Locke headed to the location of the pharmaceutical room approved for him by the academy's higher-ups.
Strangely, this time, for some reason, the academy didn't provide him with a new Alchemy Cabin. Instead, they gave him a pharmaceutical room and Alchemy Cabin that had been mortgaged by a former First-Class Wizard Apprentice.
As a result, his pharmaceutical room was no longer near Sophia the Witch's residence but in a city on another mountain range far from the port city.
However, this distance wasn't much of an issue. Renting an Engel Swift-Spin Snail mount from the Chimera Market would suffice, and the rental fee wasn't expensive.
For just 5 Magic Stones a month, he could secure a long-term, exclusive Engel Swift-Spin Snail.
"The academy seems to want me to interact more with people other than Sophia the Witch," Locke mused as he sat on the snail's back. "But this arrangement does complicate things a bit for me."
The snail beneath him was rapidly scaling the mountain rocks, its soft tissues leaving behind a trail of transparent mucus on the cliff face. Under sunlight, the mucus would dissipate within thirty seconds.
About twelve minutes later, Locke had traversed a city and a mountain range from Sophia the Witch's residence and arrived at the location of his pharmaceutical room.
Around this pharmaceutical room, seven or eight similar establishments were also operating.
It was normal for similar businesses to cluster together, as it made it easier to attract potential partners looking to collaborate with pharmaceutical rooms.
Since Locke was still an unknown newcomer in Potionology, his arrival didn't draw much attention from anyone here.
Locke found his pharmaceutical room, where Tilly Calvin, the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice he had hired, had already arrived.
She was overseeing the renovation team from the Chimera Market as they remodeled Locke's Personal Pharmaceutical Room.
At the same time, the three third-class wizard apprentices Locke had been substituting for Sophia the Witch were also inside the room.
The two female Wizard Seedlings and Leo Siss bowed to Locke in unison. "Senior Augustine, greetings. We're here assisting with the renovation of your personal laboratory as instructed by Senior Terry."
Locke glanced at them and gave a slight nod.
Having taught them for some time, he now commanded their deep respect—they practically regarded him as half a Wizard Mentor.
Terry stepped forward and handed Locke some documents. "Boss, this Personal Pharmaceutical Room was left with almost nothing, so all the equipment needs to be reinstalled."
"We're essentially starting the renovation from scratch."
"But don't worry, I have experience in this area."
Terry looked at Locke with admiration.
Even though Locke didn't even have a single set of equipment yet, the academy's higher-ups had still approved this pharmaceutical room.
This wasn't something just anyone could achieve.
Having worked in Angron's Personal Pharmaceutical Room, Terry had the insight to recognize that the academy wouldn't have approved Locke's application so readily unless they held him in high regard.
Locke wasn't surprised that a complete renovation was needed.
Since the previous owner had been in so much debt that they had no choice but to mortgage the pharmaceutical room, it was likely that any sellable equipment inside had already been stripped out.
Locke asked, "Terry, how many Magic Stones are we looking at for the renovation?"
Tilly Calvin quickly handed him two documents and said respectfully, "Boss, if we go with the more expensive option, the renovation cost will reach 4,000 Magic Stones. This matches the standard for a personal pharmaceutical room."
"The renovation includes equipment for raw material extraction, potion refining, and all the necessary facilities for a pharmaceutical room."
Seeing Locke frown slightly, Terry hurriedly added, "The other option is much more economical. We only need to install one set of potion refining equipment, one set of raw material extraction equipment, and one mass-production line for Magic Potions. The total cost would be just 1,500 Magic Stones. And the bulk of that expense comes from the mass-production line."
"A mass-production line for Magic Potions requires at least one Potionology Assistant, one Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, and three third-class wizard apprentices to operate—and we happen to have just the right number of people."
Holding the documents in her arms, Terry said to Locke, "Boss, I used to handle procurement for Senior Angron's pharmaceutical room, so I know which shops offer the best quality and value for mass-production equipment. You can trust me on this."
Locke nodded and handed the documents back to Terry. "Then let's go with the 1,500 Magic Stone plan for now."
It was better not to invest too many resources into his personal pharmaceutical room at the start.
Too many First-Class Wizard Apprentices had gone bankrupt after overspending early on and failing to recoup their losses.
Although he had the Cheat Synthetic Cube, it was safer to start with just the basic equipment.
He hadn't yet made a name for himself in Potionology, so it was better to wait until he had more confidence before making large-scale investments—like how he had directly cultivated a hundred acres of Magical Field for his plantation and rented expensive air control devices and Radiation Cauldrons.
For now, this personal pharmaceutical room only needed the capability for large-scale production of Advanced Growth Serum Gel, Advanced Nutrient Soil, and Advanced Nutrient Solution, as well as the ability to produce Memory Ointment, conduct human experiments, and brew Lesser Emerald Potion.
Once this pharmaceutical room could refine large quantities of Advanced Growth Serum Gel and other necessities for Breeders, it would significantly reduce his plantation expenses.
Moreover, Locke had already decided on his fourth Magic Plant—unlike the previous three, this one was specifically tailored for Potionology Masters.
Or rather, it was tailored for his personal pharmaceutical room.
The core ingredients of Bear Spirit Bile Potion were Emerald Lichen and bear bile.
Emerald Lichen was an entirely emerald-green Magic Plant with natural detoxifying properties.
Thus, his fourth Magic Plant would be Emerald Lichen. By enhancing the effects of Bear Spirit Bile Potion through Emerald Lichen and then further refining the potion through synthesis, he could amplify its potency even more.
In other words, by conducting synthesis in two stages—first in the plantation and then in the pharmaceutical room—the final product would undergo synthesis twice.
This way, he could have his plantation sell Emerald Lichen to the public, while Bear Spirit Bile Potion had an extremely wide range of applications, being one of the foundational potions.
Many Potionology Masters would purchase the synthetic Magic Plants he developed.
Moreover, he could then collaborate with shops again to sell the enhanced Bear Spirit Bile Potion on the market, earning profits twice.
And the quality of the final Bear Spirit Bile Potion would be improved twice over.
There was another benefit—after being enhanced twice by him, the curse-breaking ability of the Bear Spirit Bile Potion would be further strengthened. By then, the ones most troubled would undoubtedly be the people of the Blood Curse Court.
At this thought, a faint smile appeared on Locke's face. The Blood Curse Court had provoked him twice in a row, which had already left him quite displeased.
As a White Wizard, revenge didn't necessarily require him to kill with his own hands. Sometimes, killing didn't have to be so direct—it could be bloodless.
As a genius Breeder, soon to become a genius Potionology Master, he had plenty of ways to make the Blood Curse Court and Hussein pay the price they deserved.
For now, he would let them dance a little longer.
Additionally, this approach would further increase the academy's higher-ups' regard for him.
And the benefits of the academy's favor—he had already experienced them firsthand.
The speed of approval for the same process was completely different with and without their favor!