Conflict and the Enforcement Squad

That day, Luo Lin went to the material processing room as usual, intending to take on a Moonlight Moss assignment.

However, he found several people gathered before the task display. At their head stood a burly gray-robed apprentice with a faint scar on his face. The badge on his chest showed that he was a Second-Rank Apprentice.

"Boss Frack is taking all the Moonlight Moss assignments starting today. Go somewhere else."

The scar-faced apprentice, Frack, folded his arms and spoke to several First-Rank Wizard Apprentices who wanted to accept tasks.

The First-Rank Wizard Apprentices were angry but dared not speak. They left resentfully.

Luo Lin frowned.

Although Moonlight Moss assignments did not pay much, they were steady.

Moreover, they were his only source of Shadow Fungus.

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

Luo Lin remained expressionless and turned to leave, intending to see whether there were any other suitable material-processing assignments.

"Hey! You, stop."

Frack called out to him, his gaze scrutinizing.

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

Luo Lin stopped, turned around, and answered calmly, "I'm merely completing assignments."

"Then that's good!"

Frack strode up to him, giving off an oppressive air.

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

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

He would still get the task rewards?

Even a three-year-old would not believe that nonsense. Who knew whether Frack would actually give him contribution points after he finished the work? If he did not, Luo Lin would simply be working for him for free.

Luo Lin sneered inwardly, though his face remained expressionless.

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

"Rules?" Frack sneered and reached out to slap Luo Lin's face, but 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 lackeys behind him 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:

There were many of them, 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.

If they fought head-on, Luo Lin was very likely to come out worse.

"Tsk, tsk. Lord Frack certainly has an impressive presence, coming 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-key man he had been when trading with Luo Lin.

A mocking smile hung 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 apprentice Frack saw Black Rat, especially the silver pattern on his cuff, his expression changed abruptly. Most of his earlier arrogance instantly vanished, and a trace of apprehension flashed through his eyes.

His lackeys instinctively took half a step back as well, their momentum fading.

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

Frack forced out an awkward smile.

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

"Exchanging experience?"

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

"Exchanging it with numbers? Or with the status of a Second-Rank Apprentice?"

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

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure. The apprentices watching the spectacle around them all held their breath.

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

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

Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the crowd quickly dispersed as well. However, many people now looked at Luo Lin with greater curiosity and scrutiny.

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

Black Rat turned around. The mocking look on his face had vanished, replaced by his usual shrewd expression, though there was now a trace of scrutiny deep in his eyes.

"You all right, Lin?"

He deliberately placed a little extra emphasis on the word "Lin."

Luo Lin's heart tightened.

Black Rat was actually a member of the Enforcement Squad!

Had his previous trades with Luo Lin been personal actions, or had he been carrying out some sort of surveillance mission?

He quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and answered calmly, "I'm fine. Thank you for stepping in, Senior."

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

Black Rat waved a hand and spoke as though casually.

"Frack and his group have been getting a little restless lately."

"But they only dare bully newcomers with no backing."

"Be more careful when accepting assignments 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 layer of meaning beneath it:

Black Rat was hinting that he knew Luo Lin was a newcomer with no backing, 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 studied him twice, seemingly trying to read something from his face, but Luo Lin's expression remained utterly calm.

He smiled. "All right, get back to work."

"I hope you'll still have good stuff for our next trade."

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

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

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

The warning was that his previous trades might have been under the Enforcement Squad's watch all along, or at least under Black Rat's personal attention. He had to be more careful.

The opportunity was that Black Rat had proactively stepped in to help him and hinted at the Enforcement Squad's channels. That meant Black Rat currently bore him no ill will and might even be inclined to protect him because he 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 another person's 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 not to take any more Moonlight Moss assignments, lest he clash directly with Frack's group again and draw unnecessary attention.

Luo Lin left the task hall and returned to his cabin, thinking about how to open up new resource channels and accumulate strength faster.

"Potions..."

Luo Lin murmured to himself.

This was currently his greatest advantage.

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

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

When he recalled browsing through Research on Substitutes for Low-Tier Potion Materials, he remembered that aside from the Lesser Mental Boiling Potion, he had also seen several obscure potion concepts that had even been deemed failures.

One concept called the Minor Stamina Potion caught his attention.

The original purpose of this potion was to create something that could quickly restore physical stamina and relieve muscle fatigue. Its target users were apprentices who needed to perform large amounts of physical labor or undertake lengthy assignments.

However, the original formula used Vitality Root as its main ingredient, making it costly, and its effects were not particularly noticeable. It could only mildly relieve fatigue and was far inferior to 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.

And then a thought 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 and bring it up to a practical level?

Luo Lin immediately took action.

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, carefully reread the section on the Minor Stamina Potion, and copied down its 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 base 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 contained faint toughening properties; Morning Dew Flower, which had a mild 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.