Mutated Seed of Life

In the blink of an eye, it broke past 30 and continued climbing, finally stopping at 41.

Chen Chuan's expression remained unchanged as he handed the crystal ball back to Aketi.

Aketi took the crystal ball and looked at the number displayed, his eyebrows rising slightly.

"41 points of spiritual power. Not bad at all."

He nodded. "But the standard for a Second-Class Apprentice is 40 points, so you've only just qualified."

Chen Chuan said nothing, simply watching Aketi in silence.

"Next is the resonance test for your meditation method and Seed of Life."

Aketi took a palm-sized green crystal from beneath the counter. Its surface was covered in fine, intricate lines, and it gave off an aura of nature.

"Hold the crystal and activate your Seed of Life while you practice your meditation method," Aketi said.

Chen Chuan did as instructed, lightly touching the crystal's surface with his left hand. A sensation of icy cold reached him.

He closed his eyes and guided his magic along the circulation route of the Tree of Life Meditation Method.

As he sank deeper into meditation, a faint resonance came from the Black Wizard Seed badge on his chest.

The lines on the green crystal's surface began to glow, forming a wondrous resonance with Chen Chuan's Seed of Life. The energy fluctuations inside the crystal gradually grew stronger, and Aketi's frown deepened.

He had never seen such intense resonance before. It was even more pronounced than that of some descendants of noble wizards.

"Strange. This level of resonance... exceeds that of an ordinary Seed of Life," Aketi muttered, but he quickly regained his composure. "Keep channeling magic into it."

Chen Chuan did as instructed, channeling more magic into the crystal.

As the magic flowed, a mushroom pattern appeared inside the crystal. Its cap trembled gently, giving off powerful ripples of life.

Aketi's pupils contracted slightly, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

"These life fluctuations have indeed reached the Nurturing Stage. They're incredibly vast. What an excellent Seed of Life," he said admiringly, before puzzlement returned to his face. "But why is the pattern a mushroom?"

He seemed to recall something, and his expression suddenly changed. Even his voice trembled slightly. "Is this... a Mutated Seed of Life?"

Chen Chuan sensed that something was unusual about Aketi's tone and frowned slightly, though he remained outwardly calm. "Senior, what is a Mutated Seed of Life?"

Aketi did not answer immediately. Instead, he stared fixedly at Chen Chuan, his gaze complicated.

Chen Chuan caught a trace of intense greed and jealousy in it. Although Aketi did his utmost to conceal it, Chen Chuan still keenly detected it.

Aketi took a deep breath, seemingly struggling to control his emotions. "A Mutated Seed of Life is an extremely rare variant. They generally don't appear in the academy."

Chen Chuan was startled, but his expression betrayed nothing. "I see. Teacher Alex never told me either. He only had me awaken this seed. I didn't expect it to be so precious."

When Aketi heard "Alex," his expression changed slightly, and his tone grew deferential. "So Lord Alex is your teacher. Junior Chen Chuan, you're truly fortunate."

Chen Chuan noticed the change in his tone and knew that bringing up Alex had been the right choice. "I was just lucky. Under Teacher Alex's guidance, I passed the junior pharmacist assessment, and I'm now an official researcher on his project team. If he hadn't given me a large number of Concentration Potions, I couldn't have advanced to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice so quickly."

As he spoke, Chen Chuan took his junior pharmacist badge from his storage ring and showed it to Aketi.

At the sight of the badge and Chen Chuan's words, cold sweat immediately began pouring down Aketi's face.

The more he heard, the more it seemed that Alex was grooming Chen Chuan as his personal disciple.

Although Alex was only a First-Rank Elemental Wizard, as a Second-Rank Pharmacist, his connections were far more extensive than they appeared.

Even the academy director was only third rank, yet he still had to treat Alex as an equal. Not to mention a mere First-Class Wizard Apprentice like Aketi.

Thinking again of Chen Chuan's youthful face, Aketi felt even more regret over his greed and jealousy just now.

He knew that certain forbidden techniques could strip others of their Seeds of Life for one's own use, but the cost was enormous, and the death rate was extremely high.

For the sake of such an unrealistic fantasy, he had nearly offended the disciple of a powerful figure. It was simply foolish. He really wanted to slap himself.

Aketi forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and managed to force a smile. "Junior Chen Chuan, congratulations on passing the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice assessment. Your Seed of Life is indeed... extraordinary. You'd best not let anyone else know." He hesitated for a moment. "According to the rules, you need to pay 30 contribution points or the equivalent in low-grade magic stones to receive your new badge and blue robe. I feel we get along well, so I'll cover the contribution points."

When he finished speaking, Aketi took an exquisite blue badge and a brand-new blue robe from a drawer and handed them to Chen Chuan with both hands.

"This is your Second-Class Wizard Apprentice badge and uniform. Put them on, and you'll be an official Second-Class Apprentice."

Chen Chuan took the badge, feeling the intricate lines on it with his fingertips. A faint fluctuation of magic came from it. He changed into the blue robe and pinned the badge to his chest. The fabric gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

After seeing Chen Chuan change into the blue Second-Class Wizard robe, Aketi began explaining the effects of the two items. "The badge has the same effect as before, providing a slight boost to magic recovery. The robe does too, but the Purification Spell can now be used three times a day instead of once."

Chen Chuan said nothing more. He nodded and prepared to leave.

Seeing that Chen Chuan was about to leave, Atike immediately called him back.

"One more thing. As Second-Class Wizards generally have some combat ability, the academy regularly issues missions so that you can obtain resources and gain more practical combat experience at the same time. Among them is one mandatory mission every year, which you must complete. This is also to keep some people from working in isolation."

"There are many types of missions, ranging from gathering herbs to clearing out low-rank Magic Creatures."

"You can accept them at the mercenary mission guild hall near the academy's east gate. And a word of warning: every year's mandatory missions have a certain death quota, so the risks are considerable. As a junior pharmacist, you can avoid those risks by accepting mandatory potion-making missions."

Chen Chuan nodded thoughtfully, then gave Atike a slight nod to thank him for the warning.

Chen Chuan turned and walked out of the academic affairs center, his blue robe swaying gently in the wind and drawing sidelong glances from a few passing apprentices.

He walked along the academy's main road toward the east gate, quietly considering the mandatory missions Aketi had mentioned.

As a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, he did need more practical combat experience to test his newly acquired magic mushroom summoning ability.

But that was not his main goal right now. He planned to first complete his own combat magic, taking into account the characteristics of his three-in-one summoned magic mushroom squad.

Secondly, a chill flashed in Chen Chuan's eyes. No matter how much Aketi had tried to make it up to him just now, the greed and jealousy he had shown at first could not have been faked.

He planned to go back and ask Lord Alex what he should do.