Not Going Out—That's Right, I'm Not Going Out

Huh? Strange. I'd poisoned all the apprentices to death, so how could I still have neighbors?

Instructor Gray lived in the main cabin, so he shouldn't have been next door to me.

"Click."

Ahab pushed the diary behind him and twisted the cabin door handle.

Before his hind leg could step over the threshold, Ahab's head had already poked out. He looked right first, then quickly turned left.

He finally spotted his target.

On the left side of the same corridor as his cabin, a heavy metal cabin door had just been opened.

A silver-haired girl with blue eyes pouted as she struggled to push the door shut, then prepared to lock it.

Apparently hearing movement nearby, they both looked at each other at the same time.

At that moment, Ahab understood his mistake.

Yesterday morning, when they had been lining up for aptitude testing, this girl had been standing not far ahead of him.

Gray had even praised her then, saying she possessed the best possible innate aptitude and would have her own private room and washroom aboard the ship.

Yet he had not seen her at last night's freshmen banquet.

Which naturally meant he had not coaxed her into drinking poisoned wine!

They had stood so close together in line, yet he had overlooked her just like that.

It was his negligence. He had to admit his mistake!

And on this entire Ferry Ship, she was the one who most deserved to be poisoned to death.

Why had he taken the risk of poisoning so many apprentices? Wasn't it so he could obtain more resources?

The highest innate aptitude... With this person around, he would forever be stuck picking over whatever she had rejected!

Still, perhaps there was a chance to remedy this?

Ahab put on a gentle smile, like a warm breeze in late spring.

His expression switched to battle mode in an instant.

"Hello, beautiful miss. I'm Ahab Gul. Judging by the situation, we'll be neighbors aboard the ship."

However, her reaction far exceeded Ahab's expectations.

"Tolia!"

Tolia tossed out her name, then trembled all over as she yanked open the heavy cabin door. No one knew how such a tiny body could unleash so much strength.

In less than a breath, she had hidden inside her cabin.

Then came the sound of the room being locked from within.

"Alert, huh? Looks like Gray warned her."

Ahab was not discouraged. There was an old saying on Blue Star: it was not thieves breaking in that people feared, but thieves setting their sights on them.

A competitor he had resolved to eliminate would not live much longer.

Inside the cabin, Tolia checked three times to make absolutely certain the door was locked before turning around and pressing her back against it, panting heavily.

She was only one and a half meters tall, not even half the height of the cabin door.

Just as Ahab had guessed, Gray had warned the two remaining apprentices on the ship.

The process had been simple. He took out the crystal ball used to monitor the ship and showed the two of them the recording from last night's dining cabin.

After a few pointers from Instructor Gray, Tolia had already made plans for the period ahead.

Keep a low profile. Stay alive!

The crystal ball was small, so the image it displayed naturally was not very large. Yet Tolia still clearly remembered the moment Ahab Gul had raised his cup.

Those innocent eyes, that harmless expression, those naïve words:

"I really just want to be friends with everyone!"

Then he casually sent everyone off to meet the Ancestor of the Wizard World.

At the time, Tolia's sapphire-like eyes had spun a few times before she understood one thing.

She was absolutely no match for this guy!

This Ahab Gul was not only sinister and cunning, ruthless and merciless, but also shameless beyond belief.

The only area where she surpassed Ahab was her higher wizard aptitude.

But aptitude advantages required time to reveal themselves.

When everyone's cultivation was still low, the suppression from aptitude was not yet that strong.

But Ahab Gul's viciousness and cunning were completely real!

Tolia decided that she absolutely could not clash with him. She had to avoid him.

Whatever he wanted, she would give it to him. Whatever he wanted to compete for, she would be the first to withdraw.

Absolutely, absolutely do not oppose Ahab Gul!

Just reviewing it like that had already covered Little Potato Tolia's head in tiny pearls of sweat.

Not going out. That's right, I'm not going out...

"All apprentices, assemble immediately!"

Instructor Gray's voice somehow echoed beside her ears.

Tolia: (っ°Д°;)っ!!!

Her challenge to avoid leaving the ship before it docked had failed on the very first day.

Tolia stood on tiptoe, turned around, unlocked the door with careful movements, and pushed it open a crack.

Then she breathed a sigh of relief.

Instructor Gray was already standing in the corridor.

Behind Gray stood two of the ship's only three remaining apprentices. One was the shameless and deeply sinful Ahab.

The other was Bill, a blond man nearly one point nine meters tall.

Bill had 13 Spiritual Power and fourth-grade meditation talent. His aptitude was a level below Tolia's, but it was still the second-best on the ship.

For that very reason, Bill and Tolia had eaten and lived separately according to the rules, avoiding the banquet and temporarily escaping death.

However, Bill, who stood one point nine meters tall, came from a knightly family, and possessed a muscular build, did not think he had merely escaped with his life.

Once all three apprentices had arrived, Gray secretly felt heartbroken for a second before pretending nothing was wrong.

"I gathered all the apprentices today to test your elemental affinities and distribute Meditation Methods accordingly..."

The more Gray spoke, the worse he felt. He had said these words five times before, each time to thirty or forty people.

Now, when he said them again, he was addressing only these three.

Nascent Ahab Gul—and yet his teacher had ordered him to train the boy into a Demon Hunter Wizard. He could not kill him!

"It's no different from the aptitude test. Put your hand on the crystal ball!"

This time, Gray took out a pure white crystal ball, so transparent it looked as though it had been made entirely of glass.

The blond and muscular Bill slapped his chest and strode forward. One of his huge hands alone covered ninety percent of the crystal ball's surface.

The crystal ball trembled for a moment before shining with scarlet-orange light.

"High fire elemental affinity, medium wind elemental affinity. I'll give you a Basic Fire Element Meditation Method."

Gray reached behind his waist again, pulled out a booklet of around twenty pages, and handed it to blond Bill.

Ahab noticed something. Every time Gray took something out, he merely reached behind his waist and found it.

But Gray's waist was flat. It did not look like it could hold so much.

Was it the legendary extraordinary storage device?

After blond Bill accepted the booklet, Gray signaled Tolia with his eyes to come forward for testing.

Tolia waved her hand with a fawning smile, then gestured toward Ahab Gul, indicating that he should go first.

If this scene were drawn in a comic, there would definitely be a close-up sweat drop on Tolia's forehead.

Ahab did not stand on ceremony. He stepped forward and placed both hands on the crystal ball.

The crystal ball displayed deep blue, pale blue, and blackish-gray lights intertwined together.

"Low water elemental affinity, low ice elemental affinity, low dark elemental affinity..."

After saying that, Gray silently added in his heart:

Just as expected of you, Nascent. Even the elements you're attuned to are so gloomy.

Ahab bowed and said respectfully, "Instructor Gray, I would like an Ice-Type Meditation Method."

After their brief encounter, Tolia had hidden in her cabin, but Ahab had naturally not been idle either.

He had returned to his room and read a few more pages of the Future Diary.

The diary explicitly said that it would have been better if he had chosen the Ice-Type Meditation Method back then.

Finally, Tolia stepped forward. She had high wind elemental affinity and received a Wind-Type Meditation Method.

"From now on, each of you will practice your Meditation Method, construct your Meditation Rune as quickly as possible, and..."

Instructor Gray paused with a troubled expression before saying, "The first person to master their Meditation Method will be appointed group leader. The second and third will be deputy group leaders."

"Ordinary apprentices at the academy receive a monthly allowance of three Magic Stones. Group leaders and deputy group leaders receive ten and seven Magic Stones respectively."

The more Gray spoke, the darker his expression became.

In the past, this would have been the first major competition among freshmen.

But now, he had only three apprentices under him in total, and each of them was guaranteed at least a deputy group leader position.

What was the point of competing? It was all that damned Ahab Gul's fault!

After Instructor Gray finished explaining, Tolia did not hesitate at all. Right there on the spot, she held her Meditation Method in both hands and bent her slender waist toward Ahab Gul.

"I-I won't compete for group leader. I'll let you keep my Meditation Method for me first."

"Once a group leader has been chosen, I'll start studying it."

Tolia lowered her head deeply, staring straight at the tips of her shoes.

She had long since figured out how she would survive from now on:

Whatever Ahab Gul wanted, she would give it to him.

Whatever Ahab Gul wanted to compete for, she would withdraw immediately.

She absolutely would not clash with Ahab Gul. She could not beat him!

Little Potato Tolia felt that her awareness was exceptionally high.

However, some people did not see it that way.