Chapter 21 Reward

　　　"Hehehe, a good battle."

　　"If you hadn't been taken in by Ferena, I would have taken you as my disciple."

　　After the grade assessment, Andis, who was responsible for issuing rewards to the academy, ignored the three winners and came to Lena with a soft smile.

　　The most exciting battle of this grade assessment was the one between Lena and the Death Hand, Mike.

　　The dazzling and shining magical elements were just secondary.

　　What really caught the attention of formal Dark Magicians like Andis was the hidden killing intent and the two fighters' fearless fighting style.

　　That's right, only such a battle is what should be between black magic apprentices!

　　The scene just now made Master Andis feel like he had gone back five hundred years, when he was still a small apprentice struggling in the Black Realm.

　　For Andis, memories of his childhood rarely contain good memories.

　　But it was precisely because of this that Andis remembered it so vividly, and used it as a motivation to continuously strive for greater strength.

　　"This piece of Dark Magic Copper is my personal reward to you. Work hard and I look forward to you creating more surprises for me in the future." Andis threw a palm-sized piece of black metal to Lena before flying away on his own.

　　He didn't even glance at the three winners among the advanced apprentices from start to finish.

　　Due to Lena and Mike's two defeats, they both missed out on the top three.

　　The final top three were Sain's senior sister Faye, advanced apprentice Sira, and Lilyanya.

　　Although Sain's senior sister Faye had decent strength, she relied more on the numerous magical equipment at her disposal.

　　Lilyanya was purely lucky, her ranking being directly handed to her.

　　Having kept an eye on Lena and Mike's battle from the corner of her eye, she knew that these two were not easy to deal with. Especially the former, who had not been an advanced apprentice for long but was so decisive and ruthless in action, and the advanced magic she wielded was also very smooth, truly a genius.

　　Sira, the advanced apprentice, was the only one who deserved the reward from the academy solely based on his strength and performance.

　　However, his personal strength was only on par with the infamous assassin, Death Hand Mike.

　　It was no wonder that Master Andis didn't spare him a glance, especially with Lena's outstanding performance.

　　"Hoo hoo hoo!" A sound came from in front of Sain, and there stood a half-sized owl.

　　Sain had a special connection with this owl as it was the third time they had encountered each other.

　　During the incident where Lena almost perished in a fight against Mike, this owl was the first to intervene with a wind barrier created from its wings, briefly separating the two.

　　Eventually, they both retreated back to the safe line due to their mutual hesitation and Sain's strong dissuasion towards Lena.

　　"This is my token of gratitude for your timely help, including the incident in the dungeon..."

　　Sain respectfully said to the owl, while taking out ten Black Gold coins from his pocket.

　　Facing Sain's Black Gold coins, the owl, Overseer, blinked its eyes but remained motionless.

　　Suddenly, Sain remembered an introduction in a magical book about underground monsters he had read in the public library.

　　The book mentioned that monsters generally preferred to devour Energy Crystal Stones or survive in areas where energy elements were abundant.

　　With this in mind, Sain took out the only Element Crystal Stone he had left, which was a half-depleted, low-level Earth-type Crystal Stone that he obtained from Dead Ghost Yilke.

　　As expected, after Sain took out the Earth-type Crystal Stone, the owl finally moved.

　　Its long hooked beak turned into a blur, and the next second, the Crystal Stone in Sain's hand disappeared, replaced by the sound of chewing.

　　These owl academy Overseers were wind-type monsters, as evidenced by their previous use of wind magic and their exceptional speed.

　　A low-level Energy Crystal Stone with only half of its energy was merely a toothpick for this owl Overseer.

　　However, it was still a good gesture, as few apprentices knew how to show respect to these academy Overseers.

　　Including orders from the Vice Dean and even the Dean, it was almost impossible for these capable Overseers of the academy to leave Mosobla City, let alone take the initiative to go out and hunt for demon cores.

　　"Apprentice, I remember you," said Seventh.

　　"My name is Seventh. If you need anything, you can come find me at the treetop on the east side of White Raven Forest, hoot hoot!" After saying this, the owl spread its wings and left the training ground.

　　White Raven Forest was not far from the apprentice dormitory, and in Sain's memory, there were no buildings on the east side, only a towering wall and dense white crow trees.

　　After watching the owl leave, Sain turned and walked towards Lena.

　　The formal Dark Magician Andis had already left, and Sain's senior sister Faye had also left early.

　　The only people in front of Sain now were Lena and the chubby Bosch.

　　"Ah, am I too late?"

　　"Sain, you're badly injured. I have potions!" As Sain approached Lena, a green-haired little girl suddenly jumped out from the side and ran to his side, saying.

　　The green-haired little girl in front of him was Merry, one of the two low-level apprentices at Dark Magic Academy that Sain could trust.

　　Sain thought she wouldn't participate in the grade assessment this time, but she appeared late after the grade assessment had just ended.

　　Merry was two years younger than Sain, and she looked even smaller than Lena, possibly due to her slow development.

　　Unlike the apprentice atmosphere at Dark Magic Academy, Merry seemed like a pure girl who didn't belong in this dark place.

　　If she hadn't been lucky enough to have an official Dark Magician as a mentor, Sain doubted she could survive.

　　When Merry appeared on the training ground, she immediately noticed the wounds on Sain's arms, armpits, and thighs.

　　Sain had also fought with two capable low-level apprentices, and although he had won in the end, he had inevitably suffered some minor injuries.

　　Compared to Lena's current state of being surrounded by death, these injuries were nothing.

　　Even without any medication, a rest of one or two months should be enough for a natural recovery.

　　It's Lena who truly needs medication and other means of recovery.

　　The deathly grip of Mike's Necrotoxin has left Lena looking pale and in urgent need of Antidote and purifying medicine.

　　While these medicines may be expensive, Lena should be able to afford them as an advanced apprentice.

　　If all else fails, she can return to her mentor, Master Ferena.

　　Despite their difficult relationship, he would not stand by and do nothing.

　　Sain's refusal and the frigid aura emanating from Lena make Merry, who is barely five feet tall, jump back in fear.

　　Merry has always been afraid of Sain's live-in girlfriend, Lena.

　　Although Lena has never been hostile towards Merry, Sain recalls that she has never been friendly either.

　　Previously, Sain thought it was just the contempt of a more powerful apprentice towards a lower-ranked one.

　　But now, he feels there might be something else at play.

　　Although Merry is scared, her intentions are good.

　　With a trembling hand, she pulls out a small, transparent vial from a red cloth pouch on her chest.

　　It's a low-level Antidote that Merry made herself.

　　Although it can't remove all of Lena's Necrotoxin, it will make her feel a little better.

　　Lena's icy demeanor softens slightly in response to Merry's kind gesture.