Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

“What are you doing?”

The Half-Elf curiously observed Ron through the slit in her visor. The man seemed to have entered a state of unusual concentration. She could feel an indescribable power gradually filling her body. For now, though, the power was like an unhatched egg. While Aive could perceive movement within, she couldn’t tell what kind of creature would be born once the shell broke.

“Good heavens! You-you’ve already enchanted it! You can stop now!” The Dwarf’s eyes widened. He clutched his head, staring at Ron and the shield he had personally forged as if they were monsters. “That’s enough, that’s enough! Don’t get too greedy—”

Although he couldn’t perform an Enchantment himself, he knew the basics. The more powerful the Magic Item, the more likely it was to be destroyed during the process! Countless items that could have been preserved as priceless treasures had been lost to history, all because their creators had a moment of overreach. Instead of reaching legendary status, they were reduced to dust, vanishing from the world forever.

High-end Magic Items were difficult to produce in batches, and a creator rarely had a second flash of inspiration. ‘So many good things have been destroyed that way!’ He couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen right in front of him!

‘It would be too heartbreaking!’

“Stay still!”

Just as Rurik was wringing his hands, agonizing over whether to step forward and interrupt Ron’s Enchantment, a slender left hand rested on his head.

“Hey, don’t touch my head—” The Dwarf started to protest, but when he looked up, he saw Silvia staring intently at Ron. The Vampire Mage held the Dwarf in place with one hand, her scarlet eyes emanating a faint red glow. Her gaze was fixed on the patterns Ron carved, while her Magic Staff hovered before her as if recording the entire process.

‘She could guarantee that no such Arcane Model existed in the knowledge of Henry, Jilannis, or even that old Green Dragon. This is my benefactor’s own spell!’

‘It was derived from… the blueprints of that old Elf Mage from beneath this very land!’

“This feeling is… familiar,” Sera said, her nose twitching. She knew nothing about Magic, but she had once been up close and personal with the prototype Ron had used. “Isn’t it supposed to explode or something?”

“Explode?!” Rurik jumped. ‘That was not good news!’

“Relax. The Spiritual Light is manifesting in a very stable way, so it probably won’t explode,” Victoria said. She also recalled the nameless form of Arcane Magic Ron had used before. She wanted to believe Ron didn’t intend to detonate the already-precious tower shield, but just in case, she added, “At least, Ron doesn’t want it to explode *right now*.”

“Aive, could you please follow my instructions?” Ron, who had been silent until now, suddenly looked up at her visor. “Now, raise the shield. Lunge stance.”

The Engraving Knife in Ron’s hand had already traced a full circle across the tower shield, but it showed no signs of stopping. Following Ron’s movements, the blade swept over the Flaming Hand Armor on Aive’s hand and continued onto her Full Body Armor. As he worked, Aive, who had submitted to his direction, couldn’t help but let out a soft moan.

A pleasant sensation spread through her body, following the path of the Engraving Knife. If the previous feeling had been an unhatched egg, cracks were now appearing on its shell.

‘Something is about to come out!’

“What’s going on?” Aive’s moans were quite audible, and the others present couldn’t help but exchange glances. ‘It’s just an Enchantment on a suit of armor. Is such a strong reaction really necessary?’

“Rurik, what’s happening?” Silvia asked, looking down at the Dwarf. “Can the Enchantment process harm the person inside the armor?”

“That’s impossible…” Rurik immediately denied the absurd suggestion. He hesitated for a moment, then exclaimed as it dawned on him, “I’ve got it! Lord Ron is establishing a Mind Link between the set of armor and Miss Aive! That’s why she’s reacting like this!”

“But… but that can’t be right! Creating a sensory link between an item and its user is an extremely advanced type of Enchantment! When did Ron learn to do this?!”

Silvia rolled her eyes at the Dwarf’s skepticism. ‘Ron hasn’t been idle these past few months. He’s probably finished reading that entire thick stack of books on Enchantment that Old Feibo gave him!’

‘But even so, Ron only understood the theory. Could he really turn that theory into a practical result?’

The Engraving Knife occasionally made a soft scraping sound, as if in response to the doubt in Silvia’s mind—its master was, indeed, someone very skilled at turning theory into practice.

Time ticked by. Unable to wait any longer, Sera, Delaford, and the others took their leave. Soon, only Rurik, Silvia, and the two main participants remained. Aive continuously shifted her stance at Ron’s direction, and each time, she would involuntarily let out a soft moan.

Finally, just as Aive’s legs were about to go numb from standing for so long, Ron put away his Engraving Knife and let out a long sigh. “Alright, finally…”

“Is it done?” Aive hastily shifted into a more comfortable stance. She stretched nearly every joint in her body, but to her surprise, the strange sensations from moments ago vanished in an instant, leaving not even a trace. It made her wonder if the whole thing had just been an illusion.

“What exactly did you do?”

“Enchantment,” Ron replied, stretching his own stiff joints. The long process had taken its toll on him as well. “Try letting go of the shield.”

The Half-Elf did as he said and released her grip. However, the tower shield didn’t crash to the ground with a loud bang as she’d expected. Instead, it stopped, hovering just a few inches above the floor. What amazed Aive even more was that as she casually swung her left arm, the tower shield before her moved in perfect sync, always remaining in position to guard her!

“The effective range is three meters,” Ron grinned, clearly pleased with his creation. “Besides the standard enhancements to its durability and added resistance to several elements, you can also control the tower shield with your mind, letting it help you defend against any blind spots.”

“The armor and Hand Armor work the same way. You can make them detach or re-equip at will, so you won’t have to waste time putting them on. What do you think?”

“CLATTER!”

Ron’s answer was the loud clatter of dozens of metal plates, large and small, hitting the floor one after another. The massive helmet rolled across the ground, coming to a stop right at Ron’s feet.

The Half-Elf Warrior, now clad in just her undershirt, looked at Ron and gave him an awkward yet polite smile.

“So… how do I put it all back together?”