Chapter 64

As an intermediate apprentice, in the Black Magic Academy of Moresbora City, one could be considered a minor expert.

In a situation where senior apprentices and quasi-mages rarely appear in the field of view of junior and beginner apprentices, intermediate apprentices are almost at the pinnacle of over eighty percent of the academy's apprentices.

This unnamed intermediate apprentice, who had turned into a mummy, still left some good things for Sain.

Two pieces of low-level magical equipment, with their elemental power almost depleted, only earned a few glances from Sain.

What could be considered a pleasant surprise were several magic beast cores of varying quality, ranging from low to intermediate levels, and a relatively thin magic book that he had kept close to his body inside his black robe.

It seemed that the elemental storage capacity of magic beast cores was stronger than that of ordinary magical items.

Or perhaps, the alchemist who made the equipment for this intermediate apprentice was not very skilled, probably a half-baked one.

That was why Sain didn't pay much attention to those two low-level magical items.

"Introduction to the Cultivation and Breeding of Magic Plants?" Sain couldn't help but be speechless as he looked at the magic book, partially eroded by wind and sand.

"This seems to be an intermediate apprentice who specialized in plant magic, and this book also records a model of an intermediate-level magic called 'Vine Entanglement.'"

"Unfortunately, in this environment, plant mages are indeed the hardest to adapt." Sain sighed.

On this plant mage apprentice, Sain found no other valuable items.

In theory, a plant mage apprentice should often carry some strange and exotic plant seeds.

But looking at the shriveled belly of this apprentice, Sain could guess where those seeds had ended up.

Putting the few items he had found into his spatial ring, Sain continued to move forward, gazing at the endless desert.

Oh, right, Sain actually had another find on this apprentice.

It was an elemental orb identical to the one in Sain's possession.

Judging from the heat it emitted and the relatively thick elemental aura, this thing had a lower rate of energy loss than magic beast cores, living up to the quality of the item given to them by Vice Dean Martin.

Sain carefully kept this elemental orb, remembering the words of his mentor, Moses, before he left.

The acquisition of two elemental orbs, and the heat they emitted, made Sain feel that he was getting closer to finding the main group.

...

On the twelfth day of arriving in the desert world, Sain experienced his first night.

It was unclear how the day and night were distributed in this world, but even at night, Sain still felt a burning sensation from the inside out.

However, the temperature was much lower than during the day, and the water loss in Sain's body was also significantly reduced.

This not-so-long night lasted for a full day.

When the blinding white sunlight reappeared at the horizon, Sain continued his journey.

"Dark magic is also relatively difficult to cast in this world, but the dark elements were more active last night."

"Fire, light, and earth magic are easier to cast, but due to the overall elemental concentration being lower than in the Dark Region, the same spells require more mental and magical energy."

"I wonder how Lina is doing." Walking slowly through the desert, Sain summarized his discoveries over the past few days.

On the sixteenth day of arriving in the desert world, as Sain felt the two elemental orbs in his pocket becoming increasingly hot, he finally discovered two black magic apprentices, and they were alive.

And Sain knew these two black magic apprentices.

"Mal, wake up, don't scare me!"

"I shouldn't have eaten most of our food and water, please look at me one more time." A muffled sob echoed from the backside of a sand dune.

The speaker was a muscular man nearly two meters tall, with dark skin and solid muscles, indicating that he had considerable physical strength.

Lying in a depression on the sand dune in front of him was a young apprentice, only 1.7 meters tall, with relatively fair skin.

This pair of apprentices were Sain and Lina's neighbors, the gay couple.

Sain had thought that these two apprentices being paired together must have been the result of the senior apprentice, Stanson, forcing them.

Such despicable incidents were not uncommon in the Black Magic Academy of Moresbora City.

But from the current situation, it was clearly not the case.

The depression in the sand dune where the young apprentice lay was clearly man-made.

Not all apprentices had spatial equipment like Sain. Hiding at a distance, Sain, with the enhanced vision provided by the pale mask, saw the sand and dried blood on the fingers of the muscular apprentice.

The young apprentice named Mal seemed to want to raise his hand to touch the face of the muscular apprentice, Stanson.

But his weak body only managed to lift his hand halfway before it could no longer rise.

As an intermediate magic apprentice, he did not fall to a powerful monster or other black magic apprentices.

Instead, he was very likely to die from hunger and the harsh environment, a rather ironic outcome.

"Drip... drip..." Drops of blood fell from the wrist of the muscular apprentice.

To save his beloved, this two-meter-tall man had used his sharp nails to cut open his own wrist.

Sain had heard from Lina that the senior apprentice Stanson mastered a relatively rare bloodline magic.

It seemed to be the result of a formal mage using him as an experimental subject.

Not dying from the evil magic transformation and instead mastering some impressive bloodline magic, the senior apprentice named Stanson was quite lucky.

The only drawback was that he was said to have a poor mind, possibly a side effect of the bloodline magic transformation.

Crimson blood dripped from Stanson's wrist and flowed into the mouth of the intermediate apprentice, Mal.

With the nourishment from Stanson's blood, Mal's spirit visibly improved, and Sain even saw his throat move.

However, Mal then shook his head, refusing Stanson's actions.

Given their current situation, if one of them could survive, it would undoubtedly be the physically stronger and senior apprentice, Stanson.

Sain originally did not want to get involved, but considering that these two apprentices might know more than he did, especially the senior apprentice Stanson, who had been in the desert world longer.

After a moment's thought, Sain decided to reveal himself and ask about the situation, even if it meant he would have to give up some of his already limited food and potions.