Chapter 70

He sighed, closed the door, and walked quickly toward the market.

Along the way, he kept thinking about his current situation.

Living in the probationary apprentice dormitory area was not just about looking bad.

But every time he thought about this problem, it made him fall into contradiction. Reason told him he should move out of this place as soon as possible, but the high rent made him think twice.

According to information Andre inquired about, the cheapest independent residence in the school also required an annual rent of 150 magic stone fragments, and better ones even required several complete magic stones.

He currently helped out at Lady Ailan's side, with a fixed daily remuneration, plus some extra commissions brought by auxiliary refining work, as well as the extra money earned from Princess Yi Fu and Andre, he could net about 80 to 90 magic stone fragments a month.

But even at his current income level, such an annual rent was a considerable burden.

After all, after renting an independent residence, he would still face other various expenses, and he also needed to invest resources in other areas.

As his thoughts churned, he had unknowingly walked to the front of the herb shop.

Pushing open the door, the familiar scent of herbs rushed toward him, and Lady Ailan was standing behind the counter organizing the accounts.

"Just in time."

Lady Ailan put down the account book in her hand, her dark green eyes staring directly at Luo En: "There is a big order today, need your help."

"What big order?" Luo En asked curiously, while starting to put on his work apron.

"Thirty bottles of refreshing potion and twenty bottles of wound healing potion, the school's law enforcement team needs to replenish their inventory."

Lady Ailan pointed to the workbench behind: "I have already prepared the materials, you can start directly."

Luo En nodded and threw himself into work without saying a word.

This level of bulk order no longer posed any challenge to him, but he still maintained a high degree of focus.

Each bottle of potion was precisely proportioned, with stable and uniform efficacy.

Two hours later, all the potions were completed.

Luo En arranged them neatly on the wooden shelf, waiting for the potion liquid to cool completely.

After this period of dedicated study, his potion-making skills had also made great progress:

【Potion Refining: Proficient (46/80)】

【Herb Identification: Proficient (42/80)】

【Basic Potion-making: Proficient (98/100)】

It seemed that Basic Potion-making was about to usher in a breakthrough to the mastery level soon.

At that time, he might consider further career planning.

"Well done." Lady Ailan walked over and randomly selected a few bottles for inspection:

"The quality is very stable, even better than the last batch. This is the terrible power of hard work and talent."

Luo En smiled slightly and complimented: "It's also thanks to your guidance."

Lady Ailan's eyes flickered, as if she had seen through his thoughts.

She tapped the counter lightly, the joints on her thin, withered fingers appearing exceptionally prominent.

"Luo En." Her voice rarely carried a hint of softness: "I can notice your progress recently."

"Thank you for your affirmation, Madam." The young apprentice couldn't grasp the other party's meaning and could only answer modestly.

"No, it's more than just progress. During this period, your attainments in potion-making have far exceeded some talented beginners, and even surpassed quite a few senior potion apprentices who have been immersed in this path for many years."

Lady Ailan shook her head:

"Not only is the grasp of material properties becoming more and more accurate, but the control of heat and the prediction of reactions between materials have reached a quite high level."

She paused, a flash of rare approval in her eyes:

"To be honest, there isn't much left I can teach you now. With your level, you can completely stand on your own feet next."

Luo En was stunned: "You mean..."

"You can graduate, Luo En," Lady Ailan said bluntly:

"For you to still be an assistant in my small shop now is really a bit of a waste of talent."

After finishing, she reached out from under the counter and took out a wooden box, pushing it in front of Luo En:

"Take it, this is a small gift from me, just to celebrate you becoming independent."

Luo En opened the wooden box curiously, and inside lay a delicate instrument shimmering with silver light—a silver wing separator.

This was exactly the precious tool he had always longed for but could never bear to spend magic stone fragments to buy.

"This is... a silver wing separator!" He touched this exquisite instrument in surprise, carefully taking it out of the box.

This rare tool, capable of extracting the purest essence from medicinal materials without losing any activity, was a treasure that potion masters dreamed of.

For a moment, Luo En didn't know what to say.

At the beginning, he just wanted to practice some potion-making, so he came here.

But he didn't expect this seemingly strict and mean old woman to teach him skills so generously, and even bestow upon him a precious meditation method like "The Whisper of the Star Eater."

Now that he had graduated, she even gave such a valuable gift; even if it were a mother-son relationship, it wouldn't necessarily be like this...

"I noticed that every time you handle those materials that require fine extraction, you are always hesitant."

Lady Ailan said, her tone much softer than usual: "With this, it should be able to solve your difficulties."

"This is worth at least several complete magic stones, right?"

Luo En still couldn't believe it, and he began to worry a little whether the other party had any difficult tasks to assign to him again.

"Just an ordinary tool." Lady Ailan pretended to be understated, but the smile at the corner of her mouth betrayed her emotions:

"Compared to those flashy collectibles, this set of tools is more practical in actual combat."

Her eyes became distant, as if piercing through the walls of the small shop to look far away.

"I have owned it for many years. A long time ago, when I was still working at the Crystal Spire, I used it to refine materials."

"Crystal Spire?"

Luo En knew this name; it was an extraordinary gathering place recorded in books that was far larger than the Black Fog Sect, and it was said that there were even Great Wizards there.

Lady Ailan seemed to realize she had revealed too much and sighed lightly:

"Yes... that was before I came here. The situation among formal wizards is far more complex than you can imagine. One wrong step in the promotion struggle, and the consequence is..."

She didn't finish, subconsciously stroking the ugly, indelible scar on her waist and abdomen.

Lady Ailan shook her head, as if to dispel those memories:

"None of that matters now. I found my place here, doing what I love most, discovering young people with potential and helping them grow. The loss at the Spire, instead, became my gain... now it is also your gain."

The old woman's eyes refocused on Luo En, carrying rare sentiment:

"There is a wider world outside this forest, child. In some places, magic power is as surging and endless as a tsunami, and high-level existences can shape reality itself with just a thought. Perhaps one day, when you are ready..."

She stopped again, a smile of relief appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Luo En carefully put the separator back into the box: "You have given me so much, I really don't know how to thank you, Madam."

"No need to thank me like that..." Lady Ailan waved her hand, her tone returning to its usual crispness:

"Teaching talented young people actually has great benefits for us."

"Benefits?" Luo En asked suspiciously.

Lady Ailan was silent for a moment, as if considering how much information to reveal.

Finally, she sat on the chair behind the counter and gestured for Luo En to come and sit down too.

"Do you know why formal wizards are all very busy, but most are willing to spend time establishing schools and teaching apprentices?"

She asked, her dark green eyes flashing with an inexplicable light.

Luo En thought for a while: "To pass on knowledge? Or to cultivate assistants?"

"Partly correct, but not complete." Lady Ailan shook her head lightly:

"In the world of occultism, there is an ancient rule—'Grace'."

(End of chapter)