Ruger raised his eyebrows and graciously returned the gesture.
Judging by Soldrich's performance with the Divine Object Art, his talent could hardly be poor. Just as a wizard's potential and progress had to be assessed from many angles, a wizard with Soldrich's gifts should have no trouble making further progress, at least for now. The question was how long this marathon would last, whether something unexpected might happen to the race itself, whether it might abruptly end for some reason, and whether the wizards running it would encounter setbacks of their own.
They exchanged a few more words before Soldrich took his leave, still feeling unwell.
Quiet returned to Ruger's residence. He looked down at the coarse cloth bundle in his hands. From the feel of it alone, it contained a wooden box much like the last one.
Curious, he slowly began to unwrap it, then stopped halfway. Cautiously holding it away from himself, he handed it to two Fur Hands to deal with. As they unfolded the coarse cloth, a black wooden box appeared, just as he had expected. This one was long and narrow.
Suddenly, the spirit furs grew excited.
Ruger's eyebrows twitched as he watched them take a gleaming golden metal comb out of the open box.
Unlike Wizard Jillian's combs, this one had a handle, and it had not become a fairy. Still, Ruger could sense that it was no ordinary comb. As the spirit furs showed it off, he noticed a small, standard-unit magic stone embedded in its handle.
Clearly, the metal comb concealed some small magic array that required a magic stone to operate.
That color, that box, that scrap of cloth-this was clearly another gift from that big-headed fellow. Only this time, he had left it at the door without a word, taking