Chapter 76: Chapter 76
In front of the wooden hut where the registration office was located. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel⟡fire.net
On duty today was a halfling second-class wizard apprentice whom Locke had never seen before.
He held the badge representing a first-class wizard apprentice with both hands and respectfully handed it to Locke. "Hello, senior, this is your badge."
"According to the first-class wizard apprentice contract, you can receive 100 magic stones in academy funding each month, plus two bottles of Stardust Tears potion and one bottle of Weeping Blood Nightshade potion monthly. This funding has no time limit."
"Besides that, you can keep your residence on Diagon Alley, and you can also choose your standard first-class wizard apprentice three-piece housing set at any location you specify within Lilith's Cottage, which includes two residential units and one small laboratory."
"You can choose any location, and the academy will soon place Lilith's Cottage alchemical items at your specified location."
The halfling second-class wizard apprentice said respectfully, "Lord Locke, besides the monthly academy resource subsidies and housing provisions you'll receive, you also get one opportunity to enter a wizard secret realm, as well as the chance to choose one magical plant and one magical item."
"Since you became a first-class wizard apprentice within two years, the list of magical plants and magical items you can choose from is the highest grade."
They were prepared for wizard apprentices who advanced within two years, three years, and others respectively.
The magical items and magical plants on the two-year list were the highest grade, even including a few rare-level apprentice magical plants.
The three-year list was slightly better.
While the items on the final grade list seemed relatively ordinary.
Just last night, Witch Sophia had already signed the academy contract with Locke. This was actually just going through the motions.
Because very few first-class wizard apprentices would choose not to continue their contract at this point.
If they suddenly broke the contract, the academy would not only withdraw all subsequent cultivation but would even require the wizard apprentice to compensate for previous resources.
Of course, Locke had already paid off the 1,000 magic stone student loan debt he had owed before.
Anyway, he currently had no intention of leaving Lilith's Cottage.
Lilith's Cottage's benefits were very generous, and as obligations, he only needed to prioritize contracting with Lilith's Cottage after becoming a First Circle wizard, or make certain contributions to Lilith's Cottage before leaving.
During the first-class wizard apprentice period, his obligations mainly involved protecting Lilith's Cottage's interests and returning from anywhere in the world to protect the academy when it faced crises.
Also, he might normally need to undertake certain academy duty positions, working for the academy.
Because he was a breeder and had continuously developed two new magical plant varieties, the position the academy assigned him this time was very suitable.
Public Plantation Maintenance Specialist.
This meant he would go to the public plantation established by the academy and work with other first-class wizard apprentices within the academy on maintenance.
As a dominant force in potion studies, Lilith's Cottage had a massive public botanical garden responsible for providing large quantities of magical plants for potion masters within Lilith's Cottage to brew potions.
Therefore, it needed many professional wizard apprentices to perform regular maintenance on the public super-large plantation.
However, this work wasn't busy. He only needed to go for about half a month per year, and he could also gain knowledge in the super-giant botanical garden, which was actually beneficial.
Locke quickly found the magical plant with the highest cost-effectiveness and most suitable for him on the list. "Magical plant... I choose Corrupt Soil Taro."
Locke looked at the halfling second-class wizard apprentice. "I don't need high-grade magical items for now. Can I use the opportunity to choose one high-grade magical item to exchange for another Corrupt Soil Taro?"
Locke had just discovered on the list that there were no Gentleman Orchids, but there were Corrupt Soil Taros.
The Corrupt Soil Taro's level was set as Level 6 by the Horadric Synthesis Cube, but if he had three Corrupt Soil Taros, he could synthesize them into one Level 7.
Corrupt Soil Taros weren't common in the market and couldn't be bought casually even at Chimera Trading Market. Locke had already asked the clerks at Lijin Secret Language and pre-ordered Corrupt Soil Taros and Gentleman Orchids.
As soon as they had stock, these clerks would contact him proactively.
But several days had passed without any news, so he estimated he'd have to wait.
The halfling second-class wizard apprentice smiled apologetically, "Of course, Lord Locke."
"There have been such precedents before. So, which wizard secret realm would you like to choose?"
Locke looked at the wizard secret realms on the list. The reward list for ordinary first-class wizard apprentices only had three wizard secret realms to choose from.
His highest-grade reward list had two additional wizard secret realms. Obviously, these two wizard secret realms were the highest grade.
They were benefits for wizard prospects like him who advanced quickly.
"I remember Teacher Sophia said that wizard secret realms have many sources. Some wizard secret realms are resource points left by super-ancient wizards, some are masterpieces of nature's craftsmanship, and others are artificial locations created by modern wizards, or certain unsolved mysteries, ruins from other worlds." Locke scanned the three ordinary realms: Eternal Twilight Garden, Tesla Wasteland, and Extreme Cold Island.
All three ordinary secret realms had some descriptions on the list.
So-called secret realms were places for wizards to explore and obtain resources, both natural and artificial.
Eternal Twilight Garden was an artificial resource point created by a modern wizard of the White Wizard Association, specifically designed to provide excellent junior wizards with ways to obtain resources. It contained abundant potion studies resources.
Tesla Wasteland was a natural energy concentration point by the coast, where many rare magical creatures lived, suitable for summoning school wizards to obtain resources.
Extreme Cold Island was an overseas small island suitable for evocation school wizard apprentices to land and obtain magical resources.
These three secret realms were all places where one had to pay certain dangers and efforts to possibly gain something.
They were places where first-class wizard apprentices with no future prospects but unwilling to give up were most likely to gamble for a future.
Locke looked at the two special wizard secret realms on the list: the Forbidden Forest and Membrane Boundary Grand Canyon.
The Forbidden Forest was a forest that gathered powerful magical energy, with unknown formation causes and no owner, but hundreds of large and small wizard organizations around it would regularly organize wizard apprentices to enter and seize resources.
The Forbidden Forest was one of the most important wizard resource points in the central region of the southeastern quadrant. If not for special rewards, Locke wouldn't even see it on the reward list.
Inside the Forbidden Forest was a strange magical power that seemed to have the ability to distort physical laws and ignore events that had already occurred in reality. To this day, everyone's exploration of the Forbidden Forest was still limited to the outermost areas.
The Forbidden Forest secret realm area was only this part, not including the deeper Forbidden Forest.
Legend had it that in the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest lay dark powers beyond the imagination of wizards in the southeastern quadrant.
No one could come out alive from there.
Membrane Boundary Grand Canyon was a secret realm slightly smaller than the Forbidden Forest. That grand canyon had a huge, unhealable spatial rift that, according to investigations, might be a wound caused by battles between high-circle wizards. The world force of the main material plane couldn't even self-heal such wounds. Over time, a membrane formed there where spatial collisions occurred with other planes, suitable for conjuration school wizards to study.
After consideration, Locke chose the Forbidden Forest. Even without asking Witch Sophia, he knew she would definitely have him choose the Forbidden Forest.
Because the Forbidden Forest... was paradise for potion masters and breeders!