The three-masted ship sat silent and hazy, like some monster lurking in the darkness. The two skiffs had barely drawn alongside when two rope ladders slid soundlessly down, landing just in front of the skiffs.
Tom turned to the teenagers and said in a low voice: "No talking, no loud movements."
At his words, the atmosphere turned oppressive at once. Sprint and the others, who had been laughing and relaxed moments before, now wore grave expressions — as if only now did they truly understand that this was no pleasant outing, but an attempt to infiltrate and break through the Church's blockade. One careless move and they would be strapped to crosses.
Seeing that they had grasped the seriousness of the situation, Tom said quietly to Lucian: "Evans, I'll go up first to check. Once I've confirmed everything's clear, you can have the children climb the ladders. Sorry for the trouble."
"No trouble at all." Lucian didn't mind. In a moment like this, if he put on airs as an official Arcane Magician and demanded to go up first, the teenagers behind him would be left without direction or supervision, making it easy for chaos to erupt and drawing the attention of anyone aboard the ship — which would put them all in danger. So sometimes, when everyone made it safely, that was what truly mattered.
Second-level Knight Tom gave the rope ladder a light tug, and his entire body shot upward like a dark afterimage, vaulting over the gunwale and vanishing into a corner of the deck.
The atmosphere was tense and suffocating. Even a proud teenager like Sprint wore a grave expression, unable to speak a word, quietly waiting for Tom's signal.
After a while, Tom poked his head over the gunwale. Since Lucian had never told him about his darkvision, Tom dropped the pre-arranged white handkerchief to signal that everything was clear above and they could begin climbing.
"Sprint, Katrina — one of you take each ladder," Lucian said in an unhurried, measured tone. His calm demeanor gave the somewhat nervous teenagers a sense of reassurance and confidence, and they gradually settled down, able to enter the focus required for spellcasting so their hands and feet wouldn't shake as they climbed.
One by one, under Lucian's methodical direction, the teenagers made their way onto the deck without attracting attention, then hid themselves as Tom indicated.
"Ormus, Heidi — you're next." When it came to Ormus, Lucian noticed that this brown-haired youth, said to have impressive mental strength, had remarkably little presence. Every day he studied quietly, practiced quietly, ate quietly, and returned to his room quietly — like a shadow among the group.
Ormus nodded, reached out, grabbed the rope ladder, and climbed. His speed was impressive and his balance flawless.
"He seems to have the strength of a Knight Squire at least…" Lucian assessed reflexively. Compared to him, Heidi appeared terribly clumsy. The swaying, wind-tossed rope ladder turned her face white, her movements stiff. If not for Mr. Evans's authority and "fear" having sunk deep into her soul, she would have screamed on the spot.
Lucian watched with a faint smile, making no move to help Heidi — unless she looked like she was about to fall. This kind of experience was a precious asset in their growth.
Slowly, painfully, through sheer terror, Heidi finally hauled herself onto the deck, her entire body limp and her limbs weak. But as she carefully recalled what she had just been through, she was filled with a fierce sense of pride — she had actually climbed that terrifying ladder all the way up.
Much the same, Reilia climbed one rung and paused, one agonizing step at a time, before finally making it onto the deck. Annick, who had set off at the same time, had already hidden himself in the shadows of the gunwale as Tom had instructed.
All the apprentices were up. Lucian didn't waste a moment. Carrying his black suitcase in his left hand and gripping the rope ladder with his right, he scaled it in a few quick, silent movements and was standing on the deck without a sound.
Tom came over with a lean, dark-skinned, curly-haired sailor: "Heh, Evans — you seem to have the strength of a High-level Knight Squire."
"I do carry a knight's sword." Lucian didn't answer directly. Then, led by Tom and the sailor, he went through a small door at the stern of the deck and descended toward the lower holds.
After going down two levels, a miasma of stale sweat and dampness washed over them. The corridor was pitch-dark, lit only by the candle the sailor carried to illuminate the path ahead.
Just then, two sailors in conversation came around the corner, laughing and chatting.
The atmosphere froze instantly. A sense of danger surged through every apprentice's heart. Just as Lucian was about to cast Charm Person — regardless of the risk of being detected by the Divine Arts arrays on the ship — both sailors nodded at Tom and said: "Chief."
Tom replied in a low voice: "No problems?"
"None. Everything's normal." The two sailors stepped aside.
Sensing the bewildered looks from Lucian and the others, Tom turned back, forcing a thin smile onto his grim face: "I'm the bosun of this ship. How else do you think you could stow away so easily? Viscount Wright's merchant vessel is layered with Divine Arts arrays and has a priest overseeing them. And even if you did sneak aboard, without me — the bosun — preparing food and provisions for you, you'd all starve or fall ill well before the end of nearly a month's voyage."
The Storm Strait was called a strait, and it indeed wasn't wide, but because of the constant lightning, thunder, gale-force winds, and towering waves, progress was stop and start — it took no small amount of time to cross.
It was said that many powerful mages had once explored why this particular strait saw so many concentrated storms and hurricanes, but none had ever reached a conclusion.