Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”You... really don’t want them?”

After the Hill Giant carried Ron and his party up to the fourth floor, it seemed bewildered as they tried to ”return the property to its rightful owner.”

”Let me say it again: we really didn’t steal them!”

Ron ground his teeth, while Sera stood to the side like a child who had done something wrong.

”Didn’t you see all those dead Ghouls when you arrived? They’re the ones who stole your food. We were here to wipe them out!”

Ghouls would lie in wait at the edges of a Hill Giant’s lair. They are more cunning than common carrion beasts and monsters—especially if led by a Demon Ghost, they can use simple tricks to steal a giant’s food, like an entire corpse or even a whole group of them.

”But, the Elf said,” the Hill Giant mumbled in confusion, ”that he was the one who killed those Ghouls.”

”He’s lying to you!” Aive said. ”He’s nothing but a liar!”

”A... liar? Lying?” the Hill Giant asked in a rumbling voice, still sounding unconvinced.

”He’s tricked, abandoned, and killed a lot of people just to get what he wants,” Ron said, pausing to think. ”He said you two had a partnership. What did you work together on?”

”He... helped me find my food,” the Hill Giant recalled. ”I give him... a glass ball.”

A glass ball?

”It’s a glass ball to him, I suppose,” said Victoria. ”It’s probably another Gemstone.”

”Do you know where he is now?” Ron quickly asked the giant.

”Right... there?” The Hill Giant subconsciously turned to look, but there was no longer any sign of Ming Datiss.

”He went to steal things from your lair!” Delaford leaped onto the Hill Giant’s shoulder and roared, ”You idiot! He tricked you into leaving so he could raid your home!”

”If you don’t believe us, let’s go see if he’s still there!”

”This... Okay!” Hearing this, the Hill Giant scrambled to its feet and ran off, with Ron and the others following close behind.

The Hill Giant’s lair wasn’t too far away. When they arrived, they saw Quest just about to make a furtive getaway.

”Quest! Stop!” Ron bellowed. ”Where is Ming Datiss? Leave the Gemstone behind!”

”In your dreams!” Quest sneered, turning to flee. With a flick of his hand, he threw a large handful of assorted glass balls at Ron’s group. ”Is this what you want? You can have it back!”

”Don’t let him get away!”

Ron shouted at the top of his lungs, but the party’s pursuit was very slow. And while the Hill Giant’s strides were huge, it was slow to move and had a poor line of sight. After chasing for just a few dozen paces, it completely lost track of Quest.

”Damn it, he got away! That thing you’re after must be pretty important, huh?”

Silvia stomped her foot in frustration. ”A shame I’m out of Magic. If I wasn’t, I could have used Levitation Magic and he wouldn’t have gotten away so easily—what’s wrong with you all?”

The Vampire Descendant stared bewilderedly at Ron and the others, who didn’t seem anxious at all. Instead, they had started picking up the glass balls the Tiffling had used as a distraction. ”What are you doing? Go after him!”

”Go after who?” Aive glanced at her with a smile. ”That guy Quest is as careless as ever. Look, he threw out the real thing as a distraction!”

As she spoke, Aive held up a Gemstone orb for Silvia to see. Even without using Detection Magic, Silvia could feel the immense power within it. ”This is it?”

”That’s the one. We’ve gotten one of these before,” Ron said with a smiling nod. ”’His loyalty is commendable, but his competence is not.’ That saying was practically made for people like Quest.”

”Can’t be helped. Who told him to get stuck with such a ’great’ master?” Sera laced her fingers behind her head and whistled. ”The master ran off before the item was even secured. Is he really that scared of dying?”

”Probably because he knows his master won’t resurrect him again, right?” Victoria snorted. ”He’s self-aware on that point, at least.”

”Big Guy, we’ll be taking this as our reward. Any objections?” Ron tossed the Gemstone orb Aive had handed him, looking up at the Hill Giant. ”Are any of these others useful? If not, we’re planning to take them too.”

”Useless,” the Hill Giant said, shaking its huge head. ”Can’t eat. Hurts teeth.”

Giants aren’t Giant Dragons; they aren’t that interested in treasure. Besides, their digestive systems are not strong enough to digest glass and Gemstones.

”By the way, do you know what kind of person that Elf is now?”

”Thief! Liar!” The Hill Giant brandished its fists angrily. ”If I see him again, I’ll eat him, bones and all!”

”Good,” Ron nodded in satisfaction. ”Also, from now on, if you see any humanoids other than that Elf, don’t eat them. Got it?”

”That’s the only way we’ll have a reason not to kill you.”

’I have to make this clear to the Hill Giant now,’ he thought, ’so I don’t have to feel bad about it later.’

”Wear clothes, don’t eat. Except Male Elf.” The Hill Giant shivered slightly as it repeated Ron’s words.

The spot where Sera had brutally beaten it was still throbbing with pain. It did not want another beating.

After receiving the Hill Giant’s promise, Ron and his party left. However, they weren’t in a hurry to return. Instead, they prepared to visit a friend and ally deep within the Delusional Land and retrieve something from his treasury.

Specifically, the amethyst slab kept in the Aiksuuri Treasure Vault.

You led the way at the front while Ron fell to the back of the group. He opened the Weaving Introduction and used the Spellbook’s innate Identification Magic to appraise the new Gemstone.

Unlike the bluish-purple Lightning Gemstone embedded in the Aive Tower Shield, this Gemstone was a brilliant cyan color, reflecting complex, varied shades of light under the sun.

Just as the Lightning Gemstone could store up to six charges of Lightning Bolt and made its bearer immune to electric shocks, this Gemstone also functioned as a Magic Item.

”So? How is it?” Silvia rubbed her hands together, looking at the Gemstone with anticipation.

’I already know that Ron’s Spellbook is a relic from the Hailan Empire,’ she thought. ’It would be a lie to say I don’t want one for myself.’

’If only this Gemstone key could also produce a Spellbook—’

”Elemental Weapon, three times per day, duration of a full eight hours, but...” Ron looked up with a strange expression. ”But it’s limited to Strong Acid.”

”It can also be used to enchant armor, giving it resistance to Strong Acid.”

The Elemental Weapon spell normally allows a Caster to choose from several elements. They can then enchant a non-magical weapon, turning it into a Magic Weapon. However, the effect only lasts for an hour and requires the Caster to maintain concentration.