Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”I just feel like it’s not very safe for us to go on like this,” Aive muttered, ”especially since I have to leave my armor and shield behind.”

”Don’t rely so much on material possessions, Aive,” Victoria said, her expression pious. ”Look inward to find your strength.”

”Well, I’m not planning on worshipping Heim,” Aive sighed in resignation and began to undo her gear.

Delaford glanced from one to the other, then took two timid steps back and forced a laugh. ”Uh, hey, I’ll just stay here and watch your clothes... so *it* doesn’t steal them!”

Aiksuuri: ???

’You’re just a goblin who’s scared of water, so be scared of water. What’s it got to do with me?’

”Am I that kind of dragon?!” Aiksuuri snorted irritably at Delaford. The acrid stench made the goblin sneeze uncontrollably. ”But I really can’t go down there with you. ’Teacher’ specifically warned me that the creature down there isn’t very friendly toward the Dragon Species. I’d better not go looking for trouble.”

”Alright then, but let’s set a time,” Ron said, dipping his foot into the Dark River. He immediately snatched it back from the icy cold. ”How about a three-hour limit? If we can’t make it back up, we’ll need you to come look for us.”

”You can count on it!” Aiksuuri nodded. ”I’ll keep our agreement.”

Even though Ron was the first to start taking off his clothes, he was the last to jump in the water. It wasn’t that he wanted to stay on the bank and admire the three women’s figures—a heavily armored Warrior, a barbarian, and a guard. Their muscles and scars weren’t exactly a pleasant sight to behold, even if Aive and Victoria were quite attractive by Ron’s standards. The main reason was that the water was too cold, and he still had to get used to it.

PTOO—

Sera, who had plunged headfirst into the water, spat out a mouthful and laughed at Ron. ”You Mages are way too sensitive! Where I’m from, you have to jump in the second you cut a hole in the ice, otherwise you’ll crack your head on the surface when it freezes over again!”

”Jeez—” Aive exclaimed dramatically. ”Every time you tell stories about the north, it always sounds like you’re telling tall tales.”

”Hmph, suit yourself. Go try it for yourself someday and you’ll see!”

After a long while, Ron finally ”slid” into the water. The underwater temperature was relatively warm, not nearly as cold as it had felt when he first touched it.

”Dive straight down from here! If that creature isn’t purely aquatic, you might find a hidden cave where you can get some air!” The voice of the Black Dragon, Aiksuuri, came from above their heads, on the other side of the water’s surface.

This was underwater, underground. Although Ron opened his eyes, his field of vision was almost no different from when they were closed.

Moreover, he couldn’t open his mouth to speak here, so there was no way to cast Dancing Light Magic.

”Mmmph mmph—” Aive swam confidently up to the three humans, who were as good as blind, and gestured that she could lead the way.

Following the Half-Elf maiden, a faint light began to appear as they descended deeper. It was the bioluminescence of various aquatic creatures.

Apparently, it wasn’t just humans who couldn’t see clearly underwater.

In the now relatively brighter underwater world, Ron’s group quickly found the submerged entrance to the cave Aiksuuri had mentioned.

But as they swam toward the opening in single file, they discovered this place to catch their breath would not be so easy to enter.

A pair of huge, orange-yellow eyes appeared above them. The creature’s massive, blue-green fish head was expressionless as it floated there, coldly watching Ron and his companions.

’What are we supposed to do?!’

The other three might have been fine, but Ron was no athlete and had no formal training. In the silent standoff, the oxygen in his lungs was rapidly depleting—he couldn’t hold on much longer.

At this point, his companions had clearly noticed Ron’s condition. They began gesturing frantically at the creature, hoping this being with the head of a fish and the body of a man would show them some mercy—or at least be reasonable—and let them surface.

If this stalemate continued, even they wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

Finally, just as Ron was starting to show signs of drowning, the creature relented, turned, and swam upward. Aive and the others quickly grabbed Ron and followed.

GASP! GASP!

The moment his head broke the surface, Ron started gulping down air. He was alive.

That short, yet seemingly endless, dive had nearly sent him through the Ghost Gate!

And the culprit for all of this was the ”mermaid” in front of them, who had already leaped onto a protruding rock and was once again tilting its head, sizing them up.

Its scales were beautiful; the blue-green plates reflected an iridescent light after Ron cast his Light Magic. But judging by its appearance, it was quite different from the mermaids Ron had heard stories about.

Simply put, the fish part was its head, and the human part was its body.

”That’s not a mermaid,” Aive whispered. ”It’s a Fishman.”

”But I don’t understand. Shouldn’t all Fishman races be in the sea? Why would it appear here?”

”All bodies of water are connected to the ocean, all oceans are connected to the Water Elemental Plane, and the Elemental Planes connect all worlds.”

The Fishman suddenly spoke in fluent Common Language, and the first thing it said was a long-winded lecture.

”There is nothing strange in my being here. You are the strange ones.”

This Fishman had probably learned some outdated version of the Common Language, which was why its choice of personal pronouns was a bit strange.

”Pardon me?” Aive was stunned. She looked up at him, confused. ”How can you... no, since you can, then you must be—”

”Sorol Fishman. That is what you land-dwellers call my kind,” the Fishman nodded, confirming Aive’s thought. ”My name is Devin Booker, Centurion of the Fourth Army of the Freshwater Legion.”

The Fishman seemed to deliberately simplify its pronunciation, making the name easier for Ron and the others to understand. ”I have guarded this place for ninety years now.”

”Guarded this place?” Ron looked at him curiously. ”Why guard this place?”

”Didn’t you hear him? Freshwater Legion,” Sera said. ”I assume this underground river counts as freshwater.”

”That’s not what she means,” Aive explained. ”The Sorol Fishmen guard the ocean depths. They build small settlements near trenches, near Teleportation Gates connected to the Elemental Planes, and in other dangerous places far from the sight of land-dwellers. It might seem remote to us, but they’re truly respectable warriors. They’ve made outstanding contributions toward stopping the Elemental Planes from invading the material world.”