The lousy chair Mahama had made, the cool sea breeze, the noisy surf-none of it seemed quite as wonderful as he had imagined.
Ruger curled his lip and continued meditating with the child in his arms.
Mahama and Varin were catching fish. Five days had already passed, and the old Wizard's prediction had been completely off. Of course, it was more likely that he was dealing with unforeseen matters, things One-Ring Wizards like them would never encounter, such as the higher-ups of the Bearers organization or affairs concerning the Cyclops Wizard who had originally owned this island.
As Big Fish had put it, that was a great Miracle Creator, a Grand Wizard of formidable renown.
"Father."
Suddenly, the little girl stirred.
Ruger sighed helplessly. She was talking in her sleep.
He had now experienced her inhuman side firsthand. Ever since she had thrown herself into his arms, she had been asleep, making him wonder whether his fur was poisonous or had picked up something during the battle.
As she spoke, Little One drooled again, smearing it on Ruger's fur and showing the side of her that was just like any ordinary child.
Ruger raised his eyebrows and entered a meditative state.
The Silence Magic Seal was still rotating.
Ruger watched this old companion he had chosen and imagined what lay ahead. When he became a Three-Ring Wizard and climbed to the peak of that rank, he would no longer see his old companion. Everything would condense into a single origin point centered on the Silence Magic Seal. This was what it meant to draw oneself inward and become a Third-Ring Origin Wizard-the level Lord Zorn had reached.
Once Zorn fused with a World Rune of his choosing, he could advance to the Fourth Ring and become a High-Rank Wizard.
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