The entire camp was on edge as the two visiting foreign Overlords sat and ate breakfast with the local group.
Now that the Drake Riders were here, it was clear why the Overlords had stuck around, and why it was so important that the extra group of Elites be sent away. If they could see that there were twenty or more Elites who were qualified to be training in this dungeon, they would have realized that the instance had stabilized and was repeatable before they had made the deal, and they likely wouldn’t have offered whatever it was that Overlord Ahmad was so happy to see.
Instead, they would have gone with a less valuable offer from the start. The fact that nobody tried to argue for more likely told them fairly quickly that they had misjudged the situation, but the deal was made, and everything was peaceful for the moment, so they would have to take the markup, and call it the price of training their Mages.
Well, Karl assumed they were mages. They had powers, but as far as Karl knew, they weren’t awakened with a serum or System Stone the way that the Elites of the Golden Dragon Nation were.
“These cookies are wonderful. You have a truly talented cook among your Nature Clerics. We have one in charge of the kitchen at the weyr as well, but I must say, the baked goods are somewhat lacking.” Overlord Kenichi sighed.
“I am not sure which of the two here is responsible for the cookie recipe, but they’re both very talented bakers. It makes deployment much more pleasant.” Karl agreed.
“Oh, you get to travel with a Nature Cleric? That is truly fortunate. Surely, you don’t take them to battle. The Nature Clerics are not known for being reliable combat partners, or particularly fond of combat. We do not force our clerics to go against their aspect’s nature in the Drake Isles.”
Karl smiled. “The Nature God’s High Priestess that travels with me is a healing specialist with excellent cooking skills and an intense fondness for exploration. She might complain if we wake her up early, but I don’t think anything we have asked is contrary to her Goddess.”
“I don’t suppose that the giant spider monster has anything to it? I’ve never met a Green Dragon who could resist that.” The other Drake Rider Overlord joked.
“It might have a small amount to do with it.”
Rae had been in her space since just after the riders were spotted, so unless the quiet man had senses that were better than hers, he must have known something about Karl before he arrived.
It had been most of an hour, and the teams were due to exit the dungeon soon. Karl could see the tension of the Overlords as each additional minute passed. The longer they took, they more they must have struggled. Unlike Karl’s team, which was on friendly ground when they went in, the purpose of coming with the Overlords was to secure their exit after they had finished, and had hopefully made it to Commander Rank.
Karl could see that Overlord Kenichi was itching to do something, and was about to get up when a portal opened and a group of shouting soldiers rushed out fifty metres from the camp.
The Overlords were all on their feet instantly, and it was only after they were standing that they realized the new arrivals didn’t belong to either side’s nation.
“Did we put up a ‘Grand Opening, Everyone Welcome’ billboard or something?” Karl muttered, and the pair of Drake Riders burst into laughter, shattering the tension of the situation.
Overlord Kenichi spat on the ground. “Witry, what are you doing here?”
“The Most Glorious Oracle Foresaw that there would be a great opportunity for the Fourth Grade Mages at this place and time. I can sense the dungeon entrance from here, Dragon Slave.” The man in front of the group of Mages, another Overlord, snarled back.
A significant portion of the top fighters of three nations were now gathered in a hostile standoff in the middle of nowhere, and Karl began to worry that the young Drake Riders were going to come out to the middle of a massacre.
The Mage gave everyone a disgusted look, then his eyes landed on Karl.
“Is this your dungeon challenge champion? He doesn’t look like much.” The mage continued.
Karl winked and blew him a kiss, which made Kenichi laugh even harder.
Karl had no idea what a dungeon champion was, but they had shown up with ten Commander Rank mages, and if it was a battle between champions, nobody but the group’s leader could beat him one on one. But if it were the leader challenging, he would be fighting one of the three Overlords at his own Rank.
Overlord Niall smiled under his mask. “Are you certain that you want to make an over Rank challenge? You might not have anyone left to challenge the dungeon after. I am certain you will find our entry fee eminently reasonable.”
Karl couldn’t tell how powerful the attack magic of a foreign mage might be at the Commander Rank, but Niall was right, none of them would be able to touch him in combat.
The mage glared at him, and Karl saw the thermal image of the ten Drake Riders exiting the dungeon. Colonel Valerie was holding them in place while the argument continued outside the camp, but nobody in the other groups seemed to have noticed they had returned yet.
Karl did a quick headcount, verifying that all ten of them had made it out of the dungeon.
The mages sneered at Karl and quietly began to encourage their leader to take the challenge instead of paying the bribe.
So that was how it worked. The Drake Riders had just paid up and sent their teams in without a fuss. It was fast and efficient, so they were already finished their run, and once Karl could get a better read on them, he would find out if their payment had earned them any advancements to Commander.
The mage turned back to his team and silenced them with one raised hand. “We have conditions. No deliberate lethal blows, no enchanted blades, and a full charge format.” The Mage demanded.
Overlord Johann smiled. “No summons, no supporters.” He countered.
“On either side.” The mage insisted.
That could be a bit of a mess for Karl, if he couldn’t call out his beasts to support.
[Humans are stupid. We can fight from in here. We just can’t call the Golems.] Rae informed him.
That was likely a rule violation, but how would they prove it? When the beasts cast a spell from their space, you would have to be able to see into the spaces to know that they were helping at all.
The mages nodded in encouragement, and their leader extended a hand for Johann to shake.
“Set the arena boundary and we can get started.” The mage announced.
Niall leaned over to whisper to Karl, low enough the others shouldn’t hear. “No aiming for the head and don’t let your beasts come out.
As long as you don’t aim for the heart or the head, you shouldn’t be accused of trying for killing blows. Do you have a weapon that isn’t bladed?”
Karl took out his maul and placed it on the ground between his feet.
“Oh, that should do just fine. Potions aren’t prohibited, so if you have some, you can use them to buff for the fight. Outside assistance is prohibited in general, so no support spells from your team.” The Rogue added.
“I just wish that I could use Rae’s Shadow Step ability. This could get much more fun.” Karl whispered back.
The mage leader was now glaring at Kenichi, who was still laughing.
“What in the seven gods is so funny?” He demanded.
“You should have paid the bribe. He’s going to beat the ever-loving hell out of your boys.”
The mage spat at Kenichi’s feet and turned away, sending his team to the large circle that Overlord Johann had inscribed with an attack spell.
They might be neighbours, but they were obviously not any closer friends than the Drake Riders and the Golden Dragon Nation were. Or perhaps it was personal.
It was about fifty metres across, plenty of room to fight. Normally, that should favour the mages, but it was also a small enough space that Remi could cover it with a Thunderstorm while Karl added a Blizzard.
“Do you need preparation time?” Johann asked. “I’m good. I’ve already eaten breakfast, as I do despise fighting on an empty stomach.”
The Knight patted Karl on the back and gestured to the marked arena.
“If they can’t get up for twenty seconds, they’re eliminated. I recommend aiming for legs. Easy to heal after, and it doesn’t leave them with a grudge.”