Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 199 Gifts and Guidance

As old Lenser's closest nephew, she probably wouldn't deliberately try to harm me, Ruger thought.

But is this really a gift?

Ruger glanced at old Lunther and noticed that the old dog's expression was not good, but not too bad, and he kept giving him meaningful glances.

Aunt Jenny smiled and waited for Ruger's choice; her gentle and serene smile made her look nothing like a bad person.

But Luger was still terrified. In recent days, he had seen too many powerful and aloof people. Although he did not know the extent of their strength or how different their way of thinking was from ordinary people, he knew one thing: even well-intentioned actions could lead to bad results due to the huge difference in strength.

Ruger's fear stemmed from his deep awareness of his own weakness.

He couldn't even tell what the three things in front of him were. One was a dark brown scroll, another looked like a plaque, and the last one was so blurry that it vaguely resembled a small box. None of the three items were very big, and when placed side by side, they were just the same width as the square plate next to them that held the meat pies.

Ruger glanced at the people at the table again. Aunt Jenny didn't seem to be in a hurry, while old Lenser was still secretly making small moves.

Was the old man's wink telling me I could choose, or was he directly hinting at which one to pick? Ruger wasn't sure.

With Ms. Jenny there, old Lenser became extremely careful in his movements.

Ruger felt a sense of unease. Perhaps the relationship between Ms. Jenny and old Rensser was not what it seemed on the surface. Just as old Rensser was conveying, perhaps he was not agreeing with his choice, nor was he telling him that he could choose. Instead, he was saying that he had to choose. If he didn't want to die, he should obediently choose one.

Ruger scratched his head, then closed his eyes and reached out to touch one of the dogs based on his instincts.

He thought to himself that he was being somewhat self-deceptive.

Because he subconsciously deviated from the small scroll bearing the mark of the Holy Inquisitor.

Ruger stared at the hazy little box he finally held in his hand, his attention immediately drawn to what was inside.

Ms. Jenny laughed.

“As expected of Little Ruger,” Jenny said, her shoulders trembling.

Old Lenser sighed deeply. The uncle and nephew's eyes met, and Ruger saw an indescribable look on his big dog's face. To put it politely, it was a little melancholy, but in reality, it looked more like someone who had eaten something bad.

Ms. Jenny was still laughing, and although her laughter was pleasant, Ruger was more curious about what it was.

Ruger suddenly thought of the so-called agreement between old Lenser and the other party, and the role his nephew played in it.

The agreement gave old Lenser ample time to nurture the next generation, but is this now a case of forcing growth? And he, this little dog-headed man, is that little seedling.

Danger? What is danger? There is no danger in the wizarding world. They are all opportunities. Every danger represents an opportunity.

Ruger blinked, his face calm.

“Little Ruger, I can give you another chance to choose,” Aunt Jenny said with a smile.

Ruger recalled what he had heard from the bald old wizard in the Black Prison, and smiled and shook his head.

Even if he were to choose again, it wouldn't make any difference. He didn't recognize any of these things at all, and apart from the one that was the same as the Holy Judgement Wizard's symbol but had two more strokes, he had absolutely no clue what to do with them.

Ms. Jenny seemed to feel better when she saw him shake his head.

“Little Rug, what you hold in your hand is both your identity and your reward. It comes from the Nightmare World exploration mission set by the High Council. Many wizards have participated over the years, but now, due to new changes, the standard has been lowered to the wizard apprentice level,” Ms. Jenny said with a calm expression. “Compared to the wizards who first explored the Nightmare World, your generation is already very fortunate. Take this little thing, for example. It has been innovated many times. It can make you safer in the Nightmare World, and if properly cultivated, it can even be regarded as an additional magical ability.”

As Ruger listened to his elder's words, he nodded repeatedly, showing genuine curiosity about what she was saying. At the same time, he also roughly understood the change in old Lenser's expression. The Nightmare World must have an inextricable connection with him, and now that he had just happened to choose such a thing, old Lenser must have mixed feelings.

Ms. Jenny couldn't help but laugh, which made sense, since from her perspective, the two were uncle and nephew, and their fates seemed predetermined.

“How do I use it, Aunt Jenny?” Ruger said, “and what do I have to do?”

Upon hearing this, Ms. Jenny looked at the object in Ruger's hand and examined it for a moment through the box.

“These kinds of things are made from materials obtained from the Nightmare World. Yours seems to be related to the eyes. What you need to do now is… hold it tight and defeat it,” Jenny said, looking at him. “As for the final outcome and what kind of fusion you achieve, that depends on your luck.”

Upon hearing this, Luger subconsciously tightened his grip on the object in his hand. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly noticed a clean, white finger looming large in front of him.

*Smack!* Ms. Jenny flicked his finger right on the forehead. Ruger blinked, instinctively touching his forehead, only then realizing that what he was holding was gone.

Empty-handed!

He stood up and looked around, but old Lenser and Ms. Jenny were nowhere to be seen at the table.

He had just sensed something was wrong when he frowned, but couldn't remember what it was.

He thought for a moment, then walked upstairs, deciding to return to the attic for another round of deep meditation.

The more he walked, the thicker the fog became. He waved his hand to cover his mouth and nose, constantly trying to dispel the fog in front of him. Finally, he found the way to the attic. As he walked, he would occasionally stop for no apparent reason, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it. It was just that the fog in the room was a bit annoying.

He climbed over a hundred steps and finally pushed open the double doors of the attic.

Before me was a room that was as spacious as a plaza.

He leaped onto the large bed in the room.

Then, without hesitation, he crawled toward a large mouth on the bed, as if that was the most comfortable place he usually stayed, where meditation must be an unparalleled pleasure.

It was a peculiar mouth, like an eyeball split open, filled with messy, sharp teeth, layer upon layer, circle upon circle, like a tunnel of sharp teeth. On either side of the huge eyeball were a pair of jet-black, fleshy wings, which spread out on either side of the big eye, as if opening a huge embrace to Luger.

"It's so boring."

Luger shook his head abruptly and stopped crawling.

"I thought I could lie on this big bed for a while, otherwise I wouldn't have cooperated with you."

He originally enjoyed this contrast, this novelty, this illogical yet somehow powerful feeling that allowed him to accept it.

Ms. Jenny mentioned eyes earlier; was that helping him cheat and making things easier? Ruger wondered.

However, he had already seen through it beforehand, or rather, he was simply following the guidance of that force to find this place, and was never truly misled.

Ruger began to scrutinize the large-eyed, mouth-opening monster that was still pretending to be dead, remaining motionless.

Are you a nightmare creature?

Ruger spoke loudly, but received no response.

A freezing ray shot out! Immediately following were two fireballs!

Many of the teeth were broken off.

Ruger used every spell he knew, even the hair removal spell.

When he opened his eyes again, old Lenser and Jenny were looking at him. The small box in his hand was broken, and the indistinct runes on the box were falling and dissipating.

He felt a sharp pain in his back, and a dark shadow carrying shattered runes leaped out of the box and landed on his back.

Ms. Jenny smiled happily again.

"It seems you've resolved it very thoroughly; the integration is excellent," she said.

Old Lenser was looking behind him.

Ruger turned his head by instinct and saw a pair of jet-black, ethereal, fleshy wings unfolding behind him. With a thought, they could be retracted, finally closing behind him and dissipating into black smoke.

“Few people in the apprentice stage can achieve such a complete fusion, because common spells are unlikely to seriously injure nightmare creatures,” Ms. Jenny said. “Generally, it is only after fusing with it and mixing a trace of nightmare power into the spell that the spell can work better on the nightmare creature.”

Ruger nodded as he recalled the several spells he had just personally tested.

“Little Ruger, don’t be afraid. You’ll be working as a pharmacist over there, doing very simple things, very simple things,” Ms. Jenny said, raising her hand to create a black slit beside her. “I’m glad you like this gift. It’s your own choice. I was worried you would refuse!”

Ruger felt as if the wings on his back were responding to the gap, as if pointing him in a direction.

(End of this chapter)