After the conversation, Richard and Ali grew much closer.
After that, Richard would practice Wizard Language with Ali during the day and meditate at night.
Although Richard had memorized Wizard Language due to refining, he still needed practice to apply it efficiently.
In this way, the time had come to the fifteenth day of Richard entering the Flying Airship.
The Flying Airship occasionally decelerated during flight, and the wizards on board would take this time to inspect and maintain the airship.
During this time, the apprentices on the flying airship could move freely.
"Richard! I connected to the Sea of Souls last night."
Early in the morning, Ali excitedly shared her progress, patting Richard's bed.
Ali's talent was not considered good, her spiritual power only being twelve points. What Richard had managed in a short while took her seven full days to complete.
But this was still worthy of praise.
According to the books, many preparatory apprentices needed meditation incense and Magic Potion to aid their first connection to the Sea of Souls. Ali's achievement of connecting in seven days was considered average at the Academy.
Whereas apprentices like Richard, who connected on their first meditation, were rated excellent at the Academy.
Above him was another level, those born connected to the Sea of Souls, inherently having a spiritual power of twenty points—born Wizard Apprentices.
However, such apprentices were few and far between in the history of the Academy, most often appearing among the Wizard Descendants.
"Congratulations, congratulations! Big Sister Ali has finally become a Wizard Apprentice."
Richard, yawning, sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes to express his congratulations.
"It looks like I'll have to rely on Big Sister Ali for this exam."
Hearing this, Ali was exceedingly proud.
"Don't worry, Big Sister has got you covered for this exam."
There was a knock on the door and when Ali opened it, for some reason, the puppet that delivered breakfast had come earlier today.
"Room 225, breakfast for two. Today the airship is undergoing maintenance, and the apprentices may move freely."
The puppet's voice remained odd, but the message it brought made Ali's smile vanish abruptly.
"Free movement?" Ali asked.
The puppet didn't respond and mechanically pushed its cart to the next room.
Ali closed the door, her face turning quite grim as if she were about to cry.
"It's over, it's over, it's over. I just connected to the Sea of Souls, and my Magic Rebound hasn't been established yet, this this this..."
Ali paced anxiously around the room, and Richard was curious about her reaction.
"Isn't free movement a good thing? After being in the room for so many days, don't you want to go out for a walk?"
He had been on the airship for half a month now, staying in one room the whole time, feeling as if his joints were going to rust.
"You don't understand, if we can move freely, those bastards will be able to come out."
Ali's expression looked like she was about to cry, frantically telling Richard about the events on the airship before he had boarded.
Richard, stroking his chin, looked somewhat intrigued.
Did he really appear this weak when he boarded the airship?
"You better stay in your room then. I'll go out for a walk."
Richard swung out of bed and quickly finished his breakfast.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt a lot stronger after connecting to the Sea of Souls. His thin body, long malnourished, seemed to have gained some muscles.
Could it be that the wizard's food contained supplements?
"Hey! I've been teaching you Wizard Language these days, can't you help out and not go out?"
Seeing Richard about to leave, Ali looked like a cat whose fur had been ruffled.
Richard casually waved his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going out there shouting about having a beautiful female roommate. You stay quiet, and those bastards can't just barge in, can they?"
The space on the airship was not small. Besides the cabins where they lived, the rear end of the airship had an observation deck spanning dozens of square meters.
This cabin was usually reserved for wizards, but since the airship was undergoing maintenance today, apprentices could also enter to enjoy the scenery.
Richard stood by the window, staring at the boundless sea of clouds, feeling exhilarated.
The walls of the observation cabin, made of a glass-like material, allowed an unobstructed view of the clouds outside the airship.
Soon, the observation cabin was full of apprentices, some nobles, and some commoners, each forming their own circles.
Though no one was forcibly separated, the distinction between the groups was clear.
Beside Richard, a group of nobles secretly exchanged their private information.
To prevent the commoners from eavesdropping, they even spoke in Wizard Language.
"Are you sure, Emily? Did your brother really connect to the Sea of Souls?" a blond Noble asked.
"Of course, would my brother lie to me?"
Across from the blond Noble, a girl with the same hair color and a face full of freckles retorted with spirit.
Emily's words caused a stir among the Nobles, all of whom were studying "How to Become a Wizard Apprentice," but very few had actually succeeded.
For the vast majority, without the aid of meditation incense and Magic Potions, connecting to the Sea of Souls was as difficult as climbing to heaven.
"Speaking of which, didn't the Medici hire a Wizard to teach them? How are they doing? That's ten Magic Stones."
"Ten Magic Stones?" Some Nobles, unaware of the news, were shocked.
"The Medici family really is wealthy, those Magic Stones if converted to Gold Coins would probably be worth a hundred thousand Gold Coins."
"The Kingdom's annual tax revenue is only five hundred thousand Gold Coins, the Medici family is truly as rich as a nation."
"But I heard they didn't make it. Although the Wizard taught them, there was no meditation incense or Magic Potion on the Flying Airship. Without those aids, they are just like us."
"That's just wonderful." someone said, delighting in the misfortune of others.
The gap between a Knight and a Wizard Apprentice is no less than that between the unarmed and the armed.
Having one less Wizard Apprentice is like having one less Predator, which is great news.
Richard listened on the side, pretending not to understand anything.
These arrogant Nobles believed that people like him, the lowly ones, couldn't possibly understand Wizard Language and spoke without any restraint.
This was a delight for Richard to overhear.
But just then, a scream echoed from a nearby cabin.
"Tsk tsk, the Black Bear Gang is at it again," a Noble clicked his tongue.
"The pretty low-borns on board have probably all been toyed with by now," another Noble joined in.
"These low-borns are really beasts, can't even keep it in their pants."
The freckled girl named Emily covered her nose and mouth as if she could smell the foul stench of the Black Bear Gang members.
Nevertheless, despite all the talk, none of the Nobles moved to act, to administer some justice.
Dog eats dog among the low-borns, what does it have to do with them, the Nobles.
The woman's scream came again, but this time the voice sounded eerily familiar.
Richard realized something was wrong and quickly left the viewing cabin.
That seemed to be Ali's voice.
The viewing cabin was not far from room 225, so as soon as he exited, Richard saw a man with a muscular body and a scar on his face banging on room 225's door.
Beside him were a few loafers cheering him on, who, although not as strong as the scar-faced man, were considered burly among the commoners.
"Woman, you better open up quickly! Or else you'll have it coming."
"Yeah, this time we might be gentle, but once the boss breaks down the door, you'll be struggling to close your legs."
The loafers yelled loudly outside the door, while inside, Ali desperately blocked the door with a table.
The rooms on the Flying Airship had only a simple latch, and without blocking the door, a strong man could break in with just a couple of hits.
"Ali, you fool, what were you thinking looking outside?" Ali gritted her teeth as she blocked the door, berating herself.
Shortly after Richard left, Ali couldn't bear staying inside any longer. Being young, who would want to stay locked in a room?
So she opened the door slightly to peek outside, thinking to quickly check the viewing cabin if no one was around.
But as soon as she opened the door, she encountered the members of the Black Bear Gang looking for women to vent their desire.
The Black Bear Gang members, desperate for a woman, saw such a beauty peering out from her room and instinctively reacted, rushing towards Ali.
This led to the scene just witnessed.
Along with the sound of wood breaking, the latch of room 225 was completely knocked open.
Ali's heart sank with the sound, without a latch, she couldn't possibly hold those men back.
But oddly, after a while, she didn't hear anyone enter. Instead, she heard several screams and groans of pain.
Could it be that a Wizard had intervened?
Ali stepped out from behind the table and peered through the crack of the door.
She saw members of the Black Bear Gang lying on the floor, while a thin figure was stepping on the face of the Black Bear Gang's leader.
All the while cursing,
"Fucking fag, fucking fag, banging on my door, harassing my roommate and daring to hit on me!"