More than half a day after Saine woke up, he finally braced himself to his feet and crawled out of the crack in the cave, which was half a man's height.
He had remained there for another half day partly to wait for his strength to gradually return, and partly to seize the time to meditate and restore his Mental Strength and magic power.
Magic was the greatest source of strength that Magic Apprentices could rely on.
Although Saine was still rather listless overall, casting two spells should not have been a problem.
Moreover, the Strong Acid Scepter could be used again.
Unless he was unlucky enough to encounter another high-level magical beast attack over such a short distance, he should have been able to handle any ordinary trouble.
After leaving the crack, Saine first followed the route he remembered back to the main road leading to the City of Mozhsuobula.
All traces of the previous battle had long since vanished.
What had disappeared along with those traces included the Gray Dwarf's corpse, as well as some of the Spoils of War Saine had dropped.
The Underground World had its own unique rules and scavengers.
That was why Saine had forced his paralyzed body to leave the scene first and find a relatively hidden, safe place.
There was barely any lingering scent of blood in the murky air.
Without lingering there, Saine quickly headed toward the City of Mozhsuobula.
Since he traveled at full speed, it took only half a day before Saine saw the City of Mozhsuobula's distinctive battlements and walls.
Though the City of Mozhsuobula usually left the Black Wizard Apprentices living within it feeling oppressed, cold, and surrounded by darkness.
Whenever an academy mission ended and he returned to this city, Saine still felt a sincere flicker of peace and familiarity.
As an Intermediate Apprentice, Saine still used the City of Mozhsuobula's special passageway.
Perhaps because he had just been attacked by a Gray Dwarf and nearly lost his life, Saine could not conceal the disgust and rejection in his expression as he looked at the Underground Subhumans lining up along the main road to enter and leave the City of Mozhsuobula.
Unlike last time, when Saine passed through the city gate this time, none of the Intermediate or Low-Level Apprentices stationed nearby dared utter a single word of nonsense.
In truth, Saine looked utterly bedraggled. Not only was his Magic Robe badly damaged and worn, but his body was covered in wounds, and his face was deathly pale.
Yet
the unhealed wound on his neck had been carefully concealed beneath his Magic Robe.
After giving those apprentices a glance, Saine walked into the city.
"What happened? How did you get hurt so badly?"
"Didn't you say you'd be back within five days? It's already been seven days, and Lina even came to ask me about you yesterday."
When Fatty Baus saw Saine enter the shop, he hurried out from behind the counter and looked him up and down as he questioned him.
Seven days had passed, which meant Saine had been unconscious in that crack for nearly three days.
No wonder he had been completely drained of strength upon waking.
His weary, heavy body made Saine only briefly recount the attack he had suffered.
Though Saine revealed little between the lines, Fatty Baus could still sense the danger Saine had encountered on this trip.
"I knew it. I told you long ago that you should just take an easier garrison mission."
"You've clearly already found a Formal Black Wizard to lean on, so why are you still working this hard?" Fatty Baus nagged without end.
Those who walked different paths could not make common plans. Saine and Fatty had different ideals and ambitions, so he said nothing more and merely urged, "Hurry up and calculate how much Black Gold my gains are worth this time. I need to get back to the academy to submit my mission."
Sure enough, Saine's words finally shut Baus up.
The moment money was mentioned, the man perked right up.
After helping Saine remove the Spoils of War from his body, he immediately threw himself into appraising them.
By the time Saine returned to the City of Mozhsuobula, his gains had shrunk by at least thirty percent compared to when he had first left Gray White Valley.
Fortunately, Blue Jaw Feather claws came in pairs. There were still over thirty left in total, so handing over twenty to complete the mission would not be a problem.
Saine had not lost many Blue Jaw Feather beaks, only two.
After selling most of them to Baus, Saine kept seven for himself.
The three Blue Jaw Feather Eggs were the biggest haul of Saine's trip.
According to Baus, although no Black Magicians in the Underground World currently raised this kind of Demonized Creature, some of the larger Demi-human Tribes had actually developed rudimentary methods for taming and breeding Demonized Creatures.
The three Blue Jaw Feather Eggs in Saine's possession were absolutely premium goods that those Demi-human Tribes would scramble to buy.
If Baus handled the negotiations, each of the three Blue Jaw Feather Eggs could possibly sell for the high price of one hundred Black Gold.
After hearing Baus's introduction, Saine's expression turned complicated.
Just moments ago, he had hated the Underground Subhumans to the bone, yet now he was about to make money from them?
However, Saine did not remain conflicted for long. He was someone who placed profit above all else.
Besides, the Gray Dwarf who had attacked Saine was not necessarily a member of the Demi-human Tribe that would purchase these three Blue Jaw Feather Eggs.
Perhaps once those Demi-human Tribes grew stronger, they would turn around and help him wipe out the tribe that Gray Dwarf belonged to.
In the Underground World, racial conflicts had always been common.
The humans of the City of Mozhsuobula had the subtle protection and suppression of Black Magicians, so there was not as much trouble.
But those native Underground Subhumans and Dark Beings would never cease their annexations and conquests.
After some calculations, Baus appraised Saine's batch of goods at nearly five hundred Black Gold, a price that was somehow twice as much as Saine had originally expected to earn.
It was mainly those three Blue Jaw Feather Eggs. Saine had not expected them to be worth so much.
Of course, those Demi-human Tribes were certainly not buying them merely to raise three Blue Jaw Feathers.
Using the three newly hatched Blue Jaw Feathers as a foundation, their true goal was to obtain more Blue Jaw Feather Eggs and adult Blue Jaw Feather mounts in the future.
The Demi-human Tribes around the City of Mozhsuobula were generally not very large in stature.
Adult Blue Jaw Feathers were unsuitable as mounts for humans, but for those Demi-humans, they were just right.
Because the amount of Black Gold involved was rather high, Baus could not immediately pay Saine in full.
He could only give Saine the money after selling all these items.
Baus did mention that he could pay Saine an advance first, but Saine did not accept. After unloading the goods, he prepared to return to the academy at once to complete his mission.
Before he left the shop, Baus called out to Saine.
"Hey, catch this."
"Think of it as a free gift from me. Recover from your injuries properly!"
Baus tossed out a small red potion. Saine recognized it as a Low-Level Recovery Potion made by Meili.
Without saying anything more, Saine waved to Baus and hurried toward the academy.
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