"Hehe, quite a battle."
"If you hadn't been taken as an apprentice by Felena, I'd definitely take you under my wing."
After the grade assessment ended, Master Andis, who was in charge of distributing the academy's rewards, ignored the three winners and walked over to Lina, speaking softly with a smile.
The most thrilling battle of this grade assessment was undoubtedly the clash between Lina and Mike the Death's Hand.
The dazzling display of magical elements was secondary; what truly caught the attention of a formal dark mage like Andis was the hidden killing intent and the fearless combat styles of the two.
Now, this was the kind of battle that should exist among dark magic apprentices!
The scene from moments ago made Master Andis feel as if he had traveled back five hundred years, to when he was just a lowly apprentice struggling in the Black Domain.
For Andis, memories of his weaker days rarely held pleasant recollections.
But precisely because of that, these memories were deeply etched in his mind, serving as a constant drive to become stronger.
"This piece of Obsidian Copper is my personal reward to you. Work hard; I hope you'll bring me more surprises in the future."
Andis tossed a palm - sized black metal block to Lina, then flew away on his own.
From start to finish, he didn't spare a single glance for the three winners among the senior apprentices.
Since Lina and Mike had fought to a near - mutual destruction, neither of them made it into the top three.
Ultimately, the top three spots went to Phil, Kai's senior sister; Sira, a senior apprentice; and Lilianna.
While Phil, Kai's senior sister, was strong, she relied more on the numerous magical items at her disposal.
Lilianna was purely lucky, seizing an opportunity. She, who had glimpsed Lina and Mike's fight from the corner of her eye, knew full well how tough these two were.
Especially Lina. Even though she hadn't been a senior apprentice for long, her combat was decisive and ruthless, and her mastery of advanced magic was smooth. She was truly a prodigy.
Sira, the senior apprentice, was the only one who deserved the academy's reward purely through strength.
But his overall strength was on par with Mike the Death's Hand.
With Lina's outstanding performance, it was no wonder Master Andis didn't even give him a proper look.
"Gugugugu!" A cry came from in front of Kai.
Standing before him was a half - human - tall owl.
Kai had a real connection with this owl; this was their third encounter.
Earlier, when Lina and Mike were on the verge of a mutual - destruction showdown, it was this owl that first stepped in, using a wind barrier from its wings to briefly separate the two.In the end, due to their mutual wariness and Kai's desperate attempts to dissuade Lina, both retreated to the safety line.
"This is a small token of my gratitude, for your timely intervention, including the time in the dungeon..." Kai said respectfully to the owl, pulling out ten black gold coins from his arms.
Facing the black gold coins Kai offered, the Owl Overseer blinked and stayed still.
Kai suddenly recalled reading in a book about underground magical beasts in the public library. It said that magical beasts generally liked to devour energy crystals or live in areas rich in elemental energy.
Seeing this, Kai took out the only elemental crystal he had.
It was a low - level earth - attribute crystal, half of its energy already used up, which he had obtained from the late Ilkes.
Sure enough, when Kai took out the earth - attribute crystal, the owl in front of him finally moved.
Its long hooked beak turned into a blur, and in the next second, the crystal in Kai's hand disappeared. Then came the sound of "crunch! crunch!" as it chewed.
These Owl Academy Overseers were likely wind - attribute magical beasts. Both their previous use of magic and their speed showed clear signs of wind - attribute characteristics.
A low - level energy crystal with only half its energy was just a snack to fill the gap between this owl overseer's teeth.
Still, it was something. After all, few apprentices bothered to show respect to these academy overseers.
Moreover, orders from the vice - deans and even the dean meant these fairly powerful academy overseers could hardly leave Menzoberranzan, so they couldn't actively go out to hunt for magic cores.
"Apprentice, I remember you."
"My name is Qi. If you need anything, come to the east canopy of the White Raven Forest. Gugugu!" After saying this, the owl flapped its wings and left the training ground.
The White Raven Forest wasn't far from the apprentices' dormitories. In Kai's memory, the east side had no buildings, only a tall wall and dense white raven trees.
After watching the owl leave, Kai turned and walked toward Lina.
Master Andis, the formal dark mage, had long since left, and Phil, Kai's senior sister, had left early too. Now, only Lina and the chubby Bows were in front of Kai.
"Ah, am I late?"
"Kai, you're seriously injured! I have a potion!" When Kai reached Lina, a little green - haired girl suddenly jumped out from the side and ran to him.
This green - haired girl was Melly, one of the only two low - level apprentices Kai could truly confide in at the Dark Magic Academy.
Kai had thought she wouldn't come to the grade assessment, yet she showed up just after it ended.
Melly was two years younger than Kai. Plus, maybe because she developed slowly, she looked even younger than Lina.
Unlike the cut - throat atmosphere among apprentices at the Dark Magic Academy, Melly seemed like a pure girl out of place in this dark world.
If she hadn't been lucky enough to become an apprentice to a formal dark mage early on, Kai doubted she could have survived.
When Melly appeared on the training ground, she immediately noticed the bruises on Kai's arms, armpits, and thighs.
Kai had fought two fairly strong low - level apprentices. Although he won both fights, he inevitably got some minor injuries.
Compared to the deathly qi surrounding Lina, these injuries were nothing.
He didn't even need a potion; resting for a month or two would heal him.
The one who really needed potions and other recovery methods was Lina.
The deathly qi from Mike the Death's Hand had left Lina looking rather pale.
She needed to take an antidote and purification potion as soon as possible. These potions were expensive, but as a senior apprentice, Lina could afford them.
If not, she could return to her mentor, Master Felena. No matter how difficult Felena was to get along with, she probably wouldn't stand by and do nothing.
Kai's refusal and the cold aura emanating from Lina made Melly, who was not even 1.5 meters tall, jump back in fright.
Melly had always been a bit afraid of Kai's live - in girlfriend.
Although Lina had never actively targeted Melly, in Kai's memory, she had never given Melly a friendly look either.
Before, Kai thought it was just the normal coldness of a stronger apprentice toward a weaker one.
But now, he seemed to sense something else.
Even though Melly was terrified, her intentions were good.
Her trembling little hand pulled out a small transparent test tube from the red cloth in her arms.
It was a low - level antidote Melly made herself.
It couldn't cure all of Lina's corpse poison, but it would at least make her feel better.
It was this kind gesture from Melly that made the coldness between Lina's brows ease a bit.
Lina looked at the light green liquid in the test tube, said nothing, and drank it all in one go.
Melly's face instantly lit up, as if she had accomplished something truly great.
Watching this, Kai couldn't help but smile.
He knew that after this, the relationship between Lina and Melly would likely improve a lot.
"Okay, there's nothing more to do here. Let's go back first." Kai said to Lina and Bows.
Lina nodded. She really needed to go back and rest.
Bows had no objections either, following Kai and Lina toward the apprentices' dormitories.
Along the way, Melly followed Kai like a little tail, chattering about the interesting things that happened during the assessment and the small troubles she encountered.
Kai listened patiently, occasionally interjecting a word or two, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Back at the dormitory, Kai first found a quiet room for Lina to rest well, then took Melly to treat his wounds.
After dealing with his injuries, Kai finally had time to calmly reflect on the gains from this grade assessment.
Although he got some minor injuries, he gained a lot of combat experience and improved his strength to some extent.
More importantly, through this assessment, he deepened his bonds with Lina, Melly, Bows, and others. This would undoubtedly be of great help for his development at the Dark Magic Academy.
Thinking of this, Kai's eyes became even more determined.
He knew that in this cruel world of dark magic, only by constantly improving his strength could he protect the people around him and gain a firm foothold.
And he would keep striving toward this goal...
When it came to antidotes, apart from the low - level one Melly had taken out, Kai immediately remembered there was still half a bottle of intermediate antidote given by Master Moses.
However, that antidote was at his and Lina's home, and they needed to get it as soon as possible to take it.
"Let's head back first. See you later!" Kai, supporting Lina by the arm, said to Bows and Melly in front of him.
Kai was fortunate to have Bows and Melly as close friends. There were also a few low - level apprentices he knew, though not on particularly intimate terms.
But Lina had always been alone. Other than Kai, she seemed to have no one to talk to at the Dark Magic Academy.
"Yeah, if you need anything, come to the East District to find me. You know which shop I'm at." Bows, the chubby one, replied first.
This chubby guy was quite wary of Lina, a senior apprentice with a usually cold demeanor. But at least he handled it better than Melly, showing no obvious signs of fear.
Melly, on the other hand, showed clear signs of fear.
While sneaking a glance at Lina, she quickly stuffed three potions from her red cloth pouch into Kai's hand.
These three potions were all low - level restorative ones Melly made herself.
Potions for restoring mental power and magic were too advanced; Melly couldn't make them yet.
These low - level restorative potions could only help heal some external wounds and speed up the recovery of bodily tissues.
But that was no small feat. After all, think about how old Melly was and how long she had been studying potions under Master Dierce.
In Menzoberranzan, the value of potions was not inferior to that of magical items.
Even the lowest - level potions were beyond the means of an average magic apprentice.
Otherwise, Kai wouldn't have charged at the saltwater crocodile shirtless in the first place.
Looking at the three potions in his hand, Kai gave Melly a grateful look.
But Lina's condition was urgent, so there was no time for more chat. Kai, supporting Lina, walked straight toward the dormitory building.
Bows and Melly watched Kai and Lina leave the training ground until they were out of sight, then prepared to leave themselves.
Before leaving, though, Bows rubbed his plump hands and said with a grin to Melly, "Little Melly, you're pretty amazing, making low - level antidotes and restorative potions."
"How about you help my business? When we make money, we'll split it seventy - thirty." Bows said to Melly.
Melly and Bows weren't really familiar; they had only gotten to know each other through Kai as an intermediary.
Bows had previously thought Kai was just being overly sympathetic when looking out for this little girl.
Now it seemed Kai had good judgment, and Bows realized he had been short - sighted.
Facing Bows' ingratiating smile, little Melly rolled her eyes.
When she first came to the Underdark, she was indeed a pure - hearted girl. But after studying at the Dark Magic Academy in Menzoberranzan for so long, even the purest soul would adapt to some of the underworld's environment.
Melly wasn't immediately won over by Bows' flattery. She shook her head and said, "My success rate for making low - level restorative potions is only 30 percent, and for low - level antidotes, it's only 10 percent."
"If you can provide the ingredients needed to make the potions, I can consider working with you."
Melly's bargaining showed that she was gradually maturing at the Dark Magic Academy.
Faced with the cooperation terms proposed by Melly, Bows' face fell at first.
But after finding out roughly what ingredients she needed from Melly, his expression relaxed a bit.
"The ingredients you mentioned are quite basic and won't cost many black gold coins, but you'll probably need a large quantity."
"So we need to talk again about the profit split after selling the potions." Bows said.
This time, after thinking for a moment, Melly nodded in agreement.
Due to the dangerous environment of the Underdark in the underground world, there was never a shortage of fights, and there were many toxic substances.
Once Melly's antidotes and restorative potions were introduced, there would definitely be a market for them.
The only thing Bows wasn't sure about was the time Melly took to make these two types of potions and whether the success rate was really as she said.
Putting aside Melly and Bows' future cooperation, Kai had already supported Lina back to their home.
To make Lina more comfortable, apart from giving her the low - level antidote and restorative potion, Kai also handed her the Strong Acid Cane.
The slow restoration of mental power and magic would also make Lina feel better.
"Don't worry about me. My injuries aren't as serious as you think."
"Tomorrow, I'll go to my mentor to get a purification potion, and those deathly auras will be completely dispelled." Lina said, trying to reassure Kai.
Lina's mentor obviously valued her a lot. Besides what Lina had said, Kai also knew that the bracelet on her wrist was a gift from her mentor, Felena.
Besides accelerating the recovery of dark - attribute magic power to some extent, that bracelet could also assist Lina in casting a magic spell —— Shadow Strike.
This was a gift from Master Felena when Lina became her apprentice. It seemed these formal dark mages were quite wealthy.
"Okay, you rest and meditate for a while. I'll go cook." Kai nodded.
When Kai went to see his mentor, Master Moses, again, Moses, who was in the middle of an experiment, took time out of his busy schedule to meet Kai and acknowledged his winning of the academy's reward.
The mentor must have known about this because Senior Sister Phil had reported it in advance.
Facing the mentor's praise, Kai maintained his usual modesty and respect.
"It's all thanks to your teachings and the magic notes, Mentor, and Senior Sister Phil also taught me a lot of skills in using fire - attribute magic." Kai said.
Moses nodded and said, "Quickly advance to intermediate apprentice. Once you reach that level, you can join your senior brothers and sisters in helping me with some experiments."
"This will also help you integrate into our knowledge system faster and explore the path of truth." Moses encouraged.
After watching Master Moses return to his laboratory, Kai went back to his seemingly private side room.
Holding the Strong Acid Cane in his left hand and a small crystal ball in his right hand, which contained the initial meditation method given by his mentor.
"Well, here I come, intermediate apprentice."
Kai took a deep breath, using the slow magic - restoring effect of the Strong Acid Cane and the relatively dense elemental concentration in the room, to meditate and gather mental power over and over again, trying to break through the limit of magic power his body could hold.
After a series of battles, Kai was already on the verge of a breakthrough, so advancing to intermediate apprentice was a natural process.
A sixteen - year - old intermediate apprentice could be considered a little prodigy.
In Menzoberranzan, there were many low - level apprentices over twenty - five years old.
However, there were very few low - level apprentices over thirty.
Not all magic apprentices were prodigies who could advance to intermediate apprentice before the age of thirty.
Instead, the dark mages of the academy would actively eliminate those "failures" —— those who couldn't advance to intermediate apprentice by the age of thirty would be cleared out.
The academy didn't keep useless people. With limited resources, those without talent would only be eliminated.