Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 158 The Old Wizard and the Seeker of the Law

The old wizard suddenly looked up and met their gaze. His furrowed brows seemed to indicate some annoyance, and his eyes looked unfocused and lifeless.

"What do you want to ask?" The old man glared at them for a while before he seemed to remember them.

Ruger shifted to the side and looked at his new roommate.

“Sir, you…were able to break through those stone walls before,” Green stood up and stepped out of the hiding place, speaking cautiously, “so could you break through here?”

The old man, holding his book, chuckled and said, "You mean you want me to dig a hole and escape?"

Green nodded straightforwardly.

"What do you think this place is, and why am I here? Let me be frank with you two little ones," the old wizard said, "the power of this vampire ancestor is beyond your imagination. I deliberately allowed myself to be captured by those fools and willingly entered this place. Only here can I achieve my goal, only here can I make those guys' faces turn incredibly ugly, only here can I bring them despair..."

"As for those rubble," the old man casually pointed to the cave wall, "new stone will sprout from the cracks there. In this dark prison, this kind of thing is called stone food. There are also three other places where this kind of breakable stone can be produced. Of course, this kind is not something you can break. If you leave it for a period of time without breaking it, even I will find it difficult to break the first piece that has emerged."

Green listened quietly, and when he learned that he couldn't dig a hole out, he seemed a little disappointed, though his expression didn't change. But the old wizard was incredibly perceptive.

“Young man, don’t despair,” the old man said. “If you can truly help me achieve my wish, I might be able to send you out. Ask me anything else quickly, because it is very dangerous to disturb me while I am concentrating.”

"My lord, what level of mental strength is required to learn the spells you have given us?" Ruger asked.

The old man touched his bald head and said, "You should be fine soon, at least you should be able to finish reading this book..."

Ruger chuckled upon hearing this.

“Around the fifth level of wizard apprenticeship... that should be enough. You shouldn’t have to wait until your mental strength reaches its limit,” the tall, thin, bald old man continued. “I have high hopes for you, little guy. I’ve been here for over a hundred years, so a few more years won’t make a difference.”

Ruger tried to keep his dog-like face from crumbling.

“People in the Temple of Knowledge usually have their own secret storage space, so you shouldn’t lack food for a while,” the old man said. “If you don’t have enough, you can eat these small, blood-red stone foods on the ground as you please.”

The old wizard patted his bald head and began to look down at the book in his hands again. It had been that same book ever since they met, as if it were everything to him.

The two retreated behind the protrusion that could conceal their figures.

Ruger looked at Green.

Green smiled and said, "Lord Ruger, perhaps our hope of getting out of here lies with you."

“This is not a successful joke,” Ruger said.

According to the universal mental strength testing device in his hand, lighting up five out of ten points qualifies one as a level five wizard apprentice. The rest is a matter of gradual progress; lighting up ten points represents the limit of an apprentice's mental strength. The bald old wizard's implication was that his mental strength would likely need to reach level six or seven before he could learn that spell. Ruger could already imagine how long that would take, and although he would likely finish faster than the old wizard predicted, he still felt it wouldn't be a short time.

But that's it.

He moved a little further away, preparing to begin meditating.

He turned around and saw that Green was staring at the spellbook the old wizard had thrown at him, his eyes shining, and he was gently stroking it with one hand.

Luger also took out his own book.

Divine Artifact Techniques, spells without a fixed rank.

I never expected to spread this spell so willingly. If you are lucky enough to find it after my death, that would be your good fortune, though you might be trapped in this dark prison for life. If you obtain this spell while I am still alive, then please study it diligently. If you help me achieve my wish, I will find a way to send you out. This spell has been pestered by seekers from the Temple of Knowledge for thirty years, but I have refused to let them copy it.

A ruthless seeker of magic tried to coerce me, while another upright seeker fought with him over it. But I knew they were just acting out a cliché drama. For this, the two noble seekers were trying to gain my trust, which shows how precious this magic is.

The so-called "divine object technique" is actually very simple and has limited effects; it simply allows people to better experience the world and the objects in their hands.

By using spiritual power to enter an object and turn it into an anchor, such as when looking at a book in one's hand, once the Divine Object Technique is successfully performed, the spiritual anchor is set in place, and one can truly read it, rather than simply looking at it or using spiritual power to superficially sense it. Instead, one can enter the book as if stepping into it. I originally named this spell the Divine Entry Technique, which gives you an idea of ​​its purpose.

If it's a book explaining spells, then one can reach another level of reading—a deeper level, perhaps even able to read the traces of the writer's spiritual energy, making it easier and more profound to comprehend spells and knowledge. So-called unranked spells and divine artifact spells will become more powerful with your use and the growth of your spiritual power, allowing you to understand more and explore more layers of meaning. In my imagination, this spell can go even further, continuing to evolve.

Ruger snapped out of his reverie and closed the book in his hand.

He had only read two pages when Green beside him was already engrossed. The book was ingeniously designed; the old wizard used a special method to write with his mental power, and from the very first word, it was like experiencing and learning a nascent form of magical artifact.

Ruger felt that as soon as he focused his mind, his mental energy seemed to be drawn into the book, and he understood why the bald old wizard valued his solid mental energy. Weaker mental energy would probably dissipate very quickly, especially in this environment, making it impossible to learn.

He first put away the spellbook and began practicing meditation.

He now yearns to learn the Divine Art more than anyone else. If he could master this spell, his speed in learning subsequent meditation runes would undoubtedly increase.

So he decided not to follow the bald old wizard's judgment. He would try at each stage. He would try after building the fourth magic mark. If it didn't work, he would continue meditating. If he made some progress, he would try again. Theoretically speaking, as long as he could finish reading the book, he should have the conditions to learn it.

Ruger found a comfortable spot to lie down and began to immerse himself in meditation. He naturally forgot everything around him and the strange cage he was in. It was as if he had returned to the room he had been cooped up in for several days. He felt natural, relaxed, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Runes are born and disappear in the magnificent spiritual space, endlessly repeating the cycle of life and death. With each reincarnation, they make a tiny but insignificant improvement. The improvement may be small, but it never stops.

(End of this chapter)