Emerging from n0v@lbin☆, this material harbors clandestine details.
Chapter 21: Reward
The annual assessment was concluded with an award ceremony.
Instead of handing out the academy awards, Master Andes ignored the three winning senior initiates and approached Leena with a chuckle.
“That was quite the battle. If Fareena had not accepted you as her apprentice, I would have definitely taken you under my wing.”
The most exciting battle in this year’s assessment was no doubt the battle between Leena and Michael, the Harbinger of Death.
Rather than the flashy display of magic spells, it was Leena and Michael’s murderous intent and their fearless fighting style that impressed Andes the most.
This was precisely the kind of battle expected of black magic initiates!
Their battle had transported Master Andes back to his own days as a humble initiate five hundred years ago, struggling to survive in Blackhaven.
For Andes, memories of his weaker days were not exactly pleasant. Nevertheless, they lingered vividly in his mind, serving as a constant reminder for him to pursue greater strength.
“This piece of Obsidian Copper is my personal reward for you. Keep up the good work, I expect to see more surprises from you in the future.”
Andes tossed a palm-sized black metal ingot to Leena before leaving.
Throughout the entire ceremony, he did not spare a glance for the three victorious senior initiates.
Despite their fierce battle, neither Leena nor Michael managed to secure a spot in the top three.
The top three among the senior initiates were Faye, another guy named Silas and Liliana.
Although Faye was very strong, she relied heavily on her vast arsenal of magic equipment.
As for Liliana, she won by a stroke of luck.
While Liliana was fighting in her own battle, she managed to catch a glimpse of the ferocious clash between Leena and Michael out of the corner of her eye. Her observation told her that neither of the two were people to be trifled with, especially Leena.
Despite only recently being promoted as a senior initiate, Leena displayed remarkable decisiveness and ruthlessness in her actions. Her command of advanced magic spells was exceptional, attesting to her undeniable brilliance.
Silas, on the other hand, was the sole contender who truly relied on his strength and therefore deserved the academy award for his excellence. However, his overall strength was only on par with Michael.
Considering Leena’s extraordinary performance, it was not surprising that Master Andes hardly paid him much attention.
Sein had initially assumed that Marie would skip the annual assessment this year. To his surprise, she appeared after the assessment had just ended.
Marie, despite being two years younger than Sein, was a late bloomer. As a result, she appeared even slightly younger than Leena.
Unlike the other competitive initiates in the Black Magic Academy, Marie seemed to be a pure girl who did not belong in this dark place.
Sein often wondered if Marie would have survived in this environment had she not been fortunate enough to be apprenticed to a full-fledged black mage from a young age.
As soon as Marie arrived at the training ground, she quickly spotted the wounds on Sein’s arms, armpits and thighs.
Sein had fought with two relatively powerful junior initiates earlier. Despite emerging victorious in both battles, he had inevitably sustained some minor injuries.
Compared to Leena, who had been affected by the decomposition gas, his wounds were nothing.
In fact, they were insignificant enough to recover with a month of rest or two, even without any healing potions.
The one in dire need of potions and other means of recovery was Leena.
Her condition was dire, due to the insidious poison released by the decomposition gas from Michael’s rotting arms.
She needed antidotes and purification potions as soon as possible. Although these potions were expensive, Leena should be able to afford them, now that she was a senior initiate.
Otherwise, she could always return to her mentor as soon as possible. No matter how difficult Master Fareena was to get along with, she would not never ignore an apprentice in need.
Sein’s polite refusal and the chilling aura from Leena beside him, caused the green-haired girl, who stood at barely 1.5 meters tall, to leap back in fear.
Truth be told, Marie had always been a little afraid of Sein’s live-in girlfriend.
While Leena had never shown any hostility toward Marie, Sein noticed that she had never displayed any friendliness in Marie’s presence either.
In the past, Sein had brushed it off as the typical contempt and cold attitude that a superior initiate often directed toward their inferior juniors.
However, in this moment, he began to sense that there might be something more beneath the surface.
Despite Marie’s fear, she always harbored good intentions toward others.
With trembling little hands, she took out a small, transparent vial from the red bag in her arms.
It was a basic antidote Marie had concocted herself.
Although it was not potent enough to completely expel the poison in Leena’s body, it would at least make her feel better.
With Marie’s kind gesture, the frostiness on Leena’s face began to thaw.