Shy let her legs show and the hair that had been covering her face revealed her true appearance. "She's a spider. That's a very clever way of hiding. I understand how her species used to hunt humans. It's a rare species.

I will not ask how you managed to get it but I will jeep an eye on you to ensure that you do not abuse such a beast." Professor Wright was still a professor, she had to ensure that her students grew up and did not abuse the way skills that their beasts had.

"I don't plan to use Shy's skills to cause trouble. I have a clear goal and will not be falling victim to the same corruption as others. I know her skills could do a lot of things but I would prefer that she just controls a beast rather than a human. But she has already helped me a little by stopping an attack against me." Understanding dawned on Professor Wright's face.

Now she understood how the incident of an older student punching a wall occurred.

"Then be safe tonight and do not come back injured. If you need, I can send you with another beast?" Clark was already shaking his head. He believed that professor Wright had the best in mind but he could not accept this.

"I need to show Shy the strength of her siblings while helping her get stronger. I promise to come back safe and sound. If I break that promise I will take over cleaning up the entire camp alone." This was the suitable punishment that Clark offered. It was also a way to lighten the mood.

"Then you can be off after everyone eats." Shy hid herself away again as Clark approached the group. She seemed to want to remain hidden and watching while Clark started a small fire to keep them warm. Everything she saw was interesting.

"Brad, I need you to meditate through the night. We will stop at a dungeon with metal materials you will be able to use. I need you to have abundant energy when we get there in a day or so. Ralph, same with you. Your molten boar might still be resting but when it wakes up fully, it will be ravenous." These warnings made the two boys nod immediately.

They were totally focused on what they would be needing to do.

"I have already helped Grace prepare more materials within the box with her wind whistler. Progress is being made and she will be able to start moving in another two days." Ella's close eyes on Grace made Grace and Clark more relaxed. This was a risky situation since Grace could not use her beast at all.

Meanwhile, Jerold was playing hide and seek with his chameleon to help the camouflage ability. "Is this normal for you?" Clark felt that this seemed to be the same game they had always played. The pair seemed very relaxed while playing.

"Well, I couldn't train attacks or anything because we weren't strong enough. So…" Jerold trailed off because he thought that he would be judged for this. It was not normal to focus only on one skill for a beast.

"That's actually ideal. You are making sure that safety is of the utmost importance. You also know that you are training your beast to be an assassin without knowing it, right?" The idea that he could have an assassin type style of fighting with his partner had never occurred to Jerold. This made his eyes widen.

"If I can learn more…I need to reference some books. Wait, Maria uses daggers, right? I should ask her." Jerold did not hesitate and moved right to Maria. Clark was glad that he had a bit of a mentor in the group. Out of everyone, he might need the most training since he had trained a little differently. The spear really didn't fit him at the moment.

"I will still need to ask him which style of spearmanship he follows. I want to add it to the full moon style I use. I might be able to make a new kind…" Clark put this thought on the back burner for now. He knew that if he was to focus too much on this he would never get to his goal for the night.

"Did you come over here to ask me to go out with you tonight?" Isa saw Clark coming from a mile away.

"I figured you would know already. Maria will be busy training Jerold so I thought you would come with me. I need to get some materials for Shy but there will be more materials I won't use. I think you will want them for sale since they will be rarer dark type materials." Isa was ready to jump on this. She would definitely want to take all the materials if she was allowed to.

"Then I will be ready when we all head to sleep. I want to see if my ice maiden can train a little with me. The crystal golem is also growing a little. I think he has grown three inches this week!" Isa was giddy to get out and fight a little.

Her flame sprite was resting in the campfire Clark had made so all that was left was letting her ice maiden and crystal golem get some time to stretch their legs. It was also a good chance for her to show off her new abilities with the elemental staff. It would be an interesting adventure.