As those bizarre scenes began fading away one after another, Ruger still did not know what his name was. It seemed that no one had called him by name in any of the scenes. Perhaps the focus of memories differed depending on the period and circumstances. Only in the last scene, a fleeting image from his childhood, did he vaguely hear a gentle woman's voice softly call him Hayat. Then everything ended. Most of the fragments had been lost, or perhaps those details had never been the focus of the memories in the first place.
Ruger decided that when he passed by that place again on his return journey, he would leave a name before the grave of that ill-tempered benefactor.
After seeing all this, he had even more questions.
Was the final sentence of that biographical novel true? Or was it merely the drunken imagination of a biographer? Thinking it over carefully, in the scattered, leaping memories of the person who might have been called Hayat, he really had not seen any scenes that clearly belonged to the Surface World. Throughout his entire life, there had not even been a single scene of clear blue skies.
Only Wizards could walk upon the surface—
What did that mean? If he took it literally, could it be that these Wizard Apprentices had not come to the Cavern World to explore and complete some mission for an important person, but were instead holed up here like a little Kobold? Had they been living in this endless darkness all along?
Those Level-Five Wizard Apprentices, those people whose spiritual power had already reached its limit—they were not from the Surface World?
Was this path really that difficult to travel?
At that moment, he realized that his ignorance of spell knowledge might not be the biggest problem after all. The Cavern World might give him an even greater surprise.
He ate some of the meat bugs in his storage pouch, freeing up space to put the books and magic stones inside.
Then he picked through the pile of things again. Most of them would still have to be thrown away in the end. He could not use them, nor could he carry them all, and he also had to leave some empty space for the next benefactor.
When he thought of the next benefactor senior who was waiting to be buried, he remembered that pale-gray, translucent crystal stone that had shattered.
He did not know whether every Wizard Apprentice possessed this thing after death. He felt that it was probably a special circumstance involving that person. Still, there was no need to spend too much effort guessing. He would soon reach the next inheritance site, where the answer would be revealed.
After that unknown object had been completely consumed, he felt that his spiritual power had grown somewhat. Of course, the increase was not large, and it was nowhere near enough to break through to become a Level-Two Wizard Apprentice. Out here in the wilderness, he would not attempt exhausting meditation exercises or spell tests.
He took out the Light Body Spell and looked it over, then decided to rest a while longer.
After all, he had not rested properly the last time because he had been interrupted.
"This time, I'll be counting on you. Keep watch for me. You seem pretty clever—you're one clever little bug!"
He leaned half-reclined against the stone wall and patted the breeding pouch at his waist. The little bug that had not yet emerged from its eggshell swayed slightly in response, as if it had actually understood him.
"Work hard. You're not that little anymore. You can start worrying about this family. Don't you like eating that egg? Next time, I'll catch that giant snake and let you eat the whole thing."
The breeding pouch shook violently.
He smiled, turned slightly to embrace the long staff within easy reach, and slowly fell asleep.
This time, he did not dream, nor was he disturbed.
The fatigue accumulated over the past several days had become an invisible pillow. No matter how he lay down or tossed and turned, he was able to sleep soundly.
When he woke up, he first ate a bottle of shaved ice, along with half of a treasured cooked meat bug.
He laid the foundation for a good mood on his new journey.
His other objective was also in this small-cavern area.
Carrying the long staff on his shoulder, he set out again.
The previous person had said that he knew something about the city that some little Insectfolk were heading toward, and Ruger still cared about it. After all, so many strange Wizard Apprentices had gathered in the area where he lived. Unfortunately, he had found no clues while reading those memory fragments. The information might have been lost, or that person might have been lying.
As far as he was concerned, the Little Crybaby Bug Insectfolk should have already entered that city. Those people would all make the trip for nothing and return empty-handed.
Traveling through the small-cavern area was far more relaxing than crossing open spaces. Although he would still encounter caverns as large as pavilions, it could not compare with the danger and omnipresent sense of crisis in the wilderness outside, which seemed like an independent little world.
He had checked the Crystal Clock before setting out. He had been walking for about a day, and it would take at most half a day more to reach the final destination of this journey.
During this day and more, he had once again traveled continuously by using spells without resting or sleeping.
The joy of soon seeing the inheritance had made his steps feel light.
"An apprentice from Black Calamity Tower?"
Ruger turned a corner and saw three people sitting there resting. At the same time, a voice filled with amusement drifted over.
For a moment, he stood there at a loss.
He gathered himself and observed the three people without revealing anything. One of the sturdy figures seemed vaguely familiar, as if he were the person who had chased the giant snake that day. The other two were ordinary-looking young men, and one of them was the one who had taken the initiative to speak to Ruger.
"Come over and rest, little fellow. No need to be nervous," that man said again.
Ruger wore a hood, and his entire face was almost hidden in shadow. However, a Kobold's mouth could not be covered perfectly. Even with insufficient light, a closer look still revealed certain clues.
"You're a low-level apprentice. It's too dangerous to travel alone. You can come with us," the friendly man said.
Boom! One of the silent men beside him raised a hand and conjured a pile of roaring flames, the noise nearly drowning out the friendly man's voice.
Ruger hesitated. He first nodded to the friendly man in thanks, then steeled himself and walked toward the temporary camp formed around the bonfire.
The tall, burly man glanced at him and suddenly spoke. "Leave this place. Go back to Black Calamity Tower. That's what you should be doing."
"Baangte, don't be so harsh," the friendly man said with a smile.
Baangte did not hold back. "A low-level apprentice coming here is simply throwing his life away. You just want him to scout the way. And you—sitting there and tacitly agreeing—are just as disgusting."
"Going back might be worse for him. Dangerous missions are opportunities for people like them." The man who had not spoken at all and had never raised his head, instead fiddling with the bonfire, suddenly spoke slowly. "From the look of him, he probably crawled out of a test subject's chamber. Some apprentices in Black Calamity Tower are like that, only not as thoroughly transformed. He has been altered beyond recognition."
"A Kobold?" The friendly man looked surprised as well. "He's actually a Kobold. Your mentor is truly insane."
Baangte, however, paid no attention to that topic.
"The giant bugs should all be dead by now, right? Maybe we don't need to stick together anymore," he said.
"Fine."
"Hey, I was still thinking of letting this little fellow join us, and now you want to disband?"
The man who had been tending the bonfire said nothing. He took one step forward, entered the flames, and disappeared.
The friendly man looked left and right. He seemed unwilling to stay alone with Baangte, so he also turned and left, his figure seeming to flicker through the darkness with every step.
For a moment, only Ruger, the burly Baangte, and the bonfire between them remained.
"Come sit," Baangte said.
Before you continue