Karl sighed. The Divine Beast Nation had always sounded like an area that was just a monster wilderness, but it should have occurred to Karl that Dragons, and most other powerful divine beasts, could shape-shift.
It also made sense that they would welcome the beastkin in their nation, as those species were at least half beast anyhow.
Most of the ones here were fully furred, despite being humanoid. Not like Overlord Ahmad, who just had cat ears, most of these had animal shaped heads and fur or scales everywhere.
They were actually rather adorable when they were nervous.
From beside Karl, there was a soft chuckle, and an elderly Werebear woman smiled down at him.
“You can all relax, the human isn’t going to attack. Though, with the way that he looks at swishing tails, he might be dangerous in an entirely different way.” She declared.
The Werebear laughed at her own joke, and most of the clerics gave Karl a strange look, but he could see that a few of them were walking with extra sway in their hips.
One of the male priests, a man with small round ears and black streaks in the light-brown fur on his head, frowned at Karl.
“Are we sure that it’s safe to have a foreign predator here? This place is a safe spot for the clerics of the beast gods, not for hosting international guests.” He suggested quietly.
“Would it help if I brought out a friend who recently advanced with the help of the Beast Gods? She even did so in the old temple Northeast of Baberg. It might have been in ruins, but the link to the Gods was still there, as they sent a pair of Gryphons to defend her when the Miviascan Slavers attacked.”
Orthos the dragon looked skeptical. “You needed help to defend against a group of slavers?”
Karl shook his head. “No, but it’s the thought that counts. But that temple was an interesting one. I could sense the anomaly there that linked it to another temple, one that was very similar, but not quite the same layout. If you go there and check with echolocation, you should find it.”
Orthos looked excited. “The temple was still linked after its destruction? That is wonderful news. I will have a team sent there immediately with at least one bat. They should find your anomaly if it’s still active.”
The squirrel cleric with the striped head frowned at the excited dragon. “You can’t think that there is a chance to link directly with the old gods again.”
Orthos shrugged, as if he didn’t care either way, but Karl had questions. “Why wouldn’t that be possible. I could swear that I have heard the Gods speak more than once. The most recent time was a warning that the people in Orthos’ town were real and not just instance mobs that I could slaughter for loot and food.
But the time before that, they were mocking me for making an odd choice inside a trial instance. Instead of trying to walk up or down the stairs, I jumped straight in the air to see what would happen.”
“What did happen?” Orthos asked.
“I landed on the same step I jumped from and got laughed at. But I would like to think that it positively influenced their decision when it came time for the instance rewards.”
The squirrel man did not look convinced.
“Can you bring out this favoured beast for us to meet?”
[Remi, want to come and meet people?]
Remi perked up and cast her armour spell, getting prepared in her finery for meeting new people. But Cara was much more excited.
[Can I come out and meet people too? I have never gotten to meet new people.]
[Once they’ve gotten used to Remi, you can come out. This is a Divine Beast Nation, I would say that you’re likely more welcome here than I am.]
Remi exited her space once she was happy with the appearance of her armour, and the crown on her head.
Her torso was a good bit larger than Karl’s now, nearly as big as Ophelia’s in Werebear form, but more slender. Her four arms were slightly offset, with the lower set being behind the upper, so they could all rest comfortably at her side, if she wasn’t so excited and waving to the new people.
{Hello, I am Remi. Good to meet you all.} Her voice was a hissing that Karl recognized from the dungeon where she was found.
The Clerics mostly nodded politely, and her enthusiasm began to fade.
“She says her name is Remi, and she’s happy to meet everyone. I am sorry, young Shaman Queen, most of them don’t speak Naga.” Orthos translated.
Some of the clerics called for others, and a few Lamia women came forward to meet Remi.
The Naga were considered an uncivilized species. Somewhat intelligent, but still instinctive monsters, and even when transformed they were incapable of human speech.
A Lamia, on the other hand, had a more human head and upper body, and they could speak the common languages used in the temples, as well as the serpent tongues.
{Princess Remi, or do we call you Queen Remi because of your species? Either way, welcome to the temple of the Beast Gods.} One of them greeted in the same language Remi used out loud.
The two began to talk rapidly enough that the others were having trouble following them, then they moved forward to hug each other before the Lamia began to give Remi a tour of the temple’s highlights.
“Well, I think they will be busy for a few minutes. Is it alright if the others come out? I know they’re not Divine Beasts with human forms, but they’re all eager to see the place with their own eyes.” Karl asked.
“Of course. We would also like to know more about your team.” Orthos replied.
Karl paused. The dragon made a good point. At this time, he was not in a friendly nation, and most likely was not particularly safe.
If they tried to do something to mess with the bonds, he could be in trouble.
“Relax, young Beast Master. We’re not going to try to steal your friends. We just want to meet everyone and make a proper report. Many in our Nation have been curious about you since the war with the Giants broke out.” Orthos explained.
“On one condition. I have a question about how there were so many system users ten thousand years ago, when I was told that the system had faded over a hundred thousand years earlier.” Karl replied, hoping to make a trade.
Orthos smiled. “That is information that I can give you, and the answer is actually a simple one.
You see, ten thousand years ago, there was a resurgence in the presence of the Dungeons. We don’t know for certain what caused it, perhaps the World Dragon testing us to see if we could meet some standard to get a new World Dragon Scale or set of System Stones.
But for that thousand years or so while the dungeons were active, the continent had nearly as many System users as the old days. Then, the dungeons faded, and only a handful of long-lived creatures remained.
There were Elves that lived a bit longer, and could help their children awaken, but their children lacked that ability.
On this continent, it faded nearly as fast as it had appeared. You see, all of the dungeons that appeared here during that time were Common Grade. Nothing powerful managed to awaken the system by completing a dungeon, they were too far beyond the level for it to reward them.
So, the resurgence came and went, and the presence of system users became an urban legend, tales of heroes and champions of the churches and armies that faded into the founding myths of the nations that came after.”
Karl sighed. “It would have saved me so much research time if whoever wrote my textbooks had just asked you.”
The dragon rumbled with laughter. “What makes you think I would have told them? I wouldn’t have told you, but you were there to see it, and I despise misinformation.”
Karl nodded in understanding. Once upon a time, the dragon had been aligned with the Darklight Host and the largely human population of the area where Karl had landed. But that was a long time ago, and he had no incentive to remind the humans now of the truth about the past.
[Alright, everyone can come out and say hello. Thor, no flirting with the priestesses. Rae, no eating anyone.]
Cara laughed. [You people are way more fun than I expected. I’m going to go poke the dragon.]
