SOUL FORGE CHRONICLES
Chapter 6 — Airship Maintenance
After that conversation, the bond between Aldric and Elara grew much stronger.
From that day on, they followed the same daily routine — practicing the sorcerer's language together during the day, and meditating separately at night.
Although Aldric had memorized the sorcerer's script through the Soul Forge, he still needed practice to use it fluently in real application.
And so, the fifteenth day aboard the airship arrived.
The airship would occasionally slow down during flight for routine inspection and maintenance. During those times, students were allowed to move freely inside the ship.
"Aldric! I connected to the Soul Sea last night!"
Early in the morning, Elara tapped Aldric's bunk excitedly, recounting her progress with sparkling eyes.
Elara's talent was not extraordinary. Her Aether Resonance was only twelve points. What Aldric had accomplished in a single meditation session, she had needed seven days to complete.
But it was still worthy of praise.
According to the books they had studied, many prospective students needed the aid of incense and potions to connect to the Soul Sea for the first time. Elara's achievement in seven days was already considered average by academy standards.
A student like Aldric — who had connected in his very first meditation session — was rated "exceptional."
Above that was innate connection, meaning a sorcery student born with a natural spiritual power of twenty points or above. But students like that were extremely rare throughout the academy's history, and generally only appeared among descendants of sorcerers.
"Congratulations, congratulations! Elara has officially become a sorcery student!"
Aldric yawned, sat up on his bunk, rubbed his eyes, and congratulated her.
"Looks like I'll have to rely on Elara to protect me in the exam."
Hearing that, Elara's chest immediately swelled with pride.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you in the exam!"
Knock. Knock. Knock.
There was a knock at the door. Elara opened it and found the food-delivery doll — arriving earlier than usual today for some reason.
"Room 225, breakfast for two. The airship is undergoing maintenance today. Students are free to move around."
The doll's voice was the same strange pitch as always, but the news it brought made the smile on Elara's face vanish instantly.
"Free time?" Elara asked, her expression changing.
The doll didn't answer. It mechanically pushed its cart to the next room.
Elara closed the door. Her face turned pale, as though she might cry.
"It's over, it's over. I just connected to the Soul Sea, the Mana Flow hasn't even formed yet, this is... this is..."
Elara paced anxiously around the room. Aldric watched her with puzzlement.
"Isn't free movement a good thing? You've been cooped up in this room for days. Don't you want to go out for a bit?"
Aldric himself had been feeling like his joints were rusting after half a month in one room.
"You don't understand. When we can move freely, those thugs will come out too."
Elara looked like she might cry. Haltingly, she recounted what had happened on the airship before Aldric had boarded.
"Ah, I see."
Aldric stroked his chin, his expression slightly ambiguous.
Did he really look that weak when he first boarded the airship?
"In that case, you stay in the room. I'll go out for a bit."
Aldric got up from his bunk and quickly finished his breakfast.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but his body felt significantly stronger since connecting to the Soul Sea. His frame, once emaciated from years of malnutrition, had even developed a hint of muscle.
"Did the sorcerers add some kind of supplement to the food?"
"Hey! I've been teaching you sorcery these past few days! Can't you help me? Aren't you going out?"
Elara, seeing Aldric preparing to leave, immediately bristled like a cat with raised fur.
Aldric waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry. I won't go out there shouting that I have a pretty roommate. Just stay quiet inside — those thugs can't break the door down, can they?"
...
The airship was not small.
In addition to the long passenger cabin, there was an observation deck spanning several dozen square meters at the stern. It was usually reserved for sorcerers, but today, during maintenance, students were also allowed in to enjoy the view.
Aldric stood near the window, his heart racing as he gazed at the boundless sea of clouds outside.
The walls of the observation deck were made of some glass-like transparent material, giving an unobstructed view of the cloud sea surrounding the ship.
The deck quickly filled with students — nobles and commoners alike. Informally, the nobles gathered on one side and the commoners on the other.
No one forced them apart. Yet the divide between the two groups was as clear as heaven and earth.
Except for Aldric.
He stood right on the boundary between the two groups, completely indifferent to the division.
Right beside him, a cluster of nobles were exchanging information in hushed, secretive tones. To prevent the commoners from eavesdropping, they were even speaking in the sorcerer's language.
"Are you certain, Emilia? Your brother really connected to the Soul Sea?" asked a blonde noble.
"Of course. Would my brother lie to me?"
Across from the blonde noble, a girl with similar blonde hair and small freckles on her cheeks answered haughtily.
Emilia's statement caused a stir among the nobles. They had all been studying "How to Become a Sorcery Student," but almost none of them had made any real progress.
For most of them, without the aid of incense and special potions, connecting to the Soul Sea was nearly impossible.
"By the way, didn't the Valdris family and the others hire a sorcerer to teach them? How did that go? It supposedly cost ten magic stones."
"Ten magic stones?" Several nobles who hadn't heard the news were immediately startled.
"The Valdris family really is wealthy. Ten magic stones could be worth a hundred thousand gold coins."
"The kingdom's total annual tax revenue is only five hundred thousand gold coins. The Valdris family truly is richer than a small nation."
"But I heard they failed. Even though a sorcerer taught them, there's no incense or potions on the airship. Without that help, they're in the same position as us."
"Excellent." Someone commented with a satisfied tone.
The difference between a knight and a sorcery student was not unlike the difference between being unarmed and being fully armed. One fewer sorcery student meant one fewer threat.
Aldric listened from the side, pretending he didn't understand a single word.
These arrogant nobles assumed commoners couldn't possibly understand the sorcerer's language, and so they spoke without restraint.
Aldric could barely hold back his laughter.
But right then, a scream came from a cabin not far away.
"Tsk tsk, the Iron Bear Gang is at it again." A noble clicked his tongue.
"They've probably been doing whatever they want to all the attractive commoners on the ship."
"People like that are truly like wild animals."
The freckled girl named Emilia wrinkled her nose in disgust, as though she could smell the Iron Bear Gang's filth from a distance.
Yet despite all the talk, not one of the nobles moved to intervene. Why would they bother getting involved in commoner affairs?
"Ah!"
The woman's scream came again — and this time, the voice sounded very familiar.
Aldric immediately knew something was wrong. He quickly left the observation deck.
That sounded like Elara's voice.
The observation deck wasn't far from Room 225, and the moment Aldric stepped into the corridor, he saw a muscular man with a long scar across his face hammering at the door of Room 225.
Several of his lackeys stood beside him, cheering him on.
"Woman, you'd better open this door now! Otherwise you're going to regret it!"
"That's right! We can still be gentle with you right now. But once the boss breaks that door down, don't blame us!"
The lackeys shouted from outside, while inside, Elara pressed her back against the door with all her strength, pushing a table against it to reinforce the barricade.
The rooms on this airship only had simple door latches. If not held from the inside, a man this strong could break through with just a few blows.
"Elara, you idiot, why did you have to peek out?" Elara grumbled at herself behind the door.
Not long after Aldric left, she hadn't been able to stand being locked inside anymore. She opened the door just a crack, peeked out — just wanting to check if the corridor was safe.
But the moment the door opened, she came face to face with members of the Iron Bear Gang who were prowling for a target.
And so this scene began.
Click.
With a cracking sound, the latch on Room 225 finally snapped.
"It's over."
Elara's heart seized. Without that latch, she had no way of holding them back any longer.
But strangely, no one entered.
Instead, from outside came several screams of pain in quick succession, followed by the sound of things crashing to the floor.
Had the sorcerers stepped in?
Elara stepped out from behind the table and peeked through the crack in the door.
What she saw made her eyes go wide.
The members of the Iron Bear Gang were sprawled across the corridor floor, while a slender figure stood among them — stomping on the gang leader's face with great enthusiasm.
He was cursing with every stomp.
"You bastard! Breaking into my room, bullying my roommate, and you even dared to come near me!"
— End of Chapter 6 —