Lina had a bad temper, which was one of the reasons why she was called a "mad woman" by many magic apprentices.
In the years Sain had lived in Mossobla City's Black Magic Academy, the fact that he had cautiously made it to this point was due not only to his prudent style and resolute character, but also largely to Lina's protection.
Lina was a powerful mid-level apprentice; eight years ago, when Sain first met her, she had already reached this level.
If low-level apprentices could barely avoid being bullied in the Black Magic Academy, then only those who reached mid-level or above could truly be called strong by other apprentices.
As for senior apprentices, they were rarely seen in the sight of ordinary apprentices.
For example, Lilianya, who had spoken with Sain yesterday—Sain had only heard of her reputation before; that was his first time conversing with a senior apprentice.
The bloodstains seeping through Sain's chest caused the surrounding temperature around Lina to drop by several degrees at that moment.
However, upon hearing from Sain that Ilk, who had attempted to kill him, had been counter-killed by Sain instead.
And that the true cause of Sain's injuries was the biting and ramming from the intermediate magical beast, the Saltwater Giant Crocodile, Lina's angry emotions visibly eased.
"Why did you go looking for trouble with the Saltwater Giant Crocodile? A beast of that size—even I wasn't too willing to face it in the past," Lina asked with a slight frown.
In the previous years, Lina hadn't cared this much about Sain; in her eyes, he was just an obedient experimental assistant.
But after they developed a relationship beyond friendship two years ago, this woman gradually accepted Sain and showed him a warmth different from her cold exterior.
So Sain explained to her the whole story of going to the Saltwater Giant Crocodile's territory to find Starlight Grass, and subsequently being accepted as a disciple by the formal black mage Mosido.
Upon learning that Sain had become the disciple of a formal black mage, Lina's cold face finally showed a trace of surprise, along with a faint sense of relief.
"Becoming the disciple of a formal black mage is certainly a good thing."
"But you should have waited for me to return. The Saltwater Giant Crocodile isn't something you can handle alone right now," Lina said.
"Master Mosido's mission had a limited timeframe, and I was very worried that those Starlight Grasses would be eaten by the Saltwater Giant Crocodile, or that some other mishap might occur."
"Moreover, if I had obtained the Starlight Grass through your hands, perhaps Master Mosido wouldn't have accepted me as a disciple."
"Surviving in a place like the Dark Region, to achieve something, one must inevitably face all sorts of dangers. I can't always rely on your protection," Sain finally shook his head and added.
Sain's response caused a clear look of surprise to appear on Lina's cold face.
However, Sain didn't notice the change in Lina's expression and instead opened his mouth to ask about her.
"Where have you been for the past half month? I was very worried about you," Sain asked in a low voice.
Faced with Sain's tone full of concern and care, Lina's already thawed cold face revealed a smile.
This was the first time in nearly two years that Sain had seen Lina smile. This smile wasn't just because of Sain's concern; there were other reasons as well.
"I've advanced to senior apprentice. For the past half month, I've been in secluded meditation in the academy's cultivation room."
"We can switch to a different room to live in now. The two dormitory buildings at the back—whether in terms of room size or the completeness of the experiment tables—are better than here," Lina said.
Advancing to senior apprentice was the real reason Lina was smiling now.
She also hoped Sain could share in her joy.
Bidding farewell to the residence where they had lived for eight years would be something Sain would find hard to adapt to in the short term.
But ultimately, it was for a better living environment and development space for both him and Lina. Plus, with Sain also being accepted as a disciple by the formal black mage Mosido, it was like double happiness for the two of them.
"Hehe, I'll go to Black Street to buy a fish. Today, we'll celebrate properly," Sain said with a smile.
Magic apprentices were still people and couldn't escape the need for meals.
From returning to the dormitory yesterday until now, Sain had only drunk half a bottle of intermediate antidote and hadn't eaten anything.
Lina didn't know how to cook; it had always been Sain's job.
In the early years of living together with Lina, the reason Sain was gradually accepted by her—besides his handsome appearance and his competent performance in assisting with experiments—stemmed from many little details in daily life.
Black Street.
A special commercial street located within the magic academy.
This was a place frequently visited by the apprentices of the Black Magic Academy. From casting materials, alchemical potions, and magic items, down to daily necessities and other knick-knacks, it had everything!
It was rumored that behind every magic shop on Black Street, there were shadows of senior apprentices or even formal black mages.
Indeed, only such existences had the ability and financial power to produce corresponding magic equipment or alchemical potions.
When Sain arrived at Black Street, Lina was accompanying him this time.
Perhaps the half-month of secluded meditation had made Lina feel stifled, or maybe she was worried about Sain's injuries not fully recovering. The usually silent and reclusive Lina actually came with him to buy groceries today.
A "Black Shark Scale Fish," a specialty from an underground dark river, was Sain's main target for this trip.
This thing wasn't an ordinary fish but a magical creature already possessing some elemental power, with a specific rank equivalent to the entry-level magic apprentices who had just enrolled in the academy.
Its massive fish mouth, sharp teeth, and the pointed barbs on its body surface marked it as anything but a gentle-tempered creature.
And in the "Koda Magic Materials Store" in the center of Black Street, this Black Shark Scale Fish was also a rare magical creature valued at a high eight black gold coins.
Having just made a fortune from Ilk's corpse, Sain didn't mind paying eight black gold coins.
In fact, if eating in the academy cafeteria, getting a whole Black Shark Scale Fish would cost no less than twenty black gold coins.
As the common currency of Mossobla City, the value of black gold had always been stable.
Sain didn't know exactly how much private money Lina had, but after all these years, the total black gold he had accumulated was only a little over twenty coins.
Under normal circumstances, no low-level or mid-level apprentices would indulge in tasting magical creatures.
Although consuming these magical creatures could indeed improve their physiques, the vast majority of apprentices would use their limited money to buy casting materials or magic books.
After purchasing the Black Shark Scale Fish and paying, as Sain and Lina were about to leave, they encountered some troublesome guys.
Leading them was the scarred apprentice from the city wall yesterday.
Conflicts rarely erupted on Black Street because almost no apprentice could afford to provoke the shop owners here.
The scarred apprentice and his group had no intention of making trouble for Sain and Lina here, but upon seeing the Black Shark Scale Fish in Sain's hand, the scarred apprentice chuckled and said, "You've come up in the world, Sain. I heard you actually killed Ilk yesterday."
"Tsk tsk, this Black Shark Scale Fish—was it bought with Ilk's black gold?" Scarface Jock mocked.
Scarface Jock and his group had the advantage in numbers, and Sain didn't want to clash with them at this juncture.
Moreover, this guy clearly wasn't well-informed and didn't know that Sain had already been accepted as a disciple by the formal black mage Mosido.
Indeed, besides Lilianya and Lina, Sain hadn't told any other magic apprentices about this.
And given Lilianya's high position, she obviously had no interest in mingling with a bunch of mid-level apprentices or below.
Scarface Jock's sarcasm elicited bursts of laughter from the group accompanying him.
These apprentices weren't all Jock's lackeys; for instance, there were three mid-level apprentices among them, on par with Jock in status and strength.
Faced with Jock's cold mockery, if Sain were alone, he would have endured it—the opponents outnumbered them, and since Sain had apprenticed under Master Mosido, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with them in the future.
But the difference was that Sain wasn't alone this time.
"Whoosh!" A fireball the size of a basketball suddenly appeared at Lina's fingertip.
It was unknown when this woman had silently completed her spell chant; she actually made a move right there on Black Street.
The massive fireball was a full circle larger than the Minor Fireball Technique Sain himself could cast.
Moreover, the color of this fireball wasn't crimson red but a deep blue that evoked an eerie and unsettling feeling!
"Senior apprentice!" Among Scarface Jock's group, someone knowledgeable couldn't help but cry out in alarm.