To say that Morgana and the others were unhappy with Karl taking off without half his team was an understatement.
It didn’t quite violate the terms of their agreement, as the rest of the team was technically on their way to the battle and might have made it if the battle lasted longer, but he was pushing his luck, and he had left without his healers and support.
The fact that Karl came back into camp covered in ash and reeking of burnt Giants, while his companions were soaked with blood, was not lost on anyone, students or otherwise. The team had gathered at the back near the bus, and the looks that they were giving the trio said more than any words they could come up with.
The mixture of annoyance, anger, fear and betrayal let Karl know just how unhappy they were with this chain of events, but Karl knew he would likely do it again if given the option. It had saved lives on the line by distracting from the charge, and it had made the Hill Giants retreat prematurely.
Tessa glared at the trio and then sighed. “You know what, I’m not going to say anything. You already know what I was going to say. Now, go shower, you stink.”
Ophelia giggled, looking quite innocent now that she was out of bear form, even if she was now even more soaked in Hill Giant blood.
“Yes Mom.”
The showers were fairly empty, as most of the line was still recovering and waiting to make certain that the Giants didn’t change their minds. Tank was there in the men’s shower, and in a much better mood than Tessa.
“That was quite the showing. Did you take any injuries? I can call over a high priest.” He suggested.
Karl shook his head. “There are two healers in the group. Four of them if you count Remi and Thor, five if you Count High Priest Doug. I’m not short on healing, even if they’re mad that we ran off and left them trundling along in the bus. But no, nothing broke my barriers this time.”
“Well, you’ll have an interesting group once you get your reinforcements.” Tank chuckled.
“Reinforcements?” Karl asked.
“Didn’t they tell you? I suppose not, since you just charged into combat the moment you arrived. Two Commanders in a ten-person group of Ascended is the minimal size standard. So, you’ll get one of the teachers or Bureau Advisors with you when you leave camp, and a team of Ascended students.” Tank explained.
Karl sighed. “That sounds like it’s actually going to be more hassle than it’s worth. Will it at least be the same group?”
Tank laughed. “The same group? With the amount of time that your group prefers to be in the field? Highly unlikely. The first time you go out in front of the line, you’ll traumatize a group of students, and we will have to find new ones to send with you.”
Karl gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Normally, it isn’t that bad, and when we’ve got a whole group rolling through, we can handle most things without drama.”
Tank smirked. “I hear that you want to become a treasure hunter, so you should get used to working with random groups of opportunistic Elites who are just there for the payday. That’s simply how the industry is. But why did you want to do that anyhow? You don’t strike me as the sort of Elite that is desperate for cash.”
Karl chuckled. “I’ve already got more money than I know what to do with. More than I would have earned in a lifetime in the mines. Ancient Ruins have all the good stuff that my beasts need to grow, and the remnants of the System that will help me gain new class abilities.
You see, I realized after our last mission that the ones with the most power get the most say. Only other Overlords with influence can tell an Overlord what to do. So what happens if I can get my beasts up above that level?
I have a skill that can help my beasts evolve once. If I use that when they are Overlords, we should be able to move beyond that bottleneck.”
Tank looked impressed. “So, you’ve got a class cheat skill to break a bottleneck once? I can see how you would want to save that for as long as possible. But do you really think you can make it to Overlord without using it?”
Karl smiled. “Just try to tell Rae that she’s not the most deadly creature in the area, and she will soon prove you wrong. I have no doubt that they will find a way to make it that far. Rae and Remi can make at least Commander without any outside help, and Hawk has already shown that the class can help them go well beyond their limits.
Rae doesn’t think that the Royal Rank bottleneck will be an issue for her, so that means that it will be growing her from a Royal Rank Princess to a Monarch Rank Queen where things get tough. However, I might be able to get another teammate to help with that.
Plus, there is Remi. Spirit Snakes seem to be unpredictable, but powerful. The stronger one of the beasts gets, the stronger the other beasts get, and I’m dragged along with them. It’s a symbiotic system.”
The Berserker nodded. “It’s messing with your mind, though. I’m not certain if you’ve noticed, but you’re not thinking like you used to.”
Karl frowned. “That naturally changes with experience, I think.”
Tank shrugged his shoulders, not pushing the point. Now that it was in his head, Karl would notice soon enough that his thinking was being influenced. It was already evident to everyone else, and he walked like a predator stalking prey, with that same sharp look as if everything around him was a potential target.
Or a potential snack.
The only time that Tank noticed him acting more human was when he was surrounded by his long term team members.
Karl patted Dana on the head as he came out of the showers, and she resisted the urge to punch him, as he was still wearing armour.
Lotus poked him on the cheek, drawing Karl’s attention.
“We’ve got new people to meet. Are you ready now, or should we run away and play in the trees for a bit first?” She asked.
“As tempting as it sounds to go make a tree fort right now, we should meet the people first. There is a chance that the Giants will be back tonight, and we don’t want to have to arrange things at the last second because we procrastinated.” Karl suggested.
Tessa whistled, and with a gesture, four young men who all looked like they should be in the senior year, still wearing their academy uniforms with the silver Ascended Badges, came running over.
“Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the rest of the group. First we have Dana, a Golem Mage, Ophelia, a Bear Totem Berserker, Lotus, a Nature Priestess, and finally Commander Karl, a Beast Master.
Everyone, meet the second half of our mission team. The hairless one is Mick, a Sand Golem mage who is good with traps. The short black hair is Ali, a defensive warrior. The blonde is Jimmy, also a defensive warrior, but with a specialty in evasion instead of shields. Then finally we have Seamus, our new bard.”
Karl looked over Seamus, whose long auburn hair was pulled back in a braid. He had a small guitar slung over his shoulder, either a mandolin or a lute, Karl couldn’t tell from this angle, and he looked utterly terrified to be here.
“How are your combat buffs, Seamus?” Karl asked.
“Good, good. I mean, when I can focus enough to play. Until this week, I was preparing to go on tour with a folk music band. I’m not really a fighter. But I can use the essential bard combat spells well enough. [Inspiration] to increase attack speed and luck, [Courage] in case someone other than myself is terrified of being here, and [Mesmerizing Chant] to distract the enemy.
They have a considerable area of effect, so I’m better on the battle line, where I can just play [Inspiration] in the background.
I am also superb with a dagger, but I will tell you right now, if you try to make me stab a Giant with a dagger, I might wet myself.”
Karl laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Just keeping a battle hymn active will be enough. I believe that you all met Tessa first, and she has the favour of the War Dragon, so a little [Inspiration] type battle chant should be just the thing to get everyone around us motivated.
The only other question I have is Mick. You have Sand Golems, right? Are they upgraded, and is there one or two?”
Mick shook his head. “I have six small ones, Goblin sized and easy to disperse. I don’t know how much use they will be against the Giants, but they will deal Ascended Rank damage from the knees down.”
“That could be fun. They might actually be as much use when combined with your trap skills to trip, entangle and slow the Hill Giants as they are for damage. But don’t underestimate how much a well-placed slice to the back of the knee can cripple an opponent, and they’re small enough to run around between targets.” Karl replied.
