Chapter 3: Dog and Worm

Luge doggedly held his own legs, striving to assume a standard cross-legged posture with his soles facing upward, but this was truly difficult for a Kobold, especially one who was the shortest among his kind, yet finally, accompanied by a slight crackling from his legs, he succeeded.

Perhaps he didn't need to do this, after all, the Magic Mark Meditation Method had no such requirement.

He only thought this after finishing his posing.

This was purely a whim of his, fulfilling a childhood fantasy of soaring imagination, just like the masters in stories practicing peerless secret arts.

As for the part he was most familiar with in this impressively named meditation method,

it was that old friend who often danced for him, the pattern occupying the entire second page.

Now he knew he needed to sketch six runes in the meditation space to form the first Magic Mark; during the sketching process, his Spiritual Power would be tempered, and for a normal Wizard Apprentice, the growth of Spiritual Power and the formation of the Magic Mark would be achieved simultaneously. At that successful instant, he would become a qualified Rank 1 Wizard Apprentice.

The pattern that often danced on the second page was the first rune he needed to master.

When he could sketch the first rune, under normal circumstances, the Spiritual Power he had tempered would already be enough to support him in turning to the third page of the Black Book, to see the true form and explanation of the next rune.

These mischievous runes would slowly dissipate after being sketched.

If he wanted to stop these speechless little troublemakers, he had only to form the first Magic Mark as quickly as possible.

That is to say, he needed to constantly temper himself through attempts; after successively mastering six runes, he had to sketch them all out in the meditation space in one breath.

Luge relaxed his mind and spirit, and once again glimpsed that mysterious sight seen in a hurried glance.

He immersed himself in his own meditation space, and after recalling the points of attention at the start of the meditation method once, he did not rush to begin.

This Spiritual Power Space belonging to him actually made him intoxicated at this moment, feeling this unique tranquility, stepping with both feet on what seemed like a solid surface of the Mental Power Sea, a strange sensation, looking up and gazing at the starless deep void. That deep void seemed infinite, but he could still vaguely feel the size of the Spiritual Power Space.

After a long time, he finally began to sketch the first rune in midair.

A moment later, his brow furrowed slightly.

That old partner he had seen countless times now seemed somewhat strange; from different angles it had different variations, and even as time passed, it would undergo subtle changes. It must be sketched out in one breath on the basis of understanding it to a certain degree.

This requirement of sketching in one breath was also a test of his control over Spiritual Power.

In the limited inherited knowledge in his mind and in the Black Book, there was no mention of how long a normal Wizard Apprentice needed to attempt before completing this first rune sketch of his life. So he had no reference for comparison.

Until Hunger forcibly dragged him away, ending that wonderful meditation state.

He had just successfully sketched this first rune.

A constantly changing rune floated in the meditation space, changing endlessly in cycles, while also slowly dissipating, bringing a touch of vitality to this silent place.

Gurgle gurgle! His stomach sounded at just the right time.

He directly collapsed, his legs too numb to move.

Just this?

Is it hard? Harder than he imagined.

But it wasn't as the meditation method described, solemnly warning of various points of attention.

He was extremely familiar with the Stomach Timing Method; before that Fat Meat Worm appeared, he had often gone hungry. At this moment, feeling the degree of his stomach's hunger, he made a judgment. If the subsequent runes were of this degree, then within a few days he could master six runes and complete the formation of the first Magic Mark.

Perhaps, it would really be soon.

He thought in his heart, looking up at the remaining one and a half Meat Worms hanging on the Cave Wall.

As long as food was sufficient, he could stay indoors for several days without going out, meditating desperately here.

Gurgle gurgle!

He didn't bother to look at the new rune on the third page, but directly crawled, dragging his legs that had not yet recovered, toward the half Meat Worm he had left from last time.

After eating, he began meditating again; it seemed the achievement of sketching the first rune had slightly soothed the fatigue in his heart.

The only difference was that this time he chose to meditate lying flat.

As the Meat Worm decreased bit by bit, he began to eat sparingly at every meal.

From the third page onward, there were no explanatory texts as he had guessed; page after page were new runes, so turning that page at the same time let him see the two runes on the third and fourth pages.

Finally, the food ran out.

Luge looked at the worm leg only as long as a thumb remaining before him; this was something he had deliberately left behind, to fill his stomach before going out to hunt, so that if he encountered trouble outside he would have no strength to run away. After all, he had been in a state for many days where he wouldn't starve to death, but was never full.

"I wonder how that Gray Long Neck Saint Lord is doing……"

He muttered in his heart, taking a stick and following the original route, planning to go to the Gouhe where he often hunted to catch a few more worms.

He had completely mastered four runes and could sketch them out in one breath; the fifth was still somewhat difficult.

Now everything he looked at seemed to radiate a joyful spirit, as if the happiness surging from his heart had overflowed.

It was just that the matter of making shorts had to be delayed again, but he thought that once he truly became that powerful Wizard Apprentice, he could make better ones, make them more perfect, and besides, his precious Black Book was still so thick; who knew what was written behind, maybe there would be some powerful Spells.

It was another journey with frights but no danger; he didn't encounter a single Kobold.

Kobolds usually amused themselves by bullying weaker members of their own kind; these were boring and foolish behaviors, and he now had no time to entangle with them.

"What master, how powerful, but they can't even lead them to hunt on the Surface……"

He wanted to go to the Surface to take a look, to bask in the sun after so long; although his current appearance might scare people, he might be chased and beaten, stabbed in the buttocks with a Sword. But he truly missed the feeling of sunlight shining on him, and fresh air, that air that smelled of sunlight.

So far he still didn't know how to get to the Surface; he had asked Aijin before, and she knew nothing either.

He came to his own hunting preserve and, for the first time, caught four Meat Worms before heading back.

This time catching worms wasn't as lucky as last time, and he had increased his hunting amount, so it truly took him quite a lot of time.

He had a premonition that sketching and fusing the six runes might not be so simple; he didn't want to be interrupted midway because of something like food.

Three detestable figures appeared before him at the most inappropriate moment.

Two in front and one behind, they blocked Luge in a Cave.

"Hehehe."

The leading Kobold foolishly laughed, appearing so foolish.

This fellow wasn't tall, only half a head taller than Luge; his appearance was the most striking among the three fools, missing an ear and an eye on his dog head. The ear naturally had nothing to do with Luge—he was a kind little Kobold—and as for the hollow eye socket, he knew the details well.

He remembered it was a sharp-tipped bone club, first thrust in diagonally, then hooked upward and pulled, followed by a miserable howl. At that time he had been nearby, seeing it most clearly and distinctly, because that bone was held in his own hand.

He had no choice.

At the time he was already starving and desperate; if he didn't intimidate them like this, his scrawny self would become the target of all the kobolds nearby.

Food would be snatched away again and again.

He just wanted to hold onto that piece of bitter beast meat in his hand; it was the hunting spoils he received from participating in the clan hunt for the first time.

"Worm."

"Give it to us!"

"The great Hui Chang Jing Sheng Zhu Ren ordered: no eating worms."

The three kobolds spoke one sentence each in turn, using the short, harsh Kobold Language, gradually closing in on him.

Luge neatly shook the meat worms off the long stick, then slowly backed to the side, letting the solid cave wall be at his back.

One kobold immediately ran for the meat worms; the other two, holding dagger-shaped weapons made from underground beast forelimbs and fangs, continued closing in on Luge.

Luge smiled as he set the long stick steadily aside, untying the rope at his chest.

"Let me show you a good thing..."

After he learned the Ground Common Language, he no longer wanted to speak this harsh, lisping Kobold Language, but this time he felt especially refreshed, because he had been anticipating this, had long wanted to say this line.

The sound of pages turning rapidly rang out — hualala.

He carried the Black Book all day, not just out of cherishing it, but to make it a guarantee of his safety, and more to find a chance to do an experiment.

The two kobolds were indeed attracted; their three eyes stared wide as copper bells.

He first turned open a page, spreading it flat like this, both hands gripping the two sides of the book, displaying both pages fully to them simultaneously.

The focus wasn't the text on the left-side first page, but the pattern on the second page.

That rune that made his head dizzy and helped him fall asleep.

According to his plan, he would continue turning backward, showing them the later runes one by one.

But his page-turning hand suddenly paused; the situation somewhat exceeded his expectations.

He saw the two kobolds' eyes as if sucked in, their whole bodies trembling uncontrollably, forehead veins bulging yet not shifting their gaze a fraction.

Luge held the book up with both hands and tried taking a step forward.

He saw the two kobolds' eyes grow wider and wider, eyeballs already bloodshot, as if they had completely lost all resistance.

Just as he planned to continue observing.

Bang! The two kobolds' skulls exploded simultaneously! The headless corpses collapsed limply to the ground.

Silence.

This utterly ordinary cave fell into an eerie quiet.

Drip! Drip!

The kobold hugging the meat worms wore a blank expression; the meat worms in his hands slipped out one after another.

Luge lowered the book he had subconsciously raised before his face to block the splattering blood; a single ear that had splashed onto the page slid off, the book's interior as non-stick as the cover used as tableware.

This is my sleep-inducing book?

Unbelievable.

He had only wanted to knock out the two kobolds; the long stick was leaned against the cave wall for easy reach. He had already designed ninety-nine stick techniques to beat them after knocking them out, and was even wondering if he could try to subdue them, beat them into submission, make them catch meat worms for him.

He rapidly analyzed the cause and effect in his mind, using it to calm himself slightly.

Still, the result wasn't bad.

At least it thoroughly solved a trouble.

It's just that he had already dropped the plan to let Aijin access the Meditation Method.

After calming down, he held the book in one hand, lifted the long stick in the other, assuming a composed, leisurely stance.

Step by step he walked toward that stunned kobold.

This kobold, the sole survivor of the evil trio, was the tallest of the three, and also the most stupidly clumsy — stupid to the point of discarding the kobold's bestial cunning; usually in the trio he played the roles of porter, rearguard, and first into danger.

Luge approached step by step, footsteps very slow, even slowing further, yet directly scaring the big idiot into falling backward, sitting on the ground at a loss.

In that dazed gaze was pure fear of the unknown, incomprehensible, no way to respond, exceeding brain capacity.

"Did the Hui Chang Jing Sheng Zhu Ren say not to catch worms?" Luge thrust the long stick down beside the other's foot in one motion, looking down at the kobold sitting on the ground.

The big kobold looked at him fearfully, first shaking his head, then immediately nodding.

Seeing Luge frown.

This big lump hurriedly grunted an explanation.

"Worm."

But the more afraid the more anxious, the more anxious the less clearly he could speak.

The big kobold slumped on the ground, repeating himself while constantly waving and gesturing.

(Chapter End)