Jork was fast—but not faster than Kai's instant-cast magic.
As expected of Master Moxido's craftsmanship, the Acid Staff had fully recharged in just twenty hours since its last use—no manual refueling needed. That was the mark of a high-tier magical item. Moxido's alchemical design let the staff replenish its energy on its own, using the runes and elemental core inside. It could only be fired once per use, but with a cooldown of just twenty hours, it was invaluable.
No wonder Liliana had coveted it. Even for a high-tier apprentice, such a tool was a rare treasure.
The corrosive acid that could melt high-tier monster scales made short work of Jork. In the blink of an eye, before the other apprentices could react, Jork's scream tore through the air.
Jork was tough—but not as tough as a high-tier monster. Kai had aimed for his chest; a direct hit would have turned the mid-tier apprentice into a puddle of slime. But Jork's reflexes were sharper than Ilk's. His stronger mental power let him twist his body at the last second, and his sturdy build saved his life.
When the acid hit the doorframe of a nearby shop—hissing and billowing white smoke—the onlookers finally saw Jork's condition.
A low-tier apprentice gasped. Jork's entire right arm was gone, melted into a sticky mess. The short sword he'd held—still glowing faintly with fire energy—had dissolved into molten iron, along with his bones and flesh. It had been just a well-made ordinary weapon, not a magical one—no match for the Acid Staff.
Fights between apprentices were over in seconds. Their methods were simple, their defenses weak. This one had erupted so suddenly that even the passersby and shopkeepers on Black Street were caught off guard.
Thick smoke rose from the aftermath of the twenty Lesser Fireballs, mixed with cries of pain. Beyond Jork, the low-tier and new apprentices in his group had fared the worst.
But the carnage wasn't over. Lina finished her incantation, and a jet-black beam of light—nearly two meters wide—gathered at her bracelet before firing at the crowd. As a high-tier apprentice, her magic was in a league of its own compared to mid or low-tier apprentices. And unlike Kai's targeted acid, both of her powerful spells had been area-of-effect attacks.
The "Madwoman" hadn't held back—not even on Black Street.
Two more screams rang out—from the two remaining male mid-tier apprentices. Only the female sound-magic apprentice had escaped; she'd retreated after casting Banshee's Wail, making her the sole surviving mid-tier attacker.
Kai and Lina had won, but they weren't unscathed. Besides the Banshee's Wail, the two fallen male apprentices had managed to cast spells before dying:Stone Spear BarrageandFire Chain Blade.
Kai was lucky—only one stone spear grazed his arm—but the Fire Chain Blade had left his left side with moderate burns, scorching a third of his black academy robe. Lina was in no better shape; it had been a pyrrhic victory.
Luckily, the low-tier apprentices had slow casting speeds, and many hesitated to attack on Black Street. Only two Lesser Fireballs and a weak Ice Bubble spell had hit Kai and Lina.
The fight had lasted less than two minutes. But the destruction and chaos it left on Black Street were unimaginable—proof of magic's power, of elemental fury. Shops burned, the ground cracked, and moans echoed everywhere.
Kai still had strength left; he'd used the Acid Staff's instant magic, not his own mana. A Lesser Fireball materialized in his palm—larger than those cast by the other low-tier apprentices, a sign his mental power and mana were edging close to mid-tier. Had the fight pushed his abilities to grow? He hadn't felt this surge before venturing to the Saltwater Crocodile's lair.
He aimed the fireball at Jork. A mage's judgment was sharp—Kai suspected Jork had told Ilk to ambush him in the ravenwood the day before. Mercy for enemies was cruelty to oneself. He didn't care about the consequences of killing on Black Street; he just wanted Jork dead. It was the ferocity of someone who'd survived years in the Underdark's cruelty.
Jork's pale face was twisted with fear and disbelief. He glanced at the Acid Staff, then at the glowing fireball in Kai's hand. All his arrogance was gone. Through the agony of losing his arm, he stammered: "You can't kill me! Fighting's forbidden on Black Street, and—"
Three sharp shouts cut him off: "Stop!"
Three owls—each with a wingspan over a meter—swooped down. The chaos had drawn three academy overseers.
Jork's threats didn't slow Kai down. The overseers' arrival only made him act faster. Leaving Jork alive would only bring trouble; killing him now might let them weasel out later.
But Lina moved faster. Two more mid-tier apprentices fell to her magic before Kai's fireball hit Jork's head, splattering blood everywhere.
When Lina gathered her remaining mana to target the female sound-magic apprentice, the overseers finally arrived. They bound her with wind chains. Kai was chained too—but not before Jork's headless, armless body hit the ground.
It was one of the worst incidents Black Street, and the academy, had seen in years.
The overseers were furious—until one of them froze. It was the same owl that had met Kai the day before. Kai didn't recognize it (all overseers looked alike), but it recognized him.
"Kids these days are so reckless.""Tell me about it. That girl's interesting—she wields dark-element magic. Only that old hag in Menzoberranzan uses that now, right?"
Deep in Black Street, two voices communicated via mental link—proof of formal black mages. The rumors were true: some shops had mage backing. They could have stopped the fight, but they'd watched like it was a show. Black mages were cold by nature; the fight hadn't touched them, so they didn't care. And Menzoberranzan had been too quiet—this was a distraction from their boring experiments.
"Wait, they didn't kill the kids on the spot? Do they have backers?""Look—the old hag's here. So the girl is with her. But I didn't know she took apprentices."
More overseers and formal mages arrived, and the farce on Black Street finally ended.
"The damage is unspeakable!" A robed middle-aged black mage roared in a dim dungeon. Kai and Lina were bound in wind chains, but his anger was directed at a hunched old witch standing before him.
"Three mid-tier apprentices dead, one gravely injured, over a dozen low-tier or new apprentices hurt—and Black Street's losses are incalculable! Apprentices who break the academy's rules like this deserve to be—"
Not all mages ignored order. The academy needed rules, and the overseers existed to enforce them. If Menzoberranzan's academy couldn't keep even superficial peace, it was no academy at all.
Before the middle-aged mage could sentence Kai and Lina to death, the witch cut him off with a croaky voice: "Vice-Dean Daldaron, they were just useless brats. Outnumbered and still got killed? They deserved it. Our academy's resources are limited—why waste them on trash? I'll pay for Black Street's damages, whatever the cost." She cackled, indifferent to the dead apprentices.
"It's not about black gold! The Grand Master's in seclusion. As Vice-Dean, I must keep the academy stable—" Daldaron's words died when the witch pulled out a glowing orange crystal.
Itwasn'tabout black gold—until a Tier 1 Mana Crystal appeared.
Kai had a mana crystal too, looted from Ilk. But his earth-aspected crystal was nothing compared to this one—like dirt next to starlight. Kai didn't know it yet, but his crystal was barely equal to a low-tier monster's core. The witch's Tier 1 Crystal was a treasure, equivalent to the core of a Tier 1 creature—a formal mage's minimum standard.
Daldaron was a Tier 2 mage, stronger than most formal mages. In the wizarding world, a single tier gap meant a fundamental difference in life force. A Tier 2 mage in the surface world might scoff at a Tier 1 Crystal—but the Underdark was poor, with no decent mana crystal veins. A Tier 1 Crystal was worth bending the rules for.
Mages needed money for experiments. Only alchemists or potion masters were wealthy; most lived less gloriously than outsiders thought.
Trading three mid-tier apprentices for a Tier 1 Crystal? A steal. Black Street's damages were trivial—just burnt shopfronts, cheap to repair.
Daldaron's roar faded. The cold indifference of black mages was on full display.
But the witch had only come to save Lina—not Kai. When Daldaron raised his hand to crush the low-tier apprentice, Lina spoke up, her voice tight with the wind chains: "Aunt, save him."
Aunt? The witch was Lina's family?
It made sense. Lina had once had a mentor, who'd died in an experiment—leaving Lina permanently damaged. The witch was her mentor's fellow disciple. No wonder she'd paid a high price to save Lina.
But saving Lina didn't mean saving Kai. Bribing Daldaron would cost another fortune. The witch sneered: "Is he your little lover? Obsessed with silly romance as an apprentice—how did you even advance to high-tier?" Her tone was cold; she had no intention of helping Kai.
Kai had to save himself. He shouted: "I'm Master Moxido's fifth apprentice! I have his medallion as proof!"
Daldaron and the witch exchanged shocked glances.
"When did Moxido take another apprentice?" the witch croaked.
A low "coo" came from one of the overseers.
"The smell of freedom."
Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the academy's dim fluorite lights again. Few who entered this dungeon ever left—even some formal mages had been tried here, or so the rumors said.
After leaving the dungeon, Kai and Lina stumbled toward their dorm, supporting each other. Daldaron hadn't seen them off; the witch had vanished too, though she'd mouthed a few words to Lina before leaving.
"No Darkscale Shark dinner, and it looks like we'll have to put off moving," Kai said with a bitter smile. Lina was just as injured as he was. She looked down, her expression cold as usual.
They walked in silence until they neared the dorm. Then Lina spoke: "My aunt's name is Felena. She wants to take me as her apprentice, to pass on our lineage's dark-element magic. She's been watching me since my mentor died, but only agreed to take me after I advanced to high-tier. She's stronger than my mentor was, especially in dark-element magic."
Kai's tension eased. They'd kept secrets from each other, but they'd fought side by side, survived death together. He wanted honesty between them. Lina's explanation made him smile—having a powerful formal mage as a mentor was a huge win for her. And it brought them closer. Kai had always been the one opening up; now Lina had too.
Maybe I can tell her about my last name, about my childhood, soon.
Moving dorms was put on hold, but Kai had to report to Moxido's laboratory after three days. His injuries were worse than before—his left arm was wrapped in thick bandages when he knocked on the door.
Moxido's yellow eyes narrowed. "What happened?"
Kai had been nervous. Black mages were cruel and arrogant—he'd feared Moxido would cast him out for being injured, useless for experiments. But he'd come anyway. Moxido was his only real backer in the academy. Lina's safety depended on her new mentor, Felena. Among apprentices, Lina could protect him—but against formal mages, only Moxido mattered.
Kai hadn't forgotten Daldaron's reaction when he heard Moxido's name. Moxido might not be as strong or powerful as the Vice-Dean, but he had clout in areas that made Daldaron wary. Kai had walked out of the dungeon only because of Moxido's reputation.
He told Moxido everything—fighting Ilk, the brawl with Jork on Black Street, being thrown in the dungeon, and Daldaron's rage. He held nothing back. He'd survived because of Moxido's name, and his deadliest weapon was Moxido's gift.
After listening, Moxido burst into loud laughter.
"Good! Much better than your two poor brothers. They died because they were weak. You? You killed a peer, then a mid-tier apprentice? You relied on the Acid Staff, but your courage and quick thinking—excellent!"
Kai was stunned. Moxido wasn't angry—he was praising him. Black mages truly defied all logic.
From the praise, Kai learned he was Moxido's fifth apprentice—but only one and one remained. The other two had died. Only three of Moxido's disciples were left.
"Since you're too injured to help with experiments, study these two magic notes. And you need a new meditation method—this is our lineage's basic technique." Moxido waved his hand, and two thick sheepskin scrolls and a small crystal ball appeared before Kai.
The scrolls wereIntroduction to AlchemyandFundamentals of Fire Elements—topics Moxido taught in public classes. But these copies were covered in Moxido's handwritten notes—the real essence, meant to help Kai learn faster. The crystal ball held a rare meditation method, a trivial item Moxido had made.
After handing over the items, Moxido shook his head and walked into the depths of the laboratory to resume his experiments. Kai, following Moxido's gesture, headed to a side room—where his journey of learning and magical inheritance would begin.