Spell Unleashed

Rewind to just before the door latch was broken.

Edwyn walked out of the observation deck and immediately spotted the leader of the Black Bear Gang slamming into his cabin door.

His name was Ramsay, the son of a gang boss from the Wisteria Region in the Goldengrove Kingdom.

Born with a naturally strong body, Ramsay had a clear physical edge. By age 12, he'd become a knight's squire, and by 15, he was already nearing full knight status.

Given a few more years of training, Ramsay was expected to officially become a knight. In another decade or so, he might have even reached high-ranking knight status by his early 30s.

That kind of talent was rare, even the kingdom would have called him a genius.

The king would have granted him a title, and noble families would've lined up to marry into his bloodline.

But fate had other plans, Ramsay was chosen.

The will of a wizard is absolute. Even if Ramsay had been the son of a king, he would've still been taken as a wizard apprentice.

His father mourned his lost future, but Ramsay himself? He didn't feel regret.

When he saw the king and his nobles bow their heads to the mages during the selection ceremony, a fire lit inside him,

A fire called ambition.

He would become a wizard and master the arcane.

Once on the airship, he realized something important: the mages didn't care what he did, only whether the apprentices made it to the entrance exam alive.

So he quickly gathered followers and began his reign of terror.

Anything he wanted, he took. Anyone he liked, he bedded.

Many nobles found him repulsive, but none stepped in. Why?

Because Ramsay didn't target nobles. And more importantly, he was a knight's squire.

No noble would risk crossing blades with a knight's squire over a peasant.

BAM! BAM!

Ramsay grinned wickedly as he pounded on the door. He hadn't seen the girl inside yet, but from her voice, she was likely still a virgin.

The thought of busting in and sampling such a fresh treat had his blood boiling.

But mid-slam, he noticed something in the corner of his eye.

A figure, slight build, not very tall, red hair over a pale but handsome face.

Gulp. Ramsay suddenly stopped.

"You guys take over," he ordered his thugs.

Edwyn watched Ramsay pause, and a chill crept up his spine.

Something disgusting was about to happen.

"Hey cutie… you one of the last to board?"

Ramsay looked at Edwyn with a sleazy grin, licking his lips.

...Not only was he perverted, he swung both ways.

And Edwyn? Was exactly his type.

Edwyn looked behind him, no one else around.

So yeah, Ramsay was talking to him.

Which meant, there was nothing left to talk about.

His expression darkened. Fury and revulsion welled up inside him.

"Die."

Edwyn raised his hand. A pulse of blue light formed at his fingertip, then launched like a meteor.

Zero-Circle Spell: Mana Missile.

The bolt slammed into Ramsay's chest.

For a moment, it felt like a knight had bashed him with a warhammer. He was sent flying, twisted in agony.

"WIZARD! HE'S A WIZARD!"

His cronies panicked, stumbling backward.

But Edwyn wasn't letting them go.

"You too."

Cold as ice, he fired missile after missile. Each bolt struck true, slamming into the thugs one after another.

They collapsed, groaning in pain.

Luckily, Edwyn hadn't lost himself in his anger. He'd aimed for their legs, avoiding fatal damage.

No one dead, no trouble.

Edwyn walked forward slowly, blue light still flickering at his fingertips.

Right now, he looked like a death god in human form, ready to pass judgment.

One step. Two. Three.

Ramsay, who had been pretending to be unconscious, suddenly scrambled to his feet and bolted down the hall.

"WIZARD! HELP! HE'S GONNA-"

THWACK!

Another Mana Missile slammed directly between his legs.

There was an awful crunch, like a cracking eggshell.

Ramsay's eyes rolled back, and he passed out from the pain.

But Edwyn wasn't done. That filthy, insect-like nausea was still crawling inside him.

So he walked up and stomped Ramsay's body twice for good measure.

"You damn perv. You tried to bust into my room, hurt my roommate, and you even wanted to come after me?! Screw you, you freak!"

"Edwyn!"

He turned to see Elia, standing in the doorway, stunned.

"Oh hey, Elia. You okay?"

He waved nonchalantly, wiping blood from his shoe using Ramsay's body.

"You… you did all this?"

Elia stared at the scene in disbelief.

Ramsay, the terror of the ship, was lying there, unconscious.

And the person who did it? The same guy who'd shared her room for two weeks.

It felt surreal.

When did he build his mana flow?

Moments later, a mage finally arrived, along with several curious nobles who had heard the commotion.

"By the Gods… that peasant beat Ramsay…"

"Ramsay's a knight's squire! He's no pushover."

"Does he have a magic artifact? But without mana stones, that's useless."

"Wait, has he already built his mana flow and become a proper apprentice?"

"No way! A peasant being that fast?!"

The nobles murmured in awe and disbelief.

Edwyn heard everything.

But the mention of magic items powered by mana stones caught his attention.

He filed it away, this could be crucial for surviving the exam.

Soon, a female mage arrived from the far end of the ship.

She looked about thirty, average in appearance, and mostly normal… aside from the mouths full of sharp teeth on both her palms.

After inspecting the scene, she walked up to Edwyn.

"I'm Lysara. Who did this?"

Elia tried to speak up: "Ma'am, they tried to break into our room, so-"

But Edwyn cut her off.

"No idea, ma'am. When I got here, they were already on the ground."

His expression was calm. As if the carnage had nothing to do with him.

Lysara stared at him for a long moment, then smiled faintly.

"Well then, it seems a helpful ghost came along and gave these punks what they deserved. Bit rough, but hey, if we catch the ghost, we'll give them a slap on the wrist."

She patted Edwyn on the shoulder, then used levitation magic to carry the injured away.

Elia stood there in shock.

"Edwyn… how could you…"

Her heart pounded in her chest.

Lying to a mage, that was insane.

And he did it so casually. So badly.

But… why did the mage believe him?

Her thoughts were scrambled until Edwyn pulled her back inside the room.

"Edwyn, what just happened?"

He sat down, eyes glinting with insight.

"Elia, this is how wizards play the game. For us, their rules are ironclad. But for the mages themselves? Those rules are napkin scribbles, probably made during lunch."

"I broke the rules just now. But Lysara liked what I did. So she didn't want to punish me."

"That's why she asked that question."

Elia muttered: "Who did this…? But she clearly knew the answer…"

Edwyn smirked, a flash of self-mockery in his eyes.

"Because she's not the only mage on this ship. She needed an excuse to tell the others."

"No matter how ridiculous that excuse is."

"To a wizard, a maimed apprentice is only worth a ridiculous explanation."