Spirit Taming

Chapter 455: Speedy Journey

The dim rock and earth underground passed by at incredible speeds. The group was impressed with how the tough rolly polly was set with an easy to sit saddle even though the ride was so rough. They wondered just how this tamer was able to convince people to ride their beast. But they also understood that it was more for transporting important goods than people.

"We should be coming up near the city soon. There are certain rules when it comes to entering the city. Since you are all from another city, you must get off outside the surface entrance and register yourselves. I can't bring you directly inside the underground." This seemed fair and everyone was just thankful that they had a magical way of traveling there.

This saved their time and also kept them from needing to go in to the wilderness again.

"It's amazing that these natural caves are so clear." Ella was the one that spoke up. She had learned a little about natural caves and understood that it made more sense that there would be a few beasts here and there.

"There should be beasts here and there, however, we are taking one of my normal routes. I have special beast repellants set up here and there. You will find that many of the caves I travel are well kept up because of my efforts." The tamer bragged. This was certainly because of the unique service he provided by being so quick.

Mast would not be able to have something delivered at such a speed unless with a special wind type beast.

Ella absorbed this well and made a mental note to purchase some beast repellent while they were in the city. She knew it would be valuable if the group were to leave the Terra City underground area to explore some of the natural caves and dungeons near there. Unlike other cities, Terra Academy allowed many visitors room to explore the caves and dungeons within reason.

"Hold on, we are going up!" The announcement came with the sudden change in gravity as the tough rolly polly began to dig upward toward the surface. The group felt the sting of light on their eyes. While the cave appeared timeless, the group was sure that the sun had moved too low in the sky. An entire day of moving had passed and they hadn't even felt like it had been a few hours.

This form of traveling really took away the sense of time because of the odd views of natural caves along with the lack of sunlight helping them keep time.

The sight that welcomed them was one of rocks and a long expanse of small bushes and trees. Ahead of them was also the start of massive mountains. The very reason Terra City was able to form. They were able to use the valuable resources within the mountains to become strong and grow their city over time.

It also made them sure that they were defended from one side since the mountains blocked anything from the more southern deserts attacking them.

While they had some protections, Terra City had to deal with the mountain beasts coming down along with the underground beasts. It was just enemies from different places, not a perfect safety. Not that it was a worry, the tough defenders that Terra Academy had grown were enough to make the city known for their strength as well as their valuable goods.

It was enough to make sure they were safe from the wilder beasts, dungeons, and the potential human enemies they may face.

"Just head toward that trail and you will find yourself at the surface level. It is mostly for meeting business connections, diplomatic ties, and other outer events. But you should be allowed quickly in to the city since you have an invitation from the Ravine merchant family along with the titles you hold as winners of the academy tournament.

You are all a little famous after all." The man laughed again before helping everyone off the tough rolly polly and heading back underground. Clark heard him mumbling about having to get another order and run. It made sense that he would be busy. He would be paid by the order after all.

"Mountain, rocks, and a ton of dirt. Yeah, I think you can find better materials for your earth prince." Maria was laughing since she had already seen Ella analyzing her surroundings to figure out what they might be able to use. Especially since she was sure that the earth prince would need a better body out of tougher earth related parts.

"I can also see you helping your perfect crystal golem to grow. It is very small and barely up to your knee right now. With the unique crystals that are most likely for sale, it can be able to form a better body as well. Your defenses will increase." Ella made her own theories for what Isa would be able to do after she had heard Maria.

"And then that leaves the materials that Ralph will get. I can buy stone or ores here. Basically, Ralph makes ores in to ingots then we have Brad and Reese use them to help their beasts. It's going to be a very costly adventure. Clark better get things for us with his eyes." Isa made sure to throw some heat at Clark since she wanted to make sure that he found them something worth a lot of gold.

It would be needed since she was less familiar with the materials that Terra Academy might want from them or be selling.

"The main focus will be bodily growth. All of us." Jerold spoke up for the first time in a while. He had been thinking about his own growth as they walked the rocky trail. He was certain that everyone would fall behind if they did not work on their own bodily growth, but he felt that he would not be able to keep up with them unless he said it out loud.

"I agree, I want to get stronger and be able to use all the wind and ice to my advantage. The underground is hard for a wind type beast, that means I get to overcome that." The frost finch chirped softly in support of Grace's desire to grow and push through any challenge that would pop up before her.

"I will make sure to work on my body too. Having the ability to handle the stronger energy from our partners will make us step to the next level. We already are above the basics of our age group. We proved that to a degree. But we need to get higher than that." Clark spoke calmly before he stopped and looked at the large stone walls.

The carved walls were set up to welcome travelers. It was clear that terra city made the above ground very intricate for their meetings. This would take the careful skills of many tamers and their beasts. But this would also impress many people. It would go a long way to helping them get what they needed from many of their business connections. Some luxury could soften up even the toughest people.

The line to enter the walls was very short. The guards were wearing very high class armor which just went to show the many ores that the people of Terra City had access to. They were able to fit their guards with the best armor needed to defend their city. It also showed that the guards were not some easy push overs that could be ignored. Their laws would be followed.

"Welcome to Terra City, you can find yourself an inn to stay on the surface or you are able to find the same below in the heart of our city. I recommend that you stay within the heart of our city since you will be staying longer and you can avoid having to travel up and down often." The guard was polite and gave extra advice when he realized who was in the group.

Leo seemed to be happily walking ahead and didn't even bother to talk to anyone. But that just seemed to be his style. He walked to the beat of his own drum.

"I will be heading my own way to meet with a few professors from Terra Academy. I understand that you will all be heading there as well. Just keep out of trouble and get some rest today. I understand you may want to explore, but Terra City is larger than you may believe." With that, Professor Wright walked away as well. Now the group found themselves alone. No fourth year and no professor.

"Huh, it feels like we were just ditched." Isa was a little perturbed by this but didn't see any issues in it.

'Well, Ella's brother kind of just wandered in to me when I was training. It seems like he just wanders and involves himself in random things." Maria had felt this way since she met Leo. Ella even nodded with Maria's thoughts.

"That leaves us to head down. We aren't wasting time up here. The real prizes are below, right?" Ralph spoke up with some excitement. It appeared that he was ready to begin getting stronger with the help of any ores he could find. Not to mention blacksmithing potential. It was odd for Ralph to be taking the lead here, but his energy was a bit contagious.

This was a new city after all!