The rest of the dragons came out over the next minute, all excited about their new class assignment and the opportunities that they would have in the future. A dozen baby dragons with class skills put the Divine Beast Nation way ahead of the others, even if half the Academy had gotten a new class through the portal the Archbishop had opened.
“Hey, Amalgarystica, before you leave, do you think that you could demonstrate your [Druid Lord] class skill for us?” Karl asked the baby green dragon, by name.
The System interface gave names that were colour coded by class, and most of them were destined to be clerics or warriors, but that one had been a deep emerald green that had intrigued Karl enough to check its status.
The tiny green creature flew out of the nest, circled Karl twice, then landed on Lotus’ shoulder facing him.
{How did you know that I’m a Druid Lord?} She asked.
“It’s visible to other System users. I’ve never seen the class before, so I’m quite curious what the class skill for a Green Dragon who is also a Druid Lord will be.” Karl explained.
“Oh, that makes sense. Here.”
The black dragon began to laugh as a ten-metre tall, Commander Rank construct made entirely of vines appeared in the ruins.
It had a few larger than usual leaves, approximating modesty, but it was shaped so similarly to Lotus that the dragon couldn’t help but make comparisons.
It even looked like it had the same undercut hairstyle.
“That is incredible. You are a natural artist.” Lotus exclaimed as she gently petted the Dragon’s head.
The Black Dragon glared at them. {What did I just say? You cannot have a baby dragon.}
Karl raised his hands in surrender. “I am not trying to steal a dragon. I just wanted to know what the class skill was.
That construct is spectacular. It is giving off a healing aura, slowly repairing the buildings, and regrowing the plants in the area, all at once.
For a Commander Rank class skill, it is incredibly overpowered.”
The massive dragon looked smug on the little one’s behalf. {Did you expect less of a disciple of the Nature Goddess?}
“My apologies, my world was too small. I was judging a Dragon’s potential by human standards.”
{Your words are polite, but you still have the baby dragon.}
Karl reached over to tickle the little dragon under its chin, which made it giggle as it took flight, returning to the mobile nest before it got in trouble for making new friends as well.
“Don’t worry, Lotus. We will find another chance to interact with baby dragons. I am certain of it.” Karl whispered.
The basket of dragon whelps vanished once the last one was back inside, and that seemed to be the trigger for tensions between the factions ramping up.
Now that the little ones were gone, all of the Totems seemed to be focused on taking the Relic for themselves.
Normally, they wouldn’t directly fight with each other. There were political alliances to consider, and the wrath of the Mythic Rank Black Dragon that quietly ruled the continent. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t going to find a way to fight over it.
{How should we settle this? Champions or a wager?} The black dragon asked his counterparts.
“Like hell. There is no way I will gamble with you.” The Totem Rank Mountain Giant complained.
The Archbishop shrugged. “What sort of wager did you have in mind? Or we can do Champions if you like. Three of us have a Royal Rank representative here.”
Colonel Lu snorted in annoyance. He already knew that no Royal Rank opponent would be able to take Karl out. Even if he didn’t call out his beasts, he was a beast himself in combat.
The Mountain Giant looked at Karl and the Royal Rank options in the Newbon Army team. He didn’t know much about Karl, but he had heard rumours about an Elite to be aware of on the Hill Giant lines not long ago.
That could be him. But the leader didn’t recall all the details.
{I suggest that we wager on which nation obtains the next Totem.} The Dragon suggested with a sly smile.
The Archbishop shrugged. That was a reasonable sort of bet. It was hard to tell which Overlord would actually grow enough to reach the bottleneck, and nearly impossible to guess which would break it first.
The Mountain Giant smirked at the Dragon. He had a successor who was very close to the bottleneck. He had a very good chance of winning.
“I would take that bet.” The Giant agreed.
The General was about to say something, when he noticed that Karl’s entire team, except Karl and Dana, who had her mask up, had turned away to poorly hide their laughter.
He glared at them for a moment, trying to understand what he was missing, then glanced at the dragon, who hadn’t lost the smug smile. They knew what had happened with Overlord Leafa. They had to, or they wouldn’t be so smug. “Pick another wager. That one is no good.” He insisted.
The Archbishop looked startled, while the Giant was confused. You didn’t have to bet on your own Nation, it could be one of the human nations you bet on as well, or even an enemy nation.
Why would the bet be no good? The phrasing didn’t make sense.
The Archbishop looked at the others. “Then another wager? Something different from the usual, perhaps?” The Mountain Giant smirked. “How about we test it by preparedness?”
The word seemed to translate strangely in Karl’s head, and the system hung up on the word for a moment, as if unsure what meaning to assign to it.
“How so?” The General asked.
The dragon tilted its head. {Why not make it a best of three? Other than ourselves, we will wager on which warrior here has the best thing?}
The other Totems considered that for a moment. The Archbishop looked dubious about his chance of winning, while the General seemed indifferent. But the Giant looked suspiciously at the Dragon. “Is this not just an excuse to have our subordinates take out their best items so you can have them killed and looted later?”
[It had better be.] Rae agreed.
[Right? We are short on good things.] Cara added.
{The Beast Master thinks it is a good idea.} The Dragon laughed.
Colonel Lu, the Minotaur, snorted a challenge. “That’s because he fully intends to kill everyone else for their loot the moment that you all leave. And he can probably do it, too.”
“Are you becoming a coward in your old age?” The General asked.
“He can summon Monarch Ranked bodyguards and personally one hit kill a Royal Ranked Cyclops. I am no coward, but I am telling you now that I can’t win that fight.” The Minotaur complained.
“Really?” The Archbishop asked. That was not in the official records of Karl’s abilities.
The dragon held up a claw to stop Karl from answering. {Why don’t we wager on that? Bring us a Monarch Rank Giant, and we will see if the Beast Master can one hit kill above his Rank. I trust the soldier that he can do it to one of his Rank. So, we can wager on one Rank higher. If he succeeds, I will have one of my clerics bring the Giant back to life. Then, if we have more than one correct wager, we will make another wager for the winners.}