The different colors of light appearing on the crystal ball indicated Sain's affinity for various elements.
The most prominent one was the fiery red, which marked Sain's talent for Fire Elemental magic.
Other colors included the white representing the Light Element and the black representing the Dark Element.
There were also other colors such as the blue representing the Water Element, the green representing the Plant Element, and the green representing the Wind Element.
This meant that Sain could learn and master magic from these elemental branches as well.
However, his proficiency with these other branches might not be as quick as his with Fire magic.
In the public library of the Dark Magic Academy, Sain could not find suitable integral spells for the Light or Dark Elements.
These two types of magic seemed to be rarer.
His girlfriend Lena had a certain knowledge of Dark Element, but Sain's limited energy and recent focus on Fire Element knowledge prevented him from exploring the Dark Element field recklessly.
Furthermore, Sain's mental power and magic spring as a low-level apprentice limited his ambition to use more magic.
He could only master more magic and delve into more spectrum knowledge once he reached intermediate or even higher-level apprentice status.
After leaving the public library, Sain continued his mundane life.
His injuries gradually healed during this time, especially after his mentor Mosido released two "Muscle Regeneration" spells.
Sain's recovery speed became faster.
His busy and fulfilling life only slowed down a little as the annual grade assessment of the Dark Magic Academy approached.
Not all apprentices participated in the grade assessment, which had corresponding levels for apprentices from entry-level to advanced-level.
Only the best of the best in each field would participate and stand out, even catching the attention of the official Magicians.
Over the past ten years, Sain has participated in six grade assessments. His best ranking was sixth place among the lower-level apprentices last year.
However, in each year's grade assessment, only the top three of each class can receive academy rewards.
The other apprentices who rank lower only get a sense of participation and even have to bear certain risks of injury.
Unlike Sain's highest ranking of sixth place, Lena has broken into the top three twice in the past eight years.
If entering the top three can be considered luck once, then doing so twice must be explained by her strength.
Lena's "genius" and "madness" reputation actually come from those grade assessments.
And it is on the day when the grade assessment is approaching that Sain finally sees Lena again.
Since being taken in as an apprentice by Master Ferena, Lena has rarely returned to their small nest.
According to Lena, this is because she has been busy assisting Master Ferena in completing some experiments, including the Dark Magic legacy that has also been put on the agenda recently.
After communicating with each other about their recent situation, the two of them went to bed.
Due to a magic experiment accident, Lena's height and appearance remained that of a little girl.
She looked very petite at the moment. Sain did not immediately do anything, but gently held her hand and told her some of his stories.
"My name is Sain, but the full name should be Sain Grant."
"I am a nobleman, but I don't remember what title my father held because I was too young when I came to the Shadowy Territory."
"I remember my mother had silver hair and sapphire-like eyes. She always wore white dresses in my memory."
"My appearance may have inherited more from my father, but unfortunately, I can no longer remember what he looked like.
I only remember that he, like me, had short golden hair and seemed quite serious..."
Sain chattered on about his past to Lena, seemingly recalling many fragments of memory from the depths of his mind.
For example, he mentioned to Lena that he often recalls a scene of a lush green wheat field where he used to run and play with his mother.
More than once, Sain has woken up from his sleep only to find that his gentle and beautiful mother has disappeared, leaving behind a pitch-black ceiling imprinted in his eyes.
Unlike his blurry impression of his father, Sain's memories are filled with fragmented images of his mother.
This may be because before the age of six, Sain spent most of his time with his mother, while his father, being a nobleman, was naturally busy.
As Sain recounted his childhood memories, Lena sat quietly beside him, listening intently.
It wasn't until Sain could no longer remember any more fragments of his childhood memories that Lena slowly spoke up and began to share her own story.
"My name is Lena," she said.
She repeated her name and did not mention any surname, indicating that she was likely a commoner.
"In the twenty-seven years that I've been in Shadowy Territory, I have forgotten everything about my childhood except that it was a barren little village.
Then my mentor took me away and named me Lena."
"My mentor told me that the village I was from was hit by a famine, and she was not only my mentor but also my savior," Lena said.
The mentor Lena referred to was her previous mentor and the Dark Magician who died in a magical experiment.
There isn't much to say about Lena's childhood and background, but as Lena continued to introduce herself, Sain learned more about her situation when she first arrived in Shadowy Territory and about her previous mentor.
Eight years ago, when Lena selected Sain as her experimental assistant and servant, her previous mentor had just passed away.
Perhaps because she was not used to living alone, she chose the adorable and charming Sain at the time.
After learning more about Lena's background and secrets, the last bit of estrangement between Sain and Lena completely disappeared.
After listening to Lena tell some of her past stories, Sain pondered for a long time and finally asked the question he most wanted to know.
"How old are you this year?" Sain asked.
He didn't treat Lena as a little girl just because of her appearance.
Especially since Lena had just said that she came to Shadowy Territory twenty-seven years ago, which meant she was at least ten years older than Sain.
Facing Sain's inquiry, Lena lowered her head and didn't know what she was thinking.
Maybe it was because of her personality, Lena was not someone who liked to cover up.
After just a moment, Lena answered, "I am thirty-two years old today."
It was two years ago when Lena and Sain began to deepen their discussions on human sexuality, which means that at that time, Lena had just turned thirty.
After hearing Lena's answer, Sain breathed a deep sigh of relief.
He didn't know why he breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if Lena had told him she was forty or fifty years old, Sain would still choose to accept her.
But when he heard that she was only thirty-two years old this year, Sain still breathed a sigh of relief.
Both of their secrets had been completely revealed to each other.
Although the magic crystal lamp in the room had already been extinguished, Sain and Lena could still see each other clearly with their Mental Power values that were beyond ordinary people.
Looking at Lena's cold and petite face, Sain couldn't help but move closer to her.
Lena seemed to sense something and also breathed a sigh of relief, the "crazy woman" in the eyes of outsiders, voluntarily moving closer to him.
"You... be gentle," Lena's small hands held Sain.
From here on, there was no more conversation for the night.