　　Darkness shrouded the world, yet humanity held the light.
　　...
　　"Roar!!!"
　　Suddenly, low and terrifying roars echoed through the silent underground valley!
　　This sound was like thunder, sending shivers down one's spine in the unknown darkness.
　　It kept pounding on the eardrums of the black-robed young man by the lake, who held his ears in pain.
　　The black hood fell to the ground, revealing a handsome face full of noble temperament.
　　Though his face was pale and his ears were bleeding, his eyes were clear, and his expression became resolute again.
　　Sain, a humble Dark Magic Apprentice.
　　At this moment, rocks from the ceiling of the underground lake were falling like an avalanche, constantly hitting around Sain, who could only dodge in a panic.
　　"Roar!!!"
　　The deafening sound came again, as if mercilessly mocking the infinite insignificance of humanity in the face of absolute power.
　　All struggles and resistance were in vain.
　　The owner of the terrifying roar was a mid-level beast, the Saltwater Crocodile.
　　The underground lake under Sain's feet was its habitat.
　　Now, it stopped roaring and stared at the human, with its huge tail lashing the rocks.
　　The terrifying breath made Sain shudder even more, who had just gotten a moment to catch his breath!
　　His whitened eyes emitted a faint light in the grayness, and most of his head had been burned by fire, apparently from the magic Sain had used earlier.
　　However, in the eyes of the Saltwater Crocodile, this human was obviously provoking and angering it.
　　And though the fear of death did not completely overcome this Dark Magic Apprentice, the crocodile's patience had been completely worn out!
　　It charged towards Sain, opening its bloody jaws to bite his head, with sharp fangs dripping with saliva and a nauseating stench.
　　In this split second, Sain acted!
　　The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived!
　　He suddenly sprinkled a handful of iron phosphorus powder with his left hand!
　　With the remaining Magic Spring in his right fingertips, he released the long-accumulated magic -
　　Minor Fireball Spell!
　　In an instant, a soccer-sized fireball shot out at high speed!
　　"Bang!!!"
　　The powder caused an instant explosion, and with the impact of the fireball, it burst open in an instant!
　　The deafening sound of the explosion shook the entire valley, causing the cave and the mountain to tremble.
　　The huge jaw of the crocodile was blasted into pieces, and its flesh and blood scattered all over the ground.
　　Sain was shaken out by the shock wave for three to four meters. He barely managed to stand up and looked at the crocodile's corpse in front of him, excitedly raising his fist.
　　He guessed right!
　　Thanks to the iron-phosphorus powder that caused the explosion, the secondary fireball that Sain had high hopes for erupted with unimaginable power.
　　...
　　The battle was over, and due to the excessive consumption of mental power, the Magic Spring was almost exhausted, causing Sain's face to become extremely pale.
　　After regaining a little strength, he first forced himself to stand up, swam to the small island in the middle of the lake, picked three brightly-colored Starlight Grass, and returned to the battlefield to take the most valuable magic crystal of the Saltwater Crocodile, as well as a huge crocodile skull that was imbued with abundant Power of Elements.
　　Then, he quickly left the lake.
　　In fact, Sain only took away half of the value of the intermediate-level magical beast Saltwater Crocodile.
　　More corpse materials and the blood of magical beasts with abundant Magic Spring elements were left behind, not because he didn't want to take them, but because danger accompanied every moment in this underground world.
　　At this point, Sain was already at the end of his rope, and he couldn't afford to put himself in danger again.
　　The three Starlight Grass were his ultimate goal for venturing into the Saltwater Crocodile territory, and the fundamental reason why he risked his life to fight beyond his level this time.
　　"Whew, whew." A low breathing sound came from the darkness.
　　The sound seemed to come from the direction of the lake.
　　Sain couldn't help but quicken his pace and leave this dangerous place.
　　...
　　Mosobla City.
　　As the center of the "Shadowy Territory" of the underground world, the only city built by Dark Magicians in history, this is a place that all dark creatures fear.
　　On the twenty-meter-high city wall, the green bricks reveal the vicissitudes of history.
　　In the gaps between the bricks, besides the countless dried magical beast blood, there are also obscure and suppressed magic runes inscribed.
　　After two days of rapid travel, Sain arrived at this magnificent city, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
　　His safety will also be guaranteed to some extent.
　　"Hey, Sain, looks like you got pretty hurt!"
　　A playful chuckle came from the city wall as Sain walked towards the special passage reserved for magic users.
　　Over a dozen black-robed figures similar to Sain were standing on the wall, with the scar-faced, dark-skinned man in the center doing the talking.
　　Although he didn't have any deep-seated grudges with Sain, he didn't mind seeing Sain suffer either.
　　The other apprentices present didn't verbally mock Sain, but their facial expressions were mostly indifferent.
　　It wasn't that these apprentices were cold-blooded, but this was the norm in the underground world.
　　Even among the Dark Magic Apprentices in Mosobla City, there were disputes.
　　In the underground world, the strong ruled, and good-natured individuals had no place to survive.
　　Survival of the fittest was the only rule.
　　Including Sain himself, no one would help others for no reason.
　　If he saw another Dark Magic Apprentice suffer, he might secretly celebrate that one less person was competing for resources with him.
　　Ignoring the mockery of the Dark Magician on the wall, Sain pulled out his token and said to the minotaur captain guarding the gate, "I am a magic apprentice sent out by Lord Mosido to collect resources. Let me in immediately!"
　　The strong minotaur captain, whose strength was comparable to that of a high-level monster, was incredibly respectful and obedient in front of this low-level apprentice.
　　It wasn't out of reverence for Sain, but rather the identity of the Dark Magician and the mention of Lord Mosido by Sain.
　　In Mosobla City, or rather in the entire Shadowy Territory, Dark Magicians represented the truth!
　　Ignoring the apprentices' sneers, Sain went straight through the gate and left, much to the disappointment of the apprentices who had been enjoying the spectacle.
　　Sain was quite the figure in the Mosobla City's School of Dark Magic.
　　At sixteen years old, he was about to reach the threshold of an intermediate apprentice.
　　Potential didn't always represent a young person's future.
　　What truly caught the attention of these Dark Magic Apprentices was the praise Sain had received from several great Dark Magicians over time.
　　No one knew when Sain would have the stroke of luck to be taken as a disciple by a high and mighty Dark Magician.