Ready (Please Recommend)

The enormous cargo ship sped forward like a red-hot iron knife slicing through butter, leaving a long white trail across the tranquil sea.

Watching the seemingly calm window, Arro tried sticking his head outside.

Boom!

A howling roar abruptly flooded Arro's ears. The violent wind tugged at the skin of his face, making his eyes bulge.

Caught completely unprepared, he was blown senseless by the gale.

Wind rushed into his mouth, making his lips tremble crookedly. The blond hair on his forehead flew wildly, while the short braid at the back of his head was whipped back and forth by the gale, constantly smacking against both cheeks.

Slap, slap, slap...

Who am I?

Where am I?

Why did I stick my head out?

Why was this peaceful wooden ship moving so fast!

This wasn't scientific!

Were they not even bothering with technology now?

Hmm... it did seem pretty wizardly!

Right—why hadn't I pulled my head back in yet?

Cough, cough!

Nothing had happened just now.

After tidying his hair, Arro sat properly and removed the various items he carried. After looking around several times, he found a concealed corner in the room and carefully hid them away.

There were the magic stones his mother had given him for tuition, gold coins for daily expenses, and the strange wooden ball that Teacher Gemma had obtained from Anomaly Space.

Teacher Gemma had once explained that precious items acquired from Anomaly Space were bound to have strange uses. It was simply that Arro had not had the time to study this wooden ball.

Thinking of what he had observed earlier, Arro breathed a sigh of relief.

Rumor had it that the Thunderstorm Sea Area was extremely conspicuous. One could see a black line from far away, but he had not seen anything like that just now.

But—it should be within the next two days.

Although Jungle Home made reserve students undergo a Death Test, they would not have the accompanying wizards act directly, because that would inevitably plant the seeds of hatred.

Therefore, Formal Wizards would first activate the Recording Array on the ship, then leave in advance.

Today, Nicole had openly and honestly circled through the sky a few times before flying away directly.

Yet Arro knew there would be no danger yet, because Nicole would wait until the ship crossed the Thunderstorm Sea Area before bringing about the dangers of the trial.

The Thunderstorm Sea Area was packed with thunderclouds and rain. The light was dim, the waves surged violently, and the ship's speed would inevitably be slow.

Moreover, after rolling around in dark rooms for several days, any student would surely long for sunlight. Once the ship sailed out of the Thunderstorm Sea Area and into the sunshine, coupled with the Expulsion Array Nicole had left behind, every student would subconsciously head for the deck.

At that time, the cargo ship would not yet have picked up speed. That would be the best time to strike.

Battle was about to come. He needed to make preparations in advance.

First, he naturally needed to prepare bandages. On one hand, they would prevent injuries and stop bleeding at critical moments. On the other, they would be used to wrap his legs and hands.

After all, there would definitely be many enemies. If he did not prepare leg wraps, blood would pool during prolonged combat, accelerating fatigue in his legs. In severe cases, it could even cause varicose veins and affect his ability to fight.

Hand wraps served a similar purpose to leg wraps.

In addition, they stabilized the wrists and prevented sprains.

Bandages wrapped around the palms could also secure the Knight's Longsword, preventing blood and grease from getting on his hands and causing the sword to slip free.

These were all combat experiences taught by the Achilles Knights.

As for bandages, Arro had long possessed some—custom-made by Knight Cabir. All he needed to do now was wrap them on step by step.

As he bound himself, Arro considered how to allocate his system skill points.

Blades and spears had no eyes. Even though Teacher Gemma was still aboard, if he truly entered close combat with the enemy, she might not be able to react in time.

What was more, if she acted, his trial this time would be considered a failure, and he would lose his normal means of entering the Wizard Academy.

The greatest purpose of gold coins was to be spent. If they were not used, no matter how many there were, they were merely symbols of wealth. If they were never spent, they were just a pile of trash taking up space.

Skill points were the same. They might be important, and perhaps he would discover better uses for them in the future, but he was about to face the first major test of his life. There was no need to keep pinching pennies and saving them.

If he was going to do it, he would do it properly. He had fifteen skill points in total. He would keep three in reserve, just in case, and use all the rest.

That way, even if he ultimately failed, he would have no regrets!

His current attributes were Strength 4, Agility 8, Nerve Reflex 12, Endurance 8, and Constitution 6.

When activating the Master Level 'Cat Form Fist—Dash' skill, the amount of information coming in from his surroundings was too great. Nerve Reflex 12 alone was insufficient to fully utilize the information-gathering ability of 'Cat Form Fist—Dash.'

Furthermore, even after he learned wizardry, Nerve Reflex would remain a key factor in battle. It would definitely be his primary attribute for adding points.

Next came Agility.

The Agility Attribute was, in fact, the speed at which muscular strength was converted.

For example, while running, the higher one's Agility Attribute, the faster the leg muscles could alternate, increasing the frequency of the legs.

His Endurance was more or less sufficient. What remained was whether he should make up for his deficient attribute—Strength.

Or increase Constitution to strengthen his resistance to blunt attacks and his recovery ability after being injured.

If he was merely injured, then as long as he waited until the battle was over and the Recording Array was deactivated, his mother certainly would not stand by and do nothing. With a Formal Wizard like her taking action, did he really need to fear injury?

Arranging it this way, the attributes he needed to add points to were Nerve Reflex, Agility, and Strength.

He would first add most of his points to Nerve Reflex. It was an attribute that could never be a loss.

With that thought, Arro deliberated for a long while before issuing a command in his mind.

I'll work hard myself!

System, add points for me!

Nerve Reflex: 12+6

"Ugh!"

An intense electric shock rapidly spread through his entire body. Arro collapsed directly to the floor, every muscle trembling without end, as though countless tiny ants were crawling and spreading through his sinews and even his bone marrow.

Fortunately, the sensation came quickly and left quickly. A moment later, Arro propped himself up with trembling hands and lay down on the bed.

That had been too rash!

When he was five, adding only one point had caused goosebumps to rise all over his body. Though his good fortune had allowed 'Cat Form Fist—Dash' to break through to Master Level, it also showed that adding points brought certain changes to his body.

Perhaps his neurons were proliferating?

Arro buried this guess deep in his heart. Now was not the time to study such things.

His heart was filled with relief. Good thing he had added points in advance. If he had added them during battle, would he not have been left lying on the ground waiting to die?

Still, he needed to remember this lesson in the future. Better to add points one at a time than try to become fat with one bite.

He lay on the bed for a long time. After the numb, itchy feeling throughout his body faded, Arro rested a while longer before finally getting up again.

He looked up at the clouds outside the window and focused slightly. He immediately felt the drifting clouds slow dramatically, carrying a faint taste of 'Bullet Time.' Of course, it could only be called an extremely weakened version of 'Bullet Time,' but fortunately, it could be used for a long time.

However, the sudden shift in vision made Arro's senses uncomfortable as well. His body had not adapted to the feeling, and within moments, he began to feel dizzy.

It seemed that after he finished adding points, he would need to make good use of these safe days to train on the deck.

Thinking this, Arro issued another command in his mind.

I'll work hard!

System, add points for me!

Agility 8+1

"Whew!"

It was like having a basin of comfortably warm water poured over him when his entire body was freezing, or receiving a full-body massage after soaking in a hot spring. Every muscle in Arro's body felt so comfortable that it went limp.

Was this what adding points to Agility felt like?

Had it increased the speed of muscle contraction?

Arro narrowed his eyes slightly, enjoying the wonderful sensation while guessing what had caused it.

Only after the comfortable feeling had completely faded did Arro repeatedly add points.

Agility 9+1

Agility 10+1

...

Agility 12

He had added a total of four points to Agility.

Looking at the five remaining skill points, aside from the three he was keeping in reserve, he still had two skill points available to allocate.

Work hard!

System, add points for me!

Strength 4+1, Strength 5+1

Invisible strength rapidly flooded into every muscle in his body. Arro could see with his naked eye that his muscles had expanded by a small circle. The sudden surge in strength also filled him with an inexplicable restless impulse, giving him the illusion that he could smash everything to pieces with his fists.

This was a feeling he had never experienced from adding points to any other attribute. The increase in Strength was truly intoxicating.

However, the clearly written 'Strength 6' on the System Panel quickly sobered Arro up.

His Nerve Reflex was nearly twenty, yet it had not made him overwhelmingly powerful. With Strength 6, he wanted to smash everything apart?

He was probably dreaming nonsense.

After finishing the additions, Arro moved around a little. Once he felt no obstruction in his movements, he draped the gray-black apprentice robe back over his body, whose limbs were wrapped in bandages, picked up his Knight's Longsword, and left the room.

He needed to adapt to his current body, as well as to the feeling of sprinting and slashing on the deck. He even needed to observe the deck's layout—see where was suitable for climbing, where he could maneuver and harass the enemy, and what positions could buy him time.

He also had to prepare for the worst, observing where on this enormous ship it would be convenient to jump into the sea and making preparations in advance.

When he passed Isha's door, Arro deliberately pricked up his ears. Upon hearing faint but rhythmic breathing from inside, the stone in his heart settled somewhat.

It seemed that the saltwater he had asked the other crew members to prepare had been delivered. For the time being, she did not need to worry about dying of dehydration.

Given her current condition, when the Death Test truly came, she might not even have the strength to get up. Perhaps she could escape disaster simply by sleeping in her room.

Looking at it this way, her tendency toward seasickness might actually be a good thing.

With that thought, a faint smile appeared on Arro's face, and his footsteps became a little lighter.

He did not consider himself a good person, but under circumstances permitted by the enforced rules, he was happy enough to save the life of a young maiden with a small act of kindness.

Was Isha not only eleven years old as well?

There was a great chance that she could become a Formal Wizard in the future. The good fruit he planted today might perhaps yield enormous rewards someday.

It was already Monday. Brothers and sisters, please raise your noble little hands and tap the recommendation vote~

Rolling all over the floor, begging for recommendation votes~~~