Locke bowed respectfully to his mentor. "I will follow all your instructions. You are my teacher."

A trace of relief seemed to flicker across Witch Sophia's face. "Good. You are, in fact, my first true student."

"Though I had assumed the academy wouldn't assign me any students for at least another decade, so there are no spare dormitories prepared for you here."

Locke replied, "Mentor Sophia, I can find lodging in the port city."

Sophia nodded. "There's no need to be so formal."

"The academy has a rule, you must advance to second-class wizard apprentice within five years, or you will be expelled. For apprentices with Level 5 aptitude or higher, this isn’t even a concern, they almost always reach second-class within two or three years of enrollment."

"But don’t worry too much. If you study diligently, becoming a second-class apprentice in five years won’t be difficult."

Sophia glanced at a parchment. "I’ve reviewed your schedule. Starting tomorrow, you’ll attend public courses: Basic Spell Principles, Basic Mana Studies, and Basic Rune Studies."

"Today, I’ll prepare your specialized course schedule."

Her tone turned businesslike. "If you had 500 magic stones, I’d recommend purchasing a meditation technique from me. That would greatly accelerate your progress."

Locke didn’t fully understand what a meditation technique was, but he knew his current magic stone balance was negative twenty. He answered honestly, "Mentor, I come from a mortal world across the sea. I don’t have any magic stones."

Sophia didn’t react with pity or disdain, she simply adjusted. "Ah. That complicates things slightly."

"The meditation techniques I have are all contract-bound. I can’t simply give them to you unless you purchase them outright."

"But it’s fine. At this stage, most wizard prospects lack the stones to buy techniques. They force their way to second-class by learning spells and accumulating mental strength the hard way."

She explained, "The difference between a second-class and third-class apprentice is that the former has at least 50 mental strength points."

"Beyond that, the gap isn’t vast."

"Your first spell is Vine Hand, hmm? And your secondary elemental affinity is gold?"

Locke hesitated. "Is that unusual, Mentor?"

Sophia shook her head. "Not exactly."

"But gold-element affinity is relatively rare."

She studied him with newfound interest. As her first official student, he was an intriguing specimen. "I suspect you might carry some special bloodline. Gold affinity is exceptionally uncommon."

"You could learn rare gold magic, though Lilith’s Cottage doesn’t teach that discipline."

"Still, I have some related materials in my collection. They do require payment, however."

She tilted her head. "Would you be willing to spend 120 magic stones for a bloodline trace examination? You might discover something unexpected, and I could tailor your training more precisely."

Locke’s interest was piqued, but his empty pockets vetoed the idea. He needed to earn stones, fast.

With a resigned sigh, he shook his head. "Mentor, I truly have no funds."

Sophia exhaled. "Students from across the sea always struggle at first."

Her mention of a special bloodline made Locke think of Earl Augustine’s claims about his original body’s mother, the mysterious witch.

Encouraged by Sophia’s approachability, he ventured a question. "Mentor, do you know how I might earn magic stones?"

"I’d like to gather resources as quickly as possible."

Sophia skimmed his file. "Let me see what options you have."

"Be warned, Lilith’s Cottage is full of traps. Outsiders, even some academy wizards, may offer loans in exchange for you becoming their test subject. Refuse all such offers, no matter how sweet they sound."

Her frown deepened. "They prey on prospects like you."

She continued, "You could take academy missions for contributions and stones, but most are too dangerous for you right now, patrolling the city, hunting magical creatures, gathering rare materials. Those are for second-class apprentices."

"The safer missions require specialized skills or higher ranks."

Sophia drummed her fingers. "Alternatively, you could do grunt work, processing simple but repetitive magical materials for second-class or first-class apprentices..."

She paused, eyebrows rising. "Wait. Your file mentions you assisted a second-class apprentice in brewing Stone Crab Potion aboard the wizard ship?"

Locke nodded. "Yes, Mentor."

"But I only handled the Mana Centrifugal Extraction for the base components."

Sophia laughed. "How complex could a second-class apprentice’s potion be? The hardest part is the extraction."

"Whoever wrote this record has a peculiar sense of humor. It wasn’t you helping him, it was him helping you complete that potion."

Her amusement faded. "Though Stone Crab Bloodline Modification Potion... I’ve heard of that notorious brew. Its side effects are legion. I’m surprised anyone would drink it. The consumer likely won’t live long."

Locke nodded silently. Professor Alder had indeed been on borrowed time.

Sophia gestured to a stool. "Sit. Later, I’ll test your extraction skills."

"Right now, I’m designing a First Circle potion process. Don’t interrupt."

"As a First Circle Potion Maker, if your technique is solid, I can delegate some tasks to you."

"In return, I’ll pay you in magic stones."

Locke hadn’t expected that a skill learned in Corfu Island, the Mana Centrifugal Extraction Technique, would become his first income source in the wizarding world.

More importantly, he realized something crucial, potion-making consumed vast amounts of rare resources.

And that was precisely where the Horadric Synthesis Cube could give him an unfair advantage.