Chapter 67

After hearing Mari's response, Sain remained silent.

In fact, he had already planned to exchange some potions for information with Mari in a friendly manner.

However, due to Sainson's sudden attack and his forced counterattack, this friendly exchange was clearly no longer possible.

In the group of black mages in Muzobura City, the weak do not deserve equal rights.

Even Sain's initial intention to have a friendly exchange with the other party was not because they happened to be neighbors.

Rather, Sain was more wary of the advanced apprentice Sainson's strength, and thus did not want to take unnecessary risks.

But now, Sain could obtain the information he wanted without paying any price, which was the privilege of the victor.

No, Sain did pay a certain price, such as the nearly half of his magic and mental power consumed, and his invisibility cloak that had entered the cooldown period.

This was a magic item of higher quality than the corrosion staff Sain had made himself, with a medium-level spell called "Spiked Ground" engraved inside.

In terms of power, Spiked Ground was only slightly inferior to the Flame Hand that Sain had mastered.

Among medium-level magic items, this staff was considered a small masterpiece.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Sain ignored the two who were huddled together.

The other party had just tried to take his life, and Sain would not give them any more valuable potions; his heart was not that kind.

After quietly putting the newly acquired magic staff into his spatial ring, Sain continued on his journey.

As for the two, whether they would die of thirst or hunger in this sandy land, Sain did not care.

What surprised Sain slightly was that when he set off, the intermediate apprentice Mari also dragged Sainson's strong, heavy body and slowly followed behind Sain.

It was unknown how this guy managed to drag Sainson's body, and his tight pursuit of Sain was probably a sign of his unwillingness to give up on life.

After all, staying there would mean certain death, and by using their last bit of strength to follow Sain, there might be a chance to return to the camp.

Among black magic apprentices, there was generally a cold and indifferent attitude towards each other, but since the camp was in need of people, the quasi-mages and advanced apprentices would probably not ignore them.

The prerequisite was that they could return to the camp alive.

...

The scorching daytime in the sandy world consumed a lot of Sain and Mari's physical strength and water.

After advancing for about a day, feeling the three suns overhead becoming even more scorching and painful to the skin, Sain finally stopped and came to a sand dune to rest and avoid the sunlight.

Walking and stopping was the norm for these black magic apprentices in this sandy world.

Even the strongest among the apprentices could not adapt to the harsh environment of this sandy world.

A precious nutrient potion was carefully taken out of Sain's spatial ring, with about one-third of the potion remaining.

Sain only took a small sip, about one-fifth of the remaining potion, and then put the nutrient potion back into the ring.

The spatial ring had a preservative effect on most things placed inside it, and Sain, who was not well-versed in spatial knowledge, did not know the specific reason.

But he knew that if the spatial ring did not have this function, he would not have been able to last this long.

All potions have a shelf life and a usage period, especially those that have already been opened. If not used early, they might deteriorate and turn from a good medicine into a poison.

By taking small sips of the potion, Sain managed to last until now.

Even if Mari had not deceived him, according to the distance, Sain might still have some potion left when he arrived at the black magic apprentice camp.

After taking a sip of the nutrient potion, Sain leaned against the shady side of the sand dune and closed his eyes to rest.

In this place, sleeping was a luxury.

Only during the relatively cooler nights, which occurred every fifteen days, could Sain sleep more comfortably.

Most of the time, Sain could only try to enter a meditative state to conserve his physical strength and mental power.

Not long after Sain entered his meditative state, the "rustling" sound around him indicated that someone was approaching.

The Corrosion Staff was immediately held in Sain's hand. When he looked at the person, it was Mari, with cracked skin and bleeding lips.

His weak steps and the look in his eyes that seemed ready to faint at any moment told Sain that this guy posed no threat.

Magic apprentices had certain requirements for casting spells, and in Mari's current state, Sain doubted whether he could even cast a small secondary fireball spell or a lower-level light spell.

"Sain, can I exchange some food with you?" A weak voice came from Mari, his eyes looking at Sain's empty waist of his magic robe.

Before Sain could refuse, Mari quickly added, "I can exchange with you. I have something here that you will definitely be interested in."

It was only then that Sain noticed a black tattered robe in Mari's hand.

This tattered robe was likely Sainson's, and indeed, when Sain looked at another sand dune not far away, Sainson, with his upper body exposed and a solid chest, lay flat on the sand, his condition unknown.

"Why should we exchange? When you two die, these things will naturally be mine." Sain replied coldly.

Sain's cold response left Mari standing there for a moment, unsure of what to say.

His dry, bloodstained lips opened, and Mari tried to say something.

But the words on the tip of his tongue seemed to be unable to save him and Sainson from their current predicament.

A tear appeared in his eyes, and a grown man actually cried?

...

In the end, Mari turned and left. He did not beg Sain for anything; staying with Sainson in his final moments was his best destination.

The wisest thing Mari did before leaving was to leave the tattered robe behind.

Whether it was because he did not want to take these "treasures" to his death, or because he still harbored some hope deep down.

Out of curiosity, purely out of curiosity.

After Mari left, Sain picked up the tattered robe and checked what was inside.

There were 16 elemental beads, which surprised Sain.

After all, he only had two elemental beads in his possession.

In addition to the elemental beads, Sain also found several magic beast cores, two spellbooks, and some black gold of little use in the tattered robe.

It seemed that Mari and Sainson were not well-off, as they had no other magic equipment besides the staff Sain had obtained.