Find anything useful?" Red Scale asked, approaching Kai.
As the one who'd delivered the killing blow to the Arch-tier beast—and having earned everyone's respect with his strength—Kai had sole authority over the creature's remains. He slipped the black stone into his spatial ring without a word before replying, "No."
Red Scale noticed the movement and clicked her tongue, but didn't press the issue. She had more urgent matters to discuss.
"The flesh shrapnel from the beast's explosion is toxic and highly corrosive," she said. "A lot of my men got caught in it. Can you do something?"
Kai's earlier display of antidote skills, combined with his overwhelming power, had made the mercenaries see him as a problem-solver. Now, Red Scale instinctively turned to him for help, as if he could fix anything.
Kai shot her an annoyed look. "I'm not a professional potioneer. I'm not skilled at making antidotes."
"'Not skilled' means youcanmake them, though. Just try," Red Scale pressed.
"I won't take responsibility if they die," Kai snapped, rolling his eyes.
"Fine by me—I trust you!" Red Scale replied, slapping him hard on the back.
She'd held back, but Kai still stumbled forward. For all his magic, an Archapprentice's physique was no match for a Senior Squire's. He silently resolved to find a way to fix this mage's weakness someday.
Their shared battle had softened their relationship—they even joked now. Red Scale's slap was a playful retaliation. In response, Kai conjured a small, lifelike fire hand (the size of his palm) from faint fire elemental energy and slapped it firmly on her hip.
Crack!
Red Scale's face flushed—whether from embarrassment, the mild burn of the fire, or something else, Kai couldn't tell. Luckily, no one was watching. She glared at Kai as he walked away, then stamped her foot in frustration.
Despite his "authority" over the spoils, the Arch-tier beast had left Kai with little. He'd searched fruitlessly for its valuable magic core—likely incinerated in the explosion. All he could salvage were a few spider legs, scales, and vials of its flesh and blood—items he needed to submit for his academy mission. No extra rewards, no hidden treasures.
"Are you interested in its flesh?" Kai asked Xiao Qi, who hovered nearby. "It seems to have both dark and fire elemental energy."
Magical beasts could evolve by devouring energy-rich flesh, but Xiao Qi shook its head. "Gah—too corrosive, and the poison's a hassle. It'd do me no good."
Kai sighed. The mission's rewards were even worse than he'd hoped. He could only pray the academy's mission hall would compensate him well when he returned.
Still, he'd done his best to help the injured mercenaries and Gigson soldiers, improvising with the basic potions knowledge he'd learned at Azure Source Tower. To his surprise, his talent for potion-making seemed to surface under pressure: while he'd only had a 10-20% success rate making low-tier antidotes at the academy, that number jumped to 30% when lives were on the line.
The antidotes only worked for minor corrosive wounds. For those with severe burns or toxin in their bones, Kai was powerless. Even so, the casualty rate was manageable for both the mercenaries and Gigson's forces.
Notably, Kai had used his own low-tier materials to make the antidotes—trifles to him, as he usually practiced with far rarer ingredients. But to ordinary mercenaries and soldiers, even low-tier antidotes were precious luxuries they couldn't afford to stockpile. Their gratitude was genuine.
"Thanks for the antidotes," Red Scale said, slapping his back again as they emerged from the underground. "How about I sleep with you to repay the favor?"
She was clearly joking—even the surrounding mercenaries and soldiers snickered. What no one expected was Kai's response. The aloof, unapproachable mage tilted his head, pretending to think, then said, "Sure."
It was Kai's first time with a female knight. He quickly learned that a knight's physique far outmatched a mage's. Red Scale wasn't conventionally beautiful—her features were sharp and rugged—but in bed, she showed none of the fragility one might expect from a woman. If anything, she kept trying to take control.
"I'd keep it down if I were you—your wrist's already burned," Kai said calmly, watching her struggle.
Fighting her strength was foolish. Instead, Kai used his magic and wits: two fire chains bound her wrists, limiting her movements. He'd asked for her consent first, and she'd agreed.
His warning only made her thrash harder. Kai sighed and increased the fire chains' power, then conjured another small fire hand.
Crack!
It struck her hip, leaving a faint red mark. When the passion finally faded, Kai leaned against the headboard to meditate—he'd noticed his meditation efficiency always improved after such moments. Red Scale, covered in small red marks, lay beside him, exhausted.
After a while, Kai opened his eyes. "What's your real name? 'Red Scale' is just a nickname, right?"
Red Scale had mostly recovered, but she stayed sprawled on the bed. "What does it matter? You gonna marry me?" Her bluntness matched her personality—and made it clear she had no intention of clinging to him. She was refreshingly uncomplicated.
"Fair enough. Names are just labels. 'Red Scale' works," Kai said, nodding. Then he added, "Your armor's been lightly enchanted, but your greatsword hasn't. Want me to refine it for you?"
Red Scale's eyes snapped open. "Yes!"
Kai spent two more days in Gigson before heading back to Azure Source Tower, traveling alone by magic carriage—luxury the mercenaries couldn't afford. He'd learned Red Scale's group planned to take jobs in the neighboring Oloff Empire later that year.
"Don't die. We might meet again," Kai said, slapping her hip one last time before leaving. He'd grown strangely fond of the gesture—her hips were firm and full, a knight's build.
"Hmph. I'll outlive you," Red Scale snorted, waving as he climbed into the carriage. She hated sentimental goodbyes. Earlier, she'd even tried to hire him for a measly 1,000 gold coins a year after he graduated from the tower—an offer he'd laughed off.
As the carriage pulled away, her figure grew distant. In the sunset, only her greatsword—glowing with fiery red elemental energy—remained vivid.
The journey back to Azure Source Tower was uneventful. The mission had taken about as long as Kai expected, with a few detours but a successful outcome overall. When he returned, he went straight to the mission hall to submit his report—only to be led to a second-floor room by an apprentice instead of handling it in the main hall.
The apprentice left, and a black-haired male Mage soon entered.
"You're the apprentice who investigated the mutated beast?" the long-haired Mage asked.
"Yes," Kai replied. He could tell this wasn't an ordinary official Mage—his aura matched Headmaster Johnny's. He must be a Level 2 Mage.
"An Archapprentice? Impressive," the Mage said. "Tell me everything that happened, and hand over the mission materials."
Kai recounted his experience in the Salt Cinder Basin's mines, skipping the gory battle details—he doubted a powerful Level 2 Mage cared about an apprentice's fights. The Mage's attention was focused on the lion-spider's remains: fragments of flesh, scales, and vials of blood. He pulled out research tools, including an elemental microscope—something Kai had rarely used.
Kai used plenty of alchemical equipment, but elemental microscopes were mostly for Mages studying flesh magic or life modification. Azure Source Tower offered courses on the subject, but Kai had dropped out after a couple of classes—the instructor focused on plant modification, a field he found uninteresting.
"Hmm! This beast was on the cusp of Level 1," the Mage exclaimed, looking up from the microscope. "You must be quite strong, Apprentice."
Kai said nothing. The Mage assumed he'd defeated the beast with the mercenaries and Gigson's soldiers—not single-handedly.
When Kai finished his report, the Mage frowned. "Think carefully—anything else? Where did the humanoids come from? Were there any special magic runes in the beast's lair?"
Kai shook his head, then hesitated and pulled out the black stone statue from his spatial ring. The Mage's expression finally shifted. He examined it closely, then waved a hand. "You can go. Collect your reward in the main hall."
Kai was curious about the stone's origin, but the Level 2 Mage had no interest in explaining it to an apprentice. He bowed politely and left, heading downstairs to claim his reward.
To his surprise, the reward was triple what he'd expected: 60 academy points, plus three high-tier light-element energy crystals.
"Not bad," Kai muttered. This was a top-tier reward—if it had been advertised, veteran apprentices would have snatched the mission long before him.
With his reward in hand, Kai returned to his dorm. The 地 mission had given him new ideas for improving Sun Eye; he was eager to test them. Serena wasn't home when he arrived, but when he emerged from his lab hours later, starving, he found her waiting with dinner.
She'd gone all out—understandable, since he'd been gone nearly a month. The centerpiece was a crimson fish with dark blue stripes along its back, about half a meter long. Azure Source Tower was surrounded by sea, so magical sea creatures were common, but this one was a mid-tier magical beast—among the finest ingredients an apprentice could afford. Serena had used the energy crystals Kai had given her to buy it, and it was clear she'd put effort into cooking it.
Seeing the fish, Kai's thoughts drifted to Lina. He'd been with other women since, but none had left a mark as deep as she had.
Serena, ever observant after living with him for half a year, noticed his distant look and tilted her head in concern. In the flickering candlelight, her silhouette seemed to blur into Lina's. Kai stepped forward, backing her against the table, before snapping back to his senses and shaking his head to clear the fog.
"Cousin? Are you okay?" Serena asked, her voice small. She looked startled, but didn't resist—her cheeks were bright red.
"Fine. Let's eat," Kai said, subtly adjusting himself before sitting down.
He'd been celibate for years, rarely reacting to Serena or the other apprentices' occasional revealing clothes. Why the lapse now? He suspected it was a mix of the fish reminding him of Lina and his encounter with Red Scale reawakening long-dormant urges.
Dinner passed without incident. After eating, Kai returned to his lab, leaving Serena staring at his ,lost in thought.
"Using six Sun Eyes as elemental nodes to expand the spell matrix should work in theory," Kai murmured, standing before his workbench. "That would let me conjure thirty-six eyes at once—its power could multiply by several times, maybe even tenfold. But the energy stability is too complex, and the calculations are beyond my current limits. I can't spend years testing this."
Even if he succeeded, other obstacles remained; if he failed…
Most Mages were rational, though a few were dangerously obsessive. Kai, for now, preferred a balanced approach. He ached to upgrade Sun Eye into a unique, extreme spell, but he knew he wasn't ready. The calculations alone were too much, and his magic reserves couldn't support thirty-six Sun Eyes. Not until he became a Level 1 Mage—with stronger mental power, more magic, and the ability to draw elemental energy from the world—would he stand a chance.
He sighed, regretful but not discouraged. If anything, the limitation fueled his desire to advance.
Setting aside Sun Eye for now, Kai turned to his next project: alchemy. He'd planned this carefully—organization was a mark of a competent Mage, and a lesson Moses had drilled into him before his death.
He placed a green badge on the workbench: his Azure Source Tower apprentice badge. It was both an identity token and a functional magical item, likely crafted by a master alchemist. To improve his alchemy, he knew he needed practice, guidance, and—most importantly—high-quality magical items to disassemble and study. He couldn't bear to take apart Moses' (relics), and official Mage artifacts were too advanced for him to understand. The apprentice badge was the perfect compromise.
He just hoped the tower would let him replace it if he broke it.
Two months flew by in a blur of research. Disassembling the badge taught him alchemical techniques he'd never encountered, breaking through a plateau in his skills. He even uncovered hidden functions: he could now hide his badge from the tower's detection, and use a crystal orb to locate other badge-wearers within a certain range.
Useful, but somewhat trivial.
The cost? Besides two months of work, he'd had to report three badges as "lost" and pay for replacements—including two of Serena's. Fortunately, the tower allowed replacements, as long as he paid the required magic coins and energy crystals. It was a small price for the knowledge he'd gained.