Spirit Taming

"You will not kill to kill, you will take the materials from the beasts you defeat. If you are found to be killing to kill and entertain yourselves, the ruler of this dungeon will kill you." This rule was abnormal, but if this was what the Nebula citizens had to follow to be able to sue this dungeon, then so be it. No one felt that this rule was ridiculous.

"Do not attack the ruler or the ruler’s children. You will know them when we see them." This was a harder rule to abide by. However, if it was so easily seen that they would know, Clark did not care. He also had the analysis of the system. That meant that he would have the advantage of being able to see the hidden information. Specifically, if they were children of the ice dragon here.

"You may leave at any time. However, you may not leave without lowering your head and thanking the ruler of the dungeon. Respect is important and even offering additional praise is recommended." This made Clark want to laugh but he bit his tongue. The dragon species were all thought to be prideful, but making an actual rule to praise it was too much.

"Finally, do not insult the ruler. If you do, you will find that you are damning more than just yourself but potentially the entire group brought in to the dungeon. That means you are not to touch anything the ruler owns without permission. If you see the ruler, ensure the utmost respect. It is a blessing to see it." the last elder sounded like he had been in this situation before.

"Understood. My group will remain respectful and follow these rules as best as we can. And if we meet the ice dragon ruler of this dungeon, I will personally thank it for the chance to see the place it calls home." Clark was acting very grandiose here. It was much more calm and put together than he usually acted. But the elders appeared to be at ease which made the rest of the group understand the higher and mighty tone.

The elders gave way to the group and pointed out the third entrance in the line. The tunnel seemed to be an open and chilling place. The ice on the side were a dark blue that made Clark wonder just what the dungeon would be like. However, as they left, the elders started their own conversation.

"You heard that, right? They were betting on how many people could escape this time." Maria sounded angry rather than afraid. It made Clark proud knowing just how much she had changed after she gave up her fears of being weak to create her own strength through her friendships and hard work.

"They were. I heard those old bastards too." Ralph was grinding his teeth. He wanted to turn around and beat them to a pulp.

"That’s just how they are. The reward was a choice to take. We also got many elemental crystals that would have cost a fortune each. They were enough to make anyone gain a great amount of strength in general." Reese seemed less perturbed by this. It seemed that his elders would offer opportunities to learn in his family to get further in swordsmanship rather than plain rewards.

"Ignore them. I am sure that some people will be turning around after they walk in. you can all feel it already, right? The breeze, that’s not just a breeze." The tunnel was the passageway to the dungeon. Yes, there were four entrances, but who said that dungeons made sense?

The energies of existence or the world or whatever it was made no sense to them anyways. Trying to figure out how dungeons came to be would just hurt their heads. Instead, they were facing the chance to get stronger and that was all they should focus on.

Outside the passageway, a large white plain of icy winds and snow showed itself. In The distance a large carved ice castle showed above the snow cloaked in a faint blue aura. It was much more intimidating than anyone had imagined. However, it also showed that the greatest things in life had to be taken through challenge, not through easy means.

"Thank the gods that we have this fur and new clothes." Brad was bouncing in place a little to stay warm. The only other people that showed they were struggling with the cold were Ralph, Reese, and Isa. It was surprising to see that Isa struggled. But even more of a surprise to see that Jerold was more or less fine. He had taken the straining against the cold much more seriously than the others had.

"I like it here." Ella calmly took a look around as she examined everything she could before they started moving toward the obvious location ahead of them.

"It’s easy to see the enemy and learn from the kind of beast that lives here? Is that what you’re thinking?" Clark knew that Ella must have been thinking that she could learn a lot since the beasts would be against a white background and easily viewed. Unfortunately, that basic thought was wrong and Ella would understand it quickly. "Then tell me, where is the beast that is about to attack us? Anyone?"

’Ice imp- common

Living in many of the icy areas of the north, the ice imps are considered one of the lowest of the low beasts. They will avoid large groups of people unless then think they can attack and drag away food under the snow. They primarily use their sharp ice claws to tear away at their prey.

They are weak when it comes to their bodies and lack a lot of muscles. But this makes them able to easily bury themselves in snow. It also makes them faster. They will often not grow taller than three feet and are often at odds with goblins when it comes to the change of the seasons in areas that will be icy in the cooler months. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

They have the potential to grow in to other beasts but no one ever raises them unless they are using them for ambushes or specific reasons. They can make decent guards of ice type herbs if they are raised to defend a small portion of land. They can easily eat pests...’

The ice imp was a weak beast and Clark had no plans when it came to attack it. He felt it was a better lesson for everyone to see the changes in the snow where the ice imp was hiding. Even without the system analysis, Clark could spot the difference in the snow that had been moved from a perfect wind swept area to a slight pile. It was just a bonus of being influenced by dragon energy. His eyes were much sharper now that he had begun to understand the energy at its core.

"Of course I can see it. It isn’t hiding very well, but why is it so small?" Grace was the first to speak up as drew the rapier that Isa had found her. Using multiple weapons had changed how Grace fought. She could use a bow, a saber, and a rapier easily. It was only at the basics level but the changes in each style would bring her well above others. Adding in the fact that she was learning the whip from Ella would stop many from underestimating her if they knew of her flexibility in battle.

"Then handle it." Clark watched as the ice imp felt threatened and leaped from the snow toward Grace. Its screeching was similar to the howl of an ice storm. But the teeth were not as blue as the ice it could live near. They were rotten. The pale face was blue but also had small bits of white scarring. A beast in the wild of a dungeon was sure to show it.

Unfortunately, the leap of the ice imp had been right in to a prepared Grace. She just exerted a little force in to a single piercing attack and the blue eye of the ice imp was pierced through in to its head. "Well, that’s one way to show off." Maria whistled a little because she had barely managed to see the ice imp before Grace had made her move.

"That was an ice imp. It is useless when it comes to materials because they are weak. But they are great for attracting stronger beasts. Not enough to cause us trouble but we can use it to attract a crystal ice lizard. They aren’t actually crystals but the ice on their backs is similar to crystals and is hard to melt. They are very rare to come across in warmer areas and can make a room ice cold for three to five days while melting." Ella showed off her knowledge as she took the ice imp’s body.

"Then we should keep an eye out for more. If we find a few more we can bait some good beasts. This also lets us use them for something rather than just selling them when we get out." Isa didn’t see an issue. This was a small price to pay to find an ever more valuable material. Clark just watched as everyone switched in to their more alert mindsets. Now they knew the true dangers were hiding from them very well.