Six months later.
Inside Dean Tungus's residence, Locke sat studying together with Patty Eisa and Code Newman.
Due to the extremely limited magical teaching resources at the Aurelian Academy, even though the three of them took different courses, they were all taught individually by Dean Tungus alone.
However, Locke couldn't really complain about this, considering the Magic Stones required for his courses were already heavily discounted.
What originally would have required over a hundred Magic Stones now only cost ten, so minor deficiencies in teaching quality were understandable.
By now, Locke had become quite familiar with Patty and Code.
Both were commoner students possessing Wizard Talent—Patty had level 2 talent while Code only had level 1.
Code was an ordinary red-haired boy with a pockmarked face. Taciturn and seemingly difficult to approach, he was actually just poor with words.
It took Locke only one day to break the ice and become friends with him.
Code's family background was simple, and he was an uncomplicated person without many hidden depths.
His parents were serfs under a viscount in the Aaron Kingdom. By chance, the viscount noticed his academic gifts, and through successive examinations and hiring tutors, he eventually made it to the Aurelian Academy.
As it turned out, his remarkable learning ability had a reason—he possessed Wizard Talent, albeit the lowest grade.
According to Code himself, after drinking the Elemental Emerald Potion, he could only perceive very sparse elemental light points.
Patty, on the other hand, was a girl with a cold exterior but warm heart.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have helped Locke when he sought her assistance half a year ago.
After the three became close, their relationship grew strong. In the eyes of other academy students, they had formed a tight-knit group.
During a magical control lesson, Code suddenly asked Locke a question. After receiving the answer, he said admiringly, "Locke, you're really brilliant."
"It took me over two years to learn this, yet you caught up so quickly and even surpassed me."
Patty also showed an expression of admiration.
Overall, both were top students from commoner backgrounds who naturally respected academically gifted peers.
Locke nodded slightly while rotating the Deep Blue Gem-embedded ring on his thumb.
He had caught up to Patty and Code's learning progress in just three months, then spent another three months advancing beyond them.
There were multiple reasons for this.
First, Locke's own Wizard Talent was level 3—a lower-middle grade talent that surpassed both Code and Patty's.
His baseline learning speed was actually three to four times faster than Code's at minimum.
Moreover, this gap would only widen over time.
Like a snowball effect, while less talented wizard seedlings might keep up through diligence initially, the disparity would inevitably grow.
This made Locke understand why wizards placed such importance on innate talent.
But there was actually a second reason.
Locke looked at his thumb. Six months ago, he had discovered that synthesizing sapphires to the fourth level could produce the [Deep Blue Gem].
Later, he had someone craft the Deep Blue Gem into a ring. Through daily wear, he came to understand what it truly meant to stabilize mental fluctuations.
Wearing this Deep Blue Gem allowed his daily mood to remain steady, his concentration to sharpen, and his focused attention span to more than double—effectively increasing his learning speed by at least twofold.
It was precisely because of the Deep Blue Gem that Locke had managed to catch up with Patty and Codes study progress in such a short time.
Of course, Locke also realized that the Deep Blue Gem was actually a consumable item. A single gem could only last about half a month before depleting.
Thus, he needed to continuously synthesize fourth-level sapphires.
Beyond that, Locke had also experimented with synthesizing other items. However, so far, synthesizing other materials to the fourth level only made them more exquisite and valuable, without producing any special effects.
This ensured he never lacked mundane wealth.
But as for synthesis formulas useful on the path of a wizard, Locke had only discovered one so far—combining three third-level sapphires to create a single Deep Blue Gem.
Locke wasn't in a hurry about this. His exposure to the Wizard World was still too limited, and he hadn't left the Corfu Continent. In this low-magic region, the resources he could access were extremely scarce. He believed that once he truly entered the Wizard World in the future, he would undoubtedly uncover more useful synthesis formulas.
The Synthetic Cube would at least ensure he never lacked resources.
Just as the Deep Blue Gem currently enhanced his learning speed.
Inside Dean Tungus' residence, Patty said to Locke, "By the way, Locke, I don't think you know yet—that Angel who used to pester you all the time is dead."
"She died over five months ago."
Locke froze for a moment. He had been so immersed in the joy of studying lately that he couldn't immediately recall who Angel was. But soon, he remembered—the girl who, like him, had been tricked by Professor Olde six months ago.
Locke gave a slight nod. "I warned her."
"But she didn't listen to me."
Patty said, "Lately, Professor Olde has been getting worse. Those who died were still nobles' children—doesn't he fear repercussions?"
"Dean Tungus said he's a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice. He's already 150 years old, at the limit of his lifespan."
"That's why he's using magic to 'borrow' lifespan from ordinary students."
Code, his face flushed, added, "But I don't like this."
"How can he do this? So many people had their lifespans taken without even knowing."
Locke nodded. "Let's just focus on our own affairs. Right now, all we need to do is study."
"I'm sure the academy will deal with Olde in its own way."
Professor Olde clearly didn't have much lifespan left and was teetering on the edge of madness. Locke didn't dare meddle in this matter.
Patty suddenly spoke up. "Do you think… one day in the future, we'll end up like Professor Olde? Becoming the very thing we once despised?"
Kode opened his mouth but hesitated to speak. He recalled Professor Olde's increasingly frenzied expression lately, and the thought that he himself might one day become like that sent a chill down his spine.
Patty suddenly laughed. "I was just joking."
"What's with those faces?"
She burst into laughter after thoroughly frightening Kode. "We're still young. By the time we need to worry about lifespan, who knows how old we'll be."
Locke glanced at her, remembering what Dean Tungus had told him—Professor Olde's initial wizard aptitude had been level 2.
One level below his own, the same as Patty's, and one level above Kode's.
Locke turned his gaze back to his textbook, refocusing. After six months of dedicated study, he had already laid a solid foundation in magic, far surpassing his past self.
"I can start cultivating magic vines now."
"By cultivating magic vines and then modifying them with spells to resonate and synchronize with my mana, I'll gradually master my first Cantrip Spell Model—Vine Hand."
"However, there are no magic vine seeds available on Corfu Island. I'll have to purchase them from Dean Tungus. Since this is one of the five cantrip models prepared for the island's native wizard candidates, the dean must have the matching magic vine seeds in stock."
Though, given the academy's usual approach, these vine seeds likely wouldn't be provided for free.
He'd probably end up owing another batch of Magic Stones.
(End of Chapter)