Ruger wore the smile that appeared only when he found something particularly amusing. Barry Danton's peculiar delight and faint smugness actually came from doing something akin to overturning the table amid a host of wizard factions that wanted everything for themselves. Ten years of effort, all to get ahead by a single moment-to flip the table out in front of everyone before they even found it, while those powerful wizards were still overlooking this obscure little wizard.
"Thank you, great Lord Barry Danton, for giving the wizards of this sea region a chance to fight Otherworldly Invaders and valiantly defend the Underground Caverns," Ruger teased.
Barry laughed even more exuberantly at that.
"Sure enough, some things have to be shared with someone before you can really laugh to your heart's content," Barry said.
Ruger began considering another question, but before he could speak, Barry continued.
"Of course, I know my own worth. Those great wizards might still not have noticed me, much less be angry with me. Even if they know I exist, they'll probably just smile faintly and find it amusing. The ones who really resent me are the Low-Rank Wizards in those factions. I've introduced an unwelcome variable for them. That Seed will grow and sprout, connecting two great worlds as an independent space, but it will be a gradual process. Invading a world is an enormous undertaking that demands patience. At first, only some low-ranking beings can pass through, and that's when the Low-Rank Wizards reap their rewards. They can explore and do all sorts of things. By the time those great wizards need to take the stage, the Low-Rank Wizards will already have withdrawn. So I haven't infringed on those great wizards' interests. After all, I'm still very afraid of dying," Barry Danton said.
Ruger was