Chapter 4

Luge strung up the four Fat Meat Worms one by one, then hoisted them back onto his shoulder.

He walked back unhurriedly.

He had more or less figured out what that big Kobold meant, and in the end he chose not to dirty his Long Stick, instead letting the stupid big fellow go. On the way back he suddenly realized it and found it amusing for a moment—that stupidity itself had become a life-saving ability, and he couldn't even bring himself to think of asking the other party to help him hunt.

The so-called Hui Chang Jing Sheng Zhu indeed did not allow Kobolds to hunt Meat Worms for food. But its command was that all captured Meat Worms be offered to this Saint Lord—belonging to "allowed to catch, not allowed to eat."

If he hadn't misunderstood, that should be the meaning.

He couldn't be bothered to care anymore; it was simply a waste of brains.

He returned to his little nest, ate some worm meat to his heart's content, then slept comfortably.

Then he began meditating again.

The Sleep Book momentarily turned into a Head-Exploding Book.

He had many guesses in his heart, but was the only one not frightened.

He believed that the pages of this book that had always been hard to open were a kind of protection for someone like him. As his Spiritual Power grew, turning page after page was a kind of polishing, and those two Kobolds must have had Spiritual Power talent too low to even withstand the first Rune—just one look made them unable to control themselves, until their heads exploded, unable even to look away.

Not considering this book some evil thing in his heart, he naturally felt no fear.

As time passed.

The fifth Rune could finally be drawn easily.

During this period he ate another half worm again; the hot spring he had wanted to visit had never been acted upon, and having endured eating sticky worm meat raw for so long, his mouth was truly a bit sick of it.

But his butt still had no intention of moving at all.

The next page could finally be turned, and he was extremely curious—turning this page would let him see the content on the seventh and eighth pages, one of which must be a Rune, and would the other side be the Spell he had long expected? Just thinking that one day he could actually master such a miraculous thing made him feel wonderful, as if in a dream, who would still care about eating boogers.

He spread the book open on his knee, his fingers lightly probing, and indeed he could already turn the pages.

Before his eyes was a Rune somewhat more complex than the previous five, but not beyond expectation, and then the other page was a long-awaited large piece of densely packed explanations of precautions.

Turning further back, it became a meticulously iron door bolt again.

He scratched his head, not seeing the imagined Spell Knowledge, but not too disappointed either. Once he mastered the sixth Rune, or truly completed a Magic Mark, he should be able to look at the ninth and tenth pages—maybe that's where what he wanted would be.

Thinking this, he skipped the Rune and read the long-winded discussion first.

After reading for a while, his expression was not pleasant.

On this page, the knowledge about six Runes becoming a Magic Mark was very helpful to him, but the back wrote some precautions for becoming a First-Level Wizard Apprentice, which dealt him a heavy blow.

Once becoming a Wizard Apprentice, one would obtain a Zero-Ring Spell Slot.

This was an extremely precious thing that caused a qualitative change in a Wizard Apprentice; afterward, to obtain another Spell Slot, one would have to wait until becoming a First-Level Formal Wizard, at which time one could solidify a One-Ring Spell—another qualitative change.

A solidified Spell required no incantation or gesture assistance, could be cast many times without fatigue, and was easier to gain insight and understanding from, even becoming like instinct—all in all, many benefits.

What made his dog face change color was that after becoming a Wizard Apprentice, one had to immediately solidify the prepared Spell.

That is to say, normal Wizard Apprentices all started contacting Spell Knowledge in advance and mastering relevant Spell Models.

While cultivating the Meditation Method, they would begin selecting and learning with a target.

To him this was simply a ridiculous fantasy—not to mention strategically and carefully selecting a solidified Spell to accompany him for life, or even slightly modifying and expanding it, he didn't even have an ordinary usable item, had never seen one, truly having nothing to choose from.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to first try mastering this last Rune.

From mastering this most complex Rune, to being able to draw all of them in one breath, to trying to fuse six Runes into a Magic Mark—all required time; he didn't want progress to fall behind because of anything.

Maybe this time it would be like before, and after mastering the sixth Rune he could turn the next page of the book?

Thinking this, he meditated even harder and more focused.

But there was always a voice in his heart thinking he might need to become a Wizard Apprentice to continue reading that book, and that behind it there wouldn't be Spell Models, but rather follow-up knowledge about the Meditation Method. Maybe this book simply didn't involve knowledge about low-level Spells.

Time passed in meditation.

Meat Worms decreased bit by bit, transforming into a strange clock with rich nutrition and terrible taste.

The sixth Rune was successfully mastered.

He let out a long breath.

But immediately after, his fingers rubbed the book corner until they trembled and lost hair, yet still no new page was turned.

He threw the book aside with one hand, thought about it, picked it up again, and lay down using it as a pillow.

During the breaks in meditation these days, he had carefully recalled the past; besides the Black Book, his ways to obtain Spell Knowledge were almost zero, unless suddenly a miracle appeared before him that could inexplicably satisfy one of his wishes.

Of course, the final struggle had to be made, such as returning to the place where he picked up the book.

But when he picked up such an exquisite, obviously civilized object back then, he had already excitedly searched the vicinity thoroughly, finding nothing in the end.

Maybe he had missed something because he was hungry at first.

He comforted himself, swallowing worm meat, his thin body already stepping onto the road in his memories.

Different from going out to hunt, this book was picked up by him when exploring the Cave occupied by Kobolds, so he didn't need to go outside, but instead walked into a Fork in the Road at the other end of his not-safe little safe nest.

This Cave suitable for human-height creatures to move around had a highest point of four meters and a lowest of about two meters, which could to some extent block some exaggeratedly sized Underground Beasts, but this place was not as peaceful as the hunting areas of those Big Caves outside that were like independent worlds.

These seemingly not large Passages were intricate and complex, seemingly without an End; if calculated carefully, they might even be larger than those huge hunting grounds.

There was no true safety in this place, including the section of Cave where he always ate and lived—it could be called front-and-back open, without cover or obstruction; he could stay here carefree purely because this place was remote, with no Kobolds coming to walk around here, and because the Kobold tribe had occupied this place for many years, ordinary predators rarely appeared nearby.

Although the probability of an accident was very low, theoretically every time he slept, there was still a possibility of being carried away by a passing small Underground Beast.

He walked while remembering the road, leaving simple marks at the Forks in the Road along the way.

Getting lost was another danger that could possibly endanger life.

He got hungry once on the way and ate some worm meat he carried with him; it seemed the growth of Spiritual Power made his brain much easier to use than before—previously he felt he was getting dumber and dumber, but now things in his memory became clearer.

According to the reminder of his stomach timer, combined with surrounding environmental details, the destination should not be far.

"This place should all be man-made, right?"

He suddenly had an impulse: one day when he could become a Wizard Apprentice, when he mastered enough means to face various dangers, he would walk along the Road, walk this place to the End, walk until there was no road, and see where these crisscrossing Passages ultimately led.

That might be an extremely long journey.

When his stomach was a bit hungry again, he finally arrived at the place in his memory—a Crossroads spacious like a Small Square.

The Black Book was right there beside that large rock in front, and compared to last time, some small mushrooms emitting a faint white glow had grown there.

The quiet crossroads lay completely in view.

The mushrooms' faint glow made the road entrances in all four directions appear even darker.

"Ugly little Kobold, you've finally come..."

A segment of voice without any emotional fluctuation directly rang out in Luge's mind.

He immediately unfolded the Black Book and held it in his hand, blocking it before him like a shield.

"I've been waiting for you all along; looks like you've already forgotten me."

Holding up the Black Book, he widened his dog eyes that could see in the dark, and swiftly turned a full circle.

Finally his gaze returned to that rock.

"It seems you quite like the book I gave you; pity you're just a Kobold, destined never to become an Official Wizard. Even if you're quite different from the rest, more clever than other Kobolds, the limitation of a Short-Lived Species is something you cannot break..."

That person's voice kept ringing in his mind without cease; he narrowed his eyes and faintly made out the outline of a figure lying on its side on that stone.

(Signed contract, safe to follow.)

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(Chapter End)