Matthew

"It worked—someone succeeded."

"It's an Astral Star. The first Astral Star has successfully condensed."

"Who? Who was it?"

"Who else could it be? The commotion came from Class Leader Matthew's room."

"Gods! How long has it been? Not even half a day, right?"

"Lord Matthew's talent is truly astonishing. No wonder the wizard took a liking to him."

Noisy discussion, astonished exclamations, and incredulous cries mixed with footsteps, surging like a raging tide toward Matthew's room, the source of the sound.

That room was also on the lower deck, but it sat somewhat higher up, closer to the stairs. Even the moldy smell seemed just a trace fainter.

Li Ang pushed open his creaking, broken wooden door. A foul stench of sweat and rot rushed into his face, choking another suppressed bout of coughing from him.

He braced himself against the damp, icy bulkhead and looked up.

The narrow passageway was already packed so tightly with excited people that not even water could pass through.

Everyone craned their necks, their burning gazes fixed upon the door that had just opened.

Matthew slowly emerged from within.

His face still bore the pallor of excessive concentration, but his eyes shone with startling brightness, blazing with unprecedented, almost fanatical pride and arrogance.

He raised his chin slightly and swept his gaze over the crowd clustering around him. The corners of his mouth tugged upward uncontrollably into a smug curve.

"Lord Matthew, you succeeded."

"Congratulations to the Class Leader on condensing your first Astral Star."

"Class Leader, your peerless talent truly lives up to its name."

"Please look after us more in the future, Class Leader."

Kavi's burly frame shoved through the crowd like an iron tower. He was the first to rush before Matthew, his face piled with a fawning smile so thick it was nearly twisted. His booming voice sounded as if he were shouting orders on deck.

"Big Brother... no, Class Leader! You're incredible. I knew you'd be the first to succeed. You've brought honor to our Carlson Family."

He deliberately emphasized the words "Carlson Family," while his gaze swept meaningfully over Li Ang's pale face at the back of the crowd.

Matthew nodded reservedly, savoring the pleasure of being surrounded by stars.

He deliberately raised his right hand, spreading his fingers slightly, as though he were still relishing the wondrous sensation brought by that newborn Astral Star in his mental world, one that contained a faint trace of magic.

That posture made it seem as though he had already grasped the key to the wizard's path.

"It's only the first Astral Star. Hardly worth mentioning."

Matthew's voice was not loud, yet it clearly drowned out the surrounding clamor, carrying a deliberate nonchalance.

"Lord Selenst taught me well. I was merely lucky enough to take the first step. If everyone meditates diligently, you can succeed too."

His gaze swept across the crowd. Beneath that "encouragement" lay an entirely undisguised sense of superiority.

At last, his eyes passed over the bobbing heads and landed precisely on Li Ang at the end of the passage.

Li Ang was leaning against the bulkhead, his back slightly bent as he fought to suppress his coughing. His thin frame appeared especially frail in the dim light.

A cruel smile crept onto Matthew's lips.

He pushed aside the people still lavishing praise upon him and strode toward Li Ang with Kavi and his followers, like a victorious general returning to inspect his territory.

The crowded passageway automatically parted for him. Everyone held their breath and watched, the air thick with the excitement of people waiting to see a good show.

"Well, well."

Matthew stopped before Li Ang and looked down at him from above. He drew out his voice, brimming with undisguised malice and mockery.

"Isn't this our noble young master of the Carlson Family? Why are you hiding here all alone? Don't tell me... you condensed an Astral Star too and wanted to discuss it with us?"

Kavi immediately burst into a coarse laugh behind him.

"Ha ha ha! Class Leader, you think too highly of him. With that sickly ghost's body, he coughs for ages after taking two breaths of our 'fine' air. He wants to focus enough to meditate? Dream on! I bet he can't even imagine what a Mental Core looks like."

The apprentice candidates around them also let out suppressed chuckles and whispered among themselves.

Though they were all minor nobles like Li Ang, and should have sided with a fellow noble, the current situation made most of them choose to kick the low and flatter the high, reveling in the pleasure of the moment.

Li Ang covered his mouth as another heart-rending fit of coughing seized him. The pain in his lungs darkened his vision, and fine cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He raised his eyes and met Matthew's gaze, those eyes plainly declaring, "You're finished." Breathing weakly, he said nothing.

Matthew seemed to thoroughly enjoy Li Ang's miserable struggle.

He bent slightly and leaned close to Li Ang's ear, whispering word by word in a voice only the two of them could barely hear. "Young Master Li Ang, how does it feel?"

"Is the moldy bottom deck of this ship much more 'comfortable' than your flower-scented bedroom at home? Did you think you were still that lofty young master? Wake up! Look around—who rules the lower deck of this ship now? Who deserves to have a future?"

He straightened up, and his voice abruptly rose, carrying the proclamation of a victor as it rang through the passageway. "The opportunity your father traded his entire fortune for ended up fulfilling us brothers instead! Do you know what that means?"

"The Carlson Family is finished. And you—you useless trash—aren't even qualified to set foot on the stairs of the wizard tower! In half a month, crawl back to that shabby little country estate of yours like a homeless cur and wait to die."

Those venomous words were like poisoned daggers, stabbing viciously into Li Ang.

Matthew watched Li Ang's body tremble faintly with rage and illness, and a twisted thrill surged through him.

He wanted to crush Li Ang's last shred of dignity beneath his heel.

He smugly raised his hand, seemingly intending to slap Li Ang again and utterly humiliate this former young master.

A flicker of resolve flashed through Li Ang's eyes. He no longer suppressed it, allowing the deadly itch deep in his throat to erupt completely. He began coughing violently, his body hunching over in agony.

Yet at the same time, his entire mind instantly focused deep within his consciousness, forming the most direct connection with the three [Gale-Sailing Canvas] high atop the mast.

His will issued an invisible command.

"Move!"

A howling gale sprang into existence around the [Gale-Sailing Canvas] out of thin air.

The enormous wizard ship lurched violently to the right as though an invisible deep-sea behemoth had rammed it with brutal force. The tilt was far greater than during Li Ang's earlier test.

"Ah!"

"What's happening?"

"The ship is capsizing!"

Cries of alarm and screams instantly replaced every previous laugh and compliment, exploding through the narrow passageway.

The unprepared crowd toppled like wheat stalks swept by a gale, sprawling in all directions and rolling into a heap.

Matthew, who had been raising his hand and leaning forward to deliver the final blow to Li Ang, bore the brunt of it. The triumphant sneer on his face was instantly replaced by utter terror.