The witch Sophia looked up at Locke in surprise, frowned, then lowered her head to gently sniff the ointment. About half a minute passed.
Sophia raised her head again, first frowning, then raising her eyebrows with a slightly amused expression. "Beginner's luck?"
"Locke, you truly have astonishing intuition." As a First Circle Potion Master, Sophia immediately understood what Locke had done after hearing his key reasoning. "The Adiantum Spores contain special natural magical structural components similar to the cantrip model of the Calming Spell from the Enchantment School. And the combined effect of the Calming Spell with Contemplation Balm..."
"Might produce certain memory-enhancing effects." Following the existing pharmacological properties, Sophia quickly deduced the effects of Memory Ointment. "Locke, having a student like you is my good fortune."
The witch Sophia sighed worriedly: "After teaching you, instructing other students will likely leave me feeling such a disparity that I'll lose all enthusiasm."
"A student like you comes once in a lifetime."
Sophia continued: "This shows your talent in Potionology is also remarkable. You have extremely keen intuition regarding potion formulas."
"Without your reminder, I wouldn't have noticed that the Calming Spell properties of Adiantum Spores could have memory-enhancing applications." Sophia fell into deep thought. "You've actually inspired me."
"Perhaps I could develop a new memory-related magic potion too, but not recently—I'm too busy. I'll consider it after going to the Star Domain Sea. That's a medium-to-high magic environment with richer magical resources."
Sophia looked at Locke and said: "But now there's a problem. Even if I can roughly guess your potion's effects and confirm its efficacy through experience..."
"Ordinary wizards are different from me, and there's also your situation of not passing academy review."
Locke asked for advice: "Then what should I do now, teacher?"
Sophia smiled. "You need test subjects—first animal testing, then trials with ordinary humans, followed by experiments with wizard apprentices."
"Going through the entire process will take at least one or two years, and that's assuming your ointment is truly effective without major side effects."
"After all, I can't be certain your ointment has no side effects. If there are significant side effects and it enters the [Major Side Effect Verification Period], it might drag on for four or five years."
"I mean, after five years it might be banned from sale by the White Wizard Association, restricted to research use only."
Locke frowned, sensing the complications.
Indeed, completing this process would take at least a year, and the key issue was his current financial shortage.
He couldn't wait that long.
No wonder they say Potionology is a money-burning profession—it truly is expensive.
He knew the Memory Ointment had no side effects, but others didn't.
Since he could see the entries while others couldn't, Locke needed to establish an experimental procedure to gain the trust of the White Wizard Association, the academy's higher-ups, and others.
But this procedure was overly complex.
Sophia hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, I estimate your balm won't have significant side effects since its main component is still Contemplation Balm, with only minor process modifications. Adiantum Spores are relatively safe too."
"For such cases, I suggest you can appropriately skip some procedures." Sophia sighed. "It's an unavoidable necessity."
"If we strictly followed the White Wizard Association's procedures, we Potion Masters would starve. Developing a new Magic Potion and waiting for verification could take years, yet the window for advancing to Formal Wizard lasts only about a decade."
"By the time you reap the benefits of developing new potion formulas, you'd have missed the optimal age window for Formal Wizard advancement."
Sophia continued, "So while regulations exist, we have our own unwritten rules. Generally, when developing relatively safe formulas that don't involve highly toxic materials and are merely improvements on existing potions, we can skip certain procedures."
Sophia raised her right index finger. "You can conduct animal tests and human tests simultaneously."
"When both tests reach about one-third completion and show no issues, you can proceed directly to wizard apprentice trials."
"These three phases can proceed concurrently, shortening the timeline to about four or five months. If you're absolutely certain there are no problems... you could even compress it further. Ultimately, you just need to produce three reports."
"Compressing it to three months wouldn't be problematic either."
"The White Wizard Association and academy leadership turn a blind eye to this. After all, regulations are for ideal circumstances, while reality involves many conflicting interests." Sophia added, "As long as you don't overstep, the academy usually won't investigate thoroughly."
"Of course, this doesn't apply to Potionology Assistants who knowingly conceal major flaws in their potions, delaying entry into the Major Side Effect Verification Period while directly using wizard apprentices as test subjects."
Hearing this, Locke immediately thought of First Class Wizard Apprentice Angron.
That fellow's Mental Enhancement Potion couldn't be said to merely have side effects—one might say the side effects outweighed the potion's intended effects.
Yet he still went around recruiting wizard apprentices, tricking them into signing contracts to become his test materials.
Sophia warned Locke, "A very few Formal Wizards in the academy protect their outstanding students conducting extremely radical potion experiments, even ignoring the potions' major side effects."
"Even when accidents occur, they use their influence to suppress the incidents."
"But I'm not that kind of person. Locke, I hope you don't lose yourself in the pursuit of power. You must learn to respect power."
Sophia cautioned, "All the arrogant individuals I've witnessed met unfortunate ends—no matter how successful they seemed at the time."
Locke nodded earnestly. "Don't worry, teacher. I definitely won't tarnish your reputation."
White Wizard Sophia smiled in satisfaction. "It seems you truly need to establish your own independent Pharmaceutical Room. Otherwise, you won't qualify for the potion formula review process."
"I can lend you all three of my students," Sophia said, a trace of weariness flashing across her face. "After all, I haven't had time to teach them recently."
"The academy has assigned me many new tasks lately," Sophia continued. "So you'll just need to find one Second-Class Wizard Apprentice yourself."
Locke nodded, quickly running through a mental list of Second-Class Wizard Apprentices while also considering who to use for experiments.
First, he was absolutely certain his ointment had no issues, so he could directly use third-class wizard apprentices for testing. The best candidate would be Pierre with his special constitution.
Being a test subject for new potion formulas would normally be considered high-risk for others, but in Locke's case, it was practically free benefits—they could use his Memory Ointment at no cost and even receive Magic Stones from him.
If not for needing to satisfy the academy and White Wizard Association's requirements, and to obtain convincing experimental data, Locke wouldn't have bothered with such unprofitable arrangements.
So for such a good opportunity, he might as well bring along his good friend Pierre.
His special Low Magic Resistance Constitution made him perfect for producing the most persuasive experimental results.
If even a highly sensitive Wizard Seedling with low magic resistance could use it for three months without issues, no one could raise objections.
Sophia handed Locke some documents—information about the Healing Hand Clinic. Taking them, Locke asked curiously, "What's this?"
Sophia sighed wearily. "The frontline battles are intense, and the academy has many patients recently."
"They've assigned me numerous treatment tasks. Other Formal Wizards have many wizard apprentices assisting them, but I don't, so it's draining my energy."
"On top of that, I'm simultaneously preparing for the Star Domain Sea teaching qualification assessment," Sophia continued. "The academy leadership would probably be pleased to see me fail and remain teaching here. So I'd like your help."
"I hadn't planned to ask, but seeing your talent in Potionology changed my mind. Gaining more practical experience will greatly benefit your future development in this field."
Sophia looked at Locke with smiling eyes.
Locke nodded solemnly. "Of course, teacher. It's my duty to help."
"You should have asked me sooner."
"That way you could focus fully on your Star Domain Sea assessment."
Sophia paused, then laughed. "Locke, thank you for having such faith in me."