The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 881: Another Branch

Lotus circled the transformed black dragon, and then grabbed Nachtia by the hand to drag her into the back yard.

”Look at the altar that Karl made. Isnʼt it pretty?” She asked.

”It looks like you grew a tree totem, and then he enhanced it with runes? This is quite the piece of work. Just living near it will help you advance, and thatʼs not to mention the extra favour from the Gods that you will get for having a healing totem active in your house.” Nachtia agreed.

”Itʼs also good for the grass. So much softer on the feet than when we moved in. How long are you staying? Did you come to try the coffee?” Lotus inquired eagerly.

”Coffee? Dwarven Coffee is a harsh thing, but the Demons must make something different if youʼre so excited about it.” Nachtia asked.

”Oh, itʼs so good. We will have to go to the boardwalk and see all the things. Why donʼt I take you on a tour of the city? We can grab Thor and Tessa and make it a full outing.”

”I take it that the one known as Thor is the Red Dragon Clericʼs bonded knight?” Nachtia replied with a smile as she followed Lotus back to the front of the house.

”Sort of. Technically, heʼs one of Karlʼs bonded partners, and was a Lightning Cerro before he evolved to become an Overlord. But theyʼre together a lot.” Lotus winked as she finished the sentence, and the black dragon smirked.

Whether he was someone elseʼs bonded partner or not, it did sound like he was certain to become the Red Dragon Clericʼs knight.

Inside, everyone had gathered in the shop, which had no customers at the moment.

”These are all my people.” Lotus explained, then went around the group, introducing everyone to Nachtia.

When they got to Thor and Tessa, Nachtia smiled at the protective way that he was standing by her shoulder, then examined him more closely.

”Some sort of behemoth? An Impenetrable Bulwark Behemoth, I believe. I have felt that skill before, but an Overlord and still so young. Not even three years old yet, but very soon. You have a bright future ahead of you, Mister Thor. Take good care of your cleric.” She greeted him.

Thor smiled at her. ”Have you met our Cara yet?”

Nachtia nodded, confused by the sudden change of topics, but Cara knew what he meant.

[Turns out, all black dragons taste the same.]

Karl rescued her before someone gave too many details. ”The Winged Void Badger has a thing for dragons. She likes to bop them on the nose and tease them, so theyʼll chase her around.”

Nachtia giggled softly, a noise that had a haunting echo, as if coming from another realm and not a small transformed dragonkin body.

But the noise made Tessa laugh as well.

”It seems your god still approves of small, fearless things.” She joked.

”Indeed. I wonder if she could convince Karl to tour the northern Island with me? There are so many out of control monster and beast zones that the God wants the black clerics to bring back into balance, but theyʼre all Overlord and Totem Ranked, and finding Totem Ranked assistants is such a pain.

However, I did notice that Karl has some truly powerful skills that might level the battlefield.” The black dragon cleric suggested.

The others looked concerned, but Karl considered that for a bit. If he could get even a few Totem Ranked beast kills, Rae would have more variety for her next advancement, and they would have food above their own Rank again.

That had been a huge factor in their rapid advancement in the past.

If they could keep eating food with complex and dense power in it, their bodies would more easily adapt to the next Rank when they reached the bottleneck, Karl theorized. It wasnʼt completely certain, but the evidence all pointed towards it working.

”I think that there should be a chance for us to do it. Just perhaps not right away. Unless I leave a few of my bonded partners here, I am still needed around the Guild House for the crafting at least a day or two every week.

Though, Davis could put them in the branchʼs Guild Bank and I would be able to do the Runecrafting wherever I was, if we werenʼt in danger.”

Nachtia considered that. ”You still have to be close enough to another branch to get access, though. Is there a branch of your Guild on the north island?”

Karl shrugged. ”There was a thing, and I was assigned by the System to the Darklight Host Guild. So, I donʼt know if there are any other branches active. When I try to search for other Guild members or branches, I donʼt see anything.”

She understood the issue right away. ”A Legendary Guild. Unless they are granted entry by the Gods, there is no way for anyone but a branch manager to recruit members. So, itʼs quite likely that there are no more active branches right now, unless a member from the last resurgence is still alive.”

Karl nodded. ”There is a bronze dragon, who was young at the time. But heʼs on another continent entirely, and the Guild System hasnʼt awakened there.”

Nachtia frowned. ”Well, I might be able to check. Iʼm from Marres, on the north coast of the North Continent. Definitely too far for the Guild Bank function to work. If I use the Guild function to search for the Darklight Host near my home location...”

She paused, and then her eyes went wide.

”Uh, you have Guild members on the North Island. In the nation of Cyhosasa there is a branch of the Darklight Host. But Iʼm not sure that you want to meet them. There are only two listed members of the branch, and one of them is Supreme Lady Matilda.”

Karl shrugged. ”I have no idea who that is.”

Nachtia rolled her eyes. ”A Hundred-thousand-year-old Supreme Rank Chaos Dragon? Any clue now? Oh, right, you didnʼt grow up on this continent. You know how parents tell children horror stories before bed to make them behave? Sheʼs the one who created most of them, just for fun.

Sheʼs insane, unpredicable, definitely not safe. She doesnʼt even run the country, even though she existed before it was formed. She just hangs out in the capital, causing chaos every so often when she gets bored.”

[...]

[Yes, Cara. We will go visit the dragon one day.]

The Black Dragon misinterpreted his hesitation and continued. ”Donʼt worry about her attacking. Sheʼs not malicious in that way, and Iʼm sure she wonʼt take offence to someone else being in the Guild.”

Karl smiled and shook his head. ”I was thinking that Cara might have found a new friend. She also enjoys causing chaos for personal amusement.”