Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Level 7 Mandrake Vine (3336)

A week later, in Ashgra city.

Lord Ashgra, led the residents of the city and his clansmen, all gathered in front of the villa where Locke and Gabi were temporarily staying, wanting to thank them.

Lord Ashgra saluted Gabi as she left and said, “Dear wizards, we come here on behalf of the entire city to thank you.”

“There have been no new cases this week, and those civilians who were previously ill have gradually recovered.”

“It was as if everyone had just woken up from a nightmare and realized it was just a dream. Ashgra was alive.”

Gabi nodded slightly, then said, “Okay…but Senior Locke doesn’t want to be disturbed right now…please go back.”

“Senior Locke said he appreciates your kindness.”

Lord Ashgra was about to speak, but stopped talking. He looked at the villa and saw that Locke did not come out. He gave up unwillingly and turned to persuade those who had recovered from the mild illness not to disturb the wizards in Lilith’s cottage.

A little girl holding a bunch of flowers suddenly shouted towards the villa where Locke was staying: “Thank you, Master Wizard, may the God of Light bless you forever.”

She jogged all the way to Lord Ashgra, and only stopped when Lord Ashgra stopped her. Then she put a bouquet of flowers on the ground.

Locke saw this scene from the window of the villa. He waved to the little girl through the window as a greeting.

The little girl giggled.

It’s not that Locke is so busy that he doesn’t have time to meet with these civilians, but there is no need, and there is a very serious problem.

He had just become a first-class wizard apprentice, and his body was constantly releasing magical pressure outward. If he came into contact with those mortals, if he was unlucky, a few mortals with hidden heart diseases might die.

The little girl shouted to the inside of the villa, “Thank you, Master Wizard Augustine.”

The civilians of Ashgra also joined in the thanks. “Thanks, Master Wizard Augustine.”

“At critical moments, we still have to rely on the wizards. Those monks in the city are useless.”

“You can’t blame the monks. After all, the doctors in the city are helpless against the plague. But Master Augustine, within a few days of coming to our place, all our illnesses were healed.”

“With the wizards here, we feel at ease.”

In the afternoon, Locke finally sorted out the chaotic magic power in the reception room of the villa where he was temporarily staying. He adjusted the surging magic power and the magic power became orderly again.

This is why he stayed in Ashgra for a week.

Apart from the decreased mana stability caused by the Scarlet Echo Potion, the rest of the mana that skyrocketed due to the promotion has been tamed by himself.

Locke placed his palm on the amethyst matrix he brought with him this time, and the number [220] appeared on it.

Locke couldn’t help but sigh. Teacher Sophia was indeed a first-ring alchemist. The scarlet echo potion she made by hand actually increased his mana by 25 points.

Not all Scarlet Echo Potions are of such good quality. The Scarlet Echo Potions made by first-class wizard apprentices, that is, the potion master’s assistants, are likely to have only about half the medicinal properties of the ones you take.

High-quality Scarlet Echo Potion naturally brings a sufficiently high chance of promotion.

At the same time, Locke looked at his right hand and saw that of the three Mandrake vines on his right hand, only one was left.

That’s because, during this week’s time to organize his mana, he simply combined his three level 6 Mandrake vines into a level 7 Mandrake vine.

He was also lucky; this time, a special synthesis formula appeared—[Ominous Level 7 Mandrake Vine, a special variant of the Mandrake Vine that feeds on enemy thoughts and can sense subtle hostility within a 100-meter range. It possesses the special ability to follow hostility, automatically lock onto targets, and attack, while retaining all the abilities of the Invisible Mandrake Vine.]

[In addition, the all-around performance of the Ominous Mandrake Vine is doubled compared to the Invisible Mandrake Vine.]

[In the natural environment, the probability of this mandrake vine mutating is only one in ten thousand.]

It takes 3 days to synthesize the level 7 synthetic item, the Horadric synthetic cube.

This made it more difficult for Locke to test the synthetic formula.

But fortunately, compared to becoming a first-class wizard apprentice, where the lifespan is almost doubled and reaches at least 200 years old, this increase in synthesis time seems insignificant.

Locke looked at the ominous Mandrake vine on his right hand. The appearance of the level 7 Mandrake vine had changed a lot. First of all, the thickness and size of all the leaves of the vine had increased a lot. Each leaf looked to be the size of a baby’s palm.

Many dark purple lines appeared on the surface of the leaves and vines.

Unlike the pale purple lines on the surface of the invisible Mandrake vines, these dark purple lines on the level 7 Mandrake vines are so purple that they are almost black.

The main body of the vine is thicker.

The number of poison berries produced by the Mandrake Vine has also increased several times. Using this more powerful magical plant and the poison berry catapult, the number of poison berries launched at one time will increase from the original five to more than twenty.

During this week, Locke also used the complex wild magical plants in the Ashgra Mountains to reconfigure the accompanying spell toxin for the [Poison Berry Ejection] spell.

Originally, the magical toxin used in the poison berry projectile was a mixture of poison dart frogs, castor beans, and blue-ringed octopuses, but that was only a magical toxin used by second-class wizard apprentices.

As a first-class wizard apprentice, Locke temporarily used the fungus of the rotten earth konjac, the laughing nightshade obtained from the Ashgra Mountains, and the mixture of spasmodic gray mushrooms to create a new toxin for the [Poison Berry Catapult] spell model.

Moreover, using a synthetic Rubik’s Cube, this mixed toxin that specifically targets the nerves was upgraded to level 7.

The first-class wizard apprentice and the level 7 mandrake vine can withstand more powerful spell poisons, so Locke temporarily upgraded the spell poison he used.

Although this temporarily upgraded toxin was only formulated by Locke based on some pharmacy knowledge he learned from Witch Sophia, it was not very reliable and did not bring out the best effects of the three original toxins.

But firstly, the fungal toxin of the konjac is of a very high level. Secondly, Locke synthesized this mixed spell toxin to level 7 and strengthened it several times out of thin air, resulting in this spell poison being barely decent among first-class wizard apprentices.

Locke named this magical poison he created “Laughter Poison”.

This magical poison will attack the enemy’s nerves, making it impossible for the enemy’s muscles to stretch and contract normally, causing the enemy’s whole body to laugh and unable to move normally. If the situation is serious, the enemy may even be unable to breathe due to excessive muscle contraction and laughter, and suffocate to death.

Anyway, if this kind of spell poison is applied to an ordinary second-class wizard apprentice, it is likely to have this effect.

Locke looked at the Level 7 Mandrake Vine on his right hand and said, “It’s almost integrated. When I return to Lilith’s hut, I will systematically upgrade the spell poison again and learn a higher-level advanced trick model of Poison Berry Repelling. This way, I can maximize the magic power of a first-class wizard apprentice.”

“Similarly, the Level 7 Mandrake Vines will also need to be gradually replenished after returning to the headquarters of Lilith’s Hut.”

“After I go back, I can directly learn the trick models of the Vine Frenzy series.”

“After I get back, I’ll also have to sign a new contract with Lilith’s Hut,” Locke thought. “The relationship between a first-class wizard apprentice and the academy is more complicated, so the academy will sign more contracts with me.”

“Similarly, the academy also has a host of benefits exclusively for first-class wizard apprentices. Independent laboratories, independent positions, and academy rewards for becoming a first-class wizard apprentice within two years, etc….”

“It can be said that only by becoming a first-class wizard apprentice can one truly become the backbone of the academy.” Locke calmed down. “After we return, we can immediately sell the iron wire grass to Li Jin Mi Yu.”

“I’m now a first-class wizard apprentice, so I don’t need to use my teacher’s name to publish my works anymore.”

“Even if it attracts some attention, you will have enough strength to protect yourself. Moreover, first-class wizard apprentices can try to obtain a breeder certificate and become an independent breeder.”

Locke whispered, “An independent genius breeder who invented some new apprentice-level magical plants. Although they are still outstanding, they will no longer attract special attention.”

“Once I get my breeder certificate, maybe I can sell the Invisible Mandrake vine to Li Jin Mi Yu. After all, it’s an obsolete magical plant.”

Locke walked out of the room and called Gabi. He said to Gabi, “Junior sister, I’m going back to the academy.”

“Do you want to come?”

Gabi hesitated for a moment, thinking that she was alone in the Ashgra Mountains and had nothing to do. The reason she stayed here before was just to take the opportunity to get in touch with Locke, who became a first-class wizard apprentice at such a young age.

So, she said, “Of course, okay. Senior Locke.”

…

After bidding farewell to the mortals of Ashgra who had thanked them, Locke and Gabi boarded the carriages they had hired and headed back towards Lilith’s cottage.

After about two days, the two left the remote mountainous area and entered the flat seaside plain in the southeast corner.

After passing through a mortal town, Waterwheel Town, Locke sat in a carriage pulled by three centaurs. He looked at his right hand and saw the ominous Mandrake vine wrapped around his right hand. The vine showed black and purple lines and turned into a deep red.

So red that it’s almost black.

That’s… a warning.

It’s the Omen Mandrake Vine, a rare magical plant with a special superpower that allows it to sense hostility within a radius of one hundred meters and feed on it.

Locke frowned and looked out of the carriage indifferently. He saw an empty country road ahead and there seemed to be nothing unusual.

If it weren’t for the reminder from the level 7 Mandrake Vine, Locke wouldn’t have reacted for a while.

“Is there anyone who is seriously hostile to me?” Locke quickly thought about whether he had offended anyone in Lilith’s hut. “I’m in Lilith’s hut, so I shouldn’t have any enemies.”

“That stupid wizard family is only bullying me behind my back because I became a breeder’s assistant. I’ve been laughed at behind my back for the past year, but they can’t possibly have such a deep grudge against me.”

“Forget it, no matter who it is, just kill them. I’ve been so careful, and there are still people targeting me, so I’ll kill them all.”

(End of this chapter)