But Ruger considered the Old Wizard a success, because the great Wizard Ruger was no longer a Kobold Wizard Apprentice, but a Three-Ring Wizard Kobold. He no longer had the wonderful opportunity for growth that the esteemed Wizard had originally envisioned.
More importantly, he could benefit from that esteemed Wizard's failed creation, the source of his regret. Of course, it was only a failure from that Wizard's perspective: a special contract that completely transformed the relationship between master and familiar, restoring it to the era of bonded familiars, with a minimum requirement of Third-Ring Origin Wizard.
More precisely, it combined a contract, a spell, and a spell-created construct, using an Origin Wizard's ability to draw themselves inward and condense an Origin Point to overcome those flaws and circumvent the vulnerabilities through which a familiar might be used to harm its Wizard.
In other words, Ruger could only make preparations for it at present. He could not actually use it yet.
He had yet to reach the limits of the Third Ring, much less become an Origin Wizard.
This improvement in the relationship between master and pet meant returning to an era when their influence on each other was stronger. This method might even make that influence slightly stronger than it had been back then. In theory, as a Wizard, he would bring Zhizhi growth in mental power and improve her potential, while Zhizhi might make him stronger and harder to kill.
He could neither undo that esteemed Wizard's regret nor complete his work with his current strength, but he could carry it forward.
Research and writings often emerged when Wizards could advance no further, and this held true regardless of rank.
Unable to advance, they could devote large amounts of time and energy to particular pursuits. One-Ring Wizards, or even