Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

Silvia seemed exceptionally skilled at constructing her sentences with convoluted and ornate vocabulary, but through her tactful tone, Ron understood one thing clearly: they had nowhere else to go and were willing to add their strength to his efforts.

”In that case, I warmly welcome you,” Ron said, shaking Silvia’s hand. It felt ice-cold. ”Rest assured, there will be no prejudice against Vampire Descendants or Zor where we are. We are all fellow outcasts here.”

”That would be ideal,” Silvia said with a smiling nod. ”Allow us a moment to gather our things. Then... which way do we go?”

Ron and his companions were silent.

’This is bad. We were already lost. Now, after following those hollow-eyed slave traders all the way out here, we’re even more turned around.’

”Don’t panic! Don’t panic!” Aive took a map from one of the former slaves—now a free man. It had been taken from the body of one of the Casters.

”Ron! Victoria! Take a look at this. Are these locations marked with Magic?”

Ron and Victoria immediately huddled closer, and Silvia came over as well. ”That’s right. This yellow dot is our current position. The green one should be their destination.”

The trading post.

”We need to move quickly, though,” Silvia said with a frown. ”As the Caster who made this is dead, the markings will gradually fade and disappear.”

”Hold on a moment,” Victoria said, taking out the medical supplies and Potions she was carrying. ”Here, pass these around. None of you are in any condition to travel a long distance.”

”You too, Silvia.”

”Don’t touch me!” Just as Victoria uncorked a Healing Potion to treat Silvia, the Vampire Descendant let out a sharp cry.

”S-sorry, I lost my composure.” A moment later, Silvia, who had jumped back a good distance, realized she had overreacted. She hurried to apologize to the bewildered Victoria. ”I’m a Vampire Descendant. Even though I’m not of the true Blood Race, conventional healing methods still injure me.”

”But I appreciate the kind thought.”

”Then what about your wounds...?” Victoria’s frown eased slightly. ”I don’t know negative-energy healing.”

Only Priests who worship Evil Gods use healing methods that work on Undead Creatures. It seemed she had no way to effectively treat Silvia.

”I don’t suppose you have any Injuring Magic prepared?” Watching Victoria’s expression, Silvia already knew the answer. ”I can use that to heal. Aside from that, fresh blood and raw meat can also help me recover, but they only take effect while I’m resting and meditating.”

”Silvia has an incredible talent for Arcane Magic, but her race makes things... complicated,” Seymour said with a laugh. ”So if you need another hand on your adventures, you’ll have to call me!”

”I beg to differ,” Silvia said, lifting her chin slightly. ”Didn’t you see? Our benefactors’ party already has a Wanderer. You’re too late.”

”But that’s a goblin...” Seymour started to say, but then thought better of it and shut his mouth. It was hard to say who was more unwelcome: a lone goblin or a lone Zor.

”And what about you?” Ron asked, eyeing Silvia with interest. ”You’re an Arcane Caster?”

”Precisely!” Silvia nodded. ”On top of that, my combat skills aren’t half-bad. Bakoyannis had a hard time gaining the upper hand when we sparred, unless she was actually trying to kill me.”

”Furthermore, back in Carolina, the one in charge of ’training’ me was a disgusting old eccentric of a Mage—disgusting, yes, but a Mage nonetheless. I learned a great deal of Magic from him, as well as the Human Language, Elf Language, Dwarf Language, and a bit of the Dragon Language.”

After speaking, half to show off and half to prove her worth, Silvia repeated her last sentence in the other four languages she had mentioned. Aside from the Dragon Language, the rest were spoken with perfect fluency.

”Your Elf Language is a little too rigid. The pronunciation in a few places should be more like this—” As a true expert in the language, Aive immediately corrected several of Silvia’s grammatical and pronunciation mistakes. Silvia, in turn, listened like a model student, carefully committing Aive’s advice to memory and practicing repeatedly to make it stick.

”With an attitude like that, the Mage must have adored you,” Aive remarked, impressed by her studiousness.

”Quite the opposite.” A thick, undiluted hatred flashed in Silvia’s eyes. ”He once made me stand in a snowdrift in the dead of winter to recite incantations. He once beat my hands raw, then handed me a beaker full of Strong Acid and demanded I hold it high without spilling a single drop. And his other punishments were too numerous to count.”

”My only goal in trying so hard was to one day escape his clutches and live the free, easy life I’ve always dreamed of!”

”However...” Silvia laughed self-deprecatingly. ”Certain habits were drilled into me starting from the age of four. They saw me through my darkest days, and they still follow me like a shadow. I’m afraid I can’t get rid of them now.”

”That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Victoria said. ”As long as Carolina stands and that Mage is alive, you will never be truly free. They invested a great deal in you; they will certainly try to get you back.”

”Yes... you’re right.” Silvia fell silent for a moment before nodding. ”I won’t let my guard down. Not until I’ve had my final revenge.”

”The same goes for us!” the others who had just escaped that hell roared in a low chorus.

”In that case, I’m very glad to have you with us,” Ron said with a smile. ”Carolina works for Ming Datiss, and I’m not exactly on good terms with him. It seems we have a common enemy.”

”And after we’ve dealt with Ming Datiss, if Carolina thinks they can lay a hand on my people, they’ll have to get through us first!”

”I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you!” Silvia, Seymour, and the others broke into genuine smiles. ”Don’t worry, we will stand united with you!”

”Right, forget about battle lines for a second. Can we hunt some game to fill our stomachs first?” Sera muttered. ”We only have enough rations for four and a half people. It won’t be enough for this many!”

”Come on,” Seymour grinned, picking up a curved blade from the ground. ”We’re in a forest. You really think we’re going to starve? It’s the same whether you’re underground or on the surface—let’s see just how delicious the game in a surface forest is!”