Aboard The Airship

Fellow brothers and sisters?

Edwyn stared at the black-robed wizard, waves of shock crashing through his mind.

This wizard is just a student like us?

But there was no time to dwell on it, an opening appeared at the bottom of the airship.

The wizard led them inside. As they landed, a powerful female voice rang out.

"Seven apprentices! Tyrek, you're pretty lucky this time."

Edwyn looked up and saw a fierce woman standing in the cabin, over two meters tall and built like a bear. She was holding a massive, door-sized greatsword etched with mysterious runes, magical and intimidating.

Beside her stood a black-robed skeleton with ghostly blue flames burning in its eye sockets. As soon as everyone entered, the skeleton waved its hand, and the opening beneath them sealed shut.

"Seven apprentices, huh? You all owe me dinner now, less than 100 Mana Crystals and I'm not showing up!"

The black-robed wizard, now aboard the ship, was suddenly cheerful and joking, a far cry from his fearsome demeanor back on the ground.

"Screw off, 50 Crystals, take it or leave it."

The skeleton mage stepped forward, holding a crystal orb, and began recording names and spiritforce levels.

Once that was done, he pulled, as if by magic, a series of bags from beneath his robes. Each bag contained a feather quill, a bottle of ink, a stack of paper, a numbered tag, and three books.

No explanation. No conversation. His behavior was completely different from the other two mages, cold, precise, emotionless. He had abandoned all traces of human sentiment, fully embracing logic and order.

"These are your admission materials," said the black-robed mage who brought them aboard. "The books contain your introductory courses and school regulations. The number tag is your room number. During the flight, stay in your room unless absolutely necessary."

"Go on, find your rooms. It's fine to mess around a little, just don't get anyone killed."

The passenger corridor had one narrow walkway, with rooms neatly aligned on both sides, each room designed for four people.

Edwyn did a quick count. If there were 50 rooms, then this airship could carry about 200 passengers at full capacity.

"Even the passenger capacity is insane. Fantasy worlds are something else."

Following the corridor to the end, Edwyn opened the door to Room 225.

"Hey, friend! I'm Elia from the Golden Sun Region."

As soon as he entered, a girl greeted him.

She had pale gold hair, light blue eyes, and though a few freckles dotted her face, they only added to her youthful charm.

"Wait, was this room assignment a mistake?"

Edwyn frowned and turned to head back to ask the skeleton mage.

"Don't bother," Elia said quickly. "Someone already asked. Mage Aysen said the room assignments are correct."

Edwyn paused. "Mage Aysen, the skeleton-looking one?"

Elia nodded. "That's him. He said room numbers are completely random. No changes. Some students already tried and nearly got thrown off the ship for asking."

Edwyn rubbed his temples.

This was going to be a pain. Sharing a room with a girl would inevitably cause complications.

But if the mage had made it clear, he had no choice.

"…Alright." Edwyn sighed. "Nice to meet you, Elia. I'm Edwyn from the Black Forest Region."

But in truth, Elia had lied.

The rooms could be changed, but the method was brutal.

As long as you could make someone agree to switch without killing them, the recruitment mages wouldn't intervene.

During the past few days aboard, several violent altercations had already broken out.

The mages never stopped these crimes. To them, it was just minor scuffles. One ape-like wizard even watched gleefully.

This leniency only emboldened some of the filth on the ship.

Fortunately, for most of the flight, students were confined to their rooms during high-speed travel.

That's the only reason Elia had managed to avoid danger by hiding in a room tucked away in the corner.

But now Edwyn's arrival was a risk.

If those animals found out there was another tasty target hiding here, then the next time the ship slowed down, Elia would be their prey.

She had to stop Edwyn from switching rooms.

And besides, Edwyn was handsome, delicate and weak-looking.

Years of malnutrition had left him pale and thin, like he'd collapse from a breeze.

Elia was confident she could fend him off if necessary.

Back in the present.

After entering, Edwyn casually closed the door.

The room was small, just 11 or 12 square meters, with a tiny toilet cubicle.

It was simply furnished, two bunk beds, a two-meter-long desk, two chairs, and a magic ceiling lamp.

Now, only he and Elia were inside.

A boy and a girl, both just entering adolescence, sealed in a tiny room.

The boy had delicate features, the girl was cute. Their eyes met, then quickly darted away.

It should have been a romantic scene… but yeah, no.

Edwyn looked like a teen, but inside, he was a grown man.

And his type was gentle, mature big sisters.

"I'll take the top bunk. If you need to change clothes, just give me a heads up, I'll look away."

With a neutral tone, he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed.

Flirting could wait, he had more important things to do.

Sitting up top, Edwyn opened the three books from the starter bag.

He couldn't read any of them. As a peasant, even being able to write his own name was considered impressive.

But one of the thicker books looked like a dictionary.

[Material: Wizard Language Dictionary]

[Extractable Info: Wizard Language]

[Cost: 10 Spiritforce]

[Proceed with Extraction?]

Edwyn placed the dictionary into his pocket and made his decision.

"Extract."

In an instant, it felt like someone had slammed a hammer into his skull. Everything went black.

Who knew how much time passed before Edwyn woke.

The room was pitch-dark. It was night.

"Tch… next time I should be more careful with extraction."

He rubbed his head. Good thing he was on an airship in a safe environment, doing this somewhere else could've gotten him killed.

Inside his soul space, a white light bobbed above the Infinite Forge.

He reached out mentally, and this time, there was no vision like the sword technique. Just a rush of information being dumped into his brain.

He now knew the Wizard Language. It felt like he had memorized the entire dictionary.

Still, reading it aloud sounded stiff and awkward, like a beginner.

"So that's the difference between 'skills' and 'information.' Information is just knowledge loaded into the brain, it still needs practice. Skills are already muscle memory, but harder to put into words."

GROWL!

A wave of hunger ripped him from his thoughts.

He hadn't eaten in nearly two days.

"Elia? Elia?" he called softly.

"Mmm? You're awake?" came her voice from the lower bunk, she hadn't slept either.

"What time is it?"

"4:32 a.m."

So Edwyn had been out for about fourteen hours.

"Did anyone bring food?"

"Your meal's on the table. Go eat."

Something was off in her tone. Even though they'd just met, she sounded too alert for this hour.

"You didn't sleep all night?"

"No."

"Missing home?"

"…A little."

Probably never traveled far before. A typical sheltered girl.

GROWL!

Edwyn wanted to say something comforting, but his stomach had other priorities.

He climbed down to find his meal, two palm-sized rye breads, a slightly charred piece of chicken, and a bowl of beet soup.

It wasn't gourmet, but it was leagues better than the sawdust-flavored black bread he'd eaten back in the Black Forest.

"Phew… that's better."

The meal wasn't filling, but it gave him something to work with.

"Edwyn, are you a knight?"

Elia's voice floated up from the bunk, quiet, trembling.

Something was off. Was she… crying?

"I'm not. Why ask?"

"Then we're screwed."

Edwyn frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Edwyn…" Elia's voice cracked, "do you know what the entrance exam says in the handbook?"

"…What is it?"

"…It's murder."