Chapter 58

"Elemental Fission Device?" After hearing the words of his senior brother, Sain was taken aback.

He first thought of the alchemy experiments he had assisted his mentor, Mosido, with over the past few years.

"That's right, the ones we did in the laboratory."

"Now that the magic altar is concealing everything, we can't see what's happening inside clearly."

"Once we all go inside, you'll find that many of the devices at the entrance of the spatial rift are from our alchemy laboratory," Senior Brother Zorro said in a low voice.

Apart from this insider information, Senior Brother Zorro also mentioned that re-establishing the safe paths around the spatial rift shouldn't take too long.

Perhaps in a few days, they could resume their exploration of the magic altar and the spatial rift.

"I just hope those beginner and low-level apprentices can withstand the toll," Sain sighed softly.

Sain's sigh was not out of concern for the low-level and beginner apprentices.

He was purely worried that if those weaker apprentices were to die off, the next to suffer would be intermediate apprentices like himself.

Sain was not afraid of the uncertainties of exploring other planes and spatial rifts. After all, living in the Dark Region, where life was already precarious, was a common state.

Dying in such a way was too frustrating. He had lived in the Black Magic Academy for over a decade, not wanting to end up as cannon fodder, sent to die.

While Sain and Senior Brother Zorro were having a low conversation in the tent, some faint groans and the sounds of corpse transportation suddenly appeared in the Shadow Valley.

The three people in the tent exchanged glances.

Senior Sister Phoebe reacted the fastest, rushing to the tent entrance, lifting a corner of the curtain, and quietly looking out.

The Shadow Valley, which was as bright as daylight, now had dozens of minotaurs starting to work.

Injured apprentices and dismembered corpses were continuously being carried out of the magic altar by these minotaurs.

Of course, many of the minotaurs entering the magic altar also came out injured.

A few had even lost an arm.

Unlike the severely injured apprentices who were still screaming, these minotaurs were almost all models of endurance and pain tolerance.

Under the direct orders of formal black mages, they remained silent no matter how severe their injuries.

The appearance of these severely injured apprentices made the other apprentices in the Shadow Valley, including Sain, breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as the death rate wasn't 100%, it meant there was still hope of survival.

However, after a brief sigh of relief, most of the apprentices soon became anxious again.

Look at the beginner apprentices being carried out of the magic altar! Almost none of them were intact!

The surviving apprentices were mostly missing limbs.

The dismembered corpses thrown out were so mangled that their original forms were unrecognizable, just piles of red flesh!

For long-term apprentices like Sain, the situation was still better.

As more and more blood and flesh were carried out, many newly joined beginner apprentices, after a cry and a scream, rushed out of their tents, trying to escape the Shadow Valley.

The fate of these apprentices was not good.

Some stepped on the magic barriers set up by the black mages around the Shadow Valley, turning into charred corpses without even a scream.

Others were driven back by the minotaurs, dark creatures, and academy inspectors scattered around the Shadow Valley.

Those who were driven back were even deprived of the right to stay in the tents.

They were thrown in front of the magic altar, facing the intense blood smell it emitted. Clearly, they would be the first to explore the altar the next day!

Sain was not concerned about the lives of these timid and cowardly apprentices. These apprentices clearly had not adapted to the rules of the underground world.

Even if they survived the spatial rift this time, they would not live long in the Dark Region.

Sain and other senior apprentices of the Black Magic Academy were more focused on the severely injured apprentices being carried out of the magic altar.

What relieved Sain and others was that the high-ranking black mages did not mistreat these "meritorious individuals."

In addition to assigning a specific tent area for these survivors, a few black mages personally descended to gather information from the beginner apprentices.

Apart from the beginner apprentices, one of the three quasi-mages who entered the magic altar first also managed to survive.

However, this guy did not come out unscathed.

Both legs were completely severed at the root. It was unknown whether a quasi-mage could regrow limbs.

Formal black mage Master Koslon was an expert in this field and might be able to give this quasi-mage a new pair of legs.

Compared to the treatment of other beginner apprentices, this surviving quasi-mage was sent to the magic tower next to Sain's tent.

Senior Brother Zorro recognized this quasi-mage, introducing him as Andal, a disciple of a formal black mage, with strength comparable to his own.

The fact that even disciples of formal black mages were involved in this dangerous spatial rift exploration showed how desperate the black mages of Mithral City were to explore the other side of the spatial rift.

If even a quasi-mage like Andal was half-severed, could a weaker black magic apprentice like Sain hope to survive unscathed?

...

On the afternoon of the second day, the exploration of the magic altar resumed.

This time, fewer beginner apprentices were driven into it, only a few dozen.

It seemed the black mages did not intend to send all the apprentices in at once, or they were unwilling to bear the loss of all the apprentices being consumed.

However, similar to yesterday, soon after these apprentices were thrown into the magic altar, screams and howls echoed.

It was as if there were terrifying, man-eating monsters deep within the magic altar, and the dismembered apprentices from yesterday were their victims.

The screams continued for a long time, making the atmosphere in the Shadow Valley even more oppressive.

After a long while, the screams gradually subsided.

The black mages continued to record the information they obtained, and the weak apprentices driven into the magic altar were carried out by minotaurs and dark creatures.

The overall casualty rate of these apprentices was actually lower than yesterday.

But few apprentices noticed this. The frequent dismembered limbs made too many black magic apprentices live in constant fear.

That night, another group of black magic apprentices tried to escape the Shadow Valley.

This time, the black mages did not tolerate them.

They were directly killed by dark creatures or academy inspectors!

Including their corpses, half were devoured by the fearsome dark creatures, and the other half were wrapped in spider silk and hung around the Shadow Valley as a warning.

It seemed that after two days and nights of investigation and the sacrifice of hundreds of apprentices, the black mages began to care less about the loss of these apprentices.