Two days and two nights of grueling meditation passed.
When Kay stepped out of the side chamber once more, he had ascended to the rank of Intermediate Apprentice—both his mental power and magical power now exceeded 30 points. But this breakthrough left him utterly drained. Though meditation could occasionally replace some of sleep's restorative effects, it was no substitute for deep, restful slumber. Over those two days, Kay had survived on just two nutrient potions—gifts from his senior sister, Phil. Now, his body and mind were stretched to their limits.
As he emerged, the first thing he saw was the alchemical puppet crafted by his mentor, Moses. The puppet gripped a broom that hummed faintly with magical energy; the red glow on its head flickered briefly before it trundled into the side chamber Kay had just left, sweeping methodically. Kay glanced around the first-floor living room—there was no sign of Mentor Moses or his two senior siblings. He hesitated to rush into the laboratory, fearing he might interrupt an ongoing experiment or research. So, after tidying himself up a little, he left his mentor's quarters.
At the Black Magic Academy of Mosobra City, an Intermediate Apprentice was no trivial figure. In the academy's apprentice hierarchy, they stood above roughly 80% of their peers. With stronger magic and larger magical reserves, they gained a measure of self-defense capability in the dangerous underground world. Moreover, once they reached this rank, the more experienced black mages at the academy would not lash out at them casually. But greater power and access to more academy resources came with corresponding duties: every two months, the academy assigned mandatory tasks. Some were simple, like guarding Mosobra City's gates—though even these "easy" jobs often required connections to secure. Others were far riskier: venturing deeper into the underground to harvest magical ingredients or hunting dangerous magical beasts. Junior Apprentices only faced such mandatory tasks once a year, but for Intermediate Apprentices, it was every two months—and these tasks were far more perilous on average. No wonder these mandatory assignments were the leading cause of injury and death among Intermediate Apprentices at the academy. On the flip side, completing them earned Intermediate Apprentices more academy points—points that let them access the public library for research or trade for crucial magical materials.
The very next day after becoming an Intermediate Apprentice, Kay returned to Mentor Moses. This time, he was finally allowed into the laboratory where the mentor and senior students usually worked. "Take these magic tomes and study them well later," Mentor Moses said, shoving five thick, heavy books into Kay's arms. Then he pointed to a small experimental table in the lab's corner. "Today, help your senior sister monitor and record the energy data from that table."
These five tomes were at least twice as thick asBasics of Fire ElementsandIntroduction to Alchemy—the books Kay had studied before. Their titles were:The Shaping Properties of Fire Elements,Alchemy and the Fusion of Elemental Forces,Annotations of Ankoda,The Essence of Magic, andA General Survey of the Wizarding World's Continental Basics. Each book was more unwieldy than the last; the final one was nearly half a meter long, towering almost to Kay's shoulder. "Is this what 'the weight of knowledge' feels like?" Kay thought to himself.
He also noticed something strange: when Mentor Moses produced these books, they seemed to materialize out of thin air. Having assisted formal mages during public classes, Kay recognized this as the work of a rare spatial-storage artifact. These five books were just a tiny fraction of the knowledge an Intermediate Apprentice needed to master. Even Lina—a prodigy—had spent nearly fifteen years as an Intermediate Apprentice, building up enough knowledge to aim for the Advanced Apprentice rank. Kay and Lina had talked privately about it: advancing from Intermediate to Advanced Apprentice wasn't just about boosting mental power and magic. It demanded a massive accumulation of knowledge. To even attempt the leap, an Intermediate Apprentice must mentally construct a complete advanced spell. Advanced magic was so complex that crafting one required a vast, intricate web of knowledge; mere rote memorization of an advanced spell's structure was useless. Fail to understand the "why" behind the "how," and you risked a catastrophic magical backlash—and that was the least of your worries. Losing your life over a half-understood spell? That was a tragedy no one wanted. Lina herself had spent years studying and preparing before she dared to build her own spell models. For Intermediate Apprentices, arrogance was a deadly trap; diving into higher-level magic too soon spelled disaster. True progress came from diligence and the slow, steady accumulation of knowledge. By normal standards, an apprentice who reached the Advanced rank by thirty was a bona fide genius. At the Black Magic Academy, most apprentices didn't reach that level until they were between forty and fifty. Kay never asked about his senior sister's age—mages had ways to extend their youth and lifespan, and female mages, in particular, guarded their age secrets fiercely.
Kay hauled the five bulky tomes to the lab's corner, planning to take them back to his dorm once he finished assisting with the experiment. Senior Sister Phil was already waiting by the small experimental table, which held a complex device. Phil explained that their task was to watch a translucent circular crystal on the table and record the energy readings the device output. This small table was just one cog in Mentor Moses's grand experimental setup; the real action was at the large central experimental table. The lab had three such tables: one for the mentor, one for Kay and Phil, and a medium-sized one—operated by their senior brother, Phil noted.
Soon, a strange magical glow rippled through the sealed lab. Kay's eyes widened as he watched Mentor Moses insert a dazzling energy crystal—one that rivaled the kind even Master Felena had once used to bribe a vice-dean—into the main table. Leaning toward Phil, he whispered, "Senior sister, what exactly are we experimenting on?"
Phil glanced at him, lowering her voice. "From what the senior brother said, we're building four types of elemental fission generators. This one's almost done—it seems like it's a task the academy assigned to the mentor."
For Kay, an Intermediate Apprentice, participating in the experiment of a full-fledged Black Magician like Mentor Moses was already pushing his limits.
Thankfully, Kay had pored overIntroduction to Alchemy—the book Mentor Moses had given him earlier. Even if he couldn't grasp the exact principle behind the mentor's experiment, just observing the small details and absorbing how Moses conducted the experiment was a priceless learning experience.
This was the privilege of being Moses's fifth disciple. Otherwise, there were plenty of apprentices at the Black Magic Academy who were stronger or sharper than Kay—apprentices who would kill for a front-row seat to watch a real Black Magician's experiment and glean the secrets of alchemy. But due to the strict rules of the sect and magicians' tendency to hoard knowledge like dragons hoard gold, Moses would never hand out his precious insights freely.
Take public classes, for example: theIntroduction to AlchemyandBasic Knowledge of Fire Elementsthat Mentor Moses taught would leave most apprentices confused. They'd never guess how many hidden, unwritten bits of knowledge lurked beneath the surface. Only by becoming Moses's disciple and receiving his personal magic notes could Kay truly step into the inner circle and explore the mysteries of magic.
Mentor Moses wasn't some eccentric outlier among Black Magicians. At the Black Magic Academy of Mosobra City, nearly every full-fledged Black Magician guarded their own little stash of secrets. Public classes were just the dean's way of ensuring apprentices learned the absolute basics. If an apprentice wanted to go further—if they wanted to chase the real, profound truths of magic—they had to humble themselves before these cranky, reclusive Black Magicians and hope for a single peek behind the curtain.
Kay spent over half a month slaving away in the lab, helping the mentor and his seniors. Admittedly, he wasn't deeply involved in the experiment—he was just the one diligently writing down data, his world barely extending beyond the five meters around that tiny experimental table. But those weeks of experimentation left a deep impression on him. Book knowledge was valuable, but it was lifeless until you put it into practice.
Senior Sister Phil—whether she was bored with alchemy or just plain lazy—started dumping all the small experimental table chores on Kay in the second half of the experiment. Lucky for Kay, the steps were simple… or maybe he had a real knack for alchemy. He stumbled at first, but after half a month, he handled the tasks smoothly.
That fist-sized scarlet orb? It was the fruits of Mentor Moses and his three disciples' half-month of toil. According to Senior Sister Phil (when she bothered to chat), they'd been working on that fire-element fission generator for nearly three months.
Long before Kay became a disciple, Moses and the senior brother had held in-depth discussions about their next steps. After perfecting the fire-element fission generator, Moses planned to make water, earth, and wind versions. With the fire one under their belts, they figured the rest would be a breeze. Kay believed them… right up until the third day of building the water-element fission generator.
"BOOM!"
The explosion outside Mentor Moses's quarters was so powerful it shook the lab. Kay and the others were showered in dust and debris; the fancy water-system crystal they'd placed on the table the day before shattered into two pieces. The lab flooded with water elements, soaking most of the equipment. Even Moses—standing right by the main experimental table—was hit by a surge of water energy and sent flying a few meters. But as a full-fledged magician, he brushed it off like it was nothing.
Poor Senior Brother Zorro, though: he was close to becoming a Black Magician but hadn't quite made it. He couldn't conjure an elemental shield like Moses to cushion the blow. Kay and Phil were far enough from the main table, and with the mentor and senior brother taking the brunt of the blast, they ducked under their small table and emerged unscathed.
Kay had heard horror stories about experimental accidents. His girlfriend Lina, for instance—her appearance had been stuck as a young girl thanks to one such disaster. But this didn't feel like an accident. What on earth had caused that explosion?
Kay was still dazed from the chaos when Moses, after checking on Senior Brother Zorro, stormed out of the lab in a fury. "WHO DID THIS?!"
The rage of a full-fledged Black Magician filled the air—Kay had never seen his mentor so furious. Flames danced across Moses's body, but the real spectacle was the metal discs floating around him. As a top alchemist, Moses probably considered a high-level tool like a strong acid staff a mere triviality; the gear he actually used was next-level. Each of those metal discs was top-tier Black Magician equipment, and Moses had more than one—a clear display of his power. One disc zoomed under Moses's feet, carrying him out of the room, while the others circled like loyal guards.
Kay noticed another detail: Moses pulled a brass-colored staff from his robe—a brand-new one Kay had never seen before. And his magic robe, collar, boots, and cuffs—all hummed with magic. Kay knew Senior Sister Phil's trick for winning advanced apprentice rewards was stacking magic gear, and it was obvious she'd learned that from Moses. A family tradition, of sorts. Kay had used that strong acid staff to take down Ilk and Scarface Jock in an instant, so he understood the value of good equipment.
With the mentor charging out, Kay and the other apprentices couldn't just hide in the lab. Senior Sister Phil bolted out next. Kay, knowing he was the weakest link, didn't rush after her. Instead, he went to the lab's center and helped the pale, unsteady Senior Brother Zorro shuffle outside.
"Senior Brother, how bad is it? I've got a low-level recovery potion—I don't know if it'll help, but it's yours." Kay pulled out a light red potion, his tone sincere. It was one of the three Mary had given him; two were already gone to Lina, so this was his last one. To a nearly full-fledged Black Magician like Zorro, a low-level potion was practically worthless—even a high-end one wouldn't have impressed him, given his status. But in that moment, Kay's kindness touched Zorro deeply.
"Thanks, kid. The mentor just cast a muscle regeneration spell on me. I'll be okay." The senior brother took the potion and smiled, clearly grateful.