As Ruger walked inside, the thorns farther ahead began to move as well, forming a spacious, beautiful corridor. The barbs overhead were razor-sharp, tearing the light that filtered through into grotesque shadows scattered across the floor, like shadow monsters with countless pointed mouths.
Rumble!
The distant temple doors thundered open, and the hollow echoes within spoke of the temple's towering grandeur.
"In my opinion, he could have attempted to advance to a Wizard long ago. A Wizard Apprentice in that situation can no longer be treated as an ordinary Level-Five Wizard Apprentice..." As the man spoke, he secretly watched Ruger, as though he had been holding those words in throughout their journey.
Ruger smiled.
Naturally, he knew how difficult such Wizard Apprentices could be to deal with. Baangte, for instance, had broken through a certain threshold of power in his own way. Apprentice-level defensive spells could not withstand that strike beyond the limits, enough to send those proud apprentices running with their tails between their legs.
Ruger also knew that apprentices on the Faith Wizard path possessed a means said to rival origin power: the ability to draw upon faith power.
But he was not particularly worried.
What made Baangte terrifying and astonishing was precisely how rare someone like him was. His fixation on himself went beyond any distinction between good and evil. He knew what he wanted, and went a step further into obsession. From his body and mind to his brain, even down to his toenails, everything bore that same quality, a state of absolute unity. There was no need to think; everything had already become instinct.
Ruger had always believed that, had Baangte not encountered him, his future would have been bright. Perhaps many interesting things would have happened.
And it was precisely because he acknowledged Baangte's