Lying to an academy overseer was difficult; these half-meter-tall owls were special magical beasts specially bred by the mysterious dean of the Black Magic Academy.
With combat power surpassing advanced magical beasts, they were more than capable of handling any apprentice disputes below the level of formal mages.
Not to mention, throughout the Black Magic Academy, there were hidden magical inscriptions and alchemical eyeballs everywhere.
Uncovering the truth of the facts, or even directly reconstructing the details of the earlier battle, was no problem at all.
However, for mere conflicts between low-level apprentices, it clearly wasn't worth the overseers using surveillance eyeballs to reconstruct the battle scene.
When Sain presented the medal representing his status as an apprentice to a formal black mage, the overseer chose to let the matter rest.
As for the latter half of Sain's statement, it gave the owl a graceful way out.
With a forward sweep of its massive wings, the charred remains of the low-level apprentice Ilk, corroded by strong acid, were blown to the White Crow Forest on both sides of the path under the influence of wind elements.
These corpse fragments would serve as the best fertilizer for the underground plants in the White Crow Forest.
Considering that conflicts and battles among apprentices often erupted in the Black Magic Academy, similar fertilizers were commonplace in many corners of the White Crow Forest.
Sain gave a slight bow to this owl possessing considerable intelligence, ignoring the strange gazes from the surrounding apprentices, and step by step headed toward his dormitory building.
The Pale Mask, as Sain's spoil of war, was already worn on his face.
Worthy of being a magic item, after putting it on, Sain noticeably found his vision much clearer and broader.
...
The Black Magic Academy in Mossobla City had a total number of apprentices that consistently ranged between seven hundred and eight hundred.
Every year, apprentices fell for one reason or another, and similarly, new apprentices emerged each year.
These newly enrolled apprentices included only a small portion from Mossobla City's children of appropriate age.
Over ninety percent of them, like Sain back then, came from the surface world—children abducted and trafficked to the underground by black mages through various means.
Sain vaguely remembered some things from before he was six years old. His luxurious golden hair and handsome features marked him as nobility.
Even when he first arrived in the Dark Region, his ability to snatch food from other peers stemmed from having practiced some rudimentary swordsmanship and breathing techniques in his childhood.
These were things civilians couldn't access.
Regarding his origins and childhood, Sain's memories were scarce.
Aside from his surname and the kind, affectionate face of his mother in his dreams, Sain could hardly recall anything else.
Life at the Black Magic Academy had consumed too much of Sain's energy.
Rather than reminiscing about the past, Sain preferred to live grounded in the present.
The Black Magic Academy provided over twenty dormitory buildings for the apprentices, each with six floors and eight rooms per floor.
The more powerful the apprentices, the further back their dormitory buildings were, and the higher the floors.
The reason these strong apprentices chose this was because meditation and spellcasting experiments required relatively quiet environments.
It wasn't uncommon for some powerful apprentices to monopolize an entire floor by themselves.
It was also for this reason that every year, when new students first enrolled, intense conflicts erupted over dormitory issues.
Sain's room was on the fourth floor of the fifth building at the rear of the dormitory cluster.
With his low-level apprentice status, he obviously couldn't secure such a good position.
The reason he could live here was thanks to his live-in girlfriend, Lina.
Lina was his benefactor, his senior, his guide in magic, and also his girlfriend.
From certain perspectives, Lina should be considered his mentor.
Even Sain's notable talent in fire-element knowledge stemmed from years of assisting Lina with some magic experiments.
"Beep!" As Sain pressed the magic crystal lamp, dim light appeared in the room before him.
This was a room covering about seventy square meters—not large.
Moreover, piled with many miscellaneous items and books needed for experiments, plus a washroom and a specially partitioned small experiment table.
It made the entire room appear even more cramped.
But upon returning here, Sain felt a heartfelt relaxation, because this was his little nest.
The air was filled with a faint sour smell; Sain recognized it as the burning scent of the low-level magic material—Black Camphor Grass.
Lina wasn't a woman who liked to tidy up; in fact, over the years they lived together, it had always been Sain handling the housework.
After scanning around and finding Lina not at home, Sain dragged his rather weary body to the large bed in the center of the room.
This was a special large bed merged from two single beds; its creation stemmed from that night two years ago.
Perhaps thinking of certain scenes, Sain's throat bobbed with a gulp, followed by him shaking his head.
He first placed his gains on the desk by the bed, then sat cross-legged on the bed himself, with the large bottle of intermediate antidote given by his new mentor Mosido placed in front of him.
Pouring the antidote into his mouth, Sain himself guided his mental strength and began his routine meditation.
Meditation was the gentlest way to restore mental strength and magic power; sometimes it could even substitute for sleep.
As Sain gradually entered a meditative state, his depleted mental strength and magic power slowly recovered, and the Blue Moss poison in his body also gradually dissipated under the effect of this intermediate antidote.
Cultivation knew no time; when Sain opened his eyes again, it was already the next day.
The meditation lasting over ten hours finally restored Sain's energy and spirit to a relatively vigorous state.
It was only upon ending his meditation that he discovered his girlfriend Lina had returned.
"You're back," Sain said in a low voice.
"Mm." Lina nodded.
Appearing by the window now was a girl only one meter fifty tall, with fiery red hair and a cold temperament.
Lina wasn't one for much talk; in fact, even though Sain had lived with her for eight years, their usual conversations were quite stiff and brief.
Her outward appearance and height made Lina seem like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl.
But Sain knew this wasn't her actual age.
From when they met eight years ago, Lina had always maintained this appearance; eight years had passed, and Lina hadn't changed at all.
From some idle gossip in the magic academy, Sain knew that Lina had become like this due to an experimental accident with her mentor many years ago.
Sain didn't know exactly how old Lina was, and he hadn't asked.
Just as Lina had never asked about Sain's surname or his childhood origins to this day.
Everyone had their own secrets and corners not understood by others.
Although Sain and Lina had already been intimate, they seemed not yet completely open with each other.
"You're injured?" Lina first glanced at the magic short staff and Pale Mask placed by Sain's bed, then frowned and looked at the obvious bloodstains seeping through Sain's chest.