Mental Power: 29.7Mana: 28.1Constitution: 8.8Elemental Affinity: Fire, Light, Dark…
Faint glows of different colors flickered across the crystal ball's surface, and a concise set of data appeared directly in Kai's mind. He'd used the academy's public testing crystal before, so he knew exactly what to focus on.
"Mental power up by 3.7, mana by 2.6… even constitution increased by 1.2?" he murmured.
Half a month earlier, before venturing to the Saltwater Crocodile's lair, Kai had tested himself here. Back then, his stats were 26 (mental power), 25.5 (mana), and 7.6 (constitution)—impressive for a low-tier apprentice, and reason enough for him to dare challenge the crocodile.
The academy's minimum requirement for mid-tier apprentices was 30 mental power. At 29.7, Kai was just a hair's breadth away. Mana, typically tied to mental power, was the base energy stored within a mage's body. When Kai cast a spell, he used his mental power to channel that mana, bringing the spell to life.
From what Kai had learned and observed in the Underdark academy, formal black mages seemed to care far more about mental power than mana. Advancement between apprentice tiers was usually determined solely by mental power. That didn't make mana irrelevant—at least not in Kai's current understanding.
Casting a standard Lesser Fireball cost him 10 mental power and 10 mana. But the enhanced version he'd used to kill the Saltwater Crocodile required 10 mental power and 15 mana. More mana meant greater spell power.
The two versions of the spell differed in origin, too. The standard one was a basic technique he'd exchanged for academy points at the library. The enhanced version was his own creation—polished over years of studying fire elements and taking tips from Lina during experiments.
Magic research wasn't done overnight. Kai's enhanced fireball was hardly a new spell; to a formal mage, it would look like a trivial tweak to the spell's structure, allowing it to hold more mana. A insignificant modification. But that "insignificant" tweak had taken Kai nearly three years—and it had made him one of the top low-tier apprentices.
Constitution, the last stat on the list, was rarely anyone's focus. According to the mages who taught elemental basics in public classes, 5–7 was the average constitution for a healthy adult man. At 16, still a teenager, Kai's 8.8 was above average—likely thanks to the crude breathing technique he'd learned as a child.
Ten constitution marked the threshold between ordinary humans and superhumans. The minotaurs of Menzoberranzan, known for their brute strength, all had constitutions over 10, enough to grapple with low-tier monsters. The late Jork, with his muscular build and prowess in close combat, probably had a constitution over 15—maybe even 20. Combined with his fire-infused swordplay, it was no wonder he'd seen Lina as a rival.
But brute strength was no match for magic. Kai's Acid Staff had melted Jork's tough muscles into sludge. The same logic applied to the minotaur guards outside Menzoberranzan—strong as they were, they trembled before magic. Even the minotaur captain, who could match high-tier monsters, wouldn't survive a direct hit from the Acid Staff.
Brute force was a petty skill; wisdom was the true path.
"Sister Phil was right—danger and desperation really do boost mental power, and mana follows," Kai mused. "It took me nearly ten years to raise my mental power from 11 to 26. Now it's up 3 points in less than a month. The fights must have played a part, along with the master and Phil's guidance."
No wonder the academy's most renowned apprentices all had fearsome battle records. Kai's reputation, built on Ilk's and Jork's deaths, might impress mid and low-tier apprentices, but it meant nothing to the high-tier apprentices at the academy's peak. Some of them had even slain high-tier monsters.
High-tier apprentices existed in a world apart from lower tiers. They rarely attended public classes and were rarely seen in daily life—either buried in research, or out on dangerous academy trials. The basics taught in public classes were too trivial for them. Most had formal mage mentors; if they wanted knowledge, they asked their mentors directly, no need to "lower themselves" in public.
Now, public classes were dominated by new and low-tier apprentices. Mid-tier apprentices made up only 20% of attendees—partly because there were fewer of them, and partly because they'd already mastered most basics. Their days were spent boosting mental power, earning points for new spell models, or completing tasks to win a formal mage's favor. Without Moxido taking him as an apprentice, that would have been Kai's life too.
The crystal ball's colored glows revealed Kai's elemental affinities. A bright red glow indicated a strong fire affinity. Equally prominent were white (light) and black (dark). Fainter glows—cyan (wind), green (plant), blue (water)—showed he could learn those elements too, though not as easily as fire.
The library had no light or dark magic available for his limited points; those elements were rare. Lina knew dark magic, but Kai had focused on fire in recent years—his mental power and mana were too limited to spread himself thin. Only when he reached mid-tier, or even high-tier, would he have the capacity to master more elements.
After leaving the library, Kai returned to his routine: dorm to lab, and back. His wounds healed steadily, accelerated by twoBody Regenerationspells Moxido had cast for him. The rhythm only slowed as the academy's annual grade assessment neared.
Not all apprentices participated in the assessment, which had tiers for new, low, mid, and high-tier apprentices. Only the best competed, vying to stand out—and catch formal mages' eyes.
In ten years, Kai had joined six assessments. His best rank was sixth among low-tier apprentices last year. But only the top three in each tier earned rewards. Others gained nothing but experience—and the risk of injury.
Lina, by contrast, had placed in the top three twice in eight years. Once might be luck; twice was pure skill. Her reputation as a "genius" and "madwoman" had been forged in those assessments.
As the assessment drew closer, Kai finally saw Lina again. She'd rarely returned to their dorm since becoming Felena's apprentice—too busy assisting with experiments and learning dark magic, she said.
They caught up on each other's lives, then climbed into bed. Lina, her height and appearance frozen in a childlike form by a magic experiment accident, looked tiny beside him. Kai didn't rush; he took her hand and began to share his past.
"My name is Kai… Kai Grant. I was a noble, though I was too young when we came to the Underdark to remember my father's title. My mother had silver hair and sapphire eyes—she always wore white dresses. I take after my father, I think… golden short hair, a stern face. I can't remember his features clearly, though."
He rambled about fragmented memories he'd thought long forgotten: a field of emerald wheat, running and laughing with his mother there. Too many nights, he'd woken to her gentle face fading, leaving only the dark ceiling above. He remembered his mother far more clearly—she'd been with him most of his first six years, while his father, a noble, had been busy.
Lina leaned against him, listening quietly. When Kai ran out of memories, she finally spoke, her voice soft.
"My name is Lina." She said it twice, no last name—she was a commoner. "I've forgotten everything about my childhood in the twenty-seven years I've been in the Underdark. Only fragments of a poor village remain. My old mentor took me in then, named me Lina. She said the village was struck by famine—she saved my life."
She spoke of her previous mentor, the black mage who'd died in an experiment. There wasn't much to tell about her childhood, but Kai learned more about her early days in the Underdark. She'd chosen him as her lab assistant and servant eight years ago, right after her mentor's death—lonely, maybe, and drawn to his young, pleasant face.
With Lina's secrets laid bare, the last distance between them vanished. Kai hesitated, then asked the question he'd long wondered.
"How old are you?" He'd never seen her as a child, not really—not after she'd said she'd been in the Underdark for twenty-seven years. She must be at least ten years older than him.
Lina looked down, silent for a moment. She wasn't one for secrecy. "Thirty-two," she said finally.
They'd become intimate two years ago—when Lina was thirty. Kai exhaled, relieved. He wouldn't have cared if she'd been forty or fifty, but thirty-two felt like a weight lifted.
Their secrets were out. The magic crystal lamp had been extinguished, but their enhanced mental power let them see each other clearly. Kai leaned closer to Lina's small, cold face. She seemed to sense it, sighing softly before leaning into him—the "Madwoman" of the academy, softening at last.
"Be… gentle," she whispered, her small hands resting on his.
And for the rest of the night, there was silence.