Spirit Taming

Chapter 90: Enough For Now

The mother horned rabbit fell with a heavy thud. Life had left its eyes. Clark and Maria were left in a cold sweat. Their hearts were pounding while they felt that they were going to be attacked from any angle at any moment.

"That was too much!" Maria was understandably angry. They had nearly been food for a mother horned rabbit that they had attacked without realizing. If they hadn't had the ambush advantage it was very likely that they would have failed and perished here.

'Quest- defeat five horned rabbits in the city outskirts

Reward- 5 gotcha tickets

For exceeding the number of horned rabbits defeated, the host has been awarded one additional gotcha ticket.'

The system surprised Clark with a quest completion. He didn't know where the system had found the extra horned rabbit defeated. It wasn't possible that this mother counted as two." Clark probed the mother horned rabbit looking for answers.

When he noticed a strange slime on the end of the forged cedar spear, he realized that he had also stabbed the egg within the mother horned rabbit. This would have been an abnormal occurrence if it wasn't the season for the horned rabbits to multiply. Being able to defeat one that was going to leave an egg behind was seen as a great accomplishment.

Not only did it slow the reproduction of the horned rabbits, but it also stopped them from being as aggressive. The system had already shown the analysis that the mother horned rabbit was releasing scents in to the air that caused aggression. It was a win win situation.

Clark reached out and stored the mother horned rabbit's body away within the spatial ring. He started to look over his body to ensure he had no damage. What he found were some bruises from rolling around and a few scratches. Nothing real had happened. Maria appeared to be the same.

'

'The gotcha is drawing…

Healing water…

Healing water…

Small soul stone…

Abyssal Iron- legendary

A small piece of iron dragged from the deepest dungeon found on the planet. This dungeon is known for the strange energy that flows through it. Some say it is a complicated mix of all energies while others say it is an entirely new type of energy.

The main focus is that the abyssal iron brought back out by the lucky few can be forged in to the best of the best weapons with the chance to become a mythical weapon. It requires an extremely talented blacksmith to use it.

Healing water…

Blue masquerade mask- common

The blue masquerade mask is a children's mask. It is often worn to costume balls and is perfect for hiding someone's face. It boasts no other discerning characteristics but for the fact that it is a powder blue color.'

The abyssal Iron was something that Clark had never heard of before. He knew it was amazing since it was a legendary material, however, he had no idea just how good it could be. He had never even imagined someone could forge a mythical weapon.

The other items were basic. Clark was fine with having them and using them as he battled and grew. However, the blue masquerade mask was perfect for Maria. "That was a good fight. Here, drink this." Clark handed a bottle of the healing water to Maria. She wouldn't know why it would make her feel better but it would help her grow and that was all that mattered.

"Thank you…wow, this is great. I feel like I have been thirsty forever!" Maria was feeling the healing of the healing water. However, Clark just nodded along.

"We are both pretty out of it after that battle. Some water and rest are important. We should head to the gates. I don't think we should risk another battle like that." Clark started the walk toward the gate in silence. He wasn't sure how to give the blue masquerade mask to Maria without it being strange. He didn't want to be questioned either about where he got the mask.

"H-" Clark was interrupted before he had even begun.

"That battle was lucky. If we had not been prepared and ambushed we would have lost. I know you realized that already so I won't push. But next time, we head back when I ask." Maria threw this out there. Clark didn't say a single word of argument. It was more than fair.

He couldn't force Maria to do whatever he wanted. He had already made her his trusted ally. How could he just ignore her will?

"Then to apologize, how about I give you this? It will work perfectly with your disguise." Clark handed out the powder blue masquerade mask. He was reveling in his cleverness to take advantage of the situation to give it to her.

"This is perfect! Thank you!" Maria put it on right away and then looked at Clark carefully. She was waiting.

"I would say that mask was made just for you. It's just a shame that no one else in the world could match the way you look in it. I feel bad for other people." Luckily, Clark had been able to smooth things through with his quick thinking and words. He was too caught up in how he felt accomplished to notice the bright red Maria's cheeks turned.

Some time later, the guards at the gate caught sight of the two walking. "Looks like you made it back just as you said. Learn a lot?" The guard recognized their outfits but noticed the addition of Maria's new mask.

"Yes. Very informative. The horned rabbits are acting up this season and we had to fight a mother. If we had not been knowledgeable we would have failed. Our teacher is sure to give us another test." Clark made up his lie to cover them.

The guard just smirked. He was building his own story once he noticed how silent Maria was. The addition of the mask and the silence of the female member of their duo? Who wouldn't start imagining a romance of two students under the same body guard teacher? It was too easy.

"Get along you two. That teacher of yours is sure to be looking for you." The guard ushered them away whole Clark breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be safe within the walls. Yet, just as he thought that he had flashbacks of the danger that took his parents' lives. "The walls aren't that safe after all…" His mumbles broke Maria out of her own thoughts.

She had a feeling that she perfectly understood how Clark felt.

"Let's go back to the academy. We can wash up, eat real food, and sleep in a bed. Then we can see what happens when we get back to class." Maria did her best to get Clark on track. She wouldn't let him run circles in his own head.

The pair found a good spot to change clothing before heading to the gate of the academy. They saw an unfamiliar guard that just waved them through. It appeared that the guard of the night shift could care less about students coming back as long as they had the right uniform.

It made Clark feel uncomfortable since it could bring in any manner of intruder. However, he spotted a wide eyed owl beast on a nearby tree and realized that it was memorizing their faces. If anything did happen this guard would be able to give exact descriptions of who had caused trouble. A very wise decision for a guard.