Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 258 Compassion and Tolerance

Vito was taken aback by the visitor's words. He had come all this way just because he was curious about the days Vito had been missing.

“I didn’t find any treasure; I just accidentally wandered into a space. If you’re interested, I can tell you the details,” Vito said tentatively.

The person who came maintained a friendly smile and slowly shook their head. The smile did not change as they shook their head, as if there were no blind spots. Every angle of the head movement was pleasing to the eye, relaxing, and even arousing the desire to confide in someone. There was a sense of loving tolerance like that of an elder, but there was no sense of distance between people of different generations. It was like a kind and understanding older brother next door, familiar and close, yet with just the right distance, so that you could feel at ease to talk about your innermost thoughts.

“Of course I’m interested, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” the young man said gently. “Every silent corner and every unusual place in the Nightmare World could be an unimaginable treasure. The only drawback is that most of the time, seeing them requires a bit of luck and a pair of eyes that can see their value. You say you haven’t gotten anything, which only proves your incompetence. However, I don’t need you to explain it to me; I trust myself more…”

“I can twist your head and make you kneel before me, following me forever,” the young man said gently. “At that time, you will naturally recite your experiences to me a thousand times, even some details you yourself have not noticed, or even childhood memories you have long forgotten.”

As he spoke slowly and deliberately, Vito's face darkened.

"And you, you cannot defeat me. Now sing my name and bow down before me, and I may make an exception and let you become my name reciters, and call my name often."

The young man smiled and spoke in a language that Luger couldn't understand.

This made Luger tilt his head to the side. He squinted at the fake-smiling boy. The twenty-odd hazy, elderly figures stood behind him, and together with that smiling face, it was truly a bizarre sight.

This was also the first time Ruger had ever seen such a bizarre wizard apprentice.

The dog's tilted head as if sizing him up was somewhat rude, but the young man's smile remained unchanged, and his eyes were gentle as he stared straight at Luger.

Why should I keep calling your name, or asking you to come out to pay the bill at a pub or restaurant?

Ruger tilted his head and said that the spell was already quietly brewing.

This time, he had the same plan as before: since he had never seen this type of apprentice before, he would not bother to see them, which meant trying to prevent them from having a chance to make a move.

As Luger thought about this, his head tilted unconsciously again. He realized that he seemed to have changed a bit, becoming somewhat excited about facing the unknown battle.

In his self-perception, he wasn't like this. He tilted his head in thought, wondering if it was the reverse shaping of his environment or the silent growth of his power that had brought about this slight change.

But Ruger believes there may be deeper underlying causes.

Although he often appears relaxed when facing unavoidable problems, he rarely experiences dramatic emotional fluctuations. For example, when he is somewhat horrified by something, he will try to keep smiling and find it amusing. Sometimes he will even look at the problem in front of him and think about other things. But that's just because he thinks there's no need to be shocked or panicked. Doing so won't help in facing problems and difficulties. It's better to try to see the interesting side and think about some new problems and new perspectives.

However, he was still suppressing himself without realizing it. Perhaps, as the fake-smile boy said, there were some things he was not even aware of. An invisible thing accumulated with his experiences, which, while giving him the motivation and desire to move forward, also accumulated an indescribable sense of repression that settled in a corner of his heart.

Thinking of this, Luger straightened his head and tried to whistle, but unfortunately, the sound of his mouth was slurred.

He longed to try casting two spells simultaneously, such as using a flashy fireball to conceal the spell he was actually about to cast, but unfortunately he couldn't. When he was empowering one spell model, he couldn't create a second one.

To achieve a similar effect, it is necessary to use it in conjunction with a temporary spell slot.

However, there was no spell he wanted to cast in his temporary spell slot at that moment.

Ruger sighed helplessly.

"Are you questioning me, sir?" the smiling young man asked. Ruger smiled, but then immediately pursed his lips, thinking his smile wasn't as sweet as the other's, so he simply stopped smiling.

“I was just noticing some of my own shortcomings,” he said. “Seeing you reminded me of many things, and I got distracted without realizing it. So please believe me, I wasn’t listening carefully to what you were saying, so I have absolutely no doubts…”

As Ruger spoke, the strategy was working, and at the same time, a hair removal spell shot out.

The barely perceptible magical fluctuations prevented the "fake-smiling boy" Luger from noticing them immediately.

But this arrogant fellow did not disappoint Ruger; a hazy old man inexplicably appeared in front of him from behind.

Under Ruger's expectant gaze, the hair removal spell still failed to work. As far as a wizard apprentice is concerned, a defensive spell that can usually withstand a fireball spell cannot withstand a hair removal spell; that is a different concept altogether.

But Luger still laughed.

Did it not work? That depends on the purpose. The spell's purpose was to make the fake-smiling boy lose all his hair, but his purpose in casting the spell was to provoke him.

So, does that mean the blocked spell really had no effect?

Of course it worked! And it worked even with malicious intent!

Hair removal technology has perfectly fulfilled its mission.

Of course, those blurry figures no longer seemed to be normal beings; they had been subjected to a hair removal technique, and not a single hair on their heads had fallen out.

Luger's body grew enormously! With a flap of his wings, he soared into the sky!

The moment the smiling youth's eyes changed, the second form of the foul-smelling skin flashed by, making it look like some strange spell cast casually by an unsuspecting person.

The smiling young man froze, his face contorted in pain.

Beneath that seemingly perfect smile lay a deep malice far beyond what Ruger could have imagined.

At that moment, all the malice instantly transformed into the source of pain that tore away his smile.

Seeing that he was affected by the foul-smelling skin, Ruger then cast the Stinginess spell from the last temporary spell slot.

They don't act unless they're absolutely sure, but when they do, they go all out.

Sure enough, after he was affected, the more than twenty dazed and hazy figures became much clumsy, spontaneously trying to shield him from the spell, but making many mistakes.

With a thud, Ruger landed right in front of him.

Suddenly, the boy with the fake smile covered his head and began to emit a pale yellow light. A series of somewhat chaotic chanting sounds arose, and the chaotic words were not clearly heard, but the light emanating from his body became even more dazzling in an instant.

(End of this chapter)