In Witch Sophia's office, Locke placed his hands on the amethyst matrix, and soon a number appeared, [53].

Locke's eyelids twitched. Indeed, he had now reached the level of a second-class wizard apprentice.

"It took me a year to become a second-class wizard apprentice," Locke thought. "My learning speed falls between that of a Level 5 and Level 6 aptitude prospect."

"But if I can find more synthesis formulas and solve the issue of magic stone scarcity, I believe I can further accelerate my progress."

Over the past year, Locke had worked as Witch Sophia's assistant daily, earning a total of one thousand magic stones. However, after learning two spells and covering various experimental expenses, only eight hundred magic stones remained.

These eight hundred stones were the result of extreme frugality.

Locke had already planned how to use them, five hundred would go toward purchasing a meditation technique.

Advancing to first-class wizard apprentice without a meditation technique was nearly unthinkable.

While it was possible to brute-force one's way from third-class to second-class wizard apprentice by learning spells and forcibly increasing mental strength, the gap between second-class and first-class was far too vast.

Without a meditation technique, given his mediocre-to-low wizard aptitude, it might take him a lifetime to reach first-class wizard apprentice.

The remaining three hundred magic stones would be saved to see if he could pool enough resources to purchase Witch Sophia's Magical Plant Breeding course.

With so few magic stones to spare, Locke didn't dare enroll in any additional courses in the public classrooms.

For example, local wizard apprentices often spent money on private advanced courses like the Mana Circuit Defect Detection course, where formal wizards or first-class apprentices would inspect their mana channels for flaws to optimize spellcasting efficiency.

Some wealthier local apprentices even studied subjects like Basic Potion-Making or Pet Taming to acquire specialized skills.

Locke had also considered solving his magic stone shortage by synthesizing them. But when he placed magic stones into the Horadric Synthesis Cube, he received a prompt, "Synthesis level exceeds current limit."

Thus, he knew that at his current character level, synthesizing magic stones was impossible.

For some reason, magic stones seemed to have an exceptionally high synthesis threshold.

The sound of Witch Sophia's footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts. Stepping outside, he saw her supporting a young, unfamiliar wizard whose lower half had turned into black sludge.

The stranger's robes bore the emblem of Holly Tower, he was undoubtedly a formal wizard from that academy.

Witch Sophia sighed as she helped him. "Honestly, Wesley Durant, you're a First Circle wizard of Holly Tower."

"You're a man of status. How could you engage in a private duel with a black wizard?"

"You're insane. The Blood Curse Court's curses are bizarre and unpredictable. You're lucky this happened near Lilith's Cottage territory, anywhere else, the Thousand Sores curse would have killed you by now."

Wesley Durant's face was pale. "So it's the Thousand Sores curse..."

"Thank the stars I have you as a friend in Lilith's Cottage. I owe you, Sophia. You've always been kind."

"You helped me back on the wizard caravan to the academy too."

Witch Sophia sighed again. "What can I say? We're peers."

"Among our batch of wizard apprentices, only a handful of us became formal wizards. But don't think this treatment is free, you're paying for it."

Wesley Durant nodded weakly. "Of course."

Noticing Locke standing nearby, Witch Sophia cast a spell, changing the vine flower on her hat from pink to white. Her demeanor instantly grew more authoritative.

"Quiet now," she murmured to Wesley. "My student is here."

Wesley Durant glanced at Locke, his expression flattening into an unreadable mask of formality.

Witch Sophia turned to Locke, her tone impatient. "Locke, why are you here now? Class isn't for another three hours."

"I'm busy."

"Unless it's urgent, don't disturb me."

Locke hesitated, then said, "Teacher, I came to report that my mental strength has reached 53."

"I tested it using your amethyst matrix."

"I've also mastered [Poison Berry Shot] and [Green Grasp]."

The impatience on Witch Sophia's face vanished, replaced by surprise as she scrutinized Locke.

Unlike first-class wizard apprentices, she didn't need tools like the amethyst matrix to gauge an apprentice's mental strength. A brief inspection confirmed Locke's claim.

"You've progressed faster than I anticipated," she said, her voice measured.

"Locke."

"My original plan was for you to reach second-class wizard apprentice in four years. Yet you've done it in one. Even mastering [Poison Berry Shot] took only a third of the time I expected."

Her gaze sharpened with newfound interest. "You must possess some latent talent."

"Such cases aren't unheard of. Wizard aptitude testing methods are constantly improving, but no examination can ever fully map a person's potential."

"Occasionally, exceptions slip through."

"In my assessment, your actual aptitude far exceeds the academy's evaluation."

"The academy would never assign me a high-aptitude student willingly, so this is likely an oversight on their part. You've surprised me, Locke."

She fell into brief contemplation. "In a few days, I'd like to conduct a free bloodline trace examination on you. Would you consent?"

Locke nodded immediately. "Of course, Teacher."

Witch Sophia's tone shifted decisively. "I've reconsidered. Now that you're a second-class wizard apprentice, you can truly be of use to me."

"Come with me."

"First, extract 500ml of dryad blood and bring it here. We'll brew an anti-curse potion together. With your assistance, the process will be smoother."

"Locke, circumstances have changed. Your future may extend further than I initially projected."

She added, "I recommend spending 150 magic stones to enroll in the Universal Studies course at the public classrooms. I lack the time to teach such fundamentals myself, but they'll benefit you greatly."

"As for the Magical Plant Breeding course you've wanted, I can instruct you personally, for 500 magic stones. Now that you're second-class, you're also eligible to learn advanced potion-making assistant skills."

Locke agreed eagerly.

Wesley Durant, who had remained silent until now, whispered to Witch Sophia, "Congratulations on acquiring a promising student."

"I envy you. Holly Tower assigned me several Level 2 aptitude apprentices, utterly useless, not even fit as test subjects."

"I'll never understand why those fossilized elders insist on accepting prospects below Level 3 aptitude. Why can't they raise the admission standards?"

"Though I never thought you'd take on a student either, Sophia."

Witch Sophia coughed lightly. "Mind your words, Wesley. My apprentice is present."