Conflict and the Enforcement Squad

That day, Luo Lin headed to the materials processing room as usual, intending to take on a Moonlight Moss task.

However, he found several people gathered before the task screen. At their head stood a sturdy gray-robed apprentice with a faint scar on his face. The emblem on his chest showed that he was a second-rank apprentice.

"Boss Frack is taking over all Moonlight Moss tasks starting today. Go somewhere else."

The scar-faced apprentice, Frack, folded his arms and spoke to several first-rank apprentices who wanted to take on tasks.

The first-rank apprentices dared not voice their anger and left resentfully.

Luo Lin frowned.

Though Moonlight Moss tasks did not pay much, they were reliable.

Moreover, they were his only source of Shadow Fungus.

Having Frack cut off that route would directly disrupt his plans.

Without revealing anything, Luo Lin turned to leave, intending to see whether there were any other suitable material-processing tasks.

"Hey! You, stop right there."

Frack called out to him, his gaze appraising.

"I heard there's been a kid processing Moonlight Moss quickly and well lately. That's you, right?"

Luo Lin stopped and turned around, answering calmly, "I only completed the task."

"As long as it's you!"

Frack walked up to him, exuding pressure.

"From now on, hand the Moonlight Moss you process directly to me."

"You'll still get the task rewards, but the materials belong to me."

He would still receive the task rewards?

Not even a three-year-old would believe that nonsense. Who knew whether Frack would actually give him contribution points after Luo Lin finished the work? If he did not, Luo Lin would be working for him for nothing.

Luo Lin sneered inwardly, though his face remained expressionless.

"According to academy rules, task handovers must go through the counter."

"Rules?" Frack sneered, raising a hand to slap Luo Lin's face. Luo Lin leaned back slightly and avoided it.

"Here, Boss Frack is the rule!"

"Kid, know what's good for you, unless you want to suffer."

Several of his lackeys also closed in, their gazes hostile.

Looking at the situation before him, Luo Lin knew there would be no peaceful resolution.

He quickly assessed the situation:

The other side had more people, and the scar-faced leader was a second-rank apprentice. His mental power was certainly stronger than Luo Lin's, and he might even know offensive spells.

The chances of losing in a direct fight were extremely high.

"Tut, tut. Lord Frack certainly has an imposing presence, coming all the way to the task hall to throw his weight around."

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

A tall, thin apprentice entered through the hall entrance, clapping continuously in front of his chest. The sharp sound echoed through the hall.

The newcomer was Black Rat.

But he was completely different from the shrewd, low-profile man Luo Lin dealt with during their usual transactions.

A teasing smile rested on his face, but his eyes were sharp as blades. At some point, an inconspicuous silver pattern had appeared on the cuff of his ordinary gray robe.

That was the mark of the academy's Enforcement Squad!

When the scar-faced Frack saw Black Rat, especially the silver pattern on his cuff, his expression changed abruptly. Most of his earlier arrogance vanished at once, and a trace of wariness flashed through his eyes.

His lackeys instinctively stepped back half a pace as well, their momentum deflating.

"Black Rat... no, Senior from the Enforcement Squad."

Frack forced out an ugly smile.

"We were just... just joking with this junior and exchanging task experience."

"Exchanging experience?"

Black Rat strolled over to Luo Lin's side, his gaze sweeping over Frack and the others.

"Exchanging experience with numbers? Or with the status of a second-rank apprentice?"

"What I see is someone openly violating academy regulations, monopolizing public task resources, and even threatening lower-rank apprentices."

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure. The apprentices watching nearby all held their breaths.

Sweat beaded on Frack's forehead as he hurriedly explained, "Nothing like that! Senior, you misunderstand! We'll leave now, right now!"

He shot Luo Lin a vicious glare, as though he wanted to memorize his face, then hurried out of the task hall with his lackeys in disgrace. He did not even bother claiming the Moonlight Moss tasks he had wanted to monopolize.

With no more excitement to watch, the surrounding crowd quickly dispersed. Still, many of them looked at Luo Lin with a little more curiosity and scrutiny.

Order returned to the hall, leaving only Luo Lin and Black Rat.

Black Rat turned around. The teasing look on his face disappeared, returning to his usual shrewd expression, though there was now an assessing glint deep in his eyes.

"You all right, Lin?"

He placed slight emphasis on the word "Lin."

Luo Lin's heart tightened.

Black Rat was actually a member of the Enforcement Squad!

Had his previous transactions with Luo Lin been personal, or had he been carrying out some sort of surveillance task?

He swiftly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and answered calmly, "I'm fine. Thank you for helping me out, Senior."

"No need to be polite. Maintaining order is the Enforcement Squad's duty."

Black Rat waved a hand and spoke as if casually.

"Frack and his group have been getting somewhat restless lately."

"But they only dare bully newcomers without much background."

"Be more careful when taking on tasks in the future. If you run into trouble, you can report it to the Enforcement Squad."

It sounded like a kind reminder, but Luo Lin heard another meaning beneath it:

Black Rat was implying that he knew Luo Lin was a "newcomer without much background," while also pointing out that he could report matters to the Enforcement Squad.

"I will. Thank you for the reminder, Senior."

Luo Lin nodded in acknowledgment and said nothing more.

Black Rat looked at him twice, as if trying to read something from his face, but Luo Lin's expression remained utterly calm.

He smiled and said, "All right, go get busy."

"I hope you can still bring out some good things at our next transaction."

With that, he turned and left the task hall. The silver pattern on his cuff flashed briefly as he turned away.

Luo Lin remained where he was, watching Black Rat's departing back as thoughts raced through his mind.

The exposure of Black Rat's identity as an Enforcement Squad member was both a warning and perhaps an opportunity.

The warning was that his earlier transactions had likely been under the Enforcement Squad's watch all along, or at least under Black Rat's personal attention. He had to be even more cautious.

The opportunity was that, since Black Rat had stepped in to help him and hinted at the Enforcement Squad's channels, the other man currently bore him no ill will. He might even feel some inclination to protect him because Luo Lin could reliably provide high-quality potions.

Strength! I still need to increase my strength as soon as possible!

Luo Lin took a deep breath.

Safety gained through someone else's passing whim or shared interests was ultimately a castle in the air.

Only by becoming strong himself could he truly establish a foothold.

After this conflict, he temporarily decided against taking any more Moonlight Moss tasks, lest he come into direct conflict with Frack's group again and attract unnecessary attention.

Luo Lin left the task hall and returned to his cabin, considering how to open up new resource channels and accumulate strength more quickly.

"Potions..."

Luo Lin murmured under his breath.

This was currently his greatest advantage.

The [Lesser Mental Boiling Potion] was highly profitable, but it depended on Moonlight Moss tasks, and selling through Black Rat carried uncertain risks.

He needed a more independent potion product that would be harder to imitate.

He recalled that when he had previously read Research on Substitutes for Low-Tier Potion Materials, aside from the [Lesser Mental Boiling Potion], he had seen several obscure potion concepts that had even been considered failures.

One concept called the [Minor Stamina Potion] had caught his attention.

The original intention behind this potion was to create something that could quickly restore physical strength and relieve muscle fatigue. Its target users were apprentices who needed to perform heavy physical labor or undertake lengthy tasks.

However, its original formula used Vitality Root as the main ingredient, making it relatively costly. Its effects were also unimpressive, only slightly relieving fatigue and falling far short of its advanced version, the [Greater Stamina Potion].

As a result, it had been almost forgotten by apprentices and was considered useless.

What Luo Lin valued was precisely its obscurity and low demand.

No one would pay attention to a low-tier potion with such weak effects.

Moreover, an idea flashed through his mind.

Could he use cheaper, more easily obtained materials and the precise processing ability granted by [Efficient Scholar] to improve its effects until it reached a practical level?

Luo Lin immediately got to work.

The next day, instead of going to the task hall and risking another conflict with Frack's people, he went straight to the library. He borrowed Research on Substitutes for Low-Tier Potion Materials again, spent 5 contribution points to carefully reread the section on the [Minor Stamina Potion], and noted down the basic formula.

Next, he went to the academy's supply exchange.

He did not buy any materials related to Moonlight Moss or Shadow Fungus. Instead, he purchased the basic ingredients for the [Minor Stamina Potion].

A small amount of Vitality Root powder, along with several extremely cheap and common magical plants.

These included Ironthread Grass, which possessed faint toughness properties, Morning Dew Flower, which had a slight invigorating effect, and a basic solvent.

All these materials together cost him only 20 contribution points.

After returning to his cabin, Luo Lin began his research.