Spirit Taming

Chapter 305: Issuing A Challenge

The positive atmosphere only grew as Grace showed off her new and improved partner. The ice finch only chirped happily by filtering the wind through its icy body. Everyone agreed that it had taken on a very beautiful form after its growth.

The additional ice typing made Grace and it move easily through the snowy field that was the white rabbit dungeon. But for some reason, they all had gathered and found where Ralph was, they were at a loss for words.

"What is all this? And why don't you have a shirt on?" Clark was unsure what Ralph had been thinking as he set up the array of strange things.

"You mean my white rabbit traps? They are a common hunting method for any small beasts or animals. This is steel thread, tough branches, and they are baited with radiant carrots I rehydrated with water. It's the best bait for weak beasts that prefer not to eat meat." The way Ralph spoke made it seem like he had done this casually before.

"I believe that Clark was asking about your shirt and the traps. This is not what we expected. Your training methods are odd. I assume they have worked?" Ella had already made a few notes after seeing that Ralph was well adjusted to the cold. Even the molten boar had done so as well.

The molten boar had hardened the furs on its body in to tougher metal. This resulted in an insulated shell that trapped heat within. The slight silver and red tints here and there were due to the inner organs of the molten boar. Ralph on the other hand was a little blue around the lips but had managed to adjust himself to better resist the cold in only a short while.

"The carrots only managed to catch fifteen of the white rabbits. If they were fresh they would attract more. And I am perfectly fine with my training. It has worked because it forced me to learn to use my own energy to stay warm." Ralph felt judged when Ella was writing notes. But he didn't hide the fact that he had also improved.

"Congratulations too, Grace. Your partner looks very happy." Ralph looked away but Grace didn't notice the flush of red on his cheeks. She was still too ecstatic about her frost finch.

'It's amazing, right? Look, I can even hold my best friend now. It's just like you being able to touch your molten boar even though he is super hit if anyone else touches him. Is it because you have a bond with him or does he protect you from the temperature too?" The sudden attention only made Ralph more bashful.

"He really managed to get fifteen white rabbits in nearly perfect condition! These will sell for at least one and a half times what we have here. Even that mother white rabbit might not sell for as much because of the blood that dropped out of its mouth on to the facial fur." Isa was ready to recruit Ralph full time for hunting.

"That's good too, but Clark, what now?" Maria knew that they had only been in the small white rabbit dungeon for a few hours. It was a short time compared to what else they had done. But Maria had a feeling that Clark had other things in mind.

"Well, we are about to head to the northern city. I thought we might take the rest of the time to meditate and consolidate our energies. It is better to let our beasts get comfortable. Especially those of us that have made breakthroughs.

Grace has her first finch, Brad needs to see if his possessed helm grew a lot, Reese should be seeing changes in his abyssal sword, and the rest of us might have some things to tighten up too."

This was true for Isa, she had wanted to ensure that all the goods she would be selling were prepared. There was plenty of skinning to do for the white rabbits. The organs were not very useful except for a select few that could be used for unique medicines. Other than that they were useless.

The other beast materials were better off dealt with by professionals. But that didn't mean that Isa didn't want to thoroughly evaluate their worth. She had the knowledge to be able to decide on best and worst prices. With that, she would create a plan for what she would sell and how much gold she would have to use on purchasing things.

"I will need to record some small notes. But I should join Isa in the preparations. The north has many things that we will need to purchase for our and the business's growth." Ella saw the look Isa was giving her and understood it all clearly.

"I will stay here a while longer. I need to improve something." Maria was the outlier. She was the only one that wanted to remain in the dungeon to train. But when Clark saw that the midnight eel was moving in and out of her shadows, it was clear why. The midnight eel was still very young. It needed more battle experience to learn the limits of its skills.

"I will be staying as well. My resist-"

"No, you and Grace will be coming out. You are going to freeze to death if you stay. You gained some resistance to ice and water but that's not enough to stay here like that. Grace is also in need of rest. A beast's final growth uses a lot of the tamer's energy. She hasn't realized it…and she's already asleep." Ralph had narrowly avoided letting Grace fall flat in to the snow.

The frost finch chirped in worry before it was also caught in a wave of tiredness. Both Grace and the first finch had exhausted themselves. This was a plain result from them gaining so much energy at once for the frost finch to make an even better body for itself.

Without any arguments, the group followed what they had decided. Maria seemed to be a little wary of the white rabbits since she was alone. But after noticing the odd shift in the snow, she found that Crim had been left behind as well. He was just in his dragon form again still resisting the ice and snow.

"Clark left you here with me, huh? He should have just stayed himself." Crim just growled softly as he took a distant position walking behind Maria not to interrupt her.

Once the rest of the group had gotten out of the dungeon, Professor Wright asked a few questions but let everyone do what they needed. She would not interrupt their focus on preparations. She knew that it was important to appear at their best when they reached the northern city. Then many eyes focused on them, they had to appear strong and intimidating so that they would not be seen as an easy win.

"Devi, how do you feel? You and Shy have gained the most stored energy lately. I need to know if you feel like you are close to a breakthrough?" Clark could feel that Shy was a lot more comfortable with her shadow thread skill after testing some things today. But she had a small amount of energy to use stored in her body. That was a good thing.

When it came to Devi, he had absorbed every tiny trace of death energy that appeared wherever they went. Every slain beast or trace of one was taken by him. This constant absorption of energy had given him a massive stockpile that made him seem larger than usual.

The mental communication and feelings that Devi shared with Calrk were all good things. Devi was prepared to push himself to another level. The only issue was the fact that it felt that there was something missing. A key to the lock so to speak.

"I need to find something that helps you break that wall then. Something unique to death energy…" This thought process was just a start. The system analysis only gave Clark so much. He might have to wait for another chance at a gotcha to get the materials that he might need. This was the first issue he hit.

The second issue was also simple. What if Devi needed to defeat more beasts? That meant that Clark had to train more. But it seemed too easy. Like it was not the proper answer for this problem. Instead, it was more likely that Devi was missing a truly challenging battle experience.

One that would force his true strength out.

"Professor Wright, can you fight me? I need to feel real pressure from someone that could easily crush me and Devi. If you can help me, I know that we will reach a higher level of strength before the tournament."

Professor Wright looked at Clark after his sudden outburst. A small smile crept on to her face. "I thought you would have asked me sooner than this. But yes, I will challenge you. Just remember that Maria is training alone and cannot heal you with her beast right now." The prodding from Professor Wright sent chills down Clark's spine.