The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 703

The Inquisitor led Karl down a hallway opposite the direction of the scanners that the others were going to take him through, then down a set of spiral stairs, which led to another long hallway.

Continue your adventure at empire

That ended in a massive circular blast door with an entire team of Palace Guards standing at it.

"Interesting. The actual labs are not under the University facility at all, but to the west. This isn’t under a residential area, is it?" Karl asked.

"How can you tell that?" The Inquisitor demanded, visually scanning Karl for a compass or other tracking device.

"I’m from the mines. Never once in my life have I been lost underground. Now, can you tell me what is a kilometre west of the University? I haven’t had a chance to see the surface of the city." Karl explained.

"Woodland Hills Cycling and Recreation park. It’s a former gravel pit that was replanted and shaped into a public park when the city expanded past it. We’re currently beneath the park."

That would leave some risk of civilian injuries, but minimal, and if there was a blast from the battle, it could be explained away as the gravel pit settling, should anyone notice from the surface.

"Five hundred metres below it. Four hundred eighty-five, if my guess is right. Even with the air circulation, I can feel the depth." Karl added.

[It sounds cozy there.] Rae agreed from her hiding spot in the Palace Suite. Well, not exactly a hiding spot, as she was incorporeal and sitting on the sofa watching nature documentaries with Lotus. But technically hidden.

The massive underground facility was basically one huge burrow, and if she killed the lights, it would be a perfect nest, already fully stocked and everything.

The Inquisitor was giving Karl a strange look, but he kept walking to the guards. Karl held up his pass, which they pressed a small stone to, waiting for it to turn green.

Once it did and the spells on the pass were verified along with the picture and Karl’s face, they opened the door to let him into the laboratory. The doors slid into the stone, reducing the chance they could be pried open. They also extended a half dozen metres past the hallway, from the sound of the machinery moving them.

Truly a formidable barrier, even without the magical enhancement.

A gust of heat hit Karl’s face, smelling of coal, hot iron and magic. Then, the sound of hammers on metal, the distinctive ringing of a forge, reached them. Karl smiled and stepped through the blast doors, which slid shut behind him.

He turned back and looked at the smooth surface, then realized that his skills might actually be as much use for security as they were for offensive weapons.

Enhancing the durability of that door to Commander Rank or higher would make it nearly impossible for anyone or anything to get through three metres of solid steel in a reasonable timeframe.

There was someone waiting patiently for him to address them, so Karl took his mind off the door and turned to see what sort of workplace he would have for the near future.

The air was hot with the smell of forge, but the actual lab was immaculately clean. It was set up as an open floor plan, with forges along the wall and crafters making weapons. Then there was an enclosed clean zone in the middle with workbenches for whatever sensitive projects they were working on.

The entry was elevated, nearly thirty metres above the lab floor, with a walkway that went all the way around. Access to the main level was through any of a half dozen staircases, plus four visible elevator platforms that only operated within the lab.

The girl who had been waiting for Karl cleared her throat, making him look way down to find a ridiculously short woman with pink hair, a bulbous nose and big ears.

No way was that a human.

"Good morning Monarch. I am Chief Engineer Fizzspark, head of the engineering facility. You should be the new Runecrafter, correct? Please follow me to the floor and we can get started." She announced in a squeaky voice.

"Cara, behave. You have to ask before you take people for a trip." Karl admonished the wayward Void Badger. _{freewēbnoveℓ.com}