The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1925 Gossip Mill

Word spread fast that Karl and Dana had returned from a Dungeon run at the Ascended Immortal Rank.

There was no doubt that now that they had advanced, they were going to become Elders of the New Home Merchant Clan. Their track record, even as short as it was, certainly qualified them.

They had expanded the Clan, adding a branch office along the north coast next to their Guild House. They donated generously to the warehouse at discounted prices to keep the Clan members supplied with equipment, and they had brought not just reliable members into the Clan alliance, but they had brought two Supremes to the area with them.

Supremes who had no intention of trying to take over from Clan Leader Nerissa.

That was remarkable.

But beyond the contributions, there was another factor.

Each of the Elders had something that they contributed to the Clan, that was part of being an Elder. But they also had their own skills and styles that they could teach to the juniors of the Clan.

While the Darklight Host's members were primarily the Guild's members, they were also New Home Merchant Clan members.

They gathered and hunted the same territories, they had membership, they could even collect and trade Clan Credits doing missions from the Darklight Host's village. So, it could be said that Karl and Dana had already taken apprentices.

What was that, if not the actions of an Elder?

So, the decision had been unanimous, and the Elders were already beginning to arrive for the induction ceremony.

Bringing in two Elders at once was highly abnormal, even two in the same year was irregular enough to attract gossip. Most Elders would consider it an insult to bring up another so close to them, as if their power and contribution was in question.

But in this case, there was no other appropriate way to do it.

Raising Karl without Dana, or Dana without Karl, just wouldn't be right. Instead, they would alter tradition to give them a combined ceremony and give them the tokens of Elders of the New Home Merchant Clan.

In fact, there were beasts on his team who likely deserved the honour as well, but as they were bonded to Karl, they were ineligible. They couldn't receive the separate link from the system.

It shouldn't be a big deal, though. They would still have a title that showed their bond to Karl, and that would mark them as members by proxy.

The only issue was getting everyone together.

Normally, these things had years of advance warning, so they could plan to all be home and out of deep studies. But Clan Leader Nerissa intended to rush this one, and do it the same day that they found out.

Even if that meant waking a few sleeping dragons.

In the most literal sense.

The head of the healing hall, an ancient white dragon, had fully intended to sleep the month away. But here he was, dragged out of bed for an Elder welcoming ceremony, and not some actual emergency that required the skills of a Peak Immortal dragon.

Needless to say, he was not particularly happy about the situation. However, once they made it to the Darklight Host Guild House, and he saw all the wonderful healing talismans inside, his mood softened.

He could even sense a Stonefur Divine Fox in the building, a creature just as attuned to healing as he was.

That was a good sign.

Then he sensed something that absolutely, positively did not belong in this place.

A Forest Lord.

They never left their homes, and this was as far from a Fae Forest as you could get in the Immortal Realms, The coastal forests were young, constantly regrowing after major storms, and the whole area was low in mana.

The exact opposite of a Forest Lord's natural environment.

He simply couldn't understand what had brought it here. However, he was excited to meet it. The Forest Lord had to be young, as it was not yet Supreme Ranked, and that meant it was likely a friend of one of Karl's beasts.

They were also still very young, like that Priestess who had gotten all his hall members convinced that recreating bodies at childhood to heal soul damage was the best way to treat the injuries.

They were right, but the constant complaints from the patients were annoying.

They were healed, what right did they have to complain?

Well aware that many of her Elders were annoyed with being dragged away from their tasks, Nerissa led the group up the stairs of the Guild House to the second floor, where Rue was waiting to receive them.

"Welcome, Elders. Karl and Dana will be out soon, they're just finishing up some warehouse sorting now. Once the gains of the last dungeon run are sorted, they will be right out.

But would you like a beverage while we wait?"

"Certainly, thank you, Rue.

But tell me, do you really not have any intentions of making your presence public? The Valalan League is unlikely to come looking for you again, given what happened last time.

Especially now that you're not leading a Clan, and you're out of their territory," Clan Leader Nerissa noted.

Rue shook her head. "I will make my presence public soon, by releasing an item for auction. That will get the attention of many different factions, as Supreme Ranked items are so rarely traded.

My only hope is that when I do, it doesn't create problems for the New Home Merchant Clan.

Simply possessing one of those items could be a cause for troubles, much less having the means of production living within your Clan."

Nerissa shrugged. "The next time that an alliance tries to gang up on us, we will not be short on allies. The presence of the Darklight Host in the region was very obvious among the gifts given to recruits this year, and few would dare to meddle at this point.

I am also working on obtaining a trade agreement with a few more large powers, for extra safety."