Spirit Taming

Chapter 300: Small Commotion

Leaving the dungeon was an easier task than they all knew. The previously sealed room had been emptied. At the end of it, Maria had stored away even the supplies to write down more notes. She had told Clark that it was important to have extra of everything even though it seemed like they might not need it.

In other terms, Clark's group had also prepared for the future. Not that Clark would be willing to spend hours filling out paperwork. He was actually very glad that Maria and Ella exceeded in taking notes and paperwork. Out of all the things to be good at, it was lucky that they had that as a talent.

The metal marionettes didn't cause them many issues. They were easily dodged by the group since their movements were slow. But that didn't stop Clark from Making Brad take the opportunity to train.

Brad was still much slower with the new black iron shield and sword. This was because he was not used to wielding larger shields and swords at all. So, it was best to push Brad to move faster and with better efficiency even though his muscles and body wanted to say no.

The ants at the entrance of the fourth floor went so far as to greet them. They crawled over and examined the group before parting ways. It was a nice gesture and it made Clark feel that when they one day returned to go deeper, they would have much stronger friends here. The black ants never forgot unless their colony was erased.

There was also the potential that the black ants might expand their colony a little. They could feasibly move to another floor. The iron marionettes would pose an issue though. They did not have flesh so they could not be food like the other beasts in the dungeon so far.

That brought Clark to an interesting thought. The dungeon was more unique than any others because all the floors were spliced together from various subterranean areas of a city. That meant that the beasts changed nearly every floor without fail. This abnormality made the dungeon much harder because the tamers that explored it would have to have many more things to counter the beasts.

Normally, the dungeon could be figured out easily. If you were going in to a poisonous or venomous beast dungeon, then supplies could be selected. Antidotes, protective armors, and many other tactics could be used. But here, that was only applicable for one small floor.

Yet, due to the smaller floors and strange ways that the rooms were attached together in the dungeon, it was easy to traverse once you had the knowledge. Unfortunately, there was a limit to the floors that could be traveled. Some beasts would end a journey on a floor completely if they were too strong or presented a large issue.

"Maria! Clark! Brad! Reese!" The immediate shout that the group heard came from Professor Wright. She had been waiting with the others, her face was very stern. "Good job returning.

Things have taken a turn for the worst in the meantime." This was an odd return greeting. But Clark could see the many tamers and increased military tamer presence. "We are going to be leaving now for the next destination. Sorry for the trouble."

Without any hesitation, they followed. Isa fell back to recap with the others since she knew what was going on. "That big deal group made it down further in the dungeon. But apparently, the eighth floor is all traps. They fell an unknown number of floors and are listed as missing.

They were making a big push to full map all the floors which is why we went ahead and mapped the first three floors to our best too."

Isa sounded very proud of what her group had done. But with Ella as part of the group, it made sense that they would gather every possible detail. "We even found some things we think you guys did. And a really pretty flower growing in a weird spot. Not that we touched it. Ella said it was useless to beasts and I said it probably wouldn't sell to anyone.

But you can tell us about it." Isa had a feeling that Clark had the information she wanted.

"I do know what you are talking about. Hut let's stay focused. New traps were able to trap an advanced tamer team so easily? That's ridiculous. They should have been able to avoid some simple pitfall trap." Clark knew that the veteran teams should be better than that.

"That's the problem. Two of them returned because they didn't fall. They think that a beast is making more traps. Something about the trap spider getting in to the dungeon somehow. It might have been brought in by a group of evil tamers to cause trouble." Isa was just sharing the rumors from the other merchants.

But as they left, Clark saw many merchants packing up. They believed what they heard and avoided it like the plague. This was a good sign for anyone making to an area for the first time that something was very very Very, wrong. The merchants would only leave if there would not be money to make in a place. Their lives were more valuable after all.

"Good thing we didn't bother going that far. We ran in to some tamers that gave us a few hints though. They ended up clearing entire floors making it safe for us to explore another floor." Maria was actually pretty proud of their luck. If they had come even a day later, then they would have lost the ability to travel further down.

"A group did talk about how they met you when they came up. Everyone was spoken to that left the dungeon. Professor Wright told the military tamers that she was waiting for you four and we would be leaving. That's why they didn't bother you." It was good to know that professor Wright had them covered so that they could leave without issues.

This could have been more annoying if they had to explain what they had found down there.

"You may all be gossiping now. It's good to evaluate the situation in your own ways." Professor Wright finally chimed in as she led them away from the dungeon and back on to the wooded path. "But for now, please take the time to speak with Grace about the final dungeon before we get to our destination. It is closer than you may realize. We also need to prepare proper clothing."

Regardless of the commotion at the dungeon, Clark knew that he had nothing to do with it. The people that had stronger beasts and higher levels of strength could handle it. That was why the military tamers were gathering. They would do their job to the fullest and attempt to get the veteran tamers back safely if possible. They might even discover a few new things while at it.

"Well, the dungeon that we are going to is right on the border of the northern lands and our lands. It is the first one that has beasts that thrive in ice. That means it is cold and perfect for Grace's frost finch to be let out of the box fully grown." Grace's eyes lit up hearing this. She had been waiting to see the transformation her wind whistler was going through.

Grace had been feeling the energies changing and her body growing in tandem with her partner. She hated that she was blocked from the ability to sense the winds around her. However, she had seen the strength increase that had come with missing that. She had become much more in tune to her basic senses and not the additional wind sense she had long relied on.

"That means that we will be facing the first taste of cold. The dungeon is small. A single floor snowfield with some bushes. There might also be a free semi frozen streams but nothing major. The beasts there are white rabbits. They have weak ice typing and are not very confrontational.

But their fur is worth a lot if caught." Clark had captured everyone's attention. Even Ralph and Ella had stopped their tasks to walk and listen to him.

"The cold will be tough for fire and metal beasts. The cold alters their strengths. Metal type beasts will be morphed by heat and cold so that's tough, but if we train resistances, that can be avoided. Fire type beasts are just drastically weakened by the cold. That means Ralph, Isa, and Ella will all notice it more often.

Crim might even feel the cold a little." Clark did worry about Crim's reaction to the cold for the first time.

"Very good Clark. The white rabbit dungeon is still fairly warm considering the true cold of the north. Be prepared." Professor Wright was certain that they would all be shocked by the cold. "Otherwise, we will walk all night to get there. I want to make sure you have time to get in touch before we meet the beast we will be riding to the Northern city.

It is best that you all focus on your bonds with your beasts and condense some extra energy too."