Splintered wood lay scattered everywhere, burn marks and scorch scars visible on all sides — it clearly looked like the aftermath of an intense arcane battle, not Lucian ambushing and killing the merfolk mage.
"Could Evans have some powerful arcane artifact, or an extremely rare unique spell?" Tom's surprise spawned all sorts of explanations. "There's no way he's a second-circle mage who isn't even twenty, right? Granted, among the Council, those geniuses who've received arcane education from childhood can manage it — some even break through to mid-tier by twenty — but for mages who received ancient legacies, unless their spiritual power talent is at an absolutely terrifying level, it's simply impossible! And Evans shows absolutely no signs of monstrous spiritual power talent!"
Thinking was one thing, but in this time-critical emergency, the experienced Tom wasted no words voicing his doubts and astonishment. He said curtly, "Twenty seconds. Handle it. Upper level. I'll take care of the rest."
In under two seconds, four or five clipped words tumbled from Tom's mouth. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and ran toward the main cargo hold where the supplies were stored. From inside already came the sound of wooden planks splintering — it seemed the Kottmer merfolk had no intention of retreating the way they'd come, and were smashing straight through the hold's wooden walls to escape.
These words weren't even proper sentences, yet Lucian understood Tom's meaning without difficulty. The merfolk mage had been killed by him, so whatever was on its body rightfully belonged to him — unquestionable battlefield spoils. Tom was telling him to deal with the corpse personally. He had to finish within twenty seconds and hide in the sailor cabins on the upper level, or the knights and knight-attendants arriving on the scene would discover him. As for everything else, Tom would handle the cleanup.
The crimson glow on the merfolk mage's scales had already solidified, tinting the silvery-gray fish scales with a wash of blood-red. Lucian knew this was decent material for forging armor or mage robes — it could bolster defense while enhancing underwater mobility and speed. Unfortunately, time was too tight, and he had absolutely no time to strip the scales off. The foul-smelling merfolk lymphatic fluid was in the same situation.
He took the coral staff in hand, then pulled out the grayish-white little "pouch" hidden behind a large scale at the merfolk mage's waist. Turning back around, he chanted the incantation for Force Wave. An invisible wave of air launched the merfolk mage's corpse out into the raging storm beyond.
Immediately after, Lucian dashed back to the cabin where he'd been staying and stopped beneath the shattered ceiling, calmly surveying the surrounding rooms.
Seeing that they'd been reduced to rubble by his "arcane duel" with the merfolk mage — every trace of habitation wiped clean — he braced his hands and pushed himself up through the hole into the sailor cabin above.
Working quickly but without panic, he found the iron-wood planks he'd deliberately knocked loose earlier. Piece by piece, he fitted them back into their original positions while simultaneously vibrating his spiritual force to cast without incantation.
Faint glimmers of light flickered, and the gaps between the iron-wood planks slowly disappeared.
Apprentice-tier spell — Mend!
Though it couldn't conjure something from nothing, now that he'd become a formal mage, Lucian could repair fairly large cracks.
The twenty-second deadline Tom had mentioned was ticking away, second by second, yet the iron-wood planks were recovering agonizingly slowly under the Mend spell.
At that moment, violent sounds erupted from the hold below — it seemed Tom's fight with the Kottmer merfolk had entered a white-hot phase. Significant arcane fluctuations poured upward as well, drowning out the noise of the Mend spell on this level.
The arcane fluctuations flickered and vanished, and the thunderous clashes of weapons abruptly ceased. Heavy, hurried footsteps rang out as several dozen people charged down into the main cargo hold. They showed not the slightest interest in the ruined cabin on this side, which appeared empty of enemies at a glance.
The Mend spell finally finished. The iron-wood planks restored to their original state, Lucian stood and prepared to slip into another room.
"If Tom hasn't let greed and miserliness cloud his reason, then he certainly won't try to stop the Kottmer merfolk carrying the Sea Ripple Stones. He'll let them flee while he focuses on killing the other merfolk and securing the loot they haven't taken yet."
"But that means the Granieu family will suffer devastating losses — at minimum, the equivalent of twenty or thirty decent estates' worth. Who knows how many Sea Ripple Stones the merfolk managed to steal…"
Amid his deductions and questions, Lucian pulled open the wooden door — and was startled to see the cabin door across the corridor left ajar, with several pairs of bright, eager eyes peeking through the gap.
"Mr. Evans, quick — hide in here!" The voices of Annick, Lirelya, and Hetty rang out simultaneously, brimming with relief and delight.
Lucian slipped inside and locked the door behind him. He gave the three apprentices a gentle nod. "Well done. Especially you, Annick — being able to calm down so quickly, I'm very pleased."
Receiving Mr. Evans's praise, Annick scratched his head sheepishly. "You just get used to being scared after a while."
"Mr. Evans, we brought your suitcase up too." Hetty pointed to the black luggage beside her as if angling for commendation. Lirelya stood quietly behind her, eyes blazing with intensity, seemingly hoping for recognition as well.
Lucian smiled faintly. "You've all done well. Nobody dragged anyone else down. But the danger hasn't passed yet — stay alert. Oh, and don't disturb me for the time being."
With that, Lucian sat down on the sailor's worn bed. One ear tuned to the sounds of battle below, he used the Appraisal spell in conjunction with his Analysis to work on deciphering the merfolk mage's coral staff.
Since he didn't know whether Viscount Lait and the bishop could repel the sea monster outside, didn't know whether this sailing ship would sink, and didn't know whether Tom could conceal the evidence and keep his identity hidden, Lucian could only seize every second and every opportunity to strengthen his own power. Perhaps when the moment came, it would be this mage staff that saw him through alive.
Annick and the other two nodded solemnly and set about their tasks. Hetty stationed herself by the door, listening for movements outside. Annick lay flat on the floor with his ear pressed against the wooden planks, monitoring the battle below. Lirelya knelt on the rug beside Lucian, one awareness keeping track of the other apprentices in their respective cabins, the other focused on the increasingly fierce battle raging in the storm beyond.