Ernites.
Ruger savored the name, but a smile had already appeared on his face as he made a welcoming gesture.
While looking eagerly at the stew in the pot, Ernites casually swept his gaze over the Monster Wolf in the distance and the five people it was walking behind him.
"That is an Oddity, isn't it?"
As Ernites spoke, he turned his gaze back to the pot, curiously studying Varin's hand hovering over it. She was chopping up some flavor-enhancing dried red fruit and sprinkling it in.
"That thing is best used sparingly. Relying on such things too much will only make you weak," Ernites said quietly as he looked at the pot.
Hearing that, Ruger became a little more interested in this person who was both rude and polite.
"Your view is quite interesting, and even more interesting coming from someone on this Island," Ruger said as he used Freezing Ray to prepare the ingredients, peeling off insect shells for Varin's preliminary preparations. "However, I very much agree with you. Unless one can integrate an Oddity into one's own path, one should not rely on it too heavily."
Ernites shook his head.
"I do not agree with your view. Integrating it into one's own path is an even deeper form of reliance. Borrowing the power of external objects, even if that lets one become a high-ranking wizard, or even one of those rare Nine-Ring wizards, will never earn my approval. Only one's own strength is true strength."
What exactly was this person, both rude and polite, talking about? Did Nine-Ring wizards need his approval?
Ruger decided to stop paying attention to this strange freeloader.
Integrating an Oddity into one's own path could not simply be classified as borrowing external power.
Relying solely on one's own strength was certainly good,