39 Ground Crocodile
Standing back up a full minute after finally escaping from the spider, John took a deep breath and smiled in relief at the lack of pain and numbness. In the last 5 minutes he'd come closer to death than he'd ever thought possible, and he started to go over the entire situation again in his head.
"I shouldn't of run like that, I could've fired Soul Bullets at the ground. They would've traveled through the ground and struck whatever was following me." John said in self recrimination, taking a deep breath and trying to get himself back under control. The more he replayed the entire series of events in his head the more he realized that he'd never been in a Danger Zone by himself before. The anxiety of being forced to deal with this situation alone combined with the lack of information about the trial had robbed him of his usual calmness. Normally, he was able to think logically in the heat of the moment because he'd studied everything that he could encounter in a given situation and visualized what he should do in order to achieve the best possible result. He hadn't done so this time and was suffering because of it.
"While it's not always possible to study every aspect of a situation ahead of time, I need to focus more on my observation skills so that I can act with intelligence instead of instincts even when thrown into unknown situations." John slapped himself on the side of the head and took another deep breath to calm himself down and pushed his self recriminations away. He'd have plenty of opportunity to go over this situation in his head again and again after he left the trial and returned to school. Until then, he might have the opportunity of a life time waiting for him in the room right in front of him.
Closing his eyes, John returned his viewpoint to his doppelganger's. Opening his eyes, he looked around carefully and smiled widely. While he'd been healing the fight had continued. Several Earth Spikes had been shot from the ground, and 2 of the Spider's front legs had been sheared off completely.
Meanwhile, the crocodile was weaving around drunkenly as the poison began to take effect. Now that John could turn his head he finally got a decent look at the monster and his breathing halted as his guess was confirmed.
"A Rank 8, level 3 Ground Crocodile!" John exclaimed in excitement. Over the past couple of months John had continued his quest to memorize the entire encyclopedia and the 15th Volume was focused entirely on monsters and beasts that could literally shake the world. They were considered to be dangers to the world as at the peak of strength they might actually have the power to destroy it.
The Ground Crocodile is a monster that swims through the ground as if it were water. It has an incredible ability to manipulate the Earth Element along with a sturdy body that's difficult to damage, and incredible physical strength. At it's height of strength can dive deep into the Earth and reach the Tectonic Plates. There, it can use its mana to cause incredibly strong earthquakes. In fact, the complete destruction of California and most of the West Coast of the United States of America during the fall could be directly attributed to one of these monsters!
Examining the scene through his doppelgangers eyes, John couldn't help but grin widely as he saw the Man-eating Spider fall to the ground exhausted, blood streaming from it's body.
On the other hand, the Ground Crocodile stood tall, body mostly intact as it limped towards John in order to claim it's prize. Examining the croc closely, John's grin couldn't help but grow wider. Unlike when he caught Snakey, John didn't have anyway to induce a breakthrough in the Ground Crocodile and force it into a coma. Also, the only way he had to hurt it would likely destroy it's soul. If he'd run into this Ground Crocodile any other time he likely would've been forced to kill it and forgo the incredible opportunity that it presented to John but now, with it weakened by poison and covered in wounds from the Man-eating Spider's mandibles he had a chance.
The Ground Crocodile has the ability to sense movement through vibrations of the Earth, it uses this ability to track prey while under ground. John knew that if it was paying attention there was no way he could sneak up on it so he decided not to even try. Instead, he ran out of the corridor and into the room at full speed.
Part of what makes a Ground Crocodile so strong is it's ability to run away at a moments notice. Any time it sensed danger it'd just lower into the ground and disappear, swimming through the ground faster than a cheetah can sprint. That being the case, John decided that his only chance was to take advantage of its wounded and poisoned state to gather some blood and attempt to initiate the contract, drawing it into a battle of soul strength before it knew what'd happened.
Sprinting into the room, John ran past the remnants of the battle and sprinted to the Man-eating Spider's mandibles. Reaching one, he carefully examined it. The Man-eating Spider's blood had a purplish hue and crackled in the air, corroding whatever it touched. The Ground Crocodile's blood however was a redish brown color and as it dried it'd turn into a rock. Using a towel to avoid touching the spider's blood, John carefully turned the mandible over until he found a spot of croc blood and chipped it off with a knife before placing it on one of the growth-type contracts he carried with him at all times.
Standing up, John's legs were shaking in excitement as he inserted his mana into the contract and spoke as loudly and clearly as possible. "I, John Caplin, bind this Ground Crocodile to me. In return for serving me I will protect it to the best of my abilities while ensuring it's continued growth and evolution."
The room went dark all of a sudden and John found himself standing in front of a gargantuan crocodile. It was at least 400 feet tall and 1,000 feet long. With every step it took, the entire world shook. It opened it's massive jaw and lowered it's head to eat John alive. Suddenly, John narrowed his eyes as he realized what was happening.
Monsters with incredibly strong potential had abnormally strong souls, allowing them to gain strength far faster than other monsters. As one of the rarest and potentially strongest monsters in existence of course the Ground Crocodile would possess a strong soul. It was instinctively lashing out after John had tried to contract it. The croc was going to swallow and absorb John's soul, increasing its own strength out of this calamity.
Most low-level Tamer's would've been forced to break the contract and run for their lives while suffering incredible pain from the backlash. However, John was a Soul Cultivator who possessed a powerful attack for his level. Back in reality, John slowly raised his hands and summoned his pistols. The instant before the soul of the Ground Crocodile would swallow him, John fired.
*BANG*
The soul of the Ground Crocidle was forced back, shuddering as it roared in pain.
*BANG*
A few motes of brownish light escaped from the croc's wounded soul and it shrunk slightly.
*BANG*
The motes of light streamed out of the Ground Crocodile at incredible speeds as it shrank to it's size in real life.
Taking a deep breath, John focused on the contract once again and a pure white mote of light floated from his body and entered the Ground Crocodile's wounds. The croc realized that if it didn't accept the contract it'd die, it's soul extinguished. Looking at John with pure hatred for a final moment the croc closed its eyes and accepted its fate.
The wound sealed and the motes of light that had been escaping from his soul turned back around, returning at a glacially slow pace to the Ground Crocodile's soul. As John watched, he realized that it'd take nearly 10 years to completely heal the soul damage. However, that was actually a boon to John as controlling a monster that had a soul so much more powerful than your own was incredibly dangerous.
John didn't believe that with 10 years of training he couldn't improve his soul enough to control the Ground Crocodile, and in the meantime John could build up a rapport with it that would replace it's current hatred with love.
