Scorching Fire Element Particles formed out of nothing, then swiftly gathered together.
Crash!
The door shattered completely. The Thorn Sea Beast squeezed through the opening, its four limbs straining as its tremendous strength overturned the bookcase and desk blocking its path.
A foul-smelling liquid dripped from its mouth, mingled with the sickening stench of blood.
The swelling, burning flames were reflected in Arthur's eyes. He roared with excitement, "Die! This is the true power of a wizard. Monster, it's an honor for you to die to wizardry!"
Once torn open, the Parchment Scroll swiftly ignited and dissolved.
Elemental Particle Wizardry—Explosion of Fire—took shape, engulfing everything ahead.
The blast swallowed the room itself, the desk and other furnishings, and the Thorn Sea Beast.
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out. Smoke billowed as the powerful shockwave shattered the walls and swept into the corridor.
"This is the power of a wizard, and it's my power. I'm a genius—a true genius. I'm destined to stand at the pinnacle of wizardry." Leaning against the wall, Arthur surveyed the charred wreckage before him and grinned with wild satisfaction.
"You damned monsters might kill the other newborn wizards, but that's because they're fools with inferior aptitude and status. You could never kill me."
"I'm the strongest."
Hiss!
The smoke grew thicker. The wizardry seemed to have set the cabin interior ablaze, and the heat rose so high that even Arthur narrowed his eyes.
Arthur was certain the monster was dead. Nothing could have survived wizardry that powerful.
Not even a wizard.
A relieved smile touched his lips. But just as he was about to leave the room before it caught fire, a low "grrk" came from within the smoke.
Arthur looked as though he had seen a ghost. He stared in terror as a massive figure slowly rose from the smoke.
It was coming straight for him.
This couldn't be happening.
That was Particle Energy Wizardry, something only a wizard could use. Its power was utterly destructive.
Why wasn't the monster dead?!
The black scales gleamed with strange, lustrous spots that formed a defensive membrane against Elemental Particles. It might not have blocked the Particle Energy Wizardry completely, but it had let the Thorn Sea Beast survive, though gravely wounded.
"Grrk!" The enraged Thorn Sea Beast lunged at Arthur.
"Stay away! Help! Please, have mercy! Don't eat me!"
Arthur screamed in terror, trying to press himself into the wall behind him.
All he could see was the hideous beast growing larger before his eyes, the last of the flames still burning on its body.
"No!!"
His shrill scream echoed throughout the Wizard Ship.
The cup slipped from Anna's hand and struck the floor with a dull sound. Brown-sugar tea spread across the boards and dried, but she did not move.
The room was exceptionally quiet.
Her fiery red hair was smeared with a great deal of unknown filth that reeked of excrement.
It was, in fact, Thorn Sea Beast excrement. To survive, the girl had forced herself to smear it all over her body in the corridor, masking her scent as a wizard despite her revulsion.
Simply covering her scent would have done little against a Thorn Sea Beast.
Wizard Freshmen carried Particle Energy. Within a certain distance, the beasts could sense them as clearly as a blazing beacon in the dark.
Unless the scent declared that the place was already claimed.
Thanks to that trick, nothing had come to Anna's room.
There was no mistaking the voice just now. It was Arthur, who had gone out to look for food. Had he fallen victim too? The other two were probably in dire straits as well.
A hint of regret entered Anna's eyes. With Arthur helping her, she could at least have enjoyed a fair amount of convenience during the voyage.
Then she put the thought aside and waited silently for it all to end.
In that respect, her thinking was much like Ryan's.
No matter how severe this sudden crisis became, it still had to get past Wizard Tuta.
The darkness had appeared unnaturally; wizardry had caused it. If daylight returned, that would mean safety had come.
She did not care whether the others lived or died, not even Arthur, who had been so eager to please her. He was merely a useful helper. Anna was confident she could enter the Umbral Wizard Academy on her own and master Fire Sun Star Wizardry.
Her top-tier Wizard Aptitude was the foundation of that confidence.
Even though Fire Sun Star Wizardry was Mid-level Wizardry normally learned and mastered by Rank 2 Wizard Apprentices.
Ryan spent the entire night on guard. Once he confirmed that Thorn Hearts worked on a Nurtured Creature, he classified them as an important wizard resource.
He repeated his old method, using blood as bait, mapping the beasts in three dimensions with the Eye of Truth, then working with Harak to hunt the Thorn Sea Beasts.
At last, the first rays of sun pierced a gap in the ink-black sky outside his window.
Only then did Ryan's furrowed brow relax. His gaze fell on the desk before him. Foul liquid dripped down its legs onto the floor, while black hearts lay piled together on top. A few still beat faintly, plainly fresh from the beasts.
Resources recorded: Thorn Hearts x8
That was the fruit of Ryan's efforts throughout the night.
Every Thorn Sea Beast aboard the Wizard Ship that he could lure over had ended up here.
The Eye of Truth had determined that Harak could not consume any more Thorn Hearts to undergo further Benign Mutation.
Ryan figured that even if the Thorn Hearts counted as wizard resources, they were probably low-grade ones, within the scope of a First-level Wizard Apprentice.
But the ability to defend against Particle Energy Wizardry was not something ordinary Supernatural Resources possessed. Among low-grade resources, they should be extremely valuable.
They would be useful for Experimental Research or for cultivating his own Nurtured Creature.
Ryan was already imagining selling them for a good price and using the proceeds as his starting capital when he entered the Umbral Wizard Academy.
The only problem was preserving them. He had no proper way to carry them, and keeping the Thorn Hearts fresh and viable would be difficult.
The Umbral Codex recorded that Wizard Artifacts existed in the Wizard World: supernatural tools used by wizards.
Some could store objects in a separate space. Items such as Thorn Hearts would remain almost as fresh as when stored, provided they were not left there too long.
Ryan shook his head. Where was he supposed to find a Storage Wizard Artifact aboard this Wizard Ship?
Once it was fully light, he would go to the Automated Restaurant and get some ice to preserve them.
A dazzling shaft of light cut through the heavy darkness like a sword, as though announcing the arrival of dawn.
The concentrated sunlight fell across the fair cheek of the boy standing by the window. His brow furrowed slightly, and he narrowed his eyes as he gazed out.
Before you continue