Overlord Niall took out a notepad and placed it between them.
“Now we can move on to the reason I actually called you in here. I interviewed the failed assassin, and it appears that you have made the growing threat list of at least one foreign nation. The toxin from the spell scroll should have been potent enough to kill a Royal Rank Elite if it had landed.
If he hadn’t missed, we would have had only seconds to prevent your death.” Niall explained.
“He didn’t actually miss. Thor keeps Eternal Lightning, his defensive barrier skill, active on the whole group at all times. He doesn’t like any of us being in danger. So, the attack hit a Monarch Rank barrier skill and simply fell to the ground. I thought it was a poisoned needle, and tried to collect it, but it vanished after a few seconds.” “Do you have any idea what group might be after your life?” Niall asked.
“I didn’t get their names, but a human nation that uses Spellblades with black robes and red armour would be my first guess. They seemed a bit upset that we rejected their attempt to force their way into the trial that the Archbishop met me at. Of course, it could be the Giants. They have more than enough reasons to want me dead, especially after Lord Nacht trolled them during that same event. It’s probably not the Divine Beasts or the mages from Staptonbia. We all had a rather cordial relationship as of our last meeting, and the mages of Staptonbia were very pleased with our arrangement and the fact that we didn’t argue with their price.
The potions that they provided were an excellent base for an upgraded potion using resources that we obtained from the monster spawns.
One of them gave High Priestess Lotus a [Tree of Life] healing form, an Epic Grade spell, and the other allowed Thor to evolve into his current Divine Thunder Cerro form.”
“Thor has Thunder abilities?” Niall asked.
“Only one stomp ability. But he has a couple of Lightning-based skills, so it fits with the general theme of his progress.” freeweɓnvel.com
Karl thought about his new skills, and realized that while he could make skill books and use [Skill Master] to help others learn skills, he would soon be a great asset to Elites in general, simply because he could teach them random skills.
Maybe he should try to get the Overlord to help him learn a few more skills before he left the Capital again.
“Back on topic, we are concerned about the risk that someone is sending assassins after you, but the leadership is also determined to see if your luck will extend to a larger team.
Obviously, they’re not going to be able to spare an entire team of Royals to follow you around when you’ve already got four of them on contract.
I will look into the issue of the assassination attempts personally while your team is being debriefed and assessed after your deployment, then the apprentices will be sent to you.”
Karl drummed his fingers on the table as he considered ways to make that work.
“Can you send us Acolytes? You know, the ones who are going to go for the Divine Injection at the end of the school year? I can test them personally for compatibility, and then we can take five of them with us to train.” He suggested.
“You want Common Rank kids who are still in middle school?” Niall repeated, ensuring he hadn’t heard it wrong.
“Maybe from the Orphanages. That way there won’t be a fuss if things go wrong during training. Plus, I don’t want some politician’s snobby brat. I’d end up feeding them to Remi the first week.”
“You wouldn’t.” Niall countered, but Karl could see that he wasn’t convinced. Niall was a good judge of character, so he shouldn’t take long to determine that Karl wasn’t joking.
“Fine, maybe you would. I will see what we can find for your team. How long do you think that it will take to test them?” He added.
“We should be able to sort them in a day or two. I have a trick for it now. The Cleric classes might be a bit harder, but the acolytes for me, Dana and Ophelia should be easier. I can probably verify their compatibility right away.”
Niall made a note for himself, then gave Karl an expectant look.
“What can you tell me about what happened to you and Lord Nacht in the trial? The black dragon was… somewhat less than forthcoming with details.”
Karl chuckled. “I can see how that would happen. He’s not the greatest fan of humans in general.”
“But he seems to be fond of you.”
“I’m possibly the least humanish human that you will ever meet, though. But I can tell you that there was an evolutionary resource in the version of the trial that we got. It gave me a special constitution, and that was a major factor in being able to reach Monarch Rank.
His details are his own, and as much as I like to prank people, I’m not going to give out the private details of a Totem Rank black dragon.” Karl explained carefully.
“Understandable. Some Inquisitors would take that personally, but the Totems are said to be able to sense betrayal, and I would rather that he didn’t come barging in here.”
Karl chuckled. “We would likely be gone before he made it here.”
Overlord Niall shook his head. “He’s still at the Cathedral. If he sensed betrayal, he could fly here in under a minute.”
But the Inquisitor had asked anyhow, Karl noted.
“What are you going to tell the debriefing officers about your time abroad? Have you discussed it with the others?” Niall asked instead of continuing his questions about the trial.
“Not yet. I think everyone understands what part shouldn’t be spoken out loud. But most of the journey was eventful in one way or another, so there will be plenty to give them without looking like we’re stonewalling the investigation.
Besides, the Archbishop knows most of it already, and that’s the important part. Whether anyone else needs to know is up to him.”