After purchasing a pile of magical resources, Locke finally left the Chimera Market with satisfaction.
By the time he returned to his residence, night had already fallen.
However, the White Wizard Sophia had sent one of her elven servants to wait at his doorstep, delivering a letter to him.
Locke accepted the letter, ignoring the bowing elven servant, and opened it to find a response from the Breeder Competition department of the White Wizard Association.
"Hmm? So I did pass the preliminary round."
The standardized letter from the competition committee congratulated him on being selected for the finals and invited him to submit his second Magic Plant creation along with its documentation to continue participating in the White Wizard Association Breeder Competition.
"Only the top 300 entries from the entire Southeast Corner Domain can advance to the finals," Locke mused. "This is a long-standing competition organized by the White Wizard society across the Southeast Corner Domain. Basically, every qualified Breeder Assistant participates to compete for resources."
"That means there must have been thousands of entries in the preliminary round."
"And my work managed to stand out among those thousands." Locke examined the ranking list of the top 300 entries that came with the letter, his eyes revealing complex emotions.
If before he had merely been exploring the Wizard World of the Southeast Corner Domain within Lilith's Cottage, now he had finally made his first mark in the region - participating in and winning a competition that encompassed the entire Southeast Corner Domain.
Locke scanned the ranking list to find his own position. "My entry is ranked... fifth!"
"My work actually ranked fifth directly."
He looked at the brief commendation on the ranking list: 'An exceptional creation that perfectly enhances the power of Palm Fire Lotus. The committee unanimously agreed that if not for the relative simplicity of Palm Fire Lotus, the ranking could have been two positions higher.'
Locke's expression turned subtle, his mood slightly excited. Not only had his work passed the preliminary round across the entire Southeast Corner Domain, but it had also achieved an impressive fifth place ranking.
He had outperformed numerous breeders across the Southeast Corner Domain.
"But what kind of monsters are these top four entries that ranked higher than my Crystal Palmfire Lotus?"
Locke quickly scanned the top four entries and discovered their creators were all First Class Wizard Apprentices - and not newly promoted ones at that.
They had participated in this competition over a dozen times, relying on such events to secure magical resources for themselves.
Thus, they were thoroughly familiar with the competition's grading criteria and had extensive experience.
Indeed, all four top entries appeared slightly superior to his Crystal Palmfire Lotus.
"There are many skilled breeders in the Southeast Corner Domain. I mustn't let my guard down," Locke reflected. "As Teacher Sophia mentioned, participants in the White Wizard Association Breeder Competition never reveal their full capabilities during the preliminary round."
"After all, the preliminary round's sole purpose is simply to qualify for the finals."
"Therefore, many powerful Breeders won't exert their full strength during the preliminary rounds. Often, those who make it into the top hundred in the preliminaries may not even rank within the top hundred in the finals."
"So, I still have to keep pushing myself." Locke clenched his fist. "Even in the preliminaries, there were people ranked above me. In the finals, the number of experts will only increase."
"It seems I must put in more effort in this area. Otherwise, I might not even make it into the top fifty to secure a substantial Magic Stone reward."
From the very beginning, Locke's goal in joining this competition was to obtain a large amount of magical resources—everything else was secondary.
Of course, if he could achieve a good result in this competition, it would make future applications to the academy for various resources much easier.
Locke's eyes grew serious as he walked back to his room to begin tonight's meditation.
Every great leap forward is built upon the accumulation of small, steady improvements.
...
Lilith's Cottage, Port City. In an inconspicuous semi-basement within an ordinary alley, only a single window peeked above ground level.
The rest of the room lay entirely below the surface.
This was the kind of dwelling where the poorest among ordinary folk lived.
During rainy seasons, water would flood into this semi-basement. After the water receded, mold would creep up the walls, filling the space with a pungent stench that made it uninhabitable for most people.
Yet within this filthy environment, ten Black Wizards clad in dark Wizard robes gathered furtively, whispering about their clandestine plans.
Their eyes glowed with eerie red hues in the dim light, and when they spoke, terrifying fangs became visible. These Black Wizards were vampires—products of Blood Curse Transformation conducted by the Blood Curse Court.
"Damn those White Wizards! They may not be strong in combat, but they're full of cunning tricks. Their Weather Manipulators have semi-permanently altered the climate in our Blood Curse Court's heartland, devastating our faction's resource reserves."
"And their idiotic potions have poisoned our water and soil. When mortals consume crops tainted by those potions, they develop resistance to our curses. This creates serious complications."
In the darkness, the vampire Howard kept twisting his neck unnaturally, as if afflicted by some ailment, his movements twitchy and neurotic.
"The academy leadership has forbidden us from casually cursing mortals within our territory during this period. Cursing them now might trigger targeted curse resistance in their Bloodline."
"The higher-ups suspect this is all part of some grand experiment by those hypocritical White Wizards—using our territory's mortals to cultivate Bloodlines specifically resistant to our existing curses..."
"White Wizards are always so sanctimonious!"
"We must retaliate. We must kill." Howard's eyes flashed with a mix of bloodlust and neurotic rage. "The academy has issued its highest-level vengeance decree. We operatives stationed in Lilith's Cottage are to begin targeted assassinations of their most talented Breeders and Potionology Masters."
"This is our response to those medicine peddlers' provocative actions."
"Recently those hypocritical saints released their Breeder Competition preliminary rankings, right? The academy leadership has ordered us to conduct targeted assassinations based on that list."
"We must strike them hard, make them feel true fear!"
"Following that list for eliminations is foolproof." Howard said with a nervous tic, "For every genius we eliminate, the academy will reward us with massive magical resources."
"Don't say the academy never gave you opportunities before. Now the chance is right before you. With our mediocre talents, how can we hope to become First Class Wizard Apprentices, let alone Formal Wizards, without taking risks?!"
Most Black Wizards present only had level 1 or 2 innate talent.
Only Howard possessed level 3 talent.
Unlike White Wizard society's extreme pursuit of geniuses, Black Wizard society valued talent less comparatively.
Because in Black Wizard society, resources were paramount.
Unlike the relatively fair resource distribution among White Wizards, even geniuses would have limited development without resources in Black Wizard society.
More importantly, Black Wizards had numerous shortcuts. Many turned to Dark Magic precisely because they knew they'd remain mediocre forever practicing white magic - only through radical Dark Magic could they achieve breakthroughs.
Though these hopes were largely self-deception.
Other wizard apprentices from the Blood Curse Court exchanged glances, their eyes alight with greed upon hearing about the academy's generous rewards. They desperately wanted these prizes.
Yet considering their current situation, fear crept in.
"But Howard, what can we Second-Class and third-class wizard apprentices accomplish as undercover agents here? Our capabilities are too limited..."
"Those White Wizard cowards always hide in their greenhouse-like homes, never venturing out normally..."
"Our strength is insufficient..."
A powerful Magic Pressure erupted from vampire Howard, bearing down on every Blood Curse Court apprentice present.
The apprentices looked at him in shock.
"Howard... you've become a First Class Wizard Apprentice? You broke through here? How?"
"By the abyss! Though you have level 3 talent, you're only 25! You shouldn't have reached First Class this fast. Just six months ago you were still Second-Class!"
A Second-Class vampire apprentice's eyes burned with intense jealousy and greed. "How did you do it? You must share this method with me."
Vampire Howard laughed triumphantly. "I was just getting to that."
"My breakthrough came because the academy leadership conducted an experiment on me. Moreover, the academy will provide special support. Since the food ban in our territory has caused widespread famine,"
"the leadership decided to weaponize this famine by creating an Undead Creature Tide. Soon, the tide will attack Lilith's Cottage territory in three waves, causing chaos."
"And chaos presents the perfect opportunity for us Blood Curse Court operatives to strike under cover of disorder."
"As for the matter of becoming a First Class Wizard Apprentice..." Howard chuckled darkly. "This was something the academy leadership specifically instructed me to disclose to all of you."
The nine vampires from the Blood Curse Court immediately revealed astonishing greed in their eyes, along with undisguised envy toward Howard.
They all craned their necks eagerly, ready to hear Howard reveal the secret of how he could become a First Class Wizard Apprentice within the territory of Lilith's Cottage.
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