"I haven't been out much on academy missions lately. My mentor granted me a four-month leave, so I don't have any beast cores or flesh to give you for now."
"However, in today's experiment, I ended up with an exhausted energy crystal. I wonder if you'd be interested?" Saine pulled out a transparent, crystal-clear energy stone from his pocket.
The once abundant elemental energy within the crystal had been completely drained. Only faint, nearly imperceptible yellow elemental threads remained intertwined inside, marking the last remnants of what was once a powerful resource.
The owl, Qi, wasn't picky—or perhaps it simply had no other choice. With a slight lift of its brown beak, the empty crystal in Saine's hand flew straight into its mouth. The hard energy stone crunched into fragments under Qi's powerful bite, its jaw strength never failing to amaze Saine.
"Coo-coo-coo, being the disciple of an official dark magician certainly has its perks, especially when your mentor is Master Mosido."
"Throughout the entire Black Magic Academy, I doubt any other dark magician has such an extensive collection of energy crystals." The owl cooed between chews.
The empty crystal Saine had handed over was originally an advanced earth-element energy stone. Even in Master Mosido's laboratory, such a crystal was considered high-grade. The only ones surpassing it were the rare treasures known as first-tier energy essences, which Saine had only glimpsed a handful of times in recent years.
Qi finished its meal quickly. With a single gulp, the fist-sized crystal vanished down its throat.
After exchanging a few more words with the owl, Saine walked over to a tree stump marked with clear cutting traces and sat down. Closing his eyes slightly, he began his routine mental meditation.
Three years ago, Saine had discovered that the elemental concentration deep within the White Crow Forest was unusually high. The serene and tranquil atmosphere here made it the perfect place for a magic apprentice like him to meditate. Surprisingly, the efficiency of his meditation here even surpassed that of the small side room in Master Mosido's quarters, which was inscribed with an energy-gathering magic array.
Once Saine entered his meditative state, Qi ceased its disturbances. Without even a whisper of flapping wings, the owl silently departed, leaving no trace of its presence.
The White Crow Forest was now filled only with the faint chirping of insects and birds, accompanied by the gentle rustling of leaves in the wind. In this peaceful environment, Saine's meditation became even more effective.
When he finally emerged from his trance, the academy's time had already reached evening. Qi's whereabouts were unknown—as one of the academy's overseers, it was often busy, possibly off handling some unforeseen incident.
Brushing off the slight dampness from the forest dew on his robe, Saine stepped slowly and deliberately out of the White Crow Forest.
Unlike his arrival in the morning, the forest was now dotted with tiny white lights—the very reason for its name. Saine's research had revealed that these lights were emitted by thumb-sized white insects, which absorbed tree sap at specific times and naturally radiated the glow from their tails.
Under the shimmering beauty of these scattered lights, Saine's black silhouette gradually faded away. Having meditated here every few days, he no longer felt the same excitement and wonder he once had upon first witnessing these lights.
Yet, the sight of these glowing specks scattered throughout the forest reminded him of the boundless, starry brilliance of the night sky from his memories of the surface world.
By the time Saine returned to his dorm, his girlfriend Lina arrived almost simultaneously. Having assisted her mentor, Ferenna, in completing a dark magic experiment earlier that day, Lina looked visibly exhausted.
Still, upon seeing Saine busy in the kitchen, she mustered her energy and went to help him prepare dinner.
Over the years, Lina's cooking skills had improved somewhat. At the very least, she no longer made a mess, and occasionally, she could even manage simple dishes on her own.
Watching Lina move beside him to assist, Saine felt a quiet warmth in his heart. The time he spent with her each day allowed him to momentarily forget the dangers of the underground world and the heavy burden of his magical studies.
He suspected Lina felt the same, as their long companionship had fostered an unspoken understanding between them.
However, the only discomfort weighing on Saine today stemmed from a request his senior sister, Fei'er, had made earlier. He wasn't sure if it counted as betrayal, nor did he know whether he should bring it up with Lina.
Knowing Lina's temperament, if he mentioned it, her impulsive nature might drive her to challenge Fei'er directly. Both women had helped him greatly, and Saine dreaded the thought of any ugly confrontation between them.
Lina, having lived with Saine for over a decade, quickly noticed his unusual mood. But since he didn't bring it up, she refrained from pressing him.
Most people saw Lina as a "madwoman," especially given her ruthless reputation, which intimidated even apprentices of higher levels. But Saine knew that beneath her fierce exterior, Lina was actually quite rational.
Every impulsive action she took was preceded by a rapid calculation of the consequences and whether she could bear them. Perhaps this was why, despite her infamous reputation, she had not only survived but thrived, even becoming a disciple of an official dark magician.
A true fool or lunatic wouldn't have made it to the level of a senior apprentice, let alone earn such a prestigious position.
Had this been a few years earlier, Lina would have bluntly asked Saine what was wrong. But now, she held back, knowing that if he wished to share, he would. If he didn't, she wouldn't force him.
Somewhere along the way, Lina had grown deeply attuned to Saine's feelings.
Together, they prepared a dinner far more lavish than what most low-level apprentices could afford. At the table, Saine remained silent, engrossed in a magic book as he ate.
He had read this particular book over twenty times, yet each revisit brought new insights. Certain annotated details resonated differently with each reading.
The book was Ankada's Annotations, and Saine suspected its author, Master Ankada, was no ordinary official magician—perhaps even surpassing his own mentor, Mosido, possibly reaching the level of the academy's dean.
One passage in particular stood out to him now:
"Wizards are the origin of all spellcasting professions in the Wizarding World. They do not rigidly divide their knowledge systems—any knowledge beneficial to a wizard is worth mastering."
Saine wholeheartedly agreed.
Though he appeared to be a fire-element magic apprentice and alchemy student, he had also dabbled in dark magic and potion studies. It wasn't greed that drove him, but genuine interest and the belief that even a basic understanding of these fields would prove invaluable.
Besides, who dictated that just because he had high affinity for fire, light, and dark elements, he was limited to those three?
Plant, earth, water, wind—even rare elements like lightning, poison, mysticism, or summoning—if they piqued his curiosity, he would explore them all.
After all, the pursuit of knowledge and the mysteries of magic were the endless driving forces behind a magician's growth.
Carefully, Saine used a magic quill to jot down a note in the margins of Ankada's Annotations before closing the book gently.
Looking at Lina, who had also finished her meal, he said, "Let's leave the cleanup for tomorrow. We should rest early tonight."