“Who destroyed the ruins?”
The astrologer snorted coldly. “Which one of you saw me destroy the ruins?”
He had simply wished to halt Watson and Sylvan’s battle, but he had not controlled his power well enough, so it caused the ruins to collapse. Who could blame him? He would not have stood up to stop it if it had not been for the fight between Watson and Sylvan. Nothing would have happened if he had not stood up to stop them. He would not have lost his cool if the ruins were fine. In a nutshell, it was not his fault.
“Master, at this point, it seems too late for you to explain yourself.”
Sylvan had a helpless look on his face. The astrologer’s expression became solemn as he heard his remarks. “Sylvan, are you saying that this was my fault? Just because you are the border count and have great power, do not assume you can accuse me arbitrarily. You will always be the little boy who dragged his sister from the Forest of Eternity and came to live in the Holy Dragon Kingdom.”
“I dare not.”
Sylvan’s face became gloomy. The effects of the Time Stripping spell on his body faded swiftly, and his body, which was emitting white light, gradually returned to its natural color.
He did not dare to forget the astrologer’s kindness, so he did not intend to continue to say anything, whether the astrologer had done it or not.
“That’s right.”
The astrologer, who had transformed into a handsome man, flashed a bright smile that was enough to entice thousands of girls. At that moment, a young voice echoed from nearby Sylvan. “Master, it is obvious that you were the one who demolished those ruins. Don’t even get started on the eyes. It is even visible through my nose.”
The astrologer’s smile froze when he heard those remarks.
When Sylvan turned around, he realized that the person who had spoken was Watson. His expression was somewhat pitiful. As the astrologer’s former disciple, he was fully aware of his teacher’s admiration for him. If he enraged the astrologer, he would undoubtedly suffer his rage.
“Watson, I’ll give you another chance. Are you sure that I destroyed the ruins?” The astrologer’s face looked grave, and his voice was low.
Sylvan’s heart thumped. He thought that the astrologer was furious.
“I am pretty convinced you destroyed the ruins, Master. Those 10,000-year-old ruins belonged to Blackmoon Castle. Since you destroyed it, it is equal to destroying our property. We must get compensation!” Watson’s comments were loud and forceful. When Sylvan heard that, he subconsciously covered his face and shook his head a few times.
“Watson, what compensation do you want?”
“Now that the ruins are destroyed, it’s impossible for you to restore them, Master. I can only rely on myself! I’ll use the Wish for the World Ring; I can still make a wish today. I can make a wish to restore the ruins if you allow me to use your lifespan, Master. ”
He wanted to use the astrologer’s lifespan?
Sylvan’s mouth was wide open. Watson’s request was becoming increasingly ludicrous to him. He would be enraged if he heard such a request, let alone the astrologer.
However, the astrologer was not as enraged as he had anticipated. Instead, he wore a skeptical face. “Well, how many years of my life do you intend to squander away?”
“I feel that one hundred years is enough to repair the ruins. If it’s not enough, I’ll let you decide.”
“Watson, even though I am immortal, I will grow old with time. When I grow old, my legs will not be as good, and my teeth will fall out. At the same time, I will suffer from insomnia and dreams. Do you have the heart to let your master suffer like that?”
When the astrologer heard that he would have to pay with more than a hundred years of his life, he said, “I know that losing the ruins is not a small matter to you, so I apologize! Since you have mastered the Loen language, we don’t need those ruins. When I go back, I will teach you three magic spells every week as compensation. How about that?”
“At least four.”
Watson extended four fingers, and the astrologer nodded obediently. “Okay, four.”
What had happened?
Sylvan was hypnotized. He expected the astrologer to be angry, but the truth surprised him. Why did the astrologer chastise him when he responded respectfully? Watson, on the other hand, was treated with respect when he criticized the astrologer. Why was there such a disparity in their treatment?
Before he could respond, he heard Watson say, “In addition to teaching me four magic spells every day, I also want the border count to give me the remaining five Nibelung rings as compensation. He is partly to blame for the destruction of the ruins too. Then, I can make a wish with the rings. That way, I might be able to repair the damage.”
“Okay, I can agree to that request.”
The astrologer hurriedly nodded and looked at Sylvan after hearing that the ruins could be restored. “What are you waiting for, Sylvan? Give him the Nibelung rings! In any case, Watson had fused your original rings. Why don’t you give him the rest since they are no longer useful to you?”
“Master, are you serious?”
Sylvan’s mouth opened wider.
“Do you think I’m joking with you?” The astrologer waved his hand impatiently. “Sylvan, just because you’re the border count and have great power, do not think that you can reject my orders so easily. In my eyes, you’ll always be the little boy who brought his sister out of the Forest of Eternity and came to live in the Holy Dragon Kingdom.”
“What?!”
Sylvan wanted to curse, but unfortunately, it was hard to disobey his master’s orders. He could only endure the unwillingness and give the five Nibelung rings to Watson. “Here, these are the remaining rings. Even though I don’t know what you’re going to do, but—”
“Lord Sylvan, don’t worry. I’ll use these five rings properly.”
Watson smiled as he took the five rings. The 24 World Tree branches appeared in his palm. They broke into golden cards and fused with the ring as he activated the system fusion. Then, a brand new ring appeared in Watson’s hand. The effect was the same as the previous one.
Watson placed the ring on the middle finger of his right hand and slowly twisted it; he was satisfied with the ring in his hand.
Producing two sets of astrology tarot cards in a single day had quickly depleted his energy; it even shook the source of chaotic-elemental magic in his body. His face was pale, yet he was in a pleasant mood.
The two Wish for the World Rings meant he could make six wishes a day. ‘If only there were more such rings,’ Watson thought regretfully. If he could wear a Wish for the World Ring on every finger, he did not even have to fight anyone. He just had to make a wish to make his enemy suffer from a sudden illness or be crushed to death by a passing meteor.
‘If only there were a way to duplicate the Wish for the World Rings, or if there were more than ten Nibelung rings! Wait—’
Watson had a thought. A light flashed in his mind. He seemed to have grasped onto something. “Master, get ready. I’m going to make a wish.”
“Okay, you can start.”
The astrologer waved his arm, indicating that he was ready.
“I’m going to make a wish and get five more Nibelung rings.”
Was he not going to make a wish to restore the ruins?
The astrologer was patiently waiting for Watson to rebuild the ruins. His demeanor changed abruptly when he heard the unexpected wish. Then his face, which had become attractive after he used the Time Stripping spell, began to age quickly. He returned to his old appearance and exclaimed, “Watson, you little b*stard, lied to me again. I knew you could not repair the ruins like that!”
[Congratulations, Master, for realizing the wish. The price is 500 years of the lifespan of a man named Antonio.]
Five identical Nibelung rings appeared in Watson’s hand. “My second wish is to restore all my physical strength.”
[This wish is relatively simple. It will only consume ten years of Antonio’s lifespan.]
Watson’s body glowed with light as his wish was granted, and he felt energized. He immediately extended a World Tree branch, fashioned it into a golden card, and fused it with the ring he had obtained from the wish. It became the third Wish for the World Ring.
“It works!”
Watson could not help but smile smugly as he held the ring in his fingers.
He could not cheat with the Wish for the World Ring; he could not ask for another hundred wishes, nor could he make a direct copy of it. The ring could only grant wishes, so its copy would not have the same ability.
However, it was a different case for the Nibelung rings. Ten Nibelung rings would grant him the ability to make a wish, and Watson wanted five of those. It would not lead to any paradox in producing wish items or the number of wishes made.
Watson’s eyes brightened when he discovered the method for mass-producing that item. The first thing that came to his mind was that if everyone in Blackmoon Castle had such a ring, he pondered how powerful Blackmoon Castle would become if that were the case.
One wave of wishes could double the resources of Blackmoon Castle. The second wish could quadruple their resources, and so on. With those rings, their resources would multiply rapidly, like locusts breeding their young.
‘I’m rich!’
Of course, there were flaws in that plan. After all, the duplicated Nibelung rings were platinum-tier items. It would require 500 years of the astrologer’s lifespan. If too many rings were duplicated, the astrologer might become old and weak due to the rapid loss of lifespan, and that was something Watson did not want to see. He loved his master very much, so he decided to make fewer rings for the time being.
“I want to make a wish. First, make me a hundred Nibelung rings.”
[Congratulations, Master, for the fulfillment of your wish. That wish will consume 10,000 years of the lifespan of a man named Antonio.]
