Spirit Taming

Chapter 573: Clear Sight

The fact that there were easily fifty of the brilliant snails over the larger bed of bleeding moss than they could see was very important. Simply because this could be a great way for Maria to work on her alchemical strength. She had to start somewhere, if her first potion wasn't a basic healing potion, why not one using this and crystalized wild ginger? It could potentially help their minds grow.

A great benefit to say the least.

Where this took a darker turn was the fact that there were so many in this deep wilderness which was barely a half day's worth of travel to the forest territory of Nova City. if this bleeding moss grew more in to the forest, it could cause a large disturbance within the forest.

If the brilliant snails covered themselves in the bleeding moss sap and moved in to the forest, that was also an issue. Regardless of the beasts and humans that would perish because of them, there was also the fact of them being discovered.

Many humans already hunted them near extinction. The fight for the brilliant snail's shells would be massive. People would hunt them and fight each other to do it. This would cause a rush of tamers that traveled to the violent jungle.

While it would be good to claim this land as Nova City territory, this was not the right time. The corrupted families in charge would also send people. They would kill and crush any others that tried to make profits or use the valuable items here. Therefore, it would end in death more likely than not.

"If there is any reason to stop the mist that is coming out of the steamy plains dungeon, we won't stop it. If we do, people might discover this before we have a chance to clean Nova up." Clark said this out loud as he watched Brad start to harvest more of the brilliant snails. He knew that it was better to say this out loud now rather than later.

"Well why would anyone act smart? We all knew that the second you said these were barely extinct that this would be another thing to worry about." Maria just sighed a little before elbowing Clark. She was teasing him, but that was just because he had started to worry too much.

"We should just get to the dungeon. I don't need a bunch of snails when we could fight real opponents." Ralph's energy was starting to get the better of him. He wanted to have a proper challenge and see just how strong he was right now. Especially since he had the added energy of the dragon welp being passed to him through his bonds.

"I hate to rush this, but Ralph is right. We should push forward. Clark, you know where we are going, lead the way while we pick up some more of these on the way." Isa made it look like she didn't care about the value of these brilliant snails. But Clark gave her a quick glare since he saw her hands coated in ice to protect her from touching them.

She had been using the ice from her winter witch to easily grab on to toxic herbs and other things like the brilliant snails which were covered in the bleeding moss sap. That way she didn't risk getting it on her at all. It was a smart work around for her to be safer. But she clearly had harvested the most brilliant snail shells out of anyone in the group.

"These are for Maria. She is going to learn medicine from alchemy. I should help her gather the right materials she needs." It was only a slight push back which made everyone laugh a little since Isa would definitely try and sell them if she could. Once a merchant, always a merchant. No matter where she was.

"I would be much more focused on the fact that the mist is thicker this way. If my cloud sprite was not working harder, then we would have lost more visibility." Ella wanted to take notes about the bleeding moss and brilliant snails. This was important information that would help them in the future. Unfortunately, the environment was more of a focus of them.

"That's because it's a tree!?" Reese was surprised. His spirit steel sword slashed out and hit the bark off a tree. It somehow had attracted mist making it seem that they had gotten closer to the steaming plains dungeon. But here they were, no closer than what they had been a moment before.

'Sprouting bark- rare

The sprouting bark is a tree native to many misty jungles. They grow with many of their seeds within their bark which is extremely abnormal for a tree. When they flower, it is only at the tops of the leaves directly in the sun, many people can not see this without a flying beast.

The pollen and seeds are carried through the tree and in to the bark where they start to grow. When the colder seasons come, the bark sheds off and the seeds are protected by the bark until the seasons warm.

When that occurs, the bark degrades rapidly so that the seedlings can use it as food to grow. This odd process leaves many of the seedlings needing water due to their quick growth. Due to this, the sprouting bark has developed fine hairs on the bark to attract mist and moisture from the air. It is considered a very good material to make rot resistant tools from.'

"This is a grove of sprouting bark. It's one of the trees we will see a lot of in the violent jungle since it is the perfect place for them to grow." Clark was about to speak but Ella had been faster. She knew this type of tree just in general. She had learned it from one of the many books she had read in life.

"Exactly. It's pretty good for making rot resistant things from. If we find fallen branches we can save them for Isa to sell to a carpenter." Clark saw that Isa was a little happier hearing that she was still being considered. It also took some of the pressure off of her as she helped harvest the brilliant snails.

"Grace, can you make the smallest of breeze coming from above us and down? I can see some leaves moving above us since Ella's cloud sprite is helping us see." with the breeze that they could see, it meant that they could let Grace clear the mist slightly with wind. It wouldn't alert beasts if it was a downward breeze.

"Really? Let's make this place a little better." The sudden cool breeze that came from above them made the mist swirl and shift away from their group. Ella's cloud sprite also helped make this easier.

The refreshing cool air made the entire area around the group easier to see through. This brought a lot more of the bleeding moss to be seen with many more brilliant snails. But what really stood out was the wide open area.

The sprouting bark tree clearly had been moving in recently and not over the course of many years. This was because their size was small. They had started to reclaim a space that had been cut down for a camping spot near the dungeon. The cut stumps rotting in the ground and partially covered with bleeding moss were perfect evidence.

Furthermore, the group could see where the plant life had still not begin to grow in to the oldest spots were the dirt had been pressed down by tents, campfires, and other activities when the steaming plains had been explored.

"Is that the dungeon?" Jerold spotted the odd hole in the group before anyone else. They had all expected that the dungeon would be the normal rocky opening with a door or gate. But instead, there was a hole in the ground that had steam leaving it slowly.

"I would say that is the place." The group moved carefully without stepping on any of the brilliant snails. When they made it to the dunedin, Clark saw the first quest completion. It had been simpler moving through the shifting mists than he expected. If they hadn't had Ella, it surely would have been the case.

'Survival sub quest- shifting mists- completed

Due to the current survival chain quest, a sub quest has been created.

Requirement: maneuver the mists and make it toward the steaming plains dungeon to explore and train.

Reward: one basic gotcha ticket, one small fire energy crystal.'

Knowing that he had one reward to collect made Clark very happy. A small fire energy crystal had appeared within his spatial ring and he could easily hand it over to Ella for Isa to use. Ralph would even benefit from it. But he was more excited to take a gamble on the basic gotcha ticket. He was becoming a bit of a gambling addict lately, not that it was a bad thing to win rewards.