Chapter Summaries

Witch Sophia gave Locke the Giant Tree's Heart Potion, explaining how it could strengthen his Magic Plants and what he needed to inject it. At the treatment center, Locke learned that a First-Class Wizard Apprentice’s Magic Plant Curse had spiraled out of control and suspected the Marsh Boar Mountain Lord had been deliberately lured to him.

• Witch Sophia explained that the Giant Tree's Heart Potion could strengthen Locke’s heart and Magic Plants, but its effects would last about three years.
• Witch Sophia instructed Locke to inject the potion through a carrier solution made from Liquid Moonlight and Mermaid Tears.
• Locke went to the treatment center seeking Tartarus Cave Worm Spinal Fluid and found Aixi and Anglu panicking over a patient whose Magic Plant Curse had erupted.
• Aixi and Anglu told Locke that the patient’s curse had fused with his soul after his Magic Plant lost control during a fight with the Marsh Boar Mountain Lord.
• Locke concluded that the Marsh Boar Mountain Lord had been deliberately lured to the patient, then headed upstairs to resolve the Magic Plant Curse and stop the Black Wizards’ harassment.

Locke treated a First-Class Wizard Apprentice suffering from a Magic Plant Curse by combining several potions through an infusion. The patient’s curse began to recede, and Locke recorded the effects as he investigated the changes in the fused plant.

• Locke examined the patient, whose Sword Orchid had fused with his hand and heart while Corrosive Marsh Gas worsened his condition.
• Locke ordered an infusion and administered Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion, followed by Royal Jelly Potion and Lesser Emerald Potion.
• The patient regained color and mana, coughed up black blood mixed with curse energy, and his Magic Plant began to improve.
• Aixi and Anglu witnessed the treatment and were astonished as the patient’s magic resistance rose and the curse continued to disappear.
• Locke recorded the effects and cut into the patient’s palm and the plant’s roots, finding normal blood and clear Magic Plant sap.

Locke used his Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion to cure a First-Class Wizard Apprentice of a Magic Plant Curse, proving the potion could counter curses effectively. His discovery drew attention at the treatment center, and Wizard Derek Jones predicted the Academy would support further trials.

• Locke tested the Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion on a cursed First-Class Wizard Apprentice and confirmed that it broke the Magic Plant Curse with little harm.
• Anglu praised the potion’s adaptable magic resistance, and Aixi sent assistants to summon the remaining sixteen victims for treatment.
• Assistant Potion Makers gathered outside Locke’s office, and Kali Ackerman shifted from disbelief and hostility to fear and respect.
• Two Formal Wizards discussed Locke’s achievement, and Wizard Derek Jones said the Academy would likely help him complete the third phase of trials.

Locke formed a healer team with Aixi and Anglu to brew and test Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potions, using his Emerald Iris Lichen to treat patients afflicted by curses. The Academy recognized his research with funding and arranged new patient referrals, leaving the team poised to expand its trials and treatment work.

• Locke, Aixi, and Anglu agreed that Locke would receive eighty percent of their team's future patient treatment numbers, while Aixi and Anglu would share the rest.
• The three brewed Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potions at the clinic and cured most of the remaining patients with the Magic Plant Curse.
• Aixi told Locke and Anglu that Assistant Potion Makers from their clinic and Anglong's Workshop had asked where to obtain Emerald Iris Lichen.
• Locke read a referral from Formal Wizard Derek Jones for a patient afflicted by the Consciousness-Dividing Curse, and explained that Senior Consultant Francis had arranged priority referrals and trial support.
• Locke revealed that the Academy had awarded him one thousand Magic Stones to continue the potion's third-stage trials, and Anglu explained the award's funding and career benefits.

Locke reviewed the Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion’s successful treatments and pursued funding and research to strengthen himself before his Covert Decapitation Plan. At the clinic, Anglong realized the potion threatened his bid for the Distinguished Healer title and ordered his studio to increase its treatment volume.

• Locke recorded that the potion had cured sixty-seven patients, and the Academy urged him to test it on more common curses and advance it toward public sale.
• Locke prepared an Outstanding Project Award application for his Emerald Iris Lichen Cultivation Plan and headed to the public library to submit it and publish articles.
• Locke considered using future funding and savings to study Archaeology, improve his combat strength, and prepare for the Covert Decapitation Plan.
• Anglong learned the Academy valued Locke’s potion project and feared it would cost him clinic reward slots and the Distinguished Healer position.
• Nuke suggested using Harlan Vela’s network to remove Locke from the clinic, but Anglong rejected the idea because the Academy was watching and Harlan favored Locke.
• Anglong ordered his studio to work twice as hard and keep its treatment volume above Locke’s team’s.

Seflin learned that Locke Augustine had broken her Magic Plant Curse and punished the apprentice who reported it. Her mentor, Rashid Tariel, arrived furious and rebuked her for secretly developing the curse, leaving her kneeling before him.

• Seflin learned that Locke Augustine had broken her Magic Plant Curse, which she had spent years researching.
• Seflin drained the blood from the apprentice who brought her the news, leaving him a dried corpse.
• Rashid Tariel entered the institute and forced everyone in the room to kneel under his Magic Pressure.
• Rashid Tariel slapped Seflin and berated her for secretly developing a Magic Plant Curse that had embarrassed him before his peers.

Rashid Tariel punished Seflin for creating a Magic Plant Curse that helped Lilith's Cottage develop a potion capable of dispelling Blood Curses. Confined to the Curse Spell Research Institute while awaiting the Council of Elders' decision, Seflin seethed with hatred as her apprentices considered abandoning her.

• Seflin offered to infiltrate Lilith's Cottage and kill Locke Augustine, but Rashid Tariel slapped and rebuked her for cursing Magic Plants.
• Rashid Tariel explained that Magic Plants mutated more readily than magical creatures and warned that the curse had helped Lilith's Cottage develop a potion that could dispel most Blood Curses.
• Rashid Tariel ordered Seflin to stop her Magic Plant Curse research, destroy its data, and remain at the Curse Spell Research Institute until the Council of Elders decided her punishment.
• Rashid Tariel told Seflin to assist with experiments on a powerful Blood Curse against Wizard Apprentices, signaling that the Blood Curse Court no longer intended to preserve its tacit understanding with Lilith's Cottage.
• After Rashid Tariel left, Seflin blamed the potion maker for her predicament and vowed to find a way out of confinement.
• Seflin's Second-Class Wizard Apprentice followers silently considered seeking protection from Rashid Tariel's First-Class Wizard Apprentices instead.

Locke learned that four of his six published articles had received B-grade ratings and two had received A-grade ratings, earning him the Academy’s Outstanding Apprentice title. He submitted new curse-treatment research and an Emerald Iris Lichen cultivation project for funding, then considered which rewards would best strengthen him.

• Aul told Locke that his grafting and curse-resistant Magic Plant articles had both earned A-grade ratings and attracted many borrowers.
• Locke submitted five curse-treatment reports of his own and two reports written by Anglu and Aixi, explaining that they summarized short-term results from the Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion.
• Locke applied for Academy funding to cultivate one hundred mu of Emerald Iris Lichen and requested an additional medium-sized Plantation.
• Aul awarded Locke the Outstanding Apprentice title and badge for publishing six B-grade and two A-grade articles within a year, and offered him a choice of two rewards.
• Locke reviewed the reward list, rejected Withering Flower seeds as unnecessary, and noticed the rare Shooter Pea as he searched for something to improve his combat strength.

Locke selected Shooter Peas as his Academy rewards and learned he could use Contribution Points to obtain another one from the library vault. He asked about the cost of entering Wizard Secret Realms and learned that titles and designations could provide such opportunities.

• Locke chose a Shooter Pea as his first reward and a second one as his next, hoping to synthesize three rare plants.
• Dwarf scholar Aul said Locke could not buy the vault’s remaining Shooter Peas with Magic Stones, but could exchange 400 Contribution Points for one.
• Aul explained that Locke had 600 Contribution Points from his articles and Outstanding Apprentice title, and that secret realm entry usually cost at least 1,500 or 2,000 points.
• Locke asked how often his teacher, Witch Sophia, could enter a Wizard Secret Realm, and Aul said four or five times was already a lot.
• Aul explained that mentors and apprentice titles could provide secret realm opportunities, citing the Wizard Seed title’s yearly ordinary-realm entry and five-yearly high-level entry.

Locke exchanged contribution points for three Shooter Peas and visited Lilith's Cottage Potion Auction to buy a Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat fossil. After bargaining the price down, he agreed to the purchase and considered using the fossil to improve his Archaeology skill and purify the bloodlines of his two Cat-girl princesses.

• Locke exchanged four hundred contribution points for three Shooter Peas and stored them in his Astral Ring.
• Locke recalled spells and a potion that could enhance the Shooter Peas, including Rapid-Fire, Pea Bullet Splitting, and the Pea-Filling Potion.
• Locke went to Lilith's Cottage Potion Auction after learning that the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat fossil he had reserved was available.
• Locke rejected the consignor's asking price of two thousand Magic Stones, and the auction operator revealed that the consignor would accept twelve hundred.
• Locke agreed that the reduced price was reasonable and considered using the fossil to advance his Archaeology and purify his Cat-girl princesses' bloodlines.

Locke began studying Black Wizard archaeology to preserve and investigate a fossil of a Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat, but his limited grasp of the Modo Language hindered his progress. He decided to use Beholder Potion to improve his sensitivity to Negative Energy Particles as he continued his studies.

• Locke reported his participation in the Directional Magic Plant Competition to Zack and returned home to prepare for the infiltration operation in three weeks.
• Locke studied the Tombstone Grimoire’s instructions on fossil anatomy, preservation, and storage before treating his Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat fossil.
• Locke bought Tanfeng Resin at Chimera Market and sealed the fossil in a transparent amber casing.
• Locke learned that he could not yet use the Dark Energy Particle Blade or the Historical Projection spell because his Modo Language skills were insufficient.
• Locke concluded that his poor Mana discernment made studying too slow and took a bottle of Beholder Potion to improve his mental sensitivity.

Locke used Beholder Potion to accelerate his study of Archaeology and the Modo Language, then witnessed a vision of an ancient catastrophe while examining a Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat fossil. He planned to compare the cat’s fossil bloodline information with the bloodline he had extracted from the Cat-girl to guide his research into bloodline modification.

• Locke drank Beholder Potion and found that it greatly improved his ability to recognize the Modo Language, though its side effects threatened to overwhelm his mind.
• Over the following week, Locke studied Archaeology, oversaw the Plantation’s Emerald Iris Lichen Magic Fields, visited the Healing Hand Clinic, and continued meditating.
• Locke deciphered the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat fossil and saw a vision of the creature killing a unicorn before panicked magical birds filled the sky and an apparent catastrophe interrupted the scene.
• Locke wondered whether the vision showed a disaster that had caused the mass extinction of ancient creatures, then used Mind-Calming Incense to continue his work.
• Locke decided to study the fossil’s bloodline information and compare key parts with the pure bloodline he had extracted from the Cat-girl.

Locke attended Healing Hand Clinic’s group meeting with Anglu and Aixi, where the three were brought to the front as key report-makers. Wizard Edwin began the meeting by asking Anglong to report on his workshop’s work and plans.

• Locke studied the Tombstone Grimoire and considered spending about two thousand Magic Stones on materials for producing Ancient Bloodline Essence.
• Anglu and Aixi arrived to accompany Locke to the clinic’s monthly group meeting, which had specifically invited him.
• Locke and his companions rode to Healing Hand Clinic, where attendees acknowledged Locke’s growing reputation.
• Wizard Edwin seated Locke, Anglu, and Aixi near the front and said they would be among the main figures making reports.
• Anglong greeted Locke, who told him he was not nervous about attending his first group meeting.
• Wizard Edwin opened the meeting and asked Anglong to report on his workshop’s work and future plans.

At the clinic meeting, Anglong proposed that his workshop compile treatment guidelines, but Wizard Edwin assigned the work across the clinic instead. Wizard Edwin then asked Locke to report on his team’s work and plans, especially the Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion trials, leaving Locke ready to address the gathering.

• Anglong praised his workshop’s treatment work and offered to compile clinic guidelines if everyone shared their treatment data.
• Wizard Edwin questioned Anglong’s clinical experience and divided the guideline work among Anglong’s workshop and other Assistant Potion Makers.
• The meeting fell silent until Wizard Derek Jones and Wizard Edwin asked Locke to speak about his team’s work and future plans.
• Wizard Edwin emphasized the urgency of launching the third phase of trials for the Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion, while Anglong worried the project would overshadow his bid for Distinguished Healer.
• Locke agreed to report and took the speaker’s seat.

Locke presented his Bear Spirit Emerald Gallbladder Potion trials, received advice from Wizard Edwin, and learned that both of his Academy Fund grants had been approved. On the way to the Public Classroom, Locke confronted a Black Wizard Apprentice who offered information about Seflin and the Blood Curse Court in exchange for protection.

• Locke described his treatment-center trials and plans for animal and mortal research, and Wizard Edwin advised him to add zebrafish experiments and ensure informed consent.
• Wizard Edwin announced that both of Locke's Academy Fund project grants had been approved, while Anglong resolved to take desperate measures against him.
• After the meeting, Locke left to buy a Metal Frenzy Spell Series course and visit the Academy's Germplasm Bank.
• Locke sensed a blood-tainted Black Wizard hiding by the road and readied his Armed Plants spell.
• The injured Black Wizard Apprentice offered Locke a document about Seflin's plant curses and information from the Blood Curse Court in exchange for protection, but Locke coldly rejected his attempt to call him senior.

Locke used a Tomb Spirit to secretly possess Leonie Murphy and made the Black Wizard Apprentice his scout inside the Blood Curse Court. Leonie accepted the role and Locke’s offer of Mind-Calming Ointment, while Locke asked how he could return to the Blood Curse Court.

• Locke examined Seflin’s manuscript and considered whether Leonie Murphy could serve as an informant.
• Locke used a Tomb Spirit to learn Leonie’s name and expose his recent theft of documents and infiltration of the port city.
• Locke ordered Leonie to open his mind, then secretly attached a Tomb Spirit to him after Leonie consented.
• Locke appointed Leonie as his scout and gave him fifteen jars of Mind-Calming Ointment in exchange for materials related to Magic Plant Curses.
• Locke asked Leonie whether he had a way to return to the Blood Curse Court.

Locke learned that Leonie Murphy had pledged himself to him and could help with an operation against the Black Wizards. Sophia praised Locke for recruiting the spy, discussed using him to locate the Black Wizard base, and advised Locke on his Archaeology Spell and future faculty assessments.

• Leonie Murphy explained that he needed major contributions to return to the Blood Curse Court, and Locke ordered him to remain loyal, avoid harming White Wizards, and report important intelligence.
• Leonie Murphy left in hiding, while Locke considered using his Magic Plant Curse research materials to improve the Emerald Iris Lichen series.
• Locke told Sophia about the materials and Leonie Murphy, and Sophia suggested publishing papers and using the spy to help locate the Black Wizard base.
• Sophia praised Locke for learning the Archaeology Spell and explained how the skill could help him qualify for faculty positions in the Starfield Sea.

Locke visited Lilith's Cottage's Germplasm Bank to exchange seeds, carrying Tier-Two and Tier-Three permissions from Sophia. He corrected Ruby's misconceptions about seed storage and reached the exchange area, where he was ready to make his selections.

• Sophia gave Locke stamped Tier-Two and Tier-Three Seed Exchange Permissions before he left for the Germplasm Bank.
• Locke passed the entrance inspection and rode the mine elevator underground with Ruby, a Wood Elf Second-Class Wizard Apprentice.
• Ruby described the Germplasm Bank's climate controls and admitted she had failed the Assistant Breeder examination three times.
• Locke corrected Ruby's understanding of the importance of the Magic Tide Gradient, humidity, and matching visitors' body temperature to the Germplasm Room.
• Locke observed the underground seed storage facilities and asked Ruby to take him to the Tier-Two and Tier-Three exchange area.

Locke searched the Germplasm Bank for a magic plant that could improve his mobility and, with Ruby’s help, inspected the rare seeds in Room 36. He found a flying plant even better suited to his needs than the Honeycloud Orchid, but the chapter ended before he identified it.

• Ruby explained the Germplasm Bank’s exchange authorizations and offered to guide Locke to useful seed rooms.
• Locke learned that Ruby studied under Harlan Vela and agreed to choose her as his trader in future exchanges.
• Locke told Ruby he wanted a magic plant that could improve his movement or mobility for the operation against the Blood Curse Court.
• Ruby brought Locke to Room 36, where he examined rare magic plant seeds, including Marching Mushroom spores and Honeycloud Orchid seeds.
• Locke considered exchanging for the Honeycloud Orchid, then spotted another flying magic plant that seemed even more suitable.

Locke used his Level Two exchange authority to obtain ten Great Greenleaf Plantain seeds, a rare flying Magic Plant with a complete Plant Mimicry spell series. He then asked Ruby about parasitic Magic Plants for his Mayfly Firework Spell Model, and she led him toward Room 107.

• Locke chose the Great Greenleaf Plantain seeds over the Blade Spiral Bamboo after finding them in the Germplasm Bank.
• Ruby explained that Locke could exchange for ten seeds and that the remaining ten had to stay in the Germplasm Bank.
• Locke learned that each Great Greenleaf Plantain seed cost 500 Magic Stones and placed his seeds in his Astral Ring.
• Ruby offered to help Locke use his Level Three exchange authority to find a parasitic Magic Plant for Mayfly Firework.
• Ruby recognized Locke's description of a mutually beneficial parasitic Magic Plant and led him to Room 107.