"Roar..."

The sea monster outside the door went into a frenzy upon seeing the group of people, relentlessly bashing against the wooden door with such force that it left everyone inside in disbelief. Through the cracks in the door, Nidhogg and the others could clearly see more sea monsters being drawn towards them from the distance, casting a shadow of despair over the group.

In terms of combat strength, the wizard apprentices in the room could barely manage to kill a single sea monster, and that was only if Nina successfully executed her vine sorcery. Everyone pressed against the door, trying to buy time. Suddenly, the voice of a previously calm stranger among them shouted, "There’s still hope!"

Without delay, he dashed towards the gaping hole in the ship’s hull. Almost instantly, everyone realized what he meant, and hope rekindled within them. They remembered the lifeboats densely hanging on both sides of the ship, secured with ropes connected to the deck's railing. Their current location, being on the fifth level of the cabin, was only five or six meters from the deck, a distance they could climb using the ropes with their physical strength.

The male apprentice led the charge, grabbing a rope and starting to climb. The others, snapping out of their stupor, mimicked his actions. Yorkliana, weakened by her frail health and the injury to her eye, was carried by Yorkris as they ascended. Despite his injured leg, Nidhogg's climbing ability was unaffected due to his strength built from years of hard work, and the seven or eight meters seemed manageable to him.

However, Nina, accustomed to a life of privilege and physically unfit due to her gender and a shoulder injury, could only cling to the rope with a worried expression, struggling to climb. The female apprentice with the wooden stick lodged in her abdomen was losing consciousness from blood loss, and the barricade they had erected with tables and beds was being pushed aside by the creatures outside.

Yet, the sight that stunned those on the ropes came from a different direction. They witnessed three enormous sea "serpents" emerging from the depths, crawling towards the deck. The terrifying thought crossed their minds: were these enormous "serpents" part of a communal hunting group? Given the ship's hull was over thirty meters high, the serpents' length was unimaginable.

Boom!

A thunderous noise erupted from above the deck, and the temperature dropped noticeably. In horror, they saw the "serpent" climbing near them getting encased in a layer of solid ice that spread rapidly downwards.

"Woooo..."

As the ice spread, the ship shook violently, as if a gigantic creature was rising from the sea. With a turbulent crash, the ocean surface broke, revealing a monstrous "octopus" head that bellowed in agony, inciting towering waves around it.

"An... giant octopus?"

Everyone cried out in disbelief as they realized the "serpents" were merely the tentacles of an enormously large octopus. The implications were horrifying; how massive was this creature? For untraveled wizard apprentices, it seemed like a nightmare creature from legend.

Suddenly, as the tentacle near them succumbed to the ice and slid back into the sea with a massive splash, Nidhogg felt a powerful gust of wind rock the rope, holding on with all his strength.

"No, help!"

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A desperate voice called as someone fell into the ocean below. It was the stranger who had climbed the highest. Falling into these vast waters was nearly certain death.

Then, Nidhogg saw it wasn’t just him; Nina had also been blown off the rope. Fortunately, she used sorcery to conjure a vine, clutching onto it to hang mid-air. But maintaining the magic required energy, and with Nina’s limited power, she could only last a few minutes, leaving her in a precarious situation. Her usually vibrant face was pale, tears filled her eyes as she looked up at the group for help, though pride and fear kept her from voicing her plea outright.

In that moment, only Yorkris and Nidhogg could help her. But, carrying his sister, Yorkris was already at his limit, leaving only Nidhogg. Seeing Nina’s pitiful yet defiant look softened Nidhogg’s heart. Though the young lady of the city lord’s household usually held herself aloof and looked down on him due to his commoner status, she had unwittingly aided him in understanding much about the wizard world. Moreover, they were all heading to the mysterious wizard continent to study, where they might need each other's help. With such thoughts...

Nidhogg decided, gritting his teeth in resolve. He slid down to the lifeboat tied at the rope’s end, quickly securing himself before pulling up the vine Nina had conjured. His strength from years of hardship came to aid him as he managed to pull Nina back from the brink of death.

"Phew..."

Breathless from his effort, Nidhogg leaned against the hanging lifeboat, while Nina stared at him, her eyes bright with tears. Unaccustomed to being so openly looked at by a beautiful girl, Nidhogg rubbed his nose awkwardly, trying to mask his embarrassment.

Despite her haughty demeanor, which often irked him due to her disdain for commoners, Nina was indeed a rare beauty, the kind you couldn't help but notice. This fact hadn’t eluded Nidhogg and his companions back at Zeralto Port where they had quietly admired her charm.

"Uh..."

Just as Nidhogg was about to speak to lighten the mood, Nina suddenly lunged forward, enveloping him in a tight hug, sobbing, "I thought I was going to die; I thought you all would abandon me. I told my father not to send me to that dangerous wizard academy!"

Feeling her warmth through her elegant form pressed against him, Nidhogg stood rigid, unsure whether to move or speak as his prepared words clogged his throat. Her tears trickled down his neck, but he dared not move.

After a while, Nina calmed down and realized her lapse, releasing Nidhogg. With red eyes, she looked at him, and seeing his awkward, motionless state, she giggled, "What are you standing there for? Do you plan to hang on this lifeboat forever with me?"

"Uh? Oh... no, not at all."

Nidhogg stammered, embarrassed by his sudden attraction to her, which he found ironically amusing given his previous disdain. Before, he had disliked her snooty attitude, but now he felt a spark of something else.

Shaking off these thoughts, Nidhogg recomposed himself, suggesting, "Let's climb up quickly."

Noticing her bleeding shoulder, he hesitated, "May I carry you up?"

"Hmm!" Without hesitation, Nina nodded and wrapped her arms around Nidhogg from behind. Her body pressed closely, and he could feel her breath on his neck.

Trying to quell his nervousness, Nidhogg took a deep breath and began climbing upwards with his additional burden.

Meanwhile, seeing Nidhogg and Nina safe, Yorkris resumed his climb with his sister, reaching the deck quickly. Then he helped pull them up the rope.

Exhausted, Nidhogg and Yorkris leaned against the railing to catch their breath, but upon seeing the carnage on the deck, they inhaled sharply, their fatigue momentarily forgotten. The vast hundred-meter deck was littered with the bodies of sea monsters and the remains of sailors and apprentices, some so mutilated that it was impossible to tell if they had been humans or monsters.

Boom!

A massive explosion drew their eyes to the cabin where Wizard Dira resided. Already in ruins, the cabin finally disintegrated under the octopus’s latest attack, leaving only scattered debris. Dira, with an unnatural flush on his face and missing his black eyepatch, revealed a bizarre, rotating mechanical gear in its place, looking both eerie and terrifying.

Underneath him, an icy-cold corpse of a sea monster lay, carefully preserved amidst the chaos. Even as the towering twenty-meter tentacle struck, Dira countered with sorcery, erecting a colossal ice shield to protect the frozen creature.

With a loud crash, ice shards flew everywhere.

Dira once again unleashed his sorcery, holding back the monstrous octopus’s tentacle, fiercely guarding the frozen sea creature below him. Nearby, a few remaining sailors desperately defended the ship’s cabin door...