Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

In the days that followed, Ron barely got out of bed.

Mayor Victor of Fromm Town kept his promise, so the trade post began attracting numerous merchant caravans and travelers. Thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, both the trade post and the surrounding village built by the refugees were gradually getting on the right track.

Ron, the nominal leader, could afford to be a completely hands-off manager without any issues arising.

During his days spent sick in bed, Lavinia had purchased some cheaply sold scrolls and books from passing merchants, making Ron’s life as a shut-in without electronic devices a little less boring.

The Half-Elf girl in the next sickbed, on the other hand, was getting rather bored. She repeatedly asked Buni and Victoria to heal her directly with Magic, but both Priests refused for various reasons. The rationale was simple: frequent magical healing could cause the body to become dependent, potentially lowering one’s own constitution and resistance—a measure taken entirely for the Warrior’s benefit.

Fortunately, she wouldn’t need a hundred days to recover. Once Ron was able to move around normally again, and after Aive’s injuries were diagnosed as mostly healed, Buni ended her suffering with a single, precise Healing Magic spell. This method of accelerating the recovery process was considered harmless in this world.

That evening, all the core members gathered on the second floor of the structure built into the mountain behind the trade post. This was their lounge; the second floor of the wooden building out front served as an inn and infirmary for travelers.

Ron placed the purple stone tablet on the table, then took out the spherical gemstone. In the pitch-black room, the two treasures shone with a brilliant light.

Ron: ”...Hey, can someone turn on the lights?”

’What the heck is this all about!’

”I thought it would add a bit of a mysterious atmosphere,” Delaford said sheepishly as he ran over to light the lamps in the room.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ron carefully tried to fit the gemstone into one of the indentations. It was as if there was a magnetic pull between the tablet and the gemstone; before Ron could even align it properly, the gemstone latched on with a POP.

And then... nothing happened.

”What’s going on?” Unwilling to give up, Ron tried a different slot, but there was still no change.

Flip the tablet over? Still no effect.

”How strange!” Klade exclaimed. ”Can I give it a try?”

”Here.” Ron wasn’t being secretive and passed the gemstone over. However, no matter how the earth goblin experimented, neither the gemstone nor the tablet showed any reaction.

”It doesn’t even have that pull anymore,” Klade said, dejectedly handing the gemstone to Lavinia.

To make a long story short, everyone in the room took a turn, but no one could get it to work.

”You think it’s broken?” The moment Delaford opened his mouth, Lavinia, who was next to him, rapped him on the head.

”Don’t say such cursed things!”

”It should be intact,” Victoria said. ”The Spiritual Light is very strong, and there’s a fluctuation every time the two touch. I just don’t know why it’s not working.”

”Hmm...” Ron stroked his chin, then suddenly looked up at Aive. ”Why don’t you put on that armor and give it a try?”

”You think it’s related to the holder’s bloodline? Or maybe related to items or emblems made by the Hailan Empire?” Lavinia glanced at Ron. ”With all due respect, that theory doesn’t sound very reliable.”

”Conventional methods aren’t working, so we might as well try something unconventional,” Ron said nonchalantly. ”You got a better idea?”

”No.” Lavinia sat back down sullenly. ’What could I possibly do? This thing is way beyond my scope of knowledge.’

”Alright, I’ll try.” Aive turned and left, returning a moment later wearing the Chest Armor.

Although she had to cover the emblem on it when outside, they were all allies here, so there was nothing to hide.

”Don’t get your hopes up, okay? I’m just a Half-Elf, and my mom was a member of the resistance,” Aive grumbled as she took the gemstone, placing her other hand on the tablet.

The instant she touched both items, the tablet burst with a brilliant light! The gemstone flew from Aive’s grasp, returning on its own and soaring toward the tablet’s embrace!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

Everyone then watched as the gemstone repeatedly fell through the air, struck the tablet, and bounced back up again.

”Flip it over, flip it over!” A few of them, having realized what was happening, scrambled to turn the tablet over. As expected, the gemstone descended once more, fitting perfectly into one of the three indentations on the sandy-textured side.

The tablet wobbled and began to float. With a THUD, a book weighing about three pounds and nearly a hundred pages long, bound in a deep, dark purple cover with ornate decorations, materialized from the tablet and dropped onto the table they were gathered around.

”A... book?” Lavinia impatiently leaped onto the table, kneeling on it and began flipping through the pages. ”It’s blank!”

”A blank... ultimate weapon?” The earth goblin’s interest instantly waned. ”I thought it would contain some kind of War Magic...”

”Unfortunately, no. There’s only a Transcription Magic spell here. The user can transcribe Magic into the Spellbook to add it to their known spells.”

Lavinia closed the book with a hint of disappointment and slid it over to Ron. ”No wonder the Hailan Empire never used it in the end. I suspect these so-called ’trump cards’ were never even finished!”

”Here. Now you don’t have to record your spells on ordinary paper anymore. This is a hundred-year-old antique, after all. Pretty impressive to show off, isn’t it?”

Lavinia had her own Spellbook, and this wasn’t her specialty anyway, so she had no use for it.

That meant Ron was the only one present who could use it.

”The Spellbook will completely bind to you after you’ve transcribed six non-cantrip spells into it. You don’t know enough spells yet, right? Keep up the good work,” Lavinia said, nodding at Ron. ”Go on, give it a try.”

”Well, it’d be rude to refuse,” Ron said, not standing on ceremony. He took the blank Spellbook and began flipping through it casually. ”I wonder if that ’key’ is still useful. If it’s still a Magic Item, we might as well give it to Aive. Her armor set would definitely be better with a lightning immunity effect.”

”I can help set it into the armor,” Victoria offered. ”If there’s nothing else, we’ll be taking our leave.”

”Mm-hmm...” Ron moved quickly, immediately bringing over all of Lavinia’s original books and the ones she’d recently bought. ”I’ve got some research to do. You guys go on ahead, don’t call me for dinner.”

”Hey, Boss,” Delaford, the last one to leave, said after everyone else had dispersed. He glanced back at Ron and reminded him in a low voice, ”Your mouth!”

Ron: ”?”

”Your mouth!” Delaford pointed to his own mouth. ”You’re grinning from ear to ear!”

HISS—