Late at night.
"Anna, open the door! What's wrong?"
Arthur had barely cleaned the filth off himself before hurrying to knock on Anna's door in a panic.
He was wrapped in a black robe, its hood pulled low over his face.
Even as Arthur knocked, his eyes darted around, searching for signs of the other Wizard Freshmen.
His wounds had received basic treatment, and he was out of danger. But the missing skin on his face and scalp covered a large area, and the scabs made him look even more frightening.
Arthur stood hunched with his head lowered. As no answer came, fear gave way to agitation and impatience. Any moment now, he might force his way inside.
The door remained shut, but Anna's cool voice finally came through. "Arthur, I think we need to have a proper talk."
"Anna, as long as you'll talk to me and see me, I'll do anything you want."
Arthur answered at once, pressing his cheek to the door as though he could hear more of Anna's voice that way.
This was nothing like the proud Arthur who had once held his chin high.
If the Wizard Freshmen from the Wizard Exchange Meeting saw him now, they would be stunned.
"All right, Arthur. Go back for now. I'm not feeling well tonight. Let's talk on deck the night after tomorrow."
There was a hint of impatience in Anna's voice.
Arthur clearly missed it. He forced a smile. "All right. I won't disturb your rest. Please take care of yourself."
Although the Automated Restaurant had stopped working, plenty of ice remained in its cold storage.
Ryan reckoned the ice he had moved into his room would be lucky to last seven days before melting completely.
He would have to take things as they came. More than ever, he wanted a Wizard Artifact that could store things. Then he wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
Harak tapped carefully on the window with her sharp beak. Once Ryan let her in, she dropped what she had been carrying.
Several White Scale Fish flopped about on the floor, still alive.
The Thorn Sea Beast incident had killed many Wizard Freshmen, leaving a large number of rooms vacant.
Wizard Tuta would not bother with such a trivial matter, so Ryan found a clean, undamaged room to live in.
"Not bad, little one. Looks like that bit of Spiritual Power wasn't wasted."
Ryan stroked Harak's head, then fetched some water and quickly prepared the fish for a late-night meal.
The other Wizard Freshmen were probably still going hungry as they endured the long night.
The new rules would take effect tomorrow, and the Automated Restaurant had no food left. Of course, some freshmen were willing to gnaw on ice to get through the night.
Starting a fire was easy. The room had a fireplace that had long stood cold. Ryan pulled out a few logs and lit them.
He skewered the White Scale Fish on knives and forks. He was a decent hand at grilling fish; the last time he had done it was back when he was still an ordinary person, secretly grilling fish in the Royal Palace...
The flames crackled. Something seemed to come back to Ryan as he watched them reflected in his eyes, and for a moment, he lost himself in thought.
He soon recovered, took the wooden box from inside his clothes, and rubbed its surface while silently grilling the fish.
Splash!
A huge wave surged dozens of meters outward as the Wizard Ship came to a stop with a tremendous commotion. Under the pressure of its internal gears and steam, the hull began to change shape. One side tilted down into the water, allowing people to enter the Endless Sea smoothly from the deck and return to the Wizard Ship along the sloped stairs.
On the first day under the new rules, every Wizard Freshman stood on the deck, eager to try their luck. More than anything, they were desperate for food.
Wizard Tuta did not appear, but everyone obeyed his new rules.
Particle energy had given the freshmen physical abilities beyond ordinary people. Whether they knew how to swim was hardly a question: with their powerful Spiritual Power, they could quickly learn to keep their balance, float, and breathe properly.
Every Wizard Freshman had a physique that would rank among the best of ordinary people.
Splash!
At last, the first Wizard Freshman ventured into the water. The first minute was awkward, but then they moved like a fish, swimming and diving with ease.
One by one, the other Wizard Freshmen followed. A few lucky ones caught several fish almost as soon as they entered the water.
The amount of food they received depended on the size of their catch.
Of course, the rule allowed some leeway. They did not necessarily have to hand their catch over to the Automated Restaurant.
But expecting the Wizard Freshmen to cook and prepare food themselves was another matter. The vast majority would probably hand their catch over to the Automated Restaurant system.
"I wonder if I can catch enough to feed both me and Kobik."
Gray looked miserable as he prepared to enter the water, a Steel Fork in his hand and his hair as messy as ever.
Ryan gave him an encouraging nod, then plunged into the sea himself.
Catching enough food would be easy for him. He was more interested in seeing the life beneath the Endless Sea.
Wizards were always curious, though they remained cautious.
He had never properly observed the Endless Sea before, partly because the Wizard Ship had kept sailing and partly because he had been focused on studying Wizard Knowledge.
With Wizard Tuta aboard the Wizard Ship, no particularly powerful Sea Beasts were likely to appear within a hundred meters—perhaps even a thousand. This was a good opportunity.
The water here was clear enough that Ryan could open his eyes and see creatures swimming through it.
There were Herbivorous Sea Beasts covered in hard shells, Blue Kelp Jellyfish that occasionally drifted around him, and schools of small fish that approached and retreated, each fish bearing tiny wings. Flecks of blue light flashed in Ryan's eyes as he recorded their data one by one. None were Supernatural Lifeforms or posed any threat. They were hardly worth eating, either.
Ryan could withstand roughly ten times the underwater pressure an ordinary person could.
At sixty meters down, he felt the pressure slightly, but it posed no great difficulty. The light around him had dimmed. Looking up, he saw faint arcs of light dancing with the waves on the surface, dreamlike, as if they were rays of hope he might chase.
The marine creatures around him grew larger and more perceptive. Sensing the particle energy emanating from him, they moved away of their own accord.
He descended another twenty meters, reaching a depth of eighty meters. Visibility here was murky. When he looked up, the light from the surface had faded.
Suddenly, Ryan seemed to spot something. He focused his gaze and saw palm-sized fish with reddish markings drifting slowly through the water.
Alert: Supernatural Property detected. Analysis complete: Scarlet Scale Bigfin. A creature between a Supernatural Lifeform and an ordinary animal. Its teeth contain a small amount of Supernatural Toxin, which can pose a serious danger to low-level Wizards.
Ryan's eyes flickered. Perhaps I can
Before you continue