Regular Assessment

Kavi lay on the floor, mottled with mildew and wood shavings, twitching futilely like a fish out of water.

Every breath came with tearing pain deep in his chest and involuntary, hoarse "heh-heh" sounds.

The brute strength he had always been so proud of seemed fragile enough to shatter at a single blow before that invisible magical force.

With Matthew and Kavi no longer shouting in the corridor, it had become exceptionally quiet, making Li Ang's coughing all the clearer.

Matthew no longer dared to act rashly or look down on the sickly wretch who was still coughing nonstop before him.

The reason the surroundings were 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 rushed through the gap left by his missing front tooth, producing a leaky, hissing sound.

"You... you..." His throat tightened, and his air-leaking syllables broke apart without forming a tune. Fear coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, squeezing until he could barely breathe.

That invisible force he had unleashed with a casual lift of his hand—that was absolutely not something an ordinary person could possess! Could it have been... magic? Had he learned a spell? How could that sickly bastard possibly have done so?

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

"Kavi... Kavi!" Matthew jolted back to his senses at the sound, his voice shrill and warped by terror.

He no longer dared to look into Li Ang's eyes. Almost crawling and scrambling, he threw himself toward the twitching Kavi and used all his strength to drag him up.

Kavi's burly body now weighed like an unyielding stone. Matthew had to strain with all the strength he had before he could barely sling one of Kavi's arms around his neck and drag him toward the other end of the corridor.

He did not dare look back, every step a stagger of panic and confusion.

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

Only one thought screamed madly in his head: Leave this place. Immediately. Now.

As for revenge? Showing off? At this moment, all of it had been crushed to pieces beneath that bottomless terror.

He did not even dare consider whether Li Ang had truly learned magic. The thought alone was enough to make his liver and gallbladder split apart in fright.

If Lord Selenst learned that a sickly waste he regarded as trash had condensed a Magic Starlet 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 concealed, and Kavi had to keep his mouth shut as well.

Matthew dragged Kavi's heavy body back toward their room, stumbling 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 worry written across her face. She came up to Li Ang and gently patted his back, hoping to ease some of his pain.

"I'm... I'm sorry... But I was just too scared." Guilt filled Helena's voice as she lowered her head, not daring to meet Li Ang's eyes.

Li Ang patted Helena's shoulder and teased her with a smile.

"Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do anything wrong. If anything, you're pretty brave—coming out to join the excitement in a situation like this?"

"I didn't come out to watch the excitement," Helena retorted with slight irritation.

After chatting for a while longer, the two returned to their respective rooms.

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

It seemed that within the effect 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 eccentric supervising wizard.

Showing off was the behavior of the weak. It would only draw unnecessary attention and trouble.

Matthew's pitiful bit of authority had long ceased to matter in his eyes.

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

He sat cross-legged again and closed his eyes.

His consciousness sank into his spiritual world. The azure Magic Starlet, like a newborn star, slowly revolved through the void, absorbing the dense wind-element mana around it and striving to recover what it had consumed earlier.

After finishing his meditation, he did not choose to open the Level-0 Spell Compendium and try learning another water-element spell. With the Wind-Sail Domain's support, 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 instantaneous power, instead focusing on precision of control, managing spiritual power consumption, and pushing casting speed to its limit.

He made a current of air flow silently along the corner of the wall, carrying away every trace of mold dust.

He made a steady, gentle circulation of air form within the room, like an invisible purifying barrier.

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

He tried making the range of "dispersal" more precise, targeting only certain specific odor molecules...

With every practice session and meditation, the Magic Starlet in his spiritual world became more solid amid its flickering glow, while his perception of and ability to draw upon wind-element mana grew ever more effortless.

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

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

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

The probationary apprentices were once more gathered on the deck by Matthew. But when Kavi came to summon Li Ang this time, his gaze shifted evasively. He actually did not dare meet Li Ang's eyes, and his tone had become much 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-lined chin. Behind him stood the wizard attendant holding a crystal ball.

"Half the time has now passed."

Selenst's voice remained cold, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, 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 indication. The wizard attendant stepped forward, his voice carrying clearly through the entire 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 a Magic Starlet within half a month was extraordinarily difficult for people with no foundation at all.

Most faces were filled with unease and despair.

After a brief silence, one figure stepped forward first.

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

He pressed his faintly trembling hand against the crystal ball, which emitted a soft glow.

Buzz!

A bright, steady red light flared inside the crystal ball, like a dancing flame.

"Level-5 spiritual power talent, fire-element affinity. Magic Starlet condensed, confirmed," the wizard attendant announced, with a trace of envy in his voice.