Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 177 Cats and Dogs

“Your friend?” Ruger strolled over to the counter.

Jaxeter, his face grim, only then came to his senses, looking as if he had just noticed Luger's arrival.

Seeing his dazed expression, Ruger said, "Uncle Lenser is calling you. I'm here to relieve you at the shop..."

Jaxet paused for a moment, nodded, and left the counter, heading upstairs in silence.

"Was that guest a vampire? He looked quite handsome," Ruger suddenly remarked, watching his retreating figure.

Jaxce paused for a moment and said, "Just a vulgar, obnoxious fellow who claims to be elegant."

Ruger lazily lay on the counter and didn't ask any further questions.

Jaxce's rhythmic footsteps finally echoed on the sturdy old staircase.

Ruger twitched his ears and adjusted his position on the chair to make himself more comfortable.

He still enjoys running the shop, and taking proper rest is also good. After all, kobolds aren't cold alchemical puppets; a certain degree of relaxation in mind and body is necessary to be in a better state to focus on doing what they love.

Suddenly, his nose twitched.

The official wizard neighbor who was fighting petrification was still standing diagonally across from him. In fact, being directly exposed to the sun was not much better than being inside the house, as long as he was in the city under the shadow of the blood sun. If he really wanted a stronger effect, he would have to go to that special mountain and live in those caves.

Of course, people who live in the mountains for a long time will lose more blood on days when their blood levels fluctuate, and they cannot avoid it even if they run down the mountain.

Ruger twitched his nose again.

A strange fragrance.

He saw a black, hairy figure appear next to the neighbor; from behind, it looked like a round head.

As if sensing Luger's gaze, the black hair turned and gave him a cold look. It turned out to be a cat-headed human. Luger hurriedly and awkwardly looked away. The neighbor, on the other hand, was slowly changing his expression to a smile. The speed of the change was such that even a hearty laugh would turn into a gentle smile on his face.

Luger had only caught a fleeting glimpse of it and thought it looked like a cat, but now he realized it could have been something else, round-faced with fur, ears on its head, a white stripe on its black face, and rather round eyes.

What could this be? Is there such a humanoid race, or is it like old Lenser, who is human but has a dog's head?

Ruger was lost in his own curious thoughts.

Having relaxed enough, and seeing that there were no guests for the time being, he took out a spellbook of Lesser Sharpness and began to look through it.

Ruger felt that this spell was something he lacked. As for the spell's compatibility, it was neither good nor bad. If he were to learn it in the normal way, it would probably take about the same amount of time as writing.

Looking at the Lesser Sharpness spell in his hand, he thought of his demonic marks. As a practitioner of the Demonic Mark Meditation Technique, when advancing in rank, he would combine the five demonic marks into one, with a chance to create a unique first-ring composite spell, which would then be directly fixed in the first-ring spell slot that appeared after the successful advancement. Such a composite spell was full of all sorts of possibilities.

He is now steadily moving closer to becoming a level five wizard apprentice every day.

He had several different ideas about the upcoming fifth demonic mark.

Although the spell slot in the Demon Mark is temporary, to increase the chance of creating a first-level composite spell, he didn't plan to change it once he selected it. Even if it was consumed during spellcasting and combat, he would continuously store the same spell in that temporary spell slot. According to his plan, one option was to put in another spell with high compatibility, the Hair Removal Spell. Although it didn't seem to have any compatibility with the other spells, he could gamble on a miracle. The second option was to put in a unique spell, such as the Stinginess Spell. As for the third option, it was based on practicality, such as putting in the Lesser Sharpness Spell.

Lesser Sharpness is a neutral spell with nothing particularly special about it. It is unlikely to lead the resulting composite spell in an unknown direction and is not likely to conflict with the other four spells. Theoretically, it is a good choice.

As for the hair removal spell and the stingy spell, Ruger felt that even if they succeeded, they would lead compound spells in a strange direction.

This is something no one else can help with; it's an elusive and mysterious thing. He can only figure it out himself, feel it for himself. Even asking Uncle Lenser or indirectly seeking advice from a formal wizard wouldn't yield a definitive answer. Fate? Favor?
He looked at the Lesser Sharpness manual in his hand, which had appeared just in time.

If fate is predetermined, then what is the point of people's efforts in this world?

He believed that wizards studied the power of fate not to obey it, but to boldly grasp the power of fate and even manipulate it to do more.

The wizards' audacity was constantly innovating Ruger's imagination.

He believed he would see even more surprising things in the future.

After reading the entire spellbook of Lesser Sharpness, he looked up again and saw a person standing in front of him.

"Hello, beautiful lady, this is an old man's product. The shop is full of high-quality potions." He put away the book and said with a smile.

The cat-headed woman in front of him stared at him. A slanted white mark on her cat face was not a scar, but just the pattern of her fur. However, this slanted white mark made her look a little fierce.

"Did you transform yourself into this form voluntarily?" the cat-headed man suddenly asked.

Ruger hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Did your mentor force you?" the cat-headed man asked again.

Ruger thought for a moment and nodded again. Indeed, no mentor had ever forced him, because he didn't have a mentor at all. Strictly speaking, Old Lenser was now his potionology mentor, while the half-human was a senior who had given him guidance and help, and the significance of his guidance was far greater than the actual guidance.

The cat-headed man looked Luger up and down.

Luger was also sizing her up.

"What can I do for you, or what kind of potions would you like to choose?" Ruger felt awkward being looked at and tentatively said, "Old Lunser's Pharmacy also accepts custom potions. If you have such requirements, I can call our chief pharmacist to discuss it with you."

The cat-headed man seemed to have been interrupted by Luger's words, and his face showed some dissatisfaction. At the same time, upon hearing his words, he couldn't help but sneer.

"This kind of small shop even offers customized services."

After speaking, the cat-headed man glanced at him again before casually walking out of the shop.

Ruger watched her retreating figure.

He walks without making a sound, asks all sorts of questions even though he doesn't buy anything, what a strange fellow, Ruger thought.

For some time until closing time, Ruger spent his time in a daze, accompanied by reading spellbooks.

At the dinner table, Jaxeter's expression remained grim.

The Blood Fortress's series of actions have made things extremely difficult for vampires like them who arrived in the City of Burning Blood early, intending to settle down. Moreover, if the Blood Fortress's actions fail again, they too may be driven out.

Ruger, on the other hand, was considering whether to find an opportunity to tell the old dog Lunser about what had happened during the day.

“Don’t think about that guy, he’s just a cocky brat,” Old Renser glanced at Jaxsay, who looked unwell. “As long as you work hard in the shop, I’ll let you stay here, whether the vampires succeed or fail.”

“And… I don’t think they’ll succeed,” old Lenser added, setting down his glass.

(End of this chapter)