The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 703  The Lab

The Inquisitor led Karl down a hallway opposite the direction of the scanners that the others were going to take him through, then down a set of spiral stairs, which led to another long hallway.

That ended in a massive circular blast door with an entire team of Palace Guards standing at it.

”Interesting. The actual labs are not under the University facility at all, but to the west. This isnʼt under a residential area, is it?” Karl asked.

”How can you tell that?” The Inquisitor demanded, visually scanning Karl for a compass or other tracking device.

”Iʼm from the mines. Never once in my life have I been lost underground. Now, can you tell me what is a kilometre west of the University? I havenʼt had a chance to see the surface of the city.” Karl explained.

”Woodland Hills Cycling and Recreation park. Itʼs a former gravel pit that was replanted and shaped into a public park when the city expanded past it. Weʼre currently beneath the park.”

That would leave some risk of civilian injuries, but minimal, and if there was a blast from the battle, it could be explained away as the gravel pit settling, should anyone notice from the surface.

”Five hundred metres below it. Four hundred eighty-five, if my guess is right. Even with the air circulation, I can feel the depth.” Karl added.

[It sounds cozy there.] Rae agreed from her hiding spot in the Palace Suite. Well, not exactly a hiding spot, as she was incorporeal and sitting on the sofa watching nature documentaries with Lotus. But technically hidden.

The massive underground facility was basically one huge burrow, and if she killed the lights, it would be a perfect nest, already fully stocked and everything.

The Inquisitor was giving Karl a strange look, but he kept walking to the guards. Karl held up his pass, which they pressed a small stone to, waiting for it to turn green.

Once it did and the spells on the pass were verified along with the picture and Karlʼs face, they opened the door to let him into the laboratory. The doors slid into the stone, reducing the chance they could be pried open. They also extended a half dozen metres past the hallway, from the sound of the machinery moving them.

Truly a formidable barrier, even without the magical enhancement.

A gust of heat hit Karlʼs face, smelling of coal, hot iron and magic. Then, the sound of hammers on metal, the distinctive ringing of a forge, reached them. Karl smiled and stepped through the blast doors, which slid shut behind him.

He turned back and looked at the smooth surface, then realized that his skills might actually be as much use for security as they were for offensive weapons.

Enhancing the durability of that door to Commander Rank or higher would make it nearly impossible for anyone or anything to get through three metres of solid steel in a reasonable timeframe.

There was someone waiting patiently for him to address them, so Karl took his mind off the door and turned to see what sort of workplace he would have for the near future.

The air was hot with the smell of forge, but the actual lab was immaculately clean. It was set up as an open floor plan, with forges along the wall and crafters making weapons. Then there was an enclosed clean zone in the middle with workbenches for whatever sensitive projects they were working on.

The entry was elevated, nearly thirty metres above the lab floor, with a walkway that went all the way around. Access to the main level was through any of a half dozen staircases, plus four visible elevator platforms that only operated within the lab.

The girl who had been waiting for Karl cleared her throat, making him look way down to find a ridiculously short woman with pink hair, a bulbous nose and big ears. No way was that a human.

”Good morning Monarch. I am Chief Engineer Fizzspark, head of the engineering facility. You should be the new Runecrafter, correct? Please follow me to the floor and we can get started.” She announced in a squeaky voice.

Before Karl could even respond, Cara was out of her space, and she had tossed the small woman into the air with her nose.

[Ha! I get a rider too. Away we go.]

Then she jumped off the walkway with the Chief Engineer, who was squeaking in terror.

She circled gently to land on the floor, while Karl simply jumped down beside them, and did his best to soften the impact, so he didnʼt shake anyoneʼs work.

Cara seemed to have forgotten that she had a rider, and she was running around the floor, examining all the forge stations. The workers were laughing, while Chief Engineer Fizzsparkʼs glower promised retribution.

They made a whole loop, and the gnome looked ready to murder someone, so Karl picked her up and set her on the floor. ”Cara, behave. You have to ask before you take people for a trip.” Karl admonished the wayward Void Badger.

Cara put on a show of apology, even patting the Gnome on the head before allowing the terrified Gnome to retreat. But her thoughts said that she was in no way repentant, and fully planned to do it again.

”What sort of devil being did you bring to my lab? I tasered it four times, and it didnʼt even slow down.” The Chief complained.

”Thatʼs a Winged Void Badger. Petty things like a taser are far from enough to convince her to stop. You would have better luck using words. Sheʼs intelligent enough to understand where you want to go, and anything else you say. She just doesnʼt care if you want to stop.” Karl offered.

”And how did you get her past security?”

”I am a Beast Master. They have a separate space attached to me. Wherever I am, they can be as well. But donʼt worry, I will keep her out of the clean rooms, so we donʼt get fur in anyoneʼs work.” Karl informed her with a shrug of his shoulders to explain that it couldnʼt be helped.

The Gnome glared at him. ”If there was another option, I would have you replaced right this instant.

But for now, letʼs see what you can do to enhance a weapon. Thanks to the Forgemaster and his team, weʼve got a collection of blades, flanged maces, mauls and axes created from highly mana compatible alloys unsuitable to combat use in their current state.

Now, can you manage that without supervision?”

Karl gave the tiny woman an unimpressed look.

”Did you know that Cara is currently looking for a hug pillow to enhance her nap time experience?” He threatened.

The two glared at each other for half a minute, not saying anything, before one of the researchers, a Blue Dragon Cleric with his head shaved bald, revealing scattered blue scales, came over to break up the standoff.

”Chief Engineer. Please forgive him. The Monarch certainly didnʼt mean to insult you with his partnerʼs antics. The Runecrafting skill is invaluable to our work here, and I will assign someone to ensure that he doesnʼt trouble you further.” The cleric pleaded.

Chief Engineer Fizzspark began to relax a little, until a nasal voice came from behind her. ”What, someone has been picking on the failure again? Hardly shocking.” A handsome young man in a lab coat was sneering at the gnome with utter disdain on his features before he turned to Karl.

”Duke Ambrose, Head of Research and Development. Itʼs a pleasure to meet you, Researcher Karl. I believe you will find your time here quite enjoyable if your skills match your recommendation.”