The First Legendary Beast Master-Chapter 1001: Scared The Monsters Away
Karl headed for the other group, just in case someone came for them as well.
It sounded like Lord Bomgon has asked the mercenaries to target Karl in particular, and not just his entire group. They had mentioned getting him away from his beasts and the Dragon Clerics, which did make it sound like they were not the target of the mission.
He found them waiting near the final group that they had selected for the day, a group of Monarch Ranked Gnolls led by a single Totem Ranked Chimera.
It was an odd combination, for sure. But they were likely to have originally been part of a larger monster spawn with multiple monster types in it, as many dungeons had.
But when Karl approached, the Chimera simply turned and fled.
That was not the behaviour of a monster straight from the spawns. The creature must have used an ability to make the Gnolls accept it as part of the group, and now that it had noticed that there was actual danger coming its way, it took the most prudent course of action and retreated.
Rae gave Karl an arachnid look that conveyed infinite frustration, and he shrugged.
"It's not my fault that he ran away." Karl insisted.
[You scared the monsters away.] Rae retorted.
[Technically, Chimera are beasts.] Thor added helpfully.
If a spider could roll her eyes, Rae definitely did it.
"I will wait this one out, so everyone can get more practice in. A good fight pushed me to Totem, I'm sure that it can push everyone to Overlord with enough grinding." Karl informed the others.
Tessa smirked. "It wouldn't even be a fair fight if you got involved. A certain someone tells me that you soloed a Raid Group."
The Red Dragon Cleric tapped the side of her head, indicating that it was a mental notification, and Karl briefly wondered if she meant her Red Dragon patron, or Thor.
Dana sighed. "We will have to discuss this later. Ladies, let's show the boss mob how the rest of us do things."
Thor led the charge into combat with everyone on his back, allowing Dana to float up into the air just before they reached the Gnolls, while Ophelia transformed in midair as she leapt into the battle.
Remi was still in snake form, and fighting from Rae's back. Adding her Bodyguards to Rae's Golems and her unit of Spectre Knights, ghostly undead in black armour.
Karl shook his head in dismay. Dana said that it was unfair for him to fight, but he had forgotten that he could add a small army of Undead to the fight. Rae and Remi were a military unit all by themselves. They had tanks, agile damage dealers, even a spell caster and healer combo.
Remi's healing totems might not be as good as Lotus' version, but they were more than enough for their group.
The air distorted beside Karl, but he didn't feel any threat as the Portal opened.
With delicate steps, a small white dragon with shimmering scales that reflected impossible colours as the sun reflected off its body emerged from the spell, and looked up at Karl with great curiosity.
{Interesting. I guess I lost the bet. I was totally certain that you just beat them so bad their minds broke.} The dragon whelpling announced.
Karl smiled at the strange young dragon.
"Oh? What did you wager?" Karl asked.
The little dragon growled. {One of my favourite Immortal Pearls. But what were the odds that someone actually sent mercenaries after a wandering world boss?}
Karl chuckled. "World Boss is a bit of a grand title, don't you think?"
The dragon shrugged, and puffed a small rainbow of fire. {It's like Dungeon Boss, but outside. What else would you call it?}
Karl frowned. The dragon had a point. Logically, the names were related. "I was thinking something like an Elite Mob. Because my constitution is Epic Grade."
The dragon perked up, momentarily forgetting about his lost pearl.
{Oh, that's not bad. We could call you a Named Elite. It reminds people that they can't fight you one on one at the same Rank, but doesn't sound like you're in charge of stuff.}
"I don't suppose that you're from the same location as the mercenaries are?" Karl asked.
The dragon shook his head. {No, They're from Nerud, and I'm from Gabil. Gabil Kingdom, that is. Not here. I live in the Opal mine in Gabil City, in a weyr over a very nice Dwarven Inn. They make the most wonderful mead.
Did you know that you can make cake with mead, and it tastes like honey butter cornbread?}
Karl blinked slowly. Did that even count as a cake?
If the dragon thought it did, then it did.
"That sounds wonderful. We will have to check it out some time. But if you're from a whole other country, how did you find out so quickly? The fight only ended a few minutes ago." Karl asked.
{I have a friend in the Arago Temple in Nerud, where they went for resurrections and healing. The Spider Priestess there appreciates sweet things just as much as I do. And when she heard about the fight, she called me to let me know that a fun thing happened.
Then we made the wager, and I lost.}
Karl patted him on the head. "My friend, I believe that you were set up. Look over there. What do you see?"
The dragon stood on his hind legs so he could see what Karl did.
{A Blood Destruction Demonic Spider. Nearly ready to advance to Totem Rank. Oh, that devious spider woman, she tricked me.
The Spider Goddess must have told her about the fight. The Spider Goddess loves watching her children, and that one is exceptional. She's got better skills than almost any other spider I've seen.} The dragon grumbled.
"But on that note, how many Spider Goddess temples are there in Nerud?" Karl asked.
The little dragon shrugged. {Thousands. They've got a weird thing going on there. Arachnid monsters, Arachnid and Insectoid beastkin, and the Darklings.}
Karl clearly had no idea what that was, so the Dragon explained.
{Oh, they're humans, but also not? When they are teens, they get a blessing from the dark gods. It makes their System users superhumans with death magic. Like the Unholy Paladin that you beat up.
Even the Cleric was a Spider Goddess Cleric, but they all wear the same silly outfit when they want to be all incognito.
I think it's a spider thing.
"Look at me, I'm all mysterious, the creepy thing in the shadows."}
Karl smirked. That was totally Rae when she was little. Now, she was legitimately terrifying if you weren't on her side.
And she still liked to lurk in the shadows.
The little dragon sighed. {I've seen all I need to. They really did run into a big boss Totem that can take on a whole team alone. But the fight is about to end here, and if I don't run away, mom will kill me for eating snacks before dinner.}
He opened a portal and Karl quickly stuck his head through to see where the dragon was headed. The view was of a glimmering mountain face, unlike anything Karl had ever seen before.
{Oh, you've never been here before, have you? The south face is pretty distinct. You should be able to use that sight to open another portal in this location.}
Then the little dragon pushed Karl's head back through the portal to his own side, and ended the spell.