Dogs and Worms

Ruger awkwardly bent his legs, assuming a standard cross-legged posture with the soles facing upward. But this was truly difficult for a Kobold, especially one who was the shortest even within his own tribe. Still, accompanied by a faint crack from his legs, he finally managed it.

Maybe he didn't need to sit like this. After all, the Demonic Mark Meditation Method didn't require it.

That thought only occurred to him after he had finished arranging himself.

He had simply acted on a whim, fulfilling one of his childhood fantasies of wild imagination, like those masters from stories cultivating peerless secret manuals.

The part of this impressively named meditation method he knew best—

Was that old friend that frequently danced for him, the pattern occupying the entire second page.

Now he knew that he needed to trace six runes within the Meditation Space to form the first Demonic Mark. During the tracing process, his mental power would be tempered. For an ordinary Wizard Apprentice, the growth of mental power and the completion of the Demonic Mark would be achieved together. At the instant of success, they would become a qualified Level-One Wizard Apprentice.

The pattern that often danced on the second page was the first rune he needed to master.

Once he could trace the first rune, the mental power tempered through the process would normally be enough to support opening the third page of the Black Book, allowing him to see the next rune in its true form along with its explanation.

These mischievous runes would slowly fade away after being traced.

To stop these little troublemakers that could not speak, he had to form the first Demonic Mark as quickly as possible.

In other words, he needed to keep trying and tempering himself. After mastering all six runes, he had to trace them in the Meditation Space in one uninterrupted effort.

Ruger relaxed his mind and once again saw that mystery he had only glimpsed before.

He immersed himself in his Meditation Space. After reviewing the key points at the beginning of the meditation method, he did not rush to begin.

This space of mental power that belonged solely to him actually intoxicated him at that moment. He savored its unique tranquility, his feet standing atop a sea of almost tangible mental power as he raised his head to gaze at the starless void. The void appeared boundless, yet he could vaguely sense the limits of the mental space.

After a long while, he finally began tracing the first rune in midair.

A moment later, his brow furrowed slightly.

That old companion he had seen countless times now seemed unfamiliar. From different angles, it changed in different ways. Even as time passed, it underwent subtle shifts. He had to understand it to a certain degree before tracing it out in one burst.

This requirement of doing it in one burst was also a test of his control over mental power.

Neither the limited inherited knowledge in his head nor the Black Book mentioned how long an ordinary Wizard Apprentice needed to try before completing the first rune tracing of their life. So he had nothing to compare himself against.

Until hunger forcibly dragged him out, ending that wonderful meditative state.

He had succeeded in tracing the first rune just in time.

A constantly changing rune floated in the Meditation Space, cycling endlessly through its transformations while slowly fading away, bringing a faint hint of life to that silent place.

Grrr!

His stomach rumbled right on cue.

He toppled over at once, his legs so numb that he could no longer move.

That was it?

Was it difficult? It was harder than he had imagined.

But it was not as grave and demanding as the meditation method had made it sound with all its solemn warnings and precautions.

He was extremely familiar with using his stomach as a clock. Before that plump meat worm appeared, he had often gone hungry. Judging by the degree of hunger in his belly now, he made an estimate. If the later runes were all this difficult, then he would only need a few days to master all six runes and form the first Demonic Mark.

Maybe it really would be soon.

Thinking that, he looked up at the one and a half meat worms still hanging on the cave wall.

As long as he had enough food, he could stay here for days without going out, meditating desperately the entire time.

Grrr!

Without bothering to look at the new rune on the third page, he dragged his still-unrecovered legs along by crawling toward the half-eaten meat worm from last time.

After eating, he began meditating again. It seemed that the achievement of tracing the first rune had eased the exhaustion in his heart somewhat.

The only difference was that this time, he chose to meditate lying flat on his back.

As the meat worms gradually dwindled, he began rationing every meal.

Starting from the third page, there were no explanatory words as he had expected. Page after page contained nothing but new runes. Thus, when he opened that page, he saw the two runes on the third and fourth pages at once.

Finally, the food ran out.

Ruger looked at the worm leg in front of him, only as long as his thumb. He had deliberately saved it before, intending to fill his stomach a little before going out to hunt so that he would still have the strength to run if something happened outside. After all, for many days now, he had been neither starving to death nor truly full.

"I wonder how that Gray Longneck Saint Lord is doing..."

He muttered to himself, gripping his stick and following his usual route toward the ravine where he often hunted, planning to catch several more worms.

He had completely mastered four runes and could trace them in one go. The fifth was still somewhat difficult.

Everything he looked at now seemed to fill him with happiness, as though the joy welling up from the depths of his heart had overflowed.

Only, making shorts would have to be postponed again. But then he thought that once he truly became some kind of powerful Wizard Apprentice, he could make something better and more perfect. Besides, his precious Black Book was still so thick. Who knew what was written in the pages ahead? Maybe there would be some powerful spells.

Once again, he made the journey without incident and did not encounter a single Kobold.

Kobolds usually amused themselves by bullying weaker members of their own kind. They were all boring and stupid things to do, and he had no time to get Entangled with them now.

"What kind of lord, so powerful, yet he can't even lead them to the surface to hunt..."

He wanted to go up to the surface and bask in the sun again after so long. Although his current appearance might frighten people, and they might chase after him and stab him in the butt with swords, he truly missed the feeling of sunlight shining down on him. He also missed fresh air, air that carried the scent of sunlight.

So far, he had no idea how to reach the surface. He had asked Aisijin before, but she knew nothing either.

He arrived at his personal hunting ground and, for the first time ever, caught four meat worms before heading back.

He had not been as lucky catching worms this time as he had been before, and he had increased the amount he needed to hunt, so it had taken him quite a while.

He had a feeling that tracing and merging the six runes would not be so simple. He did not want to be interrupted halfway through because of food again.

Three hateful figures appeared before him at the worst possible moment.

Two stood in front and one behind, blocking Ruger within a stretch of cave passage.

"Heh heh."

The leading Kobold grinned stupidly, looking utterly foolish.

This fellow was not particularly tall, only half a head taller than Ruger. Among the three idiots, he was the most conspicuous. One ear and one eye were missing from his doglike head. The ear naturally had nothing to do with Ruger—he was a kind little Kobold—but he did know exactly what had happened to that empty eye socket.

He remembered it had been a sharpened bone club. It had first been stabbed in at an angle, then jerked upward and ripped out. A scream had followed. He had been nearby at the time and seen everything clearly, because that bone had been in his hand.

He had not had a choice.

He had been desperately hungry then. If he had not intimidated them like that, his small size would have made him a target for every Kobold nearby.

His food would have been stolen again and again.

He had only wanted to keep that piece of bitter beast meat in his hands. It had been his share of the hunt, the first time he had joined the tribe's hunting party.

"Worm."

"Give us!"

"The great Gray Longneck Lord ordered no eating worms."

The three Kobolds spoke one after another in short, unpleasant Kobold Tongue as they gradually closed in on him.

Ruger neatly shook the meat worms from his long stick, then slowly retreated to one side until a solid cave wall was behind him.

One Kobold immediately rushed for the meat worms. The other two, holding dagger-like weapons made from underground beast claws and fangs, continued closing in on Ruger.

Smiling, he steadily placed the long stick to one side and untied the rope around his chest.

"Let me show you something good..."

After learning Cavern Common Tongue, he no longer wanted to speak this unpleasant, mouth-puckering Kobold Tongue. But this time, he felt especially satisfied, because he had been looking forward to it and had long wanted to say those words.

The sound of pages flipping rustled through the cave.

He carried the Black Book around all day not merely because he treasured it. He wanted it to be part of his guarantee of safety, and he also wanted to find an opportunity to conduct an experiment.

Sure enough, the two Kobolds were drawn in. Their three eyes widened larger than bronze bells.

He first opened to a page and spread the book flat, gripping both sides with his hands and fully displaying the two pages to them at once.

The important part was not the text on the first page to the left, but the pattern on the second page.

That rune that made him dizzy and helped him fall asleep.

According to his plan, he would keep flipping backward and show them the runes that followed, one by one.

But the hand turning the page suddenly stopped. Things had gone somewhat beyond his expectations.

The two Kobolds' eyes seemed glued in place. Their entire bodies began trembling uncontrollably, and even with veins bulging on their foreheads, they did not shift their gazes in the slightest.

Holding the book in both hands, Ruger tried taking another step forward.

The two Kobolds' eyes widened further and further. Their eyeballs were already bloodshot, as though they had completely lost the ability to resist.

Just as he was about to continue observing—

Bang! The two Kobolds' heads exploded at the same time! Their headless corpses went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Silence.

This utterly ordinary section of cave had fallen into an eerie stillness.

Plop! Plop!

The Kobold holding the meat worms stared blankly as the worms slipped from his hands one after another.

Ruger lowered the book he had instinctively raised before his face to block the spraying blood. An ear splattered across the page slid down. Just like its cover, which had been used as tableware, the inside of the book did not retain a single drop.

This is my sleep book?

It was unbelievable.

He had only wanted to knock out the two Kobolds. The long stick had been propped against the cave wall so he could grab it easily. He had already devised ninety-nine stick techniques for beating them senseless after knocking them out. He had even considered trying to subdue them, beating them into submission and making them catch meat worms for him.

He quickly analyzed the chain of events in his mind, trying to calm himself down a little.

Still, the result was not bad.

At the very least, he had completely resolved a problem.

As for letting Aisijin come into contact with the meditation method, he had already given up on that idea.

After calming down, he tucked the book under one arm, picked up the long stick with the other, and assumed a calm, unhurried stance.

He walked step by step toward the stunned Kobold.

The sole survivor of that trio of evil Kobolds was the largest of the three and also the dumbest. He was so stupid that he had abandoned the slyness inherent to Kobold beast nature. Usually, he played the role of carrying things, bringing up the rear, going first when danger appeared, and so on.

Ruger drew closer step by step. His footsteps were slow, even slower and slower, yet they frightened the big fool so badly that he fell backward and sat on the ground in confusion.

His vacant gaze was filled entirely with fear of the unknown. He could not understand it, could not deal with it—it had exceeded the capacity of his brain.

"Did the Gray Longneck Lord ever say we weren't allowed to catch worms?" Ruger thrust the long stick into the ground beside the other's feet and looked down at the seated Kobold.

The large Kobold looked at him fearfully. He first shook his head, then immediately nodded.

Seeing Ruger frown—

The big fellow hurriedly grunted out an explanation.

"Worm."

But the more afraid and anxious he became, the less clearly he could explain.

The big Kobold sat slumped on the ground, repeating himself while constantly waving his hands and gesturing.