Chapter 96: Chapter 96

Wizard Derek Jones called for the next examinee, a first-class wizard apprentice from another small wizard organization.

This first-class wizard apprentice was quite old, appearing to be a middle-aged man with graying temples. Locke guessed his actual age was at least over a hundred years old.

First-class wizard apprentices had lifespans of two hundred years, so to reach the point of graying temples, it would be impossible without being over a hundred years old.

First-class wizard apprentices from such small wizard organizations had incomplete inheritances with many weak points in various disciplines, and their advancement prospects were basically nonexistent.

They came to take the potion master assistant certificate not for anything else but to better find work and improve their quality of life for the next few decades.

But this old first-class wizard apprentice was undoubtedly quite steady. Five hundred magic stones might be a huge sum for him, requiring years of accumulation.

Without certainty of success, he wouldn't have come for the assessment.

Moreover, due to age and various other factors, his mentality was relatively good and he wasn't easily subject to major fluctuations.

This old first-class wizard apprentice extended his finger, and a wisp of magical flame appeared at his fingertip, it was a wood element magical flame.

After completing the full test, Wizard Derek Jones nodded approvingly. "Although your theoretical foundation isn't solid, you did very well on the magical flame portion. Some conversions took over 3 seconds, but overall, your average conversion time is still within 3 seconds."

"Considering the academy you come from, this could even be called very good. It seems you've put great effort into this aspect."

Gogol bowed respectfully to the three formal wizards, "Thank you for the guidance of the three lords."

"Being able to receive your instruction is my honor."

Wizard Derek Jones said indifferently, "Next."

Locke walked to the center of the room, facing the three formal wizards. He exhaled slightly, then produced the first wisp of wood element magical flame, followed by the four magical flames of earth, water, fire, and wind elements, flowing continuously at his fingertip.

The five magical flames flowed like liquid, transitioning very smoothly and even containing a certain aesthetic beauty.

This surprised the other two first-class wizard apprentices taking the assessment.

They never would have imagined that magical flame switching could be so effortless and smooth.

Gogol saw that the magical flames at Locke's fingertip connected seamlessly, blending like water with perfect smoothness, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He glanced at Bert beside him and murmured quietly, "So this is what a first-class wizard apprentice trained by a major wizard organization is like. This is their true level."

"The gap between them and us is really huge."

Bert's face reddened slightly after hearing this.

Wizard Derek Jones's eyes flashed as he nodded, "Excellent. The switching time between magical flames averages only 1.5 seconds, sometimes even achieving around 1 second."

"Truly remarkable talent."

"Your mana stability and accuracy are exceptionally high. You seem to be Witch Sophia's student. Hmm, according to the records, Witch Sophia determined you have special talent in this area."

"So I've long wanted to suggest to the White Wizard Association that when examining the aptitude of wizard prospects, they should add tests for mana accuracy and mana stability. This could reduce cases where many talents are overlooked early on."

Wizard Derek Jones gave Locke a brief pointer, "If you could slightly improve your mana perception, your average switching speed should be able to rise another level."

Locke was somewhat puzzled—perception?

Unfortunately, Wizard Derek Jones wasn't his wizard mentor, just an examiner, so it wasn't convenient for him to ask questions.

A formal wizard beside Wizard Derek Jones chuckled quietly, "Derek, your requirements for this student are too high. Perception is a field that only First Circle potion masters need to focus on."

Derek Jones replied, "Well, it's just that I rarely see such promising material, so I raised my requirements for him a bit."

"Alright, let's proceed to the third round of testing. Bert, you'll also enter the final round."

Bert said, "Yes, Lord Jones."

Although Bert had already been eliminated in the second round, Locke knew that the scores from each round of these potion master assistant exams would be recorded and considered comprehensively in future assessments.

This was to help examiners get a more complete view of these candidates' comprehensive level in magical pharmacology.

So even though Bert was already destined to be eliminated, he still had to give his all in the third round.

If his third round performance was too poor, then when he took the potion master assistant exam again in the future, he would receive focused attention from the formal wizards responsible for assessment.

Conversely, if his third round performance was good, then when he took the certification exam again, the formal wizards responsible for the next assessment would comprehensively consider his performance this time and slightly relax the requirements for him.

So it wasn't unheard of for first-class wizard apprentices to grind their way through by taking the exam year after year. Content orıginally comes from novｅlfire.net

After all, the difficulty of the potion master assistant certification exam was far beyond what the breeder assistant certification exam could compare to.

There were plenty of people who couldn't pass consistently.

The third round was a practical exam for actually brewing potions.

Locke naturally chose Focus Ointment, while Gogol, the visiting old first-class wizard apprentice, chose the relatively simple [Hemostatic Moss Balm], and Bert chose to brew [Night Vision Potion].

Regarding Bert's choice of [Night Vision Potion], Wizard Derek Jones looked very displeased. "Night Vision Potion? I can't believe you'd choose that."

"As a first-class wizard apprentice of Lilith's Cottage, you actually chose the simplest difficulty item just like the visiting first-class wizard apprentice. Why didn't you choose to brew Growth Gel!"

"Bert, I'm very dissatisfied with you."

Bert was scolded by Wizard Derek Jones to the point where he didn't dare lift his head, his body even trembling slightly.

Locke glanced at him. Night Vision Potion and Hemostatic Moss Balm were both the simplest potions, almost to the point of potentially falling out of potion master assistant level.

His own choice of Focus Ointment was a standard medium-difficulty potion master assistant level potion.

But obviously, for those first-class wizard apprentices who wanted to pass the assessment quickly, choosing to brew the simplest potion master assistant level potions during the exam was the optimal choice.

After all, the exam situation was so complex that no one could guarantee what might happen. The reason he chose Focus Ointment had no other reason than Witch Sophia requiring it.

It seemed that in these formal wizards' eyes, choosing standard medium difficulty to pass the assessment was the proper way.

Of course, something as simple as Growth Gel couldn't possibly be included in the assessment targets, so Wizard Derek Jones was just using it to mock Bert.

Locke refocused and took out a standard potion brewing set from his Astral Ring: a cauldron, a stand, droppers, capillary tubes, and a set of glass measuring cups of various sizes.

He also had the materials for Focus Ointment. The main materials were: silver leaf mint, birch sap, blue butterfly cocoon powder, and cat's eye stone powder. The auxiliary materials were honey and cowhide gel.