Dryad

Sophia rose and walked to the door, then suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned back and tossed Locke a ring of keys.

"This is the key to my Magical Creature Cultivation Room. I had originally planned to post a long-term task and hire a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice to help feed the potion ingredients in there."

"Now that you're here, you'll be responsible for it from now on."

"There's an instruction manual in the cultivation room. Just follow its feeding methods. You'll learn a useful trade as well."

"Feeding Magic Creatures is relatively simple. Once you get proficient, the magical plants in my Magical Plant Cultivation Room will also be your responsibility."

Sophia instructed him, "For now, you only need to pay close attention to that Dryad in the cultivation room. No matter what it says to you, don't listen."

"If you let her out, you'll die."

"I'm not joking."

Locke nodded solemnly. "All right, Teacher."

"Oh, right, Teacher, I'd like to buy some Mandrake Vine seeds..."

Sophia waved her hand. "I need to get back to work."

"You want Mandrake Vines, right? That obsolete stuff is already hard to sell. If you want them, I'll just give them to you. I still have a hundred on hand."

"They were left over from an experiment."

"I have nothing to say about the magical plant you chose. You'll finish learning the Vine Hand series of spells sooner or later anyway. So I don't think there's any need for you to change your chosen magical plant."

"They're only foundational spells before higher-level magic. It doesn't make much difference what Magic Vine you use. Of course, that's just my personal opinion."

Locke listened and nodded. Clearly, Sophia's judgment on this matter was completely different from that of the First-Class Wizard Apprentices aboard the Wizard Ship.

Of course, that was based on the difference in their levels and perspectives.

In Sophia's eyes, the Vine Hand series of spells was merely for learning, its main purpose being to improve Mental Power and raise one's wizard rank.

Pursuing better Magic Vines was a waste of time.

But to those Wizard Apprentices, pursuing better Magic Vines could improve a spell's effects. The difference was enormous.

Locke did not particularly care. He did not need to replace them either; he could simply use the hundred Mandrake Vines Sophia had given him for synthesis.

With a hundred of them, he should be able to synthesize one to level five.

He did not know what a level-five Mandrake Vine would look like, but even if it had no special effects, its performance would certainly be better than that of a level-one Mandrake Vine.

After all, based on his past experience, ordinary synthesis formulas generally enhanced the synthesized item in some aspect.

And if he got lucky, assembled a synthesis formula, and produced a special effect, that would be even more different.

That afternoon.

While Sophia was busy, Locke took the keys and entered the Magical Creature Cultivation Room.

He unlocked the wooden door and, following the procedures in the manual, hung the keys on an iron nail in the door before lifting his eyes to survey the wooden cabin.

From the outside, it was merely a small wooden cabin, but inside, it was as large as a football field.

The air inside carried the mingled fragrance of different Magic Creature feeds.

It was divided into many sections: stables, cattle pens, and iron cages holding mysterious creatures. Some cages were as tall as a person, while others hung in midair. Many more were covered with black cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside.

After only a brief glance, Locke's eyes were opened. Some horses had red manes like burning flames, while others had brown manes that crackled with lightning.

There were also great eagles with feathers like iron plates, and giant frogs one and a half meters long. Their skin was covered in ice-crystal-like bumps, while their tongues were coated with dense capillaries, giving them an exceptionally strange appearance.

"Alder Flame Horse, the Alder Flame Horse subspecies Lightning Horse, Ironfeather Eagle, and Frostthroat Giant Frog..." Locke looked at the instruction manual in his hand and gradually learned the species of these Magic Creatures.

For example, Alder Flame Horses needed to be fed Magic Stone fragments and a special feed mixed from lava and wheat flour.

The cage containing the Frostthroat Giant Frog needed to be checked daily to ensure that enough ice had been placed inside. Its blood was an important ingredient for brewing Fire Resistance Potion, while its eyeballs could serve as casting materials for many spells in the Frost Magic branch of the Shaping School.

Locke read with great interest. First, because it was his first time encountering so many strange and unusual Magic Creatures.

Second, because these were the common knowledge and fundamentals of the Wizarding World, the foundation for his future study and creation of magic.

He certainly could not learn everything in a single day, but he had enough patience to remember them one by one.

Following the manual's procedures, Locke gradually finished feeding all the Magic Creatures in the cabin.

Suddenly, he noticed a faint glow ahead, like a lamp shining in the darkness of night.

He looked up and saw that the black cloth covering the iron cage at the deepest part of the cabin had somehow fallen to the ground, revealing the creature within.

Inside the cage was a naked human blonde girl. Covering her chest and private parts, she looked at Locke in panic and shame.

She lowered her head and wept, looking pitiful. "Save me, save me. That witch is a pervert, she's a devil. Look at what she did to me. Please, save me."

"Save me."

"That witch named Sophia captures human girls and uses us for evil experiments. Please, as long as you open this cage, I'll do anything you ask..."

Without changing expression, Locke walked to the iron cage. He treated the shy, beautiful human girl before him as if she were nothing and picked up the instruction manual hanging on the cage. "Dryad, child of the forest. Possesses a passive 0.7-ring Human Charm that can completely bewitch ordinary humans and alter their perceptions."

"Extremely dangerous."

"Prolonged conversation with a Dryad will cause even Wizard Apprentices to gradually lose their correct understanding of reality. Therefore, prolonged conversation with a Dryad is not recommended."

"Dryad blood is an important raw material for many potions. Feed the Dryad one serving of dew every day. Under no circumstances may you speak with her during the process."

Locke opened the can of dew, scooped out a little with a wooden spoon, and placed it into the iron basin inside the cage.

The next moment, the "human beauty" slammed into the iron cage. She let out an enraged roar like a wild beast, and in that instant, her milk-white skin transformed into black, toad-like flesh covered in warts.

Her appearance changed drastically, becoming like a rotten, dead old tree stump. Not a trace of the beautiful human girl remained. Her hair became a mass of withered branches, and her face was filled with venomous resentment.

"Damn human! Once I get out, I'll dig out your heart with my own hands."

"Just you wait!"

"Don't leave! Don't leave!"

Having finished the last task, Locke turned and walked out of the wooden cabin.

It had to be said that the Wizarding World truly was dangerous.

Even such a simple feeding job required extreme care. One mistake could easily put his life in danger.