Chapter 34: One Year and the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice

One year later.

In the house Locke rented with Raun on Dwarf Alley, Locke donned a pair of rubber gloves in his room.

Then, he grabbed a poison dart frog from a glass dish and crushed it completely into mush with a tool.

Next, he added a blue-ringed octopus to the mixture, crushing it and blending it with the remnants of the poison dart frog.

After that, Locke incorporated castor beans into the mix. Once thoroughly mashed, he poured the blended liquid into a glass jar inscribed with twenty-one Ogham Tree Runes.

Sitting on the floor, Locke began chanting over the vessel, "Nifreis~ Nifreis~"

As the incantation echoed, the twenty-one Ogham Tree Runes lit up one by one, extracting special substances from the mixture while evaporating the waste.

This was the most crucial step in the Life School's plant magic cantrip—Poison Berry Catapult.

Locke proceeded with extreme caution. According to Mentor Sophia's warnings, the slightest mistake in this step could lead to toxin leakage, causing severe harm to surrounding life forms.

Spell Poison was a type of toxin that could not naturally dissipate in the environment.

Moreover, using rituals and magic to blend toxins from existing flora and fauna into supernatural Spell Poison was inherently perilous.

A single misstep could result in a magical backlash.

Failure was the safest possible outcome.

Mentor Sophia had once told him about a third-tier aptitude wizard apprentice from Lilith's Cottage who, while learning this spell, had written one Ogham Tree Rune at the wrong angle. The resulting explosion of the mixed toxins left the apprentice permanently disfigured.

The semi-finished Spell Poison had, through the explosion, become forever embedded in his skin.

Among all cantrip models, Poison Berry Catapult was relatively dangerous—but also highly potent.

Thus, it required extensive study and repeated simulations before any attempt could be made.

Locke glanced at the ten rings on his fingers—five brand-new Deep Blue Gems stabilizing his Mana, and five Cyan Jade rings replenishing his reserves to compensate for his inability to fully sustain Berry Barrage on his own.

Only with the aid of these gems did he dare attempt this 0.4-ring cantrip after just one year of study.

As time passed, the mixture in the glass vessel had completely evaporated, leaving behind a single drop of shimmering, pale-purple liquid.

Locke checked the mechanical clock in his room—an hour had already elapsed.

By now, his Mana was entirely depleted.

An ordinary wizard apprentice would have no choice but to abort the spell at this point, as continuing without Mana would lead to loss of control and magical backlash.

But Locke now drew upon the fifty points of Mana stored within the five Cyan Jade rings on his right hand, gradually channeling them back into his body.

After replenishing his mana, Locke opened the glass vessel and made the Mandala Vine on his right hand visible. Carefully, he dripped the glistening pale purple liquid onto the leaves of the Invisible Mandrake Vine.

Instantly, the Invisible Mandrake Vine reacted as if in extreme pain, all its branches trembling violently. Twenty-one Ogham Tree Runes appeared on its surface.

After about ten minutes, the vine's reaction subsided, and the Ogham Runes gradually faded away.

Among the branches and leaves of the Invisible Mandrake Vine, small pale purple raspberry-like berries began to form.

Simultaneously, a new spell model appeared in Locke's consciousness—a construct composed of precisely twenty-one Ogham Tree Runes.

The spell's intensity measured 0.4 rings.

This surpassed even the 0.3-ring intensity of the Stone Crab Bloodline modification Professor Olde had performed on him back on the Corfu Continent.

Locke exhaled in relief and examined his hands. The five Deep Blue Gems were now covered in cracks, completely spent. The five Cyan Jades inside also showed countless fractures, clearly rendered useless.

Yet despite the heavy expenditure, the rewards were unquestionably worth it.

He had successfully completed [Poison Berry Catapult].

Moreover, upon mastering [Poison Berry Catapult], Locke felt his mental energy surge significantly.

With a focused thought and an incantation, he channeled his remaining mana. The Invisible Mandrake Vine on his hand responded immediately, launching roughly five pale purple berries toward a caged calf in his room.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The berries struck the calf's body, shattering on impact. Liquid and toxic fumes dispersed instantly. The calf collapsed within less than a second—without even a moment's resistance.

This calf had been roughly the size of a full-grown adult.

Locke retrieved his dissection tools, opened the iron cage, and began examining the calf's body to assess the actual damage inflicted by his Poison Berry Catapult.

"Hmm... The skin shows purple web-like patterns, subcutaneous bruising, and black mucus in the nasal and oral cavities. This indicates destruction of neural and vascular structures within the organism."

"The heart, liver, and kidneys exhibit necrotic deterioration resembling crumbled bean curd."

"This exceeds the toxin potency described in textbooks for Poison Berry Catapult. Standard versions primarily devastate neural pathways, whereas my spell's poison induces comprehensive organ failure."

Locke pondered further. "The spell poison from my Poison Berry Catapult instantly destroyed this calf's nerves and blood vessels while causing irreversible damage to its internal organs."

"This likely stems from synthesizing the Blue-Ringed Octopus corpse, castor beans, and Poison Dart Frog carcass—all tier-5 materials."

Though no special synthesis formula had emerged (these remained ordinary tier-5 composite items), repeated synthesis had undoubtedly amplified their foundational toxicity.

And the base toxicity of Poison Berry Catapult is fundamentally determined by these ritual components.

This resulted in the toxins from the Poison Berry Catapult he had applied to the Invisible Mandrake Vine exceeding the spell's originally intended effects.

Locke believed that the power of this spell had likely surpassed the standard 0.4-ring potency, reaching 0.5-ring level.

After all, every material used in this spell's steps had been synthesized to level 5 using the Horadric Synthetic Cube, artificially enhancing them all.

There was no reason it should have the same strength as when using ordinary materials.

Locke suddenly understood—no wonder he felt his mental power had leaped forward after completing this spell. This was the reason.

The stronger the spell he completed, the greater the boost to his mental power would naturally be.

Sitting in his seat, Locke took out a rose quartz and began absorbing the red mist inside it.

Based on his experience over the past year, absorbing this special red mist-like substance currently gave him the highest efficiency.

An hour later, the rose quartz faded to an ordinary white gemstone, and Locke's mental power had reached its current limit.

Opening his eyes, a blue light flashed in them. "Including Green Cleansing Grasp, I've now completed three spell models."

"Especially Poison Berry Catapult—its completion exceeded my original expectations and will likely double my mental power growth rate."

"I originally planned to become a Second-Class Wizard Apprentice within two years, but now I'm not sure..."

"I wonder if my mental power has reached 50 yet. I'll borrow Teacher Sophia's Amethyst Matrix to test it."

"Over this past year, I've also completed the three foundational public courses and received countless private lessons from Teacher Sophia."

It could be said his growth during this year had been tremendous.

If his year-ago self were to fight his current self, the former would probably die in less than one round.

With a thought, Locke chanted the incantation for Green Cleansing Grasp. Immediately, the Invisible Mandrake Vine on his right hand moved rapidly—not by extending vine branches, but by having its leaves grow swiftly forward to weave into a shield.

Green Cleansing Grasp was a supplementary spell to Vine Hand with relatively low difficulty, so Locke had completed it over half a year ago.

This spell could restrain enemies or form vine shields and walls, providing defensive capabilities—making it a supportive spell.

Now possessing four spells, Locke's spell repertoire had significantly expanded, which would be immensely useful in combat.