Ruger could see the relief on the two-headed demon's face the moment the contract was completed. It seemed that the malice-filled Cavern World had shown him a little mercy and stopped paying him quite so much attention.
I hope this fairly interesting two-headed fellow gets some decent training, Ruger thought.
But first, he would have to prove his worth. His current strength, barely comparable to a One-Ring spell, did not matter much. The two-headed demon had yet to mature. When raising familiars, Wizards placed greater value on their innate potential. Some familiars might be weak from birth, and that might be the limit of their natural growth in the wild. But certain special talents or traits could make a Wizard consider them worth raising. Once nurtured beyond their natural limits, they could become exceptionally powerful.
Ruger thought for a moment and realized he had never seen Wizard Zorn with a humanoid familiar. There had been a few among the fairies he had recently lured away, but most of those fairies had strange, bizarre forms. There was even a talking door.
"Everyone has their own trial-"
Zorn watched the figure sprinting away across the sea and spoke for no apparent reason.
"My lord, do you believe in traveling through time?"
Ruger asked the question he had been turning over for a long time.
When the question first arose in his mind, he had thought of Half-Man, then his teacher, Old Lunse, and Aunt Jenny. With none of them around for the moment, he had thought of Wizard Zorn.
Wizard Zorn was visibly taken aback. Then he took a drink and gave a peculiar smile.
"It seems you gained quite a lot from your trip to the Abyss. Outstanding apprentices like you all enjoy the favor of spirituality-"
Smiling, Zorn turned and