Six days later, in the bedroom.
Locke entered a meditative state using the Advanced Meditation Technique. After the entire night passed, he placed his palm on the Amethyst Matrix and slightly furrowed his brow.
450.
A bitter smile appeared on Locke's face. Ever since leaving the beginner's grace period, his meditation efficiency using the Advanced Meditation Technique had been approximately one point of mental strength gained every five nights.
At this rate, he would only increase his Mana by 75 points in a year.
And this was the result of going all out with resources—using large quantities of potions like the Bleeding Dragon Potion, Tears of Stars Potion, Energy Potion, and Four Seasons Fruit Kernel Incense to boost conversion efficiency.
Without maxing out resources and spending over four hundred Magic Stones daily on cultivation materials, his efficiency would only be a quarter of what it was now.
Locke fell into deep thought. "After all, my original aptitude was only Grade 3. Slow cultivation speed is to be expected. For someone with Grade 3 aptitude, it would normally take around twenty nights to gain 1 point of Mana."
"Annual Mana growth wouldn't exceed 19 points. Even if the growth rate didn't slow down as Mana increased, it would still take five to six years to gain a hundred points of Mana."
Locke's expression darkened. "And it will only get harder later on, with difficulty increasing exponentially. For someone with Grade 3 aptitude relying solely on self-cultivation without resources, it would take twenty to thirty years just to approach 600 in mental strength."
Locke pondered, "But now, with maxed-out resources, my cultivation speed is four times faster. So reaching 600 in mental strength should only take me five to six years."
"This speed is far behind the growth rate of Children of Elements."
"But it should be roughly comparable to those with aptitude between Grades 5 and 6 who can't afford to use too many resources."
Locke sighed. His current cultivation speed was already built upon spending 400 Magic Stones daily on resources, plus using the Synthetic Magic Cube to create Void Gems that purified the toxicity from his heavy potion usage.
Otherwise, such extensive potion use would cause major problems.
Over time, it would leave various side effects on his body and slow his progress.
"If it's this hard for me, imagine how difficult it must be for those with Grade 1 or 2 aptitude," Locke thought. "Though people with such low aptitude probably have an extremely slim chance of becoming First Class Wizard Apprentices."
"Five to six years to reach 600 in mental strength—I'd be around 24 years old by then." Locke frowned. While still young and considered highly promising by others, with plenty of time before the 40-year threshold, this timeframe still felt too long.
If possible, Locke wanted to shorten it.
Because the journey from 600 to 800 in mental strength would only get harder.
Moreover, Sophia the Witch had repeatedly told him that the younger one reaches 800 in mental strength, the greater the probability of advancing to Formal Wizard.
That's why the White Wizard society places such a high demand on geniuses—because geniuses advance quickly. They reach the threshold to become Formal Wizards at a younger age, and their probability of becoming Formal Wizards is much higher than others.
Locke felt fortunate. "Luckily, I took full advantage of the beginner's benefit period and didn't let it go to waste."
"Otherwise, my current Mana would probably be just over 200. At my current progress rate, it would take me over ten years to reach 600 Mana."
Looking back, his journey had been blessed with good luck. Two Formal Wizards had helped him obtain the Advanced Meditation Technique, and he had secured the academy's bulk procurement contract, allowing him to perfectly utilize the beginner's benefit period.
Locke pondered. "No matter what, five to six years is still too long. I need to find a way to shorten this time."
"Strive to catch up to the speed of a Child of Elements."
"The best way is to purchase large quantities of magical resources from the Chimera Market and use them to push my meditation speed even further. Even if I can't match the absurd growth rate of over 200 points of mental power per month during the beginner's benefit period, I should at least get close to that speed."
"To get resources, I need more money." Locke tapped his fingers on the bedside table. "But right now, my finances are already unbalanced. My plantation income is only 3,500 Magic Stones per month, while my basic cultivation expenses alone cost 8,000 Magic Stones monthly."
"That's a huge gap."
"If it weren't for the bulk procurement contract I secured, this gap would have forced me into a vicious cycle of taking loans—repaying loans, until I became a debt-ridden slave."
Locke thought deeply. "I still need to find new sources of income."
"My actual monthly expenses can't possibly be just 8,000 Magic Stones. Besides meditation, I have many additional costs, like the recent experiments on Vampires, which require me to buy lots of cheap but numerous small tools—all adding up to a significant expense."
"Plantation, laboratory, Pharmaceutical Room—everything requires money."
"No wonder those First-Class Wizard Apprentices always exploit Second-Class and Third-Class Wizard Apprentices. If it weren't for my Synthetic Magic Cube, which allows me to excel as a Breeder and Potionology Master, giving me alternative income streams, I'd probably 'fall' into that too."
Locke rubbed his temples. To progress quickly, he needed more income sources. He was still poor.
However, for the Pharmaceutical Room, there was no quick way to increase revenue. After all, Magic Potions are meant to be consumed by people.
The approval process is exceptionally lengthy.
But Locke had heard that Angron had developed many potions that hadn't even completed the approval process and introduced them into the Chimera Market.
It seemed he relied on his Wizard Mentor, Harun Vera's powerful connections, to bypass many troublesome procedures, greatly speeding up the research—verification phase for each potion in his Personal Pharmaceutical Room.
The verification phase is the biggest cost for any Pharmaceutical Room. Angron, however, managed this aspect well thanks to his Wizard Mentor's network.
"His character really isn't great."
"Time to sleep." Locke snapped his fingers, and the candlelight in the bedroom instantly went out. "Many First Class Wizard Apprentices remain at this stage for decades."
"Except for geniuses among geniuses like my teacher, Witch Sophia, no one can escape this fate."
"I've already fully utilized the beginner's advantage period of the Advanced Meditation Technique, gaining far more benefits than others."
"Tomorrow I'll visit the library to check what grade my recently submitted report received. Hopefully, I can exchange it for some magical resources." Locke thought to himself: "In the future, after passing the Breeder exam and achieving good results in the Breeder Competition finals, I can obtain another batch of resources."
"Moreover, I need to decide on my Potionology specialization soon and determine the specific research direction for my Personal Pharmaceutical Room. That way I can earn money more effectively."
"And I still have resources from the Wizard secret realm that I haven't exchanged yet."
(End of chapter)