Chapter 42: Time and Life

Luge was woken by his own snoring; once over-exerted he would snore incessantly — from the opening note of drifting into deep sleep to the fading tail-end when he startled awake — and from just those two impressions one could barely make out something like a hometown tune; if his lying posture was wrong the pitch would climb a few degrees higher.

The worm meat he had held and nibbled before sleep had fallen to the ground at some unknown time; bleary-eyed, he picked it up, brushed off the dirt and gray dust, and stuffed it into his mouth in three or two bites.

He smacked his lips, then ate another bottle of shaved ice.

While eating, he took out the Black Book and flipped through it.

Kobolds who don't work hard, no matter how talented, are wasting their gifts.

Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice? The Mingxing Potion Half-Man gave him earlier — he still hasn't drunk it; it's said to raise Spiritual Power and remove side effects.

He didn't plan to use it now; his Spiritual Power progress from practicing the Meditation Method was already far faster than Half-Man had anticipated.

Long-missed calm meditation.

The second Magic Mark requires twelve Runes to construct — six old, six new; before departure he had already mastered two new Runes; the Runes' difficulty was gradually increasing, but his mastery speed hadn't slowed much.

He sometimes even wondered: if the Meditation Method also had Spell Compatibility like Spells, then he and the Black Book — or rather the Magic Mark Meditation Method — were surely extremely compatible; that feeling of progress made it hard to imagine his Spiritual Power growth hitting a bottleneck. Of course, it might also be that his level is still too low-end; the difficult parts lie ahead and will exceed his imagination, jumping out to startle him.

The Spiritual Power Space remained just as beautiful — a beauty both real and illusory, tranquil and serene.

A calm sea surface stretching toward a mysterious distance, like an illusory canyon the Magic Mark hung high in the sky; numerous Spell Models guarded the four sides, rotating around it; and at the highest point a shining bright star — the solidified Foul Skin Zero-Ring Spell Slot; to add another star would probably require waiting until becoming an Official Wizard.

He collected his mood and tried the new Runes in the Black Book, only to discover everything progressed even faster than he imagined.

He still remembered that Wizard Apprentice with the peculiar form.

That piece of pale-gray Translucent Crystal Stone that crumbled at a pinch.

Spiritual Power really has grown; hope there won't be any bad side effects, he thought.

He had anticipated this even in the Wilderness, but there he dared not perform exhaustion-style Meditation Training and Spell Tests; this meditation attempt resulted in mastering two new Runes in succession, and after recovering he started continuous construction from the first Rune again, barely completing ten Runes in one go.

Still two short, he thought.

After recovering a while, he decided to go deliver roast meat to Aijin and the others; although the Storage Bag's space is special and prevents spoilage, after so many days he didn't know if it would still be that delicious; on the road he had been holding back and not eating. Thinking back now, he was too nervous then; he should have thickened his face and asked that fire-playing Wizard Apprentice for some seasoning.

Luge was just about to rise when he sat back down.

Footsteps came from afar; he judged it was Aijin, probably learned of his return from Tu Ya.

"Brother Luge, every time I get hungry I come here to look, and you're never here," the Kobold girl said, yet her tone held absolutely no complaint.

Luge knew in his heart she was merely stating facts plainly.

"Look."

Aijin cupped a black fruit in both hands.

"Da Hen Hen and I — every time we eat our fill we go out searching, until we're very hungry again before returning; we finally found it — a strange-looking tree; every time I came I wanted to tell you, but you weren't here…" Aijin beamed, holding the black fruit up before Luge's eyes, nearly poking his nose bridge.

"Is this the fruit Dasha ate?"

Luge was somewhat surprised; they really had found it.

After all, that fruit wasn't something Dasha picked up or plucked himself — it was given by the previous Black Claw Saint Lord; one could say there were absolutely no clues.

"Mm," Aijin nodded happily, "there are more on the tree; I only took a few; Old Gold Tooth wouldn't let us eat them, said to wait for you, listen to you; I listen to you too."

Luge took the fruit, sniffed it under his nose, then clenched it in his hand and began pacing back and forth there.

The shackles of the Kobold Short-Lived Species bind not only him, threatening him; for these friends who helped him it is likewise an inevitable lock they must face, one they can hardly shake off on their own, like a noose tightening bit by bit around the neck. He looked at Aijin — this simple, direct smile might unknowingly never be seen again; he believed this smile deserved to linger in the world longer.

He recalled Old Gold Tooth saying Dasha eating the black fruit was actually missing a precious opportunity; initial Transformation is easiest to succeed; combined with what Tu Ya told of their Red Horn Tribe's events, trying to use items with less Giant Dragon Bloodline aura and impure-blooded Sub-Dragon Beasts to transform into Dragonborn Kobolds would most likely end in failure.

So this fruit still cannot be eaten rashly.

But Dasha's super self-healing ability should be unique to this fruit; after all Old Gold Tooth said normal Dragonborn Kobolds don't have this situation.

"Can you still find that place now? Take me there; I want to see this tree," he said.

A place that can grow such a strange fruit and carry Dragon aura is certainly odd.

Just hope it's not some injured Giant Dragon that passed by decades ago and sprinkled a few drops of trivial Dragon Blood that happened to water a tree — that kind of bizarre situation only found in legend stories would at least have some value.

At these words Aijin nodded vigorously, as if long prepared.

Watching her eagerness, Luge grew somewhat suspicious — maybe to guide him, Aijin had even rehearsed in advance, like picking the nearest, easiest route; she was capable of that, though he had never called it out; deep down she always harbored a wish to appear a little smarter.

The two Kobolds set off.

At first Aijin still followed her usual habit, moving cautiously all the way.

But gradually she discovered that being with Luge, she no longer needed to be like before — it was even more relaxed than traveling with a hunting party.

The two moved farther and farther from the Settlement.

Luge felt a touch of admiration — they actually dared come this far; at the same time he recalled he seemed to have warned Aijin to only catch worms nearby and not wander too far.

Judging by Dasha's nature, he would absolutely not dare disobey; the only possibility is Aijin forced Dasha to go out searching together.

Seeing her still somewhat unaccustomed look, Luge had already decided in his heart to give this reckless fellow a good scare.

As they advanced, the environment grew increasingly complex.

A small group of Lizardmen that could have been missed were led by him to run into them head-on.

Aijin immediately crouched low, trying to hide in a pit hollow.

And at this critical moment.

Luge seemed distracted and didn't see her movement; he happened to be a step slow, completely unable to hide in time, then just stood there foolishly stunned.

This scene genuinely scared Aijin stupid.

She had never seen Luge confront a bunch of Lizardmen, so naturally couldn't imagine that spectacle.

He stood there, listening to the Lizardmen shouting chaotically a few steps away; everything happened in a blink — until a thrown Short Spear neared his body did he turn his head to look at Aijin.

"I remember, I said, a Kobold running around alone is very dangerous; even if you drag Da Hen Hen along, it won't change much."

(Chapter End)