Locke quickly skimmed through their background information.
According to the assignment letters, the two female Wizard Seedlings, Nikki Crawford and Sibyl Lake, both came from local commoner families in the Southeast Corner Domain, each possessing Second-Class Wizard Talent.
Their backgrounds were relatively straightforward.
The male Wizard Seedling's origins, however, were more intriguing. Like Locke himself, he hailed from the overseas commoner world—specifically from an island called Achaea.
The locals referred to it as the Achaean Continent.
The primary political system of Achaea was slave democracy, where city-states were centered around citizens who enjoyed maximum freedom while others were either slaves or second-class citizens.
This Wizard Seedling, Leo Siss, was descended from a gladiator slave of a local city-state.
During his youth, he had undergone some gladiator slave training. Had he not suddenly been discovered to possess Wizard Talent and taken away by Second-Class Wizard Apprentices posing as divine messengers, he would have followed his father's path—fighting as expendable flesh in the arena until eventual death.
Reading this, Locke glanced up at Leo Siss.
At that moment, Leo quickly lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with Locke. He could sense the danger radiating from this white-robed senior. In this senior's presence, he felt utterly unsafe, as if death might come at any moment.
That suffocating sensation constantly pressed against his throat, urging him to flee—to escape Locke's gaze.
The next instant, he felt Locke's hand press down on his shoulder. His muscles tensed instantly, hairs standing on end from fright.
Locke studied him. "Good physical condition."
"But you're no longer a gladiator slave. You don't need to maintain such wariness toward strangers."
"You're the teacher's student—I won't harm you. And if I wanted to, you'd be powerless to stop it."
Locke addressed all three: "You may call me Senior Locke. Starting today, I'll conduct one group lesson with you daily."
"Additionally, you must attend the three public foundation courses. You have five years to advance to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice status—otherwise, you'll be expelled."
"This academy is full of expelled wizard apprentices. I suggest you avoid joining them."
Nikki and Sibyl immediately bowed to Locke. "Understood, Senior Locke. We appreciate your guidance."
"We will diligently follow your teachings and remain forever grateful."
The two girls seemed to already grasp some of Lilith's Cottage's rules.
They quickly realized that, in many ways, Locke would be their true teacher for these five years.
Opportunities to meet with Witch Sophia would be exceedingly rare unless they became Second-Class Wizard Apprentices—only then might they gain slightly more access.
Moreover, in the eyes of these two locals from commoner families, a First-Class Wizard Apprentice was already an immensely powerful figure.
Leo Siss gritted his teeth as Locke saw right through his thoughts. Instantly, Locke seemed profound and utterly reliable in his eyes.
He bowed his head to Locke and said, "Thank you... senior..."
In a low voice, he continued, "I truly haven't been able to free myself from the life of that world. I'm sorry, senior. I shouldn't have remained wary of you."
It seemed Leo had realized that if Locke wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have the slightest chance to resist. Only then did he finally relax. "Senior Locke, I heard that the apprentices of Black Wizards in the Southeast Corner Domain are essentially slaves to them."
Locke nodded, recalling the practices of the Blood Curse Court. "That's indeed the case."
"Those Black Wizards are different from White Wizards. At least White Wizards have some order, but in the world of Black Wizards, those with greater power can do whatever they please."
Locke said, "Alright, the three of you should already know about student loans, right?"
The three immediately confirmed that their orientation mentor on the Wizard Ship had explained student loans to them.
The interest rate was generally five percent.
Locke inwardly grumbled that this time, the First-Class Wizard Apprentice serving as the orientation mentor was far more reliable than Shopkeeper Yuli Burns.
Back then, Yuli Burns hadn't explained any of this to him at all. If not for his good luck, he might have easily been deceived into signing a private student loan contract with a much higher interest rate.
Locke nodded. "Good. Follow me to my place. The student loan process is somewhat complicated—better to get it done sooner rather than later."
"I have my own matters to attend to as well. A wizard's time is extremely precious."
Today was the day the Mayfly Firecracker course began.
The Mayfly Firecracker was a high-tier Cantrip Spell Model at 0.8 rings. Using this spell model would maximize the effects of the Corpse Soil Konjac.
Although he had applied for special protection and remained inside Lilith's Cottage without venturing out, learning more defensive spells was still beneficial.
For a Breeder, mastering additional botany spells would undoubtedly broaden their perspective and inspiration for cultivating new varieties of Magic Plants.
Moreover, if he wanted to become a Formal Wizard, it wasn't enough for his mental energy to reach 1,000—he also needed to learn how to construct a one-ring Spell. This required him to study more botany cantrip models to expand his knowledge.
Of course, his primary focus still had to be on the Advanced Meditation Technique, Potion Mastery, and Breeding.
The former was fundamental to his progress in Mana, while the latter determined whether he could afford enough Magic Stones to purchase large quantities of magical resources and maintain efficient meditation.
Nikki and Sybil exchanged glances before cautiously approaching Locke, each producing around 10 Magic Stones.
Locke raised an eyebrow. "What's the meaning of this?"
Nikki and Sybil flinched in surprise.
Sybil whispered, "Senior Locke... is it not enough? How much 'miscellaneous fees' do you require? I... I'm sorry. Neither Nikki nor I have much experience. We only heard that we're supposed to pay miscellaneous fees to the seniors teaching us each semester, but we don't know the exact amount..."
"These Magic Stones were painstakingly saved up by our families."
"If it's not enough... could we owe the rest for now? Could we delay signing the loan contract, senior...?"
Nikki also looked terrified.
Leo grew anxious. "So there are tuition fees too... But I don't have any Magic Stones on me—in fact, I still owe the academy 30 Magic Stones."
It suddenly dawned on Locke that those First-Class Wizard Apprentices and Second-Class Wizard Apprentices who conducted substitute classes would privately collect additional "tuition fees" from newly enrolled Wizard Seedlings.
He vaguely remembered Raun and Pierre mentioning something about paying extra tuition fees back then, though he hadn't paid much attention at the time.
Most likely, the entire Lilith's Cottage operated on a system where Formal Wizard Mentors exploited their First-Class Wizard Apprentice students, who in turn found ways to exploit the students below them...
But Locke had been under Sophia's guidance. The witch Sophia had never charged him extra tuition—in fact, she had even subsidized him quite a bit.
Locke found it somewhat ridiculous. What was the point of squeezing these Wizard Seedlings for scraps of Magic Stones? He'd earn far more by developing a few new varieties of Magic Plants.
Locke waved his hand dismissively. "No need. I don't charge tuition fees. Just focus on your studies."
"Come with me now. Don't waste my time."
After all, Sophia had never charged him either.
He suspected those First-Class Wizard Apprentices only collected fees out of habit—because they'd been charged the same way when they were Wizard Seedlings.
Nikki and Sybil looked astonished upon hearing Locke wouldn't charge them.
Leo, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief—he had no money to begin with.
(End of Chapter)