[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems":3,"chapter-wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-chapter-28":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Wizard: Starting With Synthesized Gems",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1265098,1693,"Chapter 28: Witch Sophia","wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-chapter-28",28,"\u003Cp>After Yuri Burns led away the wizard prospects with Level 5 and 6 aptitude, the remaining group dispersed. Locke and Lorne soon realized they had been assigned to different mentors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lorne’s letter read:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Evocation School, Light Magic Sub-branch. First Circle Wizard. Southeast Quadrant Luminescence Society Mentor. Lilith’s Cottage Healing Wizard Mentor. Inventor of the Deathlight Curse, Mr. Hamrick Us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Locke’s letter bore a far simpler inscription:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Life School, Plant Magic Sub-branch. First Circle Wizard, Sophia Seraphina.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lorne frowned. \"Why does my mentor have a string of titles, while yours just gets ‘First Circle Wizard’?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locke shrugged. \"Who knows?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At the end of the day, ‘formal wizard’ is the only title that matters. I’ll head to the location listed in my letter first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lorne nodded. \"Alright. Though judging by this, we’ll likely need to find our own lodgings in Lilith’s Cottage’s city after enrollment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your two friends weren’t assigned to the same academy as you, and neither were mine. I don’t trust anyone else here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locke had no objections. \"Fine. After I return from meeting Mentor Sophia, we’ll regroup here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patty had remained at Virdantia University, while Kode, rejected by Virdantia, had joined a small wizard organization called the Crow’s Nest Brigade, which reportedly had only one First Circle wizard and was so newly established it desperately needed apprentices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Locke agreed readily. Rooming with Lorne offered mutual security, and Lorne’s discreet, trustworthy nature meant Locke wouldn’t need to worry about his secrets being exposed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his belongings slung over his shoulder and the recommendation letter in hand, Locke traversed Lilith’s Cottage’s port city toward a wooden hut on its southwestern outskirts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His wizard apprentice robes ensured unimpeded passage, pedestrians parted silently as he passed, their deference underscoring the status of even a lowly apprentice here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the city’s edge gave way to open fields dotted with a few simple huts, each encircled by a ring of river stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Locke stepped across the stone boundary, the seal on his letter flared crimson, heating briefly before cooling. The wards had recognized him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike centralized academies, Lilith’s Cottage operated as an open-network organization, its facilities scattered across multiple cities. Without proper credentials, outsiders couldn’t so much as perceive these structures, let alone enter them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Past the wards, the huts revealed their true scale, far larger inside than out, their interiors brimming with alchemical apparatuses and tome-laden shelves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the central hut, its door ajar, a young witch hunched over a desk, her gray hat adorned with a vine-wrapped bloom. A monocle glinted as her quill raced across parchment, sketching an intricate spell model with startling speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every three minutes, she completed a diagram, only to toss it onto a waist-high pile with a dissatisfied click of her tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without looking up, her voice, surprisingly youthful, almost girlish, cut through the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm? An unfamiliar apprentice. State your business. I’m occupied.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locke, taken aback by her casual tone, presented his letter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mentor Seraphina, I’m Locke Augustine, this year’s new student at Lilith’s Cottage. The academy assigned me to you. I’m here to report in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The quill stilled. Sophia Seraphina lifted her head, revealing a face far younger than Locke had anticipated, round-cheeked and bright-eyed, her expression one of genuine surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They assigned me a student?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I haven’t even signed a mentorship contract with the academy yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She coughed, abruptly straightening as if remembering her station. With a flick of her fingers, the pink flower on her hat shifted to a more austere white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letter levitated into her grasp. After a brief inspection, she nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is indeed Lilith’s Cottage’s seal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So they’ve dumped you on me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She muttered under her breath, \"Trying to incentivize me to stay, are they? But,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Addressing Locke, she adopted a stern(ish) tone. \"Very well, Locke Augustine. I’ve reviewed your file. Level 3 aptitude is... middling. But aptitude isn’t destiny. Apply yourself, and nothing’s predetermined.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hint of sheepishness crept into her voice. \"Since I only became a formal wizard a month ago, I don’t have any first-class apprentices under me to serve as your seniors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Therefore, I’ll be teaching your specialized courses personally. Will that suffice?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She added hastily, \"I’ve substituted for First Circle wizards’ classes during my apprentice days, so I’m not completely inexperienced.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locke blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lorne’s mentor had a laundry list of titles because he was established. Sophia’s bare-bones introduction? She was freshly promoted, essentially a first-class apprentice who’d just crossed the threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder she lacked pretension. No senior apprentices to delegate to. Just raw, hands-on mentorship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that, Locke realized, was a hidden advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, second-class apprentices might glimpse their formal wizard mentors a handful of times a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he? Every specialized lesson would be taught by a true First Circle wizard.\u003C\u002Fp>",796,"2026-06-05T16:22:57.670Z",1,"novelbin.me","63aec2dc502225c2a2e1fae815dcddf631f9c470c5bc2031eddeaa3ff65ccf71","wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-chapter-29","wizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-chapter-27",578,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-starting-with-synthesized-gems-cover.jpg"]