"Hehehe, Sain, you've done well. These are mature Starlight Grasses—perfect for one of my upcoming experiments..."
A hoarse voice came from the middle-aged mage in a black robe before him.
The wide hood obscured most of the mage's appearance.
The only parts visible were half a face as withered as a thousand-year-old corpse and a murky yellow eye.
Facing the intermediate magical beast, the Saltwater Giant Crocodile, Sain had maintained his composure from start to finish.
But in front of this black mage, Sain's body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Sain believed that if this black mage merely extended a finger, even the most ferocious magical beast crocodile would become as docile as a kitten, prostrating at his feet.
This was the power of magic, the majesty of a black mage! It was the true synonym for terror and despair.
"So, Sain, we mages generally adhere to the principle of equivalent exchange. Tell me, what do you request?"
The black mage named Mosido tapped his magic staff with a pale finger and asked the youth before him.
Taking a deep breath—perhaps due to the large movement and his excited mood—it tugged at Sain's wound, causing a trace of blood to seep from his chest once more.
But the pull of the injury didn't cause any pause in Sain's actions or words.
He bowed forward at a ninety-degree angle, speaking in an extremely humble and respectful tone: "I wish to become your apprentice, Lord Mosido, to serve you, resolve your troubles, and explore the true essence of magic."
His bowed waist received no immediate response, so he maintained the ninety-degree posture.
Until the black mage Mosido directly addressed Sain's request for apprenticeship, he remained utterly still from beginning to end.
"Drip."
"Drip."
The magic quartz clock recorded the slow passage of time.
Sain couldn't see Black Mage Mosido's expression; he could only see a slender finger, as bony as white skeletal remains, slowly tapping the head of his magic staff.
This feeling of having his fate in someone else's hands was unbearable.
But Sain knew that if Mosido was willing to take him as an apprentice, he would at least have a better grasp on his future than over seventy percent of the magic apprentices in Mossobla City!
Rather than one day being casually tossed onto an experiment table as a specimen by some black mage in a bad mood.
The wait felt endless; the burst wound on Sain's chest even dripped a small pool of blood onto the ground.
Under normal circumstances, defiling a esteemed black mage's laboratory would have severe consequences.
But strangely, Mosido didn't reprimand Sain for it. And at that moment, Sain was single-mindedly focused on hoping to apprentice under Mosido, completely overlooking this detail.
"Hehehe, I've heard that old hag Anginia and that old geezer Kolonso have praised your performance in magic classes endlessly."
"Why not apprentice under them?" The oppressive and quiet atmosphere was finally broken as Mosido asked casually.
Sain had his own reasons for choosing to apprentice under Mosido.
But he knew those reasons weren't suitable to state outright. Could he openly say that he felt Mosido appeared more "normal" in the Black Magic Academy?
He wasn't like Anginia, who would go mad from time to time, nor like Kolonso, who always enjoyed performing magical amputation experiments on his apprentices.
Master Mosido's main courses at the Black Magic Academy were "Introduction to Alchemy" and "Basics of Fire Elements."
It just so happened that Sain's constitution had a strong affinity for fire elements, and the limited magical knowledge he possessed was primarily in fire-based magic.
That's why, after careful consideration, he chose to submit his apprenticeship application to the low-key Mosido in the Black Magic Academy.
The three Starlight Grasses he had risked his life to obtain were also important neutralizing agents in magical alchemy experiments.
For ordinary black mages, the value of Starlight Grass wasn't actually high.
But for Mosido, it indeed held considerable worth, as it was difficult to cultivate artificially and only grew in the wild.
After a moment of contemplation, Sain said in a low voice: "Because I believe, Master, that you have walked farther on the path of magic than Master Anginia and Master Kolonso."
"Only by following you can I grasp the true essence of magic."
Sain's response quickly elicited a burst of hearty laughter from Mosido.
However, due to Mosido's inherently hoarse voice, this quiet laboratory seemed even more eerie under the backdrop of his laughter.
The flattery toward himself and the suppression of the other two black mages put Mosido in an excellent mood.
But what truly made Mosido decide to take Sain as an apprentice was the latter half of Sain's statement.
"Grasp the true essence of magic? Not to pursue greater power?!"
"Humph humph humph! Sain, if you truly understand that knowledge is the source of our mages' power, then you've surpassed over ninety percent of the apprentices in the Black Magic Academy."
"Including many boring formal black mages, who are often bewitched by power."
"Perhaps they've been underground too long; these fellows have gradually forgotten the true essence of magic." Mosido snorted coldly with a laugh.
A beam of "Tissue Regeneration" green magical light shot from the tip of Mosido's magic staff.
This was an advanced healing magic from a great and formal mage. The instant he saw this green beam, Sain's long-held anxiety finally eased.
Accompanying it was a deep-seated fatigue from within his body, along with an itchy sensation from the budding flesh on his chest.
"Go back and rest for a while first. I agree to take you as my fifth disciple."
"There's still a trace of paralytic toxin in your blood. You ate Blue Moss?" Mosido asked.
"Yes, Mentor. On the way back to Mossobla City, I used Blue Moss to simply treat my wound." Sain replied respectfully, smoothly addressing him as "Mentor."
Blue Moss was a fairly common low-level plant with minimal magical value, but it could provide a certain muscle-numbing effect.
However, the cost of using it was that Blue Moss itself was toxic, requiring a corresponding antidote to neutralize the poison afterward.
Black Mage Mosido gave off a very cold vibe, but it had to be said that Sain had made an absolutely correct decision this time.
A large bottle of intermediate antidote was produced by Mosido from within his black robe.
Appearing alongside it were a short staff and a medal.
Both the short staff and the medal emanated a noticeable magical fluctuation on their surfaces.
This was Sain's first time seeing genuine magical items.
The former was a magic wand, serving as Mosido's apprenticeship gift to Sain.
Though it was a "little trinket" refined by Mosido in his spare time, for Sain, it was an undeniable treasure.
It contained a dose of corrosive acid liquid, capable of melting the scales of advanced magical beasts.
The latter, the medal, was the key for Sain to freely enter and exit Mosido's laboratory in the future. It also served as a symbol of Sain being Mosido's apprentice.
"Go back and rest for a few days. Come to my laboratory in three days; I happen to have an experiment that requires your assistance." After handing the three apprenticeship gifts to Sain, Mosido waved his hand and said.
Only then did Sain dare to raise his head to look at Mosido.
What appeared before him now was a middle-aged man under the black robe, with a somewhat sinister face and yellowish eyes.