After their heart-to-heart, Edwyn and Elia grew even closer.
From then on, Edwyn spent his days practicing the wizard language with Elia, and his nights meditating.
Although he had acquired the language through extraction, actual usage still required hands-on practice.
Just like that, fifteen days passed since Edwyn boarded the airship.
Occasionally, during flight, the airship would decelerate for inspection and maintenance, times when onboard mages checked various systems.
During these periods, apprentices were allowed to roam freely.
"Edwyn! I connected to the Sea of Souls last night!"
Early in the morning, Elia slapped his bed excitedly to share her progress.
Her talent wasn't great, only 12 points of Spiritforce. What had taken Edwyn just one meditation session had taken her seven full days.
But that was still commendable.
According to the book, many apprentices needed incense and potions to link to the Sea of Souls even once. Elia achieving it in seven days, unassisted, was already considered well above average.
Edwyn, who succeeded on his first try, was rated excellent.
Above him, there was only one tier, born-linked apprentices, those with innate Spiritforce of 20 or more. Such students were rare and usually found only among ancient mage bloodlines.
"Congrats, congrats. Elia the Boss Lady has officially become a wizard apprentice."
Yawning, Edwyn sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Looks like I'll be relying on Boss Elia for protection during the exam."
Elia beamed with pride.
"Don't worry! I've got your back!"
Knock knock knock.
There was a knock at the door. Elia opened it to find the breakfast-delivering automaton, surprisingly early today.
"Room 225. Two breakfasts. Airship maintenance in progress. Apprentices may move about freely."
The puppet's voice was still shrill and odd, but its message wiped the smile right off Elia's face.
"Free movement?" she asked.
But the puppet didn't respond. It simply rolled away with its cart to the next room.
Elia closed the door, her face pale. She looked like she might cry.
"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I just linked to the Sea of Souls, I haven't even constructed my mana flow yet…"
She paced frantically. Edwyn raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't free time a good thing? After being stuck in this room for half a month, don't you want to stretch your legs?"
His joints were practically rusting from sitting around all day.
"You don't get it. If we can roam, so can those creeps."
She explained what happened before Edwyn boarded the ship, the horrors she'd narrowly avoided thanks to being locked away.
"I see…"
Edwyn scratched his chin, looking a bit… complicated.
Was I really that weak-looking when I got on board?
"Don't worry. Just stay here. I'm going out for a stroll."
Edwyn got out of bed and wolfed down his breakfast in a few bites.
He felt noticeably stronger lately, maybe it was the Sea of Souls link, or maybe the food had supplements. His once malnourished frame now had hints of muscle.
"Hey! I taught you wizard language for days and you're just gonna leave me here? At least help!"
Elia flared up like a furious cat.
Edwyn waved her off.
"Relax. It's not like I'm outside yelling 'Hey everyone! I've got a cute girl for a roommate!' Stay quiet, they're not going to break down the door."
The airship was pretty spacious. Beyond the passenger cabins, there was a large observation deck at the tail.
Normally reserved for mages, today it was open to apprentices due to the ongoing maintenance.
Standing at the edge of the deck, Edwyn was overwhelmed by the vast sea of clouds stretching endlessly beyond the transparent walls.
Soon the deck filled up with apprentices, both nobles and commoners. Though there were no rules dividing them, two distinct social circles quickly formed.
Except for Edwyn.
Next to him, a group of nobles were chatting in wizard language to keep out eavesdroppers.
"You sure about this, Emily? Your brother really connected to the Sea of Souls?"
"Of course! Why would he lie to me?"
The girl with freckles and blonde hair puffed out her chest.
Her words caused a stir among the nobles. Most had read How to Become a Wizard Apprentice, but few had seen results. Without incense or potions, linking to the Sea was nearly impossible for them.
"What about the Medici guys? Didn't they pay a mage to teach them? That cost like ten mana stones, right?"
"Ten mana stones?!" gasped a few who hadn't heard.
"The Medicis are loaded. That's like 100,000 gold coins!"
"The kingdom's yearly tax revenue is only 500,000. They might as well be royalty."
"Still, I heard even they failed. No incense or potions on the ship. Same as the rest of us."
"Well, that's just wonderful," one sneered.
The difference between knights and wizard apprentices was like bare hands versus weapons.
One less apprentice was one less predator.
Edwyn kept a blank expression, pretending not to understand.
These snobbish nobles assumed peasants couldn't speak wizard language, so they didn't hold back.
It was great eavesdropping.
But suddenly, a scream.
"Tch. The Black Bear Gang again," one noble muttered.
"They've probably gone through every pretty commoner girl on board," another sneered.
"Animals. Can't keep their pants zipped."
Freckle-faced Emily wrinkled her nose in disgust, covering her mouth as if she could smell them.
But none of them moved.
Let the peasants tear each other apart. What did that have to do with them?
Another scream.
This one sounded… familiar.
Edwyn's expression changed. He turned and rushed out of the observation deck.
That sounded like Elia.
Room 225 wasn't far. As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he saw a scar-faced brute slamming his shoulder into the door of their room.
Several lackeys stood around, cheering him on. They weren't as bulky as the leader but still looked tough by peasant standards.
"Girl, open this damn door! Otherwise, you're gonna regret it!"
"Yeah! Open up now and maybe we'll be gentle. Wait till boss breaks through, your legs won't work for weeks!"
Inside, Elia had shoved a desk against the door, fighting to keep them out.
The rooms only had simple latches. A strong man could break in with a few good hits.
"You idiot, Elia! Why'd you stick your head out?!" she hissed to herself, teeth clenched as she pushed against the door.
She had cracked under cabin fever. Everyone wanted out after being locked in for so long.
She figured a quick peek would be safe. Just a glance.
Instead, she walked right into the Black Bear Gang.
They'd been searching for someone to satisfy their urges. And when they saw Elia's pretty face peek out…
Their little heads made decisions faster than their big ones.
CRACK.
The latch broke with a loud splintering sound.
"No…"
Elia's heart sank. With the lock gone, there was no way to hold them back.
But strangely… no one came in.
Instead, there were shouts, painful groans.
Had a mage intervened?
Elia peeked through a crack in the door.
All the Black Bear members were sprawled on the floor.
And one thin figure was standing on the boss's face, stomping.
Cursing as he stomped.
"You sick bastard! You kicked down my door! Bullied my roommate! And you even dared to come after me! You dead-ass pervert, take this!"