Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 172 Change and the Unknown

There were dull thuds of plates hitting the table and crisp sounds of spoons scraping against the rim of plates. Ruger, still half-asleep, walked down the stairs, each step seemingly in harmony with those sounds, while the aroma of sizzling meat wafted to his nose. Jaxey, whom he hadn't seen all night, was now at the third-floor table, busily preparing food in a chaotic yet orderly fashion.

"Good morning, Jaxsay, it's so good to see you again, at least I don't have to hear old Lenser's complaints..."

Ruger sat down at the table; the meal for three was almost finished.

He noticed that although Jaxet looked exhausted, there was a hint of joy in his expression, indicating that Miss Elena's experiment had been quite successful.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Ruger." Jaxeter served the last soup.

"It worked?" Ruger suddenly asked out of the blue.

Jaxel paused for a moment. Although it seemed abrupt and abrupt, he knew what Ruger was asking.

"Just call me Ruger, no need to be so polite. We'll be spending a lot of time together in the shop." Ruger looked at the breakfast in front of him and didn't see the vegetable roll that was sliced ​​horizontally and rolled vertically, which made him feel good.

“She failed, the results were off,” Jaxet said in a low voice, then laughed. “But after my persuasion, she has decided to give up, to let go of all her unrealistic fantasies, and from now on we will work together to learn everything a pharmacist apprentice should know, and live together in the City of Burning Blood.”

Luger smiled at him; the young man in black seemed quite satisfied with the outcome, at least his friend didn't look like he was going to die.

But Luger recalled that after several encounters, the beautiful red-eyed girl Elena seemed to be someone who would not give up easily. Even though he could tell from what old Lenser had said that her goals had been lowered again and again and that she must have experienced many failures, Luger still believed that a person with that kind of look would not give up easily.

Old Dog Head Lunser walked over, saw the young man in black Jaxsay, and couldn't help but snort before sitting down in his seat.

The three of them sat down and began to enjoy a rather extravagant breakfast.

The delicious food won over old Lenser's good temper, and he began to arrange the two of them's tasks for the day at the table.

It goes without saying what Jaxce was going to do.

Ruger, on the other hand, needed to replenish the stock of purification potions as soon as possible, and also take some time to help Jaxey with the flowers, plants and small animals. Of course, this help was something he decided to do himself.

An overly lavish breakfast slows down the eating pace.

As the meal was drawing to a close, a voice suddenly came from next door. It sounded like Mr. Nuondo, the short old man who was full of energy all morning.

Jaxeter immediately tensed up.

“Old dog, come here quickly,” Newondo called out, “I need to talk to you about something.”

Seeing that Mr. Nuondo was only calling out to old Lenser made Jaxce even more nervous.

"I have no say in your little girl's affairs," Old Lunser said, biting into his steak, unmoved.

"Idiot, it's not about that. Get over here now."

Mr. Nuondo's shouts came again, this time making Jaxeter feel a little more relaxed.

Although old Lenser muttered something, he still managed to stuff the food from the plate into his mouth in a few bites, then got up and left briskly.

Ruger watched all this and couldn't help but find it amusing, especially the nervous-looking young man in black.

But at least Jaxeter is still here, so he can continue his help plan.

Luger calmly finished his breakfast and was the last to leave the table. Humming a little tune, he went to his small alchemy room on the fourth floor. The first thing he did after closing the door was to complete a round of meditation. Then he took out the materials prepared by Old Lunser and began to refine the purification potion in an orderly manner, a task he had not touched for many days but was still very skilled at.

Continuous success can be addictive, even if it's something small.

He sensed the rhythm of spiritual energy and observed the changes in the potion, working tirelessly until the afternoon before finally leaving the refining room.

Downstairs, Jaxet is minding the shop.

“Your Excellency Ruger, you’ve come at the right time. There are a few chicken chicks that need feeding. They’re still small and can’t control their cravings for high-energy food, so we can’t put the food out in advance, or they’ll burst their bellies. But to help them grow quickly, we still need to feed them some high-energy food,” Jaxey said, stepping out from behind the counter. “I also need to collect some manure. I’ll be done soon…”

"Has Uncle not come back yet?"

Ruger walked reluctantly toward the counter; he really wanted to go with Jaxet.

“I haven’t seen Mr. Lenser since breakfast…” Jaxeter said, walking quickly toward the stairs, as if afraid that the little bone chickens would go hungry.

Ruger went to the spot where old dog Renser used to sit; the chair was just the right height for him to lean on the counter.

The shop door was wide open, probably arranged by Jaxsay; old Lenser usually preferred to keep it closed, enjoying the jingling of bells as each customer pushed the door open. Ruger lay lazily, perhaps minding the shop; it wasn't so bad. Through the open door, he could see his new neighbor, the one-ring wizard supposedly cursed with a strange petrification curse, the old man currently intently basking in the blood sun.

Two guests walked in one after the other.

Ruger immediately sat up straight, forcing a dog-like smile to welcome them, but the two guys didn't even glance at him.

The two began to wander purposefully through the shelves, chatting as they searched for their target.

"The pain-free body potion must be very expensive, right?" the tall, thin man said.

The other person remained silent for a moment.

“Even if it’s expensive, I’ll buy it. It’s an essential part of the magic system I envision. This is the only shop in the east of the city that has it. In a few days, these shops will no longer exist. Although the high-end shops in the west of the city might have it, the items there will only be more expensive…”

"Those vampires won't succeed."

"Buy it first, then we'll talk..."

Ruger rested his elbow on the counter and twitched his ear.

Soon the customer found their target in a corner of the shelf and ran over happily.

“Wow, old Lenser looks younger,” one person said.

“Shut up, that’s not old Lunther. Old Lunther’s ears are downturned,” another man snapped.

The two began placing stacks of neatly arranged magic stones onto the counter.

While they were taking out magic stones, Luger spoke up: "I am old Lunser's nephew. I wonder what you two meant by the vampires and shops you mentioned earlier?"

"Old Lunser isn't here? You'll find out when he returns." One of them said, gesturing for Luger to count the magic stones.

Ruger checked the potions and nodded. The two of them then happily took the potions and left.

Watching them leave, Luger scratched his ear and, imitating Old Lenser, swept the magic stones under the counter in batches with his elbow. This counter was like a special storage bag, fixed in place, where others could only put things in but not take them out. The spot where the magic stones were swept was the storage opening, so Old Lenser could rest assured that others were watching the shop.

Old Lenser didn't return to the shop until almost dinnertime.

The shop closed earlier than usual today.

“Those damned vampires.” Old Lenser, who had been silent for a while after returning to the shop, suddenly blurted out a sentence.

As old Lenser spoke, he squeezed the ball of dung from the subterranean beast with all his might, while Ruger assisted him. The two of them busied themselves there after the shop closed. Fortunately, it was almost dinnertime, and Jaxey had already gone to the kitchen to prepare; otherwise, old Lenser would surely have caught him and given him a good scolding.

"Uncle, what happened?" Luger asked obediently.

He believes Old Dog Head needs a listener now.

Old Lenser tossed the ball of dung out of his hand, his anger now subsided, at least not on his face, but Big Dog Mouth let out a long sigh.

"It's just some rumors. It's said that the stupid vampires in Blood Fortress are negotiating with the wizards in the city, trying to carve out a piece of land in Blood City..." Old Lunser said while cleaning up the dung ball.

Ruger immediately realized: "Including our street? Would the wizards agree to that?"

“It’s said that some unexpected things happened at Blood Fortress a few days ago,” Old Lunther said, glancing at Ruger. “That unexpected vibration actually awakened a wretched fellow, a vampire who had been sleeping on the top floor of Blood Fortress for a long time, so long that even the fools of Blood Fortress themselves thought that their elder had died in his sleep. A vampire third-circle wizard who clashed with the City of Burning Blood hundreds of years ago, his centuries-long slumber after being defeated had not made him any better; his restless blood still yearned for the City of Burning Blood…”

A bag of dung balls was filled in the blink of an eye.

Ruger said, "That wizard who defeated him back then..."

"We left a long time ago. We're not some damned vampires. We came here just to do what we wanted to do, especially those wizards. Once we're done, we'll leave naturally," the old dog said, pouting his big mouth.

"Uncle, are there still any third-ring wizards in the City of Burning Blood?" Ruge asked curiously, picking up a bag.

"How would I know..."

Old Dog Head Lunser curled his lip in annoyance.

(End of this chapter)