Chapter 775: The Demon’s Noble Attire (Patreon)

The incident with the spider colony had happened a few days ago. Since then, Luke had visited Nara’s colony twice, bringing food both times even though they didn’t really need it. It wasn’t just about feeding the spiders. He wanted to show consistency. He wanted them to understand that as long as they honored the agreement, they’d be protected and treated well.

The hatchlings still didn’t like him, and honestly, they had good reason not to.

As Luke walked through the village, he took in the changes around him. Otto’s old village was now connected to the castle territory by a dirt road cut through the forest. Before, it had barely qualified as a trail. Now that they’d cleared and widened it, wagons could get through without much trouble. That was the route they used to reach the fields and haul shipments. A few wagons had already gone into the city to sell part of the harvest.

In practice, there were two villages now. One sat within the castle grounds, where the more trusted residents lived alongside the goblins. The other was Otto’s former village, which now housed the displaced people who had lost their homes when the orcs destroyed their communities.

Theron and Caleb handled internal security. Caleb was the public face of it, the man everyone went to when there was a problem. Theron was different. He watched, investigated, followed trails, and most importantly, kept an eye on the newcomers. If one of them left the village, there was a good chance Theron would follow without them ever realizing it.

According to Otto, they were all trustworthy. They came from villages that had long been on good terms with his people. Some had even lived there years ago before marrying outsiders and moving away. Of the sixty newcomers, twenty-six had been selected to become Luke’s citizens.

As he passed through the streets, people greeted him respectfully. Goblins and humans worked side by side, hauling lumber, preparing tools, repairing fences, and clearing space for new construction. The makeshift tents had almost completely disappeared, replaced by simple but sturdy wooden houses.

Every one of Luke’s citizens had some kind of profession, which made things much easier. The Builder Profession, in particular, had proven essential. The next challenge would be developing stoneworking specializations. Stronger houses, more complex structures, and eventually real walls would all depend on that. The kingdom was growing faster than he’d expected.

While Caleb and his men focused mostly on keeping order among the humans, the goblins handled security outside the villages, especially anything involving the forest. They explored, mapped routes, found good fishing spots, and built traps. Now that the old spider colony no longer controlled the woods, they could move around freely. That didn’t mean the forest was safe. There were still beasts out there.

Luke reached the farming area and spotted humans in the distance putting up fences along the edge of the forest and lighting torches.

“How are things going, Boggy?” Luke asked.

“I keep an eye out for pests and anything else that might cause trouble,” he replied, leaning against a tool. “But everything’s growing fast. Faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Part of that came from the Kingdom Core’s power. The rest came from the seeds Luke had brought from the tutorial and the special potions that accelerated plant growth.

“Don’t worry about having too much,” Luke said. “I’d rather have food rotting because we can’t eat it all than risk running out.”

Still, he really missed having one of those dimensional storage chests. Most of the important items had to stay inside his own dimensional storage. Farther ahead, three crypt rats were struggling to carry a crate. Franky was training them, waving his wand around and barking orders.

After inspecting the fields, Luke returned to the castle and spent a few hours in the lab. Late that afternoon, he headed out again, activating his [Cloak of the Arcane Witch] as he made his way across his territory. The mountains were still far away, but he had a feeling that sooner or later, they too would be swallowed by the Core’s influence.

He leaped down into a valley and approached the Great Tree. A green glow appeared between the branches. It was no longer just a small shining orb. Now it looked like several green lights gathered together, slowly taking on a more substantial form.

“Greetings, ,” Illara said.

The spirit was regaining her strength.

“Has Nara been honoring the agreement?”

“She has. Neither she nor her hatchlings have fed on my sap again.”

“Good.”

“Once again, you have my gratitude for sparing them and placing them under your protection.”

Illara was a pacifist when it came to monsters capable of speech. Luke had made it clear that sooner or later, they’d run into monsters with no interest in cooperating. Still, as long as useful agreements were possible, he saw no reason to waste resources.

Luke opened the interface for his spectral beast.

Core: Spectral BeastRank: ERank D Cores: [577/1000]Core Skill: [Form Devourer]Beast Skills: [Spectral Rend (Rare)], [Predatory Sovereignty (Epic)], [Typhon (Mythic)], [Form Devourer Slot I (Legendary)], [Extended Bond (Rare)], [Spectral Roar (Rare)], [Spectral Devour (Epic)], [Spectral Fusion I (Legendary)]

Form Devourer: [Ivory Leaping Spider (Rank E)], [Empty Slot]Form Devourer Skills: [Silent Stalker (Rare)], [Predator’s Pounce (Ultra-Rare)], [Venomous Fang Strike (Epic)]Form Slot I Skills: –

I need to find a core to replace the one I lost.

Even if the creature itself was weak in combat, like the Scaled Strider, it could still make an excellent trump card for fusion. The next core wouldn’t just have to be useful. It had to be worth fusing with.

The armor test worked.

The Strider’s power was nothing like the Kraken’s. The Kraken had been far too powerful, but this time everything had gone smoothly. Luke hadn’t felt the Apex Typhon’s influence in his mind. It had been his first fusion since the end of the event, and the results were promising.

On his way out, he used [Tree of Mother Freya] again, scattering more seeds throughout the newly claimed parts of his kingdom.

“Hey, boss.”

Norn appeared out of nowhere, as usual.

“How are your explorations going, Norn?”

“Very fun.”

Luke stared at her for a few seconds. “You were looking for a husband, right? Nara has a lot of hatchlings, so maybe in a few years—”

“No.”

She said it so firmly that, for once, she actually sounded serious.

***

Luke was riding in a wagon with several villagers, headed to the city to sell goods and buy more supplies, when a swarm of monstrous wasps came buzzing out over the road.

Franky raised his wand.

[Fire Ball].

Flames tore through the swarm, dropping the wasps before they could reach the wagon. The attack earned him a round of applause from the passengers. By now, everyone had accepted that Franky was different. They also knew Luke wasn’t exactly normal by this world’s standards, so sights like this had stopped seeming quite so absurd.

“He’s so cute. And so strong,” old Tulla said with a smile.

“I’m not cute. I’m scary,” Franky shot back.

That got even more laughter.

“Keep growing like that and maybe this old granny will finally start believing you, young man.”

A few men climbed down from the wagon and started harvesting whatever useful parts they could from the wasps. Whenever they killed monsters on the road, they did the same: wrapped the valuable bits in cloth and handed them to Luke to sell at the guild.

The wagon continued on while Luke stayed behind with Franky.

“We still need five more eyes from these wasps,” Luke said. He had a contract to finish, but before heading to the city, he wanted to check another hunting spot nearby. He and Franky left the road and headed deeper into the forest, toward an area where hunters had reported seeing chameleon-like lizards.

It didn’t take long to find them. Several of the creatures burst from the brush the moment Luke and Franky entered their territory, moving much faster than the wasps had.

Franky didn’t hesitate.

[Slow].

The lizards stumbled as the spell hit them, their movements suddenly sluggish. Franky raised his wand again.

[Fire Ball].

The fireball slammed into them, ending the fight with brutal efficiency. When it was over, a notification appeared.

[Frankzaroth has reached Level 8! Jormungandr (Rank F)] (+1 bonus point to all attributes, +1 free point)

[Frankzaroth has unlocked a new Race Skill]

“Read it to me, human! Read it!” Franky said excitedly.

“Wasn’t Angie teaching you how to read?”

“Studying is boring.”

Luke sighed and read the new skill.

[Forked Tongue Perception (Ancient)]: Even in human form, the Jormungandr carries the hunting sense of her serpentine bloodline. By tasting the air with her forked tongue, she can read lingering traces of living creatures, blood, poison, fear, and recent magic. This sense does not replace sight or mana perception; it gives her something more primal, turning every breath into a trail to follow, a threat to notice, or a weakness waiting to be found.

Franky started flicking his tongue, tasting the air.

“Well, snake boy? Did it work?”

“My tongue doesn’t move like it used to, but... yeah. Kind of.”

His expression changed. “There were more lizards.”

Luke glanced toward the trees. “Were?”

Franky pointed deeper into the forest. “They went that way.”

Luke followed his finger, then looked back at Franky. “Not bad.”

Franky grinned.

That could be useful.

“Back in the tutorial, when I fired that arrow and you dodged it, were you using this too?”

“I think so. My perception was always better when I kept my tongue out.”

They walked a little farther before Luke picked the snake boy up and took off running. Franky used to fight him whenever he tried to carry him, but lately, he’d stopped complaining.

Franky’s starting to regain some of his Jormungandr powers. Maybe he’ll unlock something that lets him switch forms.

Franky’s skills couldn’t be chosen the way Charlie’s could. They simply unlocked on their own, like Angie’s.

The two of them reached the city long before the wagon. Theron was traveling with the group, so he could handle any threats that showed up along the way.

Luke set Franky down. “Come on. People are going to think we’re father and son.”

Franky didn’t answer. He just kept walking beside him. Once inside the city, they went to see Cecilia. She’d been appointed the “CEO” of the Baumann Company, and their products were doing extremely well.

“Lord James,” she greeted him.

Luke had even rented a house in the city. Money wasn’t an issue, since he had plenty of gold and jewels, but his goal went beyond selling fruit. He wanted to build a brand. A name. A way to make his kingdom known. Whenever someone asked where those delicious fruits came from, the answer would be simple: straight from his kingdom.

“Lord James, Baron Edrien said he’s very interested in exporting your products to his family’s store in another city.”

“I’m sure he is. Anyone who eats one of these pears falls in love with them.”

The problem was that, for now, Luke only had raw materials. What he really wanted was to turn them into finished products like wine, jam, candy, and drinks, all of it absurdly high quality. That was why he was investing in his citizens and giving them the best possible conditions to advance their professions. He knew exactly what he had.

“Set up the meeting,” Luke told Cecilia.

Even if some major supplier decided to buy up all his fruit, Luke still had other secret weapons: coffee and cacao. Neither existed on this continent. No one had ever tasted coffee, much less chocolate. He had gold in seed form. Better than gold, really. People didn’t crave gold every morning, and nobody here knew what they were missing. According to Angie, bringing them to market could make his company the Coca-Cola of a world that had never tasted soda. Luke smiled to himself as he sipped his tea.

"Wow. What a tyrant. He’s going to give people coffee and chocolate. Run for your lives," Artemis said inside his head.

Laugh all you want. I have a plan.

"On the bright side, I’ll get chocolate."

No. Now I’m not giving you any chocolate.

"Now that’s an evil plan."

Later, after selling the monster parts at the adventurers’ guild, Luke felt it again. Someone was following him, the same presence he sensed every time he came to the city.

Maeve, an adventurer from the Emerald Cloaks.

You want to play cat and mouse, but I’m much better at this than you are.

***

The ground split open right in front of Maeve, sending soldiers and horses plunging into the crater as the earth swallowed them whole. Until that moment, the Emerald Cloaks and Nyvma’s soldiers had been winning, steadily pushing the orcs back alongside fighters like Garen Voss.

Then more orcs emerged from the forest, smiling.

It was a trap. And just like that, Maeve knew they were going to lose. She thought of her sister.

I never even said goodbye.

But before everything fell apart, someone appeared: a masked man in a black cloak. He leaped across the battlefield and dropped into the crater.

From there, everything changed. He pulled the trapped soldiers out, then charged the orc army alone and turned the battle in their favor.

Maeve approached him from behind. Around him, some soldiers backed away while others stared in awe, but no one seemed willing to get too close. She wanted to know who he was, yet the mysterious figure wore no crest or insignia she recognized.

“You should be more careful sneaking up on someone like that,” he said without turning around.

Of course he’d noticed her. Her stealth skill was active.

“I just wanted to thank you,” she said. “Force of habit. I keep it active most of the time.”

“Be careful approaching people that way. Someone might mistake it for an assassination attempt. And that could end badly for you.”

Very few people could sense someone while a stealth skill like hers was active. Then Maeve noticed what he was holding in one hand: an orc’s head.

“Who’s in command here?”

“That man over there. His name is Garen Voss.”

“Garen Voss... I see.”

Then he introduced himself as Lord Moon and leaped into the sky.

“You should be more careful sneaking up on someone like that.”

The words echoed through her mind. Maeve woke with a start.

“What is it... sis?” Mabel asked sleepily from beside her.

“Sorry, Mabel. I woke you up.”

She’d dreamed about that day again. Maeve went through her usual morning routine. She went to the bathroom, drew clean water into a bucket, and started washing herself with a cloth, but the memory refused to leave her alone.

Only three people have ever managed to detect me like that.

Before leaving, she kissed her sister on the forehead and headed to work. Officially, her job was to help protect the city of Nyvma. In reality, her job was to protect the baron.

At lunch, Maeve sat with Dorothea, another member of the Emerald Cloaks.

“You’re still on this, Maeve?” Dorothea asked, clearly tired of the subject. “Your theory makes no sense.”

“Of course it does. James Baumann and Lord Moon are the only two people who managed to detect me while I was using stealth.”

“Didn’t you say some woman traveling with the marquis noticed you too?”

“Yes, but she was traveling with a marquis and was obviously powerful. James Baumann is supposed to be some random merchant.”

“A random merchant who’s rich, knows magic, and probably carries expensive equipment.”

Maeve frowned. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?”

“They didn’t just notice something was there. Lord Moon knew exactly where I was. James looked straight at me.”

Dorothea stared at her. “So?”

Maeve hesitated. “They looked at me the same way.”

“So they’re the same person?”

“Yes.”

“Sweetheart, I think you’re getting paranoid.”

James Baumann was a recent arrival in the city, a merchant from some distant place who’d come to open a branch of his company in Nyvma.

“Either way, even if they’re different people, it’s still weird that some random merchant managed to detect me at all. You have to admit that.”

Dorothea bit into a chicken thigh. “And how do you know James actually detected you? Did he say something?”

“He looked right at me.”

“I think you’re imagining things.”

Dorothea didn’t believe her. Sometimes, Maeve didn’t believe herself either. That didn’t stop her from watching him.

She kept following the mysterious merchant who’d rented a house in the city. His products had become so popular that wealthy merchants had started buying them for their own households. Baron Edrien was one of them. He especially loved the apples. He spent entire afternoons eating them and was already talking about buying the merchant’s whole farm.

That night, a celebration was held at the baron’s mansion to commemorate Nyvma’s victory over the orcs. Maeve had heard that the kingdom had congratulated the baron and even sent him resources to invest back into the city. During the party, Edrien never missed a chance to brag about what a capable administrator and ruler he was.

“Did we really have to wear this stuff?” Maeve asked irritably.

“The baron wanted all of us dressed properly,” John replied.

“Easy for you to say. I’m stuck in this stupid low-cut dress, and it’s slit up both sides.”

Maeve would never wear anything like it in her everyday life, not just because the dress probably cost a ridiculous amount of money, but because it was way too feminine for her taste.

Then Dorothea straightened.

“He’s here.”

The room fell silent as a masked man stepped into the hall. Three servants and a butler followed him in. He wore formal noble attire reserved for special occasions, along with a black cloak that seemed almost alive.

Every eye in the room turned toward him.

Lord Moon.

“My apologies for arriving late.”

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