Spirit Taming

Chapter 489: Cave Pools

Following the water dribbling down the sides of the cave system and on to the floor, the group started to notice the addition of a more slippery terrain. "I didn't think that there would be this much slime on the rock walls and floors.' Maria had been steady so far but she saw a lot of added danger here.

"Only caves that have this environment for years will progress to this state. There are beasts that can travel through them without hindrance." Purple knew of many rock and water type beasts that had the water affinity solely to move through these kinds of caves.

"I saw one of them in the city before we left. It was called a mud strider. They specifically developed feet that are longer to spread weight around slimy or muddy surfaces. Similar to the water strider insect but this one has a rock like shell on its body." Clark recalled a few of the beasts he had seen but the mud strider was the most specific example of what Purple and Maria had brought up.

"I doubt we will find those here. This is going to be too deep for them. Those beasts enjoy larger caves that are closer to the surface. Warmer caves." Purple showed off a little more knowledge of Terra City and its beasts. These would be good little bits and pieces to learn for Maria and Clark.

It sounds like the water is falling up ahead." Clark caught the unusual sound of water and began to move forward more carefully.

When the three of them got to the area where they could all hear the water, they were given an interesting sight to look at. Where most people would have imagined a flowing underground stream or river, the group had found many large pools.

The large pools of very slow moving water seemed to go on forever since the distant pools were too dim to make out properly. This stretch of cave had many tougher rocks that had not worn away creating them as the water had flowed over many years.

"I have no idea if we are deep enough, but there is a lot of water here that doesn't seem to flow away. Now we just need to hunt for vibrant green algae and the jade worms." Clark knew that this was the best place to start their search. He was also very surprised by the clarity of the water.

Because the water had filtered through the earth, it had come out very clean and clear. It was already easy to guess that it might be safer to drink than the average stream water. Not that any of them were imagining dipping their heads in to take a drink. Clark was already using his analysis skill to check out all the little things he could see moving around in the nbearest pool of slow moving water.

'Pale shrimp- common

One of the most common beasts that lives in any fresh or saltwater cavern pool, these pale shrimp are best fed to any water type beast. They will often live in larger groups and will never grow larger than a few inches.

They lack battle ability unless targeting very small fish type beasts as food but prefer to eat any plant material that is within the water. They are much faster than they look making them considered a ghost to some that glance them out of the corner of their eye…'

The description went on about how to catch them more easily and their favorite environments. But that wasn't what Clark was here to learn. He did know that if there were a lot of these pale shrimp here that it would mean they would never find the jade worms. The pale shrimp would easily eat all the vibrant green algae leaving the jade worms without the ability to live here.

"We should get away from those spots. The water is entering here so there won't be many jade worms or vibrant green algae.

The pale shrimp have eaten everything and I am sure if we hang around this spot that a predator will be around soon." Clark was a little excited now that they had a better way to determine how close they might be to the right pool or the right place in general to find the beast they were after.

"What's that plant?" Maria knew that whatever she didn't know she could most likely trust Clark to know. She had spotted an odd semi clear but partially white plant in the next pool when she had been trying to determine if they were in a good spot or not.

"Glassy mushroom. They are a little rare and don't need anything much to grow. They also only grow under the water. It makes them have a strong water affinity. They might be good for Isa and Grace to take and feed to their beasts.

I'm not sure if Ella's beast would like it at all." Clark knew that this was only rarer because the mushrooms often got eaten by beasts then the spores spread from that action. Therefore, a full glassy mushroom was rare to find.

"I don't see anything else around." Purple helped Maria and Clark pull the mushroom from the water quickly. Their actions caused a few ripples but nothing appeared from the pool they had been interested in.

When the glassy mushroom was out of the water, it looked like it had a little better white color and shape. It was very interesting how the water made it seem more translucent. Clark wondered if this was the same for Devi when he was invisible or for Jerold when his chameleon shared its skill to turn him invisible. It would be worth testing for the future.

Smoke or mist might make it more dangerous to use such skills.

With that thought put to the side, Clark began moving forward. That was until the three saw some ripples ahead. They had no idea what might be in the pool but with how much water there was, it was better to figure it out without getting too close. They all knew that there was a lot of danger to be had if any one of them fell in to a pool.

Who knew what beasts were hiding in ambush under rocks or in the shadows of the water.

With a single hand signal to crouch, Clark crept forward to get a good look. When he saw the beast using a small pieces of underwater plant to cause ripples on the top of the water, he was impressed by the way that it was hunting.

'Pool trap crab- uncommon

The pool trap crab is exactly what it sounds like. It can adapt to many different water type environments. They live in many places all over the world. Their adaptability also plays along with their intelligence.

Most famous for baiting other beasts in to water pools with common objects or plants, they will use their very sharp claw to pierce the beast and kill it or steal a part of its body as food. Their tough shell will often protect them from any follow up attack on a larger prey or from being hunted.

Their lifespans are very short which keeps them from overpopulating. This also makes their market price very flexible when sold.

The growth potential is small but because they can adapt to multiple environments, they have been known to gain weak earth, fire, or light affinities depending on the climate of their environment. This means that the pool trap crabs hunted in different environments were better for certain beasts to eat to help them improve.'

"Just a pool trap crab. But I am going to catch it quickly. It's pretty large so it should be a good meal for all of us after this." Clark knew that they had been moving through the caves for more than just a few hours. Some food would be a good change of pace. They could use fiore energy crystals to cook the food.

While wasteful with the fire type energy, using fire type crystals to cook in a cave was much safer than trying to light some small sticks on fire. If they did not have proper ventilation the group could suffocate themselves.

With a single strike of his spear, the pool trap crab caused a great deal of splashing and ripples along the large water pool before Clark brought it up. Its size was impressive meaning it had been there for a while. However, the secret bonus of it being there for a while had been the cut off route of the pale shrimp.

They could not pass by this pool so the pools passed here would be better for the jade worm.

"You made enough noise to attract something else." Purple clenched his fist and dashed forward. When he reached his opponent, Clark and Maria were surprised to see what he had just punched. Anyone would be since they would not expect to miss a larger beast like this.