Three days later, Locke, Eragabalus, Howard, and another Speed Painter completed an entire set of Magic Painting Maps.
Over these three days, Eragabalus and Toke Carlisle had barely slept for more than an hour at a time.
Of course, their mental strength was likely between 300 and 400, so even three days without sleep wouldn't affect them in the slightest.
Working overtime for three days straight, they barely managed to produce one Magic Painting Map.
The Curse Formula Research Institute was massive in scale, with numerous specialized facilities inside, making the mapping process extremely challenging.
At the same time, Locke used Summon Graveyard Spirit to gather information on the building's Negative Energy Particle Field, allowing Eragabalus to create a map with exceptionally high precision.
It was clear that Eragabalus had a strong artistic pursuit. The brooding young man with his fringe hair, after successfully completing the Magic Painting Map, held it in his hands and admired it endlessly. "Brilliant, exquisite, brimming with artistic essence!"
"Mr. Augustine, the information you provided was extremely precise. Under your high standards, the accuracy of this Magic Painting Map is exceptionally high."
"It will have significant practical value."
Eragabalus flipped the Magic Painting Map over to show Locke. It was covered in densely packed fine brushstrokes, with a small green dot in the upper left corner and a small red dot in the central laboratory of the Curse Formula Research Institute.
That red dot was the target.
This was information Locke had obtained by using Summon Graveyard Spirit to collect the influence of his residual Magic Pressure on the Negative Energy Particle Field in the surrounding area. He then had the Speed Painter Eragabalus employ a special Visual Illusion technique to create this function.
Although Rasheed Tarir was a Formal Wizard, directly locking onto his position with magic would undoubtedly fail or alert him.
But Locke wasn't foolish enough to do that. What the map locked onto was the influence his Magic Pressure had on the surrounding Negative Energy Particle Field within an hour.
In other words, while the precision of tracking him would be lower, the trade-off was safety and stealth.
Eragabalus said excitedly, "As per your request, this Magic Painting also has a 0.5-circle Spell—Visual Hallucination Spell—embedded within it. If necessary, it can launch an attack against any Black Wizard who sees this painting."
Locke gave a slight nod. After inspecting the Magic Painting, he stored it in his Astral Ring. "Master Eragabalus, you've done well."
"For the remaining time, you won't need to go anywhere else."
"You may freely command my servants within this house and complete Magic Paintings of all Magic Plants and Magic Potions for me—all of them must be three-dimensional."
"During this period, my mentor, the Formal Wizard Lady Sophia, will arrange for a First Class Wizard Apprentice to assist you with the Magic Painting work."
Eragabalus forced a bitter smile.
He had long anticipated that Locke would likely handle things this way.
At the same time, he was secretly alarmed. According to the subtext of Locke's words, the creation of the Magic Painting Map he was involved in this time actually had Formal Wizards participating.
This was a big deal.
Eragabalus said, "Very well, Mr. Augustine. I won't go anywhere. For this entire month, I'll stay here until you return."
Eragabalus wisely added, "Mr. Augustine, neither my junior nor I want to get caught up in any trouble. Even if you asked us to leave now, we wouldn't want to."
"Moreover, the Magic Painting project you've arranged for us is indeed quite large. It's a guaranteed commission worth at least 1,500 Magic Stones—a major order for my gallery. So I'm more than happy to stay here."
Eragabalus was telling the truth.
Their gallery wasn't nearly that profitable. The number of Wizards who wanted Magic Paintings could never compare to those who sought Magic Plants, alchemical items, or Magic Potions.
Magic Paintings were, after all, a niche demand.
Otherwise, the Wizards of their Atlas Pigment Workshop wouldn't have gone bankrupt in such large numbers, forcing them to drag their families around, scrambling for commissions.
The project Locke had given him was enough to sustain his gallery for a month—even exceeding its usual monthly income by five or six hundred Magic Stones.
So of course, Eragabalus was more than willing.
Before Locke left, Eragabalus said to him, "Mr. Augustine, if you ever have another need in the future, feel free to come find me again."
"These kinds of things are truly thrilling, and thrill is the very source of our artistic inspiration."
Locke glanced at Eragabalus, gave a slight nod, and then left the room.
Later, Sophia's mentor—Madam Morgana's student, along with her juniors—would arrive to help seal off information and guard the place.
As for the more sensitive parts of his residence, he had either hidden them away or stored them in his Astral Ring to carry with him.
The Botanical Garden would also be temporarily sealed with a Protection School magic lock, closed to the public for the time being.
Moreover, these people were considered insiders within Madam Morgana's network, so security wasn't a concern.
If anything went wrong, he only needed to mention it to Sophia, and Madam Morgana would never let them off the hook.
After leaving his residence, Locke glanced back at it, raised an eyebrow, and muttered, "Eragabalus is such a hypocrite. He's clearly fixated on the money from my project, yet he keeps prattling on about art."
"Whatever. It's none of my business—just part of his personality, I suppose."
"Still, his Magic Painting skills are genuinely impressive. There might be opportunities for collaboration in the future."
Locke hurried away from the area, making one final stop at the Chimera Market—heading straight for the Owl Cauldron Potion Shop.
Inside the shop managed by Angulo and Essie, Locke booked a private room and spent 2,000 Magic Stones on a large batch of Potions.
Since he already had the Broad-Spectrum Uncurse Potion Bear Spirit Jade Gall Potion for detoxification, there was no need to purchase more of that type. Instead, he focused entirely on functional Potions.
Angulo furrowed her brows. "Locke, you seem to have bought far too many potions. If you consume this many in a short period, it'll create severe side effects for you."
"The toxicity of these potions is simply too strong."
"Look, just take the 100 Magic Stone per vial mental recovery potion—the Spirit Spring Soul Surge Potion. Not only is this potion highly toxic, but it also comes with side effects like overactive neurons in the brain for a short duration."
"So much so that you can't rest, with your thoughts racing uncontrollably."
"Even if the side effects seem mild, consuming more than three vials in a short time will turn them into something extremely serious..."
"You might experience abnormally heightened brain activity, leading to long-term chronic side effects, or even fatal heart crystallization in the worst cases."
Angulo frowned. "Yet you've bought ten vials of this alone. While the Spirit Spring Soul Surge Potion is the best apprentice-level Mana recovery potion, it's also the one with the highest fatality rate in its category."
"What kind of experiment are you planning that requires ten vials? As your friend, I advise you to get just two—that's more than enough."
"Ten vials..."
Inside the VIP room, Essie glanced at Locke's purchase list and gasped in shock. "Good heavens! Even a land dragon would drop dead if it ingested all the potions on your list!"
"It's not just the Spirit Spring Soul Surge Potion—you've also got five vials of Cycad Purple Mington Tincture and three Cortex Recharge Plugs."
"These two potions also have severe side effects. Long-term use will definitely lead to trouble."
The Cycad Purple Mington Tincture is a potion that, when injected intravenously during critical moments, eliminates all fatigue and boosts Mana recovery speed several times over.
Additionally, it enhances a wizard apprentice's Spell power by 10% for one hour post-injection.
Priced at 50 Magic Stones per vial, its affordability stems from three factors: first, its production is relatively simple.
Second, its ingredients are dirt cheap.
Third, demand for it is genuinely high—it's essentially a life-saving tool in combat.
It's even listed on Lilith's Cottage's external sales ban, considered a secret weapon favored by some of their wizard apprentices.
The side effects are significant too. A single dose of Cycad Purple Mington Tincture will only leave you utterly exhausted afterward, requiring your body to metabolize most of its toxicity (though some inevitably remains).
But consecutive doses in a short span? The tincture carries moderate Spell Poison—accumulated toxicity can be lethal.
Similarly, the Cortex Recharge Plug is typically used alongside the Cycad Purple Mington Tincture to quickly eliminate fatigue.
Its side effect? That fatigue eventually piles up and erupts all at once.
In summary, Locke had purchased a stack of potions that would doom ten versions of himself unless he possessed an exceptionally resilient constitution.
Both Angulo and Essie were stunned by the outrageous quantity.
Normally, people buy these potions one vial at a time.
No one goes as overboard as Locke.
Of course, they didn't know that Locke possessed the Deep Purple Gem and that his body carried the bloodline of a ruler among ancient creatures—the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat.
Locke had calculated it carefully. This dosage would indeed be too much for an ordinary wizard apprentice, but for his current physique, combined with the Deep Purple Gem, it was just right.
Purchasing these potions held great significance.
They could both save his life and enhance his combat power, increasing his ability to plunder magical resources from Black Wizards.
The greatest hidden benefit of strengthening his body with an ancient creature bloodline was the boost to his drug tolerance.
Thus, as long as he supplemented with potions, his overall strength could multiply several times over without any side effects.
So, having a strong constitution was truly essential.
Locke lightly tapped the table with his fingers and chuckled, "What are you two worried about? Don't you know me by now? How could I possibly buy potions just to overdose myself to death?"
"I just have an experiment coming up that requires such a large quantity of potions."
"Besides, look—I even bought ten vials of the Black and White Flame Potion. Those aren't for consumption."
The Black and White Flame Potion was relatively cheap. It contained two opposing magical flames, and when both vials—the parent and child potions—were thrown at an enemy simultaneously, they would trigger a chain explosion of magical flames midair, with power roughly equivalent to a 0.6-ring Spell.
This was an application of magical flames discovered by Potionology Masters in the field of Magical Flame research—essentially functioning as explosives.
They were very affordable, similar in purpose to the Crystal Palmfire Lotus.
Locke bought these potions simply to diversify his attack methods. Moreover, with his skills as a Potionology Assistant, he could easily get creative with such potions.
Hearing that Locke only needed them for experiments, Angulo and Essie both let out a small sigh of relief.
Angulo nodded and said, "Locke, as long as you're aware. Right now, both Essie and I are counting on you."
"Essie and I still want to ride your coattails to publish more papers."
Essie's face flushed slightly. "Actually, it's not just us. Even our mentor, Wizard Edwin, suggested we stick close to you—saying we could get plenty of papers out of it."
"He said it would greatly benefit our futures, even claiming that following you could increase our chances of becoming Formal Wizards."
Essie added sarcastically, "That guy probably just thinks we can mooch more resources off you."
Angulo coughed lightly. "Essie, even in private, don't badmouth a Formal Wizard. Every Formal Wizard is an elite among knowledge workers, with extraordinary status in the Southeast Corner Domain."
"Most importantly, if he hears you, he might cut off your research resources..."
Essie waved her hand dismissively. "No need to worry. As long as we stick with Locke, we'll have resources for publishing papers. Why rely on Wizard Edwin?"
"What research resources does he even have? He just scams his way around."
Angulo coughed awkwardly. "You mustn't say that outside. The wrath of a Formal Wizard—even just a mentor's anger toward a student—is something we can't afford to bear."
Locke interjected in a low voice, "Angulo, Essie, I don't want anyone to know about my large purchase of Potions. Can you keep the records sealed for me?"
Essie's eyes showed confusion.
Angulo, however, pondered for a moment before nodding seriously and discussing with Locke, "I understand. You're worried your experiment won't pass the Association's Ethical review mechanism, so you want to secretly produce some results first, right?"
"That's fine."
"I've helped several Potionology Assistants operate this way before."
Essie looked at Angulo in surprise. "But this goes against the rules. If Madam Irina finds out..."
Angulo spread her hands. "If you always follow the rules, you'll never accomplish anything. I call this making flexible use of the rules."
"Besides, what outrageous experiment could Locke possibly conduct? We both know his character well enough."
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