Chapter Summaries

Locke used Moonlight Elixir and Magenta Jade to strengthen his Mental Power, then considered his plans to study Breeding and advance before Lilith's Cottage reduced its support. Lorne and Pierre congratulated him on becoming a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, and the three agreed to share a meal before moving to Knockturn Alley.

• Locke drank the Moonlight Elixir, gained a Dark Elf bloodline talent, and absorbed the Aether Elemental Particles in Magenta Jade to increase his Mental Power.
• Locke reflected on the uncertainty surrounding Magenta Jade and decided to use his remaining resources to pursue wizard advancement and earn Magic Stones through Breeding.
• Locke planned to study a meditation method and become a First-Class Wizard Apprentice within five years, ahead of Lilith's Cottage's deadlines.
• Lorne and Pierre visited Locke, congratulated him on becoming a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, and invited him to eat with them.
• Locke accepted the invitation, and Lorne and Pierre relaxed when they saw he still treated them as friends.

During Universal Studies, Locke learned about the Linsell Pixie and its magical properties. Sophia then warned him that his Academy patrol assignment was dangerous and offered a path to transfer out, while planning his training toward becoming a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.

• Sasari demonstrated how a Linsell Pixie used Screech Blast and Mirage Clones, then explained its dangers and uses in alchemy and potions.
• Locke visited Sophia after moving to Knockturn Alley, and she tested his Mental Power, which measured 60.
• Sophia planned for Locke to learn a meditation method and study Breeding so he could manage her magic plant cultivation room and earn Magic Stones.
• Sophia told Locke that his Academy assignment placed him in the dangerous Patrol Squad amid the five-year war with the Blood Curse Court.
• Sophia said Locke could earn an Assistant Breeder Certificate to transfer out of the Patrol Squad, and asked whether he had five hundred Magic Stones for a suitable meditation method.

Locke learned about meditation methods from Witch Sophia and chose the Root-Vein Resonance Meditation Method. Witch Sophia then took him to her Magical Plant Cultivation Room to begin Breeding class.

• Locke asked Witch Sophia to explain meditation methods, and she described their importance and the difference between Basic and Advanced methods.
• Witch Sophia offered Locke three Wood-compatible Basic Meditation Methods and explained their benefits and drawbacks.
• Locke chose the Root-Vein Resonance Meditation Method because it offered gentle mana and a solid foundation.
• Witch Sophia gave Locke the method, warned him not to share it, and scheduled daily meditation and Breeding lessons.
• Witch Sophia led Locke to her Magical Plant Cultivation Room, where his Breeding class would take place.

Locke entered Sophia’s magic plant cultivation room and learned that its intense Magic Pressure could harm his soul. Sophia taught him the Grafting Cultivation Method and gave him a spellbook to study, leaving him to practice as he worked toward becoming an Assistant Breeder.

• Locke admired the rare magic plants in the room, and Sophia warned him to limit his visits because the high Magic Pressure could damage his soul.
• Sophia led Locke to an acre of Tifro Rootvine and demonstrated how grafting combined the traits of two plants.
• Locke recognized that grafting could improve a magic plant by giving it desired characteristics.
• Sophia explained that successful grafting required precise alignment of the cambium layers, stable Mana, and the Lesser Grafting Healing cantrip.
• Sophia gave Locke a spellbook to study and explained that grafting could fail or produce unwanted traits even when the plants healed.
• Sophia told Locke that he would remain in the Patrol Squad until he obtained his Assistant Breeder Certificate.

Locke began the Root-Vein Resonance Meditation Method and discovered that it accelerated both his Mental Power growth and his absorption of Aether Element. After meditating through the night, he learned why wizards still needed regular sleep and took out the Rapid-Growth Gel he had been synthesizing.

• Locke used Badanxi Wood shavings to enter the tree-heart state and nourish his Mental Power through meditation.
• Locke realized the meditation method also more than doubled his absorption of Aether Element from the Magenta Jade, while the cost of Badanxi Wood threatened his finances.
• Locke applied Mind-Calming Ointment and meditated through the night, waking refreshed with his Mental Power recovered.
• Locke read that wizards who abandoned sleep for prolonged meditation could develop into Sleep Fiends, and concluded that natural sleep restored something meditation could not.
• Locke reached into the Horadric Cube and took out the Rapid-Growth Gel he had been synthesizing.

Locke synthesized Level 6 Rapid-Growth Gel and stored it with his Mind-Calming Ointment before reporting for duty with Lilith's Cottage Patrol Squad. He arrived as the patrol was responding to monsters released into Academy territory, and a young apprentice hurried him toward the scene.

• Locke examined his Level 6 Rapid-Growth Gel and considered how its enhanced effects could speed up his plant experiments, though he could not openly sell it without a Potions assistant certificate.
• Locke stored the gel and his Mind-Calming Ointment in a locked drawer, then instructed his Gray Dwarves to clean up and keep strangers out of his room.
• Locke traveled from Knockturn Alley to the Patrol Squad's registration point and introduced himself as a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice reporting under orders from Witch Sophia and the Academy.
• A young Wizard Apprentice told Locke that monsters had been dumped into Academy territory, people had died, and the patrol was heading out.
• The young apprentice ordered Locke to climb onto his Engel Whirlwind Snail and join the response.

Locke and Captain Bruno Suarez confronted a Wizard Seedling transformed by the Blood Curse Court’s forbidden grafting magic on Dwarf Street. The monster revealed itself as a powerful Blood Curse Court apprentice and began transforming into a vampire as the fight escalated.

• Locke arrived at Dwarf Street with the Enforcement Squad and saw a many-armed humanoid monster kill a Third-Class Wizard Apprentice.
• Captain Bruno Suarez ordered the squad to attack the monster, and their spells and his Thorn Whip severely wounded it.
• The monster revealed a dead Second-Class Wizard Apprentice’s head grafted into its chest, which Bruno recognized as belonging to a Blood Curse Court member.
• Locke offered to help Bruno with Vine Hand spells, but Bruno warned him to stay at the edge of the battlefield.
• The grafted head taunted Bruno, invoked a blood ritual, and transformed the monster into a vampire-like creature.

Locke helped Captain Bruno Suarez defeat Taren Curry, a Vampire Wizard Apprentice of the Blood Curse Court, during a deadly patrol fight in Dwarf Street. The Enforcement Squad counted its casualties and prepared to report the increasingly dangerous situation to the Academy.

• Taren Curry used his speed to kill a Light Magic apprentice and attack the Enforcement Squad, while Hailia accidentally healed him with Lesser Exhaustion Breath.
• Taren Curry attacked Locke and Bruno Suarez, but Locke blocked a blow with his Level 6 Mandrake Vine before the Vampire focused on Bruno.
• Locke secretly caught Taren Curry with the invisible Mandrake Vine's Vine Hand, allowing Bruno to pierce the Vampire's heart with Thorn Spear.
• Taren Curry burned to ash, and Bruno gave Locke the Vampire heart as his share of the spoils.
• Bruno ordered the squad to clean up and report their losses, then rebuked Hailia when she asked for more locally born Wizard Apprentices.

After a dangerous Patrol Squad mission, Locke checked that Lorne and Pierre were safe and returned home with a Vampire heart. He studied Deep Purple Jade and considered using bloodline modification to strengthen himself, ending with notes on the Orkney Giant Bear and Ursun Giant Wolf.

• Locke stored the Vampire's heart, recognized the danger of remaining in the Patrol Squad, and asked Captain Bruno Suarez to check on his friends.
• Locke found Lorne and Pierre unharmed, warned them to be careful, and left after they praised his new enforcement status.
• The Patrol Squad handled a disturbance caused by a Screaming Frog as the war increased its workload.
• At home, Locke examined Deep Purple Jade, which could improve Mana quality by absorbing bloodline impurities.
• Locke read about bloodline modification and focused on the Orkney Giant Bear and Ursun Giant Wolf as possible sources of power.

Locke rejected Chriselle Reeves’s investment contract, which demanded children and future service in exchange for resources, and told Witch Sophia about the offer. Sophia confirmed the Reeves Family was in decline and backed Locke’s decision, while he continued pursuing his advancement and planned to ask her about an Orkney Giant Bear.

• Locke chose the Orkney Giant Bear as a source for a bloodline modification potion and decided to ask Sophia whether he could obtain hers.
• Chriselle Reeves offered Locke a family investment contract with monthly Magic Stones, ointments, and laboratory access in exchange for children and future service.
• Locke refused the contract, dismissed Chriselle, and went to meditate.
• Locke measured a Mental Power result of 61 at Sophia’s office and explained Chriselle’s offer.
• Sophia criticized the Reeves Family’s reduced contract and revealed that it had only two aging First-Class Wizard Apprentices left.

Locke obtained Witch Sophia’s support for an Orkney Giant Bear bloodline modification and used the Horadric Cube to create an ancient-variant potion. After drinking it, he gained powerful physical abilities and increased Mental Power, but the bloodline also made his emotions volatile and left him ravenously hungry.

• Locke asked Witch Sophia for Orkney Giant Bear blood and separation potions, and she agreed to let him use the bear and buy three potions for fifty Magic Stones.
• Locke extracted the bear’s blood and used the Horadric Cube to synthesize a Level 6 ancient-variant bloodline potion.
• Locke prepared ten kilograms of meat, drank the potion, and recorded its temporary effects on his body.
• Locke manifested Earth Sigil Skin and Giant Bear Form, and his defense, stamina, strength, and Mental Power increased.
• Locke used Deep Purple Jade to remove the potion’s Mental Power side effects, then realized his modified body needed a great deal of food.

Locke used a Deep Purple Jade to cleanse impurities and potion toxicity from his Mental Power, though Aether Element remained. At the Patrol Squad cabin, he learned the Reeves Family had spread rumors after he rejected their investment, then heard details of a mission to drive away Berserk Rhinos.

• Locke exhausted the Deep Purple Jade while purifying his Mental Power and concluded he needed seven more to eliminate its side effects.
• Locke reported to the Patrol Squad and noticed its members treating him with unusual interest.
• Captain Bruno Suarez assigned Locke and Hailia to an afternoon mission to clear Berserk Rhinos from the edge of the city.
• Hailia told Locke that the Reeves Family had retaliated against his refusal of their investment by spreading rumors about him.
• Locke dismissed the rumors and asked about the mission, learning that the squad planned to drive away about seven Berserk Rhinos and share materials from any they killed.

Locke helped the Patrol Squad trap and kill three Berserk Rhinos, earning a large share of their resources as the squad faced increasingly dangerous missions. Three months later, Witch Sophia was impressed by Locke’s Super Mandrake Vine and awarded him an Assistant Breeder Certificate without an assessment.

• Locke used hidden Mandrake Vines and Poison Berry Shot to restrain the Berserk Rhinos while the Patrol Squad attacked, killing three and forcing four to flee.
• Captain Bruno distributed the spoils according to the squad members’ contributions, giving Locke a priority share of rhino hide, blood, and a heart.
• Locke learned that a Black Wizard Apprentice had spread a Vampire Curse in the city, making Patrol Squad missions more dangerous, then returned to studying Breeding.
• After three months of Witch Sophia’s class, Locke presented her with his Super Mandrake Vine and claimed he had cultivated it through grafting.
• Witch Sophia praised Locke’s breeding talent and issued him an Assistant Breeder Certificate without requiring him to take the assessment.

Witch Sophia tested Locke Augustine’s Super Mandrake Vine, certified its potential to replace ordinary Tifro Rootvines, and praised Locke’s breeding talent. Locke offered to credit Sophia as part of the cultivation team to limit scrutiny and help her record, and she admitted she had been considering the opportunity but would not take advantage of him for nothing.

• Witch Sophia found that the Level 4 Super Mandrake Vine surpassed ordinary Tifro Rootvines in strength and speed by about 15%, though it remained below premium varieties.
• Witch Sophia explained that targeted breeding could improve the Super Mandrake Vine and that it might spread among Vine Hand users; Locke then presented his explanation of the grafting method.
• Witch Sophia accepted Locke’s account, certified the vine for sale at Chimera Market, and increased his daily study time to include follow-up Vine Hand spells.
• Locke chose the name Super Mandrake Vine and asked Witch Sophia to list herself as part of its cultivation team to reduce attention on him and support her record.
• Witch Sophia warned that the credit would lower others’ assessment of Locke, acknowledged that she needed such an achievement, and said she could not accept his offer without giving him something in return.

Locke asked Wizard Sophia to brew a Scarlet Echo Potion from a Vampire heart, then took Super Mandrake Vines to Chimera Market to sell through a shop. He arrived at the Golden Secret Magic Plant Shop with two frightened Gray Dwarves pushing the covered plants.

• Locke asked Wizard Sophia to brew a Scarlet Echo Potion, and she explained that her recipe used a female Mermaid's tear to improve its effects and reduce side effects.
• Wizard Sophia gave Locke her certification documents for selling the Super Mandrake Vine and advised him to keep the original stock.
• Locke gave Wizard Sophia a Super Mandrake Vine as a gift and left to retrieve thirty pots of his synthesized vines.
• Locke and two Gray Dwarves traveled to Chimera Market, where he saw its shops, temporary stalls, and a large teleportation array attracting visitors for Lilith's Cottage Potion Auction.
• Locke stopped at the Golden Secret Magic Plant Shop and prepared to bring the vines inside.

Locke visited Golden Secret Magic Plant Shop and discovered that its manager, Yuli Burns, was under pressure from owner Madam Irina to raise sales. Recognizing Yuli as his former freshman mentor, Locke offered her thirty newly cultivated Super Mandrake Vines to sell through the struggling shop.

• Madam Irina reprimanded Yuli Burns over Golden Secret’s falling sales and gave her three months to improve them.
• Locke recognized Madam Irina as a Formal Wizard, and she briefly praised his Assistant Breeder achievement before leaving.
• Yuli worried that competition and the resources needed to suppress her Aging Curse could cost her the manager’s job.
• Locke greeted Yuli, reminded her that she had mentored him aboard a Wizard Ship, and explained that his true aptitude was higher than previously measured.
• Yuli recommended that Locke buy a premium Tifro Rootvine, but he said he had come to sell plants instead.
• Locke offered Golden Secret thirty Super Mandrake Vines and asked Yuli to reduce the commission.

Yuli Burns verified Witch Sophia’s certification of Locke’s Super Mandrake Vine and agreed to buy the new magical plant for 30 Magic Stones each. She paid Locke for his first batch, gave him a Golden Secret membership badge, and told him about a group of Cat-girl princesses at Chimera Market.

• Yuli Burns examined Witch Sophia’s certification and recognized Locke’s Super Mandrake Vine as an exceptional creation.
• Yuli explained Golden Secret’s consignment fees and offered to buy Locke’s vines directly.
• Locke negotiated the purchase price from 20 to 30 Magic Stones per vine, and Yuli agreed to buy his first batch for 900 Magic Stones.
• Yuli gave Locke a Platinum Star membership badge and promised favorable prices for future deals.
• Yuli told Locke that Cat-girl princesses with ancient bloodlines had recently arrived at Chimera Market’s Slave Depot.

Locke decided to establish a small Plantation to grow Super Mandrake Vines more cheaply and earn Magic Stones, then went to the Slave Depot to find workers. There, he rejected the clerk Benny’s costly recommendations and insisted on finding slaves suited to his budget.

• Locke calculated that a five-acre Plantation with about sixty Super Mandrake Vines could support his sales and earn roughly 1,000 Magic Stones a month.
• Locke decided that planting would give him practical breeding experience, help explain his synthesized plants, and allow him to earn money safely.
• Locke went to the Slave Depot in Chimera Market with his two Gray Dwarf servants to find workers capable of cultivating magical plants.
• The Dark Elf clerk Benny approached Locke ahead of a Goblin clerk and recommended Wood Elf, Dwarf Giant, and Merfolk slaves.
• Locke dismissed Benny’s expensive recommendations and said he needed cost-effective Plantation workers.

Locke bought six literate Minotaur agricultural slaves from Benny after learning that large-scale use of human slaves could violate the White Wizard Association’s Ethical Review Mechanism. After activating their slave imprints and confirming their loyalty, he asked Benny about a rare Cat-girl princess slave with an ancient bloodline.

• Benny recommended Minotaur slaves and warned Locke that using many human slaves could draw trouble under the White Wizard Association’s Ethical Review Mechanism.
• Locke paid thirty Magic Stones for six Minotaurs skilled in agriculture and signed a contract with Benny.
• Locke tested the Minotaurs’ intelligence and farming knowledge, discovered they could read, and approved them.
• Locke crushed the rune stone, making the six Minotaurs recognize him as their master.
• When Benny offered other slaves, Locke asked about the shop’s rare Cat-girl princess slave with an ancient bloodline.

Locke spent his newly acquired Magic Stones on two catgirl princesses with Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat bloodlines, commissioned enchanted armor, and bought meditation supplies. He left Chimera Market equipped with new servants and resources to improve his training.

• Locke decided that the rare catgirl slaves were worth buying and paid Benny one hundred Magic Stones for two princesses, on the condition that their bloodlines were genuine.
• Locke inspected seven caged catgirls, chose twin sisters, confirmed they were unharmed, and signed a contract that made them acknowledge him as their master.
• Locke commissioned a standard mid-grade Raging Rhino Leather Armor from an alchemy workshop, paying one hundred Magic Stones and a Berserk Rhino hide.
• Locke bought one month of Badanxi Wood Chips and Dragonblood Leaf Powder for meditation, spending 350 Magic Stones.