Gal's dark green robe had already appeared at the entrance of the Wizard Tower, several tentacles swaying slowly in the mist.
He walked slowly down the stone steps toward the center of the plaza.
"Good, you're early." Gal's voice still held that icy quality, but if one listened closely, a hint of well-hidden anticipation could be detected.
He walked up to Ethan, the shadow of his hood facing him for a moment.
"Wait here. The ship will be here soon."
After Gal spoke, several tentacles retracted into his robe simultaneously. He stood quietly by Ethan's side, looking up at the horizon.
The mist gradually dissipated as the sky grew lighter.
Ethan followed Gal's gaze and saw the eastern sky turning pale with the first light of dawn, a few fading stars slowly vanishing.
Then,
He saw it.
A tiny black dot appeared on the horizon.
The dot moved with incredible speed, expanding to a visible size within just a few breaths.
It was a ship.
A ship suspended in the air.
The entire hull was a deathly white, looking as if it were pieced together from countless bones. The bow featured a giant skull, its hollow eye sockets burning with ghostly green flames. Dozens of rib-like supports extended from both sides of the hull, with a ball of flickering phosphorus fire floating at the end of each one.
The ship had no oars, no sails, and no visible propulsion system, yet it glided through the sky steadily and rapidly, heading toward the Wizard Tower.
Ethan's pupils constricted slightly.
This was the academy's reception airship?
Gal remained in place, several tentacles involuntarily poking out from his robe and trembling slightly.
The airship descended slowly over the plaza.
When it was about thirty meters from the ground, a beam of deathly white light fell from the bottom of the ship, forming a circle about ten meters in diameter on the ground.
The light dissipated.
A figure appeared in the center of the circle.
It was a skeleton.
A complete, standing human skeleton. The bones had an ivory-like texture, with faint silver patterns flowing across their surface.
Two clusters of ghostly green flames burned within its hollow eye sockets.
The skeleton wore black robes and was draped in a pitch-black cloak, its edges embroidered with silver bone patterns.
In its right hand, it held a staff also made of bone, topped with a fist-sized ghostly green crystal. Countless tiny specks of light rotated slowly within the crystal.
"I am the academy's Spirit Bone Guard."
The skeleton spoke. Its voice echoed directly within the minds of everyone present. "Where is Gal?"
Gal's figure stiffened slightly.
The tentacles that had retracted into his robe shot out like startled snakes, only to be forcibly pulled back an instant later.
He took a few steps forward, the hem of his dark green robe making a light scraping sound against the stone floor.
"Lord Guard, I am here."
Gal's voice was completely different from before.
The coldness of being high above and the arrogance of looking down on the mundane were gone, replaced by a humble respect that bordered on fawning.
"The data?"
Gal hurriedly pulled a crystal from his robe.
"Right here, Lord Guard." Gal held the crystal in both hands and offered it respectfully.
The Spirit Bone Guard reached out with its left hand, its deathly white finger bones gripping the crystal.
It looked down, the ghostly green flames in its eye sockets scanning the surface of the crystal.
After about three breaths, it looked up.
"Data recorded."
The Spirit Bone Guard turned, its dark eye sockets aimed at Ethan.
"You, follow me."
After speaking, it turned and walked toward the airship.
Ethan did not hesitate and followed the Spirit Bone Guard's lead.
The moment he stepped into the pillar of light, a slight sensation of weightlessness washed over him.
A gentle but irresistible force lifted him slowly.
The thirty-meter height vanished in an instant.
When Ethan's feet touched solid ground again, he was standing on the deck of the airship.
Then he froze.
The deck was incredibly vast.
At a rough glance, it was at least as large as seven or eight standard football fields combined.
The broad deck stretched out in all directions, and the edges of the airship could only be seen at the very limit of his vision.
"Wait... this area isn't right."
He calculated silently in his head.
From the outside, although the airship was massive, there was no way it could contain such a vast deck.
That narrow hull and skull bow didn't look like they could fit seven or eight football fields no matter how he looked at it.
"Is it legendary spatial magic? Spatial folding? Or a pocket dimension?"
"The Blood Bone Tower is truly formidable."
Just a reception airship for new students utilized such mind-boggling spatial techniques.
What would the actual academy headquarters look like?
Ethan suppressed the shock in his heart and scanned the deck again.
There were already many people on the deck.
A rough count suggested there were between a hundred and thirty to a hundred and fifty people.
They were gathered in small groups; some were standing, some were crouching, and some were simply sitting cross-legged on the deck.
Their clothing varied greatly. Some wore exquisite noble attire like Ethan, others wore coarse linen clothes, and a few wore robes with obvious exotic flair, embroidered with complex patterns.
Their ages also varied.
They all appeared to be teenagers around fifteen or sixteen years old.
When Ethan stepped onto the deck, countless gazes swept over him simultaneously.
Those looks held scrutiny, appraisal, curiosity, and something Ethan was very familiar with.
Prey.
In the eyes of those who owned these gazes, he, the newcomer, was prey.
Just then, the airship vibrated slightly.
The Wizard Tower grew smaller and smaller.
The outline of the Imperial City gradually unfolded in his vision, then quickly shrank into a blurred patch of color.
The airship rose smoothly into the clouds.
Ethan withdrew his gaze as the Spirit Bone Guard's voice echoed directly in his mind:
"The academy is over two million kilometers from here. The flight will take one month. During this time, you are only allowed to move on the deck."
Two million kilometers.
One month.
Ethan did a quick mental calculation.
At this rate, the airship's speed was at least over 2,500 kilometers per hour.
He looked at the Spirit Bone Guard. "Lord Guard, may we use the buildings on the deck?"
The Spirit Bone Guard turned its head, its dark eye sockets facing him.
"Dining hall." It raised its staff, pointing toward a building with smoke rising from it. "Supplies food every morning, noon, and evening. Free."
The staff moved, pointing to the rows of square buildings that looked like tombs in the distance.
"Living quarters. Each tomb can accommodate one person. The layouts inside vary. You may seize them as you wish; killing is permitted."
Killing is permitted.
Ethan's pupils constricted slightly.
"How cruel."
After the Spirit Bone Guard finished speaking, it turned and walked toward the tallest building in the center of the airship.
That building was pitch black, with a cluster of ghostly green flames floating at the top. Within the flames, countless tiny specks of light could be seen rotating slowly.
Ethan watched its back disappear into the building's entrance before withdrawing his gaze.
He turned and walked toward the row of square, tomb-like buildings.
There were about two hundred of them lined up.
Each one was rectangular, pitch black, and lacked any decoration, featuring only a waist-high door.
Up close, these "living quarters" truly did look like graves.
The doors were arched and so narrow that an adult would have to bend over to crawl inside. There were no handles or keyholes, only a string of tiny runes carved into the lintel, emitting a faint glow.
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