Once the person on the operating table stopped struggling, the stone chamber fell completely silent.
Ruger guessed that the old woman's promise amounted to throwing them out of the tower once they were no longer useful, or dumping them directly outside this eerie town. After the fright they had suffered, that was already the best reward they could hope for. All these days, they had been waiting here for him and Layden to make their choices.
The old woman was still bent over something off to one side, fiddling with it. Her back remained turned to Ruger and Layden, and she made little noise.
Ruger glanced at Layden, who had already begun examining his options in earnest.
Before long, Layden slowed in front of an operating table. The apprentice lying there had manifested a sticky mass with a sharp white bone spike at its tip.
Layden finally stopped there. The Wizard Apprentice on the table stared at him darkly. Although they wanted the two of them to finish choosing quickly so they could receive what the old woman had promised, none of them wanted to be chosen. Losing their nightmare organ meant putting their exploration of the Nightmare World on hold, and even if they managed to leave the town, they would be more vulnerable to danger.
Layden seemed to have made up his mind. Ignoring the man's dark expression, he turned to look at the old woman.
But before the old woman could respond, Layden looked at Ruger in surprise.
Ruger was still standing in the same spot, as though he had never moved.
Meeting Layden's gaze, Ruger smiled.
"My lady," Ruger began, "may I use spells?"
"Spells?"
The old woman murmured the word without turning her head.
"With my spells active, I can get a better feel for