Locke turned his gaze toward the Magic Plant seeds on the corner shelf—the Blade Azure Whirl Bamboo. Its mature specimen was a green bamboo stalk, roughly the diameter of a rice bowl.
At the tip of the Blade Azure Whirl Bamboo was a pair of blade-like green whirl leaves, somewhat resembling the shape of a bamboo dragonfly.
This Magic Plant had multiple sets of accompanying plant-based Spells, allowing for rapid flight through the air. Its speed was impressive, though its only drawbacks were its inability to fly very high and its lack of agility midair.
Locke's eyes flickered with interest—he was tempted to exchange for this Magic Plant.
But just then, right beside the Blade Azure Whirl Bamboo, he spotted the best flying Magic Plant for apprentices—the Great Azure Leaf Banana!
Locke paused in surprise before the shelf. He hadn't expected his luck to be this good—to encounter, within the Germplasm Repository, the very Magic Plant described in textbooks as the most well-rounded flying plant for apprentices.
The seeds of the Great Azure Leaf Banana resembled emerald gemstones, preserved in a glass vial shaped like a badminton shuttlecock tube. Beside it was a mature specimen of the plant.
The Great Azure Leaf Banana had a pair of wings resembling those of a large bird, which could usually be folded and concealed beneath a Wizard's robe. In battle, they could suddenly unfurl, transforming into plant-based magic capable of soaring through the skies.
The Great Azure Leaf Banana came with an entire set of complementary Spells, collectively known as the [Plant Mimicry Series]. Among them were flight-based spell models, acceleration spell models, and even offensive and defensive spell models utilizing the Great Azure Leaf Banana.
Of course, the learning difficulty of this Spell series was exceptionally high—arguably the most challenging among apprentice-level plant-based spell model series.
Compared to the Blade Azure Whirl Bamboo, the Great Azure Leaf Banana was even rarer by another tier.
Moreover, it didn't suffer from the severe drawback of inflexible midair maneuvering. Its flight speed, altitude, and Mana consumption were all superior to the Blade Azure Whirl Bamboo.
If he could obtain this Magic Plant, there was no question—he would prioritize the Great Azure Leaf Banana.
Pointing at the seeds of the Great Azure Leaf Banana, Locke made his decision. "I've decided to use my second-tier exchange privilege to obtain the seeds of this Magic Plant."
Ruby nodded. "Understood, Breeder Augustine. According to the Germplasm Repository's regulations, you may receive ten Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds."
She smiled. "Currently, the Germplasm Repository only has twenty Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds in stock. By regulation, the Repository must retain the last ten seeds of any Magic Plant."
"This means that after you exchange for these seeds, no one else will be able to obtain Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds from the Germplasm Repository for a very long time."
Locke gave a slight nod. "Understood."
He had initially assumed that his second-tier exchange privilege would only grant him a single seed.
After all, in the Germplasm Repository, Magic Stones were used to trade for Magic Plant seeds one by one. But who knew that with the second-level exchange privilege, one could directly obtain 10 Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds at once.
Of course, this was exactly what he needed.
Because Magic Plant seeds were just seeds—how many plants you could actually grow from them depended entirely on your skill, as well as the preservation quality of the seeds themselves.
The reason rare Magic Plants were considered rare was due to their demanding growth conditions, highly specific environmental requirements, and the numerous potential magical diseases they could contract.
So, it wasn't a matter of how many seeds you had, but how many plants you could successfully cultivate.
The few rare Magic Plants Locke currently possessed were all mature specimens he had obtained in the wild.
Locke turned to Ruby and asked, "If we were to trade with Magic Stones, how much would a single Great Azure Leaf Banana seed cost?"
Ruby was in the middle of packaging and retrieving the stored Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds for Locke. Hearing his question, she paused to think carefully before answering, "Breeder Augustine, one Great Azure Leaf Banana seed costs 500 Magic Stones."
Locke frowned, feeling slightly exasperated.
If it were a mature Great Azure Leaf Banana plant, selling it for 500 Magic Stones would be somewhat reasonable.
After all, 500 Magic Stones could buy a hundred Crystal Palmfire Lotuses, 500 grams of Wire Tendon Grass, or 16 Super Mandrake Vines.
But this was just a seed of the Great Azure Leaf Banana!
The price of seeds in the Germplasm Repository was almost on par with that of fully grown Magic Plants.
That meant the Great Azure Leaf Banana seeds he had obtained with his second-level exchange privilege were equivalent to 5,000 Magic Stones in value.
That was absurd.
But after a moment's thought, Locke understood the reasoning behind it.
The Germplasm Repository wasn't just another Chimera Market—it was a strategic reserve resource for Lilith's Cottage.
The academy's higher-ups undoubtedly preferred their students to use exchange privileges to obtain the abundant Magic Plant seeds stored here, rather than purchasing them with Magic Stones.
Otherwise, it would disrupt the normal commercial operations of the Chimera Market.
So, in essence, the Germplasm Repository wasn't welcoming transactions using Magic Stones for seeds.
That was why the prices of Magic Plant seeds here were comparable to those of mature plants.
Once Locke had stored all the seeds in his Astral Ring, the two of them left the room. The moment they stepped out, the Magic Door behind them immediately closed.
At the same time, a loud pneumatic sound echoed from within.
Locke knew this was part of the temperature and humidity rebalancing system designed by the academy's higher-ups.
After he and Ruby left the room, the pipes connected to the large-scale Weather Control Device would readjust the air quality indicators inside to prevent any unnecessary risks to the stored Magic Plant seeds.
Ruby bowed to Locke. "Breeder Augustine, with your third-level exchange privilege, you can obtain medium-grade Magic Plants. Do you have any specific needs? You can let me know."
Locke fell into thought. Medium-grade Magic Plants wouldn't be of much help to him in combat anymore—they would hardly make any difference.
But Teacher Sophia had given him this privilege, so he might as well claim it.
But which type of Magic Plant would offer him the best cost-performance ratio at his current level?
A sudden inspiration flashed through Locke's mind as the spell models of Rot Soil Konjac King and Mayfly Firecracker surfaced in his thoughts.
'I remember Mayfly Firecracker can utilize certain parasitic-type Magic Plants to carry special additional botanical ammunition,' Locke pondered. 'This way, I wouldn't need to learn numerous spell models within limited time—just one Plant Mimicry Series Spell would suffice.'
Locke turned to Ruby and asked, "Ruby, do you have any parasitic Magic Plants here that would suit the Mayfly Firecracker spell model?"
A look of confusion crossed Ruby's face as she replied guiltily, "I'm sorry, Breeder Augustine, I don't know what a Mayfly Firecracker is."
"This knowledge is too advanced... I don't understand."
Locke realized Ruby was only a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice. After some thought, he rephrased his question: "I mean parasitic Magic Plants that can attach to other Magic Plants and form a symbiotic relationship with their hosts."
Ruby's eyes immediately lit up with understanding. "I see! Breeder Augustine, please follow me to Room 107."
"There might be what you need there."
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