Beside Locke's Alchemy Cabin residence.
Locke couldn't even be bothered to restrain the Vampire Howard anymore. After restoring him to his peak condition, he directly engaged in battle next to his Alchemy Cabin without any backup plans.
This meant that if Vampire Howard could escape, he might genuinely have a chance to flee Lilith's Cottage.
Vampire Howard glanced at Locke, then at the distant sky, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Locke said, "If you don't dare attack me, then just run. As long as you escape my sight, I won't pursue you."
The next moment, upon hearing this, Vampire Howard didn't hesitate. His bat wings unfurled behind him as he attempted to fly in the opposite direction of Locke's position.
Howard's eyes burned with the desire to escape Locke's presence.
At that very instant, Locke activated his Three-Eyed Tiger Cat Bloodline. An Innate Magic Eye appeared between his brows, shimmering with Spell radiance, forming a Magic Eye.
Within it, a flash of [Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism] energy flickered briefly.
The space around Vampire Howard nearly condensed with this overwhelming energy.
But after a moment's consideration, Locke allowed that energy to fade back into his Innate Magic Eye without erupting.
The power of Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism was terrifying. He worried that if he truly unleashed this Bloodline Spell ability—granted by his Ancient Creature Bloodline—it might annihilate the Vampire in an instant.
This Vampire was a high-level experimental subject shared between him and the Witch Sophia. Destroying it so carelessly would be a waste.
Moreover, Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism consumed an enormous amount of Mana. Right now, his Mana reserves couldn't sustain frequent use of this Bloodline Spell ability.
Locke raised his tiger-striped claws and gave chase.
Vampire Howard had just taken to the air, his eyes alight with the faint hope of long-lost freedom, when—in the next second—he froze in horror. Locke's claws, marked with the distinctive stripes of the Three-Eyed Tiger Cat, clamped around his skull.
Then, as Locke leaped into the air, the entire Vampire was slammed downward, his head driven into the earth, carving a long trench into the ground.
"How… how is this possible… I couldn't resist at all… His rate of improvement…" The remaining half of Vampire Howard's shattered skull slowly regenerated under the Curse energy of the Vampire Transformation Curse.
Locke dusted off his hands, extremely satisfied. "My current physical capabilities far surpass those of an ordinary First-Class Wizard Apprentice Vampire with 200 Mana. The Three-Eyed Tiger Cat possesses a formidable physique, but its greatest strength is speed."
"Indeed, after activating my Bloodline, my movement speed completely overwhelms that of a Vampire Baron with 200 Mana. In front of me, a Vampire Baron's speed is like a leisurely stroll."
"Of course, I don't know if a Vampire Baron with higher Mana would be faster. They probably would be."
"Still, I need to be careful. I almost killed him just now. If I had completely destroyed the Vampire Baron's head, he would have died."
"The strength of this body after activating the Bloodline is probably close to the peak of an apprentice-level, making it a perfect trump card for me."
"The intensity of the Bloodline Modification has reached 0.9 rings! It's no wonder, considering I combined Potionology and archaeology to complete this Ancient Creature Bloodline Modification. The cost-performance ratio is incredibly high—its power is even disproportionate to my current Mana."
Locke understood that his current Mana made it difficult to sustain this Bloodline-activated state for long.
His Mana simply couldn't keep up with this formidable physique, which was why he dared not use the Magic Eye too often.
He needed to improve his Mana as quickly as possible, reach 600 in mental strength to advance to the next stage, and then swiftly achieve 800 to meet the Mana threshold for becoming a Formal Wizard.
Until then, every spell and every bit of magic he learned was preparation for constructing his first one-ring Permanent Defense Field Magic.
Locke lifted the Vampire Howard and shoved a pouch of Magical Creature blood into his mouth.
Under the effects of the Vampire Transformation Curse, the unconscious Howard immediately revived. His pupils regained focus, and he threw his head back with a feral roar—only to turn and realize in horror that he was still in Locke's grasp.
The Vampire Howard stared wide-eyed in terror. "Are you really Locke Augustine? The same First Class Wizard Apprentice who just advanced this year? The same person I saw three months ago?"
"How can you have changed so much?"
"Three months ago, it took you a long fight to subdue me. A month ago, you tricked me in one move. But now... I can't even resist you."
Locke's expression remained indifferent. He deactivated his Bloodline, and the Magic Eye between his brows faded into a faint mark before disappearing entirely.
He released the Vampire Howard. "Run away again. I still need you to test two of my Plant-based Spells."
Nearby, the True Sight Crystal Ball hovered, recording every moment of Locke's experiment.
Howard let out a terrified shriek as if he'd seen a ghost and bolted into the sky, seemingly driven to the brink of madness by Locke.
But when he glanced back, his fear only deepened.
Because behind Locke's Wizard robe, a pair of over two-meter-long green banana leaf wings had unfurled.
Locke was flying right behind him.
Those were the Great Azure Leaf Banana Wings Locke had cultivated over the past two weeks.
Moreover, they were a level-7 Synthetic Magic Plant—the [Great Green Owl Banana]—created using the Synthetic Magic Cube.
In those two weeks, Locke had mastered the first spell of the original Great Azure Leaf Banana's accompanying [Plant Mimicry] series: Plant Mimicry Art: Raptor.
This spell allowed the Great Azure Leaf Banana to mimic a magical bird of prey, transforming into a raptor that could carry a Wizard swiftly through the air—whether to pursue enemies or flee.
The Great Green Owl Banana shared all the same attributes as the Great Azure Leaf Banana.
With only one difference.
The Great Green Owl Banana automatically adjusts its leaf angles to the optimal aerodynamic form during flight, reducing headwind resistance to zero while doubling its speed with tailwinds.
This results in the Great Green Owl Banana having flight characteristics identical to the Great Azure Leaf Banana, but with a 30% higher base speed due to this special ability. With tailwinds, its speed can increase by up to 130%!
According to the entry on Synthetic Magic Plants, the Great Green Owl Banana was artificially cultivated using the Magic Resonance Breeding Method, inducing directional mutation in the Great Azure Leaf Banana and having it actively mimic the magical avian species, the Gale Eagle Owl.
At that moment, Locke used the Plant Mimicry Art: Raptor with the Great Green Owl Banana, effortlessly keeping pace with the Vampire Howard. In fact, his flight speed surpassed Howard's, allowing him to intercept the vampire head-on.
Then, under Howard's despairing gaze, Locke pulled out a Blast Pea with three stacked barrel-like nozzles.
After several futile attempts to resist, the Vampire Howard finally broke down. He screamed, "I surrender! I surrender! Master Augustine, I'll be your slave! I'll cooperate with all your experiments from now on!"
"Stop tormenting me like this!"
"I can't take it anymore!"
(End of Chapter)