Lina

Lina had a terrible temper, which was one reason many Magic Apprentices called her the "madwoman."

During the years Saine had lived at the City of Mozhsuobula Black Magic Academy, a large part of why he had made it this far, trembling on thin ice, came from Lina's protection, aside from his own cautious manner and resolute character.

Lina was a powerful Intermediate Apprentice. When Saine had first met her eight years ago, she had already reached that level.

If Low-Level Apprentices in the Black Wizard Academy could barely avoid being bullied, only those who reached Intermediate Apprentice or above could truly be called strong by other apprentices.

As for Advanced Apprentices, they were beings rarely seen by ordinary apprentices.

For example, Lilianya, whom Saine had spoken with yesterday—he had only heard of her reputation in the past. That had been his first conversation with an Advanced Apprentice.

The blood seeping from the mark on Saine's chest seemed to lower the temperature around Lina by several degrees.

However, when she heard from Saine that Yierke, who had tried to kill him, had instead been killed by Saine, and that the true cause of Saine's injuries was the biting and ramming of an Intermediate Magical Beast, the Saltwater Crocodile, Lina's fury visibly eased.

"Why did you go looking for trouble with a Saltwater Crocodile? Even I was reluctant to face a magical beast of that size in the past." Lina frowned slightly as she asked.

In the previous years, Lina had not cared so much about Saine. In her eyes, he had merely been a sensible experimental assistant.

Only after they had entered a relationship beyond friendship two years ago did the woman gradually accept Saine and reveal warmth beneath her cold exterior.

So Saine told her everything: how he had gone to the Saltwater Crocodile's territory in search of Starlight Grass, and how Formal Black Wizard Moxidu had then taken him as his disciple.

Upon learning that Saine had become a Formal Black Wizard's disciple, the cold-faced Lina finally showed a trace of surprise, along with faint gratification.

"Becoming a Formal Black Wizard's disciple is certainly a good thing."

"But you should have waited for me to return. The Saltwater Crocodile isn't something you can handle alone at your current level," Lina said.

"The mission Master Moxidu issued had a limited duration, and I was worried the Saltwater Crocodile would eat the Starlight Grass, or that some other change might occur."

"And if I had obtained the Starlight Grass through you, perhaps Master Moxidu would not have accepted me as his disciple."

"To survive in a place like the Underdark and achieve anything, one must inevitably face dangers of every kind. I can't remain under your protection forever." Saine shook his head and added.

Saine's answer brought obvious surprise to Lina's cold face.

But Saine did not notice the change in Lina's expression. Instead, he asked about her.

"Where have you been for the past half month? I was worried about you," Saine asked quietly.

Faced with the concern and care overflowing in Saine's tone, the coldness on Lina's face melted away, revealing a faint smile.

This was the first time Saine had seen Lina smile in nearly two years. That smile was not only because of Saine's concern; there were other reasons as well.

"I've advanced to Advanced Apprentice. For the past half month, I've been in secluded meditation in the academy's cultivation chamber."

"We can move to another room next. The rooms in those two dormitory buildings at the back are better than this one, both in size and in the completeness of their Laboratory Tables," Lina said.

Advancing to Advanced Apprentice was the true reason Lina was smiling.

She also hoped Saine could share in her joy.

Leaving the place he had lived in for eight years would be difficult for Saine to adapt to in the short term.

But this was, after all, for a better living environment and greater room for development for both him and Lina. Besides, Saine had also been accepted as Moxidu's disciple. For the two of them, it was no less than double happiness arriving at the door.

"Hehe, I'll go to Black Street and buy a fish. Let's celebrate properly today," Saine said with a smile.

Magic Apprentices were people too; they could not live without food and drink.

From returning to the dormitory yesterday until now, Saine had only drunk half a bottle of Intermediate Antidote and had not eaten anything.

Lina could not cook. It had always been Saine's job.

During the first few years Saine and Lina lived together, Lina had gradually accepted him not only because he was handsome and performed excellently while assisting with experiments, but also because of the little things in daily life.

Black Street.

A special commercial street located within the magic academy.

It was a place the apprentices of the Black Wizard Academy often visited. From spellcasting materials, Alchemy Potions, and magic items to daily necessities and all manner of little trinkets, it had everything!

It was said that behind every magic shop on Black Street stood Advanced Apprentices or above, perhaps even Formal Black Wizards.

Indeed, only such beings possessed the ability and wealth to produce the corresponding magic equipment or Alchemy Potions.

When Saine arrived at Black Street, Lina went with him.

Perhaps half a month of secluded meditation had left Lina feeling stifled, or perhaps she was worried Saine's injuries had not fully healed. The usually taciturn Lina, who rarely went out, actually came with him to buy groceries today.

A Black Sharkscale Fish, a specialty of an underground river, was Saine's main target for this trip.

This was no ordinary fish. It was a Demonized Creature that already possessed a certain amount of Element Power, roughly equivalent in rank to those Entry-Level Magic Apprentices who had just enrolled at the academy.

Its enormous maw, sharp teeth, and pointed barbs covering its body marked it as anything but a gentle creature.

At the Keda Magic Material Shop in the center of Black Street, this Black Sharkscale Fish was also a rare Demonized Creature worth as much as eight Black Gold.

Having just made a windfall off Yierke's corpse, Saine did not care about spending eight Black Gold.

In fact, if he ate in the academy cafeteria, a whole Black Sharkscale Fish would cost no less than twenty Black Gold.

As the common currency of the City of Mozhsuobula, Black Gold had always held its value.

Saine did not know exactly how much private money Lina had, but after all these years, he himself had accumulated only a little over twenty Black Gold.

Under normal circumstances, no Low-Level or Intermediate Apprentice would be extravagant enough to sample Demonized Creatures.

Although consuming such Demonized Creatures could indeed improve their constitutions, most apprentices would still use their limited money to purchase spellcasting materials or Magic Books.

After buying the Black Sharkscale Fish, just as Saine and Lina paid and were about to leave, they ran into some troublesome fellows.

At their head was the scar-faced apprentice from the city wall yesterday.

Conflicts rarely broke out on Black Street, because there was almost no shopkeeper here that apprentices could afford to offend.

The scar-faced apprentice's group did not intend to make things difficult for Saine and Lina here. But upon seeing the Black Sharkscale Fish in Saine's hand, the scar-faced apprentice let out a sinister chuckle. "You've made something of yourself, Saine. I heard you actually killed Yierke yesterday."

"Tut, tut. Don't tell me you bought this Black Sharkscale Fish with Yierke's Black Gold?" Scarface Qiao Ke sneered.

Scarface Qiao Ke and his group outnumbered them, and Saine did not want to start a fight with them at such a critical moment.

Moreover, this fellow was clearly not very well informed. He did not know that Saine had already been accepted as Master Moxidu's disciple.

That made sense. Aside from Lilianya and Lina, Saine had not told any other magic apprentice about it.

And given Lilianya's lofty position, she clearly had no interest in gathering with a group of apprentices below Intermediate Apprentice.

Scarface Qiao Ke's mockery drew loud laughter from the group accompanying him.

Not all of these apprentices were Qiao Ke's lackeys. There were, for example, three Intermediate Apprentices among them whose status and strength were equal to Qiao Ke's.

If Saine had been alone, he would have endured Qiao Ke's sarcasm. The other side had superior numbers, and since Saine had become Master Moxidu's disciple, there would be plenty of chances to deal with them in the future.

But Saine was not alone now.

Whoosh! A fireball the size of a basketball suddenly appeared at Lina's fingertips.

No one knew when the woman had silently completed her spell chant, but she had actually struck directly on Black Street.

The massive fireball was a full size larger than Saine's own Minor Fireball.

And the fireball was not crimson, but a deep blue that felt eerie and unsettling!

"Advanced Apprentice!" Among Scarface Qiao Ke's companions, someone who recognized it cried out in shock.

The new book is setting sail. Four chapters a day are planned for now. Friends who want to send rewards or monthly votes can wait until the first of next month—Little Bean will have a featured recommendation on June 1st~