Dwarf Street, on the road.
Locke wrapped the vampire heart in a handkerchief. He recalled the dark elf Sasari mentioning that vampire hearts could be used to craft various apprentice-level potions.
One such potion, [Crimson Echo], could temporarily boost a second-class wizard apprentice’s mental strength by 10%, with side effects limited to a month of temperature imbalance, blood-red vision, and loss of taste—vampire syndrome symptoms.
Taking this vampire heart would be highly beneficial.
He hadn’t expected that joining the patrol team as an enforcement wizard for Lilith’s Cottage would yield such a rare magical material.
Locke glanced at the wound on his shoulder, but this job was undeniably dangerous.
Take today’s encounter: if the Blood Curse Court’s wizard apprentice had targeted him primarily, he’d be dead by now.
Fortunately, his seemingly weak mana hadn’t drawn the black wizard apprentice’s attention.
But staying on the patrol team long-term would eventually expose his details to the Blood Curse Court, making him extremely vulnerable.
Locke turned to Captain Bruno Suarez. “Captain Suarez, I have two friends here. I’d like to check on them to make sure they’re okay.”
Bruno, busy cleaning up the scene and collecting evidence, waved dismissively. “We don’t have strict rules here. Do what you need to.”
“Haylia, take that experiment log. We need to hand it over to the academy’s higher-ups.”
“These harmful things must be destroyed and banned.”
Captain Bruno Suarez coldly addressed the shaken third-class wizard prospects. “Newcomers, listen up.”
“This is what happens when you stray onto the wrong path.”
“Let it be a lesson.”
The terrified wizard prospects on Dwarf Street nodded, agreed, and responded in unison.
Locke entered Lorne’s house on Dwarf Street, where Lorne and Pierre were hiding.
Seeing it was Locke, both sighed in relief.
Lorne exhaled heavily. “Locke, it’s you.”
“Congratulations. Pierre and I heard you’ve become an enforcement wizard apprentice.”
Pierre looked at Locke enviously. Locke’s wizard robe bore two badges: one for his second-class wizard apprentice status and another for his enforcement wizard role.
Pierre said, “Locke, becoming an enforcement wizard apprentice is incredible. Even local apprentices struggle to join the patrol team.”
“You’re really something.”
Locke paused, realizing that while Pierre was a local wizard, his ordinary family background meant he likely didn’t know the patrol team’s current dangers.
Not wanting to explain too much, Locke nodded slightly. “It’s alright.”
“I came to check on you both. Good to see you’re fine.”
“Be careful these days.”
Lorne and Pierre were deeply touched by his concern.
Lorne said, “Locke, having a friend like you is amazing.”
“Don’t worry. Thanks to you coming here with your second-class and enforcement badges, Pierre and I will likely face fewer troubles for a while.”
Locke nodded, chatted briefly, and excused himself to leave.
Pierre watched Locke’s departing figure, envious. “In just a year, he became a second-class wizard apprentice and joined the patrol team. Who knows how long it’ll take us to leave this place.”
Lorne glanced at him, recalling how he and Locke arrived at Lilith’s Cottage together, both with the same aptitude rating, and sighed.
“That’s the gap between people.”
“We can only study hard and push forward to catch up with prodigies like them.” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel-fire.net
In the afternoon, the patrol team handled a minor disturbance caused by an invasive magical species, [Screaming Frog].
Due to the ongoing wizard war between Lilith’s Cottage and the Blood Curse Court, the academy’s territory was infiltrated by numerous apprentice spies, and the local ecosystem was slightly destabilized.
This led to a surge in the patrol team’s workload.
Exhausted after a long day, Locke returned to Diagon Alley, Room 341.
In his villa, Locke removed his dust-stained wizard robe, handed it to a gray dwarf, and said to another, “Bring dinner to my room and prepare hot water for a bath.”
“Don’t let anyone enter my bedroom or disturb my rest.”
The gray dwarves bowed. “Great Wizard Master, your commands are our divine oracle.”
In his bedroom, Locke sat on the bed, holding a thumb-sized deep purple gem with eight facets, reflecting a noble glow.
This was a new synthesis formula he’d discovered recently.
He examined the gem’s description—
[Level 6 synthesized item, a special gem from the void, formed by intense material compression in void turbulence. It can absorb impurities in mental strength caused by bloodline contamination, enhancing the quality of ten units of mana.]
Locke’s eyes flickered with thought. “I heard about this gem in Universal Studies. It’s an apprentice-level magical resource not produced in the southeast quadrant.”
“Wizards undergoing bloodline modification gain many benefits but also suffer bloodline contamination, altering their mana’s nature and causing side effects.”
“But with a few Deep Purple Jades, that problem can be resolved.”
Locke mused, “As a second-class wizard apprentice, I can indeed perform a simple bloodline modification.”
“Typically, second-class apprentices undergo at least one bloodline modification to slightly improve their aptitude and mental strength.”
“It’s a common practice.”
“And staying in the patrol team is so dangerous. I need to boost my strength quickly to avoid being so vulnerable again.”
“Since I have the means, I should undergo a low-side-effect bloodline modification.”
Locke picked up a magic book from the shelf and flipped through it. The biggest mental drawback of bloodline modification was the degradation of mana purity, leaving hidden risks for future advancement.
It was beneficial now but detrimental long-term.
But with ample Deep Purple Jades, he could pursue powerful bloodline modifications that would otherwise cause significant mental contamination.
He reviewed his Universal Studies notes, his gaze settling on illustrations of mid-tier magical creatures: [Orcni Great Bear] and [Ursun Giant Wolf].