The First Legendary Beast Master

Karl focused on the [Gargoyle] spell, and did his best to understand how it worked before he cast it for the first time, in case it was like the Golem spell, and the appearance would be fixed in future castings.

What he found was that you had to target a specific spot to form the Gargoyle on, and it would appear as a statue in that position until activated.

Karl decided that the obvious choice would be two either on the wall by the gate or near the stairs to the porch, and four smaller ones on the corners of the roof.

That was where the Golden Dragon Nation's buildings often had gargoyles, though those were just decorative, and the ones on the roof were primarily water outlets.

Karl focused, and realized that he could actually make many more of them than just those few. So, he put them at all four corners of the property as well, standing on the wall. Ten Gargoyles should be enough to handle most problems that the property might face, and they could see everything with their placement.

With the placement decided, Karl focused on creating the statues, using the images of Gargoyles that he had seen on buildings before as a reference, but making them as lifelike as possible, so they wouldn't be hampered by poor design if they should activate.

Tiger bodies, feathered wings, long front claws, and a furry head with a Draconic muzzle.

Karl formed them with an immense surge of power that nearly dropped him to his knees and drained a significant amount of mana from the team, once they realized they were needed to assist.

Perhaps ten was too many to create all at once.

Mage Jones gasped, and Karl straightened his back before opening his eyes again.

"That is... Did you make them actual Gargoyles, as in the species? I swear that one just blinked at me." The Demon muttered.

Karl frowned. "Was that not the point of the spell, to make Gargoyles to protect the property?"

Mage Jones stared at Karl in mutual confusion, then Karl noticed that the statue at the gate had just lost interest in them and looked away to supervise the road.

So, they weren't statues, they were stone Golems of a sort.

"It is supposed to make stone statues that fill the purpose of property guardians. It's only called the Gargoyle spell because that is what the actual species lives to do." The Mage finally explained.

"I think they're quite handsome, though." Karl noted. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

They were definitely not statues, Jones decided. They were mostly stationary, but they shifted subtly, turned their heads to watch pedestrians, and periodically blinked.

The Demon walked up to one of the Golems, and leaned forward to inspect it closely. For those few moments, it appeared to be a statue, but as soon as he turned away, Karl saw that the statue rolled its eyes at the Demon.

Quite a few people entering from the Western Frostfire Gate turned to look at the Golems that were stationed all around the property, an unintentional show of force by Karl, who viewed them as a defensive spell, not as ten Overlord Rank combatants on guard as everyone else saw them.

{Home Upgrade Made} Defensive Garrison

Mage Jones turned to the line of people at the gate, who were all now staring raptly at the Gargoyles, and sighed.

"I should get going. Good luck with your business ventures."

"I will see you again. Let me know if you need a custom order, I will help you out."

Mage Jones took flight to leave the property, and Karl nodded to the Golems, who opened the gates for him.

Seconds after they entered, the healing effect pulsed, causing confusion in the crowd.

"Don't let it hold up your business. It's set to aid those who have injuries or illnesses. A little customer service." Karl explained.

Then he went into the expanded workshop and began carving the runes to activate the forge with Ghostfire.

So, he didn't notice the most important fact about the lineup of guests that Davis immediately did.

None of these people were locals. They were all merchants and ship captains. The word had spread about this shop full of treasures, and even in the Dragon Isles, where magic was at its strongest, there were precious few sources of Royal and Monarch Rank magical items.

The number of people who could and would create them for sale in any given nation could normally be counted on the fingers of one hand, yet this Rakshasa had opened a shop full of magical items instead of putting them up for auction.

Which begged the question, what was he holding in reserve for after his workmanship had a better reputation?

Most of these people didn't know that he had been a Monarch yesterday, only that he had been selling Royal and Monarch Ranked items. The facts about the shopkeeper were vague, except for the fact that he was a War Champion with a golden trimmed tabard and the power to wipe out an enemy guild in minutes.

Karl was putting the finishing touches on the new forge when he felt eyes on his back. Not hostile, just curious and intent on him.

"How can I help? The crafters are working inside today, so there is nobody here to take requests unless you need me directly." Karl asked.

The slender demon with flaming hair gestured at the forge.

"The forge fire is pretty."

His voice was soft, enraptured by the blue flames. In his space, Hawk was just as fascinated by the Demon as it was by the forge. This was the first creature he had met that was also on fire.

And, it was an Overlord. Overlord Rank fire was on par with Hawk's in some ways, though Ghostfire was a grade above regular flames.

"I don't suppose that you're looking for work, are you? We are in need of a smith for magical metal items." Karl asked.

"To work this forge?" The demon asked.

Karl nodded, and it smiled.

"I think that we could work something out. I wasn't intending to stay here and work, I was going to go inland to the volcanic mountains. But this forge, I like it."