Spirit Taming

Chapter 323: Tough Shells

Grace was pushing further ahead while the frost finch flew higher in to the sky. She had already started to channel the ice energy through her body and in to the rapier she had drawn. Since the frost finch seemed to be retreating, the boy with the soul stealing anemone ignored it. He told his anemone to focus on Grace.

The moment that Grace was close enough, three of the anemone's tentacles lashed out at her, however, she was nowhere near where they had attacked. The ice that she had her frost finch blow in the breeze and hit the anemone had landed on the tentacles. It was just enough to cause the tentacles to miss slightly.

The stiffness in the stingers and muscles was just enough so that the anemone was also lower. As it retracted its tentacles to try and whip out again, Grace was able to channel more ice energy through the rapier and strike out at the tidal turtle's limbs.

The attacks caused tougher ice to form instantly around the turtle. A single flipper was frozen in place as the anemone attacked again. But Grace was already on the move. In a flurry of jabs using the rapier, she left behind chunks of ice that were slowly growing. The frost finch had also been working hard.

A larger gust of wind spun through the arena carrying small flurries of snow. As grace retreated, the chunks of ice she had already worked hard to form were hit by the snow flurries. This caused them to grow at a rapid pace. "That's not right!" The boy Grace was facing realized that his beast was completely immobile and would not be able to escape the damage being done.

He tried to rush ahead with the shield he had been hiding behind to slam it in to the ice and break it away. That was not the best choice though, the boy had clearly skipped a lot of battle training. He had run right in to the wind that the frost finch had complete control of.

The result was as anyone would expect, the boy found himself covered in a thin layer of frost. Just as he touched his beast, ice formed between them trapping him where he stood. "I could have sliced off some of your beasts' tentacles. Those stingers are not friendly. But I decided to freeze you instead, you're welcome.

Oh, and you have a minute to surrender before I attack again." The sweetness in Grace's voice was a falsehood. She was copying the same fake niceness that Isa and Maria could use. It was terrifying.

"I give up! I give up! Now melt this ice!" The boy saw the ice still growing around him and knew that if he didn't give up he would have been left to die. This tournament even had them agree to the risk of death when they got here. He couldn't lose right away. He could still help his other teammates later.

When the referee called off the match, the arena had changed slightly. The rocks that had been created by the tidal crab as it was controlled by the anemone were much smaller than desired. There were looks of discontent on the faces of the remaining four celestial sea students. However, Clark was very impressed with how much saltwater had been frozen by the frost finch.

It proved to have denser ice energy than expected.

"Bring out a real fighter. I will be crushing them." The next boy that came out was also fairly large. He has well developed muscles and was the only one thus far with a combat weapon. That weapon was a single pair of gauntlets.

They seemed to be made from a type of stone, Clark used his analysis on them but was instantly forced to focus on the beast that has revealed itself from the boy's taming space.

'Bully Crab- rare

The bully crab is a mutated rock and water type rock crab. It developed large claws that it uses to smash open the shells of weaker crabs and eat them. It is considered a mutant because it has a tougher shell but that is theorized to have come to being because it ate its fellow rock crabs.

It is often very aggressive and likes to break anything around where it lives. It often will constantly attack rocks and other shells so that it can toughen the claws it uses for battle. If it finds something it cannot break, it becomes angry and throws a tantrum. Some people call them boxer crabs, however, this nickname is reserved for its older variant.'

"Grace, take a break, that thing looks like my type of opponent." There was no stopping Brad as he tagged out and took Grace's place in the arena. He was fully focused on the crab and was already moving with a pep in his step as his possessed helm appeared over him.

There were changes in his possessed helm though, it had grown and was accompanied by a pair of shoulder caps. It also appeared to be growing toward becoming a possessed helm with a full chest plate attached. It was getting much closer to being a full set of possessed armor. When that happened, Brad would be a very tough opponent.

The black iron shield and sword were the focus of everyone watching their battles. They all knew the rarity of them and how they would sell for a lot. But what they wanted to know was just who Brad was. How did he have rare weapons to use and come out to fight someone that was clearly able to break stones with their fists?

"Really? You are coming to face me? I can break that armor. My beast can shatter that armor! You are getting crushed. But it's good that we can make some easy points." The boy was certain that he would be able to fight.

It was also clear that he was the first of the real fighters. He would have been able to use the rocks made by his precious comrade to hide behind. Now he was in the open. But that was his style too. He could charge in against Brad easily.

Or so he thought.

The charge toward Brad was matched by the bully crab. The bully crab was larger and managed to get to Brad first. Its claw came down toward Brad and landed on the shield. The clanging of what others would assume to be a bell rang out around the arena. It was the block that Brad had used against the claw.

This had not affected Brad at all. It had actually just stopped the crab from attacking him again because it couldn't turn to the other side and smack down with its other claw. Instead, Brad had slid the claw toward the ground by changing the angle of his shield and stabbed his sword forward.

The coal was easy, hit the joints. Reese has always talked about accurate swordsmanship. How could Brad not hear it after the millionth time it was said? Therefore, Brad had been watching the crab moved and how its body came together. He didn't need to ask Clark a single question. He just had to defend and attack.

The first sword strike hit the joint and the bully crab immediately backed off, but to Brad's surprise, the crab backed off to let its tamer attack Brad next. The punch that reigned down on Brad's shield was more focused. The boy he was facing was attacking him constantly which made Brad have to move.

Luckily, Brad had been training constantly. He had not stopped carrying weights to strengthen his body. This was just another form of weight training. Every single move of his shield was light as a feather compared to the bags of rocks he had carried during his travels. Not that the boy he faced would know this.

The moment that the boy grew tired, the bully crab jumped right in with another heavy claw attack. It slammed in to Brad making the entire partnership he faced a war of attrition. It was a smart strategy and the tamer matched the beast perfectly. What the two didn't realize was that Brad was fine with a war of attrition. He had stamina for days!

Proving this, Brad easily deflected the bully crab's claw then pushed back. The sudden slam of his shield on its shell caused the bully crab to panic a little. It was not used to feeling the metal vibrations on it. It was also shocked at the strength that Brad had.

Not only had Brad been able to strengthen his body through training. But his possessed helm did more than just act as living armor. It was also strengthening his body. The energy it gave him strengthened his body more than it normally would. That was a major boon in this situation and a major shock for the boy that was coming in to attack again.

Because he did not expect that he would ever see his bully crab's shell crack from someone bashing their shield on it.