Sophia the Witch

After Yuli Burns led away the Wizard Seedlings with fifth- and sixth-level aptitudes, Locke and Lorne discovered among the remaining Wizard Seedlings that they had been assigned to different mentors.

Lorne's letter read: Shaping School, Light Magic Specialization; First-Ring Wizard; mentor of the Light Energy Society in the Southeastern Corner Region; medical wizard mentor at Lilith's Cottage; inventor of the Death Ray Curse, Mr. Hanmoke Wusi.

The letter in Locke's hand read: Life School, Plant Magic Specialization; First-Ring Wizard, Sophia Seraphina.

Lorne asked curiously, "Why does the mentor assigned to me have a whole string of titles, while the mentor assigned to you only has the simple title of First-Ring Wizard?"

Locke said indifferently, "Who knows?"

"Anyway, Formal Wizard is the most valuable title. Lorne, I'm heading to the location specified in the letter first."

Lorne bid Locke farewell as well. "All right. But from the looks of it, after we enroll, we'll probably have to find somewhere to live ourselves in the city of Lilith's Cottage."

"How about we live together? That way, we can look out for each other."

"It seems you and your two friends weren't assigned to the same wizard academy either. It's the same on my side."

"I can't trust anyone else."

Naturally, Locke had no objection. "All right. Once I'm back from Mentor Sophia's place, we'll meet here again."

Patti remained at Verdantia University, while Kode was rejected by Verdantia University and ultimately joined a small wizard organization called the Crow Roost Company.

The wizard organization known as the Crow Roost Company seemed to have only one First-Ring Wizard. It had been established only recently and lacked apprentices.

So Locke agreed immediately.

Living with Lorne would benefit him as well, offering both of them some measure of security.

Moreover, Lorne was a decent person and not someone overly curious about others' affairs. Locke would not need to worry about exposing any of his secrets.

Carrying his luggage and holding his letter of recommendation, Locke crossed the port city of Lilith's Cottage and headed toward the wooden houses on the southwestern outskirts of the city.

Along the way, his obvious identity as a Wizard Apprentice meant that no one dared stop him. Pedestrians on the streets silently moved aside when they saw him.

The status of a Wizard Apprentice seemed exceptionally high here.

Locke soon reached the edge of the port city. In the fields ahead stood several simple wooden houses.

A ring of pebbles surrounded each of the wooden houses.

When Locke crossed the pebble ring with his letter of recommendation, the seal in the letter's upper-right corner suddenly glowed red and became scorching hot. Then Locke passed through the barrier and entered the wooden houses.

Lilith's Cottage was an open wizard organization, so its buildings were scattered across different nearby cities.

However, without a special token, outsiders could not enter these wooden houses. They could not even approach or see them.

Only after entering the pebble barrier did Locke realize that these small wooden houses were actually quite tall, with spacious interiors. Numerous experimental instruments and quite a few books were placed inside them.

Locke looked toward the occupied wooden house in the middle.

Inside its open office doorway, a young witch wearing a monocle and a gray Wizard Hat, with a vine coiled around it, was rapidly using a quill to record an exceptionally complex Spell Model at her desk.

The witch wrote very quickly, finishing a highly complex Spell Model diagram in about three minutes before tossing it aside in clear dissatisfaction.

Her desk was already piled with Spell Model drawings as high as half a person.

"Hm? An unfamiliar little Wizard Apprentice. What brings you to my office? I'm very busy right now." Mentor Sophia did not look up. She continued drawing the Spell Model as she spoke, her voice remarkably young, like that of someone barely over twenty, even with a somewhat childish tone.

Locke was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Mentor Sophia to be so approachable.

He took out his letter of recommendation. "Teacher Seraphina, I'm Locke Augustine, a new student of Lilith's Cottage this year."

"The Academy assigned me as your student. I've come to report in."

Upon hearing this, Sophia Seraphina's quill paused. Only then did she look up, revealing an extremely youthful face. Her expression was somewhat stunned as she said in surprise, "The Academy actually assigned a student to me."

"But I haven't even signed a contract with the Academy."

Sophia coughed and tried hard to put on the dignity expected of a wizard mentor and First-Ring Wizard, as though she had only just remembered her status. She even used magic to change the color of a flower on the vine around her Wizard Hat from pink to a more imposing white.

With a gesture from Sophia, the letter of recommendation in Locke's hand flew into hers. After a brief examination, she said, "This is indeed the seal of Lilith's Cottage."

"It seems they assigned you to me."

Sophia muttered, "Looks like the Academy wants to keep me here as much as possible. But..."

Sophia looked at Locke and explained, "All right, Locke Augustine, is it? I've read your file. Third-level aptitude is neither particularly high nor particularly low. But aptitude isn't everything. As long as you study diligently, nothing in the future is set in stone."

"Because I only became a Formal Wizard a month ago, I don't have any First-Class Wizard Apprentices whom I personally teach—that is, no senior brothers or sisters for you."

Sophia seemed slightly guilty. "Therefore, I'll personally teach all your specialized classes from now on. Is that all right?"

"When I was a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, I also taught quite a few classes on behalf of First-Ring Wizards, so I'm not a complete novice in this regard."

Locke blinked. At last, he understood why Lorne's mentor had a whole list of titles on his letter of recommendation, while his own mentor had only the simple title of First-Ring Wizard.

It turned out that his mentor had only become a Formal Wizard a month ago.

In other words, Sophia the Witch was essentially a First-Class Wizard Apprentice who had only just become a Formal Wizard.

Naturally, she would not have much of an air about her, nor would she have any First-Class Wizard Apprentices under her who could teach classes. So she could only teach them herself.

But this was good news for him.

After all, normally, only after becoming a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice would one possibly have the chance to meet a Formal Wizard, and even then, seeing them a few times a year would already be considered good.

But because of this special circumstance, his specialized classes would essentially be taught by a Formal Wizard every time.