Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 262 Rings and Fireballs

Several more days passed.

Luger sat on Squeaky's back, his arms crossed in front of him, one hand playing with and rubbing the few tufts of fur that had grown back. Squeaky worms wriggled and silently followed behind Vito and Leiden.

Both he and Leiden had less than ten cone-shaped objects left, but things hadn't gone smoothly these past few days. It seemed that Brother Vito had lost that unseen guidance and could no longer sense that ambiguous call, causing their efficiency to drop rapidly again. The few remaining objects were even harder to throw away than the hundreds they had before.

As Luger swayed with a creaking sound, he glanced briefly at the tethered tree in the magical dreamscape before stopping the spell.

He discovered that even without constantly maintaining the spell, the Dream Tree would still grow slowly on its own. This slow growth allowed the dream to breathe, and the dream created by the spell also had the opportunity to slowly grow larger. The small meadow was extending outwards in ways that were barely visible to the naked eye. It was slow, but it was constantly changing.

At the same time, he also experienced what Leiden had said: with the planting of this tree, his dreams seemed to be fixed. Fortunately, one time after falling asleep, he finally had a seemingly normal dream. Of course, it would be inaccurate to describe the dream as normal. In the dream, he came to a familiar tavern, surrounded by people he knew but also seemed not to know. Amidst the shadowy figures, everyone raised a wine glass that he couldn't remember what it looked like. But then he sensed something, and he started running in the dream. He didn't know how far he ran until he appeared in front of the tree.

The tavern's dream disappeared, or rather, it remained the same dream; things changed from the moment the tree was planted.

He told Leiden about the changes in the dream.

The two speculated that the dreamscape of the tavern had become nourishment for the tree and the magical dreamscape. They even suspected that the dreamscape created by the spell was their original dream, only now it was fixed under the spell. With their limited knowledge, the two apprentices couldn't immediately grasp these changes, let alone determine whether they were good or bad. Furthermore, Ruger believed that there were definitely things they hadn't yet discovered among the changes brought about by the Dream Tree.

The three of them walked through the mountain valley.

A wizard apprentice walked towards them. Upon seeing the three figures, he immediately stopped warily and even slowly retreated to the side.

Seeing this, the three of them did nothing that might cause a misunderstanding; they simply glanced at each other and continued walking slowly.

They were the stronger side, and they weren't afraid that the other side would do something irrational.

Ruger glanced sideways and saw that the man had turned towards the hillside, seemingly intending to take a detour.

Cautious yet not overly flustered, he was clearly a seasoned fifth-level wizard apprentice.

A minor incident, a close call but no real danger.

What followed was another disappointing journey.

“Maybe we’ve done too well,” Ruger said, sitting on the bug. “We’ve been too good, there’s already enough of that stuff, so it’s hard to throw any more out now.”

Leiden nodded seriously upon hearing this.

Vito, on the other hand, wore a wry smile. He seemed to have been feeling apologetic these past few days, as if he hadn't been able to help.

The good news is that since that fake-smiling, blank-faced man, no one has come knocking on our door for no reason.

Vito truly became like an apprentice completing a long-term exploration mission for the High Council of Wizards.

"Looks like we're in luck..."

Vito twitched his ears and suddenly ran in one direction.

Ruger and Leiden hurriedly followed.

Not far away, a strange transformation is taking place on a black, withered tree.

"The birth of nightmare creatures?" Leiden whispered.

Although the ways in which nightmare creatures are born are varied and countless, this was the first time Ruger had witnessed the birth process of one.

The three of them stared at the tree.

On the black, withered tree, something seemed to be clinging to it, its outline shifting in the blink of an eye, resembling a giant python coiled around it. Judging from Leiden and Vito's expressions, it was clearly the first time they had ever seen such a sight.

Should we wait until it completes the change?

As Luger spoke, he jumped off the squeaky bug.

Leiden and Vito both stared intently at the changes that were coiling around the tree.

“It should be fine,” Leiden said.

None of the three of them felt any excessive pressure.

The hazy things coiling around the trees continue to change.

It was indeed a giant python, but it couldn't be called a giant python. Its gradually forming body was black and white, and it actually grew into a circular shape with its head and tail connected. Judging from its appearance, even if it was successfully born, it would be a pitiful python trapped in a black tree.

Click!

As it turned out, Ruger's worries about being born of a python were premature. The python began to writhe as it neared completion, its ringed body twisting into one that snapped the thick tree trunk in two.

"What are the ingredients for today's dinner?" Ruger asked.

As the giant python landed, their hearts also settled. The changes were not beyond their control; at most, it was just a troublesome nightmare creature. They had already hunted quite a few in the past few days. Some of the strange ones that they were unsure about were fed to their respective nightmare organs, while the ones that were normally edible were all handed over to Lord Leiden without hesitation.

The deformed giant python glared fiercely at the three of them, seemingly eager for its first meal.

Lai stepped forward, and with a flick of his hand, a seemingly ordinary torch appeared.

Upon seeing this, both Ruger and Vito slowly retreated.

When encountering nightmare creatures that could be used as food, Raiden would usually be the first to probe and deal with them within his capabilities; this was a request made by Raiden himself.

Ruger looked at Leiden's hand.

That torch was no different from any other stick that had been casually taken from the campfire.

The giant python twisted violently, contorting itself into a strange character.

Raiden held the torch in front of him and waved it around. The flames seemed to form a circle as the torch moved rapidly. At the same time, Raiden began to cast a fireball spell, and one fireball after another flew out through the fire circle.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the number of fireballs flying out is gradually exceeding the number of fireball spells cast by Raiden, and it's getting more and more numerous.

After observing for several days, Ruger realized that Raden's magic did not focus on fireballs or any other fire-related spells, nor on those ordinary torches, but rather on a peculiar connection he had cultivated with fire, something he had been doing for a long time: communicating with fire.

The banging sounds continued!
The giant python rolled around, suddenly swallowing its own tail, swallowing continuously. The ring grew smaller and smaller until the entire ringed python disappeared completely.

Those fireballs that flew out but missed their targets flew back like birds returning to their nests, unlike a rigid fireball. They turned back in mid-air and flew back into the fire circle drawn by the torch. Raiden's fireball spell always gave Ruger a strange feeling, as if he was storing and collecting fireballs. Every time he cast a spell in battle, it was not only to deal with the target in front of him, but also to store more fireballs.

Even now, though the target in front of him has disappeared, Raiden continues to cast his fireball spell without stopping.

The fireballs traced arcs in the air before flying back into the fire circles created by the torches.

Suddenly, the giant python that had swallowed its tail reappeared beside Leiden in a strange manner.

(End of this chapter)