Locke examined the description of the Growth Gel in his hand—Level 6 Growth Gel.

[Enhanced Growth Gel, with effects comparable to advanced Growth Gel crafted by potion-making assistants.]

Locke thought, “No special synthesis formula appeared, but that’s fine. The enhanced effect from synthesizing to Level 6 is already significant.”

He could craft ordinary Growth Gel, though its quality was poor. Advanced Growth Gel, however, was typically made by potion-making assistants, who were generally first-class wizard apprentices.

Sophia, for instance, used advanced Growth Gel exclusively and would not use ordinary crafted Growth Gel.

Advanced Growth Gel could make ordinary-grade magical plants grow in minutes, while ordinary Growth Gel took days.

That was the difference.

With his financial situation, Locke couldn’t afford advanced Growth Gel for a long time. But now, he was free to use it as much as needed.

That was a relief.

With ample advanced Growth Gel, his grafting cultivation experiments could be accelerated dozens of times.

The wizarding world had always been this way: wizards with resources could invest heavily to boost their learning speed.

Locke thought, “But I can’t openly sell advanced Growth Gel without a potion-making assistant certificate. I can only use it myself.”

“Otherwise, I couldn’t explain its source.”

“Of course, if my relationship with Sophia becomes closer and she backs me, it wouldn’t matter.”

Locke shook his head, snapping out of it. “Damn, how could I think that?”

“Sophia is just my academy teacher. I can’t rely on her.”

“She’s a formal wizard, and I’m just her student. If she discovered my abnormalities, who knows what she’d do.”

Wizards were selfish.

Especially when it came to advancing their wizard ranks.

Locke stored the Level 6 Growth Gel in a drawer, along with his Focus Ointment, and locked it.

As a second-class wizard apprentice, he could now synthesize Level 6 items and had been exploring new synthesis formulas.

If he could obtain better jades, his mental strength growth rate could increase further.

Reaching the level of a Level 7 aptitude Child of Elements wasn’t impossible!

Locke left his bedroom and waved to the gray dwarves in the living room. They immediately turned, bowed respectfully, and awaited his orders.

Locke said, “I’m going out. Keep the place clean and don’t let strangers into my room.”

The gray dwarves hurriedly responded, “Honored Wizard Master, your command is our divine oracle.”

“Great Wizard Master, serving you is our honor. We are wholeheartedly grateful for your permission to serve you…”

The villa’s door, provided by the academy, was an alchemical product with a basic enchantment effect, featuring a magical lock, ensuring basic security.

Moreover, each gray dwarf had the physical prowess of a knight’s squire, as Lorne had described, giving them some combat ability.

After all, knights were the result of wizards’ bloodline modification experiments.

Marked with his spiritual imprint, the gray dwarves were completely loyal to him and, due to his mental strength imprint in their souls, fearless of other wizards.

Thus, gray dwarves were quite valuable in the southeast quadrant’s slave markets.

The academy’s gift of three gray dwarves was a perk, but if they died, Locke would need to buy replacements at the Chimera Trading Market’s slave market, which would cost a significant amount.

Walking through Diagon Alley, Locke noted the square-brick pavement.

The streets were narrow, with few pedestrians. Second-class wizard apprentices always moved hurriedly, busy with their own affairs.

Unlike Dwarf Street, there were no opportunists here trying to scam wizard prospects.

This was partly because Diagon Alley was Lilith’s Cottage’s core area and partly because no second-class wizard apprentice would be foolish enough to fall for such scams.

Locke exited Diagon Alley and hailed a lizardman-driven rickshaw to head to the Lilith’s Cottage patrol team’s reporting point.

About half an hour later, the lizardman pulled the cart across half the city, bringing Locke to a cluster of wooden houses in the wilderness of the city’s southwest.

After dismounting, Locke stepped over a circle of runic stones surrounding the houses. The academy badge on his white wizard robe flashed, and he entered the barrier.

Locke scanned the area and saw many second-class wizard apprentices around the wooden houses.

The academy’s patrol team consisted mostly of second-class wizard apprentices, as first-class apprentices were unlikely to serve as guards patrolling the academy’s interior.

The patrol team’s role was to patrol the academy’s territory, not to guard the entrance barrier or key access points, which were the responsibility of formal wizards and first-class apprentices.

Locke held up his assignment letter and said, “Captain Bruno Suarez, I’m Locke Augustine, a second-class wizard apprentice, reporting as ordered by my mentor, Witch Sophia, and the academy.”

As his voice rang out, several second-class wizard apprentices turned to look at him.

Unlike those in other areas, these apprentices carried the bloodthirsty aura of those who had experienced real combat.

They quickly turned away indifferently, moving swiftly with tense expressions, mounting giant snails the size of carriages.

Iron seats hung from the snails’ backs.

Locke frowned, as no one stepped forward to respond.

Suddenly, a wizard apprentice rushed out from the enforcement team. The young man shouted at Locke, “You’re the new guy, right? You’re the fifth this month.”

“Hurry up and jump onto my Engel Swift Snail’s back!”

“Those black wizards have released all sorts of monsters into our academy’s territory again. Someone’s dead, and we’re heading there now!”

“We don’t have many rules here. Our only mission is to ensure the academy’s safety!”