Soon it was Black Bone Forest Academy's turn, and
The apprentices hurried to follow. Leilin pressed down slightly with his foot; a sturdy feeling came from beneath his boot, as if he were treading on a flagstone floor.
"What strange material! It looks like wood, but it's much harder. Is it some kind of alloy?"
Leilin looked at the greyish-brown, textured surface of the floor, his thoughts wandering idly.
"We're here! The Black Bone Forest cabin is along this corridor, from room 13 to room 32. Distribute the rooms amongst yourselves. Remember, my room number is 14. If you need anything, come find me!"
Having finished speaking, Duolote flicked his black-robed cloak and entered his own room with two attendants.
"Alright! Now I'll assign the rooms!"
"Hmph!" Jiamen gave a cold snort, arbitrarily chose a door marked number 18, and went inside.
Kreweir's face flushed red, then paled white. He clenched his fists several times before letting them fall again. "Fine! Jiamen chose number 18. Next, Beilu, you take number 15. Lannuo, you take number 16..."
After Jiamen left, the remaining Beilu and Lannuo, along with Leilin, were all part of Kreweir's circle.
Leilin was assigned room 20. He said nothing, quickly stepping into his cabin.
The room was small, just a little cubicle. It could barely fit a single bed, after which there was almost no space left to stand.
This reminded Leilin of the train berths from his previous life—just as cramped, leaving hardly enough room to stretch one's legs.
"Having a bed is good enough! On the
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome aboard this airship. I am your captain—Gegewu Kefate Linboweier. Wishing you a pleasant journey!"
"Next, I will announce some regulations. Apart from the mentors, no one else is permitted to go on deck, unless you wish to fly down from the sky!... The dining hall is in Hall One. Hall Two is the washing room. Hall Three is the recreation room. You are all welcome!"
A deep male voice resonated through the room. Leilin looked around; it was coming from a brass pipe, its purpose unclear—whether it was for air or as a speaking tube.
"We're taking off!" Leilin felt his body grow lighter as the airship swayed slightly. He quickly pressed himself against a small, thick pane of glass crystal.
The window was only the size of a football, and it was quite thick, making the scene outside a bit unclear.
As the airship rose higher, the ground grew smaller and smaller, until the original campsite became nothing more than a black dot in Leilin's eyes.
Leilin stowed his Cross Sword and Crossbow, then lay down on his bunk.
"From what Mentor Duolote said, the journey will take about a month — what a drag! It's been over half a year since I left home, and I still haven't reached the Academy!"
In a drowsy haze, Leilin closed his eyes.
*Ding… ding-dong…* A melodious chime rang out, pulling Leilin from his sleep. He sat up and glanced out the window — pitch black outside.
"Already nighttime!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! The dining hall is now serving dinner. Tonight's menu features: goose liver with truffles, roast whole chicken, white bread, squirrel meat…"
This time the voice belonged to a pleasant-sounding woman.
Leilin rubbed his stomach, sprang to his feet, straightened his clothes, and hurried toward the dining hall.
Dim lanterns hung at intervals along the shadowy corridor, casting a yellowish glow.
The wooden doors around him opened from time to time as apprentices filed out.
The first great hall was already packed with apprentices, but Leilin didn't see any of the mentors — perhaps they had a separate dining hall.
At the top of the hall sat an enormous white stone that radiated bright white light, like a miniature sun.
The dining hall was filled with long tables and white chairs arranged down the middle, looking something like a university cafeteria.
"Hey! Leilin, over here!" Beilu called loudly from a corner, where several other Black Bone Forest apprentices were already seated.
"Coming!" Leilin grabbed a silver tray and utensils at the serving counter, thought for a moment, then picked up a white bread roll, a fried chicken leg, and a fruit salad, along with a bottle of apple cider. He made his way to Beilu's side.
"You guys got here early!" Leilin greeted them.
"You're just late — overslept, did you?" Beilu chuckled.
Leilin sat down and drained half the bottle of apple cider in one go. "Yeah, I overslept a bit!"
He glanced around again. "Are we traveling with these apprentices?"
At the moment, besides the apprentices from Black Bone Forest Academy, there were apprentices from other academies in the hall as well. The boys and girls sat in separate clusters by academy, somewhat cold toward one another.
"That's right — we're on the same route as Gothic Sage's Cottage and a few other academies! As for the lot from Nine-Ring White Tower, they're headed in a completely different direction, so we have to split up!" Lannuo said.
"Is that so!" Leilin said with some regret. "George and the others boarded the airship on the right — looks like they really are far away from Black Bone Forest Academy. It's going to be a hassle to get in touch from now on!"
After dinner, the group returned to their rooms to rest.
Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, there was practically nothing to do. This dull routine lasted for fifteen days.
One evening, after dinner, nobody wanted to go back to their cramped cabins, so they gathered around the dining table and started chatting.
"Beilu, what's wrong with you?" Leilin noticed that Beilu beside him was clearly listless and couldn't help but ask.
Over the past ten-plus days, Beilu had transformed into a chatterbox, going from his family genealogy all the way to how a certain dish in the royal capital was prepared — once he got going, he was like a ** bull.
Leilin and the others had gone from being unable to stand it to getting used to it, and now they even treated it as the only bit of entertainment in their boring lives.
"Yeah! I still want to hear about your love life!" Lannuo started egging him on.
"I've told it all!" Beilu rolled his eyes. "I can't think of anything else to say!"
"This is so boring!" Beilu wailed.
"Hang in there — only half a month left! The journey from your home to the camp was longer than this. How did you kill time back then?" Leilin encouraged his friend, though he was also a bit puzzled.
"My home is in the Bourbon Kingdom, right on the edge of the Death Prairie. It took over half a month's walk to reach the camp!" Beilu replied feebly, rolling his eyes.
"No wonder!" Leilin shook his head.
"Jiamen, I saw that first — what are you going to do about it?" A silver platter clattered to the floor with a crisp ring.
Leilin turned around to see Kreweir roaring, his hair standing on end like an enraged lion.
On the other side, Jiamen speared a golden-brown roasted chicken leg onto his plate. "Whoever grabs it first, owns it!"
The people around them not only didn't step in to break up the fight — they wore expressions of eager spectators settling in for a show.
During the long journey, Kreweir and Jiamen had grown increasingly unable to stand each other — especially after Jiamen showed signs of wanting to recruit two subordinates.
Their earlier clashes had been tempered by a mutual wariness of the
Leilin furrowed his brow.
"You asked for this!" Kreweir roared, the muscles on his body bulging outward, making him look as though he had inflated an entire size.
As a noble, he had naturally undergone Knight training, and he appeared to have already awakened his Life Energy, becoming a true Knight.
"Chip! Scan!"
*Ding! Kreweir — Strength: 2.5, Agility: 2.7, Constitution: 3.0, Status: Arcane Burst active.* *Estimated effect of arcane burst: upon activation, Strength increase, Agility increase!* "Today I'm going to teach you that you ought to bow your head before a noble lion!" Kreweir bellowed. He stomped off the ground, his body blurring into an afterimage as he charged at Jiamen.
"Warning! Warning! Detecting a radiation energy source! Status: Unstable! Evacuate immediately!" The Chip's voice rang in Leilin's ear.
"Radiation energy? Could it be that the Wizard has intervened?" Leilin was taken aback.
"Hahaha! Today you'll learn who the real number one among the newcomers is!" Jiamen laughed, pulling a green brooch from inside his robe.
"Bilis — Duoansi! Green creatures of the wild! Hear my call and descend into the mortal realm!" Jiamen chanted in a strange, eerie voice.
He used a very obscure language, yet oddly enough, Leilin could understand every word.
As the incantation rang out, a layer of halo bloomed across the surface of the green brooch. Then several brown vines shot up from the ground, writhing wildly like a nest of tangled serpents.
*Hssss! Hssss!!* The vines danced protectively in front of Jiamen, then shot forward, tripping Kreweir and sending him crashing down.
Layer upon layer of vines wound tighter and tighter. In moments, they had wrapped around Kreweir's entire body, leaving only his face exposed.
"Magical Item!" an apprentice nearby cried out in alarm.
"Anyone who can wield a Magical Item has to be at least a First-rank Apprentice! Has he… has he already advanced to First-rank Apprentice?"
Voices continued to rise from all around, everyone staring at Jiamen with awe in their eyes, which only made Kreweir's already wrapped-up face flush an even deeper red.
"How about it? Just swear an oath to obey me, and I'll set you free!" Jiamen walked up in front of Kreweir.
"Never… never! The glory of the Golden Lion Family will absolutely not be humiliated in my hands!" The veins on Kreweir's face bulged out, as though blood were about to drip from them.
"Is that so! Then there's nothing I can do!" Jiamen shrugged helplessly, the vines tightening ever further. Cracking and popping sounds even rang out, as if Kreweir's bones were being crushed.
Just as the surrounding apprentices could no longer bear to watch and were about to speak up to mediate— Boom!!! The airship lurched violently, and the lights dimmed in an instant.
Several apprentices immediately stumbled to the ground. "What's happening? Did we hit a strong air current?" A flicker of light passed through Lei Lin's eyes.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The windows shattered open, and fierce gusts of air flooded in.
Accompanying the howling wind, arcs of blue lightning crackled and danced about.
Watching this, Lei Lin's pupils contracted to the size of pinheads. "A thunderstorm? Where are the Wizards on the airship?"
"You insignificant insects—how dare you trespass into the territory of the great Pandala!!!"
A voice boomed forth, accompanied by raging winds and thunder.