The second day, as Cyril stepped out, he noticed someone pretending to search for something in the corridor on the sixth floor while casting furtive glances in his direction. He guessed it was probably the influence of the young man from last night, and he found it somewhat amusing. Cyril pretended not to notice, keeping a calm demeanor.
He mimicked Mr. Scott's aloof and arrogant expression, putting on an appearance that discouraged strangers from approaching. As he walked to the dining room on the first floor, he couldn't help but overhear some strange rumors mixed in with the surrounding chatter.
"What a shock! The horrifying murder case that's spreading like wildfire in Rose Manor has scared the children!"
"What's with the late-night screams on the sixth-floor corridor?"
"Why did the young man break down and shout in the middle of the night, discovering the harsh realities of life?"
Cyril's mood was complex. It felt like an unexpected turn in a video game, where he had briefly played the role of the antagonist.
It wasn't until he heard, "Poor fellow, all the heartless magical items he worked so hard to steal are gone..." that he was truly surprised. This was outrageous! He hadn't even laid a finger on the other person, and they vanished like a puff of smoke! He didn't even know what magical items the other person possessed. Was this what they called "setting up a fall guy"?
Cyril's emotions were all over the place.
The day passed quickly. The final night remained uneventful. The new students knew they were about to leave the land where they were born and raised, the Atlantis continent, for the unknown and mysterious Wizard Continent. The air was filled with an invisible restlessness, mixed with complex emotions.
The sun rose as usual, and Cyril found a letter by his bedside when he woke up. The letter instructed the new students to head southwest to Rose Manor. On the back of the letter was a vivid hourglass. The top half of the hourglass was still full, with tiny black dots gradually falling from the center to the empty bottom half. Did this remind them to reach their next destination before the top half of the hourglass emptied?
Cyril paused for a moment, pondering. In his memory, the southwest of Rose Manor was marked by a tall fence. Behind the unremarkable fence was the solemn city wall, bearing the marks of time.
Cyril calculated the hourglass's flow rate and estimated they had about three hours. So, he took his time getting ready, had a hearty breakfast in the downstairs restaurant.
The music in the restaurant that day had a somewhat melancholic tone. The haunting flute melodies seemed to carry a thousand emotions, making everyone's mood somber. Of course, this didn't affect Cyril's appetite much. Given the system's extensive playlist of weird songs, he was quite tolerant of this level of music.
When he finished eating and walked towards the southwest direction of Rose Manor, he discovered that a wide gap had appeared in the middle of the city wall. It was as if two previously seamless sections of the wall had slowly moved apart to create a path.
He heard some commotion ahead and caught a faint scent of sea breeze. Wait... sea breeze?
"Hey, Cyril!" Warren Abraham caught up with Cyril from behind and greeted him, coming to his side.
Warren's gaze briefly swept over the two thick, golden-embossed books Cyril was holding, but he restrained himself from dwelling on them.
"Hi, Warren, good morning!" Cyril smiled at him and replied politely. They walked side by side for a while, and the scent of the sea breeze grew stronger.
Eventually, they stopped at the end of the path.
"I never expected Rose Manor to be by the sea!" Warren exclaimed in surprise.
"They probably use magic to shield the sea around us, so we can't feel it within Rose Manor," Cyril speculated.
With that, Warren gazed at the sea before him. As the son of a nobleman born and raised in Philadelphia, he hadn't had many opportunities to visit other towns, and this was his first time seeing the sea. The azure sea shimmered in the sunlight, and waves rolled towards the shore. Seagulls soared in the vast sky.
A massive steam brass liner was docked by the shore. There were no other ships around, making it clear that this was their destination—the liner that would take the new students to Whalefall Island.
The entire ship had a metallic, cold appearance, exuding a sense of severity and solemnity. Its tall chimneys and masts were particularly eye-catching.
Cyril also stared at the liner in astonishment. Did this ship dock here before they arrived at Rose Manor, or did it appear silently afterward? After all, he had never heard the ship's whistle while inside Rose Manor.
At this moment, they could see the figures of new students on board the ship.
"Let's go, let's board the ship," Cyril said to Warren, and they both made their way towards the liner.
At the entrance to the cabin, stood an impeccably dressed wooden puppet. If you didn't look at its completely featureless head, you might mistake it for a respectable gentleman.
The wooden puppet wore a black satin suit, with the white shirt front adorned with intricate frills and silver embroidery. A twisted and eerie crimson brooch was pinned to the chest pocket. The puppet held a long black cane in its hand, and as it sensed someone approaching, its head, devoid of facial features, tilted slightly, directing its attention towards Cyril and Warren.
Even though the puppet's head lacked eyes, Cyril inexplicably felt like he was being observed. The gaze was courteous and polite, devoid of any sense of intrusion.
He discreetly examined the wooden puppet for a moment.
"Good morning, dear new students! Welcome to the 'Black' Liner. I am Papitt, the steward responsible for your dining and lodging on the ship," it said in a monotonous, rhythmic voice, as if brass gears were turning in harmony to form sentences.
Cyril guessed the sound was emitted from the puppet's abdominal region. He blinked and maintained a calm and polite demeanor as he nodded sincerely, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Papitt."
Cyril's voice was steady and polite, as if he were addressing a well-trained butler rather than a unique wooden puppet.
Warren quickly caught on and also expressed his thanks politely, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Papitt. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Your manners are commendable, gentlemen," the wooden puppet nodded approvingly and, with gloved hands, retrieved two brass key cards from a thin pocket on its attire.
Cyril keenly noticed the transparent threads that momentarily disappeared on the gloves.
"These are your room key cards. I hope you cherish your time aboard the 'Black' Liner. Wishing you a pleasant journey!" The wooden puppet nodded slightly and gestured in the direction of their rooms.
Cyril took his brass key card and quickly examined it. It was a blank card. In the next moment, he sensed a slight magical fluctuation pass through the brass key card. Beautiful handwriting appeared on the previously blank card: "Cyril Lawrence, First-class cabin, Room 22."
"Thank you once again! Farewell, Mr. Papitt!" Cyril's eyes lit up when he saw the words "First-class cabin," and his tone became even more eager. He expressed his gratitude to the puppet and headed to his room.
On the brass key card that Warren held, his own name and room number were also written, indicating that he had a first-class cabin room. He let out a sigh of relief and felt even more convinced that befriending Cyril was a wise choice.
Cyril walked up to his room, separating from Warren. His room already had a brass doorplate hanging on the door with his name and room number, matching the brass key card he held. There was a card slot on the door lock.
Cyril inserted the brass key card he received from Papitt, the wooden puppet steward, into the slot. He heard a series of clicking sounds like gears engaging, followed by him pushing the door open.
Cyril was not sure about the conditions of other cabins on the ship, but at least his first-class cabin was quite impressive, furnished luxuriously. The ceiling boasted elegant crystal chandeliers, while the walls were adorned with intricate and elegant patterns. The bed was neatly made with silk sheets and velvet pillows. A leather sofa and a small walnut table were on the other side of the room. A small glass window offered a view of the deep blue sea outside.
Cyril thoroughly examined the room, finding no dust or any other peculiarities in any corner except for the card slot on the door. Trusting the brass key card with magical fluctuations, he placed two valuable books he had been carrying under the pillow. One was the "Strange Creatures Cookbook" he found on the first day, and the other was the "Better to Heal Yourself: Methods and Efficacy of Herbal Identification" he found last night. Compared to the first book with its unique personal style and special preferences, the second book was more serious and academic in its content. Although the author's disdain for various wizard potions in the market was evident throughout the book (as evident from the title), it provided a detailed introduction to various herbs, effectively filling Cyril's knowledge gaps.
Of course, Cyril's current knowledge gap, as a novice wizard apprentice, was the vast field of magic. "This means you have enormous room for improvement!" the system consoled him.
After securing the books, Cyril decided to keep the Nightfire Stone on him. He then left the room to explore other areas of the liner.
The first-class cabin area was very quiet, and Cyril only encountered a significant number of new students when he reached the spacious deck. He walked to the edge of the deck and leaned over the railing to look down. The ship had not yet set sail, and the sea was calm. White waves gently lapped against the ship, creating a soothing sound. The moist sea breeze brushed against Cyril's cheeks, carrying a distinct salty aroma of the sea.
Farther away, the sea and the sky met in a straight line, with deep blue seawater blending into the light blue sky.
Cyril observed the surroundings for a while, and when he turned around, he happened to meet the gaze of a boy with short brown hair. He looked somewhat familiar. Cyril squinted his eyes and suddenly remembered the terrified expression of the boy who disturbed his sleep two nights ago. The timid boy before him looked exactly the same.
Cyril greeted the boy with a friendly smile. However, the brown-haired boy seemed to recognize Cyril as the black-clad ghost from before. He froze for a moment, his face filled with fear. Then, he abruptly turned and ran away.
Cyril quickly estimated the boy's and his own running speeds and regretfully concluded that chasing after him would likely be futile. However, in the next moment, a wooden puppet appeared out of nowhere and firmly grabbed the escaping boy. The tall puppet held the boy as if he were a little chicken.
Cyril initially thought it was Mr. Papitt, the steward, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was different. While both puppets had smooth, egg-like heads, Mr. Papitt was dressed in a complete gentleman's suit, while this puppet was in a guard's uniform.
"No running on the deck!" the puppet's emotionless, mechanical voice sounded. It pointed to a brass notice board nearby that displayed some rules for the liner:
"1. No attacking the ship's service personnel!
2. No running on the deck!
No fighting, except in the casino!
No loud noise on the ship!
No wasting food!
Additional rules may be added. Violators will be automatically demoted to lower cabins!"
Cyril noticed the boy reading the text on the notice board with a frightened expression, and when he looked at his brass key card, his face fell. It seemed like he didn't get a good cabin.
"Hi, Jenny, Loz!" Cyril turned away from the boy and noticed the Weber siblings walking toward him. He greeted them cheerfully.
"Hi, Cyril! You're quick! When we came out, we saw many people still trying their luck at Rose Manor, so we took a look as well," Jenny said, shrugging. "Obviously, they returned empty-handed."
Cyril glanced at the envelope Jenny was holding, which displayed an hourglass with about an hour left.
He then reminded the Weber siblings to check the brass notice board nearby.
"No wonder someone who tried to occupy someone else's first-class cabin was taken away by a wooden puppet just now! So, it looks like we can finally have some peace onboard," Jenny breathed a sigh of relief.
Cyril nodded in agreement. He could finally put an end to his late-night adventures! He inwardly criticized the arrangement of exploration tasks during the night. Did they want to select the champion of night owls among the new students?
After bidding farewell to the Weber siblings, Cyril returned to his room. He was about to take out the book "Better to Heal Yourself: Methods and Efficacy of Herbal Identification" when he had a thought and spread open the "Strange Creatures Cookbook." He found the section on "Marine Creatures" in the table of contents and began reading it carefully.
As he read, time unknowingly passed by. The upper half of the hourglass on his desk gradually emptied as the last few black dots slid through the narrow connecting channel. Outside his room, a loud whistle sounded.
"Woo-hoo!"
The liner began to move.