The first to enter was a female Second-Class Wizard Apprentice who handed her resume to Locke and the other two, visibly nervous.
Locke glanced at her resume but remained silent. Essie, however, was already dissatisfied.
"We require Second-Class Wizard Apprentices with experience in Potion clinical trials," Essie said sharply. "Your resume only shows work experience at two small potion shops. How is that useful?"
"You're wasting the time of three Potionology Masters."
Despite the female apprentice's attempts to explain and emphasize her confidence in handling Phase III trials, Essie gave her no opportunity.
Locke and Angulo, on the other hand, didn't mind much.
After all, hiring experienced Second-Class Wizard Apprentices would make things much easier. Otherwise, they'd have to spend time teaching these apprentices—something they couldn't afford.
They were recruiting assistants to save time and effort, not to pay for teaching them.
Next, fifteen more Second-Class Wizard Apprentices came in for interviews and self-introductions.
Angulo and Essie—especially Essie—were extremely strict in their selection.
Out of the sixteen candidates, Essie only picked three who had prior experience in Potion clinical trials and met their recruitment criteria.
The rest, who either came to learn or try their luck, were immediately dismissed.
As Essie put it, their project was a high-profile one, even drawing attention from the academy's higher-ups. There was no need to worry about failing to recruit qualified Second-Class Wizard Apprentices.
After all, for those apprentices, simply being part of this project was an honor and a valuable credential.
Soon, the door opened again, and this time, Locke was surprised.
The person who entered was none other than Pierre, a friend from his days as a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice.
Locke glanced at Angulo and Essie before speaking up, acknowledging his connection with Pierre.
"Pierre? What brings you here?"
Pierre's eyes lit up when he saw Locke, but when he noticed Angulo and Essie, he immediately lowered his head, overwhelmed by nervousness and pressure.
After all, aside from Locke, whom he knew, there were two First-Class Wizard Apprentices he had never met—both of whom looked stern and highly professional.
"G-Greetings, Potionology Master Augustine," Pierre stammered nervously. "I-I'm here to apply for the assistant position."
"Though I don't have relevant work experience, I'm very meticulous and diligent. I'll definitely do my best in the job."
Essie and Angulo exchanged glances. Then, Essie looked at Locke, who remained expressionless.
Surprisingly, a faint smile appeared on Essie's face as she said to Pierre, "Hmm, confidence is good."
"This is a relatively rare quality. Confidence and a sense of responsibility are both important traits for doing a job well. But can you take on the task of collaborating with others to complete the animal experiments for the Bear Spirit Emerald Bile Potion?"
Locke glanced at Essie. He understood why she had made this arrangement—the animal experiments for the Bear Spirit Emerald Bile Potion had already been assigned to a highly experienced senior Second-Class Wizard Apprentice during the earlier recruitment process.
If they hired Pierre, they could have the senior Second-Class Wizard Apprentice mentor him, saving them the effort of having to teach Pierre everything from scratch.
Pierre was extremely nervous. "Y-yes... I have the confidence."
Essie smiled. "Good, then you're hired."
"Angulo, Locke, do you have any objections?"
Locke naturally had no objections, and Angulo nodded as well. After all, they were hiring six Second-Class Wizard Apprentices, and adding one inexperienced apprentice wouldn't affect their plans.
Moreover, this Second-Class Wizard Apprentice was very familiar with Locke and was a reliable person. Just having him oversee the animal experiments to prevent others from misusing funds was already a good choice.
Sometimes, among assistants, you need someone who may not be highly skilled but is trustworthy—someone who can monitor details and keep track of progress.
After Pierre left, Locke and the others interviewed six more candidates and finalized the last two Second-Class Wizard Apprentices. Once contracts were signed with these individuals, the day's recruitment activities officially concluded.
Locke distributed the materials to Angulo and Essie, saying, "I have some personal matters to attend to recently, so I'll need the two of you to help oversee this project for me."
"Remember to hold group meetings every two weeks to discuss progress with the six Second-Class Wizard Apprentices," Locke added. "Each of these apprentices will receive sixty Magic Stones from us every month. I'll cover this expense entirely."
Angulo and Essie quickly offered to share the monthly cost of three hundred and sixty Magic Stones with Locke, but he refused. After all, only by paying for it himself could he maintain full control over the entire project team. Otherwise, Angulo and Essie would effectively be his partners, whereas in reality, they—like the six Second-Class Wizard Apprentices—were merely employees he had hired to complete the third-phase trials of the Bear Spirit Emerald Bile Potion.
They just happened to be of higher rank.
Besides, spending three hundred and sixty Magic Stones a month to hire six Second-Class Wizard Apprentices for half their working hours wasn't a bad deal.
At this stage, he could easily afford it.
The Bear Spirit Emerald Bile Potion had an exceptionally broad therapeutic range. Completing its third-phase trials would indeed require a significant workforce, and the current team might still fall short. But once completed, the future profits would undoubtedly be enormous, providing substantial support for the vast resources he needed to break through to the level of a Formal Wizard.
Locke said, "As for the funds, I'll leave five hundred Magic Stones with you two. You'll distribute the necessary expenses among the six of them."
"The total funding required for human and animal experiments should be covered by five hundred Magic Stones. As for the wizard apprentice stage experiments, the Healing Hand Clinic will assist us, so that part won't require much expense either."
Angulo and Essie nodded repeatedly.
At this point, Locke was essentially the one providing the funds, ideas, and research materials—positioning himself similarly to a mentor overseeing a research project.
But neither of them had any objections, as the entire project had been initiated by Locke in the first place.
Angulo assured Locke, "Don't worry, Locke. Essie and I will keep a close eye on the budget and allocate it reasonably."
She didn't ask what Locke would be doing—after all, it was a sensitive matter. First Class Wizard Apprentices had their own affairs, so there was no need to pry.
If Locke wanted to share, he would tell them himself.
Essie also patted her chest and gave her assurances to Locke.
Once everything was settled, Locke hurriedly left the office, leaving the follow-up work to Angulo and Essie.
During this period, they had each published another B-grade article based on the Bear Spirit Emerald Bile Potion, while Locke, preoccupied with biological bloodline modification, had only managed to publish two B-grade articles related to the potion.
This brought his current tally to 13 B-grade articles and 2 A-grade articles.
He was now practically mid-tier among First Class Wizard Apprentices, even approaching the upper echelons.
After leaving the rented office at the talent market, Locke headed straight for the area where the Speed Painters operated—shops run by wizard apprentices from the Illusion School. There were plenty of Speed Painters there.
Locke entered a gallery, knocked on the open door, and called out toward the back, "Anyone here? I need to hire a Speed Painter for a month."
The reason for a month-long hire was that the building to be sketched this time was the Curse Formula Research Institute.
To prevent the Speed Painter from leaking their plans, Locke intended to hire them outright for a full month.
By the time they completed their one-month task, his undercover decapitation operation would already be over.
Besides, his personal pharmacist and Plantation could indeed use a Speed Painter to document the appearances of the various Magic Plants and Potions being cultivated.
This was a form of preservation.
If certain Magic Plants or Potions were lost to time, the preserved records could help recreate or rebrew them.
Though it wasn't strictly necessary, it made for a convenient cover.
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