Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 224 Severed Arm and Changes

The wrinkled, not-so-large hand stunned all the wizard apprentices present. The outstretched arm didn't look long either, clearly coming from a similarly short torso. It wasn't until the loud laughter that the apprentices were jolted awake, but it was obviously no different. The apprentices simply retreated slowly, and for a moment, no one knew what to do.

The opportunity to ask questions of the well might be lost, Ruger thought.

The feeling of heat in my shoulder, coupled with that unforgettable, wrinkled hand, made the answer self-evident.

As the arm struggled, the faint sound of the town's bells could be heard.

The nightmare wizard apprentice in the deep yellow wizard's robe frowned. After the old woman finished speaking, he looked around, and many other apprentices did the same.

Ruger joined in, turning his dog head and glaring fiercely at his surroundings, while his mind raced, trying to figure out what would happen next. Raiden did the same, scanning the wizard apprentices around him with a serious expression. Seeing some people starting to back down, he also began to move.

Ruger slowly backed away, glancing to the side, while Vito smiled at the two of them.

In an instant, Ruger realized that Vito had thought of them, or rather, had to suspect them.

After all, the old woman's words were that you are my lucky stars. Most of the people here have connections. Vito, who eavesdrops every day without distinguishing right from wrong, knows these things best. Apart from himself, Luger and Leiden are probably the most special people here, perfectly fitting the list of suspects.

But Vito continued to follow closely behind the two as they retreated.

The other wizard apprentices, who knew the origins of this rift and understood this small space attached to the Nightmare World, were actually the most terrified. Because they understood, they were afraid; the old woman's domineering laughter and what she was doing clearly frightened them.

"This sir..."

The first to speak was that plain-looking student of the demon wizard; it must be said, this guy was really bold.

But when faced with an old wizard who could do such unusual things, he had to be careful with his words.

"Do you want to destroy this place?" he said.

The old woman paused as she tried to squeeze her way in, seemingly lost in thought, or perhaps carefully sensing something.

"Yes, very good, hahaha! I'm getting senile, you've reminded me! You did a great job, young man, although you smell terrible..."

The old woman laughed and squeezed her other wrinkled hand through her armpit.

Under the tense gazes of everyone, he reached out, grabbed the base of the arm, and twisted it forcefully. With a snap, blood splattered everywhere, and an arm fell out of the rabbit Tuzel's mouth, truly arriving in this space.

"Hahaha, I'm a wizard apprentice now! I'm here as a wizard apprentice... Is that alright?"

As soon as the old woman finished speaking, her arm, which had fallen to the side, swelled up with one large bump after another, as if it were about to ulcerate. However, instead of oozing pus, it rolled and writhed on the ground in a crooked manner for a while before straightening up and stretching out, transforming into a short, wrinkled old woman.

Although she was smiling after she got up, Ruger believed that no one present at that moment would feel that she was kind at all.

The old woman, her arms twisting and contorting, stood still and laughed, tilting her head back and laughing heartily. Ruger watched, but continued to retreat.

This was indeed the best solution. Ruger recalled her desire. Regardless of what she was like before, what she sought now was to ascend in a peculiar way and become a true wizard, a true human being. This might not be entirely accurate, as many people deviate from being truly human after ascending to wizardhood. But that was exactly what she was pursuing. Others deviate from being human to non-human after ascending, remaining in an intermediate state. She, however, borrowed the method of the Nightmare Wizard, deviating from non-human to human, and upon success, also remaining in an intermediate state.

Therefore, what she pursues, what she desires most right now, can theoretically be asked of that well, and falls within the category of a wizard apprentice who is barely able to ask that well.

A deafening snore.

Rabbit Tuzel smacked its lips and rolled over, causing the space to tremble again. The rabbit's mouth closed, and the old woman on the other side of its throat, who had been smiling, cursed twice after this change and withdrew her hand, then fell silent. The rabbit's large mouth gradually returned to its normal size.

The wrinkled arms that had transformed into an old woman froze for a moment when the rabbit closed its mouth, and then the laughter ceased.

Ruger and Leiden exchanged a glance, neither stopping their retreat. Some of the wizard apprentices around them stood watching, while a few others, like them, slowly withdrew.

The stunned old woman stood there motionless, like a broken, ugly puppet.

In this quiet little world, only the continuous snores of rabbits echoed for a moment.

The well was almost ready to be filled, yet this happened. The rabbit's unusual invitation to play games was already a headache, but it only brought forward the competition and fighting. Before coming here, everyone knew what they would face, but this wrinkled old man was an exception. Ruger thought that not only he, but probably many wizard apprentices thought so.

Ruger gave Leiden a look, and as the rabbit's mouth closed, the burning sensation on his shoulder was gone.

Leiden nodded slightly in response.

Click, click!
The old woman, who had been in a daze for a long time, stretched her neck and looked around as she did so, looking at the sky, the ground, and the wizard apprentices around her. Finally, she turned to the side and fixed her gaze on the strange rabbit and its hut.

Ruger raised an eyebrow. He saw a hint of confusion in the old woman's expression, but she quickly recovered and regained her composure.

"Fate...this is fate's arrangement..."

The old woman grinned, moved her arm but unfortunately didn't have the long cane, which made her pause for a moment, then she smiled again and continued to look at the rabbit and its hut.

The surrounding wizard apprentices had already sensed something was wrong, especially the three arrogant fellows, whose spots to stand by the well and ask questions now seemed to have truly become two.

But even the demon wizard's students, who had been so bold before, did not make any outrageous moves at this moment.

Ruger was curious to see what would happen if the three of them attacked the old woman, since the old woman was theoretically a very special wizard apprentice.

The old woman seemed oblivious to the presence of Luger and his companion.

Ruger didn't suddenly start running; he continued retreating at a leisurely pace. They weren't avoiding the old woman now—that was unrealistic. Their real concern was preventing the wizarding apprentices here from knowing the truth, and preventing the old woman from interacting with them in front of everyone, even with a friendly greeting—that would be a terrible thing. Some people had delayed their promotions for decades for this opportunity.

(End of this chapter)