Nine months later, inside a small wooden hut adjacent to Sophia the Witch's cluster of cabins—specifically, Locke's miniature botanical garden.
With permission from Lilith's Cottage, Locke had established this small botanical garden within a hut similar to Sophia's own plant nursery.
The garden spanned five acres, expanding to roughly six acres when including the communal area.
These academy huts were fundamentally products of Alchemy Studies. Establishing a plantation here effectively prevented experimental mishaps—if any issues arose, one only needed to flee outside and shut the door to contain the problem.
Inside the plantation, Locke watched as six minotaurs watered sixty pots of Super Mandrake Vines. The five-acre foundational Magical Field brimmed with the energy of earth and water Elemental Particles, each Super Mandrake Vine lush and thriving.
Over this period, the botanical garden had been completed, steadily earning Locke over a thousand Magic Stones every month.
It was only through this steady income that Locke could afford to meditate day and night using a mixture of Dragon Blood Leaf Powder and Badan West Wood Shavings, maintaining his rapid mental power growth.
Amid the five acres of fields, patches of weeds also flourished.
One minotaur was diligently removing these weeds with specialized weeding tools.
Due to the nutrient-rich soil, liquid fertilizers, and Growth Element Gel, these weeds remained persistently vigorous, requiring monthly cleanups.
Such was the wonder of life—these weeds, desperate to survive, would entangle their roots with those of the Super Mandrake Vines, seeking out every nutrient-rich patch of soil to cling to existence.
Locke ordered a minotaur to bring one such weed before him and carefully examined its roots.
"Just a wild Magical Plant—Wiregrass, nothing more than a weed."
"Yet because I failed to thoroughly clear the wild grass seeds hidden in the soil during the initial setup, it's now become a recurring workload in my plantation. Every month, a new batch of Wiregrass sprouts up."
Still, this wasn't entirely a mistake—after all, it was his first time establishing a botanical garden. Besides, short of thoroughly sterilizing the soil, there was no way to eliminate all dormant weed seeds.
Wiregrass was the result of a failed breeding experiment by former breeders of the southeastern region—such cases were common in the wild.
But Wiregrass was undoubtedly one of the more troublesome varieties.
This wild, degenerated semi-Magical Plant differed little from ordinary flora, save for its astonishing reproductive capacity—a notorious challenge for novice breeders in the southeastern region.
Locke mused, "I should visit the Magic Potion Shop soon and buy some simple herbicides specifically for these weeds."
As he scrutinized the Wiregrass's roots, Locke noticed how they had adapted to compete for nutrients, evolving slightly with each new monthly batch.
Over these eight months of battling wits with these weeds, Locke had gained a deeper understanding of botany.
As it happened, he had learned several new spell models within eight months.
First was the final spell in the Vine Hand series—Thorn Whip—the very same spell Captain Bruno had used against the wizard apprentice from the Blood Curse Court.
Next was the first cantrip model of Vine Frenzy: the 0.5-ring Multiple Manipulation. This spell allowed Locke to simultaneously control three level-six Invisible Mandrake Vines.
This significantly boosted Locke's combat capabilities.
The remaining spell was a botanical 0.5-ring cantrip model, [Wild Grass Entanglement], which Locke had purchased himself at the Chimera Market.
He had spent seventy Magic Stones on it. At the time, he happened to be troubled by Wiregrass weeds, so he bought it on a whim to study.
Locke extended his palm, softly recited an incantation, and sprinkled some nutrient solution into the air.
The Wiregrass in the hands of the kneeling Minotaur slave rapidly overgrew, and the hidden grass seeds quickly took root and sprouted. In moments, numerous strands of Wiregrass completely bound the Minotaur slave.
At Locke's command, the Minotaur attempted to break free using his Knight-level physique.
But the weeds grew too fast—even if he snapped a few strands, more Wiregrass would swiftly sprout in their place.
The Minotaur seemed to struggle for breath, emitting heavy gasps. Locke snapped his fingers, and all the Wiregrass entangling the slave instantly withered away.
Observing this, Locke fell into thought. "The Wild Grass Entanglement spell is originally designed to use any wild grass in the natural environment, magically enhanced into more pliable strands to entangle an enemy's legs. But typically, only a few strands form, making the binding effect extremely weak."
"In combat, it's usually just a supplementary tool. Its advantage is near-instant activation, which is why many wizard apprentices still learn it."
"But what if I cast it using Wiregrass? The spell's nature would change. Wiregrass itself is fragile, but its reproductive speed is absurdly fast. With just a bit of nutrients, it can grow uncontrollably. It could completely trap—or even kill—an opponent through sheer numbers."
"It would elevate the spell to a whole new level."
Locke mused, "Of course, as it is now, it's still not enough. The effect remains mediocre."
"This would require years of research to perfect, but... I have the Synthetic Magic Cube. Earlier, I only used ordinary Wiregrass. If I synthesize Wiregrass to level six and enhance it, things would be different."
Locke placed three strands of Wiregrass into the Synthetic Magic Cube while ordering the Minotaurs to harvest the Wiregrass weeds from his plantation with their roots intact.
Perhaps these Wiregrass weeds would no longer just be weeds—they might even enter the Lijin Secret Language as a sellable Magical Plant!
Locke said, "Nine months have passed. Releasing another synthetic plant is reasonable—it maintains my reputation as a breeding prodigy."
"Moreover, the idea of a dedicated Magical Plant for Wild Grass Entanglement—Super Wiregrass—sounds perfectly logical."
Locke pondered. In truth, the Synthetic Magic Cube had merely accelerated the timeline of his results.
He never expected that during his battle against the weeds in the plantation, he would stumble upon an idea for improving a commonly used cantrip model.
Fundamentally, given five or six years, he was confident he could complete this idea unaided.
But if he truly spent that much time on it, he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything else.
Thus, he still needed the Synthetic Magic Cube to speed up the process.
During this period, Locke's spiritual power had risen to 195—already very close to the standard of a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.
This was thanks to the abundant Magic Stones provided by the plantation. Every month, he spent a lavish 350 Magic Stones on Badan West Wood Shavings and Dragon Blood Leaf Powder, along with an additional 200-plus Magic Stones on potions like the White Ye Tree Potion to enhance his meditation efficiency and spiritual power growth rate.
With these resources, Locke's learning speed was nearly comparable to that of a Wizard Seedling with a 7th-grade aptitude.
In these eight months, he had even saved up 3,600 Magic Stones. It had to be said—this Super Mandrake Vine plantation was indeed lucrative for a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice.
Locke uncorked the Crimson Echo Potion Sophia had prepared for him and downed the red mist-like liquid in one gulp.
His spiritual power was now very close to that of a First-Class Wizard Apprentice—the perfect time to consume this crimson potion.
The moment it entered his system, Locke's vision turned blood-red, as if he were viewing the world through tinted lenses.
He licked his lips. His taste and smell would gradually change over the next month, accompanied by the side effects of Vampiric Syndrome. Meanwhile, he would fully digest the potion within the next few days.
Though the difficulty of advancing from 195 to 200 was far greater than increasing spiritual power by 30 points at the 100-level stage,
the sheer potency of Crimson Echo virtually guaranteed he would take that final step soon and become a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.
Moreover, using the Deep Purple Gem would completely neutralize the side effects of the Crimson Echo Potion polluting his spiritual power.
There was no need to worry that this would increase the difficulty of his eventual advancement from First-Class Wizard Apprentice to Formal Wizard.
After giving a few instructions to his Minotaur slaves, Locke decided to take a walk.
"The academy assigned me the position of Magic Plant Investigator as a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice. It's a leisurely job, but there's actually a task recently."
"I'm to travel within seven days to a mortal city in the territory behind Lilith Academy."
"Rumors say the city is suffering from some kind of plague. The academy strongly suspects it's caused by a naturally occurring Magical Plant and wants us Breeder Assistants to investigate."
"During the potion's digestion period, I can't meditate or assist Professor Sophia in Potionology or as a Breeder Assistant—my spiritual power fluctuations are too volatile for delicate tasks."
"I'll ask my teacher for leave. It would be good to go out for a walk," Locke said. "This would be the perfect time to digest the Crimson Echo Potion."
After some consideration, Locke began preparing for his first 'long journey' in this Wizard World.
At the same time, apart from informing Sophia the Witch, he decided to keep a low profile and avoid telling others about his whereabouts.
This was also Sophia's requirement for him.
The Blood Curse Court's infiltration attempts against Lilith's Cottage had never ceased, and maintaining a low profile was essential for better self-protection.
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