Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 268 Left and Right

This change caught Ruger completely off guard. Whether it succeeded or failed, he had thought a lot before deciding to take the risk, even about how he would die. But he never expected this situation. The old woman had her back to them and did not respond. Their rash actions were not effectively verified, and instead, they were overcome with inexplicable drowsiness.

Ruger and Leiden's sudden swaying immediately caught the attention of Mütsuice in mid-air.

The two of them slid slowly to the floor, supporting themselves on the lab table, trying to resist the unusually strong drowsiness that was surging up their bodies, which began to blur.

Luger sat crookedly, one hand on the ground and the other on the lab table, shaking his head vigorously. He could even vaguely see their camp, withered trees, and the faint glow of a campfire.

Drowsiness may just be a symptom, a reaction to a change.

They had experienced it several times, but never had the chance to find out. This time, the change seemed to come too quickly. Although they were very sleepy, they couldn't fall asleep so quickly.

Perhaps the Dream Tree also played a role? Ruger thought to himself.

Suddenly, the stone chamber was no longer quiet.

Every experimental table, including the one next to Muse hanging in mid-air, was emitting constant groans of pain.

Sitting on the ground, Ruger barely managed to tilt his head and saw the slightly overweight wizard apprentice struggling violently on the experimental table behind Leiden. In the short time it took him to look up, the slightly overweight body gained a few more wrinkles, and the struggle became increasingly weak. His mouth was wide open like a dark hole, exhaling more than inhaling, and he could hardly make a decent sound, only coughing intermittently from the back of his throat.

The newly appointed wizard fared much better; his skin remained radiant, though his brows were furrowed, his eyes were closed, and he kept emitting painful cries from deep within his throat.

The camp in front of Ruger was becoming increasingly clear.

boom!
The familiar sound of a long cane striking the stone pavement.

The old woman turned around.

She surveyed the laboratory before her, first glancing at the formal wizard Mutress suspended in mid-air, but only briefly before casually sweeping her gaze over the laboratories that seemed to breathe more out than in. She then looked at the staff in her hand before fixing her gaze on Ruger and Leiden.

The old woman smiled, and her short stature seemed to grow a little taller.

Ruger noticed that she had straightened her back and changed her slightly hunched posture.

The old woman's gaze lingered on the two of them for a long time.

Luger was also looking at her. The old woman's eyes had become even more profound, and an indescribable aura was emerging from her short body. Even when she was smiling, no one could tell whether she was happy or not, nor could they tell whether she was furious. In comparison, Luger preferred the old woman's previous rambling manner, which made people feel the changes in her emotions, even the terrible and frightening ones.

The old woman smiled silently and tapped her long cane on the ground.

boom!
A tranquil, ethereal light appeared, like a ribbon, connecting the wrinkled, short figure to some unknown place, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The eerie light flowed and curved around Luger.

The old woman looked at him with a smile.

"So you're the little mouse that changed the course of fate?" the old woman said with a smile.

From that unknown depth, tiny points of light, following the ribbon-like glow, flowed past Luger, whose figure was gradually becoming blurred as he slumped to the ground, and settled into the old woman's position.

As the number of light spots increased, the old woman gave Ruger an even more vivid feeling.

“As the one who has changed the course of destiny, perhaps I should give you some reward,” the old woman continued.

But Ruger was no longer able to respond.

Drowsiness kept creeping in, but Luger couldn't fall asleep. It was an extremely torturous feeling. Meanwhile, Raiden, who was beside him, had already closed his eyes and was about to disappear from sight.

"Hahaha." The old woman finally burst out laughing.

Looking at her, Ruger finally understood her unsettling aura—a haughty, inhuman feeling, like when they looked at the little insects in the incubator in old Lenser's apothecary, but with a difference: they hadn't experienced the baptism of those incomprehensible years.

Leiden's figure, who was about to leave, inexplicably began to become clear again.

Ruger felt a burning sensation on his shoulder.

The ribbon-like light flowing beside him trembled and veered away from Ruger, no longer passing by him.

"Ok?"

The old woman's laughter stopped abruptly, and her figure became blurred, just like Luger and the other man.

The eerie light seemed to draw in something else.

The old woman suddenly looked at Luger.

"Fate is unpredictable, fate is mocking me," the old woman's voice came from the hazy distance, "The one who has manipulated fate, you are more important than I imagined. Everything comes at a price, and your manipulation has brought about unexpected changes..."

She hadn't finished speaking.

Ruger's eyes widened instantly, and Leiden would probably have done the same if he saw it.

Something familiar to them was pulled toward them by the dim light, and a somewhat unreal scene came into view: a clearing in the woods, where a nice little hut sat, except for the wooden door which looked a bit awkward.

Click!

A door appeared out of thin air and was slowly pushed open.

“I know, I know! Stop rushing me. I don’t want you to stay here either. I’m so fed up! How can you stay here all this time? What are you anyway? Oh, that’s a bit rude of me to say that…” A rabbit Tuzel’s voice kept coming from behind the door.

The flowing, eerie light stretched across the room.

Another old woman appeared, stepping out from behind Rabbit Tuzel's door. However, this one seemed very weak, and even appeared to be only at the level of a wizard apprentice.

They stood precisely on either side of the dim light.

"Hey! My friend! What are you doing here?" The rabbit-headed figure peeked out from behind the door. "This isn't fun, especially for you wizard apprentices. Need my help? We're friends, after all. If I were to intervene, ah—"

Rabbit Tuzel caught a glimpse of the eerie light that hung across the room, screamed, and shrank back behind the door, disappearing along with it.

The two old women on either side of the dim light both looked at Luger.

The witch Mutress, suspended in mid-air next door, was also staring wide-eyed in this direction.

Some of the tiny specks of light brought by the dim glow drifted toward the old apprentice woman who had just emerged from the rabbit gate.

Judging from his body language, Luger believed that Leiden had woken up after his figure became clear again, but the guy was still pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed.

"You who have swayed destiny, this is your glory, your choice... can determine the fate of a supreme wizard," said the old woman on the left. "Destiny is not isolated; your unintentional actions can have a profound impact on others. Now..."

The old apprentice standing nearby suddenly burst into laughter, interrupting her.

“Fate, you still can’t forget fate,” the old woman on the right laughed. “I could have made you fail silently, you arrogant fool, but I wanted to see you one more time. To be precise, this is our first real meeting. I want to tell you that the path of fate you cherish is not even worth a magic stone to me. The pain you brought me, the life you spent being fooled by fate, is a disgusting farce. It’s your arrogant blindness. You are me, but I am not you. After I succeed, I will discard the path of fate you cherish and abandon the fruits of your life’s struggle…”

(End of this chapter)