Dark Horse
A sudden, violent explosion rang out on the calm, shimmering water.
Not only did it splash water dozens of meters high, but a dazzling golden light also streaked across the water.
The shrieking sound of Otherworld Water Serpent lingered on both sides of this winding river.
However, as time passed and the sounds of elemental explosions continued, these shrieks gradually subsided, replaced by the excited laughter of several apprentices.
In fact, Saine is not as dark and ruthless as the Quasi-Magician Jack thought.
Although he was indifferent to the life and death of the weak, Saine was relatively kind to those who could help him.
Especially when the other party can prove their worth.
The role played by the few mid- to low-level apprentices of the Azure Source Holy Tower was very limited, but they did help Saine to some extent.
Of the five Otherworld Water Serpent, one, already severely injured by Saine, was killed instantly by a Fireball Spell from Intermediate Apprentice Vili, who stumbled upon it by sheer luck.
The 100 points gained from the Otherworld Water Serpent made Vili, an Intermediate Apprentice, scream with excitement.
However, the little girl still cautiously looked at Saine in the end, and only after seeing that Saine did not care at all did she completely relax.
As the first marker, Saine received a 500-point reward for the Water Secret Mine.
In addition, all four Otherworld Water Serpent were killed by him, which also brought Saine an additional 400 points.
A total of 900 points, bringing Saine's total points to over 2300.
To have such a high number of points in just the first month of the Regional Holy Tower Academy War. →
Although Saine was unsure about the other Holy Tower apprentices' point accumulation, he roughly deduced that he was among the faster ones.
Nearly a hundred exposed pieces of Water Secret Stone ore are another find for Saine at this Medium Resource Point.
It's a pity that Saine was in a hurry to get to the next area; otherwise, if he had patiently mined this Water Secret Stone vein, the profits would have been quite considerable.
The second and third markers of the Water Secret Stone vein were obtained by the freckled male apprentice and the female apprentice Vili, respectively.
The hundreds of points they gained made their time spent lingering near the great river worthwhile.
Considering that these apprentices had played a certain role, after collecting the more valuable parts from the four Otherworld Water Serpent, Saine said to them, "Although continuously occupying Medium Resource Point yields five times the points every ten days compared to Small Resource Point, I advise you not to linger here."
"Yes, senior," the female apprentice Vili, replied respectfully.
The freckled male apprentice also respectfully replied,
But Saine noticed that the other party's gaze was mostly fixed on the underwater Water Secret Mine.
Even Saine was tempted by the Water Secret Mine, so there's no reason why these mid- to low-level apprentices wouldn't be interested.
However, that was all that Saine said, and he didn't say anything more.
They used the Levitation Spell to cross the river and flew towards the Apprentice Zone of Shadow of Darkness Holy Tower.
Saine's flight toward the Shadow of Darkness Holy Tower Region left the female apprentice, Vili, dumbfounded.
The other apprentices also stared blankly as Saine left, wondering what Saine was planning to do.
The male freckled apprentice's voice interrupted Vili's astonishment, "Come help me underwater, there are lots of Water Secret Mine here! Also, Vili, don't waste your Otherworld Water Serpent's Spoils of War."
"Coming, coming," Vili finally replied.
Outside the Trial Space.
Apart from a few high-ranking Holy Tower Master and the esteemed Summer Guardian, who are also paying attention to this apprentice war.
The Formal Magician, Grade Director, and academy deans of the various Holy Tower are also closely watching this Regional Holy Tower Academy War.
However, ordinary Formal Magician, unlike the tower masters, did not appear directly above the Trial Space.
Therefore, the specific details of the war within the Trial Space cannot be clearly seen.
Their main focus is still on the apprentice points leaderboard.
The apprentice points ranking is jointly set up by several Holy Tower. The Mage of this Holy Tower can not only see the apprentice points of their own Holy Tower, but also the apprentice points of other Holy Tower, and get the total points ranking.
At this moment, in front of the leaderboard of the Azure Source Holy Tower, many Formal Magician who had come to watch were whispering among themselves.
"Who is this Saine?"
"Is he your new disciple, Master Morris?"
"No, he is not my disciple. In this Academy War, only Daniel participated."
"Who is that? Could it be your student, Ms. Sarefin?"
"She's not my disciple. My disciple is Anna, and I only accept female disciples."
"..."
Johnny's expression was strange as he stood in front of the somewhat noisy real-time leaderboard.
Irene the Mage also had a strange expression on her face, just like Johnny's.
"Huh? Saine? I remember this apprentice. He took my course on the basics of otherworldly creatures. He's a pretty good kid." Lan Qi, Formal Magician who had just arrived at the leaderboard, said in surprise.
Following Lan Qi, several other Formal Magician, after appearing deep in thought and recollection, mentioned the name Saine.
They seemed to have a vague recollection of it, and it seemed they had also attended their courses.
The main reason is that Saine is usually too low-key in the academy and is not the kind of person who likes to show off in public classes.
Aside from liking to occupy the very center of the classroom, he wouldn't interact with anyone else, simply quietly taking notes and recording relevant knowledge points.
These Formal Magician had some impression of Saine because Saine was always the closest to them in class, so they inevitably had a vague impression of him.
The words of these Formal Magician made Johnny's expression even stranger, as did the expressions of a few other Mage.
Although the Azure Source Holy Tower is newly established and its apprentices are generally not very strong, it is still a powerful Holy Tower organization with its own top students and elite apprentices.
For example, among the tens of thousands of apprentices participating in this trial, those who were highly anticipated beforehand were Daniel, the Quasi-Magician ranked first on the academy's Combat Power Ranking, and Anna, the Quasi-Magician ranked second on the academy's Combat Power Ranking.
These two are also considered top contenders for a spot in the top 20 of the overall standings.
Daniel's mentor, Morris, is a Second-Level Magician in the academy and, like Johnny, holds the title of Grade Director.
Anna's mentor, Ms. Sarefin, was also a well-known Second-Level Magician. Although she did not hold the position of Grade Director, her husband was the dean of the academy.
Most of the Holy Tower Magician, including Johnny, were initially focused on the changes in the two apprentices' scores.
In fact, the two apprentices did not disappoint them.
In just the first month, Daniel already had 2230 points, which is a remarkable achievement compared to previous years, making it a good start in this year's Regional Holy Tower Academy War.
Anna's points are slightly worse, with only 2050 points, but she has still broken the 2000 mark and is currently clinging to 19th place in the overall rankings.
But where did that Saine with 2350 points come from?
Just as Johnny hesitated whether to reveal that Saine was his apprentice in the same year.
"Ho!" A low exclamation came from among the group of Formal Magician.
On the screen displaying real-time scores, Saine's total score suddenly jumped to 2860 points!
Not only did he surpass Daniel by nearly 600 points, but he also temporarily ranked ninth on the overall points leaderboard!
Such results, even if only considered in the real-time leaderboard, are not the final outcome.
But at least since the establishment of the Azure Source Holy Tower Academy, there has never been one.