Spirit Taming

Chapter 317: Ralph Learns A Little

Smith had a defeated look. He had a lot to say but he couldn't lose the chance to learn some thing that no other blacksmith could do. That was one reason for him trying to break the mystery of forging eternal ice in the first place. It would make him the top of all blacksmiths in the entire city, potentially in the entire world!

"Rude brat, take those books on the top shelf and start reading. You have until tomorrow morning to read them all. then you will start to change how you circulate your energy. If you need to take notes, do that too. And you, drink up and show me what I want." Smith was ready to jump right in to copying the methods that Clark used.

"That sounds good. I am glad we have a deal." Clark drank the potions he needed and watched as Smith took out large and small chunks of eternal ice. He was moving them with a pair of metal fliers that kept the ice far from his body. These were necessary things to prevent the accidental frostbite and serious damage to his body when using eternal ice.

Smith had already felt it once, he wouldn't do that again.

"The methods are simple, it's all about your energy. The eternal ice is calm and likes to remain in the same state. It is like locking a door, the ice type energy is condensed and stuck where it is because it is so cold. It's all locked up. Your energy has to be the key, and to melt ice a little you need heat." Clark demonstrated this by touching the eternal ice and leaving the slightest imprint.

"The issue is that you can't actually melt it. The eternal ice refuses to melt so it just changes shape like water would but in ice form. When met with any energy that does not perfectly allow it to do this, it resists and at most will shatter. But it will not bend, change shape, or melt. It will not." These were just rules that Clark had received in knowledge from the system.

He felt like he was reading off a textbook.

"It's like liquid metal. It will always be a liquid unless forced by a certain energy. I see. And the method of energy circulation has to be just as dense as the ice. And in the right way. I will need to experiment and train to even do half of that.

How can you?" Smith was cautious. He wasn't sure how Clark had a single method to do this so easily.

"Just a theory and a feeling. Sometimes I just follow my gut. It leads me to good things." Clark said this and Ralph looked up at Smith drawing his attention. Seeing Ralph nod with a look that told him it happened often made Smith wonder if Clark was just one of those people that seemed to slip and fall in to piles of gold.

Clark knew that the best way was to show this again, therefore, he began to take a small piece of eternal ice and hammer it the exact way that he had before. This time he had grabbed one of the partially finished knives from a nearby table and copied it. He had absolutely no experience in creating his own unique weapons. That was still well beyond him.

It also was why Smith didn't revere him like a master. It took years to be able to create unique things.

While Clark did this, Ralph was hard at work copying every single bit of knowledge from the books he had just been told to take. Clark had mentioned that he would be able to forge with his partner. A molten boar was able to heat and melt metals much better than other beasts due to its unique acidic stomach acid and body temperature.

Because of these things, some rules in the books didn't apply. Such as the fact that the ores would be heated and processed in a crucible or other heating tool. The crucible would be the molten boar's mouth. It could also use its fur to slowly cool or heat an object based on the temperature control of its body.

That was why Ralph had also started to let his boar get the ores that Smith had taken out from storage. They were all lower level ores that wouldn't be wasted if they were consumed. This was just testing and learning.

The molten boar at first just ate a piece of iron ore. It made Ralph be more vigilant while copying the books. After getting a strong mental message and a sense of anger from Ralph, the molten board began to get a hint of what it needed to do.

The next chunk of iron ore was heated and dropped back on to the ground. The result was less than expected because nothing had been purified and it was just a partially usable piece of iron. The second chunk was very different. The boar had allowed some of its natural stomach acid to touch the ore causing a toxic fume to be produced.

The vents in the forge captured and let it leave the room but also caused the boar to lose some heat on the iron ore.

This result was a much purer iron ore but in a strange brittle state due to the temperature. However, this time Ralph had sensed the difference in his beast's energy and the direct influence that temperature had. The fire and metal typing that the molten boar had could work very well together with this.

The sudden immersion in experimenting and learning was more than Ralph had in a while. Normally when he immersed himself in training, he would be able to focus well. This was different. This training was radically different from the physical battle and muscle building he normally did. Using the ax and learning to use a hammer might be able to go hand in hand when he thought about it.

"Hey, are you going to listen to me at all?" Clark had eventually finished showing Smith what he had agreed to, however, he found that Ralph had been deaf to everything going on around him. All that had mattered was the frantic copying of energy usage and forging while the molten boar tried to perfectly create an ore in to usable metals. "I bought your partner more ores to play with when we go back.

From the loops of it, he has already dealt with a lot of ores and the ore amalgamation energy."

Clark was secretly impressed. The molten boar had mirrored Ralph's determination in learning these things. It just seemed to prove that beasts and their tamers were infinitely closer by the day. But when Ralph seemed still lost in his focus, Clark began to wonder what was actually up with Ralph.

"The kid has to drink water. He has some minor heat related issues. Make him drink then sleep. He should be fine for a fight tomorrow." Smith said this while trying to channel energy in to his hands to touch the eternal ice. So far he had no progress but he had already told Clark to get out of his shop. Now was the time for him to learn without any interruptions.

"Good luck. It was good doing business with you." Clark promised himself that he would go looking for some sword techniques another day. He had gained eternal ice, tool sets, and even a sword he had copied using eternal ice. Now he just needed to work on rune knowledge to create a truly legendary weapon made of eternal ice. Not to mention further his skill base in forging in general.

"Don't try and get ahead of me. I will be the best battle smith ever." Ralph mumbled his challenges as his molten boar slipped back in to his taming space. Clark hadn't realized just how long they had been in the forge.

The night had grown much colder and it appeared that almost no one had come out in to the market areas. Even the busiest areas that the group had traveled earlier was silent but for the odd person here and there. Many were just employees enjoying their time off work or the night life of a city.

Here and there were a few students that had come to check out the tournament or were attending the northern academies. Not that multiple participated in the tournament happening. Just the best of the best.

It was a surprisingly pleasant walk even though it was cold. However, Clark just saw it as additional training. The cold could help him prepare for any of the beasts that were certain to be powerful ice types. The northern academy students had the advantage.

Every single student that grew up in nebula city could be the toughest ice type beast tamer there was just because they lived in the cold at all times of the year. It was worth considering before Clark finally managed to get back to the in and lay his head down on a pillow.