Old Lunse swirled the large hexagonal wineglass in his hand and glanced sidelong at the little black object in the corner of the dining table.
Any wizard apprentice could sense the demonic aura emanating from that black circular object. Formal wizards with stronger spiritual power, or knowledgeable scholars familiar with such matters, could even identify what kind of demon it had come from.
"A demon? A curved horn?"
Old Doghead Lunse took a sip of wine, then raised his hand and cast an incomplete Freezing Ray at the cup in his hand.
"Exquisitely made. This is some kind of token, isn't it?"
Old Lunse said as he picked up the ice-cold cup again.
Ruger bit into a sausage and nodded. "Someone who claimed to be a student of the Demon Wizard. I met him in the Nightmare World. He told me to take this thing and find him after leaving the Nightmare World. He wanted to take me on as his student..."
Old Lunse's eyes shifted, and he roughly understood what the young Doghead meant.
"A Demon Wizard? A student?" Old Lunse said.
"I don't know his name." Ruger swallowed the sausage. "But when I met him, he was still a Level Five wizard apprentice. He had been preparing for advancement for many years. To show his sincerity—or perhaps to display his strength—he said that he would soon become a formal wizard, then reach Second Ring wizard in a short time, perhaps even Third Ring wizard..."
Ruger's words made Old Lunse pause.
"Can that really be done? My well-traveled Uncle Lunse..." Ruger asked curiously.
Old Lunse lifted the icy wineglass to his lips and savored it slowly.
Ruger noticed that Old Lunse's large hexagonal cup contained the kind of wine that stabilized one's emotions and slowed loss of control. He