Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

”A report? ’Open for business’? What are you talking about?” Ron was completely baffled. He took the report Rurik was waving around and scanned it, finally figuring out what the Dwarf was saying.

”You sent people into that mine?! But that place has—”

’That place is filled with Ghouls and leaking Abyssal Energy, and Rurik just took a bunch of greenhorns in there to explore?!’

”Relax, we came back in one piece, didn’t we?” Rurik laughed, a bit sheepishly. ”We didn’t go to the most dangerous fifth level. We stopped at the third and went no further down.”

”There, we discovered and expanded a section of tunnels that were still fairly solid. And guess what? We found ore!”

Rurik was stating the obvious. The mines of the Farama Kingdom weren’t abandoned due to resource depletion, so of course there would be ore in a mine. Then, Rurik mysteriously pulled a piece of rough ore from his bag and held it out to Ron.

”My Lord, take a closer look. This is no ordinary ore!”

Ron took out a handkerchief and accepted the egg-sized piece of rough ore from Rurik. The mineral looked like an oxide. When he summoned a Mage’s Hand to carefully scrape at it, the interior revealed a color completely different from its surface.

”You don’t have to be so careful,” Rurik said, watching Ron’s movements with some impatience. ”Practical application is very different from lab work. It’s fine to handle it directly—its properties ensure that it’s harmless to the human body.”

”It looks like silver, but its color is a bit lighter. Is it Mithril?” Ron racked his brain, trying to recall what little he knew of inorganic chemistry. Although he had once dabbled in the subject, his academic studies had become more specialized over time, leaving him with only vague impressions.

”Mithril may be more famous, but I’m glad this isn’t it,” Rurik chuckled. ”This is Abyssal Silver. While it’s very similar to both silver and Mithril, its properties and applications are vastly different.”

”Take its discovery, for example. This material first made its debut not on the Prime Material Plane, but on the battlefields of the Hells and the Abyss. A certain Demon Lord, whose name is now lost to history, equipped himself and his subordinates with it to fight the legions of devils. That’s where the name ’Abyssal Silver’ comes from.”

”But metallurgists soon discovered they were mistaken. In truth, this ore doesn’t come from the Abyss, but from the Prime Material Plane. It was a discovery made by that Demon Lord’s followers after they seized a quarry.”

”It has the luster of silver, but is paler; its properties are similar to cold iron, but it’s lighter. Weapons forged with it are just as effective as silver against enemies vulnerable to silver.”

”And most importantly, when Abyssal Silver comes into contact with a devil’s blood, it induces a continuous trance-like state. This quality made that Lord invincible in his invasion of the Hells, victorious in every battle!”

”But now we don’t even remember his name,” Ron said, handing the rough piece of Abyssal Silver ore back to Rurik. ”How did that happen?”

”Well, I don’t know either,” Rurik was stumped. He scratched his Big Beard. ”I did some special research, and the common theory is that Abyssal Silver Ore is so rare—many planes don’t produce it at all—that it severely limited the number of subordinates the demon could arm. This small, elite force was ultimately annihilated by Duke Zarell. Their Abyssal Silver Weapons were all destroyed in molten lava, and the Demon Lord himself was killed and forgotten.”

”Another theory suggests this Demon Lord didn’t die at the hands of devils, but fell during infighting within the Abyss. The Magic Equipment made from Abyssal Silver was excellent, but it was far less effective against demons than it was against devils. Consequently, he was eventually killed by other Demon Lords, and his followers were either assimilated or annihilated.”

”Both theories sound plausible,” Ron shrugged. ”So, is there any precedent for this ore being found on our plane?”

”Yes, but not much,” Rurik answered honestly. ”My master once worked for the ’Spearbeard’ clan of us Dwarves. During that time, they discovered a small amount of Abyssal Silver at a pyrite excavation site in a quartz vein. After forging it, they sold it for a sky-high price to a party of Adventurers.”

”But that was the only instance. I never expected to find an entire deposit of Abyssal Silver here!”

’Could it be... that this mineral usually appears near iron ore?’

”In any case, new resources are always a good thing,” Ron said, looking at the pensive Dwarf. ”But I have one question: can you refine and process it?”

”You know better than I do that the profit margin changes drastically depending on the level of refinement.”

Rurik nodded. ”Of course, I know that. That’s why I came back to report this to you. If you approve reopening the mine, I’ll immediately begin preparations to experiment with it.”

”This is an incredibly rare and precious material. There’s no way I’m just going to dig the Abyssal Silver out of the rock and hand it over to someone else!”

”Then get to it,” Ron nodded. ”Let me know if you need anything. I’ll provide as much support as I can.”

’Abyssal Silver, demons... no wonder the mining industry could prop up the entire Farama Kingdom. Even though I don’t have a demon patron footing the bill, this is still a windfall. There’s no reason to let it slip away.’

”Of course! But for now, there’s no need for you to lift a finger!” Rurik puffed out his chest. ”Just wait for my good news!”

”Oh, right,” Rurik suddenly remembered as he was about to head out the door. ”On my way back, I overheard Delaford and Andre arguing about something. You might want to go check on them if you have a moment.”

Ron snorted. ”Arguing?”

’A goblin capable of having an ”argument” with someone? Now that’s something you don’t see every day.’

”Alright, they were actually cursing each other out,” the Dwarf Blacksmith, who of course understood the meaning behind Ron’s snort, added. ”I wish I could’ve figured out what it was about from all the swearing, but I listened for a while and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. So I don’t know any more than that.”

”You should probably go take a look.”

”Don’t tell me the goblins are causing trouble again?” Ron stood up, a headache already forming. He slapped his forehead. ”Did one of them get caught stealing? Or get drunk and pick a fight?”

’But Delaford isn’t the type to cover for other goblins... Don’t tell me he’s the one who caused some kind of trouble?!’