Chapter 17

Besides Boss the Fat, Sain had another close friend who knew him inside out, named Mei Li.

This was a young girl who had arrived in the Dark Region three years after Sain and Boss, and was only fourteen years old this year.

Although she was only fourteen, Mei Li's luck and talent were enough to make Sain envious.

Apart from having an initial mental strength of 13 points, in her third year at the Black Magic Academy, she, who had just been promoted to a junior apprentice, was taken on as a disciple by a formal black magician.

The reason Sain and Mei Li were close stemmed from an incident five years ago during an experimental anatomy class, where he had saved her life.

Thanks to Sain's moment of compassion, he mustered the courage to speak up for her, thus sparing Mei Li from being dissected by Master Kosolong.

It was this experience that made Mei Li, who had just arrived in the Dark Region and had no one to rely on, completely recognize Sain as her big brother.

Even after she became a disciple of Master Dylas, a formal black magician, she never severed her ties with Sain. Instead, the two would often discuss academic matters after public classes.

Master Dylas was a renowned alchemist, but unfortunately, this master rarely appeared in public classes to impart knowledge.

Mei Li's becoming his disciple was purely a matter of luck.

Including the fact that she had rarely appeared in the past six months, she was likely assisting Master Dylas with some experiments or potion formulations.

The reason Mei Li and Boss became Sain's close friends, besides the aforementioned connections, was also due to Sain's careful maintenance and nurturing of these friendships.

In the Black Magic Academy, it was hard to get by without a few allies.

Although Mei Li and Boss were not particularly strong, the former had a formal black magician as her mentor and was also involved in alchemy.

The latter, on the other hand, had a wide network of contacts and business acumen.

In many situations, they could support each other, allowing them to thrive in the Black Magic Academy.

It was all for survival.

Sain was indeed extremely interested in the mysteries of magic and the truths known by black magicians.

But he was well aware that his primary goal was still to survive.

...

The location for the grade assessment was behind the largest building in the Black Magic Academy, where there was a relatively spacious training ground.

Many apprentices would come here to practice when they mastered a new spell.

Sain still remembered that the first small flame he conjured was here.

The grade assessment at the Black Magic Academy did not have overly detailed regulations, as the high-ranking black magicians clearly did not have the energy to deal with such matters.

The number of formal black magicians attending the grade assessment each year rarely exceeded four, and this year, as last year, there were only three.

In the vast training ground, over five hundred magic apprentices entered intermittently.

This was almost eighty percent of the total number of apprentices in the city of Muzubura, with the majority being entry-level and junior apprentices.

There were about seventy intermediate apprentices, and only a dozen or so senior apprentices.

This was definitely not the total number of all apprentices in the Black Magic Academy. For example, Sain knew that his senior sister, Phyllis, had come to participate in this year's grade assessment, but his senior brother, Zorro, had not.

In addition, some apprentices were unable to attend for various reasons.

The Black Magic Academy had never strictly required all apprentices to participate in the assessment.

After all, the assessment was a game for the strong, and the weak... could be eliminated in the normal life of the Black Magic Academy.

The specific content of the grade assessment was essentially a series of duels.

Apprentices of different levels could fight each other on the stage, with no holds barred and no discussion of life or death.

Of course, you could also choose to challenge a higher level. If you won, not only would your ranking be locked in the top three, but you would also have a high probability of gaining the recognition of the few formal black magicians present.

For entry-level apprentices, due to their limited knowledge of magic, low mental strength, and low magic power, they might not even be able to cast a single spell.

Therefore, in the entry-level apprentice circle, their ranking was determined either by their ability to defeat or kill their opponents without using magic, or by their ability to successfully cast a low-level spell.

By the time Sain and Boss had walked through the entire training ground, they still hadn't seen Mei Li. Sain guessed that she probably wouldn't be coming this time.

"Are you going to participate in the ranking competition this time?" Boss asked Sain in a low voice.

Sain, who was already wearing a pale mask, nodded in response to Boss's question and said, "Sister said that this year's academy assessment might have some good prizes, and I should try to compete for them."

Hearing this, Boss also nodded in agreement.

From information obtained from other magic apprentices, Boss knew that Sain, besides the pale mask, also had a very powerful magic wand, which was a protective item given to him by his mentor, Moses.

With that wand in hand, Sain even had the strength to challenge the intermediate apprentice circle.

...

After the grade assessment officially began, the three black magicians sitting in the highest stands of the training ground had already taken their seats.

"There are quite a few good prospects this year," one of the black magicians remarked.

He first looked at the dozen or so senior apprentices, then at the intermediate apprentices, and finally gave a cursory glance at the junior apprentices.

As for the much larger number of entry-level apprentices, this black magician didn't even bother to look at them.

It's worth noting that when he looked at the junior apprentices, he paused for half a second on Sain.

He recognized Sain. Two months ago, Sain and Lina had caused a big commotion in the Black Street, and one of the two formal black magicians present was him.

The number of black magicians in Muzubura was neither too many nor too few. Almost every black magician served as a patron or had a corresponding responsibility in the academy.

From a certain perspective, the city of Muzubura provided a shelter for these black magicians, and the academy provided a place for them to exchange and communicate.

In return, these selfish and unruly black magicians had to do something for the academy and the city of Muzubura.

One of the great secrets unknown to the lower-level apprentices was that the mayor of Muzubura was actually the mysterious and powerful headmaster of the Black Magic Academy.

However, the headmaster almost never appeared before the apprentices, and even formal black magicians found it difficult to see him.

Currently, maintaining the normal operation of the Black Magic Academy and having some authority to assign these black magicians were the three vice-headmasters.

Dadalong, whom Sain had previously interacted with, was one of them. He was the one with the most responsibilities, including overseeing the owl academy inspectors.

The other two vice-headmasters were equally low-key. Lilianya, the senior apprentice, was the only female among the three vice-headmasters.