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Chapter 6: Leena

When Sein first met her eight years ago, Leena was already a powerful intermediate initiate, just as she was today.

In the Black Magic Academy, junior initiates were known to barely be able to fend off the bullies, where intermediate initiates were respected as “experts” by the other initiates.

As for the senior initiates, they rarely make appearances before the other ordinary initiates.

In fact, Sein’s encounter with Liliana yesterday marked his first conversation with a senior initiate whom he had only heard about in the past.

Seeing the blood on Sein’s chest only caused Leena’s icy demeanor to grow colder.

Her anger only began to subside when Sein explained that Elrik, the one who had tried to kill him, had met his demise, and that his wound was the result of an encounter with a Giant Saltwater Crocodile.

“Why would you even confront a Giant Saltwater Crocodile? Even I would have hesitated confronting a magic beast of that size in the past,” Leena inquired with a slight frown.

In previous years, Leena had not paid much attention to Sein; he had been nothing more than a capable lab assistant in her eyes.

Their friendship evolved beyond that two years ago, and during this time, Leena began to warm up to Sein, revealing her true self beneath the icy exterior.

Sein then recounted his journey to the Giant Saltwater Crocodile’s territory in search of Starlight Grass and how he had become the apprentice of Master Morsidor, a full-fledged black mage.

Upon learning that Sein had become an apprentice to a full-fledged black mage, Leena’s icy demeanor revealed a hint of surprise and relief.

“It’s great that you’re now an apprentice, but you should have waited for me to return. At your current level, the Giant Saltwater Crocodile is not a beast you can handle on your own,” Leena said.

“There was a tight deadline to complete the quest and I was worried the Starlight Grass might have been eaten by the Giant Saltwater Crocodile or disappeared due to some other reasons. Besides, Master Morsidor might not have accepted me as his apprentice if I had obtained the Starlight Grass with your assistance,” Sein explained.

“In any case, such dangers can’t be avoided if we want to succeed in a place like Gloomhaven. I can’t rely on you forever,” he added while shaking his head.

Sein’s response visibly surprised Leena for a moment, but he did not notice the change in her expression and proceeded to inquire about her matters.

“Where have you been for the past two weeks? I was worried sick,” he muttered.

In response to Sein’s tone filled with care and concern, Leena’s icy demeanor melted, revealing a small smile.

It was the first time in almost two years that Sein had seen her smile. She was not smiling just because she felt loved, but there were also other reasons.

“I’ve been promoted to a senior initiate. For the past two weeks, I’ve been meditating in seclusion inside the training chamber of the academy.”

“We can upgrade our dorm room soon. The two dormitory buildings in the rear offer better rooms in terms of size and experimental table,” Leena informed.

Leena’s promotion was the real reason behind her smile, and she wanted Sein to share her joy.

Leaving behind the room he had lived in for eight years would take some getting used to for Sein. However, it was a step towards a better living environment and more significant opportunities for both him and Leena.

On top of that Sein’s acceptance as an apprentice by Master Morsidor was indeed a source of double happiness for the both of them.

“I’ll go out to buy fish from Black Street. Let’s celebrate today,” Sein suggested happily.

Magic initiates were humans too. They could not survive without proper meals.

Since his return to the dormitory yesterday, Sein had only consumed half a bottle of intermediate antidote and nothing else.

Leena never knew her way in the kitchen, so Sein had always been in charge of their meals.

In the early years of living with Leena, Sein’s acceptance into her life was a gradual process. It was not just his good looks or his contributions to her experiments that won her over, but also his competence in various aspects of daily life.

***

Black Street was a unique shopping district nestled within the confines of the Black Magic Academy.

It was a place that initiates from the academy would frequent, offering a wide array of goods and commodities. From spellcasting ingredients to alchemy concoctions, magic items to everyday necessities, Black Street had it all!

It was also rumored that the magic shops lining Black Street either had the backing of a senior initiate or even a full-fledged black mage.

Indeed, only individuals of such caliber possessed the knowledge and financial resources to craft the intricate magic equipment and alchemy potions on display.

Accompanying Sein on this shopping trip was Leena.

Maybe it was the monotony of her two-week-long meditation in seclusion, or perhaps it was concern for Sein’s incomplete recovery from his injuries, Leena, who usually kept to herself and rarely ventured outside, had chosen to join him on this grocery shopping expedition.

Sein’s primary objective was to secure a “Black Scaled Draconic Fish”, a specialty of the underground rivers.

This creature was not an ordinary fish. It was a magic creature that possessed a certain degree of elemental energy within it. Its status was on par with fresh initiates who had just enrolled in the academy.

Its massive mouth, sharp teeth, and barbed tips on its skin indicated that it was not a creature with a gentle nature.

In the Codex Magic Ingredient Shop located at the heart of Black Street, the Black Scaled Draconic Fish was considered a rare magic creature with a price tag of up to eight autrum.

Sein, who had recently amassed a small fortune from Elrik, did not hesitate parting with eight autrum for this purchase.

As a matter of fact, one would not even be able to enjoy an entire Black Scaled Draconic Fish in the academy’s cafeteria without paying at least twenty autrum.

The value of autrum, the common currency of Mystralora City, had always been very stable.

Sein was not entirely sure about Leena’s financial resources, but his own savings over the years had barely exceeded twenty autrum.

Junior and intermediate initiates were typically not wealthy enough to indulge in the taste of magic creatures.

While consuming these creatures could indeed enhance one’s physical attributes, most initiates preferred to allocate their limited funds toward acquiring spellcasting ingredients or spell books.

After purchasing the Black Scaled Draconic Fish, Sein and Leena were about to leave when they encountered a group of troublesome individuals.

The person leading the group was none other than the scarred initiate, Jack, whom Sein saw standing on the city wall yesterday.

Conflicts seldom erupted in Black Street, as no initiates could afford to cause any trouble to the owners of the shops here.

Scar-Face and his group did not intend to fight with Sein and Leena either. However, a grin spread across Jack’s face when he noticed the Black Scaled Draconic Fish in Sein’s hand.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Quite the impressive purchase, Sein. I heard you took down Elrik yesterday. I wonder if you have bought that Black Scaled Draconic Fish with Elrik’s autrum,” Scar-Face Jack taunted.

Jack and his group had numbers on their side, so Sein had no intention of starting a fight with them under such circumstances.

Moreover, Jack was evidently ill-informed and remained oblivious to Sein’s recent acceptance as an apprentice to a full-fledged black mage, Master Morsidor.

Then again, Sein did not tell anyone about his apprenticeship aside from Liliana and Leena.

Considering Liliana’s esteemed status, it was no question that she would not be interested in associating with a bunch of intermediate and junior initiates.

Jack’s mockery immediately caused his group to burst into laughter.

Not all of them were his lackeys though. There were three intermediate initiates among them, each of equal status and strength to Jack.

Normally, Sein would have ignored Jack’s provocation if he were alone. After all, he was outnumbered. Besides, he had already become Master Morsidor’s apprentice. There would be plenty of opportunities to settle the score with Jack in the future.

What Sein had forgotten was the fact that he was not alone this time.

Swoosh!

A fireball, roughly the size of a basketball, suddenly shot out from Leena’s fingertip.

No one noticed when Leena had silently started her incantation until she unleashed the spell right in the middle of Black Street.

This fireball dwarfed even Sein’s Minor Fireball in size. Not only that, the flame was not crimson red but a sinister, unsettling deep blue.

“A senior initiate!” one of the people in Jack’s group exclaimed in shock, recognizing the nature of the spell.