Kobold Wizard's Journal

Chapter 388 Demon and Apprentice

A dinner party that seemed to never end.

"It's a little different from what I expected, but it's not bad either, after all, I wasn't there..."

The demon sat upright in the black chair, looked at Luger, and spoke slowly.

Have I become an apprentice demon hunter wizard?
They really came?

Different from what was expected?

Ruger unconsciously sat up straight. This inexplicably appearing demon, these inexplicably uttering words—all it takes is to give it an identity, and then everything will no longer seem inexplicable; all the words can be connected.

"Teacher?" he asked tentatively.

This is the key that unlocks this series of inexplicable events, the key to the rapid advancement of that cheap teacher who sent out the token, even specifying the destination on it, yet vanished without a trace, the disciple of the rumored long-lost demon wizard, Lord Emmanuel Caputo.

Once their identities were confirmed, it became clear. Luger knew that the other person's words, "So you really came," didn't mean he had arrived at the Endless Sea, but rather that he had accepted the invitation to visit the other person as agreed. Of course, judging from the teacher's last sentence, whose state was unknown, the two of them were indeed supposed to meet in the vast Black Valley Domain, surrounded by more than seventy underground cities, and it seemed that there were other arrangements for him after their meeting.

“Very good, my chief disciple.”

The demon laughed silently, about to say something more, but was interrupted by a voice from the side.

"This sir..."

Zorn, who had been standing to the side for a long time, finally spoke.

Ruger glanced at him discreetly, then looked at Kurt. Compared to Zorn, this guy looked much more troubled. The advancement that should have ended smoothly had changed again. This newly appointed formal wizard seemed unchanged, just like before he had failed.

Having seen everything, Ruger was at least certain of one thing.

The arrogance that would briefly appear after suddenly becoming a formal wizard would never happen to Lord Kurt. He probably passed through the period of mental change after his strength increased in the blink of an eye. At this moment, he looked distressed and had that familiar bitter smile, just like a helpless little wizard apprentice, no different from before his promotion.

"My lord, you seem to have ruined my experiment."

"Zorn the wizard said softly."

The demon maintained his smile while talking to Ruger, then turned to look at Zorn, who was standing directly in front of him, wearing a smug wizard's robe.

"Are you a witcher here? You don't need to call me that. I am... a third-ring witcher, just like you."

The demon said slowly and deliberately.

Ruger was startled. Others might not know, but he did. This man was a second-circle wizard not long ago. At least during the time when old Lunther was helping him gather information, this teacher had clashed with others as a second-circle wizard. How long has it been? He has already become a third-circle wizard.

Upon hearing the seated demon identify himself as a third-ring wizard, Zorn's expression, which had remained largely unchanged until now, suddenly turned somewhat grim, his forehead furrowing into two deep lines.

“Your perception is flawed because of my overwhelming power over you, which makes you mistakenly believe I am a fourth-circle wizard,” the demon said softly. “Although it is a misunderstanding, it is also true. You seem to be a Madhive person with your own ideas, who has forged a path that has precedents to follow but is not bound by convention. But now, when you face me, it is as if you are facing a fourth-circle wizard. You can take this lesson as your next target... Consider this compensation for disrupting your experiment.”

Ruger and Kurt watched silently, listening intently to the conversation between the two.

Upon hearing this, Wizard Zorn was not angry. Instead, he relaxed his furrowed brows, scratched his messy beard, and looked thoughtful.

Ruger stared at Zorn's open collar, where a menacing aura emanated and was gradually growing stronger.

Suddenly, more than a dozen heads of varying shapes emerged from the bushy chest hair, like ferocious beasts pouncing on their prey, exuding a terrifying aura. Some of these heads were light gray, while others were blood red. Some were covered with messy sharp horns, while others had strangely shaped skeletal structures on their heads. At first glance, most of them were deep black, with each head and horns grotesque and gaping with bloody mouths.

Ruger moved his stiff shoulders, feeling his back stiffen from the sudden surge of ferocity.

If Zorn is indeed a third-ring wizard, then some of his pets, depending on their purpose, may only be raised to the first or second ring, but there are definitely more than one magical creature equivalent to the third ring level.

Ruger stared intently at his teacher.

The demon, seated in his chair, smiled slightly as he watched the ferocious creatures that were pouncing towards him, their size increasing as they left their chest hair. His eyes widened suddenly, and an aura belonging to a high-ranking wizard, or rather, a high-ranking demon, struck those hideous heads as if it were a tangible force. Several immediately shrank back into their tangled chest hair and disappeared, while one even lost consciousness and failed to completely hide, its head drooping on Zorn's chest. In the end, only three remained, viciously pouncing on the demon in the chair.

But they only managed to cross the table before two more shrank back under the devil's gaze. The last one, its head remaining, pounced on the chair, its body already half-exposed from its chest hair, revealing its massive form and sharp claws. The twisted horn on its forehead pointed directly at the devil's brow.

Ruger stared intently at the teacher he had finally met.

Zorn seemed surprised by the sudden outburst from his little ones, but he did not intervene immediately.

The demon maintained his smile, while the ferocious beast that had pounced on him, now almost within reach, slowed down even further. Its face was contorted with a hideous and terrifying expression, yet its entire body trembled, as if its spirit was struggling against the instincts of its flesh and blood.

The demon stretched his neck in the chair and raised his right hand, bending one finger.

Snapped!
It felt like I had been waiting for a long time, and finally that hideous head was right in front of me. I could flick it with my finger without having to lean forward.

With a strange whimper, the enormous, ferocious beast head was flicked back into Zorn's open chest by a finger.

“I know you didn’t mean it. Your little ones are just too pampered,” the demon said, placing his hand back on the armrest of his chair. “This is part of the compensation for bothering you. You should know that even if you go all out, it won’t change much.”

"Thank you for reminding me."

The wizard Zorn, unusually serious, looked at the demon on the chair with curiosity in his eyes.

The sense of inquiry is self-evident.

Even a clueless wizarding apprentice like Ruger knew that such obvious restraint was absolutely terrifying and extremely rare; otherwise, the wizard Zorn wouldn't have been caught off guard. Today's events had clearly taught Zorn an important lesson.

(End of this chapter)