After a while, the stiff smile on the City Lord's face finally relaxed. He summoned a guard and leaned in, whispering something with clear reluctance in his voice.
The guard jogged out of the hall and soon returned, handing over a gold-threaded, finely woven money pouch. The City Lord did not even glance inside. He simply passed it straight to Lynn.
"Mr. Lynn, my Black Marsh City is only a small city. We do not have many Magic Stones. I hope you can be understanding."
Lynn accepted the pouch and casually rubbed it between his fingers, roughly about
After sincerely thanking the City Lord, A stone earned was still a stone earned after all, the group followed the Lord Wizard out of the City Lord's Mansion. Three luxurious carriages had already been waiting outside, carrying them toward the outskirts of the city.
After leaving the city gates, the carriages continued for some time before finally coming to a halt. Everyone stepped down, staring at the empty wilderness with confusion.
The Wizard offered no explanation. He simply led the seven Apprentices forward into the open space. He began chanting strange, unfamiliar syllables, and the surrounding Energy rapidly condensed.
A Magic Array formed out of thin air beneath their feet, lines of dark light interlocking in the clearing.
The array expanded, and in the next instant, a Giant Bird with a wingspan over ten meters emerged from it. The creature was composed entirely of white bones.
A green fire burned steadily within its hollow eye sockets. Its bone wings, which looked as though they leaked air from every gap, still generated terrifying wind pressure as they flapped.
"Everyone, get on," the Wizard commanded.
The Apprentices exchanged glances, completely at a loss when faced with the enormous skeletal creature.
How were they supposed to climb something made of bones?
Lynn cautiously approached the side of a bone wing, preparing to scale the slanted bone surface. The moment he touched it, the bone suddenly squirmed like soft clay, then solidified again, forming a neat series of steps.
Oh. High-tech.
Lynn climbed up onto the Bone Bird's broad back and found a relatively flat spot to sit, although it was still not very comfortable.
Seeing this, the other Apprentices followed his example and quickly took their seats. Once everyone was settled, the white bones moved again, extending bone straps that bound each person firmly in place.
Lynn showed no panic at all.
Contrary to what you might expect he was very familiar with this, It was a seatbelt.
Meanwhile, the Wizard flew directly to the Bone Bird's head, sat cross-legged, and reached out to stroke its skull. The Bone Bird let out a silent shriek, then flapped its wings and shot straight into the sky.
The violent airflow made the Apprentices cry out in alarm, clutching the surrounding bone structures tightly. The Bone Bird flew at an astonishing speed, and Black Marsh City rapidly shrank beneath them.
Lynn had originally planned to build some rapport with the Lord Wizard and ask about the Wizard World during the journey. Unfortunately, the wind was so strong that opening his mouth felt suicidal.
If he opened it, he probably would not be able to close it again.
The others were no better. The normally cute Lillian and composed Aileen were completely disheveled by the wind, their hair blown wildly until they resembled golden-maned lions.
As time passed, the high-altitude cold began to take its toll, and everyone started shivering from the cold.
It seemed the Lord Wizard was not very considerate. Some sort of Energy Shield would have been nice.
Nearly half a day later, they were greeted with a moist, salty sea wind rushing toward them and soon after, a vast blue ocean appeared on the horizon.
The Bone Bird descended and landed directly on a crude coastal dock. An oddly styled sailboat was already moored there, waiting.
The hull was a three-masted vessel assembled from black wood and massive bones, even without any knowledge of the wizard world the untrained eye cold likely tell it was a standard ship of the Dark Faction.
This was the Withered Bone Spire Academy's vessel, the Netherbone.
If this thing sailed the open sea, pirates would likely turn and flee on sight.
It was absolutely terrifying.
Another Gray-Robed Wizard stood silently on the dock, waiting. His presence was completely different from Lord Silu's mysterious style. He did not hide himself behind a hood or mist. He openly displayed his body, radiating extreme confidence.
His face was withered, his skin an unhealthy waxy yellow, and his cheekbones sharply prominent. What stood out most, however, were the non-human components grafted onto him.
His left eye had been entirely removed, replaced by a compound eye that constantly rotated and flashed with cold red light. It resembled the organ of a massive insect, with countless crystalline lenses rotating independently, inspiring instinctive dread.
From the elbow down, his right arm had been replaced with a limb ending in a gleaming bone blade. His close-combat ability was clearly not something to underestimate.
Below the knee, his left leg consisted of four or five dark purple tentacle-like appendages. They looked soft, yet firmly supported his body, occasionally squirming and tapping against the dock.
Black-Robed Wizard Silu exchanged a few words with him, pointing toward Lynn as he spoke, likely briefing him about Lynn's talent. After that, Silu said nothing more. He mounted the Bone Bird once again, transforming into a black streak of light that vanished into the horizon.
He still had other cities to visit for the Recruitment Ceremony.
The Gray-Robed Wizard's compound eye swept over the group of Apprentices who had just climbed down, who were still shivering from the cold. His gaze lingered on Lynn for a moment. The dense crystalline lenses contracted slightly, as if refocusing.
Lynn felt as though every secret he had was being laid bare and his heart tightened.
X-ray vision?
That old man did not take a special interest in me, right?
The Gray-Robed Wizard offered no greetings or pleasantries. In a slightly hoarse voice, he issued a direct command.
"Board the ship."
This Ship of Skeletons was enormous. Many Apprentices from other cities were already aboard, watching the newcomers with curiosity or thinly veiled disdain.
Lynn's group drew particular attention. Lynn himself, dressed in cheap burlap, attracted outright sneers from the richly dressed youths.
Just another lucky poor kid.
The Gray-Robed Wizard clearly understood Lynn's value. He immediately instructed the boatswain, "Take him to the top-floor single cabin."
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere on the ship shifted. Cabins were assigned based on talent.
If he was on the top floor, that meant he was a genius.
Expressions changed instantly. The top-floor cabins were extremely limited, and the Lord Wizard himself stayed there.
Gazes filled with scrutiny, envy, and jealousy locked onto Lynn. For once, he truly experienced what it meant to be examined by countless eyes.
Yet no one dared to step forward and shout that it was unfair.
Fair?
At this point it was obvious this was no ordinary Wizard's ship.
If you wanted fairness here, you had to be very brave.
The other six Apprentices from Black Marsh City, including Mary, subconsciously gathered around Lynn, forming a small group centered on him. In an unfamiliar environment like this, sticking together was instinctive.
Unfortunately, their talent was poor. They could only be assigned to the lowest-level cabins.
Their noble status meant nothing here. On this ship alone were sons of City Lords, children of great nobles, and even an unpopular young prince from the Hesi Kingdom.
Mary tried to follow Lynn toward the top-floor cabin, but was directly refused. Lynn had no intention of dragging this dumb woman along everywhere he went.
With no choice, Mary headed toward the lowest level with the others.
Everyone found their assigned rooms, tidied up briefly, and agreed to meet later on the deck.