I'm Coming Clean

To see the students' true nature, there naturally had to be some kind of trigger.

The trigger arranged by Jungle Home was perhaps the different living quarters.

Desi took a small notebook from his robes. Arrow secretly glanced at it from the side and saw it filled with names. At the very top of the roster was a flamboyant character: "Excellent."

Wasn't that Mother's handiwork just now?

He had not seen Mother give him any register. Could this information be transmitted directly?

"Avar, Marx Shafer, Isha..." After reading out three names, Desi hesitated for a moment before adding, "And Arrow. You four, come over and choose your rooms first."

Arrow hurriedly reminded him, "Big Brother Desi, what about Monli?"

"Him?"

Desi turned back and glanced at the uneasy Monli, explaining, "Don't worry. His hands and feet are inconvenient, and he cannot see. I'll arrange for someone to take care of him later. You few just come with me."

Arrow understood. Monli had already been guaranteed admission, so naturally he did not need to undergo the Death Test. He would be placed somewhere else, somewhere safe.

But upon hearing this, another commotion broke out among the Noble Youths.

They did not fear scarcity; they feared unfairness.

Why was it that all their pitiful pleading had been useless, yet Arrow could casually say a few words and bring a cripple aboard? That cripple even got someone to wait on him?

None of them had anyone to serve them!

"Alright."

Arrow could not be bothered to listen to their gossip. He softly reassured Monli a few times, then turned to follow Wizard Apprentice Desi.

"Excuse me, honorable Mr. Desi."

"My name is Marx Shafer. I am the eldest legitimate son of Earl Sal Shaffer of the Shaffer Family."

The red-haired Noble Youth gave Desi a polite little bow. Beneath his amiable expression, however, he could not hide his own arrogance.

"You called upon two other mud-stompers just now. That, I can barely understand."

"After all, like me, they possess Double Excellent Aptitude. They all have a strong chance of becoming Formal Wizards!"

Arrow might once have found Marx Shafer's mentality difficult to understand, but once he compared it to India in his previous life, he roughly grasped it.

One had to know that in the India of his previous life, the caste system had already been abolished by law. Yet among the people, if someone from a lower caste sat beside someone from a higher caste, they might be held accountable and beaten to death.

Did those so-called "high castes" not know that killing a "low-caste" person would also bring legal punishment?

And that was under circumstances where the law did not support them.

On this island, however, the noble system still had the support of the law!

Many nobles even bore a tangled web of identities, such as "official," "general," "master," and more!

And that was what gave nobles their instinctive contempt for commoners.

The fact that Marx Shafer could keep "Double Excellent Aptitude" on his lips and accept two commoners traveling alongside him truly meant that he had made a tremendous concession in his heart.

Pointing at Arrow, Marx Shafer sharply demanded, "But what about him? Why does he get to walk with me?"

After Desi introduced himself as a Wizard Apprentice, many people's fear of him had lessened considerably.

They knew what wizards were.

It was not as though Nicole had never evaluated them. But Nicole's evaluations had all been things like "a strong chance of becoming a Formal Wizard," "a chance of becoming a Formal Wizard," or "a very small chance of becoming a Formal Wizard."

And as for those with even lower aptitude?

Excuse me, were they worthy of making—Lord Wizard—open her mouth to evaluate them?

So what exactly was a Wizard Apprentice?

Quite a few Wizard Apprentices were indeed hidden away in secret corners throughout the island. In fact, these nobles had come seeking the wizard test precisely because they had seen or heard of those Wizard Apprentices.

But would those Wizard Apprentices introduce themselves by saying they were Wizard Apprentices?

It was like when the Werewolf first met Arrow's parents. His first thought had been: "Wizards."

Because wizard was their profession.

Wizard Apprentice was merely their rank.

Seeing someone voice the dissatisfaction in their hearts, the other Noble Youths all began making a fuss as well.

After all, the law could not punish everyone!

Besides, they were not the ones taking the lead. Even if Lord Wizard blamed someone, it would be the red-haired youth's problem. What did that have to do with innocent, weak nobles like them?

"That's right! He only has one Excellent too, and his Energy Affinity Level is only Second-Class Aptitude. He's about the same as me!"

"When he saw us, not only did he fail to salute us, he even dared take the test ahead of us!"

"And why was his crippled brother allowed aboard? He wasn't even tested!"

Riding the red-haired youth's lead, they seized the chance to speak up and seek benefits for themselves.

"Why should a maid be arranged for that cripple? Why don't we nobles have one? There's something shady going on here—there's definitely something shady going on!"

Arrow boredly picked at his ear.

He roughly counted up their complaints and sorted them into categories.

First, he had not saluted them and had taken the test before them, making them feel they had lost face.

Second, he had spoken up and successfully brought Monli along, while none of them had succeeded no matter how miserably they pleaded.

Then there was the fact that Monli could have Desi arrange someone to attend him. They believed that, as nobles, they deserved attendants even more—preferably maids.

Of course, they were willing to take a few steps back. Desi did not need to arrange anything; they only needed to bring a few maids aboard from outside the ship.

Seeing that Desi did not react, the nobles in the crowd grew bolder and gradually began making threats.

"I heard their conversation earlier. They speak completely differently from us. They're definitely in league with each other! We'll tell Lord Wizard that you're playing favorites and cheating!"

"That's right! I heard it clearly—they're all mud-stompers!"

"I'll definitely tell my family! You'll bring ruin upon everyone in your whole town!"

"You actually dare treat us nobles like this? You're finished!"

The so-called "mud-stompers" was naturally only Arrow's translation. In the Fien Language, it was a contemptuous slur nobles used for commoners, with roughly the same meaning.

Looking at the ever more arrogant nobles, then at the helpless Desi, Arrow sighed inwardly.

He could not quietly watch the show any longer. If he let them keep causing trouble, their evaluations would naturally be low—but his own would certainly not be much better.

After all, a powerful wizard academy would find it difficult to like a weakling.

"Shut up!"

Arrow stepped forward, his eyes fierce as he fearlessly stared at every Noble Youth hiding in the crowd and shouting.

Arrow fought with dozens of boys his own age every day. Why would he fear these Noble Youths who bullied the weak and feared the strong?

"Let me introduce myself first. It'll make it easier for your families to retaliate against me!"

Arrow truly was not afraid of retaliation.

Formal Knights were something the outside world struggled desperately to produce even one of, yet his Grandfather's side already had dozens.

Not to mention that Wendell Wizard Academy sent over some Knight Breakthrough Potions every year, and new knights emerged every year.

Arrow now roughly understood these nobles' mindset as well. No matter what else he said, it would be useless.

Only a "nobler" status could make them submit!

"I had wanted to get along with you as an ordinary person, but what did I get in return?"

"Rejection and alienation!"

At that moment, Arrow, having received Lord Duoyu's cross-realm transmission of power, gave a full performance of what it meant to be outrageously theatrical.

"Hi!"

"I won't hide it anymore. I'm coming clean!"

Arrow spread his hands and turned to face everyone.

"My name is Arrow Garner. I come from the Garner Wizard Family. Any noble family is welcome to come and retaliate against me!"

A wizard family!

The Noble Youths looked at Arrow's clothes, then at the silent Desi, and immediately fell mute.

They had only managed to obtain their path toward wizardry through tremendous good fortune, yet there were actually dedicated wizard families?!

"Oh dear, I nearly forgot."

Arrow deliberately put on a suddenly enlightened expression.

"How could one tiny wizard family be enough? After all, you have so many noble families, don't you?"

"How about this!"

"My tiny Garner Wizard Family belongs to Wendell Wizardry Academy, and Wendell Wizard Academy belongs to Jungle Home."

"Oh, right."

Arrow slapped his forehead in annoyance.

"Look at my memory!"

"Wasn't this ship sent because my family sent word and specifically asked Jungle Home to come pick me up?"

"Isn't that a coincidence?"

"Aren't you all on Jungle Home's ship right now?"

"Hm? What were you saying just now? What were you going to tell Jungle Home's Formal Wizard?"

If the Formal Wizard aboard had been anyone else, Arrow's showboating words might very well have become unbearable enough to earn him some trouble.

Since when could a student from a family of Wizard Apprentices stationed on the island represent Jungle Home?

But who told them that the Formal Wizard's true name happened to be Nicole?

The Recording Magic Array aboard was mainly used to record what happened during the Death Test, and it had not been activated yet. As long as Arrow coordinated with Desi afterward, he would not need to worry about any major problems.

Even if one took ten thousand steps back, not a single thing Arrow had said just now was false.

As for unity?

It was fine. Wasn't Monli still here?

"Our Jungle Home welcomes everyone to join us!"

"Wait. Are some of you perhaps... not very interested in joining us?"

Arrow looked over them one by one. The Noble Youths who had been making a fuss earlier all guiltily lowered their heads and hid within the crowd.

Only the red-haired youth standing at the very front had nowhere left to retreat. He could only grit his teeth and stubbornly say, "If Lord Wizard truly came just to pick you up, then how could we possibly have boarded the ship?"

"That's right."

Arrow said it as though it were only natural. "How great is a Formal Wizard? Although my family sent word, she could not possibly make a special trip just for me alone, could she? That's why she picked you up along the way."

"I think I saw earlier that you're already seventeen?"

Arrow turned back and looked questioningly at the red-haired youth, Marx Shafer.

Marx Shafer remained silent.

"Ah, what a pity for your talent."

Arrow sighed and shook his head.

"The best age to learn wizardry is ten. It just so happens that I've only turned ten this year. By the way, how old are you nobles?"

All the nobles fell silent.

To be the same age as Arrow and also possess enough talent—how much fortune would that require?

"None of you?"

Arrow looked around twice more, then shook his head regretfully and encouraged them, "Although you're not at the best age, it's not as if you have no chance. Work hard!"