The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 772  Hiring

The gossip mill turned out to be their strongest ally in the search for employees.

Out of curiosity, Mage Jonesʼ daughter came to see what they were up to, and before she had even finished talking to her father, a small group of people arrived together with hopeful expressions.

”How can I help you today?” Karl asked, motioning them to come in off the street.

”We heard that you might be looking for workers.” The man who led the group into the compound explained, bowing slightly and flaring his large black feathered wings that perfectly matched his long hair.

”That was fast. How did word spread already?” Karl asked.

”Youʼre talking in the yard next to a guard station.” The man replied simply.

He had an excellent point. They werenʼt being secretive about their activities, and Karl had openly told the Guard what they were planning, so he should have expected them to pass the word on. Especially with so many people out of work until their employer rebuilt.

Assuming the previous employers did rebuild instead of trying for something that they thought might be more successful.

”What position are you looking for?” Karl asked.

”I have the Merchant class, which is good for all sorts of trade and sales jobs. But I was hoping that you might have a managerial position available. I have references that can be verified and a stable history in the city.” Karl looked at the boring beige colour of the manʼs name in the System interface.

”Alright, Davis. I think that we can have an interview.” Karl agreed, then took out the Sword of Champions and three green Mana Jade rings. Only two of which were activated, though all three were carved with runes.

”Please give me a valuation for all of these items.”

The Merchant laughed. ”We have two hundred gold coins, two hundred gold coins, fifteen gold coins? Why is that? Oh, that one isnʼt active, itʼs just carved. And then...

Thatʼs not a number. That canʼt be a valuation. I have no idea how to value that blade. It appears to be worth more than my skills are capable of determining.

However, if I were purchasing it, I would value it as a Monarch Rank Epic blade, which is Eleven hundred Gold wholesale purchase, and nineteen hundred gold for resale.”

Karl smiled and put all the items back in storage. ”So, you have a System Skill that tells you the real value. That is very convenient.”

Davis smiled. ”Yes and no. It only works with System linked items. For common items, itʼs a separate skill for valuation, and it just gives me a condition and quality. I reference that against recent sales prices in the city to come up with a number.

That can be a bit unreliable in a hot market, but I have a lot of experience.”

”Please wait for the rest of the team to come out. They will give me their opinion before a final decision is made.”

Then Karl turned to the others waiting behind him.

They were all similarly violet skinned with curled horns and short tails extending from their skirts. The outfits looked like they were uniforms from some shop, so they must have worked together.

”And who might you all be? I can see that you all worked together.” Karl asked.

The tallest of the young women stepped forward. ”We were the kitchen staff at the Abalone Grill. It was next to the market in the Sprawl. The boss got a new spot in the towers, but he decided that heʼs not going for a restaurant this time, but a seafood wet market.

So, weʼre all out of work. But we have practice with a full menu, including baked goods.”

Karl whistled, and Lotus stuck her head out a window, unable to resist knowing what was going on.

”Hey Lotus, come down here and talk to these chefs. If theyʼre good, they can work in our kitchen.”

Lotus quickly grabbed the applicants and pulled them around the back of the house, where she could make ingredients for them in the kitchen to test their skills.

Hopefully, a practical test was part of the usual hiring process for cooks, and they wouldnʼt be offended.

From the sounds in the kitchen, Lotus didnʼt have any major problems with their applicants. So, Karl began preparing for the evening.

The others were still busy inside, but Karl decided to just go ahead and give the Appraiser the job. If things didnʼt work out, they could always fire him later. But he appeared to be quite competent at his job.

”Davis, do you have somewhere to stay tonight, or will you be moving into the house?” Karl asked.

Davis smiled. ”My grandmother lives at the Castle, and I am currently caring for her in the evenings, as her age is catching up to her. Thank you for your consideration, and I may wish to stay here if business is especially hectic some days, but I do not require full-time lodging.”

Karl nodded. ”Let us know if anything we have can help your grandmother. You will find that we can offer generous employee discounts. If you can be back by nine tomorrow morning, we will be starting to stock the shop.”

Davis bowed and flared his wings for balance, an act that made Cara want to know what they felt like. Hawk was sure that feathers felt like feathers, but the motions were the part he was interested in. Being humanoid was hard, but the appraiser was good at being a human with wings.

Davis left for the Castle with a powerful flap of his wings, and a few minutes later, Karl turned to the mage and his daughter.

”So, Miss Jones. I hear that youʼre interested in becoming a Runesmith or similar form of Artisan.” Karl began.

The girl nodded happily. ”Yes, Sir. Iʼve always loved working with magic. Iʼm already a Commander Rank mage, but I havenʼt taken an official trade skill yet. I have been looking for one that was just right. But you can enhance jewellery and weapons, like an Inscriptionist can do paper scrolls and books. That is wonderful.

I love magic, and I really love new magic. Nobody else I know can do what you do. I even bought one of your rings from Royal Jewellers and tried to replicate it, but no matter how I write it, it simply doesnʼt work.”

Karl laughed as her face turned bitter and sad at the end.

”Thatʼs because you need the appropriate skill for the ability to work. Itʼs the difference between copying the pages of a Skill Book and actually making a Skill Book.” Karl explained.

”You can make skill books?” She asked, startled.

”Well, yes. But thatʼs a whole different topic. I have a skill to let me make them of skills I can use. But thatʼs not new magic, is it? I can teach you that if you would like, but I donʼt need an apprentice Skill Book Maker. Well, not full-time, but I would happily sell skill books if you made them.”

Mage Jones, the girlʼs father, laughed quietly. ”The Governor would box your ears. All skill books have to be sold through the city Library. Itʼs a security measure to keep people from selling forbidden dark magic in the city.”

Senior Jones, the Magma dragon, winked at Karl. ”If you happen to have an interesting one, I might be willing to purchase it outside the city.”

Karl smiled. ”I will keep you in mind if I happen to have a good one. There is a Ghostfire Thunderbird among my friends, and he knows some lovely fire skills. I am a bit short on Earth Element skills, though.”

The Magma Dragon shrugged. ”Come talk to me after youʼre settled. Iʼm sure we can work something out.”