As soon as the words fell, 99.8% of the people present were completely bewildered, with only the remaining 0.2 consisting of gon and No.18.
Gon had no idea what any of it meant. He simply felt that this person was extremely powerful.
As for No.18, the gentle light in her eyes—eyes filled with infinite charm—almost pierced straight into Roy's bones.
Cold-light coronal discharge?
Electro-excitation light?
Air ionization?
Plasma potential difference?
Dielectric breakdown value?
And so on…
What kind of nonsense was this? Everyone present, including the first mate and Kurapika, felt utterly confused.
However, there was one thing they did understand. This so-called St. Elmo's Fire was merely a normal natural phenomenon and did not represent anything ominous.
There was also that helpless undertone of "none of you have read a book," along with the unconscious sense of superiority that came from a top student explaining things to a group of academic failures. Although Roy had no intention of mocking them, the tone still struck their pride hard, making everyone present feel uncomfortable.
"That's not right! St. Elmo's Fire is a curse! A legend passed down from my uncle's second cousin's third sister-in-law's fourth aunt says she encountered St. Elmo's Fire, and the entire ship was destroyed. Only three or four people survived!"
Someone shouted from the crowd.
"A curse?" Roy looked toward the speaker with a dead-fish stare.
"Do you know why this weather phenomenon is called St. Elmo's Fire?"
"For… for what reason?"
"Because the name 'St. Elmo's Fire' comes from a saint in a country called Italy—Saint Elmo. That country traditionally regarded him as the patron saint of sailors. In the past, when people saw glowing light on the masts of ships during violent thunderstorms, they believed it was a blessing from their guardian saint. That's how the name originated."
"Traditionally, in the mythology of an ancient country called Greece, when people at sea saw a single crown of discharge light, they called it Helen. When they saw a pair, they called them Castor and Pollux. Along with Cretanistrix, these figures were described in Greek myths as two sets of twins born after the god Zeus had an affair with the Spartan princess Leda."
"The brothers Castor and Pollux joined many voyages of the Argo and were said to protect the crew from atop the ship's masts. Because of this, they were regarded as guardians of sailors."
"So even if we treat it as nothing more than legend, from both traditional and mythological perspectives, St. Elmo's Fire symbolizes protection, good fortune, and blessing. Where exactly does this so-called curse come from?"
The entire audience was stunned into silence.
Even the captain and the first mate widened their eyes, staring at Roy with blank expressions.
Except for gon and No.18.
"Haw."
The pipe in the red-nosed captain's mouth slipped free and fell onto the deck.
The sound snapped him back to his senses.
The red-nosed captain bent down to pick up his pipe and muttered,
"Damn… I've sailed these seas for decades, and this is the first time I've heard that St. Elmo's Fire has so many origins and explanations."
The candidates and the first mate gradually recovered as well, but none of them responded to Roy. On one hand, they didn't know how to reply. On the other hand, they really did not want to talk to him anymore—it hurt their pride too much. One by one, they fell silent and focused on dealing with the storm.
Well, as academic failures, they needed to have the self-awareness of academic failures. Roy was quite satisfied with his eloquence.
After Roy's impromptu "science lecture," the panic and fear that had spread across the ship dissipated noticeably.
People were no longer terrified, but the violent waves still raged, and the Poseidon continued to rock violently.
Earlier, many people had already been swept off their feet and thrown across the deck.
There were also many seasick, pale-faced candidates slumped weakly on the floor.
Roy could not be bothered to care about them. His strength was not enough to save everyone anyway, and this was the Hunter x Hunter exam—not a child's game. If they could not even endure a bit of wind and waves, they might as well go home early.
So Roy and No.18 casually found a relatively clean spot to sit down. Under the flow of Ki, a thin layer of Ki formed around them, keeping their surroundings dry and free from seawater.
The waves crashed.
The wind howled.
Yet Roy and No.18 sat calmly, completely unaffected.
Their behavior naturally caught the attention of a blond young man who had been quietly observing them.
Roy sensed the gaze. Although it was subtle, nothing could escape someone who had already mastered perception through Ki.
But Roy did not care. Even if that gaze belonged to one of the three future protagonists of Hunter x Hunter, it made no difference.
Feeling the power of the storm, Roy's eyes flickered slightly as he stood up.
He suddenly remembered that during the second phase of the exam, they would encounter a willful and brutal woman. Since they were still at sea, he decided to prepare in advance.
…
The Poseidon continued sailing through the storm. Roy quickly finished his preparations, and after the rain weakened, the red-nosed captain walked over to him.