Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 75, Second Magical Plant

Nighttime, No. 431, Upside-Down Lane.

Locke sat in his bedroom, burning incense made from a mixture of almond and dragon's blood powder, and crossed his legs, mimicking the energy fluctuations of an ancient tree heart to meditate on the shared origins of his roots.

A steady stream of elemental particles transformed into spiritual energy, flowing back into his soul. However, Locke frowned, unlike his previous steady and powerful progress.

This time, when I practiced meditation, I felt that my mental strength was increasing too slowly, almost as if it wasn't increasing at all.

'Once your mental strength exceeds 200, every additional point becomes extremely difficult.' Locke simply stopped meditating. 'Continuing to meditate like this is far too inefficient. Can I even increase my mental strength by 10 points a year?'

"Ordinary meditation methods are simply not enough to support a first-class wizard apprentice to become a formal wizard."

Locke picked up a piece of rose-red jade and began to absorb the etheric element inside it. This time, the etheric element mixed into his mental power, and the speed of mental growth was slightly faster than when meditating using ordinary meditation methods, but not by much.

Locke also abandoned the idea of ​​using the Rose Gem to maintain the rate of increase in mental power.

His current level of magical power is so high that the effective methods he used to enhance his spiritual power have become less effective.

At this stage, the possibility of learning spell models to passively improve one's mental strength and allowing it to grow spontaneously is extremely slim, practically impossible.

"At the first-tier wizard apprentice stage, ordinary meditation and the Rose Gem have negligible effect," Locke said, puzzled. "Then how exactly do those first-tier wizard apprentices in the academy progress?"

"Never mind, Teacher Sophia will guide me on Wednesday a week from now." Locke simply gave up on improving his magic power and instead left his bedroom, went into his study, and began designing his first bloodline separation potion specifically for the Shadow Leech.

Drafts gradually took shape in his hands.

The next morning, after sleeping half the night, Locke tidied his clothes, gave instructions to the gray dwarf servants, and then headed toward the Chimera Market with a bag of iron wire goosegrass seeds.

In any case, once you reach the level of a first-class wizard apprentice, the magical resources you need will definitely be much, many times more than before.

Magic stones are definitely something you'd better have as many as possible.

Therefore, the business of selling synthetic plants needs to continue, and may even be expanded to some extent.

And Lijin Secret Language was the first step in establishing his reputation as a breeding genius.

Chimera Market, within the secrets of Lijin.

When Locke entered the shop, which resembled a small garden and was filled with elegant rattan boxes, he was surprised to find that, in addition to the three customers and Yuri Burns, Mrs. Irina was also in the shop.

Mrs. Irina stood in the middle of the store, surveying the surroundings. "Manager Yuri, you've really impressed me lately. You've been doing a great job."

"Good. Remember to cultivate relationships with those talented breeders; they are both our valuable clients and our valuable partners."

Mrs. Irina said meaningfully, "Especially, Manager Yuri, neither you nor I are botanical wizards. If laymen like us want to do business, we will inevitably need the help of those excellent breeder clients."

"Therefore, we can offer them the greatest possible benefits."

"Geniuses always deserve more."

Yuri Burns managed a smile on her aged face. She stood respectfully before Mrs. Irina, bowing her head and saying, "Mrs. Irina, it is my honor to work for you, and I will cherish all your advice."

"I will find a way to maintain the reputation of Lijin Secret for you, ensuring it always remains at the forefront of the Chimera Market..."

“Your Excellency, Mrs. Irina, I have listed several of our potential competitors recently and developed strategies to counter them.”

Mrs. Irina was very pleased. "Manager Yuri, now I believe that hiring you was the right choice."

Yuri knows how to please a first-ring wizard boss.

Was the Lijin Secret Important to Lady Irina?
Important and unimportant.

Lady Irina owns dozens of shops in the Chimera Market, some of which are even larger than Lijin's Secret.

But the reason Lady Irina valued such a small shop as Lijin's Secret so much was because Lijin's Secret had once been the best magical plant shop in the Chimera Market. For a formal wizard, the reputation of being number one was far more important to Lady Irina, who loved basking in the admiration of others, than the magical stones Lijin's Secret earned.

In particular, this is the number one magical plant shop in Lilith's Cottage.

In some ways, it could even bring Mrs. Irina some minor, hidden benefits.

Mrs. Irina turned around and saw Locke walking into the shop.

As the behind-the-scenes boss of Lijin Secrets and a first-ring level shapeshifter, Madam Irina's gaze fell on the Breeder Assistant Badge and Platinum Star Member Badge worn on Locke's chest.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

Lady Irina came over and said, "Augustin, when you last came to my shop, you were just a second-class wizard apprentice, but now you are a first-class wizard apprentice."

"Truly a young man of great talent."

"I heard from my shop manager that you recently entrusted her with selling a new variety of magic vines. Keep it up. Lijin's Secret Language was opened precisely for people like you."

Mrs. Irina patted Locke on the shoulder.

Locke bowed to Lady Irina and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Lady Irina."

“This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. I have also earned a lot of magic stones through your shop. The previous Super Mandragora Vine was completed under the guidance of my mentor, the witch Sophia, but today I want to commission a second magic plant.”

"I completed this independently."

Locke turned to look at Yuri Burns and handed her the magical plant testing and certification report that he had asked the witch Sophia to prepare for him yesterday.

“This is Elephantweed, which can be used in conjunction with the spell [Wild Grass Entanglement]. A similar spell [Green Bush Entanglement] can also be used together,” Locke said. “My teacher, the witch Sophia, has already issued effect certifications for two spells.”

Yuri Burns was dumbfounded. She never imagined that a wizarding apprentice she had brought from overseas two years ago would have such a close relationship with her.

Moreover, this wizard apprentice was only a third-class wizard apprentice two years ago, but now he is a first-class wizard apprentice who is on par with her, and his future looks much brighter than hers.

Yuri Burns gave Locke a complicated look, but with Mrs. Irina by her side, she had to get to work first.

She glanced quickly at the certificate issued by the witch Sophia, then said to Lady Irina and Locke, "According to the record in this certificate, using Iron Wire Goosegrass will increase the effect of Wild Grass Entanglement by 1.5 times, and can increase the effect of Green Bush Entanglement, which is more difficult and has a higher casting cost, by more than 100%."

"Not only that, if that's the case, all other similar magic tricks can use Mr. Augustine's work, the iron wire goosegrass, to enhance their power."

Yuri's eyes burned with passion.

Lady Irina's gaze towards Locke was filled with even more smiles, the kind of look one gives to a promising younger colleague. "In that case, you two can have your talk. I won't disturb your work any longer."

“Locke, you can call me Mrs. Irina from now on, you don’t need to call me so formally, ‘Sir’.”

Locke nodded slightly to Lady Irina and said, "Yes, madam."

Mrs. Irina smiled, turned around, and gracefully walked out of the shop.

Locke looked at Yuri, "Senior Yuri, I just heard your boss say that we should give the best possible benefits to our outstanding partners."

"I wonder, how much are you prepared to offer for the seeds of the ironwood grass?"

Yuri Burns looked at Locke with a complex expression, a mixture of envy, even a hint of barely suppressed jealousy, and enthusiasm for her partner. "Augustine, please don't call me 'senior' anymore. You can call me Yuri, or Burns, it's fine."

"As for the price, we need to sit down and have a proper discussion."

"Your talent in the field of breeding is truly amazing; you've produced another excellent product so quickly."

(End of this chapter)