Chapter 62 Applying for the Botanical Garden

Locke weighed the remaining 320 Magic Stones in his hand and entered a Breeder's Tools shop. Spending 100 Magic Stones, he purchased a complete basic set of the Breeder's Three-Piece Set.

The three-piece set included basic Magical Nutrient Soil, Magical Nutrient Solution, and Growth Element Gel.

Both the nutrient soil and nutrient solution were primary products of Potionology, specifically designed for cultivating Magical Plants. They enhanced plant growth while reducing the risk of magical energy dissipation, which could lead to mutations, degeneration, or stunted development in Magical Plants.

Similarly, the Growth Element Gel was also an essential item for Breeders.

Since Breeders required all three items in bulk, specialized shops often bundled them into packages for convenient purchase.

However, these shops generally weren't very profitable. After all, nutrient soil and nutrient solution were the simplest Potionology products, with only the Growth Element Gel being slightly more complex.

Even Locke, who currently lacked a Potion Master assistant certificate, could produce sufficient-quality Growth Element Gel on his own.

Thus, these three items were purely sold in bulk with minimal profit margins.

A basic three-piece set weighed an astonishing 1.5 tons.

Most of this weight came from the nearly free nutrient soil, followed by bottles of dark green nutrient solution stored in glass vials. This solution could be mixed with plain water and used for daily irrigation, creating soil conditions more conducive to Magical Plant growth.

The Growth Element Gel was the smallest in quantity—only 100 kilograms per basic set.

Still, this amount was enough to sustain five acres of Magical Field for over half a year.

Shops dealing in Breeder's agricultural tools could only rely on high sales volume with slim profits.

After all, these items had little technical complexity. If priced too high, no Breeder would buy from them.

Fortunately, high-level Breeders used more advanced tool sets, and their fields far surpassed Locke's meager five acres.

Locke ordered the Gray Dwarves and Minotaur slaves to load the purchased supplies onto several carts and then had them push the carts out of the shop.

Before leaving, the shopkeeper—a human Second-Class Wizard Apprentice—greeted him warmly, inviting him to return often.

Locke returned to his residence at Inverted Alley No. 431.

He then conducted simple tests on the six Minotaur slaves and was surprised to find that each possessed physical strength comparable to what Raun had described as a "formal knight."

Turning to the two catgirl maids, Locke merely drew a vial of blood from each before assigning them the task of maintaining cleanliness in his home.

These maids were essentially kept as a side project. His main goal was to eventually extract the pure Bloodline of the ancient creature, the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat, from their blood when he had the capability.

The two catgirl princess maids responded obediently, "Yes, Master."

They gently lifted their princess skirts and performed an elegant curtsy toward Locke, as if they had always been his servants.

Then, the two began cleaning the entire house for Locke.

Seeing this, Locke prepared to enter meditation. "To establish my own Botanical Garden, I'll need to pay a certain amount of Magic Stones to Lilith's Cottage and have it recorded. I'll ask Teacher Sophia about it tomorrow."

...

The next day, in Sophia's office, the White Wizard looked up from her desk upon hearing Locke's intention to establish his own Botanical Garden.

Sophia nodded approvingly. "Given your talent in breeding, you're indeed qualified to establish your own Botanical Garden."

"A five-acre plot constitutes a small Botanical Garden, with an application fee of two hundred Magic Stones. I happen to be reporting to the higher-ups today. Give me the stones, and I'll handle your qualification certificate and transfer notice from the patrol team while I'm there."

She explained, "If I weren't handling this for you, you'd be stuck at this stage for at least three months."

Locke looked surprised. "Teacher, why would it take so long?"

Closing the book in her hands, Sophia glanced at him. "Naturally, it takes time. Establishing a Botanical Garden means you're essentially setting up an independent specialized laboratory for botanical studies."

"The academy needs to conduct multiple reviews and certifications. You must pass the Ethical review mechanism and various other confirmations. At minimum, the academy must ensure your experiments comply with White Wizard Association regulations and that your staff, assistants, and experimental materials all meet standards."

"A wizard's experiments are always fraught with danger."

Locke nodded, relieved he hadn't purchased human slaves—such an action might have failed the ethical review and stalled his progress.

Sophia frowned slightly, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "Locke, you've entered the field of breeding, so there are certain things you must understand."

"And you're talented—unlike those mediocrities. Therefore..."

"If your ignorance of basic principles leads to catastrophic consequences later, that responsibility falls on me as your mentor who guided you into this field."

Retrieving a book from her desk, Sophia handed it to Locke solemnly. "Read this when you return. It documents tragic cases of talented yet reckless Breeders."

"Once there was a First Circle Breeder with wildly insane ideas. Using his advanced breeding techniques combined with Dark Magic banned by the White Wizard Association, he created a Dark Magic plant called the Abyssal Rafflesia—capable of transplanting a wizard apprentice's consciousness into plants and rapidly assimilating other vegetation."

"When his experiment spiraled out of control, nearly all the Magical Fields of his botanical wizard organization, the Azure Ring Society, were destroyed. Countless wizard apprentices—even Formal Wizards of the society—were eradicated by the Abyssal Rafflesia."

"This incident became the worst breeding experiment disaster in the southeastern region in the past century."

"That wizard himself perished in the out-of-control experiment, leading to the decline of the Azure Ring Society. Ten years ago, with the death of their last First Circle Wizard, the organization was completely disbanded."

"But the disaster he created continues to this day. Those Abyssal Rafflesias still wreak havoc in the southeastern territories, and they're natural predators to us Breeders."

"This is why we Breeders live in fear, naming that catastrophe the [Abyssal Plant Cataclysm]."

"Those special magical plants, fused with wizard apprentices' consciousness and abyssal flora, are no longer problems that can be easily resolved."

Witch Sophia said gravely: "Back then, my mentor told me this story face-to-face when I'd just qualified as a Breeder Assistant."

"Now I'm passing this warning to you."

Witch Sophia continued: "For talented wizards like us, we must always remember one thing - we pursue truth, we master truth, but we should also revere truth."

"That First Circle Breeder lost his reverence for power and forgot his original purpose. His excessive arrogance brewed this tragedy."

Witch Sophia took a sip of tea before continuing: "But you only want to cultivate Super Mandrake Vines, which should pass review easily. I'll help get your application approved within a week and arrange your release from the patrol team."

"Stay away from such dangerous places from now on."

Locke bowed to Witch Sophia. She was undoubtedly the classic White Wizard type - spending her days on research, rarely venturing into dangerous territories like those Black Wizards who lived by plunder and combat.

Locke pondered Witch Sophia's warning deeply. "Master, I'll remember your teachings."

Witch Sophia nodded. "Good, you may go now. Oh, starting tomorrow, I'll teach you the final spell in the Vine Hand series - [Thorn Whip]."

"Then we'll move to the advanced series - the [Vine Frenzy] spells, where every cantrip starts at 0.5 circle minimum."

"The Vine Frenzy series contains spells usable even by First Class Wizard Apprentices, with corresponding First Circle advanced spells."

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