Chapter 55
“Lynn, wake up quickly. You’ve been sick for several months. When are you going to wake up?” His mother’s voice echoed in his ears.
“Lynn, have you finished your work? Mr. Chen asked you to send him the reports.”
“Get up and take the experiment. Who allowed you to sleep so early?”
Fear, does it stir the deepest corners of one’s heart?
Lynn halted, carefully listening to the fears lurking in the depths of his heart. What exactly were these fears?
Worries about all of this being an illusion, fears that everything was merely a dream—was this the thing he feared most in the depths of his heart?
Lynn couldn’t help but smile.
As it turned out, deep down, he wasn’t afraid of becoming a wizard. His true fear was the possibility of not becoming one.
The fear of losing power, was that really his deepest fear?
Lynn placed his right hand on his chest, feeling the faint heartbeat within. Ear-piercing noises created various illusions around him, even making Lynn feel a bit irritable. Lynn steadied his mind, dispelling the distracting noises that affected his inner peace.
When he looked around again, the illusions had disappeared. Thick fog enveloped the surroundings, and the deck was only a dozen steps away.
Lynn quickened his pace, steadying his resolve, and with determined steps, he boarded the deck.
As Lynn stepped onto the deck, he noticed many eyes scrutinizing him. There were people of various ages on the deck, accompanied by older attendants. Could you bring attendants to the Wizard Continent?
Lynn lowered his umbrella, standing in place and looking back at those who boarded the ship behind him. His eyes flickered as some people looked at him with indifferent eyes, while others seemed to be hunting for prey among the newcomers. Those glances made Lynn uncomfortable, so he silently memorized the appearances of these people.
He had promised his teacher to deal with everyone boarding the ship from this port, so he needed to remember everyone’s faces. Since it was about remembering faces, he might as well memorize a few extra.
Lynn responded to those stares with cold, piercing eyes. The hostile glances around him diminished. Indeed, in an unfamiliar environment, you’d only be respected if you asserted yourself.
After waiting for about two hours, the large ship anchored at the port finally began to move. The sails billowed, and the ladder on the dock retracted as the ship slowly departed from the port.
As the ship sailed on the sea, there was little sensation of rocking—walking on the deck felt as stable as being on land.
Lynn sensed something and turned to look at the entrance on the other side of the new dock, where a carriage timed its entrance into the port.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and two hurried figures emerged from it.
Lynn stared for a long time, turning back only when the dock disappeared at the horizon, his left hand supporting the edge of the ship’s side.
Farewell, Bangor Port.
The ship entered the open sea, and the surrounding fog gradually dissipated. The distant sea horizon seemed endless.
“Newcomers, there are some rules you need to understand.” After the ship sailed on the sea, some young men and young ladies who had gathered on the side of the ship approached.
“We are all going to the Wizard Continent, and we might become classmates in the future, so don’t break the rules.” Someone spoke up.
“Hmph, we’re all students, what rules are there? What, do people from other kingdoms still want to stand on the head of our Erdolu Kingdom?” The leader, a young man dressed in a luxurious purple-gold robe, said.
Nobles who boarded the ship from Erdolu Bangor Port recognized this young man, and many stood behind him.
“Really rude and barbaric little place.” Someone chuckled softly.
Intermittent laughter came from the side.
“This is not a set of rules we established—it’s rules personally laid down by Lord Harin, for you folks from small places.”
“Onboard, there are only three rules. First, do not harm the crew. Second, do not randomly kill people. Third, choose your own bed. If Lord Harin is in a good mood, he might come and find you.”
After saying this, the speaker ceased talking, turning instead to discuss in hushed tones with the friends around. Just by looking at their expressions, there was a sense of amusement, as if watching a joke.
Harin?
Hearing that name, Lynn felt like he had heard it somewhere before.
Suddenly, Lynn finally recalled where he had heard this name.
In the notebook left by his teacher, Angley, there was mention of someone named Harin. If even his teacher had become a wizard, it shouldn’t be too surprising that his old friend had also become an official wizard. The only question remained whether it was a coincidence or if they were the same person.
Retrieving his thoughts, Lynn entered the cabin, seeking a place to rest and settle. With the uncertain duration of the voyage, finding a suitable room was a priority.
From his pocket, Lynn pulled out a wooden stick1 and cast a Bright Magic spell on its tip. The brightened tip illuminated the scene inside the cabin.
The surroundings weren’t damp—however, all the doors on the first floor were closed. Red carpets adorned the floor, and various patterns were painted with oil paint on the surrounding walls.
Lynn walked to the end, then stepped on the ladder and descended to the second floor of the cabin. The air on the second floor was slightly more humid, and the floor and walls were made of wooden planks without any patterns. Every few meters, there was a frame with a single portrait hanging inside. All the doors to the rooms on the second floor were closed.
Creak—
Suddenly, a door on the side of the second floor swung open. In the light, Lynn noticed a pale-faced, seemingly teenage girl with blonde hair coming out from behind the door. The girl eyed Lynn warily, hesitated for a moment, and then followed him.
Next was the third floor, surprisingly revealed as a dining hall. This space was considerably larger, with many vacant seats visible. Moreover, the ceiling of this third floor was higher than the combined height of the two floors above.
The footsteps trailing behind Lynn separated upon entering the third floor, finding an empty seat nearby.
She knocked on the table, and Lynn sensed a faint energy fluctuation.
“Hey there, dear young lady, what would you like to eat?” came a voice from nearby.
Lynn turned around and noticed that in front of the girl, on the table, a palm-sized miniature man, had appeared at some point.
Lynn’s gaze flickered slightly. Since this floor was mostly empty, he found an available seat and sat down. He then knocked on the table.
Energy fluctuations emanated from the tabletop, accompanied by a fleeting blue glow. A palm-sized miniature man appeared on the table.
With humanoid features, dressed in woven clothes and a hat, looking quite delicate. Lynn’s knowledge compared the creature to the information stored in his mind, identifying it as a Bahov Elf.
A naturally spell-proficient elf that twinkles, the Bahov Elves enjoyed cooking food and possessed their own civilization and heritage.
“Dear sir, may I ask what you’d like to eat?” the summoned Bahov Elf asked.
“I’d like to know more about the rules on this ship,” Lynn said.
“Oh, didn’t anyone inform you?” The Bahov Elf’s expression suddenly fell. “I’m just a Bahov who loves cooking. Okay, okay, don’t point your magic staff at me. It’s not some secret, I’ll tell you.”
After listening to the Bahov Elf’s explanation, Lynn gradually gained an understanding of the rules on this ship.
Generally, the rules on this ship could be divided into two categories.
The first type was the basic rules—strictly no damaging or destroying the ship, no harming the ship’s crew, and no interfering with the ship’s navigation in any way.
According to the Bahov Elf, who claimed to have been on this ship for nearly a century, he had seen many batches of students.
The second type of rules depended on the official wizard accompanying the ship. These rules were entirely based on the wizard’s mood.
For instance, some wizards disliked noisy sounds, so everyone on the ship had to adhere to a certain decibel level. Those who exceeded the standard would be thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
Some wizards were obsessed with cleanliness, while others had peculiar fetishes. Every time the ship docked at a port, they would go ashore to buy some slaves.
This time, the official wizard named Lord Harin had essentially stayed in his room since boarding, rarely coming out. He strictly prohibited others from disturbing him. According to the Bahov Elf, this voyage was considered relatively relaxed.
Similar to his teacher Angley, were they both shut-ins?
Lynn secretly thought in his heart.
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- TL/N: In the raw chapter, it was literally written as 木棍 mùgùn: wooden stick, as opposed to before in the previous chapters 法杖 fǎzhàng: magic staff. ↩︎