The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1880 The Great Sham

The two mages were seriously tempted by the offer of Golem Skill Books, Karl could tell. But they didnʼt fully trust Cara not to tempt them with something super expensive that they would be paying on for ages.

”The basic Golem Skill book is a Common Grade skill, you could likely even borrow enough from your mom to buy it if it was a priority.

In my opinion, itʼs one of the essentials for mages.

Other than your basic [Arcane Barrier] or equivalent personal defence skill, having some sort of constructs to back you up should be the basics for mages. Elementals are also an option, and you can tailor them to match your affinities,” Karl suggested.

”Elementals? Arenʼt they supposed to be super powerful?”

Karl nodded. ”They are, most of the time. If youʼd like to make a deal, I can customize you a skill, and I bet that Miss Veda here would subsidize some of the cost. New skills are sort of her thing, and she hates to miss out on the chance to learn new things.”

”You know Elemental Magic?” Veda asked dubiously.

Karl laughed, then transformed using [Elementalʼs Wrath] to turn himself into a being of Spirit Flames, then activated [Elemental Blade] and [Flaming Body].

In the end, he was a floating three-metre tall fire elemental with an Epic Grade flaming sword and a nearly impenetrable barrier. Then, he changed back and let the mages take a moment to decide whether his level of magic was worth going into debt for.

”How good of a skill are we talking?”

”How much debt do you want to take on? Because I can make a peerless grade custom skill for you, as long as itʼs fire or lightning based. Well, I could do most elements, as well as nature, which you canʼt use, but not as well as those two.”

The druid looked hopeful for a second, then realized that she was already in what amounted to generational debt to the Darklight Host for the skill she already had.

Karl winked at her. ”Donʼt worry about it too much. The [Army of Natureʼs Vengeance] is five thousand mana per summoned construct. At your level, it would barely be useable, much less overwhelming.”

Even Veda looked impressed at that one. Five thousand mana per construct? That was overkill, so the summoned creature had to be exceptionally powerful.

Seeing her interest, Karl called one Dryad, who stared around the shop as she appeared, looking for the threat.

”The Seeker of the Blue Dragon wanted to know what you were,” Karl explained.

The Dryad nodded. {Greetings Seeker. My presence here lasts but one hour, if you have questions.}

The druid frowned. ”Isnʼt that... no, Iʼm sure of it. Thatʼs a Dryad Treelord. Theyʼre healers so powerful that the one dungeon that has them never actually gets cleared. Even the Dark Elven Priestesses donʼt have the healing output that those things do.

And the vines. Iʼve heard horror stories.”

The Dryad looked immensely pleased that her people were legendary among the locals.

Unlike Oathbreaker, they didnʼt have the persistent memories of their summoning, but she was certain that the one who had called her was even more terrifying than she was.

”I want an elemental summoning skill, but Iʼm not allowed to spend money without asking my mom,” one of the mages admitted.

”Oh, I thought you were all old enough to be graduated. Cara, we need to talk about who you pick for employment.”

The druid laughed. ”We are all graduated, but we all still live at home. Having to tell my parents that I got a part-time job because I owe the Darklight Host a fortune is not going to be a fun conversation.”

Cara laughed. ”Call her over here, and we can explain it in a way that will totally excuse you. Trust me, Iʼm good at this.”

The girls got excited, and began sending System Messages to their parents.

Only, when the parents began to arrive, Cara realized that they might have some issues she had not foreseen. These were all PTA moms. She had seen them when she was taking Leo to school, and on the days that she decided to attend classes herself.

But they were not the fun moms, they were the boring ones that made up rules for no good reason.

They didnʼt even let their younger kids go out for ice cream with the class.

But Cara was not one to give up that easily.

”Welcome, welcome. Please follow me to the back, and we can sit in comfort. Everything will make perfect sense in a moment.”

The adults were naturally cautious around the badger, given the reputation both of her species and of Cara herself. But they didnʼt want to cause a scene in public, which would be bad for their own reputations.

So, they followed Cara into the back, and the badger immediately called Opal over to help her with visuals for the sales pitch.

”Wonderful. Now that everyone is here, I will explain the situation clearly. These lovely young ladies have been granted an exclusive opportunity to work with the Darklight Host to build their skills in a diverse and specialized direction, guiding them towards an Epic Grade Class advancement after only a few years.

To start with, it is necessary to transfer a few skills that will instantly raise their combat power so that they can keep up with the curriculum. However, the Darklight Host is willing to offer zero fee, zero interest financing on the necessary Epic Grade and higher skills.

The Darklight Host also offers work placements for candidates so that their studies donʼt affect their ability to support themselves.

We offer exceptional lodging options, should the candidates wish to remain in residence closer to their work and training. Miss Opal, if you would?”

Opal opened an illusionary view of the upper floor of the Guild House, and Cara continued.

”These are the resident rooms, each is a fully contained suite, and we have Mystic Cooks on staff, with meals included for all employed workers, as well as all other Guild Members. It is a productive and social setting, with nearly every member being either a dedicated resource harvesting specialist, or a skilled craftsperson.

If any of them should wish to join the Guild in the future to take up a professional crafting skill, that is also possible. Members of the Darklight Host are not charged for Crafting Skill Books, though there is a membership clause, to prevent recruits from taking the knowledge and immediately leaving.

Now, as for what comes first, the ladies have expressed an interest in Elementals. Conjuration, elemental combat skills, and defensive abilities.

We can and will offer all of them at a discounted price compared to the New Home Merchant Clan, as long as they are enrolled in our training program.”

The level of sham that Cara was pulling was high enough that even Opal was impressed. If she didnʼt know better, she would think that the badger was actually running a vocational college for mages and druids.

And not simply recruiting them for whatever scheme she had dreamed up after seeing a vision.

”Now, Miss Amie, as you have already accepted the first Skill Book, please show the group your new defensive skill. Ladies, this is the [Warbeast] transformation, an Artifact Grade skill book, that creates an Epic Grade transformation.

Isnʼt she magnificent? And, it doesnʼt interfere with her healing abilities at all.”