The damage to weapons and armor might have been an oversight on Cain's part, but if the contestants were going to go all out like that, it would be great for business here in the valley. They only had a few weapons and armor vendors right now, but they could have a considerable amount of inventory sent over whenever they wanted from the other crafters' locations.
Cain sent for a replacement armor set for Morgan on his tab, and they headed back to the Manor, frequently stopping to talk to the various friendly people along the way.
Morgan was not interested in a trip to the spa, so instead, they sat in the garden and chatted about the recent changes on the east side of the Central Continent. At the same time, the Puppets brought them experimental recipes to sample. The Orcs were doing well, the Landis Kingdom not as much, but well enough that it was at least not in danger of failing right away.
The only real issue was the desert, where nobody had control to begin with, and the spine of mountains that ran down the center of the continent. Unfortunately, the mountains were too rugged to support much of a population, so there weren't enough residents to clear any considerable size of daily spawn. Still, they seemed to generate as many monsters daily as any other region, with a heavy preponderance towards earth element sorts.
Slowly the rest of the guests filtered in, each of them stopping in shock at the sight of the Tower in the distance, dominating the skyline in front of them when they came through the travel circle. At first, they thought such a thing might be common on the Southern Continent, where they had heard stories of Mythic Creatures and incredibly powerful transfers, but Cain assured them that the continents weren't all that different in practice. The houses were still similar, and the domestic staff might murder you in your sleep if you suggested that they would have to clean such a monstrosity on a regular basis.
The delegation from Landis, led by Lancelot and accompanied by the Guild Member Carlos, who was currently living in the capital of Landis was the most enthusiastic about coming to train. There was an inordinate number of monsters appearing in their area like the random appearances were in favor of avoiding the Orcs entirely. The fault actually lay in the density of small Ley Lines that interconnected along that section of the shoreline, making the region around the Capital the most likely area to receive new arrivals every night, but Cain decided to keep that information to himself.
If they knew and panicked, they might leave the region entirely, which would let the monsters build up and just make more trouble for everyone else.
Earl Rhick Jaymz brought a number of Dragon Riders from the Northern Continent with him to see what all the fuss was about. They were all over level 400, with some reaching 500 already, so the tower itself didn't impress them too much, but the concept behind it did. It would be amazing for training soldiers before they were awakened, and the requirements to pass the Dragon Rider initiation were incredibly difficult, so the more actual battle experience the youths could get without dying the better their chance of impressing one of the semi-domesticated Dragons that they signed contracts with.
Their mounts weren't summoned, they were personally raised by the Dragon Riders. But they were still Dragons, and if you couldn't impress them they would just eat you for the insult of suggesting you should ride on top of them.
Laura particularly emphasized with that sentiment and spent many hours of the afternoon chatting with the mounts about the hardships of working with other species. Cain rarely rode on her, since he mostly summoned other beings and she remained in her Pixie form unless she needed to fight as a Dragon, but that didn't do much to slow her stream of complaints, it just toned them down a little.
The largest of the mounts, a powerful Red Dragon thought it was particularly amusing when she complained about her snacks being requisitioned for others.
"If we can get the dignitaries to the main dining hall, the kitchen has a special treat for everyone," Svetlana called out once everything was ready, gathering all the visitors who had scattered through the city to get a better understanding of what was working here in Skyview, or at least the Long Fang Valley.
What followed was possibly the most eclectic gathering of political leaders that the Central Continent had ever seen. A Fae Queen and a Dragon debated the merits of honey versus fruit-based sweets, while a Bear Kin Clan Chieftan and an Orc Princess sparred with chopsticks for the last bit of sweet and sour Mystic Flying Boar. An Elven Princess and her Fox Kin husband did their best to convince a Kitsune assassin to come home with them as a pet, while an Ancient and a Demon King discussed infrastructure plans.
In the end, much was decided, but none of it was as important as the decision to build a second Training Tower in the Demon Capital.
Their higher physical grades would let them progress very rapidly in this environment, and so they needed a constantly evolving physical challenge to keep their senses tuned to the maximum and hone their combat skills.
The city itself had been heavily damaged during the Dungeon incident, but it was well on the way to being repaired, with more than a few now vacant spaces belonging to now deceased family lines. The Guild's Forge was still intact and operational, having been fiercely defended by the best geared of the city's defenders, but there was nowhere near it to build such a large tower.
Instead, they would be building a much smaller tower, still fifty stories tall, but with a footprint only a hundred meters around. That would still give more than enough room inside, once the [Separate Space] enchantment activated, and fit in a single city block, like the other high-rise towers of the Demon City.
Construction of the new landmark was scheduled to start in three months, once things had begun to settle and everyone had spare time for new projects, which would also give Cain a chance to increase his level, making the building more useful to high-ranked demons. A win-win cooperation between the Darklight Host and the Demon Kingdom.
