Goblin Magic Freak (Seeking Recommendation Votes!)

"They wanted to come to your shop to steal flowers, so I came to help you." Nora panted, explaining earnestly while not forgetting to lower her voice.

"Um... thank you." Ron smiled helplessly, looked at Nora, and asked, "Are you... alright?"

In truth, Nora didn't need to intervene at all; Ron could have handled it himself, but since she had good intentions, he certainly couldn't discourage her.

Besides, the temporary quest had no rewards, so it didn't matter whether it was completed or not.

It was just that the words (Failed) looked a bit unpleasant.

However, Ron had already failed several daily quests before, so he didn't care about one more failure.

"I'm fine..." Nora stood up, accidentally stumbling slightly.

Her knee had been kicked earlier, and it was still throbbing with pain.

That didn't look like she was fine at all... Ron shook his head and said, "Come inside and rest for a bit."

Go inside?

Nora immediately shook her head violently, pretending to be fine, and turned to walk toward the courtyard gate: "No need, I'm really fine."

Ron watched Nora leave, but he didn't insist on keeping her.

He looked at the two thugs in the courtyard, then walked out to look at the one collapsed on the side of the street, and shook his head helplessly.

He found some rope to tie the three guys up, then Ron went out, found the patrol of Chaos City, and handed them over to the patrol to deal with.

Chaos City is located at the intersection of the four races and belongs to a jointly governed area.

Although the Human Empire and the Dwarf Race both include Chaos City in their national territories, the entire city is actually governed by people sent by all four races.

Among them, because the Elf Race and the Gnome Race do not like to manage affairs, the city is mostly managed by the Human Empire and the Dwarf Race.

The fact that the flower shop of the Seventh Prince of the Human Empire was targeted by small-time thugs would certainly attract the attention of the authorities.

Although Ron was just a son disfavored by Andre III, his status was there, so those three thugs probably wouldn't have an easy time.

The mastermind behind them probably wouldn't escape either.

Ron didn't pay any more attention to this matter; after all, anyone who could only find thugs to steal flowers couldn't be anyone important.

So, after settling this, he went back to his study to read books on his own.

I'll read an illustrated book to relax for a while... Ron thought to himself.

Magic Academy laboratory.

Professor Hicks walked in and saw Edith fiddling with test tubes, but Harper was nowhere to be seen, so he couldn't help but be stunned: "Where is he?"

Edith smiled helplessly: "He went to the Puppet Testing Ground to test his Explosive Potion."

"Hm? Didn't I tell him to make the Meditation Potion first and leave those junk things aside?" Hicks frowned, dissatisfied, "Is he trying to get me to cut his research funding again?"

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Edith's delicate face. She brushed back her light green hair, picked up the potion she had been fiddling with, and explained: "He already made it, it's this one."

???

Professor Hicks was stunned for a moment, then reacted, strode to Edith's side, and took the potion from her hand.

How long had it been?

One day or two?

He already made it?

"What about the tests? Have the effects of the potion been tested?" Hicks asked while opening the bottle cap and leaning in to sniff it. A burst of refreshing fragrance hit his nose, making his brain feel instantly clear.

"Tested. This afternoon, we invited mages from the academy, including magic apprentices and first to fourth-tier mages, ten of each tier." Edith picked up a test sheet from the table and handed it to Professor Hicks, "Except for the fourth-tier mages who felt the effect was mediocre, the meditation effects of all the others were greatly improved, with the effect being about three to five times stronger, lasting between one and three hours. It's more potent than the effect of the Nether Orchid itself, just not as long-lasting."

Hicks took the test sheet and browsed through it carefully, secretly shocked in his heart.

They had already thoroughly understood the effects of the Nether Orchid itself.

In addition to being able to gather surrounding elements, it could also improve a mage's meditation efficiency through its fragrance, with the effect being within three times.

Yet, in just a day or two, Harper had used the Nether Orchid to create a much more potent Meditation Potion.

This was much stronger than the Meditation Potions on the market.

Most of those Meditation Potions could only slightly improve meditation efficiency, and generally, they could only improve it by 50% to 150%.

Besides that, these Meditation Potions had extremely strong drug resistance, so most mages would only use them when breaking through realms; otherwise, it would be too wasteful.

Therefore, the Meditation Potion Harper created gave Hicks another small shock.

But that was as far as it went.

After all, he knew Harper's abilities.

Or rather, anyone who knew anything about the research area of the Magic Academy knew that there was a goblin magic freak here.

This freak was different from other goblins; he didn't like money or business, but was obsessed with magic experiments and couldn't extricate himself.

He loved beauties and explosions; as long as it wasn't a task assigned by others, the products he led the research and development of were basically inseparable from explosions.

Unfortunately, these products were eventually listed as high-risk items by the Magic Academy.

Therefore, in the field of explosions, Harper was a failure, much like his pursuit of beauties—he had never truly succeeded.

However, Harper possessed astonishing talent and intuition in other magical fields; he could complete any task assigned to him perfectly, and always in a remarkably short amount of time.

This left Professor Hicks and the others quite troubled, yet they were completely helpless to change it.

Hicks shook his head, deciding not to dwell on these thoughts any further.

He held the potion in his hand, rubbing it thoughtfully as he pondered.

"Edith, test the user's drug resistance over the next few days and see how long they can continue taking it," Hicks instructed.

"Understood, Professor." Edith nodded in agreement, though she felt a sense of helplessness inside; it seemed she would have to share a room with Harper for several more days.

"Have you been to that flower shop? If possible, I would like to visit it," Hicks continued. "If this Meditation Potion proves to be exceptionally effective, then there are some things I need to discuss properly with His Highness Ron."

"Yes, Mason took me there." Edith nodded first, then checked the time and said with a troubled expression, "But I don't think it's possible now. That flower shop is only open from one to five in the afternoon, and sometimes they close early. It's definitely too late for today."

"I see..." Hicks was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly realized the situation.

This was no ordinary flower shop, nor did it need long operating hours to turn a profit.

Possessing a magical plant like the Nether Orchid, the shop had no worries about sales.

Moreover, since the owner was the seventh prince of Andre III and had the backing of the empire, he certainly wouldn't care about petty profits, so these operating hours were understandable.

"Then let's make it tomorrow afternoon," Hicks said. "However, you are still responsible for the laboratory side of things tomorrow, so let Mason take me instead. If you see him tomorrow, remember to give him a heads-up for me."

"No problem, Professor," Edith said with a nod.

I want~ hmm~~(???????)