Chimera Market, within Golden Secret.
At the invitation of Manager Yuli, whose expression was complicated yet reverent, Locke headed for Golden Secret's most exclusive VIP reception room on the third floor.
Locke paused briefly outside the reception room.
Although Madam Irina was waiting inside, he was now a Formal Wizard. He no longer needed to be as restrained as he had been during his apprenticeship, so lingering outside for a moment was no issue.
Moreover, Locke had sensed something interesting from Yuli Burns: a trace of Abyssal Energy.
If he had not become a Formal Wizard and reached the Vaporization Stage, gaining heightened sensitivity in his spiritual perception, while also having studied the relatively obscure branch of Abyssal Potioncraft, Locke might not have caught that fleeting trace of Abyssal Energy.
Locke looked at Yuli Burns. "Manager Yuli, have you come into contact with Abyssal creatures?"
Hearing Locke still address her as manager, Yuli became slightly restrained. Now that Locke had become a Formal Wizard, their relationship could no longer be as casual as before.
Locke might not care, but she had to care about how others viewed her.
Thinking back to four years ago, when she had first met Locke, they had been beneath the deck of a Wizard Ship.
At the time, Locke had only been a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice, while she had been a First-Class Wizard Apprentice and a mentor for the new students.
Back then, she had barely noticed Locke at all. Instead, because of that deal with Verdantia University, she had remained angry the entire time. After the new students disembarked, she had not even been in the mood to give them the orientation she was supposed to provide.
She had even received a complaint over it.
With a sigh and a reverent air, Yuli said