Periodic Assessment

Kavi lay on the floor strewn with mold spots and wood chips, twitching futilely like a fish out of water.

Every breath came with tearing pain deep in his chest and involuntary, rasping gasps.

The brute strength he had always been so proud of appeared unbearably fragile before invisible magical power.

Without Matthew and Kavi's angry shouts, the corridor was exceptionally quiet, making Li Ang's coughing all the more distinct.

Yet Matthew no longer dared to make any rash moves or underestimate the sickly wretch still coughing before him.

The reason it was so quiet was that the other probationary apprentices had heard Matthew smashing at the door and were now hiding fearfully in their rooms, not daring to make a sound.

Matthew's swollen lips trembled. Cold air entered through the gap left by his missing front tooth, producing a whistling hiss.

"Y-you..." His throat tightened, and his breathy syllables came out broken and tuneless. Fear coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, squeezing so hard he could barely breathe.

That invisible force that had erupted with a mere lift of Li Ang's hand... that was absolutely not something an ordinary person could possess! Could it have been... magic? Had he learned a spell? How was that possible for a sickly invalid?

At that moment, the creak of a door opening interrupted Matthew's thoughts.

"Kavi... Kavi!" Matthew abruptly came to his senses at the sound, his voice sharp and distorted with fear.

He did not dare meet Li Ang's eyes again. Almost crawling and scrambling, he lunged toward Kavi's twitching body on the floor and tried to drag him up with all his strength.

Kavi's burly body was now as heavy as a stubborn boulder. Matthew strained with every ounce of strength he had before barely managing to sling one of Kavi's arms around his own neck and drag him toward the other end of the corridor.

He did not dare look back, and every step was a panicked stagger.

Li Ang's icy gaze and the sight of Kavi being sent flying in an instant had branded themselves into his mind, replacing all his smugness and arrogance.

Only one thought screamed madly through his mind: Leave. Right now. Immediately.

As for revenge? Showing off? They had both been utterly crushed beneath that bottomless fear.

He did not even dare think about whether Li Ang had truly learned magic. The thought alone was enough to make his soul shudder.

If Lord Selenst found out that a sickly waste he considered worthless had condensed an Astral Star and successfully cast a spell in just a few days without anyone's guidance... would Matthew still be able to keep his position as class leader?

Would Li Ang replace him? Or even... settle accounts with him?

No, absolutely no one could be allowed to find out.

Especially Lord Selenst. It had to be hidden, and Kavi had to keep his mouth shut.

Matthew dragged Kavi's heavy body back toward their room, staggering through the narrow, damp corridor.

Li Ang watched the two fleeing figures disappear, then covered his mouth and coughed a few more times.

"Are you all right?" Helena emerged from her room with a worried look. She came to Li Ang's side and gently patted his back, hoping to ease some of his pain.

"I-I'm sorry... but I was just too scared." Helena's voice was full of guilt, and she lowered her head, not daring to look Li Ang in the eyes.

Li Ang patted Helena on the shoulder and joked with a smile:

"Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do anything wrong. If anything, you're pretty brave. You still dared to come out and join the excitement in a situation like that?"

"I wasn't out here to watch the excitement," Helena retorted with some annoyance.

After chatting a while longer, they each returned to their rooms.

Back in his room, Li Ang lay on his pile of straw and recalled the burst of Breeze Technique from earlier. It had clearly been far stronger than the spell should have been.

It seemed that within the effective range of the Gale-Sailing Canvas, his wind-element spells could receive a substantial boost.

He had no interest in chasing after them, much less in reporting his "victory" to that temperamental supervising wizard.

Showing off was something weak people did. It would only attract unnecessary attention and trouble.

Matthew's pitiful little authority had long since ceased to matter in Li Ang's eyes.

His goal had never been the lower decks of this ship.

He sat cross-legged again and closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into the Mental World. The cyan Magic Starlet, like a newborn star, slowly revolved through the void, drawing in the rich wind-element mana around it and working to recover what it had expended earlier.

After ending his meditation, he did not open the Level-0 Spell Compendium to try learning another water-element spell. With the Wind-Sail Domain's enhancement, continuing to consolidate his wind-element magic was the best choice for him right now.

He began practicing Breeze Technique over and over again.

He no longer pursued explosive power in an instant, instead focusing on precision of control, managing mana consumption, and pushing casting speed to its limit.

He made a current of air flow silently along the corners of the walls, sweeping away every trace of mold dust.

He formed a steady, gentle circulation of air in the room, like an invisible purifying barrier.

He tried compressing the breeze gathered by "convergence" into a smaller point, creating a faint impact.

He tried making the range of "dispersal" more precise, targeting only a particular odor molecule...

With every practice session and meditation, the Astral Star in his Mental World became more solid amid its faint flickers, while his perception and guidance of wind-element mana grew increasingly effortless.

It was as though he were conversing with the wind, feeling its rhythm and understanding its breath.

Time passed amid dull yet focused practice. Aside from going to the dining hall each day to eat and exchange insights with Helena, Li Ang remained in his room practicing.

Several days later, the supervising wizard Selenst finally appeared again.

The probationary apprentices were gathered on the deck by Matthew once more. But when Kavi came to summon Li Ang this time, his eyes shifted uneasily. He actually did not dare look Li Ang in the eye, and his tone was far more polite.

The atmosphere on deck was even more solemn than during the previous talent assessment.

Selenst was wrapped in black robes, revealing only his hard, cold jawline. Behind him stood the wizard attendant holding a crystal ball.

"Half the time has passed."

Selenst's voice remained icy and utterly devoid of emotion, yet it made everyone's hearts tighten.

"Let me see how many of you so-called 'gifted ones' are trash, and how many are... barely usable."

He tilted his head slightly in signal. The wizard attendant stepped forward, his voice carrying clearly throughout the cabin:

"All those who have successfully condensed their first Magic Starlet, step forward and place your hand on this crystal ball. My lord will personally verify it."

A stir ran through the crowd, and the tense atmosphere nearly froze solid.

Condensing an Astral Star within half a month was exceedingly difficult for people with no foundation at all.

Most faces were filled with anxiety and despair.

After a brief silence, one figure stepped forward first.

It was Matthew. He tried hard to straighten his back and force a trace of "confidence" onto his swollen face, but the unease and evasiveness deep in his eyes betrayed him.

He pressed his slightly trembling hand onto the crystal ball, which emitted a soft glow.

Buzz!

A bright, stable red light lit up within the crystal ball, like a flickering flame.

"Grade 5 spiritual aptitude, fire-element affinity. Astral Star condensation confirmed," the wizard attendant announced with a hint of envy.