Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 256 Seeds and Germination

After several busy days, the results are quite pleasing.

During their breaks, Luger and the other two would take turns meditating. Of course, Luger also had Squeaky keeping watch. He meditated to increase his mental strength and promote the connection and fusion of the Silence Seal and the Five Demon Marks. The other two, who had theoretically reached the limit of a wizard apprentice's mental strength, meditated to improve the quality of their mental strength and get closer to their so-called limit. Of course, at their level, their progress was already invisible to the naked eye.

Whatever their purpose, the three of them did not neglect their daily meditations along the way, which contributed to the relatively smooth journey. Interestingly, among the three, it was Leiden who valued meditation the most.

Ruger glanced at Raden, who was meditating by the campfire, and felt that the flames were breathing with him. Although they didn't actually move, the feeling was that they existed, just like a living thing.

Ruger wasn't sure if it was related to meditation; he hadn't been exposed to that kind of thing enough, and Leiden always seemed to be staring at the flames as if he were communicating with them.

There are not many of those cone-shaped little things left.

Ruger held a small bottle in one hand, while his other hand habitually fiddled with a few tufts of hair.

These tufts of hair have grown quite large. He has been collecting the hair he sheds. Although the hair loss is rare due to the Spirit Hair Nourishing Technique, there is still a little bit of hair loss. He put all the hair he has collected together. The degree of nourishment and spiritual awakening varies, but fortunately, the hair he is shedding now is high-quality hair that has been baptized by the Spirit Hair Nourishing Technique.

As for the bottle in his hand, Ruger hesitated.

"You didn't use it either?"

Leiden finished meditating and looked over, just in time to see the bottle in his hand.

Luger nodded.

“I don’t know whether I should use it or not,” Ruger said softly.

Inside the small bottle was a round, black object, which was the reward the old woman had given them after they presented her with a gift the last time they met her.

It was an ordinary seed from the Dream Tree, but the old woman said that the seed had undergone her special cultivation. When rewarding them, she suggested planting it in a dream created by the Clear Dreaming Spell. She also said that the longer the spell was maintained, the easier it would be to plant successfully. Successful planting would make it easier for them to survive in subsequent experiments.

Fear stemmed from the unknown. Luger didn't know what a normal Dream Tree was, let alone what the old woman meant by "special cultivation." So he hesitated, unsure whether this reward was a pleasant dream or a nightmare.

Do you know what the Dream Tree is?

Ruger glanced at Vito beside him; sometimes, this guy actually knew a lot of things.

But this time, Ruger was going to be disappointed. Vito paused for a moment, then shook his head blankly.

In fact, Ruger had considered a possibility. First of all, the Nightmare World was already a strange and bizarre place, and the ordinary Dream Tree that the old woman mentioned might not be an ordinary thing for a wizard apprentice. It was even more likely that ordinary formal wizards would not have the opportunity to come into contact with it.

Ruger saw Leiden fumbling around and taking out a small bottle as well.

It is clearly also a seed of the Dream Tree that has not yet been used.

"I've decided to plant the Tree of Dreams."

Leiden glanced at the campfire beside him and said softly.

Ruger could understand his decision, given that Ruger's situation was more pressing. The old woman had originally prioritized him, considering him a prime candidate for the non-Nightmare Wizard path and a high-quality experimental subject. "If I succeed and nothing unusual happens, you can reconsider whether to use it..."

Leiden closed his eyes again as he spoke.

Although the purpose of the Dream Manipulation Technique is to keep people awake and still have a dream, without interfering with their normal activities and lives, the two of them still found it difficult to adapt. Therefore, for the spell to be more effective, it is best to be in a still and quiet state.

Ruger watched Leiden's actions, while Vito watched with curiosity.

When Leiden opened his eyes again, they were no longer as lively. He was clearly maintaining a clear dream simulation. A part of his mind had inevitably been drawn into the dream generated by the spell. Fortunately, the dream generated by the spell was limited after their many attempts. It was not very large or complex and was slightly controllable.

Leiden looked down at the bottle in his hand, gently pulled out the cork, and poured the seeds into his palm.

Ruger and Vito both looked on with curiosity, and their movements became slow, clumsy, and even somewhat solemn after being distracted by Leiden, which made them nervous.

Leiden held the seed in his palm, but before he could do anything, the dark little thing disappeared.

Leiden froze in that instant.

Ruger knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Leiden had entered the maintenance phase, a tug-of-war with the tree seed, maintaining the spell, maintaining the dream, and allowing the seed to take root and sprout.

Of course, the old woman said that it might also require a little bit of luck.

Ruger believed that strength was the deciding factor. As long as the spell could be maintained for a long enough time, even bad luck could lead to success. Before casting the spell, Raiden even made a point of looking at the campfire next to him. Although it was impolite to inquire about the abilities of other wizard apprentices, Ruger could guess that the campfire would definitely allow Raiden to maintain the spell for longer.

Neither he nor Vito dared to make a sound, for fear of disturbing Leiden.

They had originally planned to have a meal after resting, but now both of their stomachs were rumbling, which could be seen as a quiet expression of concern for the chef.

As their stomachs growled for the second time, Leiden finally stirred his eyelids, which were not fully closed.

Leiden breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think we can plant it,” Leiden smiled slightly. “I am currently maintaining a magical dream and speaking to you. The dream tree has just sprouted a small bud, but maintaining a magical dream is already much easier, and there are some different feelings involved. I think the thing that happened when I first met Lady Myrtle and was led into a dream by her tapping a spoon should not happen again now, of course, I mean when she was still an apprentice.”

Under the watchful eyes of Ruger and Vito.

Leiden stood up and ran and jumped around a few rocks nearby, his small hops looking neat and efficient.

Ruger stroked his chin.

If, as Raiden said, he is still maintaining the spell, then this seed has indeed made maintaining the Clarity Dreaming spell much easier.

Perhaps this is why the old woman rewarded them; a more stable and lucid dreaming technique might come in handy in subsequent experiments.

Moreover, it seems that the dream created by the stabilizing spell is only one of the seed's functions; it also has some other useful applications.

(End of this chapter)