Chapter 116: Chapter 116

Next, Locke spent the entire morning busy at the Healing Hand Treatment Center, and after returning in the afternoon, he studied Minor Viridian Potion for three hours.

In the evening, Locke began using the advanced meditation method for his practice.

To take advantage of the first month's benefit period, Locke directly maximized all resources, consuming a bottle of Stardust Tears Potion while using Four Seasons Fruit Core Incense and Energy Potions for an entire night of meditation.

This way, his daily magic stone expenditure reached 400 magic stones, while his current savings were only 5,500 magic stones.

This was his original savings plus the income from last month's plantation output.

His current plantation could earn 3,700 magic stones per month.

According to this calculation, Locke could sustain approximately thirteen days of such full-resource consumption before running out of money.

This month's plantation output would only be settled at Lijin Secret Language at the end of the month.

The fees for treating wizard apprentices at the treatment center would also be settled uniformly at month's end.

If he continued , he would have to pause his full-resource use of the advanced meditation method, missing the one-month newcomer benefit period for using advanced meditation methods.

Alternatively, he could only go outside to sign loan contracts, but non-academy loan contracts generally had frighteningly high interest rates, while academy loan contracts had very cumbersome procedures.

In Locke's residence.

Locke instructed the three gray dwarves and two cat-girls to clean his house while taking a bite of the apple in his hand.

"This one-month newcomer benefit period cannot be missed. Many first-class wizard apprentices miss it due to lack of money, causing them to spend the next year or even several years making up for missing this one-month newcomer benefit period."

"Forget it, I'll meditate with full resources every day for now. If I run out of money, I'll figure it out then. I'm now a potion master assistant and breeding assistant, so I can definitely find ways to make money quickly."

Speaking of which, he wasn't really lacking resources anymore.

At least most first-class wizard apprentices without backgrounds would likely directly miss this one-month newcomer benefit period.

Or they would sign high-debt contracts, leading to a series of debt bankruptcies, getting trapped by others and losing even more miserably, only able to work for others in vain.

Locke recalled that during work this morning, Axi had told him an interesting story about a wizard apprentice at Lilith's Cottage who carelessly signed a high-interest loan contract. When repayment time came and he couldn't pay on time, he had to keep signing more high-interest loan contracts.

This resulted in robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Later, after credit bankruptcy and the complete collapse of the repayment chain, he was forced to sign a labor slavery contract requiring him to work for others for free for fifty years.

Locke felt that people who signed such contracts, though not slaves in name, were essentially no different from slaves.

Basically debt slaves.

In white wizard society, once someone became such a debt slave, it was basically social death. All social relationships would actively sever ties with them, no longer approaching them, falling from heaven to the depths.

Locke refocused and continued his meditation.

After one night, his mental power grew from 227 to 235. With all resources maximized and during the newcomer benefit period, he had gained a remarkable 8 points of mental power in one night.

The next day, Locke was energetic, a side effect of taking Energy Potions. He looked at himself in the mirror, wearing a fitted white wizard robe with a perfect physique and tall, slender form.

He adjusted his attire, then turned to open the door.

Today was the day he would recruit second-class wizard apprentices and experimental subjects publicly.

To get a pharmaceutical laborotary approved through proper procedures, he needed at least three third-class wizard apprentices, one second-class wizard apprentice, and one potion master assistant.

Only then could he begin the process.

To apply for a personal pharmaceutical laboratory as quickly as possible, he needed to gather personnel quickly. Thɪs chapter is updated by novᴇlfire.net

Locke had already brought in Witch Sophia's three students, his three junior disciples, but still lacked one second-class wizard apprentice.

Unfortunately, his friends Lorne and Pierre were still third-class wizard apprentices.

Their advancement speed was actually the advancement speed of most people at Lilith's Cottage.

His own speed was actually among the extreme minority, after all, he was second in his cohort.

The person who advanced faster than him was a Child of Elements, the only Child of Elements in his cohort.

Not every class of new students would have a Child of Elements.

Wizard seedlings with Child of Elements qualifications would be frantically competed for by all wizard organizations in the southeastern quadrant. Sometimes, even ten years might pass without a single Child of Elements enrolling.

Locke opened the door to see Pierre already standing outside.

Pierre seemed to have been waiting at the door for a long time.

Seeing Locke open the door, Pierre's eyes immediately brightened, then he looked at Locke somewhat guiltily and said, "Locke, I came after receiving your letter. Will you really pay me one hundred magic stones per month, even more than Senior Anglon gives me?"

Locke nodded, then frowned with displeasure. "You don't need to be restrained when coming here. Just knock on my door directly next time."

Pierre said emotionally, "Then Locke, is it safe being your experimental subject?"

"I still have parents at home. I don't want them to hear news of my death..."

Locke invited him to sit inside. "Don't worry, if it weren't safe, I wouldn't use it on you. I can honestly do animal experiments and commoner experiments first."

"The potions I give you, I'm already certain of their effects. It's just to produce a report. Your low magic resistance constitution is the most convincing."

"Here, here's the pen. I'm not forcing you. If you refuse, I can find someone else."

Locke placed the contract and pen in front of Pierre, who was sitting on the sofa.

Thinking of the one hundred magic stones and his relatively close relationship with Locke, Pierre immediately picked up the quill pen. "I'll sign it, I trust you, Locke."

"That's one hundred magic stones per month! I don't know how many magical resources I can buy with that."

Pierre quickly signed his name on the contract with a few strokes.

After he finished signing, Locke collected the contract and said, "Pierre, I'll have my servants serve you some delicious food. I still have a simple interview to conduct, so I won't entertain you for now."

Pierre said, "Oh, oh, oh... alright."

At this time, there were already scattered second-class wizard apprentices standing outside Locke's door.

They had all received the recruitment information that Locke had spread and came to participate in interviews to join Locke's newly created personal pharmaceutical laboratory.