"Freshman and sophomores?"
Richard looked at the Black Robed Wizard, a storm of emotions rising in his heart.
Was a wizard like this really an apprentice, just like them?
But he didn't have time to think about it as a hole appeared at the bottom of the floating airship.
The Black Robed Wizard led them inside, and as soon as they landed, Richard heard a powerful female voice.
"Seven apprentices! Taylor, you're pretty lucky."
Richard focused his gaze and saw a woman standing in the cabin, over two meters tall, and as robust as a bear. She held a great sword almost two meters long, its blade covered with dense symbols, looking quite fantastical.
Beside her, Richard also saw a black-robed skeleton with blue flames flickering in its eye sockets. As they all entered, the skeleton waved its hand, and the hole at the cabin's floor closed automatically.
"Seven apprentices, you'll have to treat me to a meal when we return, at least a hundred magic stones each won't do."
The Black Robed Wizard dropped his fierce attitude towards the nobles, speaking cheerfully and joking with the wizards in the cabin.
"To hell with that, fifty magic stones, take it or leave it."
The skeleton wizard approached the apprentices with a crystal ball, starting to record their names along with their spiritual power.
After completing the records, the skeleton wizard magically pulled out one bag after another from under his black robe, each containing a quill, a bottle of ink, a stack of white paper, an ID tag, and three books.
There was no explanation, no conversation; the skeleton wizard's demeanor was completely different from the other two wizards who were chatting idly.
He seemed to have abandoned the emotions of the living, embracing calmness and rationality in both body and soul.
"These are your enrollment materials, which include the entry-level courses and student rules of the Wizard Academy. The ID tag is your room number. During the airship's flight, do not leave your room unless necessary."
Seeing that the skeleton wizard said nothing, Taylor, the wizard who brought them up, had to provide an explanation.
"Now quickly find your rooms. While the airship is in flight, you can play around a little, but don't cause any fatalities."
...
The airship's cabin only had one corridor, with neatly arranged rooms on either side, each a four-person room.
Richard counted and found that if the airship had fifty rooms and they were full, it should be able to carry about two hundred passengers.
Fifty rooms, two hundred people.
"What a fantastical world, even the airship is this impressive."
Following the corridor to the end, Richard opened room number 225, which was temporarily his.
"Hey, friend, I'm Ali from the Golden Banner."
As soon as he entered, Richard saw a girl greet him.
The girl had light golden hair, light blue eyes, and although her face had some freckles, it only added a hint of youthful charm to her.
"Hmm? Did they assign the room incorrectly?"
Richard felt a bit confused and turned to go back to ask the skeleton wizard.
"Friend, don't bother asking, someone already did, and Wizard Eisen said there was no mistake."
Richard stopped in his tracks: "Wizard Eisen? The one who looks like... a skeleton?"
Ali nodded: "That's him. He said room numbers are completely random, and not to ask him for changes. Several people have already tried, and he almost threw the apprentices who requested changes off the airship in frustration."
Upon hearing this, Richard pressed his fingers to his temples with some frustration.
This would be a bit troublesome, as living with a woman always brought many inconveniences.
But since the wizard had already said the rooms couldn't be changed, he had no choice but to comply.
"Alright then," Richard sighed, "Hello Ali, I'm Richard from the Heisen Territory."
...
In fact, Ali had lied.
The rooms on the airship could actually be changed, but the method was somewhat rough.
As long as you could get someone to agree to switch rooms without causing a fatality, the recruiting wizards wouldn't intervene.
In the few days since Ali had been on the airship, several violent conflicts had already occurred.
And these violent conflicts often accompanied something else...
That was rape.
The wizards wouldn't stop these crimes; in their eyes, it was just minor horseplay. One wizard, who looked a lot like a monkey, would even watch with great interest.
This only encouraged some of the worst people on the airship.
Fortunately, the airship spent most of its time moving at high speed, during which no one was allowed out of their rooms.
This allowed Ali to avoid those beasts in her corner room.
But Richard's arrival posed a danger to her.
If those beasts found out there was another tasty prey in the corner of the airship, the next time the airship slowed down, it would be Ali's day of suffering.
So she had to prevent Richard from changing rooms.
Moreover, Richard looked handsome, not to mention weak.
Years of malnutrition had left Richard looking extremely pale and fragile, his thin body seeming like a gust of wind could knock him over, even in clothes.
Ali was confident that she could resist Richard's advances.
...
Time returned to the present as Richard closed the door after entering the room.
The room was not large, only about eleven or twelve square meters, with a small compartment that was likely a toilet.
The furnishings were simple, with two bunk beds, a table around two meters long, two chairs, and a magic light on the ceiling being the room's only decorations.
The small room now contained just him and Ali.
Youthful innocence was in the air between a boy and a girl within a closed space.
The boy was handsome, the girl sweet, and as their eyes met, they quickly looked away.
This scene seemed to have some ambiguity... Bullshit.
Although Richard appeared to be a teenager, his mindset was that of an adult.
His preference was for gentle, knowledgeable older sisters.
"I'll sleep on the upper bunk. If you're changing clothes, let me know, and I'll avoid you."
He said casually and then turned around to kick off his shoes and climb onto the top bunk.
Instead of flirting with the girl, he had more important matters to attend to.
Sitting on the top bunk, Richard opened the three books in the bag one by one.
Richard couldn't understand these three books. As a farmer, being able to write his name was considered educated.
However, he judged that the thicker book was probably a dictionary.
[Original Material: "Wizard Language Dictionary"]
[Extractable Information: Wizard Language]
[Refining Consumption: 10 spiritual power]
[Refine]
Richard put the dictionary in his pocket and then made a decision.
"Refine."
In an instant, Richard felt as if his head was hit by a heavy hammer, and everything went black.
After an unknown period, Richard woke from the deep sleep.
The room was now pitch black, indicating it was already evening.
"Ugh, next time I can't be so reckless when extracting."
Richard rubbed his head, grateful he was on the airship, where it was very safe. If he were elsewhere, he would have been pushing himself into danger.
Upon entering the Soul Space, a jumping white light was already waiting above the Miracle Furnace.
Fusing with the white light, Richard didn't experience the illusions like he did when merging the Wind Crow Sword Skill. Instead, he felt as though he had memorized many things.
Richard tried it out and found he had indeed learned the Wizard Language, but this learning felt more like memorizing the dictionary.
If Richard read the Wizard Language, he would sound like a beginner with inaccurate tones.
"It seems there's a big difference between 'skill' and 'information.' Absorbing information felt like directly infusing knowledge into my brain, requiring practical experience for proficiency. Whereas skill was practically proficient but difficult to summarize in words."
Grumble!
The enormous hunger pulled Richard out of his thoughts.
He hadn't eaten for nearly two days.
"Ali, Ali," Richard called softly.
"Hmm? You're awake?"
In the darkness, Ali's voice came from the lower bunk, sounding as if she hadn't slept.
"Ali, what time is it now?"
"Four thirty-two in the morning."
Upon hearing the time, Richard estimated the duration of his sleep.
He had slept for about fourteen hours.
"Did anyone bring food during this time?"
"Your food is on the table. Come down and eat if you want."
Richard sensed something was off with Ali. Though they had just met, someone should not be so alert at four in the morning.
"Did you stay up all night?" Richard asked softly.
"Yeah."
"Feeling homesick?"
"A little."
She seemed to be a young lady who hadn't traveled much.
Grumble!
Richard wanted to comfort her, but the loud noise from his stomach made him decide to eat first.
Getting out of bed, his dinner was on the room's table.
Two palm-sized pieces of black bread, a slightly scorched piece of beef, and a bowl of beet soup.
Although these dishes weren't like the Chinese meals Richard remembered, they were far better than the sawdust-filled black bread he had eaten in the Heisen Territory.
"Ah, I feel a bit better now."
After eating, Richard sat in the chair and took a long breath.
Though the meal hadn't filled him up, it gave him something in his stomach.
"Richard, are you a knight?"
Ali lay on the bed, looking at Richard sideways.
Richard could feel something was wrong with her voice, as if Ali was... crying?
"No, why suddenly ask that?"
"Then we're doomed."
Richard furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"
"Richard," Ali's voice was choked, "do you know what our entrance exam is, as per the school handbook?"
"What is it?"
"It's killing!"