The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 933: Strange State Of Events

That was how Karl and the others ended up in a Dwarven Tavern deep within the mountain, drinking ale and sitting around a seemingly endless supply of meat and potatoes that the server just kept adding dishes to.

{How long has the weather been wet that itʼs pushing so many monsters south?} Remi asked as she picked a potato out of the pile.

Petros shrugged. ”About three months now. The wet season has been much heavier than usual. Theyʼll likely go back when things dry up, but there is more food down here than in the desert, so we might have to chase them off.”

A dwarf at the next table over laughed. ”I donʼt think itʼll be that hard to get them to leave. Itʼs almost winter, and theyʼre Sand Yeti. Once the snow starts flying, theyʼll bugger off right quick.”

The other dwarves began to laugh at the thought of Sand Yeti in the mountains over the winter.

”Weʼre not the only ones that have it hard this year. Gabil has had a population boom among their beasts and feral monsters. They have been getting monster spawns for the last year, and the monsters that come out of those are all insane, even when they should be intelligent.

But now, theyʼre breeding, and half the country is overrun.

Not that it was highly populated to begin with, but the danger level there is so bad that even Bomgon stopped attacking. If the Undead think that you arenʼt worth attacking, things have gotten bad.

But I heard that theyʼve got Undead roaming as well, looking for the lost System Stones.” The dark-haired Dwarf laughed.

”Looking for the System Stones?” Karl asked.

”Oh, do you not know the story? Get Elder Petros to tell it, heʼs good with the old stories.”

Petros chuckled and a number of the dwarves turned to face him, while the waitress brought a refill for his ale.

”In the distant past, before the last resurgence, it is said that the land of Dragon Lord Gabil, southwest of Naraleddum Lake, a circle of stone pillars once stood. The centre was made of solid gold, imbued with the power of the World Dragon.

Any who stood upon the holy altar would be blessed with his luck. Some would activate a System Class, despite lacking the compatibility, others would advance their class, or gain a new skill.

For thousands of years, pilgrims would come to the site to receive the blessings.

Then, tragedy struck. Lord Gabil was killed by an unknown assassin, and the entire mountain where the System Stones once stood vanished as if it were never there.

The Pilgrims waiting to visit lost all memory of the location, even with the ones who had already visited telling them it should be right in front of them. So, the System Stones were lost.

None know where they went, but some say that they are simply hidden, disguised behind a barrier. Others say that they are lost to time. But no matter which it is, the search for the lost System Stones continues to this day.”

Petros told the story with dramatic tone changes and elaborate hand gestures, drawing the viewers in.

Rae tilted her head. ”The Stones werenʼt made of gold, though. Theyʼre just shiny stones.”

Everyone turned to stare at her.

”Youʼve seen the System Stones?” Petros asked.

”Not those ones. A set in the Golden Dragon Nation. They were definitely just carved from stone, not made of solid gold. But the effect was right. There was even one girl who accidentally turned herself into a Worgen by letting the System Stones randomize her.”

Karl laughed at the memory, and Petros frowned at him.

”You were there, werenʼt you? At those stones?”

Karl nodded. ”Theyʼre not permanent, they appeared along with a Monster Spawn, and vanished just as suddenly. But during the day or two that they were active, they worked exactly as you were describing.

If there is a set still active in Gabil, it would be a huge benefit for anyone who could find them.”

”Or for the ones who could destroy them. Thatʼs why the Undead are looking for them. Like the Giants and some others, they donʼt want anyone to have the System. They believe that it disrupts their natural advantages.” Petros explained.

”And because the Giants want them destroyed, we wonʼt let them. Just on principle.” One of the other Dwarves laughed.

That made perfect sense to Karl. Anything that the Giants wanted to happen was likely to be a disaster for everyone else, so it was better to oppose them just on general principle.

Plus, the Giants were just generally hateful and violent sorts of creatures to begin with.

Cara laughed to herself at Karlʼs logic. The Giants surely didnʼt see it that way, but there was just enough Dwarf in him that the instinctual hatred for the Giants bled through into his thought processes.

”Finding the lost System Stones actually sounds like a fun side quest.” Nachtia suggested.

Tessa nodded. ”If weʼre going to go out and help deal with the over population of monsters, including some from the Monster Spawns, who are generally insane anyhow, it wouldnʼt hurt to search around for signs that the stones might be hidden behind a spell.”

Petros chuckled. ”A proper adventure instead of a simple quest to reduce monster populations? That sounds like the sort of thing that makes the Dragon Gods happy.

You shouldnʼt find too much resistance there if you want to clear the insane monsters. There are a lot of monster populated villages in Gabil, but the majority of the cities are Dwarven. Just ask around, and theyʼll be happy to tell you what is what.”

Karl nodded. ”Hopefully nobody minds that weʼve changed plans to go to an entirely different nation to do our hunting.”

The Totem Ranked Shaman just waved off his concern. ”One hunting party more or less wonʼt change much. I think that the council is more worried that you might change your mind and start abusing the free pass into the dungeon you obtained to mine it clear every day. The lost revenue might have made them cry.”