Chapter 57 Sacrifice

　　Amidst the anticipation and attention of the crowd, the three leading Magician Apprentices walked towards the depths of the magic altar, urged on by the surrounding Dark Magicians.

　　The white elemental light made it impossible to see what was happening at the depths of the altar.

　　Not only the official Dark Magicians, but even Sain, the Dark Magic Apprentice, was staring intently at the altar.

　　After a moment, the brows of several Dark Magicians around them furrowed, and then even Sain heard a piercing scream.

　　The giant white altar was like a silent monster's gaping mouth, devouring the three Magician Apprentices without any ripple.

　　"No, something's wrong!"

　　"The Space-Time Rift has deviated slightly, and with the Magician Apprentices leading the way, the losses are too great."

　　" We still need to rely on them as the main force to set up the Portal Generator," a Dark Magician said urgently inside the magic tower.

　　"Who's next? Intermediate Apprentices or Low-Level Apprentices?" another Dark Magician asked.

　　"Let the Beginners go! They just need to find a correct path outside the space crack and fill it with human lives. There's no need to waste the power of Apprentices," the first Dark Magician said.

　　"It's a shame we didn't bring a batch of Mosobla City humans with us when Dadalon Dean came. That way we could reduce early losses and increase the success rate of setting up the Portal Generator," the first Dark Magician sighed softly.

　　"How could it be so easy? Ordinary humans have hardly any elemental power in their bodies, and they probably can't even get close to the Space-Time Rift," the other Dark Magician shook his head.

　　"If they really could fill it with human lives, Vice Dean Martin and Ms. Joni probably would have done it long ago, rather than spending more than ten years calculating every tiny crack node around this Space-Time Rift," the other Dark Magician said.

　　The words of the two Dark Magicians quickly became reality.

　　As Vice Dean Dadalon gave the command, the Magician Apprentices who had been in the front of the magic altar retreated one after another.

　　Instead, it was the largest group of Beginner Apprentices who were forced to the front by Minotaur warriors and other dark creatures and elemental puppets.

　　As they walked towards the altar, the sound of their trembling footsteps echoed through the air.

　　Once upon a time, Sain had marveled at the luck of the new Dark Magic Apprentices who had just enrolled.

　　However, the harsh rules of the Dark Magic Academy soon showed that luck did not exist within its walls.

　　Without sufficient strength, they were only cannon fodder.

　　These new apprentices were no match for the strong Minotaur warriors.

　　Those who willingly entered the altar were lucky, but those who refused were either lifted and thrown in by the Minotaurs or tossed in by the Dark Magicians standing at the periphery using their Magic Springs.

　　The screams and cries echoed endlessly in Shadow Valley.

　　These entry-level apprentices were mostly around ten years old and were essentially children.

　　The tragic scene in Shadow Valley gave even Sain, a seasoned Dark Magic Apprentice, a chill down his spine.

　　It wasn't until almost half of the entry-level apprentices had been consumed and the white elemental light of the entire magic altar began to turn red that Vice Dean Dadalon ordered a stop to the practice of throwing apprentices in.

　　Like a deep, bottomless pit, the magic altar in the center of Shadow Valley took in but did not release.

　　No one knew what was going on inside, whether those three aspiring magicians had truly died or where the nearly two hundred entry-level apprentices who had been thrown in before and after them had gone.

　　The remaining entry-level apprentices, now reduced to half their original number, huddled together, trembling uncontrollably under the pressure of many Minotaurs and dark creatures.

　　The fragility of life and the insignificance of power were fully exposed at this moment.

　　The low-level apprentices, who were in no better situation than the entry-level apprentices, numbered around one hundred.

　　Through Vice Dean Dadalon and the Dark Magicians' attitudes, it was clear that once these entry-level apprentices were consumed, the unlucky ones to follow would be them.

　　As an Intermediate Apprentice, Sain's face didn't look too good at this moment.

　　The good news was that more than two hundred apprentices had been thrown into the magic altar.

　　The Dark Magicians who had been monitoring the depths of the magic altar and the Space-Time Rift seemed to have made a new discovery.

　　The altar exploration for today had come to an end, and it was uncertain whether the Dark Magicians could reduce the casualties of the apprentices based on their discoveries.

　　Of course, more apprentices were worried about when the next altar exploration would begin, especially the beginners.

　　...

　　When the big Senior Brother Zoro reappeared in front of Sain, he noticed a layer of sweat on the man's neck.

　　Senior Brother Zoro was over seventy years old, which was quite old for an ordinary human in the Wizarding World.

　　The average lifespan of civilians in this world ranged from fifty to seventy years, while nobles often lived longer, with an average age of over seventy.

　　However, even apprentices who had not yet reached Level 1 could extend their lifespan and delay aging through various means of mastering magic and elemental power.

　　Although the maximum lifespan of magical apprentices was unknown, living for one hundred or two hundred years was not impossible.

　　Sain had seen some rare material collections in the public library that could increase human lifespan.

　　One of the magic books given to him by his mentor even recorded that binding a soul pet could also extend the lifespan of Magicians.

　　Senior Brother Zoro looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties, likely due to taking some potions or mastering other techniques.

　　However, Senior Sister Faye had even better maintenance than Senior Brother Zoro.

　　As a Dark Magic Apprentice who had lived long enough and traveled with their mentor Mosido from the Western Islands to the Shadowy Territory, Senior Brother Zoro had seen enough crises and deaths.

　　However, he still felt great pressure in the face of today's situation.

　　When Sain gave him a concerned look, Senior Brother Zoro patted his shoulder and said, "I'm fine. Let's go back first. There are some things I need to tell you guys."

　　The night in Shadow Valley was as bright as day, even brighter than Mosobla City with its fluorescent mineral veins.

　　No apprentices could probably sleep through this night.

　　In the tent, Senior Brother Zoro whispered to Sain and Faye, "The mentors miscalculated. The first three aspiring magicians who entered the Space-Time Rift today shouldn't have all perished."

　　"We had planned out a safe path around the Space-Time Rift beforehand."

　　"However, the magic altar hasn't gone out, indicating that only a slight deviation occurred in the Space-Time Rift along the planned path. Our pre-set elemental fission device wasn't destroyed."

　　"That's why the Dean sent those novice apprentices to scout out a safer path for us." Zoro's voice was heavy with concern.