The sun dipped westward, and the orange-yellow light gradually grew weaker.
After a while, the feeble light disappeared entirely, leaving only the pitifully pale moon in the sky and the sporadic lights on the island.
On the southern slope of the island sat the stone house near the main entrance of the Lap Wizard Territory.
The apprentices were in class.
This was a spacious stone house, with ten long wooden tables made from raw logs neatly placed on the wooden floor.
In front was a huge fireplace decorated with pebbles, and a high-legged brown lectern.
The instructor in front of the lectern was a middle-aged man with a full beard, clad in a gray wizard robe, speaking at a leisurely pace,
"…The essence of advancing as a wizard is the continuous growth and sublimation of the spirit…"
Under the lectern, scattered about, sat more than forty apprentices, listening attentively to the lesson.
They were both males and females, all sitting on their own brought fur seat cushions, wearing wizard robes of the same style as the instructor.
However, the instructor's robe was more elaborate, and the triangular badge on his chest differed from their dark iron color, shining a bright golden yellow.
"…It's about time."
After a while, the bearded instructor finished a section. He glanced at his pocket watch and crisply announced, "Class dismissed."
He then closed the hefty black book in his hands, tucked it under his arm, and stepped towards the door.
But soon, as if he remembered something, he stopped, turned around to survey the apprentices, paused, and said,
"For the next three months, there won't be any monthly classes, nor will there be daily tasks… I suggest you make your preparations early."
His words scarcely faded when he left without dragging his feet, with a sweep of his left hand, extinguishing the Bright Crystals hanging from the brown ceiling.
The soft white light abruptly vanished, replaced by the cold moonlight creeping in from the windows, adding a faint glow to the now darkened room.
But the moon's efforts were in vain; the room remained shrouded in darkness, where only the rustling noises of packing things and barely discernible sighs existed in the silence.
"Friends!" a long-haired youth suddenly broke the silence, snapping his fingers.
Flames burst abruptly from the tip of his right-hand index finger.
Illuminated by the faint light, he slowly rose to his feet and surveyed the surrounding apprentices.
Among the apprentices, some ignored him, some sneered, but most turned to look at him.
"Nearly ten years ago, we all boarded a giant ship and were brought to this island by a Lap Wizard," the long-haired youth began slowly.
He swept his gaze around then looked at a petite blonde girl and said, "Erica, that year you had just turned six, the youngest among us."
The girl seemed somewhat shy; under everyone's gaze, she smiled timidly.
The long-haired youth smiled back at her and then pointed to himself, "I was ten that year, the oldest among us."
Then he shifted his tone, "But even as the oldest, I've spent nearly ten years of my life, a full half, living together with all of you!"
"We've attended classes together and studied witchcraft. Although we're not related by blood, our relationship…"
"Hmph!"
At this moment, a boy with brown curly hair and slightly dark skin at the back right suddenly let out a scoff, rolled up his seat cushion, and left on his own.
The long-haired youth paused for a moment, then as if he hadn't seen it, continued,
"…our relationship is even stronger than that of brothers and sisters!"
"The last three months are here, and I expect that everyone present feels the same as I do, harboring little hope of advancing…"
Although the long-haired youth seemed unaffected and continued to speak passionately,
the brown-haired boy had set a precedent, and subsequently, more than a dozen others left one after another.
Colin was also among them, quietly walking out of the wooden house, shouldering his backpack and rubbing his head which had been aching all day.
His memory was still a chaotic mess, and right now, he just wanted to return as quickly as possible to the stone house where he used to live to properly sort through his recollections.
In fact, had it not been for the severe punishment for missing class, he would not have left the stone house at all today.
"Colin!"
As he determined his bearings and prepared to leave swiftly, a clear female voice called out to him from behind.
Colin turned around without betraying any emotion, his gaze met by a beautiful girl with golden hair and green eyes.
Her satin-like golden short hair just reached her chin, slightly fluffy, and her pale face was adorned with green eyes like amber.
Confused memories interwoven in his mind, relying on the short-haired young man's address to her he just heard inside, and some fragmented recollections of the original owner of the body, Colin recognized her.
"Erica."
He responded in the way the original owner would have.
Erica nodded her head and walked toward Colin, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as if she was thinking about something.
"Let's go," she whispered after reaching Colin's side, and then continued walking forward.
After a few seconds, she turned her head back, looking at Colin with confusion, "Why are you still standing there?"
"I'm coming," Colin said with an awkward smile, catching up to Erica.
Erica didn't notice anything amiss and, seeing him follow, continued thinking to herself.
The two walked side by side on the gravel path.
Colin remained expressionlessly calm, but his mind was incessantly pondering.
'Erica... what exactly is her relationship with the original owner? Why is she walking with him in silence... Could she be his girlfriend? But judging by the traces in the original owner's home, he was clearly a bachelor...'
Although he had crossed over nearly a day ago, his memories were still somewhat chaotic, seeming to need some more time to assimilate and sort out. Regarding the girl in front of him, all he could remember was a name.
Colin felt a slight irritation in his heart and rubbed his aching head. To avoid giving himself away, he kept silent, waiting for Erica to speak first.
They continued to walk in silence on the gravel path, and although there were no streetlights or flashlights, the moon's clear light was sufficient to see everything in front of them.
The scene made Colin involuntarily think of the nights spent in the countryside when he was a child in his previous life, when the moonlight was just as pristine.
Yes, when the moon was bright at night, one didn't need any lights to see things clearly... he had almost forgotten.
Hometown, now as distant as his childhood.
"Colin... what are you planning to do?" Erica suddenly asked.
'Planning? What plan?' His mood of homesickness was abruptly broken, and Colin was taken aback upon hearing her words.
After pondering for a moment, he vaguely answered without revealing anything, "Planning... what else can I plan, just the same as before."
Erica nodded her head, as if understanding something, then changed the subject:
"I wonder how many people Charlie can gather after his speech... But what you said before was right, the weak banded together are still weak. I don't have high hopes for them. It's not that easy to get by in the gathering places outside..."
She ran her fingers through the wisps of hair beside her ear, fell silent for a moment, and then continued, "I'm planning to make a trip to the Dark Forest."
'The Dark Forest.'
Colin paused, some sparse memories that he had related to that information.
The Dark Forest was to the north of the entire wizard settlement, a black jungle filled with opportunities but extremely dangerous.
For a Basic Level Wizard Apprentice, going there was tantamount to suicide.
He didn't reply.
But Erica suddenly asked:
"Colin, you have a way to advance, right? You've been shutting yourself away recently..."
Colin fell silent, his heart chilled.
... He couldn't remember anything.
But Erica glanced at the silent him, forced a smile, and continued, "Don't worry, your secret is yours to keep... Wizards, who doesn't have secrets? I'm not interested in it. I just want someone to talk to."
"... Do you still remember Ryan?" After a pause, she continued speaking.
Perhaps it was because he heard Erica say "Ryan," or maybe his memory reception was nearing its conclusion.
Colin's mind, like a freshly unsealed jigsaw puzzle of chaotic memories, began to sort itself out, slowly forming into complete recollections.
"... I remember," after a while, Colin slowly began speaking, his voice strangely hoarse, "That's our hometown."
He was gradually remembering.