Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”You want me? What for?” Sera asked reluctantly, her eyes glued to the nearly roasted venison. ”I don’t know any Magic. Am I just supposed to go and stare?”

”This time it’s not just about watching!” Aive pushed Sera with a giggle. ”Go on, go on! There’s something good for you!”

”And as for your share of the venison, I’ll eat it for you!”

”Her share?!” the Black Dragon yelped in alarm. ”I thought you were all being nice, but you’re really after my kill! No way, no way! I already said no!”

”But I’m the one who started the fire!” Delaford said defiantly, hands on his hips. ”Besides, I’m only this tall. How much could I possibly eat? You can at least give me one piece, right?”

”Well... alright,” Aiksuuri relented after a moment’s thought. ”You can have some.”

”But I’m the one who put the salt on,” Sera’s hearing was particularly sharp just then. She had been about to enter the lair but ran back, and without a word, tore off a piece of venison, skin and all. ”Just tasting to see if it’s salty enough isn’t asking too much, is it?”

”Tch, humans,” the Black Dragon said, looking pained as he stared at the now-incomplete roast deer. He quickly took a huge bite himself. ”Go on, go on. Didn’t Ron call for you? Sigh.”

”Hey, hey, hey! Mixed-blood, what makes you think you can just grab some?”

Just as Aive was about to take advantage of the chaos to tear off a piece for herself, Delaford’s hand shot out and slapped hers away. ”You didn’t do any work, so you don’t get to eat!”

”Hey! You little shorty!” Aive’s emerald eyes went wide. ”How can you side with him against me—”

”What do you mean, ’siding with him’? We’re the ’Roast Venison Alliance’!” Delaford declared righteously. ”You’re the outsider here, right, Aiksuuri?”

”Mmph, mmph, mmph—” The Black Dragon was busy tearing meat off the spit and could only nod in agreement.

’He wasn’t an idiot. How many bites would he miss in the time it took to open his mouth and speak!’

”You people!” The Half-Elf scoffed. ”You’re all so short-sighted, you know that? You roast a deer with nothing on it and think it’s some kind of delicacy!”

”Look over here. The real culinary master is right here! I’ve been helping out in my family’s kitchen since I was twelve!”

”Lies! All lies!” the goblin sneered. ”Forget about here, it’s hard to get spices even at the trading post. Those spice merchants jack up the prices on everything. We’re lucky to have salt!”

”That’s why I said you’re short-sighted,” Aive said with a cold laugh. She pulled a small bottle from her pocket. The moment she opened it, a refreshing, heart-stirring fragrance wafted into Delaford’s and Aiksuuri’s nostrils, tantalizing their senses. ”Smell that? How do you like it?”

”You... you... where did you get this?!”

”From the Delusional Land, of course,” Aive said, shaking the bottle. ”Honestly, you’re sitting on two Herbalism experts and don’t even know it. You still want to buy spices from traveling merchants?”

”This land itself can provide for us! They’re all wild, hard to harvest, and a bit inferior to cultivated spices, but it’s still better than nothing.”

”I also have some marinating back at the trading post... Anyway, do you want this or not?”

”Yes, yes, yes!” Aiksuuri shoved the goblin aside with one claw, tore off the remaining half of the tenderloin, and thrust it at Aive. His tail wagged furiously behind him. ”This is all yours! Let me try your seasoning!”

”Now that’s more like it,” Aive said with satisfaction as she tipped the spice bottle over. ”Bay leaf, clove, fennel... It’s a shame I didn’t inherit my dad’s skill, and I don’t have many spices or utensils, so I could only grind them into a powder. Otherwise...”

Did Aiksuuri and Delaford have the patience to wait for Aive to finish? As the rising heat intensified the aroma until it seemed to drill right into their skulls, the two gluttons could hold back no longer. Like a whirlwind, they devoured every last scrap of the buck.

Delaford picked every last morsel of meat off the bones, while Aiksuuri went a step further and swallowed the bones whole. He even licked the spit clean.

It was only because this crude cooking method didn’t let the flavor penetrate deeply that not much of it was left on the spit. Otherwise, he probably would have eaten the whole roasting rack.

”Honestly, the way you act,” Aive muttered, pursing her lips. She picked up her share of the tenderloin and started toward Aiksuuri’s lair. ”I’m going to check on Ron and give them some of this.”

”No!” Aiksuuri let out a mournful cry, pleading, ”Please, don’t go in there! I’m serious!”

”If the smell of those spices gets stuck in my lair and won’t go away, I might never be able to eat again!”

While the three were bickering outside, Sera had arrived in the Black Dragon’s treasury.

”Ron, why did you have to call me over?” Sera asked, still chewing on her venison. ”I gave up a huge piece of prime meat for this—what the hell?!”

”What is that thing?!”

”It’s...”

Before Ron could explain, Sera rushed over like a whirlwind. Her eyes were glued to the Magic Item lying on the pile of Gold Coins. ”Th-th-this... this is what you got when you unlocked it?!”

’My god, it was just... so beautiful!’

It was a standard Two-Handed Giant Sword, roughly six and a half feet long. The blade itself was nearly five feet, with a hilt of about twelve to sixteen inches and a cross-guard a foot and a half wide. Near the cross-guard was an unsharpened section of the blade, a ricasso, fitted with an additional anchor-like Hand Guard. The entire weapon weighed close to eleven pounds, with its center of balance near the hilt. Under the glow of Light Magic, it emanated a cold, blue-green light.

”Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods! Praise be to Grom!”

Sera caressed the greatsword as if gazing upon a lover. ”Ron, can I have it? Please, I’ll do anything you ask! I’ll even slay a dragon for it!”

”I will ascend to the Hall of Heroes of the Lord of War and Hunt! Wielding this greatsword, I will join the glorious dragon-slaying battle in which I heroically died, fighting and falling, again and again for eternity! Commanders, Angels, and Valkyries will sing my praises and compose my legend!” Sera’s gray-blue eyes lost focus as she sank into the sublime and glorious fantasy. ”Oh gods, Ron, I have to find a dragon to kill right now!”

”Wait a minute! Wait a minute!”

Ron, Victoria, and Silvia had to use every ounce of their strength to hold back the half-crazed barbarian. ”You don’t have to be in such a rush! What’s the hurry? The sword is for you! You can have it forever!”

”Really?” Sera seemed to snap out of it a little.

”It’s as true as you getting into the Hall of Heroes!” Ron had never been this desperate in two lifetimes. ”Please, I’m begging you! You really don’t need to be in such a rush to find your glorious death!”

”Besides, what’s the glory in dying while fighting a Young Dragon? What’s the glory in dying in a duel with some gold dragon? Think about it! Doesn’t this Grip of the Vast Wave deserve a much better battle?”

”Grip of the Vast Wave?” Sera stopped in her tracks. ”Is that the name of this sword?”

”Yes. Its full name is Rusaike Xue Ming’s Grip of the Vast Wave.”

”Got it!” Sera nodded solemnly. ”From this day forward, my full name is Sera Rusaike Xue Ming!”