Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

As it turned out, even a being like the Ghost Witch was as fragile as common moss while clinging to life after her brush with death. Faintly, Ron and the others thought they heard a vicious, fleeting scream—likely the last words of a Ghost Witch who had lived for ages.

There was no substantive curse, and it was hard to even tell if she had uttered any meaningful words. But this time, Ron felt she was well and truly dead.

The proof, perhaps, was the faint toll of a bell Ron heard at the very end of the Ghost Witch’s shriek.

After confirming there was nothing else suspicious in the area, Ron and the others returned to the cabin above to wait. Elden and his students were taking their time with the investigation, and it wasn’t until dusk that Ron saw Elden emerge with his two students, looking satisfied.

”It seems you all had a fruitful time,” Ron said with a smile, taking back the pen Elden handed him.

”The opportunity to have a frank, face-to-face discussion with a Ghost Witch is rare indeed,” the Dwarf said, lighting a cigar and placing it in his mouth. A moment later, he slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. ”Let alone one who was once part of an assembly.”

”Many questions in the academic world have been answered. And not with hypotheses that were more conjecture than deduction, but with testimony from the Ghost Witch’s own mouth—this will surely cause an unprecedented earthquake in the field!”

”And none of this would have been possible without the help of the Lord of Delusional Land and his companions,” Elden said, giving Ron a slight, humble bow. ”Thank you so much for your hospitality; my trip has been incredibly fruitful. However, please forgive me, but I believe we must depart at once.”

”As the Dean of Elden Academy, I sincerely invite you, Lord, and all your companions to visit the academy at your leisure. As an institution that holds culture and etiquette in the highest regard, I am certain you will enjoy your time there.”

”I wouldn’t be so sure about that...” Sera rolled her eyes. ”Speaking of which, where’s that Polly? Why didn’t she come up with you?”

”You wish to punish her for her past mistakes?” Elden chuckled. ”The Ghost Witch guessed your intentions, so she refused to see you.”

”’My current body can’t withstand a beating from that barbarian. When I’ve recovered a bit more, I will accept my punishment on my own’—that’s what she said.”

”That cunning old hag!” Sera huffed, displeased. The memory of how difficult that fight against the Death Knight had been was still fresh in her mind, and the Ghost Witch’s sudden desertion was undoubtedly the main reason.

”Don’t worry. Unless she plans to live like a gopher and never come out, you’ll get your chance to teach her a lesson,” Ron reassured her.

Elden suddenly seemed to remember something. He made an excuse for Gordon and Shiva to go outside first, then gestured to Ron and the others with his eyes. Aive and Victoria immediately took the hint, leading the others out of the cabin under the pretext of protecting the two students and thoughtfully closing the door behind them.

”That wasn’t really necessary,” Ron said, glancing up at the damaged roof, through which he could see the stars in the night sky. ”I’m not very tight-lipped. Whatever you and I discuss will reach their ears soon enough.”

The Dwarf shook his head and simply took out a scroll wrapped in a vibrant green ribbon, handing it to Ron. ”That’s your business. I just don’t want to say it aloud to so many people myself.”

”If it were possible, it would be best if you didn’t hear it either—but unfortunately, that’s not an option.”

Ron took the scroll. It was an ancient but exquisitely crafted Magic Scroll. Despite the powerful Magic Power it contained, it felt more like a gift than a practical, single-use item.

Ron tried to identify it using the Weaving Introduction, but he unexpectedly failed—the Spellbook displayed no useful information, only a few misleading fragments.

A Caster like Ron wouldn’t be misled by such obviously flawed information, but a reckless Mage Apprentice could very well bring harm upon themselves and others because of these lies.

”A false Spiritual Light?”

”This ribbon is more than just a decoration. It’s enchanted with a permanent false Spiritual Light, causing any object wrapped by it to display false information,” Elden said, unsurprised by Ron’s failure, nor by the fact that Ron could recognize the magic’s origin. ”It was... one of my beloved’s proudest inventions.”

”She was a Magician, an Illusion Master, and also my mentor,” Elden sighed softly. ”This ribbon helped her accomplish many feats that were previously considered ’impossible.’”

”My condolences. The difference in lifespans is always a somber topic,” Ron said with a nod. He knew Elden had brought this up for a reason and that there was more to the story.

”Lifespans?” Elden raised an eyebrow, then quickly understood what Ron meant. ”No, that’s not it. Please don’t misunderstand. She was a Dwarf, just like me.”

”She was an Illusion Master, proficient in Illusion Magic, and she loved to challenge limits, to challenge the impossible.” As he spoke of his beloved, a rare tenderness showed on Elden’s usually impassive face. ”I saw her as my role model. For a long time, the greatest joy in my life was constantly chasing after her, trying to reach her level.”

”For a time, influenced by that Grand Mage from the Hailan Empire, our main research topic was how to grant Casting Ability to Warriors with little aptitude for it, or how to enable physically frail Casters to fight in close quarters. We referenced some magic models from the School of Transformation and eventually had a breakthrough—the very Magic recorded in the scroll you’re holding.”

Elden’s face was illuminated by the faint glow of his cigar, his eyes filled with a sorrow that could not be concealed. ”We advanced this project together, as husband and wife, but the final work was all completed by me alone. During that time, she was invited to the Hailan Empire for a ’performance,’ and... she never came back.”

”The story goes that she was deceived by those Elves. The magic show ended up turning into a gladiatorial duel, and her opponent was Oriana Laine.”

Elden fell silent for a long time. Only the thick clouds of smoke wreathing his small frame spoke of his helpless sorrow.

”Regarding all that, aside from providing some meager help to the resistance, I didn’t know what else I could do. In the period after the war ended, I spent nearly twenty-four hours a day in the laboratory, just to complete our research—I didn’t know if there was any point to it, but I did it anyway.”

”It is the finest piece I ever completed in my workshop, and also the last. After I finished it, my hair lost all its color overnight.”