The First Legendary Beast Master

The first project that Karl had for the evening was to make a new set of jewellery at the mythic rank.

Those were the biggest sellers, unless he was going to make a new batch of custom weapons. Mostly because the random stat bonuses were simply too random, and there were so many that it was nearly impossible to get just the ones that you wanted.

Karl knew where to start, though. There were only three basic archetypes for gear that he really needed to stock to keep eight out of ten members happy. Four, and he would have almost all of them.

If he stocked strength, attack damage and attack speed together on items, the warriors would eat it up. The same with the mana regeneration, casting speed and spell damage for mages. Then the mana cost reduction, mana regeneration and healing effect bonus for the clerics, and you had the majority of Mythic gear covered.

The final one was the least requested, but the most important. Tank gear. Damage reduction, more damage reduction, and regeneration. Or, he could swap some of the damage reduction for extra strength to add to their skill damage, which also helped many warrior class defensive skills.

The rare few left over were the rogues, agility warriors, and some of the specialty casters.

Rogue classes were rare among the dragons, Karl had noticed. He wasn't sure if it was a species affinity thing, or cultural, but there were far more among the Demons and humans than there were here in Gathuzan.

The warriors got their equipment first, as there were so many more of them than anyone else, and Karl gave silent thanks that he had learned to use [Earth Manipulation] to carve stone.

This way, he didn't have to write everything by hand once he knew that the layout was going to work, he just had to use the spell to carve it as he added the mana, and then finalize the Runecrafting to complete the item.

It was still a tiring process, but it was significantly faster than the old method, and he could make two or more items an hour, depending on the complexity.

Five items an hour that night, as he was going for the simple and direct route, with no added spell effects, which were ten times as many runes as simply adding the stat bonuses.

Only when he was sure that he had enough for their next stop did Karl slow down and make a few specialty items with a spell effect on them.

[Limited Invulnerability] for some of the tank items, as the skill was rare. And [Unholy Corrosion] on a few mage items, to give lingering damage over time that was immune to holy element healing.

They were dirty and brutal bonuses, but having two of each would let him sell one and offer another if the right person happened to be desperate for it.

There was no better way to make new allies than to have the things that they needed. And alliances could quickly turn into friendships, under the right conditions.

Karl worked late into the night, and then curled up on his bed with Dana, waiting for either the morning light to wake them, or someone to call about an attack.

In the end, it was neither.

The smell of Lotus making breakfast was what woke them up, and then when they opened the soundproofed door, the noise of dozens of excited dragons eager to explore the Tiny World after sampling whatever the Green Dragon Priestess was making.

Mystic Cooking and dragons were inseparable. As soon as you started, the lure of magic and food together would inevitably draw them to you.

So, it was no shock to see that the kitchen and main floor dining room were packed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning. I will head out after breakfast to speak with the city guards and the relief force, but you are all free to explore the Tiny World at your leisure.

If you wish to remain here all day, that is also fine. I can call everyone out once we reach our next stop." Karl announced.

"Really? You can just travel with a whole army of dragons tucked away?" One of the clerics asked.

"Well, it is a separate space, there's really no reason why I couldn't. In fact, having more people here is good for the environment. Dragons radiate magic just by existing, and that helps balance and grow the ecosystem."

"In that case, we will accept your kindness. This place seems to be quite luxurious, and the mana density here is perfect for meditation and growth."

The dragons all indicated their agreement, except for Prince Nathan, who was clearly obsessed with the concept of a raspberry chocolate chip pancake.

Lotus had offered it to him with both syrup and caramel, and the plate of sweet and fruity breakfast had his full attention. At least, it did until he realized that as the Prince, he needed to tell the guards that he was leaving so that they could take over command.

They had arrived on his orders, and they would remain here on them as well, unless he gave them permission to leave when the area was secure and the city guards had recovered.

But that was a problem for after breakfast Nathan. Hungry Nathan was certain such issues could wait.

The others couldn't help but admire his dedication, but once they tried the food, Lotus' favourite breakfast option, they too were hooked. And that would be unfortunate for them because raspberries were not native to Gathuzan.

Karl finished his meal and stood to leave the Tiny World.

"I will let you all finish, but I need to go make sure that Cara and Tian haven't fallen asleep or run off to do something fun."

[Hey, I wouldn't slack off on my duties like that.]

[Even if Cara told you that there were fluffy foxkin girls in need of moral support while they stood watch for the night?]

[Well...]

[That's what I thought. You're still a young Fox, not wise enough to the ways of the Cara. But if you're still in the warehouse, it's fine.]

[We're actually across the street, There is a vendor selling breakfast sandwiches. Ones with egg and carrot and cabbage. It's so weird, but somehow tasty.]

And that proved that the fox could be talked into nearly anything if you did it right.