The next day.
In front of the wooden registration office.
On duty today was a halfling Second-Class Wizard Apprentice whom Locke had never met before.
With both hands, he respectfully presented the badge representing a First-Class Wizard Apprentice to Locke. "Greetings, senior. This is your badge."
"According to the contract for First-Class Wizard Apprentices, you will receive a monthly stipend of one hundred Magic Stones from the academy, along with two bottles of Stardust Tear Potion and one bottle of Weeping Blood Nightshade Potion. This support has no time limit."
"In addition, you may retain your residence in Inverted Alley while also selecting a standard First-Class Wizard Apprentice three-piece housing set at any location of your choice within Lilith's Cottage. This includes two living quarters and one small laboratory."
"You may choose any location, and soon the academy will place the alchemical structures of Lilith's Cottage at your designated spot."
The halfling Second-Class Wizard Apprentice continued respectfully, "Lord Locke, aside from the monthly resource stipend and housing provisions, you will also have one opportunity to enter the Wizard secret realm, as well as the chance to select one Magical Plant and one Enchanted Item."
"Since you became a First-Class Wizard Apprentice within two years, the list of Magical Plants and Enchanted Items available to you is of the highest tier."
The halfling handed Locke a list, which he noticed was divided into three tiers.
These were designated for those who achieved the rank within two years, within three years, and all other First-Class Wizard Apprentices.
The list for those within two years contained the highest-tier Enchanted Items and Magical Plants, even including a few rare apprentice-level Magic Plants.
The three-year list was slightly better.
The items on the final tier were comparatively ordinary.
The previous night, Sophia the Witch had already signed the academy contract with Locke—a mere formality, as very few First-Class Wizard Apprentices would refuse to renew at this stage.
If someone suddenly broke the contract, the academy would not only terminate all further support but might also demand repayment of previously allocated resources.
Of course, Locke had also cleared his outstanding debt of one thousand Magic Stones in tuition loans.
After all, he currently had no intention of leaving Lilith's Cottage.
The benefits of Lilith's Cottage were exceptionally generous, and his obligations only required him to prioritize signing with them upon becoming a First-Circle Wizard—or to contribute in some way before departing.
As a First-Class Wizard Apprentice, his primary duty was to protect the interests of Lilith's Cottage, returning from anywhere in the world to defend the academy in times of crisis.
Additionally, he might occasionally take on certain mandatory academy roles.
Given his status as a Breeder and his successful development of two new Magic Plant varieties, the academy had assigned him a particularly fitting position—Public Garden Maintainer.
This meant he would work alongside other First-Class Wizard Apprentices to maintain the academy's public gardens.
Lilith's Cottage, as a dominant force in Potionology, boasts a vast public botanical garden that supplies a large quantity of Magical Plants for the Potion Masters within to brew Magic Potions.
Therefore, a significant number of professional wizard apprentices are required for the regular maintenance of this enormous public plantation.
However, the workload isn't heavy—Locke only needed to dedicate half a month each year to it. Moreover, working in the colossal botanical garden allowed him to broaden his horizons, which was a definite advantage.
Locke quickly identified the most cost-effective and suitable Magic Plant on the list. "For the Magic Plant... I choose Corpse Soil Konjac."
He turned to the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, a halfling. "I don't need an advanced Enchanted Item for now. Can I exchange the opportunity to select one for an additional Corpse Soil Konjac?"
While reviewing the list, Locke noticed that Clivia wasn't included, but Corpse Soil Konjac was.
The Heradic Synthesis Cube classified Corpse Soil Konjac as a Level 6 item, but if he possessed three of them, he could synthesize them into a single Level 7 plant.
Corpse Soil Konjac was rarely seen on the market—even in the Chimera Market, it wasn't something one could casually purchase. Locke had already inquired with the staff at Lijin Secret Language and placed advance orders for both Corpse Soil Konjac and Clivia.
The staff had promised to contact him as soon as new stock arrived.
But several days had passed without any updates, so it seemed he'd have to wait a while longer.
The halfling Second-Class Wizard Apprentice smiled obsequiously. "Of course, Lord Locke. There have been precedents for such exchanges before. Now, which Wizard secret realm would you like to choose?"
Locke examined the list of secret realms. The standard reward list for First-Class Wizard Apprentices only offered three options, but his high-tier reward list included two additional realms—clearly, these were the highest-level ones.
This was a privilege reserved for fast-rising talents like him.
'I remember Teacher Sophia mentioning that Wizard secret realms come from various sources. Some are resource sites left behind by ancient wizards, others are masterpieces of nature's craftsmanship, while some are modern artificial facilities created by contemporary wizards or even unsolved mysteries—remnants from other worlds.' Locke skimmed through the three standard realms: Eternal Dusk Garden, Tesla Wasteland, and Extremely Cold Ice Island.
Each of the three had a brief description on the list.
These secret realms were essentially exploration zones where wizards could gather resources—some natural, others man-made.
Eternal Dusk Garden was a modern artificial resource site established by the White Wizard Association, specifically designed to provide promising young wizards with access to Potionology-related resources.
Tesla Wasteland was a natural energy convergence point along the coast, home to many rare Magical Creatures, making it ideal for wizards specializing in summoning to harvest resources.
Extremely Cold Ice Island was a small offshore island, best suited for apprentices of the Shaping School to gather magical resources.
All three realms required considerable risk and effort to yield rewards.
They were the go-to destinations for First-Class Wizard Apprentices who had hit a dead end in their progress but refused to give up—hoping to gamble for a breakthrough.
Locke looked at the two special Wizard Secret Realms listed on the reward sheet: the Forbidden Forest and the Boundary Membrane Grand Canyon.
The Forbidden Forest was a woodland brimming with potent magical energy, its origins unknown. Though unclaimed, hundreds of wizard organizations in the surrounding regions regularly sent wizard apprentices inside to harvest resources.
Located in the central part of the southeastern territory, the Forbidden Forest was one of the most crucial resource sites for wizards. If not for this special reward, Locke wouldn't even have seen it listed.
Within the forest lay a peculiar arcane force that seemed capable of distorting physical laws and disregarding events that had already occurred in reality. To this day, exploration of the Forbidden Forest remained limited to its outermost edges—the so-called "safe zones."
The designated secret realm of the Forbidden Forest only covered these peripheral areas, excluding the deeper, uncharted regions.
Legend spoke of unimaginable dark forces lurking in the forest's deepest reaches. No one who ventured there had ever returned alive.
As for the Boundary Membrane Grand Canyon, it was a slightly smaller secret realm. The canyon bore a massive, unhealable spatial rift, speculated to be a wound left behind by high-tier wizards in battle. The world's natural restorative forces couldn't mend such damage, and over time, a boundary membrane formed where spatial collisions with other planes occurred—making it an ideal research site for wizards specializing in the Conjuration school.
After careful consideration, Locke chose the Forbidden Forest. Even without consulting Sophia the Witch, he knew she would have steered him toward it.
Because the Forbidden Forest… was nothing short of heaven for Potion Masters and Breeders!
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