Chapter 21

"Hehehe, quite a good battle."

"If you hadn't become Ferona's disciple, I would have taken you in."

After the grade assessment ended, Master Andis, responsible for distributing the academy's rewards, ignored the three awardees and came to Lina's side, smiling softly.

The most spectacular battle of this grade assessment was undoubtedly the confrontation between Lina and Death Hand Mike.

The dazzling magical elements were secondary; what truly caught the attention of formal black mages like Andis was the underlying killing intent and the two combatants' fearless fighting styles.

Yes, only such battles should exist among black magic apprentices!

The recent scene made Master Andis feel as if he had returned to five hundred years ago, when he was just a small apprentice struggling in the Black Domain.

For Andis, memories of his weak period often did not include many good ones.

But it was precisely because of this that Andis remembered it vividly, using it as motivation to constantly push himself to become stronger.

"This piece of black copper is a personal reward from me. Work hard and I look forward to more surprises from you in the future." Andis tossed a palm-sized black metal block to Lina and then flew away on his own.

Throughout the entire time, he did not even glance at the three senior apprentices who received the awards.

Since Lina and Mike had fought to a mutual defeat, neither of them made it into the top three.

The final top three were Sain's senior apprentice, Phoebe, the senior apprentice, Zira, and Lilianya.

Although Sain's senior apprentice, Phoebe, was quite capable, she relied more on the numerous magical equipment at her disposal.

Lilianya was simply lucky, having picked up an easy win.

She, who had been watching Lina and Mike's battle out of the corner of her eye, knew how formidable these two were.

Especially the former, who, despite having been a senior apprentice for not long, fought with such decisiveness and ruthlessness. Her mastery of advanced magic was also very fluid, truly a genius.

Senior apprentice Zira was probably the only one who deserved the academy's reward based on her strength.

But her overall strength was on par with Death Hand Mike.

Given Lina's outstanding performance, it was no wonder Master Andis did not even give him a second glance.

"Gugugu!" a sound came from in front of Sain.

Standing before him was an owl as tall as a person.

Sain and this owl had a special connection; this was already the third time they had interacted.

Even when Lina and Mike were almost fighting to the death, it was this owl that first intervened, using a wind barrier created by its wings to temporarily separate the two.

In the end, they retreated to the safety line due to mutual fear and Sain's earnest persuasion of Lina.

"This is a token of my gratitude for your timely intervention, including the one in the dungeon..." Sain respectfully said to the owl, while at the same time pulling out ten black gold coins from his pocket.

Faced with the black gold Sain offered, the owl inspector blinked but remained still.

Sain suddenly recalled a time when he was researching in the public library and found in a book about underground magical beasts that magical beasts generally preferred to consume energy crystals or live in areas rich in energy elements.

Seeing this, Sain immediately pulled out the only elemental crystal he had on him.

It was a low-level earth crystal, half of its internal energy already consumed, which he had obtained from the dead Ilk.

Sure enough, as soon as Sain took out the earth crystal, the owl in front of him finally moved.

Its long, hooked beak flashed, and the next second, the crystal in his hand disappeared, followed by the sound of "crunching" from in front of him.

These owl inspectors of the academy should be wind-type magical beasts. The magic they used and their speed had clear characteristics of wind-type magical beasts.

A mere low-level energy crystal with only half its energy left was just enough to satisfy the owl inspector's appetite.

But this was still good, as few apprentices knew to show respect to these academy inspectors.

Even orders from the vice-principal or principal could hardly make these capable academy inspectors leave the city of Mithral, let alone actively go out to hunt for magical cores.

"Apprentice, I will remember you."

"My name is Seven. If you need anything, you can find me in the canopy on the east side of the White Raven Forest, gugugu!" The owl said this and then flapped its wings, leaving the training ground.

The White Raven Forest was not far from the apprentice dormitories. On the east side, Sain remembered there were no buildings, only a tall wall and a dense forest of white raven trees.

After watching the owl leave, Sain turned and walked toward Lina.

Master Andis, the formal black mage, had already left, and Sain's senior apprentice, Phoebe, had also left early. At this moment, only Lina and the fat Bos were present.

"Ah, did I come too late!"

"Sain, you are badly injured. I have a potion here!" As Sain approached Lina, a green-haired girl suddenly jumped out from the side and ran to his side.

The green-haired girl was none other than Melly, one of the only two junior apprentices Sain could confide in at the Black Magic Academy.

Sain had thought she would not participate in the grade assessment this time, but she arrived just as it ended.

Melly was two years younger than Sain, and due to her slow development, she looked even younger than Lina.

Unlike the cutthroat atmosphere among the apprentices at the Black Magic Academy, Melly seemed like a pure girl who did not belong in this dark place.

If it weren't for her good luck in finding a formal black mage as her mentor early on, Sain doubted she would have survived.

Upon arriving at the training ground, Melly immediately noticed the wounds on Sain's arm, armpit, and thigh.

Sain had engaged in battles with two capable junior apprentices, and although he ultimately won, he inevitably sustained some minor injuries.

Compared to the death aura surrounding Lina, these injuries were nothing.

They would heal naturally in one or two months without any potions.

What truly needed potions and other recovery methods was Lina.

The death aura from Death Hand Mike had left Lina looking very pale.

She needed to take antidotes and purification potions as soon as possible. Although these potions were expensive, Lina, as a senior apprentice, should be able to afford them.

At the very least, she could return to her mentor, Master Ferona, who, no matter how difficult to deal with, would not ignore her condition.

Sain's polite refusal and the cold aura emanating from Lina made the petite Melly, who was less than 1.5 meters tall, jump back in fright.

Melly had always been a bit afraid of Sain's cohabiting girlfriend.

Although Lina had never actively targeted Melly, in Sain's memory, she had never given Melly a good face either.

In the past, Sain thought this was the disdain and cold attitude of a powerful apprentice toward a lower-level one.

But now, he sensed something else.

Although Melly was scared, her intentions were good.

Trembling, she pulled out a small transparent vial from a red cloth in her pocket.

This was a low-level antidote made by Melly herself.

Although it couldn't completely remove all the necrotic poison from Lina, it would at least make her feel better.

Lina's cold expression softened slightly at Melly's kind gesture.