The waves crashed and swished.
"Teacher, do you still remember what we were talking about?" Ruger ventured.
If Mahama had questioned his own teacher and said something like that, he would probably have received a sound beating, ostensibly to temper his body.
Ruger felt he was in rather greater danger. He was not afraid of the sort of tempering Mahama's teacher inflicted; he was more afraid that the teacher before him might go mad.
Still wearing that faint smile, Immanuel turned back to gaze at the surging Endless Sea.
"Do you want to become an Immortal Wizard?" Immanuel asked softly.
Ruger inwardly let out a long breath.
Their conversation had ended on the subject of undying Wizards, and Ruger himself had brought it up. That meant his teacher, Lord Immanuel, still remembered what they had discussed.
After a brief hesitation, Ruger swallowed the questions on the tip of his tongue.
"Did something bad happen to me just now?" Immanuel asked instead.
"You... may have been deep in thought," Ruger replied.
At first, he really had mistaken his teacher's motionless state for contemplation.
Immanuel smiled slightly.
"It seems something really did happen to me," Immanuel said.
Seeing the calm smile on his face, Ruger relaxed a little.
At least it was not the worst-case scenario he had imagined.
"You don't seem to think much of those Immortal Wizards, Teacher," Ruger remarked casually.
"For everything in this world, there is a price for every gain. Exceptional strength in one area often means a deficiency somewhere unseen, or even a severe cost. Just like certain spell sequences, it is not a good choice," Immanuel said.
As the subject changed, his teacher seemed more normal, returning to his earlier self.
An idea struck Ruger, and he took out chairs and a dining table.
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