"No way!" Leilin suddenly realized something.
"You... you didn't give him the resources your family provided, did you? No wonder you're still a First-rank Apprentice — otherwise, with your talent, you should have advanced long ago!"
Biji belonged to a small Wizard family. Although the family was modest in scale, it could still occasionally acquire resources and Magic Stones. As the family's hope, Biji naturally received a certain allotment every month.
Her aptitude wasn't bad either. She had arrived a year earlier than Leilin, and by all rights should have become a Second-rank Apprentice by now. Yet here she was, still at First-rank, about to be caught up by Leilin.
"Th-that's not it!" Biji shook her head quickly.
Watching Biji's reaction, Leilin slowly shook his head. "Forget it! There's not much I can do to help with something like this, but do be careful!!"
Leilin's words carried a double meaning.
"Come on! Let's go to the second-floor restaurant together! I hear the honey cake there is really good..." Biji smiled, clearly not wanting to discuss this matter any further.
The second-floor restaurant was the special dining area, as opposed to the free grand cafeteria on the third floor. Here, everything cost Magic Stones, but the food was far more delicious, and some rare ingredients even aided Wizards in their meditation.
Leilin was visiting for the first time. He ordered two servings of honey cake, one grilled steak, two glasses of juice, and a portion of unicorn lizard meat — spending a whole Magic Stone, which pained him greatly.
"I heard this lizard meat has been specially treated and is very beneficial for Wizard meditation. I want to try it today!"
Leilin cut off a piece of lizard meat with his knife and placed it in his mouth with his fork. A sweet, savory flavor spread across his taste buds, making his eyes light up.
"Ding! Beneficial components detected for the host! Effect: Slightly increases meditation speed. Note: Continuous consumption for ten or more days is needed before a noticeable enhancement appears!"
"I..." Leilin was speechless. "Something flashy but impractical — where would I get that many Magic Stones? I'll just enjoy the flavor!"
Across from him, Biji was happily eating her honey cake.
After the meal, Leilin parted ways with Biji and headed to the trading district.
He was running low on Magic Stones and now planned to sell his Stamina Potions. With Guofate's endorsement, he could now earn Magic Stones by crafting Stamina Potions.
Weaving through the cluttered stalls, Leilin made his way to Wus's shop — the same place where he had bought potion materials the first time.
"Leilin! You again! Over the past half year you've spent more than ten Magic Stones here! Still not giving up?" Wus was as fat as ever.
"Potionology is such a beautiful and fascinating art — I simply can't let it go!" Leilin said half-jokingly.
"However, today I'm not just here to buy materials." He handed a Stamina Potion to the portly Wus. "Take a look!"
"This is..." Wus's mouth fell half open. "You succeeded?"
"Of course!" Leilin smiled.
Wus proceeded to verify the potion and confirmed without a doubt that it was a genuine Stamina Potion. His eyes practically shot out beams of light.
"Over a hundred attempts! You only tried a hundred-plus times before successfully refining a Stamina Potion!!! This talent... this talent, compared to Merlin, is only slightly behind!"
Since Leilin had bought most of his herbs from Wus, the shopkeeper could quickly gauge Leilin's aptitude.
"Not at all! I owe it all to Instructor Guofate's teaching!" Leilin said modestly.
"Ugh! Guofate again! He already has Merlin — why does he have to get Leilin too?"
Wus clutched his forehead and let out something like a groan. "How about considering a change of mentor? My instructor, Wulankiz, is also an excellent Potionology professor... He would definitely be fond of you!"
"Sorry! I haven't considered that at all!" Leilin quickly refused. Setting aside the fact that Guofate had treated him reasonably well, even if the man hadn't, carelessly switching mentors would offend a full Wizard — he really didn't want to take that risk.
"What a shame..." Wus shook his head. Clearly, he knew this hope was slim.
"Alright! This Stamina Potion — I can offer you four Magic Stones. How does that sound?" Wus asked.
Although the retail price of a Stamina Potion was five Magic Stones, the shop needed its profit margin. Four Magic Stones was a very fair price.
"Very fair. Trade all the Magic Stones for Stamina Potion materials!"
"Deal! From now on, if you ever want to sell potions, I'll buy them all at four Magic Stones apiece!" A gleam flashed in Wus's small eyes.
An apprentice whose potion talent was only slightly below Merlin's was like an unmined Magic Stone deposit. If he could secure this relationship now, it meant a steady stream of profits for years to come.
"Of course! Pleasure doing business!"
Leilin and Wus shook hands. He packed away the four black wooden boxes and stepped out of the shop.
"Come look! Fresh lynx eyeballs! This is great stuff for boosting meditation!"
"Refined Cross Swords and military crossbows — imported straight from the Blue Empire!!"
"Firebird feathers! Absolutely precious experimental materials — only five Magic Stones!!"
The cries of various apprentices rang out one after another. Leilin spotted a black-robed apprentice brandishing a massive five-colored feather and shouting repeatedly, clearly drawing a crowd.