Spirit Taming

Chapter 290: Rat Exterminator

With a screech, Clark saw the first leaping brown rat. It had jumped from the top of a stone shelf right at his face. He didn't even have time to properly use the analysis skill on it from the system. He could only use the crescent moon slash to cut it directly in half.

"Reese, these are yours to handle. If another one leaps at me I will be making things harder for you.' The pressure he threw at Reese was for good reason. Clark wanted to see what would happen to Reese when he was forced in to a harsh situation.

Clark already had a good handle on Reese. He was a focused and loyal person who wanted to grow stronger and represent his family. The sword techniques that they were proud of were still young when it came to the grand scheme of things. But that was exactly why he had winter to push them further. Why he wanted to show the world what his family could do.

Many people would have such dreams in life. This was just something that would remain a fantasy for many. Yet, Reese had already begun to show this to the world. He had made it in to Nova academy. Even though he had not made any major breakthroughs, he was constantly training.

This was also another positive note in Clark's mind. A hard working person would always outweigh a lazy person unless the lazy person was incomparably smart.

"Understood. Stand back and watch!" Reese took the challenge with vigor. He jumped in front of Clark and stabbed forward with his sword. The abyssal sword was coated in a sheen of blood due to the stab it had made in the leg of one of the brown rats. Reese may not have instantly killed it but he had damaged it to the point that the Brown rat was no longer a danger.

'Brown Rat- common

The Brown rat is considered one of the most annoying pests in the world. They will travel in large nests to take over food rich places. They have been known to eat entire families if they infest a small home. They did not shy away from sewers or any disgusting place which causes them to often develop a slight poison typing.

The brown rat has nearly zero potential. They have the extremely small potential to become a plague rat after they had taken in over a thousand different diseases upon their body. If this happens, they mutate completely and become a different species. They are not at all related to the lightning rats, water rats, forest…'

The fact that the brown rat was considered an entirely different species meant that it had long been a branch of whatever ancestry had birthed the rat species. But this didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that Maria and Brad had pulled back in to a defensive formation?

Reese was the only one that attacked. Any brown rat that neared them was slashed or stabbed. The movements that Reese used were well practiced. Yet, Clark could see errors even though he did not study the sword.

"Relax more or else you will miss your second attack chance." This was a simple piece of advice. Clark could see that Reese had tensed his muscles around his neck and shoulders. It was making him slower to react to the missed or weaker attacks he used against the rats.

This was quickly heard and changed by Reese. He respected that Clark had been in many battles before he had even set foot in a dungeon. It was something he felt that he had missed out on until now. Now, Reese felt that he was many years behind Clark even though he was roughly the same age.

The only reason behind this was that Clark was easily able to give Reese advice that was perfect for the timing. It was also a clear identifier that Clark did not just rely on the spear. Yes, Clark practiced spear arts. But, Clark had seen so many people use a sword that it was a wonder that Reese had yet to find these issues in combat.

"Don't! You! Dare! Touch! Them!" Maria and Brad had been prepared to block then attack against a brown rat leaping at them. However, Reese showed off the spinning and elegant movements he was capable of while not even realizing it.

There were a few minutes in to the battle already but it appeared that Reese had finally allowed himself to breathe a little and calm down. This was where he was able to produce the best steps and stances of his swordsmanship. He had learned it since he could walk. Now he would be showing it off and moving it.

Being calm would always improve a situation since the mind would not cause unnecessary issues.

Watching Reese change his attitude was good. Clark further improved his opinion of Reese and knew that this would be a good direction to focus. Since it was clear that Reese had been trained to remain calm and fight, all that was left was experience. Reese could gain a better mentality within a dungeon letting him stay calm overall in these situations.

Another brown rat leaped at Maria but Reese was there. This time instead of a basic slashing or stabbing motion, he changed his stance with one foot forward. His sword slashed down with both hands on the hilt and sliced the brown rat halfway through. The air around him became slightly heavier, deterring the two brown rats that had been about to attack.

"So that's the spiritual pressure of your abyssal sword beast." Clark recognized it as a skill he had seen when he read the large amount of information analyzed by the system. The abyssal sword was a beast that had metal and spiritual typing. That made these kinds of attacks ideal. Reese could suppress weaker beasts around him while still attacking.

The pressure had not been enough to scare the two brown rats away. However, Brad had stepped forward and swung the new black iron sword in his hand. The weight came down a little recklessly and broke a stone shelf. It also landed on top of a brown rat partially cutting and partially crushing it.

Seeing that Brad had kept his back safe, Reese did not hesitate to unleash three quick slashes in a row. He was clearly trying to use his beast's skill in other sword moves. He had succeeded in one but needed more training in the others. Not that his movements were poor in any means. Reese had a clear understanding and strength when it came to the sword style his family held in high esteem.

"Brad, you didn't need to interfere. But that was a good move." Clark knew that Brad had been itching to use the new weapon and shield combo. But the reason he had stepped forward was because he saw that Reese would be left wide open in his last attack. It was a good thing for their traveling. They would all have to have each other's backs.

"Reese, I didn't think you would be trying to incorporate a spiritual pressure attack from your beasts on your swordsmanship. That's already a great direction to be moving. The only notes I have is that you are too tense. Your fluid movements are broken by the tense stances you take. It's because you have only ever forced a trained movement and not a battered movement."

By this Clark was pointing out that Reese lacked a real battle experience. In a real battle, someone would not be able to just go through the movements. They would need to bend a little and slightly adjust their attacks making them more fluid. It would also let them move faster, the adjustments would always let them be comfortable in whatever position they were in.

"it was said that even a warrior laying down should be able to wield his weapon as if he was standing."

Clark's saying seemed to hit Reese pretty hard. Instead of saying a word or collecting materials he just became silent and contemplative. This was a good thing though. Clark gathered the materials from the brown rats which were very useful for beast feed or as small furs that could be used for animal beds. Otherwise, they were useless so not much money was in them.

"Let's push on. I want to see how many of these things can put a scratch on this shield." Brad led the charge. None of them had noticed his spirit rising. He had plenty of energy to push through the rest of the floor.

"I guess we are heading that way." Clark knew that they were following the most traveled path. That was no issue. Their goal was to get deeper and find the rune carver's remains. If they could get there they could find a potential secret with a great reward. Clark also had the quest on his mind. He wanted more knowledge.

The more he had the faster he could grow.