Spirit Taming

The goal to move toward the large tree was proving tough. The group did not encounter any other rotting orcs but did encounter a growing tough terrain. The mud was proving to be the worst here. Without the roots of the tees to properly bind the dirt, the soil was loose.

This was mainly because the roots of the trees that were around were rotten. They had become part of the coil altogether. Especially since the grasses and small plants in the fields were also changing. A lot of them had died off while new ones had begun to grow. This was just the changes that the dungeon had been going through for some time.

This was being exasperated by the rain which was now being whipped around by a breeze. It was enough to show off the fact that dungeons were their own world. The storms that happened were almost an additional challenge. One that made everyone that entered fear the dungeon and the dangers it held.

"We are nearly there. I think we will have a little trouble though. There have already been four lightning strokes on that tree. It’s tough though." Isa had been watching the attacks of the lightning on the one green and prospering tree in the entire dungeon. The one tree that was tough enough to be known as the center of the dungeon that all maps were based off of.

"I assume it will be some special wood. I will evaluate it when we get there. Before we face the orcs I want to see what it is made out of. There may be unique materials there." Clark’s intuition was telling him that this had to be the case.

How could a tree withstand the rot, weather, and orcs so easily? It had to have some sort of special quality. It might even have a connection with the dungeon core that had been created when the dungeon appeared. It might have a lot of hidden potentials.

Well, here are some of its roots. We made it close enough." The space surrounding the tree was very large. The roots had ensured that only it grew for some time. That meant the grasses were less so and the fallen trees were not around. It was a clearing that was good for battle and for camping out.

"I see that there are some mud flows toward the tree. That should be why it is growing so large. It has been nourished constantly by the rotting trees and other things here. An ideal fertilization method that the dungeon must have a hand in naturally." Ella was recording thus down as a dungeon fact. One thing that would be great to use in her theory reports.

"Time to take a look then." Clark jogged to the tree and realized that it was littered with pieces of its branches that had fallen due to the lightning. He first looked carefully at the tough and gnarled trunk of the massive tree.

’Mammoth tree- rare

The mammoth tree is one that requires excessive nutrients to grow to an adult size. The mammoth tree rarely grows anywhere but in dungeons. This is due to the higher energy and nutrient quality of dungeons. Because it grows so large, the branches are often used for tough wooden armor that rivals some metals. It also has the ability to take on energy characteristics due to its longer lifespan.’

"This is interesting, Clark explained what the tree was and what it could do. Ella and Isa were fawning over the recording of this while Maria was distracted by something else.

"Clark, you should take a look at this. The pieces of branches on the ground are weird. I don’t want to touch them." Lit seemed to have been the one that deterred Maria from touching the branches. It appears that she was able to sense the energy within them.

’Lighting infused wood- ultra rare

The lightning that has struck this branch through the years had infused within it. This is an ideal material for a multi elemental beast. One that can use lightning and grow by absorbing the energy. It is very recommended to have the beast that absorbs this also have the proper affinities before absorbing it due to the tongue ess of lightning energy.’

"Ha! This is great. These are all lightning infused wood. It means that we can take them all. How could this not be in the notes? Is it because the lightning storms are so rare? Or because no one hangs out around the tree during a storm?" The joy that Clark had after discovering the wood was suddenly taken away by his own words.

He had managed to raise the question. Where did the lightning infused wood go when there was no one here to collect it? How could the lightning infused wood just disappear? "Clark, we can collect it, but we need to deal with that first." Isa had fallen in to a battle stance.

None of them had heard the approaching orc. The massive approaching orc that had clearly been through many battles as it traveled. Scars covered its body from head to toe. There was a yellow glint in its eyes showing that it was completely alive. Not only this but it had a few smaller orcs around it had were clearly fallen orcs and not rotting orcs.

’Lightning orc- ultra rare

The lightning orc is a natural wonder. A beast that should not be tough enough to absorb the lightning type energy but was able to anyways. Its thick skin protects it from the damage of lighting as it absorbs the lightning in to its body.

This had toughened the body and made its attacks possess some lighting damage. On top of this, it is slightly faster than any other fallen orc. It is also the reason why the lightning orc and the fallen orcs around it resist the rotting of the other orcs. The lightning caused the rot to burn away leaving more scar tissue on its skin. This, in turn, toughens the skin more.

The lightning orc is strong in the storm environment due to the energies within the storm. Water, fire, and wind, come together to make the lighting which is able to create unique characteristics. The only downside of having a lighting affinity is the weakness against the earth...’

There was much more but Clark had no time to read. He had to explain what was coming their way.

"I will need you three to handle the smaller orcs. They are exiled orcs. They have the strength that we should have faced since we came in to this dungeon. Their skin is scarred and tougher than other orcs. Be ready. I will handle the lightning orc. It is tough and weak to earth energy. That is why I want Isa and Ella to help me when you are done. Until then, I will hold it off."

The lightning infused wood collection could wait. The group had walked right in to the territory of the big boss of this dungeon. The beast that could easily crush most timers that came in. "Crim, be ready to dodge, this is faster than the other orcs. Devi, hide away and look for weak points. You will need to use your chilling bite to sap its energy. Just avoid lighting attacks." Clark’s orders sent Crim and Devi in to action.

Clark had not noticed that Devi had fully assimilated the baby dragon bones and nearly all of the baby dragon teeth. The changes made his body more defined. There were spikes that formed along Crim’s spine which would normally be on a baby dragon. They would tear in to any beast that toughed him.

The sudden addition of laughter around the rocs caused the smaller fallen orcs to pull away from the large lightning orc. This gave the three girls the chance to separate them fully. It also allowed for Clark to slap his spear down on one of the thick tree roots and attract the lightning orc.

Naturally, the lightning orc was not happy to have others in its territory. The pig like roar that came from its mouth was enough to show Clark he was facing his toughest opponent yet. To reinforce this, the lightning orc’s charge was much faster than Clark expected.

The orc charged him with speed that left Clark with the only choice but to roll away. The sudden stoppage of the orc also put Clark more on edge. The orc controlled its body very well. "That must be the lighting energy. It can control its body better with the energy under its control." The system didn’t even need to tell Clark this. He remembered from his past life that living things had electrical impulses in their body. Lightning beasts had to know this to a degree.

"Crim, aim for the heels. They look weaker. If we can cut them we will have an advantage." Clark and Crim prepared to attack while Devi returned from luring the exiled orcs away. The lightning orc demanded all three of them to fight.