The docks of Zeralto were crowded with cheering people.

Standing at the edge of the ship’s deck, Nidhogg and his group waved excitedly to the crowd below, bidding farewell, though Nina alone appeared downcast, her brows occasionally furrowed with a hint of sorrow. This departure might mean she would never have the chance to return in her lifetime...

On the dock, the Duke of Zeralto, Arnovoz, and Dira stood together.

Dira, the wizard responsible for escorting the children with wizard apprentice potential, looked different from the mysterious Arnovoz beside him, as though constantly shrouded by a thin mist.

Dira's wide gray wizard robes revealed a face that was slightly pallid in the sunlight, with a black eyepatch over his right eye, giving him the appearance of a one-eyed man.

"Heh, I didn’t expect you to be the one picking up these little ones. How’s the situation on the other islands?"

After exchanging wizard etiquette with Dira, Arnovoz asked.

Gurgle, gurgle...

The red-eyed frog on Arnovoz's hand puffed its white belly and croaked a few times.

Dira had a habit of floating slightly above the ground while conversing with others, to conceal his short stature.

Smiling at the red-eyed frog, Dira produced a magic stone, which the frog's tongue swiftly grabbed and made disappear, prompting Dira to smile at Arnovoz.

"Not bad. There are more qualified wizard apprentices this year compared to previous years. It looks like I can make a good profit this time. Hahaha."

Dira jested.

"Yes, indeed more than in previous years..."

Arnovoz sighed.

Dira was not overly concerned with this issue and instead turned his attention to the Duke of Zeralto.

"You old fox, every time I come here, you create such a big scene. Be careful those kids don’t get too proud and lose their lives."

The fuss Dira referred to was naturally the cheering crowd on the dock.

Although part of it was arranged by the Duke of Zeralto, the opportunity to see the legendary wizards up close was an irresistible draw for the inhabitants of the remote East Coral Island.

The Duke rotated the ruby ring on his right thumb with his left hand, his smooth face gently swaying.

"Sigh... I'd rather they be proud than forget this place. If, decades later, one of them becomes a full-fledged wizard, maybe they'll come back to visit."

Dira chuckled softly, glancing at the wizard apprentices on the deck bidding farewell to the jubilant crowd, dismissively saying, "In past years, it's been considered good if just a few from a ship became full wizards. These kids have little chance."

Clearly, Dira did not have high hopes for Nidhogg and the others, knowing from experience how difficult it was to become a full-fledged wizard.

Just then, Dira seemed to recall something and excitedly added, "By the way, there are two kids on board with mental strength above fifteen and innate visible talent. Even I am tempted to take them as disciples, if only they didn’t have some backing over there..."

On hearing Dira's account, the Duke showed a somewhat surprised expression.

Meanwhile, Arnovoz shook his head and noted, "For a wizard, knowledge is the foundation of everything."

Dira shrugged. "Good talent doesn't conflict with acquiring knowledge."

The three of them talked for over half an hour, and realizing the crew had almost finished loading supplies, Dira knew it was time to set sail.

Although wizards had normal human emotions, they had learned to control their base desires over long years, giving them a good degree of self-control, and thus they rarely showed much emotion.

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"Well then, farewell."

Dira performed the farewell gesture of the wizards to the two.

"Hmm, if my trip to the underworld goes smoothly, I'll return to the academy in twenty years to see if those old folks have managed to teach some decent students for the Sanctum Qualification Battle."

Arnovoz joked.

Moments later, as the massive ship carrying the wizard apprentices slowly departed, the crowd on the dock began to disperse, though their conversations remained focused on the topic of wizards.

It was clear that ordinary people were very curious and in awe of these mysterious wizards.

Meanwhile, on the deck of the ship, amid the hustle and bustle of the sailors, the seven wizard apprentices soon realized during Dira's reprimand that they were not the only apprentices on board...

"First rule for you little ones: while competition is an unchanging rule in the wizarding world, at Lilith Cottage Wizard Academy, it is forbidden to kill each other. So anyone who dares cause a death on this ship will be dried on the mast for seven days before being fed to the sharks."

Dira glared menacingly at them, leaving no doubt of his resolve.

"Secondly, don't disturb me unless there's a death."

Clearly uninterested in speaking much with these kids who weren't even formal wizard apprentices, Dira headed toward the best cabin on the deck, calling out as he went.

"Baron, assign these kids their room numbers and make sure they don't wreck the ship."

"Got it, master."

A dark-skinned, tall figure on the deck shouted back.

After Dira entered his room, this man named Baron approached.

Nidhogg and the others noticed that although Baron was shirtless and appeared not to have much bulk, his sharply defined muscles were quite intimidating, and it was clear that he was not someone to mess with.

"I'm a legendary knight. Although Master tells me not to bother him unless there are deaths, you can come to me if something extraordinary happens on the ship. Hmm, like if some little ones enjoy bothering the pretty girls..."

Baron flashed a bright smile, glancing at Nina and Yorkliana.

Nidhogg was shocked that a legendary knight would become the servant of a wizard.

In all of Bissel City, there hadn’t been a single legendary knight born, and they were said to be powerful enough to roam the wizarding world.

Nina gave a cold snort.

"If anyone dares bother me, I'll throw them overboard."

A burst of hostility filled the air, instantly petrifying one of the seven apprentices, drenched in cold sweat.

Yorkliana blushed, unsure of what to do, while Yorkris, her brother, mimicked Nina with a snort, saying, "Anyone who touches my sister will have to deal with me first."

He cracked his knuckles loudly.

Among the seven, Yorkris was the most robust, standing at 1.8 meters with a solid build that could easily handle two opponents.

Next in strength were Nidhogg and Giron, while Wade and Binhansen, being nobles, had never done much manual labor and lacked combat prowess.

Baron seemed accustomed to such situations and wasted no time, reaching into a wooden box on the deck to pull out seven numbered tags, tossing them to the group.

"These are your room numbers."

With that, Baron left them to their own devices.

The apprentices' quarters were below deck, divided into five levels.

Quickly, they discovered that the lower the level, the worse the conditions, with the environment in the lowest level being particularly harsh, having to share with the sailors, much to their displeasure.

Clearly, the sudden change from luxury was hard to adjust to.

Nina looked the most displeased, holding a tag for the lowest level. Her delicate face was nearly frozen with displeasure.

Nidhogg didn't mind, having drawn a third-level tag, which was neither great nor bad, and he was used to a simple life.

Yorkris and Yorkliana were the happiest, having both drawn fifth-level rooms, a testament to their luck.

With mixed emotions, the seven set off to find their rooms. Because Yorkris and Yorkliana were on the top level, they arrived first. As the others prepared to leave to find their own rooms, Yorkris's shout echoed in the ship, drawing the attention of other wizard apprentices on the fifth level.

"This is my sister's assigned room, you need to leave!"

Yorkris demanded coldly of a man occupying his sister's room. Yorkliana clung to her brother's sleeve, terrified, whispering, "Brother, maybe we should just let him have it. I'm scared."

The man confronting Yorkris was equally large, with a smug attitude.

Hearing Yorkliana's words, he became even more arrogant, sneering, "Just because you say so, who do you think you are? Room tags mean nothing; first come, first served. Haha... besides, your sister can always share with me."

He laughed, leering at Yorkliana, provoking Yorkris.

"You're asking for it!"

Yorkris, ready to fight, swung a punch at the man.

Soon, Yorkris and the man were brawling.

Unable to stand by, Nidhogg and Binhansen intervened. Although they didn't see eye to eye with Yorkris and Giron's arrogance, they felt compelled to step in, having shared the journey.

Wade, on the other hand, was too stunned by the brawl to move.

Giron, meanwhile, was unbothered, muttering, "Not my problem," as he walked away without a backward glance.

"You coward, running away now! Just wait until I see you next time!" Wade shouted at Giron's back but made no move himself.

Nidhogg and Binhansen finally managed to separate Yorkris and the man. Yorkris, it turned out, was exceptionally strong, having already left the other's eye swollen.

Nidhogg was surprised; perhaps Yorkris had been trained?

"Fine, call someone, get backup, go ahead. I can call backup too! Boss, Rat, stop watching and help me out!"

The man, eye swollen, shouted into the ship, glaring at Yorkris with a murderous look. Yorkris was unfazed, laughing scornfully, "Go ahead, call them. I'll take all three of you!"

As the ship's interior grew noisy, Nidhogg glanced back, chilled as he realized, "This is bad, Yorkris is in trouble..."