Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”If that’s the case, you should have published it,” Ron said, glancing from the Scroll in his hand to Elden. ”But instead you just... kept it in your collection, and then suddenly gave it to me tonight?”

”This research was completed by her and me together, so if any results were to be published, we both should have received the credit,” Elden explained. ”But she’s gone now, so publishing it became meaningless.”

”After that, before the Fading Sickness had completely consumed my abilities, I started Elden Academy. Thanks to my meager efforts in the war, my academy did quite well. But the Fading Sickness also progressed faster.” The Dwarf smiled. ”Just as I’d have wanted, I suppose.”

”The only thing I couldn’t let go of was our work. While I could guarantee its safety, I struggled to find a suitable person to test and inherit it. The students in my academy... I taught them all after my Fading began. They’re more than capable of following the rules, but they’re far from ready to inherit the mantle she and I once carried.”

”Until today, when I saw how you fight.”

Dean Elden lit another cigar; his craving seemed particularly strong tonight. ”Magic, archery, alchemy, Enchantment... you dabble in them all and try to blend them together. Aren’t you exactly the successor we were looking for?”

”I believe this Scroll belongs to you, sir!”

Looking at Elden’s eager, expectant gaze, Ron could only offer a friendly but wry smile. ”Well... I appreciate your trust, Dean, but could you tell me what kind of Magic is actually recorded in here?”

”Did I not say?” Elden faltered. ”My apologies. I must be getting close to seeing her again. My mind isn’t as clear as it used to be.”

”I named our creation ’Melee Suggestion.’ It’s a Magic spell from the Illusion School that imbues the Caster with powerful suggestions, temporarily turning them into a Combat Master proficient in close-quarters combat.”

”To ensure the Caster’s safety and prevent irreversible side effects, the suggestion assesses the user’s intelligence and level of study in Arcane Magic to vary the depth of the suggestion, ensuring no permanent brain damage occurs.”

”I’m confident that someone of your caliber can maximize its effectiveness. However, I’d advise you not to rely on it too much, sir. Keep up your physical training. Otherwise, you probably won’t feel too good for a long time after strenuous exertion.”

’Become a Combat Master?’ Ron was intrigued by Elden’s description. A Caster’s most common weakness was dealing with enemies up close. Even if they weren’t hurt, it would inevitably disrupt their rhythm. If he could also possess powerful martial skills, this problem would certainly be mitigated to some extent.

’But through suggestion?’

Ron asked cautiously, ”Under its influence, can I still perform Casting normally?”

”No,” Elden answered bluntly. ”But I imagine that’s not a problem for you, is it? Even if you can’t perform Magic, you can still use your arrows and your Alchemy Potions. This spell won’t affect you too much, which is one of the reasons I’m entrusting it to you.”

”Lord Ron, the Fading Sickness follows me like a shadow. I don’t think I have much time left, and this Magic isn’t suitable for me to use myself. You are the most suitable person I could find. If you don’t accept it, I fear it will just continue to gather dust until some reckless fool in the future wastes it.”

With Elden putting it that way, Ron felt he couldn’t refuse. Besides, it wasn’t as if Elden expected Ron to produce any new breakthroughs. As long as the Scroll was finally put to good use, he would be content.

”May I transcribe it?” Ron asked, handing the scroll’s ribbon back.

Elden waved his hand dismissively. ”That’s up to you. But when you have time to visit my academy, I hope you’ll tell me of its final fate, sir. Then I can rest easy.”

”I will, when the time is right.” Ron nodded. Elden’s visit had brought a generous gift for both him and Delusional Land; it was only right that he return the favor.

Since it was already late, the group decided to stay the night at the Ghost Witch’s hut and see Elden and his two companions off the next day. After everyone except for a few Casters had gone to sleep, Elden found Ron again, who was still preparing his Magic.

”Gordon, Shiva, and I were organizing our notes from the conversation with the Ghost Witch. There’s something you might find interesting.”

”I’m all ears.” Ron watched as Gordon came over and opened his own notebook. Between the densely packed lines of text, Ron saw a rectangular sketch.

It looked like a stone slate with seven circles drawn on it.

”This is?”

”The Amethyst Slate, the legendary trump card of the Hailan Empire,” Elden said. ”According to the Ghost Witch, you’re also looking for it and its seven keys, my Lord?”

’That Ghost Witch has a big mouth...’ Ron couldn’t help but sigh and press a hand to his forehead. ’Is this really the kind of thing you should be spreading around?’

”For a guy like me, it would be stranger if I *didn’t* know certain things—though I admit, I never expected it to appear in Delusional Land,” Elden snorted lightly. ”I have no designs on the thing myself, but I do have a lead on one of the keys. If you haven’t collected all seven yet, it’s very likely one has found its way to the Carolina City-States.”

”A Necromancer named Henry Robertson once boasted to me about his collection at a salon. It included a blue-gray Gemstone.”

The group listened intently as Elden recounted what he’d seen at the salon. No one noticed that in the corner, the meditating Vampire Descendant’s ears twitched slightly.

”...He swore up and down that it was a legacy of the Hailan Empire, and that it likely contained a precious Magic Item. But he tried everything he could think of and was unable to open it, even coming close to damaging the Gemstone itself.”

”He invited us to help him crack the Gemstone key and retrieve the precious item inside. I made some attempts myself at the time, but unfortunately, no one succeeded.”

”Of course you wouldn’t succeed,” Ron said, shaking his head with a smile. ”Since you know about the slate, you must have guessed that as a key, the Gemstone must be used on the lock before you can get the item inside.”

”But I do find one thing strange: both the Gemstone and the slate were brought to Delusional Land by someone from the Hailan Empire. So how did a Necromancer from Carolina get his hands on it?”