Lena had a terrible temper, which was one of the reasons why many apprentices at the Dark Magic Academy called her "Madwoman."
During Sain's years at the Mosobla City Dark Magic Academy, he was able to make it this far not only because of his cautious approach and strong character but also due to Lena's protection.
Lena was a powerful intermediate apprentice and had already reached this level eight years ago when Sain first met her.
If low-level apprentices could barely avoid being bullied at the Dark Magic Academy, only intermediate or higher-level apprentices could truly be called strong by other apprentices.
High-level apprentices were rarely seen by ordinary apprentices.
For example, Lilyanya, with whom Sain spoke yesterday, was a high-level apprentice.
Sain had only heard of her reputation before and it was his first time talking to a high-level apprentice.
Lena's surroundings suddenly became a few degrees colder when she saw the bloodstain on Sain's chest, but she soon heard from him that Yilke, who had tried to kill him, had been killed by Sain instead.
The true reason for Sain's injury was the attack of a mid-level monster, Saltwater Crocodile.
Lena's anger had clearly subsided after the attack.
"Why did you go looking for trouble with a Saltwater Crocodile? Even I, who have reached my level, would be hesitant to face one," Lena asked with a slight furrow of her brow.
In the previous few years, Lena didn't care much about Sain.
He was just a sensible lab assistant in her eyes.
But with their super-friendship two years ago, Lena gradually accepted Sain and showed a warm feeling that was different from her cold exterior.
Sain told her the whole story about going to the Saltwater Crocodile territory to find Starlight Grass and then becoming a formal disciple of the Dark Magician Mosido.
Upon learning that Sain had become a formal Dark Magician's disciple, Lena's cold face finally showed a hint of surprise and a faint sense of comfort.
"Being a formal Dark Magician's apprentice is definitely a good thing," Lena said. "But you should wait for me to come back. You're not currently able to deal with the Saltwater Crocodile alone."
"Master Mosido's assigned task has a limited time frame, and I'm worried that the Saltwater Crocodile might eat the Starlight Grass, or something else might happen."
"Also, if I were to use you to obtain the Starlight Grass, Master Mosido might not accept me as his apprentice."
"To survive in the Shadowy Territory and achieve something, one must inevitably face various dangers. I can't always rely on your protection," Sain added, shaking his head.
Sain's answer surprised Lena, and a hint of astonishment appeared on her previously cold face.
However, Sain didn't notice Lena's change of expression and asked about her whereabouts in the past half month, showing genuine concern.
Faced with Sain's caring tone, Lena's icy demeanor melted away, and a smile appeared on her face.
This was the first time Sain had seen Lena smile in almost two years.
The smile was not only because of Sain's concern, but also because of other reasons.
"I have been promoted to a senior apprentice. During the past half month, I have been meditating in the academy's practice room."
"We can move to a different room next. The two dormitory buildings behind us have larger rooms and better equipped experimental stations," Lena said.
Lena's true reason for smiling was that she had been promoted to a senior apprentice.
She wanted Sain to share in her joy.
Leaving their home of eight years would be difficult for Sain to adapt to in the short term.
But ultimately, it was for their better living environment and development space.
Plus, Sain was also accepted as a formal apprentice by Dark Magician Mosido, which was like double happiness for the two of them.
"Hehe, I'm going to buy some fish on Black Street. Let's celebrate today," Sain said with a smile.
Even magic apprentices are people who can't live without three meals a day.
Since returning to the dorm yesterday until now, Sain has only consumed half a bottle of intermediate Antidote and hasn't eaten anything yet.
Lena doesn't know how to cook, and it has always been Sain's job.
During the first few years of living together with Lena, Sain gradually won her acceptance not only because of his handsome appearance and outstanding performance in assisting with the experimental process, but also because of the many small things in daily life.
Black Street is a special commercial street located within the Dark Magic Academy.
It is a place where apprentice sorcerers often visit, where you can find everything from spellcasting materials, alchemical potions, and magical props to everyday necessities and other small trinkets.
It is rumored that each of the Black Street magic shops has a senior apprentice or even a formal Dark Magician behind it.
Only with such backing can they have the ability and financial resources to produce corresponding magic equipment or alchemical potions.
When Sain arrived at Black Street, Lena was also with him.
Perhaps it was the half-month of closed-door Meditation that made Lena feel bored, or maybe she was worried that Sain's injuries had not fully recovered.
Lena, who was usually silent and rarely went out, unexpectedly went with him to buy groceries.
The "Black Mermaid Scale Fish," a specialty of an underground dark river, is the biggest goal of Sain's trip.
This creature is not an ordinary fish, but an Enchanted Creature that already possesses a certain Power of Elements.
Its specific grade is equivalent to those novice sorcerers who have just enrolled in the academy.
The huge fish mouth, sharp teeth, and sharp spikes on its body indicate that this creature is not a gentle animal.
At the "Kodak Magic Materials Shop" in the center of Black Street, this Black Mermaid Scale Fish is a rare Enchanted Creature worth up to eight Black Gold coins.
Having just made a killing from Yilke, Sain doesn't care about paying eight Black Gold coins.
In fact, if you want to eat a whole Black Mermaid Scale Fish in the academy cafeteria, you need at least twenty Black Gold coins.
As the universal currency of Mosobla City, the value of Black Gold has always been strong.
Sain doesn't know the exact amount of private money Lena has, but after experiencing so many years, he has only accumulated a total of more than twenty pieces of Black Gold.
In general, without any low or intermediate apprentices, luxury extends to tasting Enchanted Creatures.
Although eating these Enchanted Creatures can indeed improve their physical fitness, the vast majority of apprentices still use their limited money to buy some spell materials or magic books.
After purchasing the Black Mermaid Scale Fish and paying, Sain and Lena encountered some troublemakers.
The leader was the scarred apprentice who was on the city wall yesterday.
There are few conflicts erupting on Black Street because the shopkeepers here hardly have any apprentices who can provoke them.
The scarred apprentice group did not plan to make things difficult for Sain and Lena, but it seemed that they saw the Black Mermaid Scale Fish that Sain was holding.
The scarred apprentice, Joque, sneered, "Impressive, Sain. I heard you actually killed Yilke yesterday."
"Tsk tsk, this Black Mermaid Scale Fish, isn't it Yilke's Black Gold?" Joque mocked.
With a large group of people, Sain did not want to have a dispute with them at this critical moment.
Moreover, this guy obviously wasn't well-informed and didn't know that Sain had already been formally taken in as an apprentice by Dark Magician Mosido.
Besides Lilyanya and Lena, Sain had not told any other magic apprentices about this.
And with Lilyanya's high position, she obviously would not be interested in hanging out with a group of intermediate and below-level apprentices.
Joque's sarcasm caused a group of his companions to burst into laughter.
These apprentices were not all Joque's followers.
For example, there were three intermediate apprentices among them who were equal in status and strength to Joque.
If it were just Sain alone, he could bear Joque's sarcasm, but the other side had more people.
Sain had already taken Master Mosido as his teacher, and he would have plenty of opportunities to deal with them in the future.
But the difference now was that Sain was not alone.
"Swish!" A basketball-sized fireball suddenly appeared at Lena's fingertips.
No one knew when this woman silently completed the spell chanting and directly attacked on Black Street.
The huge fireball was a full circle larger than Sain's own Minor Fireball Spell, and its color was not bright red, but a sinister and unsettling deep blue!
"High-level apprentice!" One of Joque's companions who recognized the spell couldn't help but exclaim.