Spirit Taming

Chapter 280: Swim Anyone?

To say that things were eventful would be a lie. The entire day of traveling was very quiet. Because professor Wright had taken them through the less traveled paths, they had come across many forest rats. Other beasts seemed to be fairly harder to find or they avoided the slightly larger group of humans. But there was one person who could say that the day was very eventful.

"Grace, you need to stretch out with me. Your muscles will be cramped and harder to move tomorrow if you don't" Maria had learned a fairly common stretching circuit that Ella and her older brother used. This was a common thing for many people who trained their bodies to do but the Green family had many physical warriors.

Therefore, they had some of the best stretches to ensure better healing of muscles.

"If you increase the amount you eat, you will also help your recovery. The food will help repair damaged muscles. Ask Maria to heal your body halfway as well. It will increase your strength but won't bleed away too many stored nutrients. It will also leave you with a better sense of where your body is weak. The more soreness in a muscle means you have been neglecting its training."

Ella's addition was enough to make Clark wonder if they should be training beasts or humans. Ella had even taken out a journal with human muscle diagrams. She had gone in to a full educational session with Grace to teach her how she should be stretching better, healing, and how her muscles worked and why they might be more or less sore.

By the time that everyone had sat down to learn, even Clark was sure that the diagrams Ella had were on par with the memories of his past life. It seemed that just because there were healing beasts, that some of the healers had not neglected learning and sharing the human anatomy. Doctoral science was rarer but not completely ignored.

The only reason that medicines and surgeries were not the same as in his previous life here, was that there were beasts that could heal internal issues. Many beasts could even remove toxic or damaging things from people's bodies. That alone made it much safer than a human guided surgery. Overall, it was just an enlightening session.

"Tomorrow we will be crossing a river. Be ready for a harsh lesson. I will not allow any of you to use a bridge." This stunning exclamation from Professor Wright was all she said before she pointed at Clark to be on watch first for the night. She didn't give any more details. Instead, they were all left to think about it alone.

"We can't just cross a river without any explanation." Ralph was the most stunned. He would have to keep his partner in the taming space away from everything and knew that as a molten boar it would be dangerous to summon it out in to the water. He would be completely alone.

"It will be easier than you think. She told us this to make us think ahead of time. It's the same as in business. You research a small amount of information once you hear a rumor. Then you use that information to make the best sale before anyone else gets to it." Isa felt that this lesson applied everywhere in life. She wanted to share what she knew about crossing rivers first.

"I will simplify the problem presented to us if you want." Ella had trained this similarly. It was a second year activity that many professors dropped on students to make them advance their mindsets. Many students didn't expect that they would face a natural danger so early in their lives.

"No, don't let me try first. I have some basics on swimming in my head." Clark didn't want everyone to just be given the best possible answer from Ella. She was ahead of them for a reason. Just because she had bonded with the first years didn't mean she was a first year. She was a third year student who had much more experience in learning than them.

She just lagged behind because of her pure focus on research.

"Float. That's it. Just float. We hit the water and float downstream. Kick your legs or move your arms and slowly make it across while also floating downstream. It's easy and going against the current will make you more tired.

Sound right to you Ella?" Clark watched as Ella nodded. She knew that Calrk had the general topic solid.

"What about beasts then? Or not being able to swim?" Reese had gotten a little more nervous.

"You don't need to be able to swim. Just lay on your back and let your body float up. It will be odd but it will work." Reese seemed not to believe Clark but knew better than to go against what he was saying. Clark had already proved he knew what he was doing in any topic.

"Beasts should leave us alone. Moving waters are a place that is dangerous for them too. The river beasts around here are also too small to harm us too much. They might bite but that's all." Isa's addition finished the topic. They all knew there was rest that had to happen if they wanted to have any chance of being able to travel a good distance the next day.

After a short rest, the sun broke the tree line and the group was awake. Clark had taken half the night as watch while Maria had taken the other. The rest had slept well but the next night would be different because everyone took fair watch of the night. It was basic common sense that someone would keep watch in the wilderness.

Professor Wright started them off in a different direction. However, it was only an hour before they all heard the sound of running water. Everyone understood just how experienced Professor Wright was to have the map memorized and know what direction to go to make this seem so easy. She had kept them just out of sound range of the river so they weren't able to know what she had been planning.

Just a small example of her higher level of experience.

"Go. in the water now. If you aren't across in half an hour we will leave you behind." The immense pressure in her words made them scramble. This was professor Wright showing them the level she was on to push them. She did this so that they would have a chance to get better and train but also because crossing a river would not be something someone did because they were in a good situation.

Most would find a better way to cross.

Clark was the first to show the way while Ella joined him. He floated on his back without issue. Ralph looked stressed but followed. He had already grown to trust Clark even though he saw Clark as a great rival. But he did want to beat Clark across.

Maria and Isa also jumped in to the cold waters without flinching. They were quick to follow the same logic as Clark had told them before. Grace was actually the same. She was glad to swim across because the cool waters helped her sore muscles from the training the day before.

When it came to Brad, he hesitated. He was not a swimmer. He was heavier and would sink. But after tossing the weight he had gathered and been carrying, he was surprised to find that his body had started to adjust to training already.

The time he had been behind in physical training had given him a lot of pent up energy from his possessed helm. The iron blood palace taming space additionally led to the energy gathering and ability to strengthen his body. Now, Brad was making small waves with each kick that propelled him across.

Then it came to Reese. The only one that jumped in to the water willingly but didn't come back up. His idea of floating had led him to drift under the water which was moving fairly slowly in this area. But when his head finally popped up, he was well beyond where everyone else was.

His kicks were weak and he was not making much progress. "Will you let your comrade be taken away?!" Professor Wright expected this. She shouted and watched the others begin to realize that this was a hidden challenge. She never said that they had to get across alone. They had all missed her intentionally misleading challenge.

"Ella, use your living mist to get over there. Isa, help Ella's living mist manipulate the water and make a float for Reese. We will catch up on the river bank." Clark's orders were instant. He had snapped in to rescue mode. It was perfectly in line with what Professor Wright wanted. A small task, a large lesson.

They had even been given time to prepare.

While some would look at this as a pointless endeavor, Professor Wright knew that it would toughen their minds. This sort of activity was here to give them all the sense that they were a team. Facing the academies as a team would be important. Yes, Jerold was gone to improve himself but that didn't make them any weaker. They still had to gain some teamwork experience.

Especially since Clark's group was well ahead of the new additions.