As an Intermediate apprentice at the Dark Magic Academy in Mosobla City, Sain was already a bit of a wizarding whiz.
While Advanced apprentices and quasi-Magicians rarely appeared in the sights of lower-level and entry-level apprentices, Intermediate apprentices were almost at the top of more than 80% of the academy's apprentices.
This Intermediate apprentice, whose name was unknown and had turned into a dried-up corpse, still had some good things left for Sain.
Two low-level magic equipment that had almost lost all of their elemental power were just glanced at by Sain.
However, what could be considered an unexpected gain was several Crystal Cores of magical beasts with varying quality in the low-level and Intermediate stages, as well as a relatively thin magic book that he kept close to his black robe.
It seemed that the elemental storage capacity of the Crystal Cores of magical beasts was stronger than that of ordinary magic props.
Or, it could be said that the Alchemist who made equipment for this Intermediate apprentice was really not that good and was just a half-baked one.
Not only was he far inferior to Sain's pale mask, but even Sain's own Alchemy skills were probably better than his.
Therefore, Sain didn't bother to look at the two low-level magic props.
"'Introduction to Planting and Cultivating Magic Plants'?!" Looking at the magic book in his hand that had been corroded by the wind and sand, Sain couldn't help but be speechless.
"It seems that this is an Intermediate apprentice who mastered plant-based magic, and this book also records an Intermediate magic model called 'Vine Entanglement.'"
"Just, unfortunately, in this environment, plant-based Magicians are indeed the most difficult to adapt to." Sain sighed.
On this plant-based magic apprentice, Sain found no other valuable gains.
According to reason, plant-based magic apprentices should often carry some strange and rare plant seeds.
But looking at the dried-up belly of this apprentice, Sain could guess where those seeds had gone.
Putting the few gains into the space ring, Sain continued to move forward, gazing out at the endless yellow sand.
Oh, by the way, Sain actually had another gain from this apprentice.
It was a Elemental Pearl that looked exactly the same as the one in Sain's hand.
From the heat emanating from within and the thick elemental aura, the energy depletion rate of this thing is even lower than that of a Warcraft Crystal Core.
It's no wonder it's the prop that Vice Dean Martin gave them.
Sain remembered what his mentor Mosido told him before he left and carefully kept the elemental pearl.
With the acquisition of two elemental pearls and the heat emanating from them, Sain felt that he was getting closer to finding the main force.
...
On the twelfth day of arriving in the Yellow Sand World, Sain experienced his first night.
He didn't know how the day and night were distributed in this world.
Although it was night, he still felt the scorching heat from within.
At least the temperature had dropped a lot compared to the daytime, and Sain's water loss had also decreased.
This not-so-long night lasted for a day.
When the dazzling white sunlight appeared from the end of the Surface again, Sain continued on his journey.
"Dark magic is also difficult to release in this world. Only last night, the power of the Dark Element was more active."
"On the other hand, it's easier to release fire, light, and earth magic, but maybe the overall concentration of elements is not as high as in Shadowy Territory. The same magic requires more Mental Power and Magic Spring value than in Shadowy Territory."
"I wonder how Lena is doing now." Walking slowly in the yellow sand, Sain summarized his findings in the past few days and thought to himself.
On the sixteenth day of arriving in the Yellow Sand World, when Sain felt the two elemental pearls in his arms were getting hotter, he finally found two Dark Magic Apprentices who were still alive.
And these two Dark Magic Apprentices, Sain knew them.
"Mali, wake up and don't scare me!"
"I shouldn't have eaten up more than half of our food and water. Please, just look at me again." A low, muffled sob echoed behind a sand dune.
The speaker was a muscular man nearly two meters tall, with dark skin and solid muscles, all indicating that this guy's brute strength was not small.
In front of him, lying in the sunken sand dune, was a young apprentice who stood only 1.7 meters tall and had fair skin.
These two apprentices were Sain and Lena's neighbors, the gay couple.
Sain thought that these two apprentices could be paired up with the powerful advanced apprentice Stanton, the result of forced coercion.
These kinds of despicable events are common in the Dark Magic Academy of Mosobla City.
But from the current situation, it was clearly not the case.
The sand dune where the young apprentice was located was obviously artificially dug.
Not all apprentices, like Sain, had space equipment.
Sain, who was hiding far away, saw the sand between the strong apprentice Stanton's fingers and the faintly dry bloodstains with the visual boost provided by the Pale Mask.
The young apprentice named Mali seemed to want to reach out and touch Stanton's cheek.
But his weak body only allowed him to make the gesture halfway before he could no longer lift his arm.
As an Intermediate magic apprentice, he did not fall into the hands of powerful magical beasts or other Dark Magic apprentices.
Instead, he may have died from hunger and harsh environmental conditions, which was quite ironic.
"Drip...drip..." Drops of blood flowed from the strong apprentice's wrist.
In order to save his beloved, this two-meter-tall guy directly cut his wrist with sharp nails.
Sain heard from Lena that the Blood Magic mastered by the advanced apprentice Stanton was quite rare.
It seemed that the outcome was due to him being used as an experimental specimen by a formal magician.
He didn't die from evil magic modification, but instead mastered some impressive Blood Magic techniques.
This advanced apprentice named Stanton was lucky enough.
The only regret was that his brain wasn't functioning well, which might also be a side effect of Blood Magic modification.
Crimson blood dripped from Stanton's wrist and flowed into Intermediate apprentice Mali's mouth.
After receiving the rejuvenating blood from Stanton, Mali's spirits visibly improved, and Sain even heard a gurgle from his throat.
But then, Mali shook his head and refused Stanton's offer.
Given their current situation, if anyone was going to survive, it would undoubtedly be Stanton, with his stronger constitution and advanced apprentice abilities.
Initially, Sain had no interest in getting involved, but he knew the other two apprentices on the opposite side probably knew more than he did.
Especially the advanced apprentice named Stanton, who had arrived in the Yellow Sand World earlier.
After some thought, Sain decided to show himself and ask about the situation, even if it meant sacrificing some of his already meager supplies of food and medicine.