Wizard:Starting from Synthesizing Gems

At the outskirts of the port city, a herd of black-skinned rhinoceroses charged wildly across the wilderness, pursued by over twenty Second-Class Wizard Apprentices from the patrol squad.

Captain Bruno called out to Locke, "Locke!"

The next moment, seven Berserk Rhinoceroses crashed into the concealed Mandala Vines. Instantly, Locke's Mandala Vines transformed into Vine Hands, trapping the frenzied beasts within the magic vines.

Meanwhile, the pale purple Poison Berries on Locke's Mandala Vines swelled one by one before exploding, their juices splattering everywhere.

The Berserk Rhinoceroses contaminated by the special toxins let out agonized bellows as purple web-like scars appeared across their hides. This was the effect of Locke's [Poison Berry Catapult] toxin, launching destructive attacks against their entire bodily systems.

The synthesized and enhanced toxins of [Poison Berry Catapult], combined with the level 6 Mandala Vines, actually managed to halt the Berserk Rhinoceros herd momentarily.

Captain Bruno exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Well done, Locke!"

"Prepare to coordinate spells!"

Many Second-Class Wizard Apprentices from the patrol squad looked at Locke with astonishment and admiration.

Though Locke had only recently advanced to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice, his methods and Mana reserves were already far from ordinary.

The next instant, the ground beneath the Berserk Rhinoceros herd turned into a muddy quagmire - a temporary swamp created using the cantrip model [Mud to Swamp]. This further prevented the beasts from escaping, rendering them unable to use their strength to break free.

Then, the Enforcement Squad's wizard apprentices each unleashed offensive spell models, dealing massive damage to the trapped rhinoceroses.

In the end, three Berserk Rhinoceroses fell to the patrol squad, while the remaining four activated their berserk spell abilities. Relying on their magic-resistant hides, they stubbornly endured the spells and fled in disarray away from the city.

Before escaping, the eldest matriarch of the herd - the female leader - turned her head to cast one last look at the Enforcement Squad's wizard apprentices.

Captain Bruno led the team in dissecting the three fallen Berserk Rhinoceroses. "The greatest contributions came from myself, Locke, and Halia's 0.5-circle Conjuration cantrip model [Mud to Swamp]."

"Therefore, we three shall receive priority resource allocation, with the remainder divided equally among everyone else."

"Any objections?"

No one among the wizard apprentices present voiced disagreement - this distribution was fair.

Locke agreed with the arrangement. While he alone could have momentarily halted the herd using his Vine Hand series of combined spells, he lacked follow-up offensive spell capabilities to actually kill even a single Berserk Rhinoceros.

They would have escaped unimpeded.

The specially enhanced toxins of Poison Berry Catapult couldn't deliver fatal effects to mid-level Magical Creatures.

The Berserk Rhinoceroses' tough, magic-resistant hides could mitigate magical effects. Their enhanced magical organs made excellent raw materials for crafting Enchanted Items.

Captain Bruno said, "The most valuable parts of the Berserk Rhinoceros are its heart, blood, and hide. Each of us three will first take a portion of hide sufficient to craft a set of Enchanted Item armor, followed by three portions of Berserk Rhinoceros blood and one heart per person."

"As for the rest of the patrol team, each member can receive one portion of Berserk Rhinoceros blood, along with tails, hooves, and other parts."

Locke and the others nodded—the distribution was fair and reflected everyone's contributions during the battle.

The primary reason they had managed to kill three Berserk Rhinoceroses so efficiently was Locke's Invisible Mandrake Vine. It had allowed the herd to fall into the trap completely unprepared, followed by the Spells cast by Halia and Captain Bruno. Of course, this was ultimately a team victory.

Twenty minutes later, the spoils were fully divided. A Second-Class Wizard Apprentice sighed quietly and muttered, "If only every day could be this easy and rewarding. Yesterday, we lost another member."

Locke glanced at the apprentice. He had heard about yesterday's incident—a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice from the Blood Curse Court had disguised himself as a mortal and infiltrated the port city. That Black Wizard apprentice had been lurking for a long time, even spreading chaos by using the Vampire's Embrace on mortals to propagate the Vampire Curse.

The unrest had grown so severe that a Formal Wizard from Lilith's Cottage's upper echelons intervened. The Formal Wizard unleashed a collective antidote over the affected area, conjuring a Potion Raincloud to suppress the vampire plague before it could fully erupt.

This incident underscored how increasingly dangerous the patrol team's missions had become. Recently, more and more wizard apprentices from local wizard families had been finding ways—often through connections—to leave the patrol team.

Naturally, Lilith's Cottage was tightening restrictions, making it harder for patrol members to resign. In the future, leaving would become even more difficult.

After completing the mission, Locke exchanged greetings with a few friendly wizard apprentices in the patrol before departing for Inverted Alley to meditate and attend his Breeding Course.

...

Three months later—this marked Locke's third month attending Sophia's Breeding Course. By now, he had largely mastered grafting cultivation techniques and had grown over a dozen pots of Mandala Vine and Tiff Loron Vine in his residence within Inverted Alley.

Of course, those were merely decoys.

Locke's progress in the Breeding Course was neither fast nor slow—he ranked slightly above average. With only a 3rd-level Wizard Talent, his Mana fluctuations were exceptionally low, and his Mana precision was remarkably high, thanks to the Deep Blue Gem, Cyan Jade, and Rose Ruby. Thus, his learning pace wasn't sluggish.

Inside Sophia's office, Locke carried in the Super Mandrake Vine he had synthesized, having already prepared an excuse. He would claim it was a special variant he had cultivated by grafting superior specimens of Tiff Loron Vine and Mandala Vine.

He was confident that Sophia wouldn't scrutinize such a low-level Magical Plant too closely.

After obtaining her certification, no one would doubt that he wasn't a talented Breeder Assistant.

From now on, whenever he synthesized Super Magical Plants, people would attribute it to him being an excellent Breeder Assistant.

Sophia glanced down at the Super Mandrake Vine, her expression shifting slightly as if genuinely surprised. The careless look on her face vanished. "Locke, the quality of today's assignment submission... is quite impressive."

"Did you cultivate this using the grafting method?"

Sophia looked intently into Locke's eyes.

Locke nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Sophia's face softened with admiration. "You have more talent in breeding than I expected."

"Excellent."

"One might even call it outstanding."

"You will become an exceptional Breeder."

"It seems I've underestimated you before."

A faintly amused expression crossed Sophia's face. "It appears someone truly ought to regret their decision."

"By the way, Locke, this year's Breeder Assistant Certificate examination for Lilith's Cottage is under my supervision. But I believe you needn't waste time going through any test."

"I can grant you the certificate right now."

"With this work of yours, you've more than earned it."

Sophia handed Locke a certificate. "Consider this... a small privilege of being a First-Circle Witch."

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