The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 867: New Tactics

Thorʼs first instinct was to run off to the Dungeon with Tessa on his back, so they could test his new abilities, but they also had more Guild members to bring with them. Everyone had been growing so well that they were slowly building a weekly training regime, the way that most people built a gym routine.

Thor was definitely above the needed Rank of the Dungeon now, but it didnʼt stop the Overlords from entering, and it would take some time for him to get used to his new body shape, and the change in tactics with Tessa fighting on a different sized mount.

This time, they had Rae and the two Orcish Druids with them. It was an odd combination, but Rae had ideas on the best way to use the [Entangling Vines] spell in combat.

The combination of vines and webs was a good one for crowd control, and if she could teach the Orcs to do it right, it wouldnʼt matter that their vines were a Rank below the Ogres, they would be able to keep the groups from reinforcing each other and fighting as a team.

It was probably a good thing that Rae was going with the Orcs and not with any of the others. Despite their fearsome reputation, the Demons in the Guild didnʼt really have the iron nerves that were needed to be around Rae in combat.

For one, she had a habit of making the enemies explode like it was a reset button when you messed up a lesson, and her habit of vanishing to grab enemies for you to train on, then reappearing with an Ogre was disconcerting, to say the least.

But Karl had other concerns.

Ashbringer was nearly finished with the weapon that they were making for the Governorʼs commission, and they didnʼt have long before the Dwarves were due to arrive.

He wanted to make a good impression on them, so he could go visit their city freely in the future and gather materials from the Overlord Ranked Dungeon.

Carefully, he prepared an Overlord Ranked Nature Stone for the [Gravity Slam] spell, which Ashbringer mounted in the head of the axe, and then Karl got to work.

With the runes drawn on a life-sized blueprint, the idea was simple and clear, he just needed to ensure that all of the runes were correct, and that he had gotten the inscriptions for weapon growth with use correct.

Well, that and verifying that the extra bits he had added to give the weapon a purpose, as that appeared to be a necessary part of creating an Artifact.

Once he was through the first few runic groups, Karl knew that he was doing something right, as the weapon was starting to draw power from him the same way that the blade he had upgraded for the Divine Fire Dragon had.

This one was obviously a lower quality base stock, but the result should be the sort of masterpiece that you would only expect to see in a Royal Treasury somewhere.

The weapon resonated with power as Karl finished his inscription and then waited for the item to stabilize as he continued to add mana to it.

The power level wasnʼt increasing any more, it was remaining on the low side of Overlord. But the aura of power that it gave off was becoming smooth and mellow, almost confident, if magic could have an emotion.

”Can someone send a runner to the Governor? The weapon is ready for pickup, and I believe that he will want to do that personally.

You know what? Never mind. I will bring it straight to him. Ashbringer, did you want to see the look on his face?” Karl called as he finished admiring the Guildʼs newest Masterpiece.

Ashbringer came upstairs to take a look at the weapon, and smiled as he read the information from the System.

{Stonecrusher Axe} Artifact Grade. Innate Skill [Gravity Slam]. Adds gravity damage to every strike, deals extra damage to buildings, fortifications and solid stone. Enemies struck suffer [Knockdown] effect.

”Deceptively simple. But at Artifact Grade, it has to be brutally effective. I wonder if there is somewhere that we can test this before we turn it over for display?” Ashbringer wondered.

”I should be able to use it without bonding it, if you want to take it to the Dungeon?” Karl suggested.

From the Dungeon, Rae laughed.

”Right, there is a team there now. We would have to wait.”

Ashbringer shrugged. ”Letʼs just go turn it over to the Governor before any of us makes a mistake and bonds it. If we have to start over, it will be a mess. You canʼt make two identical Artifacts in your lifetime, so I would have to come up with a whole new design.”

Karl didnʼt know that. Perhaps if he tried the same layout again, it would come out as an Epic Grade weapon instead of an Artifact? No wonder they were so rare.

Karl led the way to the Castle, where the guard motioned for them to step forward and bypass the line.

”Guild Champion, what brings you to the Castle today?” The Guard asked politely.

”Governor Shin commissioned a custom weapon to be made for the Dwarves imminent visit.” Karl explained.

”Oh, thank goodness. Theyʼre already here. Came through the portal platform weeks early, ʼto try the seafoodʼ they said, like they arenʼt also from a coastal town.”

The guard flagged someone forward, and a Castle attendant came to escort Karl and Ashbringer.

The boy was almost at a run, but the long strides of the two much larger men had no trouble keeping up as they raced through the corridors.

The attendant rapped a pattern on a thick wooden door, and the gem on his sleeve glowed green as the servants inside let him know it was safe to enter. The room was soundproof, as Karl realized as the door was cracked open, and he heard deep laughter to go with the nervous chuckle of the Governor.

”Oh, Grandmaster Ashbringer, Lord Karl, what brings you here today?” Governor Shin asked.

”Lord? He doesnʼt look like a Demon Lord to me. Plus, he smells like stone and Void.” One elderly Dwarf commented.

”Lord Karl is a two golden ringed War Champion. But also the cityʼs premier Runemaster.” Governor Shin commented.

The Dwarves began to laugh so hard they had to set their drinks down.

Karl clapped the old man on the shoulder and smiled, then placed the {Stonecrusher Axe} on the desk between them and the Governor.

”We have produced the item you requested, Governor.”