Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 257 Sleep and the Big Tree

Leiden hopped around and returned to the campfire, just as their stomachs rumbled.

“If you intend to plant this seed in a magical dream, it’s best to do it sooner rather than later, to give it time to grow,” Raiden said. “I can feel it growing every single moment…”

Ruger nodded upon hearing this.

The old woman was powerful and proud. The two were always worried that she might give them rewards that were good from the old woman's perspective but were actually for the purpose of the experiment. For example, Lady Myutris, who had become a formal wizard, enjoyed such a favor but also got a very bad mood. This Nightmare Apprentice had already gathered some wizard apprentice partners around her when they first met, and it was clear that she was the leader, which showed that she was definitely an excellent person among the Nightmare Wizard Apprentices.

Ruger and Leiden's hesitation stemmed from their lack of concern that the old woman might do something underhanded.

"Do you still have the Sleep Mushrooms from last time?" Leiden suddenly asked.

Luger nodded.

“I have a suggestion. Let’s rest here for the night. Don’t use the Dream Tree seed yet,” Leiden said thoughtfully. “I’ve decided to take a nap here. You can make a decision after I wake up.”

Ruger nodded again. Leiden must have noticed something if he said that, and there was no harm in observing for another day.

As for the Sleeping Mushroom, that was a small find from a few days ago.

Perhaps it can also be considered as confirmation of the correspondence that Raden mentioned before. The characteristics of this Sleeping Mushroom are exactly the same as a potion ingredient that Luger knows. At first glance, he thought it was the kind of material used to make Fighter Potions. He even crushed it and carefully sensed it with his mental power. However, there was no refining room or auxiliary tools here, so he could only confirm it roughly. Therefore, Luger kept some and did not give it all to Raden as food.

Interestingly, after Leiden confirmed with his Nightmare Organ that it was edible, the three of them embarked on a dream journey. After eating it, they all had a long dream that night, which all began with them being chased by a mushroom, and then each dream was different.

Leiden brought this up at this point, clearly wanting to ensure that he could have a real dream after dinner without resorting to luminosinomy.

Ruger handed over a strangely shaped, bluish-green mushroom.

Leiden smiled and accepted the gift, then began preparing dinner. Of course, the mushrooms were for him to enjoy before bed. Normally, wizard apprentices don't dream easily. Sometimes, if they dream while falling asleep due to exhaustion, it might be taken as a spiritual guide. Some neurotic wizard apprentices might even have some bad associations based on a dream.

When Vito saw that Leiden hadn't touched the mushroom, he withdrew his worried gaze; clearly, his dream that day hadn't been pleasant at all.

Leiden's hard work finally calmed their stomachs.

Ruger sat alone on a rock.

During these days, he consulted Vito about his experience and tips on ear implantation. He also learned to implant artificial ears in advance when he decided to take a break. However, even with the guidance of this master of ear implantation, he could only maintain two artificial ears, and the distance between them could not be too far.

Ruger knew that this was all he could do for now, so he didn't ask for more instruction. He believed that if he showed more interest, Vito might tell him something more private. Although he had helped Vito, he didn't want that. Every apprentice had their own strengths and secrets.

This time it was Luger's turn to keep watch, and he had Squeaky to keep him company.

Most of the time, Vito would volunteer to do this kind of thing. Wizard apprentices rarely got to rest, so Ruger and Raiden rarely took the night watch. Of course, the one who did the most was the hardworking Squeak, who was the watchman's eternal partner, but most of the time he just lingered around Ruger.

Ruger fiddled with the black rope on his wrist, Vito closed his eyes to rest, and Leiden had finished eating the strange mushrooms and was now relaxing and asleep.

Upon seeing the mushroom, Luger's first thought was of the Fighter's Potion. Perhaps it could be used to create a Nightmare Fighter branch. Similar fighter branches might already exist, but the potion might not be the same, and the abilities it brings would naturally be different. In Leiden's words, the fact that they could see this mushroom here did not mean that the same mushroom would exist elsewhere.

The night in the nightmare world isn't a true night, because it's not dark enough; the sky just becomes a bit eerie.

Ruger glanced back and saw that Leiden was already fast asleep.

Suddenly, his ear twitched. One of the prosthetic ears connected to him had lost its connection.

Immediately afterwards, a booming sound rang in his ears. The strange vibration made it impossible for him to tell whether it was coming from his ear or from his mental space.

Luger leaped off the rock, and Squeak immediately disappeared underground.

He slowly took two steps forward.

A blurry figure, seemingly a slightly balding old man, was squatting under a tree in the distance, eating something, with his back to the direction he was facing.

Ruger raised an eyebrow. That was the place where he practiced growing artificial ears. He didn't rely on ear-growing magic to keep watch; he just sat on the rock and occasionally practiced spells when he was bored.

"It's him……"

Vito had already woken up.

Only Raiden was still asleep by the campfire, seemingly already enjoying the sweet dreams the mushroom brought him, and perhaps it was a bit too much for him to have one mushroom all to himself.

Vito came to Ruger's side.

“It was the wizarding apprentices who initially tracked me down, not those fanged men,” Vito added.

Squeak has already been ordered to lie in wait around Leiden.

"You stay with Leiden."

Ruger smiled and said to Vito.

Under the trees in the distance, another figure appeared, also a hazy old man.

Another roar rang in Luger's ears, simultaneously shaking his mental space. Unfortunately, this level of vibration had almost no effect on him now. On the contrary, during and after the vibration, his mental space felt a slight sense of comfort.

It was another elderly man with a hazy figure. Ruger looked closely and realized that it was the hazy feeling that had misled him; in fact, their appearances and clothing details were not the same.

One after another, in the blink of an eye, more than twenty hazy figures had gathered under the tree, and strange roars echoed in Luger's ears, reaching his mental space.

Those hazy figures gave Ruger a dazed feeling.

"really not bad."

The continuous roaring finally ended, and a cheerful and magnetic voice rang out.

The person in the neat, light gray wizard robe and with a gentle smile appeared to be a young man. He had an ordinary appearance but was very approachable and clean-cut. His smile gave people the same feeling.

"Is he important to you?" Ruger asked softly.

“Of course not. He’s a good person, but it doesn’t matter to me,” the young man said gently. “However, others don’t seem to think so. Of course, I also have a little personal curiosity, like where he went after he disappeared that day.”

As the young man spoke slowly and deliberately, the hazy figures of the elderly men stood motionless behind him.

(End of this chapter)