Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”Don’t worry. From now on, you’ll be the second author on any papers I write.”

Ron joked. A Ghostly Half-Elf was still a Half-Elf. Though they kept strangers at a distance, they were quite friendly to people they knew.

”Do you have a place to practice here? I probably can’t go all out in the inn. What if something explodes...”

”Hah, it’s not that easy to make things explode. You make it sound like Fireball Magic is the only spell in existence,” Lavinia said, pointing to the back of the alchemy shop. ”Though, that is the only impression most people have of Magic. The backyard has enough space. Practice all you want.”

”But don’t you dare harm my flower garden! I grew those from seeds I brought from my clan. It was incredibly difficult to get them to grow!”

”Don’t worry!” Ron waved his hand and turned toward the back of the Little Cat Alchemy Shop.

He already had a plan for the cantrips when he was picking out materials earlier. He wasn’t a complete newbie; he’d at least played a few tabletop sessions and similar games, so he had a decent idea of which cantrips were useful.

First up was Mage’s Hand. That one was a must-have.

The purpose of Mage’s Hand was to summon a floating Ghost Hand at a designated point within nine meters of the Caster. The Ghost Hand would last for up to one minute or until the Caster actively dismissed it. If the Ghost Hand moved beyond the casting range, or if Mage’s Hand was cast again, the existing Ghost Hand would be instantly dismissed.

The Caster could control the Ghost Hand and use it to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, place an item into or retrieve it from a container, or pour out the contents of a vial, among other things.

The only limitations were that the Ghost Hand couldn’t attack, activate Magic Items, or carry anything weighing more than ten pounds.

But those were minor details. Mage’s Hand was a cantrip; it didn’t take up a prepared spell slot in a Spellbook and had no daily casting limit. What more could you ask for?

Ron took out the necessary materials beforehand and then opened *Someone’s Magic Learning Guide*.

Generally, when a Mage scribed Magic, they had a process to follow. First, they had to reconstruct the spell’s basic formula. Then, they had to decipher the unique symbolic system used by the Mage who originally wrote it down. The spell required repeated practice to fully understand its incantations and gestures. Only then could it be scribed into their own Spellbook using their personal symbolic system.

But this *Magic Guide* was clearly prepared for Mage Apprentices and Muggles like Ron. In the basic instructional section at the beginning, the symbolic system used in the book had already been thoroughly explained. All Ron had to do was understand it.

Incantation, gesture, and material component—these were the three necessary elements for Casting. Casting in the real world was far more complex than in games, but something at this level wasn’t too difficult for Ron.

’Back in the day, some guy turned twenty bucks into thirty-seven million. Me, Ron? I once crammed 1,800 pages for three subjects overnight and passed with a seventy-plus. Learning three measly cantrips in half a day? Not a problem!’

”Mag...”

As Ron began to practice, a blurry, hand-shaped silhouette started to distort the space and slowly materialize in front of him as he recited the incantation...

’That silly kid.’

Two hours later, inside the alchemy shop, Lavinia was still studying Ron’s experiment from yesterday. After all, seeing someone else succeed was one thing; succeeding on your own was another matter entirely.

’If Magic were that easy to learn, wouldn’t Mages be as common as stray dogs?’ the Half-Elf thought leisurely, waiting for the Potion to begin reacting on its own.

’What’s the reality? Most Casters rely on their ancestral bloodlines, pray to or make pacts with Deities or similar beings, or draw power from their insight into nature... As for learning Magic, how many people study their whole lives and remain nothing more than an apprentice!’

’Oh, whatever,’ Lavinia mused. ’I should probably go check on him. Give him a little encouragement? It’s much more effective to let him give up on his own than for me to crush his spirit.’

’I’m not being malicious, just helping a human save time. They don’t have the lifespan to squander on something so meaningless and fruitless...’

Lavinia checked the time, then started walking toward the back, muttering to herself.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in Ron; it was just that the path of a Mage was incredibly difficult, and humans weren’t exactly a race with a natural affinity for Magic.

But when Lavinia reached the backyard, what did she see?

A Ghost Hand floated by Ron’s side, four torch-sized orbs of light hovered around him, and as he chanted, he threw a bolt of fire that struck the nearby stone wall, leaving a scorched mark.

”Mage’s Hand, Dancing Light Magic, and Flaming Arrow?!”

Lavinia stared, dumbfounded, at the young man before her. No, wait, what young man? This was a monster!

It usually took at least two hours or more to learn a single spell, and far longer to master it—but he had already learned three! And one of them, Dancing Light Magic, even required concentration!

’What kind of person is this?!’

”Eh? Hi!” Seeing Lavinia approach, Ron immediately greeted her. The distraction, however, was too much for his Energy to handle, and the Dancing Light Magic instantly dissipated into the air.

”Perfect timing! How’s this for results?”

’This kid is showing off to me!’

”How’s what?” Lavinia reverted to the same cold demeanor she’d had when Ron first met her. ”It’s fine. Just so-so.”

”It’s only three cantrips. Even the most clumsy Mage can learn them. Nothing to be proud of.”

She conveniently forgot to mention she was talking about actual Mages, not apprentices, nor did she specify how long it took those Mages to master them!

Ron just said, ”Oh.” Then he added, ”In that case, I’d like to buy some more materials from you and learn some new...”

”There’s nothing left!” Lavinia snapped, frustrated. Seeing Ron’s confused look, she realized how strange she was acting.

”Ahem,” the Half-Elf coughed to hide her embarrassment. ”There’s no point in learning a few more cantrips. Even if you master all of them, they’re still just cantrips.”

”Since you’ve already learned some cantrips, it proves you have ’a little’ talent. I’ll give you a real Magic spell. Want to learn it?”

’I have to take this guy down a peg.’ There was a fundamental difference between proper Magic and cantrips, and she had no intention of teaching Ron how to decipher her personal symbols!

Lavinia believed that as long as he couldn’t learn what she taught him, her inner peace would be restored, and she would be able to sleep soundly at night... right?

”I’m in!” Ron didn’t care what Lavinia was thinking. After the last two hours, he was completely hooked.

’This Magic stuff is awesome!’