Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 220 Night and Breakfast

The sky, which had just darkened and turned into night, suddenly brightened again, transforming back into the appearance of dawn.

The three of them stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in confusion.

Vito gestured to the two men with his eyes, then immediately closed his eyes, pretending to listen intently. Ruger and Leiden flanked him, protecting him from the middle. They had talked a lot by the campfire before, mostly casually over tea and jokes, but the series of unexpected events had truly acted like the gentlest of threads, naturally binding the three of them, these unexpected intruders, together.

Vito opened his eyes, looking slightly surprised.

“What I heard was the conversation of the people who were still there… those two wizard apprentices,” Vito said, looking at the two of them, “seemed to be fighting that rabbit… trying to cut open its belly and steal the golden key.”

Somewhat surprised, but then Ruger realized that the rabbit was actually quite weak.

The two wizard apprentices dared to make a move because they knew the rabbit's strength; even if they couldn't successfully steal the key, they wouldn't risk their lives.

The experimental rabbit, as described by Vito, was practically immortal, yet its strength was inferior to that of a first-ring wizard.

“They won’t succeed,” Vito suddenly said. “Maybe they just want to try, or they’re annoyed at being played by a rabbit, or maybe they just want to see what they can do. They know they can’t kill this rabbit…”

Besides, that rabbit isn't stupid, Ruger thought.

The three exchanged a glance, and without saying a word, they resumed their actions.

Ruger and Leiden followed Vito once again, and the three of them continued on their way.

Since the attempt at the rabbit hut was destined to fail, the two wizard apprentices, one black and one yellow, dared not give up. Giving up would mean reducing their own spot and handing the benefit to the other side for free. Moreover, Ruger thought the rabbit was unreliable; what if it pulled out some pink or blue key? That would be incredibly awkward. It would also instill fear in the one who gave up. Three spots to ask about the well had become two for them because of their withdrawal. If another key appeared, would they still dare to give up?

Ruger and Leiden followed Vito's lead, adjusting their direction from time to time.

Occasionally, you can also see other wizard apprentices hurrying along, each with their own plans.

Suddenly, the laughter of the rabbit Tuzel echoed through the small crevice. The laughter was full of mockery and simple excitement, but Ruger sensed that there was some other unsettling emotion in it.

"This should be the direction."

Vito quickened his pace after speaking.

Ruger followed. In fact, it was not an easy task for Vito to determine a person's location through the Ear Imprinting Technique. If the person had not spoken for a period of time, they could only analyze the conversations between other apprentices. Fortunately, they were looking for a relatively conspicuous target, and they were not the only ones with this idea.

Suddenly, the sky darkened again.

This suggests that the rabbit was not only unharmed, but even intentionally taking a nap. Perhaps, as Vito said, it hadn't slept well last night, but Ruger was more inclined to believe that it was playing, silently telling all the wizard apprentices that the farce was over.

Beside a fallen tree, a dozen or so wizard apprentices gathered. The unusually thick tree looked like it had been fallen for a long time. Even the section of its trunk lying there was taller than an average person; it was as if a house could be carved out of the trunk.

The three of them stopped in their tracks.

Ruger glanced around and knew they had come to the right place. The fallen tree trunk split vertically in the middle, looking quite old, and together with the gullies in the ground, it looked like a small canyon.

Some of these wizard apprentices went inside, some stayed at the entrance, and many more lingered nearby.

Looking towards the innermost figure, the chubby man with a unique aura, he must be the apprentice, and also the target of the three of them—the wizard apprentice from the Endless Sea who walks the path of a faith wizard. He is the hope in everyone's eyes for dealing with the half-nightmare demonized pet.

In the dim light, some phantoms could be seen seemingly worshipping the fat man. Luger stretched his neck and tried to open his eyes wide to get a closer look, but those phantoms suddenly disappeared, as if they had never been there at all.

He glanced at the nearby wizard apprentices, guessing that many had failed to discover the fat apprentice's methods; otherwise, there would surely be a larger gathering of wizard apprentices here.

The three of them walked to the side and rested under a tree.

"Are we just going to wait quietly like this?" Ruger said.

“Hehe, even if Lord Ruger could defeat those two wizard apprentices, now isn’t the right time,” Vito chuckled. “Wizard apprentices are all confident or arrogant, and of course, I am too. No one here is an exception, and they’re all even more confident. Everyone thinks they’re no worse than anyone else, but they haven’t made a move yet. Now, whoever defeats those two will definitely scare everyone and become the focus of everyone’s attention. Besides, there are too many people here right now… It would be great if they made fewer moves…”

Leiden silently waved his hand, then started another campfire and began to tend to it, quickly making it burn very brightly.

Ruger immediately sat down by the campfire.

It was another seemingly peaceful breakfast time, but Ruger knew Leiden's abilities; as long as the fire was there, they had the ability to escape from here.

Ruger sat by the campfire, lost in thought, watching the people around him.

The demonic pet that is turning into a nightmare is difficult to deal with. Is it necessary to eliminate it?

I wonder what this pale, ugly, dog-like monster will look like after its owner is dealt with.

He then thought of what he needed now: his powerful spirituality, which he had always been confident in, had failed to offer guidance in the two difficult choices he was currently facing. Perhaps only that well could unleash the light of his spirituality like never before, illuminating his path forward. In truth, he wished the well could solve some other problems for him.

Ruger sensed the spell enchanting him; the Lightness Spell was almost over before he managed to get here.

If he still couldn't find the right spot, he felt he might give up, or rather, if those two weren't around, he might have already changed his approach. He would observe from the woods next to the rabbit hutch, just like the apprentices who stayed there, and adopt a strategy of improvisation.

As darkness fell completely, it felt like the dead of night.

Ruger felt the campfire in the darkness was especially warm.

Thus began a rather strange and incongruous breakfast.

Leiden prepared breakfast as usual. Today it was soup and stone-stuffed flatbread. The soup was made from chopped tree roots and was a thick, red color, garnished with some milky white mushroom bits.

As Ruger spooned the soup and chopped mushrooms into his mouth, marveling at the first sip, sharp, mournful cries began to echo from afar.

(End of this chapter)