Lord of Smoke and Dust"

Chapter 6 Lena

Lena has a very bad temper, which is one of the reasons why many apprentices call her the "crazy woman."

Sain has been living at the Black Magic Academy in the city of Mosobla for those years. He has been able to reach this point not only because of his cautious nature and strong character, but also due to Lena's protection.

Lena is a powerful intermediate apprentice, and she had already reached this level eight years ago when Sain first met her.

If low-level apprentices at the Black Magic Academy can barely avoid being bullied, only those who have reached intermediate or higher apprentice levels can truly be called strong by other apprentices.

As for high-level apprentices, they are rarely seen by ordinary apprentices. For example, the Lilyana that Sain spoke to yesterday was a high-level apprentice, and that was the first time Sain had ever spoken to a high-level apprentice.

The bloodstains seeping from Sain's chest visibly affected the temperature around Lena, who was already in a bad mood.

However, when Sain explained that the one who had attempted to kill him, Ilk, had been killed by Sain, Lena's anger visibly subsided. The true cause of Sain's injury was when he was attacked by the intermediate magical beast, the Brine Crocodile.

"Why did you go looking for trouble with a Brine Crocodile? I wouldn't even have wanted to face a magical beast of that size in the past," Lena asked, her brow furrowing.

In the previous years, Lena hadn't been so concerned about Sain. In her eyes, Sain was just a responsible assistant in their experiments. But as they developed a close relationship over the past two years, Lena gradually accepted Sain and showed a warmth beneath her cold exterior.

Sain then explained the events leading up to his mission from Master Moses and his desire not to rely on Lena for protection. This seemed to surprise Lena.

Beneath her cold demeanor, Lena eventually expressed a sense of amazement and relief after learning that Sain had become a formal apprentice under Master Moses.

"Being a formal black magician's apprentice is undoubtedly a good thing, but you should have waited for me. The Brine Crocodile is not something you can handle on your own right now," Lena said.

Moses had given him a time limit for the mission, and Sain was concerned that the Starlight Grass might be eaten by the Brine Crocodile or that something else might happen. Moreover, if he were to obtain the Starlight Grass under false pretenses, Master Moses might not take him as his apprentice.

To succeed in this dark and dangerous region, he couldn't rely on Lena's protection forever. Sain concluded, shaking his head.

Lena's surprise at Sain's answer showed in her ice-cold face, but Sain didn't notice the change in her expression. Instead, he asked about Lena's whereabouts over the past two weeks, expressing his concern for her.

Facing Sain's care and the apparent concern in his tone, Lena couldn't help but smile. This was the first time Sain had seen Lena smile in nearly two years, and there was more to this smile than just his concern.

"I have been promoted to a high-level apprentice, and for the past two weeks, I've been in seclusion and meditation in the academy's practice room," Lena explained.

She suggested that they should switch to a new room for their living space, as the two dormitory buildings behind them were more spacious and better equipped with experimental platforms.

Promotion to a high-level apprentice was the real reason behind Lena's smile, and she wanted Sain to share in her joy.

Saying goodbye to their home of eight years would be an adjustment for Sain, but it was a necessary change for the couple to have a better living environment and more space for their development. Sain's apprenticeship under Master Moses made it a doubly happy occasion for both of them.

"We should celebrate with a nice meal. I'll go to Black Street to buy some fish," Sain said.

Even magic apprentices needed to eat regular meals. From the time he returned to the dormitory until now, Sain had only consumed half a bottle of intermediate detoxification potion and hadn't eaten anything. Lena wasn't skilled at cooking, so it had been Sain's responsibility. The first few years of living together allowed Sain to be gradually accepted by Lena, partly due to his good looks and well-performed experiments and many other small things in daily life.

The Black Street was a special commercial street located within the Black Magic Academy. It was a place frequented by apprentices, where they could purchase everything from spell materials and alchemical potions to magical items, daily supplies, and various other small items.

Behind each of these shops on Black Street, it was rumored that there were the shadows of high-level or even formal black magicians. It was only with such backing that they could create the corresponding magical equipment or alchemical potions.

When Sain arrived on Black Street, Lena was accompanying him. Perhaps after the continuous two-week seclusion and meditation, Lena was feeling bored, or maybe she was worried that Sain's injuries hadn't fully healed. Regardless, Lena, who was usually silent and rarely went out, surprisingly went with him to buy groceries.

The primary goal of Sain's trip was the "Black Scalyfish," a creature endemic to the dark underground river. This was not an ordinary fish but a magical creature with elemental power, roughly equivalent to the beginner-level magical apprentices in the academy. The huge fish lips, sharp teeth, and sharp spines on its body marked it as a creature not known for its gentle temperament.

In the central "Koda Magic Material Shop" on Black Street, the Black Scalyfish was considered a rare magical creature worth a whopping eight pieces of black gold.

Having just received a large sum of black gold from Ilk, Sain didn't mind spending eight pieces of black gold. In fact, if you wanted to eat a whole Black Scalyfish in the academy's cafeteria, it would cost no less than twenty pieces of black gold. Black gold, as the universal currency of the city of Mosobla, had always held its value.

Sain didn't know how much private money Lena had, but over the years, he had accumulated more than twenty pieces of black gold. Typically, without low or intermediate apprentices getting extravagant with their meals, they would use their limited funds to purchase spell materials or magic books.

After acquiring the Black Scalyfish, Sain and Lena were about to leave when they encountered some troublemakers led by the scar-faced apprentice they had seen on the city wall the previous day.

Conflict rarely erupted on Black Street because shopkeepers there were not to be trifled with, but the scar-faced apprentice's group had no intention of causing trouble for Sain and Lena. However, seeing the Black Scalyfish in Sain's hands, the scar-faced apprentice couldn't help but taunt Sain, saying, "Looks like you've come a long way, Sain. I heard you killed Ilk yesterday."

"This Black Scalyfish, it wouldn't be your black gold from Ilk, would it?" he mocked.

Sain, accompanied by Lena, didn't want to engage in a fight with them at that moment. There were many people in the group, and Sain had no intention of fighting them. Plus, the guy was clearly not well-informed and didn't know that Sain had been

formally accepted as a black magician's apprentice by Master Moses.

Sain hadn't mentioned this to any other magical apprentices apart from Lilianna and Lena. Given Lilianna's high status, she had no interest in mingling with lower-level or intermediate apprentices. The scar-faced apprentice's mocking words were met with laughter from his companions.

These apprentices weren't all part of the scar-faced apprentice's group; some of them were of the same level or even equivalent in status and strength to the scar-faced apprentice.

Sain chose not to react to the taunts from the scar-faced apprentice. However, it was different now because he wasn't alone.

A fireball the size of a basketball suddenly appeared at Lena's fingertips, and Sain wasn't sure when she had completed the spell's incantation. The large fireball was even larger than the secondary fireball that Sain himself had cast, and its color was not the usual red but an eerie and unsettling deep blue.

"An advanced apprentice!" exclaimed one of the scar-faced apprentice's group members who recognized her abilities.

Sain and Lena were about to leave the scene when they encountered trouble. The group, led by the scar-faced apprentice, saw the Black Scalyfish in Sain's hands. This prompted the scar-faced apprentice to make fun of him.

"Seems like you've made some progress, Sain. I heard you managed to kill Ilk yesterday," he sneered. "And is this Black Scalyfish bought with Ilk's black gold?"

Sain had no intention of getting into a fight with them, especially with Lena by his side. There were many people in the group, and Sain was now an official apprentice under Master Moses. It seemed the scar-faced apprentice wasn't aware of this, as Sain hadn't shared this information with anyone other than Lilianna and Lena.

The mocking words elicited laughter from the group, but they didn't know that Lena was a high-level apprentice. With a sudden movement, Lena summoned a fireball much larger than Sain's secondary fireball, radiating an eerie deep blue color.

"An advanced apprentice!" one of the group members recognized Lena's level.

Lena and Sain were about to leave the scene when they ran into trouble. The group, led by the scar-faced apprentice, noticed the Black Scalyfish Sain was holding and began to taunt him.

"Looks like you've come a long way, Sain. I heard you killed Ilk yesterday," he mocked. "And is this Black Scalyfish bought with Ilk's black gold?"

Sain, accompanied by Lena, didn't want to engage in a fight with them at that moment. There were many people in the group, and Sain had no intention of fighting them. Plus, the guy was clearly not well-informed and didn't know that Sain had been formally accepted as a black magician's apprentice by Master Moses.

Sain hadn't mentioned this to any other magical apprentices apart from Lilianna and Lena. Given Lilianna's high status, she had no interest in mingling with lower-level or intermediate apprentices. The scar-faced apprentice's mocking words were met with laughter from his companions.

These apprentices weren't all part of the scar-faced apprentice's group; some of them were of the same level or even equivalent in status and strength to the scar-faced apprentice.

Sain chose not to react to the taunts from the scar-faced apprentice. However, it was different now because he wasn't alone.

A fireball the size of a basketball suddenly appeared at Lena's fingertips, and Sain wasn't sure when she had completed the spell's incantation. The large fireball was even larger than the secondary fireball that Sain himself had cast, and its color was not the usual red but an eerie and unsettling deep blue.

"An advanced apprentice!" exclaimed one of the scar-faced apprentice's group members who recognized her abilities.