The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1035: Brutal Pugilist

Karl did have to make a decision, though.

Reluctantly, he went with a compromise. He would get the 20 points of damage reduction, as that was indisputably the groupʼs specialty at this point. Then he would go for one Epic Skill, and hope that it turned out to be a good one.

{Points Used}

[Max Level] {Invulnerable Beast Master} 20 Points Invested. Increases Bonded Beast Damage Reduction by 1 Percent per point invested, up to 20 Percent.

Karl crossed his fingers for luck and chose again.

{Random Epic Skill Book Chosen} 25 points deducted.

{Skill Book Obtained} [Brutal Pugilist]

[Brutal Pugilist] Increases unarmed physical and skill damage by 15% per user Rank. Unarmed strikes target the opponentʼs weakest resistance.

Karl chuckled as he read the deceptively simple skill. For him, it was a decent, though not overwhelming, skill. But for Rae? That was absolutely devastating.

A spider didnʼt need and couldnʼt hold weapons. So all her strikes were unarmed. 120 Percent more damage at Totem Rank, on top of her [Predation] increased damage, and targeting the weakest resistance of the enemy, would tear through armies like paper.

Many enemies were strong against certain elements, or had great physical defence. But [Brutal Pugilist] simply ignored that, and targeted their true weakness.

Karl quickly learned the skill and shared it with Rae, then returned his attention to the stones after confirming that none of the other beasts could use it.

”Give me a moment and I will formulate a slightly different method. I think that I can find out what I need, even though the stones are unlikely to activate.” He explained to Mira and the others.

Karl continued to use the ancient Dwarven Runic Language, as he knew that the others wouldnʼt understand it. It wasnʼt one that the System translated, and only a Dwarven craftsman would be familiar with the words.

Or a Runecrafter, like Remi.

{Oh, Mighty World Dragon, I seek not power. I seek understanding of how these stones work so that I might spread the knowledge in my own time.} Karl began.

The System Stones began to glow faintly, and Karl saw the hundreds of layers of runes imbued inside the stones, forming a massive combined spell when the stones were placed in their correct locations.

The knowledge burned itself into his mind, and Karl continued focusing on the stones as the world faded around him, and a memory filled his senses.

An ancient dragon, large enough that his shadow would cover a small city, descended from the sky. But just as he was about to touch the ground, he transformed to a rather disturbing looking creature, twenty metres tall with tentacles on his face and his left arm replaced by a massive tentacle.

But the creature was in exquisitely crafted robes, and the tentacle arm twisted gently as it opened a portal and brought a brown haired woman through.

There were iridescent feathered wings on her back, and she gave off the sort of solemn air that Karl associated with High Priestesses.

”Is this the place?” She asked.

The creature nodded. ”Yes. I thought that something different would be appropriate this time. A more natural progression. So, I made them a new System, and granted it to every species willing to accept it.”

The winged woman laughed. ”You know that will just upset them again.”

The creature shrugged, then set her on the ground and shifted appearances again, back to the golden form of the World Dragon, but smaller now.

The world dragon flexed his wings and waved one front claw to create the round platform of the System Stones. Then a massive black tower rose from the ground beneath them, enclosing the stones at the top, and the Dragon nodded in satisfaction.

”Yes, a Trial Tower to obtain the knowledge of the System for the first time. That will give them all a chance to compete for dominance on this world.”

He plucked a single scale from his forearm and casually tossed it at the tower, where it seemed to melt into the stones.

”And now, it has a power core.

Should we retire back to the house? The children will be causing chaos for the caretakers by now.” He joked.

The woman gave him a smile that showed true affection, and flapped her wings to fly to his back.

”First, we go for a ride. Let me see this world you have created, and then we can return home.”

The vision ended, and Karl realized that the location he was shown was not here. It was the Golden Dragon Nationʼs Capital. The very spot where he had recovered the scale fragment.

That meant the first set of System Stones on the planet were right there, and now likely somewhere under the Cathedral.

But he also had valuable information about the World Dragon himself. The Dragon Gods were viewed as more of an aspect of their powers, unfathomable beings of immense power. But the World Dragon had shown up at the world he had just created with what appeared to be his wife.

They were taking a break from watching their kids to explore, and Karl was intensely curious about who those children might be, and what happened to them.

There was no mention of the World Dragonʼs offspring in the Pantheon.

They might be there, among the minor Gods and Immortal Demigods. However, no knowledge of them being born of the World Dragon had been recorded by the people of this world.

Tessa snapped her fingers in front of his face, and Karl shook his head.

”Sorry, I was immersed in a vision from the World Dragon about the creation of the first set of System Stones, when the world was first created.”

”So, you know something about how itʼs done?”

Karl nodded, then considered what was needed to make them. ”I do, but I donʼt at the same time. The process involves immense amounts of Divine Power. So, while I could place the base spell, or push to activate these ones, it would be entirely up to the World Dragon whether the prayer was answered, and it actually worked.

Itʼs not something that a Mortal can do under their own power.”

But now that he thought about it, he had learned something else as well. He had seen how the Trial Towers were made.

That was something that he could actually do, though to a much less impressive standard than the one that the World Dragon had made.

It was a form of [Tiny World] spell, combined with solid illusions, inside a physical stone building.

Whether that knowledge was relevant or not was questionable. But when they got back to Drodh, he might be able to create an upgraded training ground for the Guild House. That would be a huge attraction for the City Guards and other visitors.

It was also valuable information for Opal.

The process of creating the System Stones and the Trial Towers both contained illusion and alteration magic. Things that she could use to upgrade her own magical abilities.

Once she reached the Totem Rank, she was fairly certain that she could imbue her illusions with the Totemic Blessing to improve their durability and create durable illusionary opponents at the Overlord Rank or lower.

Someone of her own rank would cut through them with ease and shatter the spell, but below that, they would seem just like the real thing.