Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 178 Quota for Outstanding Apprentices
In the public library, the dwarf scholar Orl looked at Locke with some surprise. "Are you going to publish six articles this time?"

Locke nodded in confirmation, indicating that four of the pieces were about the Eye of Perseus lichen.

There are two more articles. One is a preliminary test report on the effects of the Bear Spirit Jade Gall potion made from Emerald Iris Lichen, and the other is a detailed analysis of the specific principles behind the Bear Spirit Jade Gall potion's ability to dispel curse magic.

The subsequent data collection for Xiongling Cuidan medicine should yield several more high-value articles.

After quickly reviewing the six articles and confirming that there were no problems, the dwarf scholar Orr showed Locke more respect and said, "Augustin, the article you published last time about the experimental data of the memory ointment has now been rated as a B grade, which is higher than I expected. It is 72 points."

"But the quality of the articles you've published in the past few days is very good. I estimate they are all at least B-level articles, and some even have the potential to be A-level."

When the dwarf scholar Orr said this, he himself seemed somewhat dazed. Locke had only recently been promoted to a first-class wizard apprentice and had published his first article just a few months ago.

As a result, he has now published six articles in a row, each of which is at least B-level.

It was only at this moment that the dwarf scholar Or suddenly realized that Locke's first published article was a B-level paper.

As a first-class wizard apprentice, this is already a good result. Many first-class wizard apprentices post articles at D and C level every day. They dream of producing more C-level articles.

But Locke never seemed to think highly of articles below grade B.

The dwarf scholar Or sighed inwardly. 'I thought this person was just an ordinary first-class wizard apprentice; after all, he hadn't had any mentors before, so why was he being assigned to publish articles as a practice subject, starting as a third-class wizard apprentice?'

'Who knew it would turn out differently than I expected? Another big shot who's incredibly good at publishing articles.'

The dwarf scholar Or was quite pleased. 'Good, it just so happens I can read a few more high-value articles recently.'

The dwarf scholar Or nodded to Locke and smiled, "I really envy you, Augustine the breeder. You have so much research material at your disposal: vampires, first-class wizard apprentices, and special magical plants."

"This material is enough to write a dozen or so B-grade articles."

"It seems you are very likely to earn the title of [Outstanding Apprentice]."

Locke looked at Orl with a puzzled expression. "An excellent apprentice?"

The dwarf scholar Or paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Someone as outstanding as you really doesn't need to know so much about the academy's policies. As long as you develop normally and publish articles regularly, you will receive all kinds of rewards from the academy."

"Unlike some first-class wizard apprentices who spend their days studying the various awards and titles of the academy."

Orl explained, "An outstanding apprentice is someone who, within a year of becoming a first-class wizard apprentice, publishes five B-grade articles and one A-grade article. This will earn them the title of outstanding apprentice for that year and a corresponding additional reward from the academy."

"Therefore, under normal circumstances, wizard mentors will have their promising wizard apprentices start accumulating experience in publishing articles from the third-class wizard apprentice level, so that when they become first-class wizard apprentices, they can get the spot for outstanding apprentices that year."

Locke nodded. So, at the beginning, Teacher Sophia didn't think she was qualified to take this spot at all?

wrong……

At the time, Sophia thought it would be great if she could become a second-class wizard apprentice within four years, but who knew that things would develop differently later.

It was too late for her to develop this skill later.

However, judging from my current efficiency in publishing articles, I am very likely to be able to secure this outstanding apprenticeship spot this year.

Of the six articles alone, almost none are below grade B, and some even have the potential to reach grade A.

Of course, I'm not very familiar with the unspoken rules of publishing articles, so I may not be able to make it to the top.

But I still have a lot of material, and if I want to publish an A-level article, I'm sure I can do it this year.

Locke nodded and said, "I understand. Then I'll trouble Dr. Orr to send the article to the general scholars in charge of the selection."

The dwarf scholar Or smiled at Locke and said, "Of course, it's my duty."

"Locke, please publish more articles about vampires. It's one of my hobbies."

"It's a pity that there's so little research on vampires in the academy." Orl looked at Locke with a hint of envy. "I wish I had a vampire." After hearing this, Locke said goodbye and quickly left the library, afraid that Orl would ask to borrow a vampire test subject.

I definitely can't agree to this, but refusing would be a real hassle.

After leaving the public library, Locke immediately went to the Chimera Market and came to the Historian's House shop again.

When Tyne, the alchemist's assistant at the Kentry Forge workshop next door, saw Locke arrive, his eyes lit up immediately. He wanted to promote his work to Locke, whom he saw as a big customer with super purchasing power.

Tyne said, "Locke, a new alchemical product has been made this month, which can be described as a low-end luxury item among first-class wizard apprentices - the Magic Ring."

"Are you interested in learning about The Lord of the Rings? It's a huge category of alchemical items. I recently crafted my first one. If you're interested, I can give you a 20% discount..."

Locke waved to him, indicating that he was not there to buy alchemical items, but to enter the Historian's House, and then stepped into the Historian's House.

Immediately, Tyne's eyes dimmed. He was extremely frustrated and muttered to himself, "That Locke guy is so stingy. We're both breeding geniuses, so how come Mary always buys a bunch of luxury enchanted items from my shop every time she passes by?"

Locke entered the Historian's House shop and discovered that there were customers inside.

The guest, dressed in a grey wizard's robe and with his face covered by strips of cloth, handed a broken piece of antique porcelain to old man McCarthy.

The first-class wizard apprentice, who had concealed his identity and appearance, spoke in a hoarse voice, clearly distorted by magic: "Old McCarthy, tell me, what is this?"

McCarthy got up from the ground, reluctantly shifting his gaze from the antique bronze artifact in his hand to the porcelain shards. "Two hundred and fifty magic stones. This is no ordinary problem for a first-class wizard apprentice."

The grey-robed first-class wizard apprentice immediately took out two hundred and fifty magic stones from his astral ring and handed them to old man McCarthy. "Very well."

"But the origin of this porcelain shard is very important to me; it's related to one of my experiments. I'm an arcane mage, you know. This is directly related to whether I can advance to become a full-fledged wizard."

Locke's eyes immediately showed a subtle change. Mystic mages... those are a very dangerous group of guys.

Based on the knowledge I gained from the course on all things, occultists are a group of wizards who pursue forbidden knowledge and hidden powers, and who inherit mysterious traditions.

Ordinary wizards have little contact with them, and this group also lives on the fringes of white wizarding society.

They are very mysterious, and the magic they use seems to be very special. They claim to be the only forbidden school of thought.

Of course, they weren't dark wizards either.

Even the Book of All Things doesn't have many records about it. In short, everything about the Mystic Master seems to be very mysterious.

After obtaining the magic stone, old man McCarthy immediately activated a soundproof barrier of the Enchanting School nearby to ensure the absolute confidentiality of his conversation with his customer.

Locke could only see that old man McCarthy cast a special spell on the porcelain shard, which seemed to activate the negative energy particles attached to the shard and awaken the special information hidden within it.

Ten minutes later, the gray-robed wizard was clearly in a good mood. He turned to leave the shop, but before leaving, he paused and turned back to old man McCarthy, saying, "McCarthy, your skills are really good. If you were in the dark wizarding world, your status would definitely be higher than being a small shopkeeper here."

In the dark wizarding world, archaeologists hold a very high status because many dark wizarding organizations rely on archaeologists to excavate ancient technologies and provide power for ancient magic.

McCarthy removed the soundproof barrier, and upon hearing the black wizard's statement, his face darkened. He angrily said, "This sorcerer, you'd better not spout nonsense. I have absolutely no connection with the black wizard."

"You can leave now. You're not welcome here. Don't come back again."

The sorcerer glanced at Locke, who was standing at the door, shrugged, and left the shop.

After he left, McCarthy gave Locke a welcoming look. "Old friend, it's been a long time since you've been to my shop."

"I've been missing you lately. I was just thinking about you this morning when you showed up. Haha... what a coincidence!"

"Hmm? The ancient bloodline aura on your body is even stronger now, and it has also undergone a slight mutation."

Locke looked at him. "You discovered it? Do you know what kind of ancient creature's bloodline this is?"

(End of this chapter)