The sea wind blew across the main deck of the wizard ship.
More than sixty wizard seeds stood quietly in a long line, their expressions filled with anticipation and nervousness. At the center of the deck stood a raised platform. On it rested a large crystal sphere, almost identical to the one used during the aptitude test.
But this time, the atmosphere was noticeably heavier.
Ivan stood among the crowd, his gaze calm as he watched the platform ahead.
At that moment, Victor had already stepped onto the platform.
The blond-haired boy glanced arrogantly at the surrounding crowd before placing his hand on the crystal sphere.
The wizard apprentice beside the crystal spoke calmly.
"Empty your mind. Feel the elements around you."
Victor closed his eyes.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
The crystal began to glow.
A bright blue light spread through most of the sphere, shining like flowing water. After a moment, a smaller patch of green light appeared at the edge of the crystal.
The wizard apprentice nodded slightly.
"Victor Ironheart," he announced loudly.
"Mid-level water affinity. Low-level wood affinity."
A small wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.
Victor withdrew his hand and smiled smugly. As he stepped down from the platform, his gaze briefly swept across Ivan with a hint of provocation.
Ivan didn't react.
One by one, the wizard seeds stepped forward.
The crystal flashed with different colors—yellow, green, blue, red.
Some results were ordinary. Some caused small bursts of surprise among the crowd.
Nearly ten minutes passed.
Then the wizard apprentice called out another name.
"Ivan Thornhart."
The murmuring crowd instinctively made way.
Ivan stepped forward calmly and climbed onto the platform.
Standing before the crystal sphere, he could feel dozens of gazes fixed on him.
The wizard apprentice spoke in a neutral tone.
"Place your hand on the crystal. Empty your mind and feel the elements."
Ivan nodded.
He gently placed his palm on the smooth surface of the crystal.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Ivan closed his eyes.
He emptied his thoughts and slowly expanded his perception outward.
At first, everything felt dark.
Then—
Tiny dots of light began appearing in the darkness.
They flickered faintly, like distant stars.
Gradually, the lights grew clearer.
The first thing Ivan noticed was the red lights.
There were many of them—countless red sparks drifting through the darkness like tiny flames. They gathered around him, circling quietly as if drawn toward his presence.
Among the red lights, he also noticed other colors.
Some black dots, cold and silent.
Some white dots, faint yet strangely profound.
Compared to the red lights, however, their numbers were much smaller.
Time seemed to stretch strangely in this state.
In Ivan's perception, it felt like hours had passed.
But on the outside—
Only a few seconds had gone by.
Suddenly, the crystal sphere burst with light.
A deep crimson glow rapidly spread across more than half of the crystal. Soon after, a dark black light filled another large portion.
Finally—
A faint white shimmer appeared in the remaining space.
The five wizard apprentices on the platform all showed subtle changes in their expressions.
One of them stepped forward and announced clearly.
"Ivan Thornhart."
"High-level fire affinity. Medium-level dark affinity. Low-level space affinity."
The deck immediately erupted into discussion.
"High-level fire affinity!"
"And he has dark affinity too?"
"Space element?! That's a rare one!"
Even Victor's expression darkened slightly when he heard the result.
Ivan withdrew his hand and calmly stepped down from the platform.
He returned to his original spot beside Olivia as if nothing unusual had happened.
Olivia looked at him with bright eyes.
"Congratulations…" she said softly.
Ivan simply nodded.
Just then—
The wizard apprentice called the next name.
"Olivia."
Olivia froze slightly.
Her fingers tightened.
The memory of Victor's earlier gaze still lingered in her mind.
Ivan noticed the tension in her shoulders.
He spoke quietly.
"Take a deep breath."
"You'll do fine."
Olivia looked at him for a moment.
Then she nodded.
"...Okay."
She inhaled slowly, Then she walked toward the platform.
Her steps were cautious but steady.
Standing before the crystal sphere, she placed her hand on it and closed her eyes.
A moment later—
The crystal lit up again.
A bright green glow filled about half of the sphere.
Soon after, a clear white light spread through another large portion.
Finally, a small patch of earthy gray light appeared at the edge.
The wizard apprentice nodded.
"Olivia."
"High-level wood affinity, Medium-level water affinity, Low-level earth affinity."
This result also caused a stir.
High-level affinity was never common.
Olivia slowly stepped down from the platform, her cheeks slightly red with excitement.
When she returned beside Ivan, she whispered shyly,
"Th-thank you… for encouraging me earlier."
Ivan gave a small nod.
The test continued for a while longer.
As Ivan watched the remaining candidates, his thoughts drifted toward the knowledge he had read in William's diary.
The second test measured elemental affinity.
In this world, the most common elements were fire, water, wood, and earth.
Most wizards possessed affinity toward one or two of these elements.
However, there were also rare elements.
Darkness.
Light.
Thunder.
Space.
Chaos.
Very few people possessed affinity for these.
Affinity itself was divided into four levels:
Low.
Medium.
High.
And the legendary level—
Son of the Elements.
Those with such affinity were said to be comparable to naturally born elemental creatures.
Elementals were beings born directly from elemental energy.
Fire elementals.
Water elementals.
Wood elementals.
Earth elementals.
Such elemental beings were extremely rare in the wizard world. They were more commonly found in the Elemental Planes, like the planes of fire, water, earth, and wood.
For wizard apprentices, elemental affinity was extremely important.
The higher the affinity, the faster one could sense and absorb mana.
However—
Once a wizard broke through and became a formal wizard, the importance of affinity gradually decreased.
At that stage, their life level evolved.
They could manipulate many types of elements regardless of natural affinity.
Ivan calmly organized these thoughts in his mind.
Soon, the final candidate completed the test.
The wizard apprentices gathered together and spoke quietly among themselves.
After a short discussion, one of them stepped forward.
Ivan immediately recognized him.
It was Kael.
Kael's calm voice spread across the deck.
"The second test has ended."
"Within one week, this ship will arrive at Academy Island."
A faint ripple passed through the crowd.
Kael continued.
"When we arrive, each of you will choose a wizard academy."
"Prepare yourselves."
With that, the five wizard apprentices turned and walked toward the upper levels of the ship.
The gathering slowly dispersed.
Wizard seeds began returning to their cabins in groups, discussing their results excitedly.
Ivan and Olivia walked back together in silence.
The sea wind was cool.
Olivia walked close beside him, almost unconsciously holding onto his sleeve.
After the incident with Victor and the emotional turmoil she had gone through, she clearly felt safer near Ivan.
Ivan didn't push her away.
Instead, he simply continued walking calmly.
In his mind, however, he was already thinking ahead.
The road of a wizard was long, dangerous and required enormous resources.
Knowledge.
Materials.
Allies.
Subordinates.
Olivia's aptitude and affinity were already among the better ones on the ship.
If she could grow stronger in the future—
She might become a useful ally.
Or perhaps even a trusted subordinate.
Ivan glanced at her briefly.
Olivia noticed his gaze almost immediately.
For a moment their eyes met.
Then, as if caught doing something embarrassing, she quickly lowered her head. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her sleeve.
The corridor was quiet except for the slow creaking of the ship and the distant sound of waves striking the hull.
They walked a few more steps in silence.
Olivia seemed to hesitate several times, as if gathering courage. Finally, she spoke in a soft voice.
"Ivan…"
Ivan turned his head slightly.
"Yes?"
Olivia kept her gaze lowered, watching the wooden floor as she walked.
"…Thank you."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Ivan raised an eyebrow faintly.
"For what?"
"For… listening earlier."
She hesitated before continuing.
"And for standing beside me."
Ivan said nothing for a moment.
Then he simply replied.
"Focus on becoming stronger."
"Once you do, you won't need anyone to stand beside you."
Olivia blinked.
Then a small determined smile appeared on her face.
"…I will."
The two of them continued walking down the dim corridor.
Outside the ship, the endless ocean stretched beneath the evening sky.
And far beyond the horizon—
Academy Island was slowly drawing closer.