A trembling "zheng zheng" sound echoed from the metal spear. The opponent could clearly have pierced him through with a single thrust, yet chose instead to drive the spear into the ground less than half a meter in front of Kai. Having already sensed he was locked onto, Kai ceased hiding and stepped out voluntarily.
Against these order-maintaining knights outside Menzoberranzan, he stood no chance of resisting—merely an apprentice whose spiritual power had just reached the advanced apprentice level, yet whose mastery of magic remained mostly at the intermediate tier. After all, even the formal dark magicians had been routed.
Kai's appearance caused a commotion among the many knights outside the city. Not all of them had detected him hiding in the shadows. In fact, Kai was quite far from Menzoberranzan, and in such a dark, noisy environment, even formal dark magicians would struggle to spot him without using detection magic. This was precisely why the knight who had found him was far more powerful than an ordinary formal magician.
"No wonder Brother Bakda managed to spot even this little dark magic apprentice hiding so far away," one knight remarked.
"Brother Bakda has fought in several planar wars—he's already a Level 2 Earth Knight," another added.
"I heard Brother Bakda also possesses an extremely rare bloodline power. It's a pity that in this battle to wipe out the dark magicians, there are too few strong opponents to make him activate his bloodline transformation—we'll never get to see it," the knights chatted among themselves.
The pressure the surrounding knights exerted on Kai was no less intense than that of the dark magicians at the academy. These were all powerful beings at the First Tier of Life. It seemed the surface forces had been plotting to destroy Menzoberranzan for far longer than a single day; besides Holy Tower magicians, they had even recruited many knights of such formidable strength.
Among all these knights, the one who pressed down on Kai the most was the burly figure in full silver armor standing at the front. This was the strongest human Kai had ever seen—nearly three meters tall, he loomed like a silver hill. Unlike Stanson, the advanced dark magic apprentice whose size only surged when he activated his bloodline magic, this knight was naturally this massive. And judging by Stanson's strength as an advanced apprentice... Kai guessed the silver-armored knight could flick Stanson away with a single finger. After all, he had seen Tier 4 creatures before.
Facing a circle of knights and the gaze of a Level 2 Earth Knight, Kai did not flinch. From start to finish, his expression remained calm and composed. It was this calmness that made the silver-armored knight look at him with newfound respect—even some powerful First-Tier alien creatures dared not face his aura directly, yet this young apprentice could. Moreover, the silver-armored knight had met countless people; though he had no mind-reading ability, this golden-haired apprentice left a far better impression than the scoundrels who associated with dark magicians.
In this atmosphere, the silver-armored knight spoke up, his voice as deep and heavy as his build: "Are you a dark magic apprentice from this underground city?"
The moment he spoke, the murmurs of the surrounding knights fell silent instantly—a testament to his prestige among the group.
"Yes," Kai replied in a low voice. Lying was pointless here; his spiritual power, which exceeded that of ordinary people, was undeniable, and these knights would certainly recognize his identity as a magic apprentice. And as for whether he was a dark magic apprentice... in this underground world, what other kind of apprentice could there be?
"Brother, let's cuff him!" one knight suggested. "Jike was ambushed and injured by a dark magic apprentice two months ago."
"Poor Jike—he wasn't hurt by a dark magician, but by an apprentice," another chimed in.
"Who knows how many people will laugh at him when we return to the Knight Hall?" said a knight in yellow armor. He wore no helmet, and from the corner of his eye, Kai faintly caught a hint of mockery and amusement on his face.
As soon as the knight finished speaking, the surrounding knights burst into laughter. The silver-armored knight, however, did not laugh. With a wave of his right hand, the yellow-armored knight—who had been standing ready nearby—stepped forward, carrying a pair of manacles.
These manacles were etched with obvious magical patterns, and their inner sides were lined with sharp barbs. From his perspective as an alchemist apprentice, Kai guessed they must have the function of suppressing magic and confining magicians. His guess was correct: these manacles were specifically crafted to deal with formal dark magicians. Kai's "honor" of being targeted with them stemmed mostly from his advanced apprentice-level spiritual power—advanced magic could pose a slight threat to these formal knights. Though hardly lethal, admitting to being injured by an apprentice would certainly be humiliating.
What truly sent a chill down Kai's spine next, though, was the way the yellow-armored knight's eyes fixed on the staff in Kai's hand and the spatial ring on his finger as he approached—a look of greed.
Before the yellow-armored knight could fasten the manacles on Kai, Kai spoke up hastily: "I'm an apprentice who just returned from the Sand World! I have important information to report to the esteemed Holy Tower magicians!"
His words left the surrounding knights—including the yellow-armored one—stunned.
"The Sand World? Is that the planar passage Master Romward of the Dawn Holy Tower fought over with that Peak Level 3 dark magician more than two years ago?"
"Are there still apprentices coming out of there?" someone among the knights exclaimed in surprise.
"Crash!" A commotion erupted among the commoners not far from Kai and the others—no one knew what had happened.
The silver-armored knight seemed to be deep in thought, head bowed, but the yellow-armored knight before Kai paid no heed. He moved to lock Kai's hands and feet with the manacles, his right hand—covered in metal gloves—nearly touching Kai's spatial ring.
Just then, the cries of commoners rang out. Since the knights tasked with maintaining order had all gathered to gawk at Kai, the commoners outside Menzoberranzan had grown somewhat unruly. At a glance, nearly a hundred commoners were approaching.
Kai never expected that the first people to speak up for him would be these commoners—people whom no one usually spared a second glance.
"Honorable knights, this apprentice is a good man!"
"If it weren't for his charity and help, we would have starved to death years ago!" a hoarse elderly voice called out.
Immediately after, most of the hundred-odd gathered commoners knelt down. Kai barely recognized most of these Menzoberranzan commoners pleading for him; only a few in the front row looked familiar—they were the underground humans he had encountered during his Green Jaw Feather mission.
Back then, Kai had merely given them some of the Green Jaw Feather meat he could not carry. But for these humans, that timely supply of meat had saved nearly a thousand people from starvation. As Kai had thought at the time, these underground humans were reluctant to eat magical creature meat. They sold almost all the Green Jaw Feather meat to buy cheaper edible underground moss, helping them survive the harsh period when their crops had been destroyed.
Inspired by these hundred-odd commoners, more and more people who had benefited from Kai's kindness began to gather. Menzoberranzan had a population of 300,000, and with the dark magicians on the verge of being wiped out, these underground humans were about to be "liberated." Next, they would be transported back to the surface by Holy Tower magicians and knights from the Knight Hall via airships.
While it was uncertain whether these high and mighty knights and magicians—all above Tier 1—truly cared about the lives of these commoners, this was still part of the mission to wipe out the dark magicians. After the mission, both the Holy Tower and the Knight Hall would document it and evaluate the success of their campaign against the dark magicians.
Three hundred thousand commoners was no small number. When they swarmed over, several knights who did not know the truth assumed Kai had helped so many people. In reality, the human community in Menzoberranzan was small—they were mere ants living under the harsh, cruel rules of the dark magicians. In such a gloomy, hopeless environment, even a little kindness from a dark magic apprentice felt like a ray of sunshine to these underground humans: bright and unforgettable.
Kai himself had no idea that his random act of kindness back then had left such a deep impression and impact on these ordinary commoners. In fact, his kindness toward them was not limited to that one time he gave away Green Jaw Feather meat. Over the three years of his apprenticeship that followed, during his academy missions every two months, Kai had occasionally interacted with the ordinary humans of Menzoberranzan. Having a stronger moral compass than other dark magic apprentices made his personal charm stand out remarkably among his peers.
Thus, when he was troubled by these powerful knights, it was these underground humans who mustered the courage to speak up for him first. Of course, a large part of the reason was also that these surface knights had treated them quite gently, barely harming any of these weak commoners—they were a group of relatively reasonable, principled knights.
The underground commoners speaking up for Kai finally moved the silver-armored knight, who had been silent for a long time—the leader of these knights. He used his spear to stop the yellow-armored knight from putting the anti-magic manacles on Kai, then removed his silver helmet, revealing a shiny bald head. He was a serious-looking bald giant, his black pupils sharp and piercing.
"Not all dark magic apprentices are corrupted by those evil dark magicians. In fact, some of them are victims too," he said. "We've encountered a few such apprentices in the underground this time; a very small number have even been taken as disciples by magicians of the Dawn Holy Tower."
The dark magic apprentices he referred to were mostly surviving low-level and entry-level apprentices from Shadow Valley. There was little to say about the entry-level apprentices, but the few low-level apprentices favored by Dawn Holy Tower magicians were mostly young and had not been completely influenced by the gloomy atmosphere of the dark magic academy. More motivated and sensible than ordinary apprentices, they had won the admiration of several academy-style Holy Tower magicians—who could not resist appreciating talent—and were taken as disciples. Officially, it was claimed that these Holy Tower magicians hoped to guide these dark magic apprentices onto the right path.
"Why did you help the commoners?" the silver-armored knight asked, stepping in front of Kai. The opponent's overwhelming strength and suffocating pressure would have forced anyone with a guilty conscience to reveal their true colors. Kai was only in his early twenties, while the silver-armored knight was a veteran who had fought in other planes for hundreds of years—he trusted his own judgment.
Facing the silver-armored knight's question, Kai made no pretense, replying almost exactly what he truly thought: "I don't see them as 'commoners.' I just see them as people—and I am also a person."
His answer seemed to freeze the air around them for two seconds. Then the silver-armored knight burst into laughter—unlike the mocking laughter of the First-Tier knights earlier, when they joked about Jike being injured by an apprentice. This laughter was open and heroic.
He wanted to pat Kai on the shoulder, but on one hand, Kai—at 1.8 meters tall—seemed short to him; on the other hand, he worried he might accidentally hurt Kai if he did not control his strength. In the end, he simply tucked his silver helmet under his arm, waved at Kai, and said: "You want to see the Holy Tower magicians? Come with me—I'll take you to see Master Midici."
"I'm curious about that Sand World too, not just the Holy Tower magicians," the silver-armored knight added, striding toward the city first.
Looking at the silver-armored knight's back, Kai did not hesitate and followed closely. Before leaving, however, he did not forget to bow slightly to the group of Menzoberranzan commoners kneeling on the ground, who had pleaded for him.
It was at this moment that Kai felt a shift in his state of mind. What was the true essence of magic? In the process of exploring magic, did one have to resort to any means—even despising or ignoring life—like those dark magicians?
Kai was eager to ask his mentor, Mosido, this question. With Mosido's wisdom, he would surely offer Kai some guidance. But where could Mosido be now?
At this moment, Menzoberranzan was vastly different from what Kai remembered. Nearly half of the once-majestic city had been reduced to ruins. According to the silver-armored knight, their next step was to completely demolish and bury Menzoberranzan. This hub of the underground world in the Underdark was about to become a thing of the past.
"My name is Bakda, kid. If you ever succeed in advancing to a formal magician, you can come find me at the Earth Sword Knight Hall in the Endless South Sea of the Wizarding World. I have high hopes for you," the silver-armored knight said, leading Kai to a stone building near the central core area in the eastern part of the city.
It was a three-story stone building. When Kai followed the silver-armored knight up to the third floor, he saw a male magician with short platinum hair, wearing a white robe and exuding a scholarly aura. From the third floor of this stone building, Kai could even see the rough outline of the Dark Magic Academy in the center of the city through the window. Intense battles still raged there, with elemental explosions and flashes of fire appearing from time to time—indicating that the Dark Magic Academy was the last stronghold of resistance for Menzoberranzan's dark magicians. Fortified heavily by dark magicians over the years, with countless barriers and magic towers, it was the hardest nut to crack.
Kai's thoughts were involuntarily drawn to the distant Dark Magic Academy outside the window; he was eager to know what was happening there.
It seemed the silver-armored knight had already communicated with this white-robed magician. As powerhouses above Tier 1, they could communicate via spiritual power.
"You're quite concerned about that place?" the white-robed man suddenly asked. As a powerful Holy Tower magician, he lacked the cold arrogance commonly seen in the formal dark magicians of the Dark Magic Academy; instead, he emanated a gentle aura.
"My friend might still be there," Kai replied in a low voice. He did not mention having a mentor—given his identity as a dark magic apprentice, his mentor would certainly be a formal dark magician, and that would only bring him unnecessary trouble.
The white-robed man nodded and continued: "Bakda says you're a dark magic apprentice with a kind heart and integrity, especially since you once saved many ordinary commoners of Menzoberranzan."
"Though I didn't come from a commoner knight background like Bakda, I still greatly admire your character and actions," the white-robed man said.
His words suddenly jogged Kai's memory. Two years ago, near the spatial passage in the Sand World, when the two Peak Level 3 grand magicians from the other end of the passage were fighting, a Holy Tower magician had spoken up for the safety of Kai and the other dark magic apprentices. If Kai remembered correctly, that magician's voice was identical to that of the white-robed magician before him.
A beam of white light shot from the magician's fingertips—it was a healing light. Under the effect of the healing light, Kai felt the scars on his body and many old injuries accumulated inside him recover significantly. The rank of this healing light was far higher than the body regeneration magic stored in the head of his mentor Mosido's staff.
"It seems you suffered a lot in the Sand World," the white-robed magician said. "Now, tell me—what exactly did you discover in that world that you need to report to us at the Holy Tower?" He put away his staff and looked at Kai calmly.
The behavior of these surface knights and magicians was clearly different from that of the underground dark magicians. Kai licked his dry lips and recounted all his discoveries in the Sand World one by one. Originally, he had planned to tell his mentor or the academy dean about the existence of the Sand Worm King. But given the current situation, he had no choice but to reveal all the information to these Holy Tower magicians first. Besides, hadn't the Sand Worm King initially asked Kai to seek help from the Holy Tower?
As Kai spoke, the expressions of both the white-robed magician and the silver-armored knight standing beside him became vivid—a mix of surprise and excitement. Kai was certain that the expression the Sand Worm King had wanted to see on the faces of the powerful beings in the Wizarding World was by no means what they were showing now.
"It seems our intelligence was wrong. The information from the Beren Empire stated there was a corpse of a dead Tier 4 creature in that broken plane, not a living one," the white-robed magician said. "I need to report this to Dean Romward and the Tower Master immediately."
"Hm. Half a year ago, Sky Knights Franz and Johnson went with Master Romward to the depths of the underground to pursue that Peak Level 3 dark magician," the silver-armored knight nodded. "In addition to trying to contact the two Sky Knights, I will also send this information back to the Earth Sword Knight Hall immediately."
The two Tier 2 powerhouses did not avoid Kai as they spoke.