The orange-yellow fireball gradually emerged from the water's surface, tinting the azure sea a crimson red, reflected in Colin's eyes.
In a daze, he even thought it wasn't the sea but rather molten, scalding iron.
Colin withdrew his gaze, put the bowl from which he had eaten breakfast and the wooden chopsticks he had made himself into the kitchen.
Lately, every morning at breakfast time, he would lean against the window with his food in hand, admiring the sunrise in the distance.
Although it was the same time and the same place each day, the view of sunrise was always changing.
In the kitchen, the iron pot on the clay stove was boiling with water.
After cooking on the stove, he always scooped a few ladles of water into it, partly to protect the bottom of the pot from getting burned by the embers and partly to provide hot water for washing dishes.
In this world, there was no dish soap, so to get the dishes clean, hot water was still necessary.
Just as Colin was about to scoop water to wash the dishes, a sudden and intense knocking came from outside the door.
He put the wooden ladle aside, wiped his hands on a cloth, and went to open the door.
The wooden door creaked open, and immediately before him stood Charlie and two others.
Crowded behind them was a ring of apprentices.
Jeff, Mia, Carissa, Kate...
Colin raised an eyebrow. Had all the apprentices from his cohort come?
'They've all joined the Mutual Assistance Association? Could the evidence Charlie mentioned be true?'
'...But what are they doing here now? Could it be that they want me to join the association? But am I that important?'
"Colin—" The lead, Charlie, spoke first, his tone sincere and gentle.
"All the apprentices from our cohort, except for Erica who went to the Dark Forest, have joined the Mutual Assistance Association."
"I've come to continue inviting you to join the association."
"Although I don't know why you didn't come yesterday, why you didn't give me a chance to prove myself."
Charlie continued, pointing to the apprentices huddled behind him:
"But look, if what I said was false, why would they choose to join the association..."
"As classmates who have lived together for nearly ten years, I sincerely want to unite everyone, and I truly want to help you."
"We need your strength as well, Colin!"
"Yeah, Colin, join us," the other apprentices chimed in from behind.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Colin's face.
'It seems... what Charlie said might indeed be true...'
A confident smile played across Charlie's face.
'You have no reason to not join, Colin.'
But his smile quickly froze.
Colin still shook his head:
"...Sorry, Charlie, it's not that I don't want to join, I just don't want to rush it. There's still a month and a half before the three-month deadline, isn't it?"
Charlie's expression was sincere; if what he said was true, it might really be in Colin's best interest.
But Colin truly didn't need to join some so-called Mutual Assistance Association.
According to his current progress, he would be able to break through to Intermediate Wizard Apprentice in just half a month.
"Colin, the sooner you join the association, the sooner everyone can accumulate power... you might not know, I've obtained a group witchcraft. The more people we have, the more power we can gather... and practicing witchcraft takes time," Charlie continued to explain.
His smile returned to his face.
He had anticipated this response and was prepared for it.
Colin furrowed his brows in thought.
Charlie quietly watched Colin, waiting for his response.
"...Sorry, Charlie," he pondered for a moment, then continued to decline, "I plan to try one more time, I might advance."
These were his true thoughts, but to Charlie, they clearly seemed evasive, and anger flared in his heart.
The other apprentices standing behind him also grew angry, with some even making sarcastic remarks:
"He doesn't even consider his own talent; he could at least find a credible excuse."
"Hey, Colin! You're too selfish! It's clearly good for you and everyone else!"
Charlie's brows furrowed tightly, he did not speak but merely sighed and shook his head at Wood behind him.
Wood sneered, baring his white teeth.
Colin's pupils shrank slightly, sensing trouble.
'Why!?"
He quickly stepped back and forcefully shut the door.
Bang!
The newly closed wooden door was violently struck, making a loud noise.
Colin, while casting Steel Armor, walked over to the wooden cabinet holding his bee stinger, his adrenaline secreted and causing his heart to beat slightly faster.
He hadn't expected Charlie to turn against him just like that, simply because he refused to join... and didn't he care about the opinions of the other apprentices?!
A few seconds later, a flash of white light streaked by, and a layer of invisible armor enveloped his entire body.
At the same time, he also pulled the bee stinger from its sheath, gripping it in his hand.
Bang!!
The wooden door shook violently and in the next second was knocked to the ground, the boards falling amidst a cloud of dust on the floor.
Haywood entered with a sinister smile, his large and robust body blocking out the sunlight that should have shone in through the doorway.
He looked contemptuously at Colin, who was holding a Knight Sword.
From the way Colin held his sword, it was clear he hadn't learned any Knight Combat Skills.
If Colin had started chanting a spell now, Haywood might be somewhat wary, but a physical fight with him... that was like a moth to a flame!
Even so, he cautiously drew the steel giant sword he'd been carrying on his back.
Colin's pupils dilated slightly; although they hadn't started fighting yet, the giant sword Haywood was wielding must weigh at least fifty pounds.
Just from that, it was clear his Knight Level must not be low!
Whoosh!!
Without giving Colin time to think, Haywood took a fierce step forward and swung his sword diagonally at Colin, aiming for his sword-bearing right hand.
Members of the School were not allowed to harm each other seriously, and Haywood held back a bit of his strength.
Clang!
The bee stinger clashed with the giant sword, emitting a crisp metallic sound.
Haywood stepped back half a step, his expression full of surprise and doubt, and his giant sword had been indented by the bee stinger.
Meanwhile, Colin stood in place, slightly rotating his right wrist, feeling a little relieved.
He could tell that Haywood hadn't used his full strength.
But judging from the force that had been transmitted, even though Haywood had held back, he was at most at the peak of the Knight Level, and had not reached the level of a Great Knight.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for him, lacking any Combat Skills, to block that sword.
At that moment, Charlie also entered and his expression changed upon seeing the result of their exchange.
With a thought, he swiftly launched an Air Missile at Colin at high speed.
Colin's heart skipped a beat, and he tried to dodge to the side.
But Haywood seized the opportunity, raising his giant sword to strike at him!
In the heat of the moment, Colin couldn't resist and had to endure a heavy slanted blow.
Thud!!
Colin staggered from the hit and crashed into the wall.
The Knight Breathing Method that Haywood practiced must have focused on strength, making that slanted blow extremely fierce!
Although he was not hurt thanks to his Steel Armor and the inherent Blood Energy protection of a Great Knight, he looked quite disheveled.
But Charlie was even more shocked than him.
"...Steel Armor and the rank of a Great Knight." He had a fluctuating expression, "It seems we have underestimated... Ah!"
Before he could finish speaking, a blinding burst of White Light suddenly exploded!
It caused both him and Haywood to temporarily lose their sight, forcing them to hurriedly retreat.
Colin stood up but didn't rush to attack. Instead, he pulled out a pair of homemade crystal sunglasses from his pocket and put them on.
Immediately after, a bright white orb of light hovered in front of his chest.
Haywood, whose vision had just slightly recovered, couldn't look directly at Colin due to the dazzling light and had to quickly pull Charlie back to retreat.
Colin pursued Haywood with long strides.
Ever since the Light Brightness Skill had proven effective in a surprise attack against a Polluter after a Limit Breaking, he had often pondered other uses for it.
This tactic of emitting a strong light while wearing sunglasses was a new application he had figured out.
With the intense light disrupting the enemy, they couldn't look directly at him, let alone see his moves clearly.
Obviously, this was highly effective in close combat.
Colin, holding a thin sword, stabbed toward Charlie's shoulder. Just like Haywood and others didn't dare to harm his life, he also didn't dare to strike lethally.
Thrust!
The sharp tip of the sword pierced into flesh, but Colin looked surprised.
He slowly withdrew the bee stinger from Haywood's body.
This strong black man had actually taken the initiative to block a sword for Charlie at the critical moment!