It Was Luck
Rune arrived at the kitchen specially prepared for him in the palace, and he couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration deep down.
It was only a little smaller than the kitchen in Christina's Lair, but the structure and materials were almost identical, perfectly reproduced.
'Perfect. Reproducing this on my own would take days, not hours.'
At that moment, Verdin asked softly, "Is it to your liking, Master Rune?"
Rune nodded without hesitation. "It looks great. When did you start preparing this?"
Verdin's face lit up with delight as he straightened his shoulders. "During your sleep periods, Lord Perdikion and the Gold Dragon Elder worked together to prepare it."
'Then the knives too?'
Verdin answered with a warm smile. "The knives are my work, but Lord Perdikion and the Gold Dragon Elder advised on the tools, such as cutting boards, scissors, and measuring cups."
'Christina must have helped. No wonder she didn't mention any extra tools.'
When he opened the refrigerator, he found shelves already packed with ingredients he recognized at once.
'Hmm. I expected this.'
Rune paused for a moment, then called out, "Verdin, I have a favor to ask."
"Of course, Master Rune. What is it?"
"Could you obtain the ingredients that dwarves usually search for as well?"
"Understood."
"And tell Lord Perdikion that the dinner tonight will be prepared by me."
Verdin blinked in surprise. "Tonight? Already?"
Rune smiled. "Yes. With one condition: the dwarves gathered today should all be those connected to the Abandoned Mine Dungeon."
Verdin blinked again, clearly puzzled. "May I ask why, if it is not too much trouble?"
"It's nothing special. I just want to hear stories about the Abandoned Mine Dungeon—treasures buried there, monsters, anything."
Verdin nodded quickly. "I see. No problem at all."
'At best, it'll just be a hatchling pretending to care about dungeon tales.'
The flow was perfect.
With information about the dungeon now in hand, the stage was set for a productive meeting.
After Verdin left, Lune gathered every ingredient he could find in the palace warehouse and began sorting through them carefully.
'Bones for broth, moldy cheese, smoked monster meat cured in salt and spices.'
'Fresh meat is hard to come by here—water's no good for raising livestock.'
'Dried or smoked ingredients, or monster meat, that's what we rely on.'
His gaze lingered on the bones used for making broth. 'These are from creatures with fire resistance, I think.'
The smell was already starting to turn smoky, and the meat around the bone looked dry and tough.
'If I could make this fresh again...'
Curiosity sparked in his chest as he pulled out a rib bone and tried the spell once more.
'Revive.'
A soft glow enveloped the bone, and the meat between the bones turned a fresh, vibrant red.
Ten years since he'd last used word magic, and it still worked surprisingly well.
'Good enough.'
Lune stacked the fresh bones into a pile and tried the spell again.
'Revive!'
The entire pile lit up, then began to move.
The bones started rattling and clacking together like they were reassembling themselves.
'What?'
Before long, the skeletal remains of a four-legged creature stood on its hind legs, head turned directly toward Lune.
Lune stared, mouth slightly open. "Are you looking at me?"
The creature's jaw clicked in response, making a sound that might have been a sigh, but it was the only sound it could make.
'No way.'
A window appeared in his mind at the same time his thoughts did.
- Race: Rock Goat (Undead)
A mountain goat that once lived on rocky slopes.
Descendants of goats brought by the dwarves when they fled Red Dragon territory long ago.
Used as livestock—milk and meat for food, leather for clothing and tools.
The population has declined sharply in recent years.
* Special Note:
The skeleton of a goat that gave up its flesh and died has been summoned by the Black Dragon's call and given new life.
- Bound to Lune Eclipse
- Status: Servant completed
- Personality: Loyal and energetic
LT__NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED!__GT
- Necromancer: One who can revive the dead.
'...'
Lune had imagined fresh ingredients, not a walking skeleton.
'I ended up becoming a shaman after all.'
He lightly tapped his forehead with a hand, half in disbelief.
The goat skeleton, still missing all flesh, hopped around cheerfully and began stomping on potatoes scattered across the floor.
'I can't just leave it like this. How do I get rid of it?'
Just then, the skeleton suddenly collapsed with a loud crash, losing its spectral energy and turning back into a pile of bones.
Lune tested it again, using the spell on the bones a few more times.
'I get it now.'
He could now use word magic to give life to dead bones because his understanding of the spell had improved.
The downside was the short duration.
Even one use on a revived body left it unstable for only a short time.
The spell could be canceled at any moment, even while active.
Lune stared at the empty space, lost in thought.
'How can I make this useful?'
Information about the ability appeared instantly.
* Necromancer: One who can revive the dead.
- Growth Condition: Increase your understanding and mastery of the related word magic, 'Revive.'
'Practice and deepen my skills, I see.'
He had only used the spell to refresh fruit and meat, or sprout new growth before, but now the reason behind the evolution made sense.
'This... must be because I successfully revived Heukmi with word magic.'
The soul of a succubus that had been sealed inside a demonic black rose from the Demon Realm.
The fox bead bound to him.
The result of shaping the soul through his own dreams as the master.
'It was luck.'
A rare combination of probability and chance had created this growth.
'A power that makes the dead into servants.'
On the surface, it seemed quite useful.
But imagining the good reactions he'd get if he told anyone about it was difficult.
'If I just improve the duration, this could become practical.'
The problem was that the ability seemed so dark, like demonic power.
Few people would want to be friends with someone who commanded the dead.
It was almost perfect for scaring off potential companions.
'Even I don't trust it myself. Who would want to stay with someone whose back keeps getting itchy?'
A deep sigh escaped him.
'Still, I should train this power. Damn.'
For now, Lune decided to keep this ability a secret, even from himself.
That evening, four dwarves who had been informed in advance made their way to the palace reception room.
"Invited to Lord Perdikion's dinner?"
"I wonder if he really wants to erase the history of how we oppressed the dwarves."
The dwarf with the brown beard clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Hosting just one master competition and pretending to have made amends for the past? That's way too shallow."
"Shh, save it. Our basic nature isn't going anywhere. If we say too much, we might cause trouble again."
"Ahem! Apparently, tonight's dinner is being prepared by the hatchling who changed Lord Perdikion's mind."
"Ah! The hatchling from the Dark Clan, right?"
The mood that had been full of criticism quickly changed.
"He's the same dragon as us, but he's an exception. He understands our circumstances better than anyone."
"The Red Dragon that used to cause so much trouble finally calmed down because of this sworn brother of ours."
"That's right. Without him, we might not have survived as blacksmiths to this day."
The central dwarf stroked his thick beard thoughtfully.
"The Red Dragons have a lot of reflection to do, but we can't refuse to eat with the hero who solved our troubles."
"True. The rock goat population has been declining, and our meat rations have been cut."
They held back their excitement, waiting by the door for the right moment to show proper manners when it opened.
The rich, sizzling smell of grilled meat made them lean forward instinctively.
"What is that smell?"
"It's not the usual spice aroma. This meat smells fresher and richer."
The dwarves who had always eaten dried meat made a satisfied noise in their throats.
Soon, Verdin appeared, bowed, and opened the door.
"!"
"Whoa! What a lavish feast!"
Plates of juicy, glistening meat caught their eyes first.
The grill marks on the tomahawk steaks and barbecue looked rough yet appetizing.
There was even a barrel of creamy honey-colored ale, not the usual dark beer.
The dwarf with black hair and beard stared wide-eyed at the plates piled high with tender meat.
"I must be in heaven."
He swallowed hard.
The other dwarves gulped as they watched their companions already stuffing their faces.
"Welcome."
Lord Perdikion, seated at the head of the table, greeted them warmly.
"Heh heh! How have you all been?"
The dwarves by the door offered polite bows, avoiding direct eye contact with Perdikion.
Just as they started toward their chairs, a small boy with black hair tugged at Lord Perdikion's sleeve.
"Brother, who are these people? Introduce them."
Before they could sit, Perdikion naturally continued with the introductions.
"This is Humpert Fisher, the palace mine manager. Buck Marquin handles magic stones and dungeon rewards. Wood Felan and Gorban Bobda oversee the training and management of combat dwarves."
The boy looked up with innocent curiosity, waving a little hand at Lune.
"Nice to meet you all."
Perdikion glanced at the boy, then turned back to the dwarves.
"This is Lune, the Black Dragon hatchling. The only member of the Dark Clan and the one who came up with the master competition idea... and my sworn brother."
"!"
The dwarves gathered around looked at Lune with wide eyes.
"Really? That strong fire aura!"
Verdin coughed discreetly to cover his awkwardness and spoke as instructed.
"Ahem. I congratulate you both on becoming sworn brothers."
"Oh, thank you."
Even though Verdin's words sounded rehearsed, the dwarves who could sense Lune's powerful fire aura didn't miss the opportunity.
The dwarves who had been hesitant now accepted the news as fact by tomorrow morning.
Caught off guard, they offered the appropriate congratulations to Verdin, the perfect windbag.