Chapter 851: You and Zhuoma Are Not Good Friends? The Identity Salve and the Invisible Crucible Spell!

After leaving the library, Locke quickly read through the Name Potion formula once, then on his way back to his dormitory he encountered a wild canine magical creature. The magical creature was a Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound, characterized by silver fur, an elegant build, and a blue crystal on its forehead. It was an apprentice-level magical creature.

By rights it should not have been wandering freely around Golden Crown Mountain, where wizard apprentices on duty would normally clear it away. But judging by how friendly it was, some researcher on Golden Crown Mountain must have found the Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound adorable and occasionally fed it. The wizard apprentices, unable to discern that researcher's wishes, probably did not dare touch the stray dog.

Locke stood before the Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound and placed his palm over its head, approximately one centimeter above its forehead. Then a bright azure arcane radiance appeared in both of Locke's eyes.

"At my current level of Spiritual Resonance studies, I have enough to extract the portion of Spiritual Resonance corresponding to the scientific name Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound from this dog. This is the most fundamental application of Spiritual Resonance studies, and also the mark that my Spiritual Resonance studies has entered the introductory stage."

Because he had been continuously refining the Zero Potion and using the Synthesis Cube to refine Second Circle potions ahead of time, his Spirit Knowledge level was indeed quite high.

At that moment, five clusters of flame appeared in Locke's palm. A silver thread emerged from the dog's forehead, and Locke's five clusters of Primordial Fire drew the silver thread inward. Then a small wizard formation appeared in Locke's hand, precisely the spell model corresponding to a Second Circle level Name Potion, the Invisible Crucible Spell.

Within this invisible crucible constructed from a mixture of magical power and spirituality, a dose of Name Potion was completed.

Locke poured it into a thumb-sized potion vial, held it up before his eyes, and gave it a shake.

"Success."

He breathed slightly. Within a few breaths, no fatigue was visible on the surface. But inwardly, Locke was extremely drained.

This was the second application of Spiritual Resonance in potion studies.

The first application was converting Spiritual Resonance into a kind of ritual action.

The second application was extracting Spiritual Resonance directly and transforming it into a potion ingredient.

Name Spiritual Resonance was the easiest form of Spiritual Resonance among the hidden true forms of all things to transform into a potion ingredient, owing to the special nature of names.

But this had also rapidly consumed his Spirit Knowledge.

On the surface he appeared recovered by now, but Locke knew that something deep within his soul had been consumed.

Locke looked at the vial of Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound Name Potion in his hand and prepared to take it back for use on his Four-Wing Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow at a later date.

But at that moment a voice suddenly appeared behind him.

Wizard Zhuoma said to Locke, "Wizard Augustine, do you enjoy keeping these magical pets as well?"

Locke turned around and saw Wizard Zhuoma, who had some centaur bloodline, walking toward him. The Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound reacted as though it had seen its owner, wagging its tail, sticking out its tongue, and running up to Wizard Zhuoma to nuzzle against the hem of his robe.

Like a fawning lapdog.

Wizard Zhuoma stroked its fluffy head.

"Poor thing. With the Heavenly Cold River bursting, it might as well be winter right now. This cold, and you are still staying outside."

Wizard Zhuoma tossed it a fruit, and the Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound wagged its tail and lowered its head to eat.

Wizard Zhuoma looked at Locke with shining eyes, letting his gaze linger on the Name Potion in Locke's hand for a moment. His pupils contracted sharply.

"I had not expected Wizard Augustine's Spiritual Resonance studies to have reached this level."

Wizard Zhuoma began to think.

'Strange. Before, I had only heard that this wizard was a genius breeder. Yet he has already reached the point of being able to refine a Name Potion.'

'His Spiritual Resonance studies has already entered the introductory stage. I had never heard that he was a genius in potion studies. His potion studies level is actually about the same as mine. He has only just become a Second Circle wizard, and I became a Second Circle potion wizard three years ago. My accumulated depth is greater than his. We are both geniuses of the senior Origin Academy. Who among us is so much better than the other?'

'In just a few months, how did he raise his Spirit Knowledge to this level?'

Wizard Zhuoma did a mental calculation.

"He must have successfully refined a Second Circle potion at least fifteen to eighteen times. Otherwise there is no possible way he could have accumulated Spirit Knowledge to this extent. Only by successfully refining Second Circle potions can one rapidly improve Spirit Knowledge. Or perhaps he is simply a natural genius in potion studies as well?"

"So, just by using a traced Spiritual Resonance rubbing, he can reach this level?"

'Wait. I recall that exchanging for the Name Potion formula costs at least 1,000 contribution points. Oh right, he recently published a Tier 1 paper. He has those contribution points.'

At the thought of a Second Circle Tier 1 publication, Wizard Zhuoma's inner feelings became even more complex. He looked at Locke with a complicated expression that even carried a hint of guilt.

Wizard Zhuoma then said to Locke, "Wizard Augustine, do you also enjoy taking care of these strays?"

Locke smiled and said, "Not especially. I did not know this stray was being fed by you. So when I saw it appear near me, I used it to try refining a Name Potion."

"I hope that did not offend you."

Wizard Zhuoma tilted his head back and laughed heartily.

"This dog is ultimately just a wild animal. It is not mine. Using it to refine a Name Potion was its honor."

Wizard Zhuoma's gaze was bright and eager, and he thought of the wizard night gathering that was soon to be held.

"Wizard Augustine, as the new year approaches, those of us in the Origin Academy wanted to hold a wizard night gathering for mutual exchange."

"This way, we can increase the chances of all of us doing better on next year's internal review for the special-grade grant application."

Locke looked at Wizard Zhuoma with some surprise and said, "If I recall correctly, only one person's project can be submitted each year for a chance at the special-grade grant application, right? The White Wizard Association gives the Cloud Marsh Wetlands a total of seven spots per year."

"And each of the seven top academies has one application spot, submitting one application per year. Beyond that, some Origin Academy institutes from three of the other ten districts also submit applications. Then there are the other small and large wizard universities throughout the Cloud Marsh Wetlands, and even branch academies established by institutions like the Root Crown Court of the Thunder Marshes Lowlands, which also apply. So even for Golden Crown Mountain, there are cases where the academy submits an application on behalf of its members and it still does not pass."

"We should be competitors, should we not?"

Wizard Zhuoma smiled and said, "We are competitors, but we are also from the same academy. It is said that exchange leads to mutual progress. That is why we want to organize a mutual aid society and hold wizard night gatherings to help one another."

"Wizard Augustine, you are new here, so you may not know. This is our Golden Crown Mountain tradition. We help each other. And even if someone fails the internal competition this year, but manages to join this mutual aid society and attend the wizard night gathering to sharpen their project, will their chances of getting an application through next year not increase?"

"So this is a gain with minimal loss."

Locke nodded, thought it over carefully, and said, "That is indeed the case."

Wizard Zhuoma's eyes brightened slightly.

"To be honest with you, I want to bring you into our mutual aid society, into the small group, and have you also attend the wizard night gathering. I think you will benefit greatly."

"Wizard Zeno in our mutual aid society, his special-grade grant application last time came very close to passing the internal review. This time he is even more prepared. He is the most likely person to get his project application through this time."

"Beyond him, there is me and Brandy."

Wizard Zhuoma said, "If everyone trusts each other enough, we would even take out our own projects and exchange critiques. This can improve the rate at which projects pass for grants."

"However, you should still stay away from Wizard Brandy. That person is no good. I think Wizard Locke should have already noticed."

Locke gave a slight nod.

"This mutual aid society and wizard night gathering both sound fine. But I will still pass."

The smile on Wizard Zhuoma's face disappeared.

His expression shifted slightly.

"If this is so beneficial, why not join?"

Locke shook his head slightly, because it held no appeal for him.

What he had were projects and ideas. He just needed to quietly get on with the work.

By his current judgment, joining their mutual aid society and wading into this murky water was simply unnecessary.

Wizard Zhuoma grew a little anxious and said to Locke, "There are many benefits to joining our mutual aid society. When ideas run dry, at a wizard night gathering we can find people to discuss and brainstorm with. You might very well come away with an idea."

Locke shook his head slightly.

"Thank you for your kind intentions. I appreciate the thought. But I will still pass, Wizard Zhuoma."

"I have been very busy lately. I do not have time to attend this mutual aid society, and I do not need someone else's help to find inspiration. Wizard Zhuoma, I am very busy. I will be going first. Oh, and thank you for the stray dog."

Wizard Zhuoma only managed to call out to Locke's departing back, "Remember to watch out for Brandy. I will not say more about the rest, but whatever you do, do not trust Brandy."

Wizard Zhuoma watched Locke's departing silhouette and shook his head slightly.

"Another Zeno."

"Just like Zeno, unable to get along with people. Zeno, Locke Augustine, Antoine... every single one of them is harder to deal with than the last."

Wizard Zhuoma sighed. It seemed he had failed to invite Locke to the wizard night gathering.

"No helping it. I can only go back like this. I wonder how the others' research is coming along."

Wizard Zhuoma felt somewhat anxious. He worried that others had already drafted their projects while he had not written a single word.

He could not go around asking everyone how their progress was.

So Wizard Zhuoma, feeling urgency in his heart, was practically itching to go back and start working immediately.

He crouched down, wrapped a small towel around the Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound's neck.

"Little dog, you will have to endure a bit for this period. I have been busy lately and will probably not have time to look after you. But do not worry."

"With this towel on, no one will dare hunt you."

"The pelt of a Blue Crystal Silver-Furred Hound can be made into wizard robes, the blood can be used in potions, and the crystal on your forehead is a natural treasure that can enhance the spiritual power of wizard apprentices."

Wizard Zhuoma let out a cold snort.

"Without this scarf embroidered with my name, some clueless wizard apprentice would probably try to take you down."

The dog shook its body, turned its head, circled Wizard Zhuoma, and wagged its tail, letting out a bark.

At the same time, Locke's clone returned to the laboratory and threw himself into a new round of busy work.

One month later, Witch Mason had already borrowed a Bloodline Proliferation Pool from the bloodline wizard laboratory. It was a blood pool.

Locke dripped the Magical Dragon blood he had extracted into it, poured in the blood of a magical creature called the Scarlet Deer to fill the Bloodline Proliferation Pool, and used the deer's blood to replicate and proliferate a large volume of a diluted version of the Magical Dragon blood.

Locke then mixed this with the Name Potion, creating a mixed liquid carrying the Magical Dragon bloodline.

Locke used this liquid to water the magical plant he had grafted onto the Magical Dragon Rose rootstock using the Four-Wing Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow, watering it daily to allow the two to complete a thorough graft and strengthen the internal Magical Dragon phytogen.

At the same time, Locke had Witch Mason, Douglas, and other assistants continuously activate the Growth Wizard Formation to assist in the plant's slow growth.

In that one month, Locke had burned through another five million magic stones.

Locke calculated his finances and found that his savings currently stood at only 6.62 million magic stones.

On top of that, his normal monthly income was six hundred thousand.

His First Circle income from Lilith's Cottage, the Land of Six Towers, plus the licensing fees for the Type 2 Tyrant Element, and various other fees, had originally given him a monthly income of three hundred thousand.

Then with the consecutive sales of six First Circle and one Second Circle wizard shoe, along with the sales of the Nine-Headed Snake and Five-Headed Snake, his monthly income had risen to six hundred thousand.

And with the Augustus Wizard Shoe Alliance continuing to be established, this regular income was still growing, steadily moving toward the one-million mark as the wizard shoe alliance succeeded.

As long as his alliance could truly be built up.

But even so, Locke had sensed he was running low on money.

Yes, he had gotten his research to this point, and once again found himself short of funds.

At the same time, over the three months of researching flying magical plants, Locke had finally managed to partially reconstruct a fragment of the golden magic spell model he had seen before, the Sephiroth's Grip, using the archaeology model and the spell model he had recorded previously.

Referencing the Sephiroth's Grip, he had already formed ideas for the design of his second pair of Second Circle wizard shoes.

But now he was short on funds to realize his ideas.

In the laboratory, Locke thought about how to raise money. The Four-Wing Large Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow he had developed was not competitive among Second Circle flying magical plants. Even putting it up for sale might not guarantee he would break even.

It was not that the magical plant was bad. Rather, he had not yet built up his reputation, and his breeding level still could not compare to the older generation of breeders.

Locke said, "I need to obtain more resources now."

"Research really does demand so many resources."

He took out his Ganoderma magical plant. As it happened, for reasons he did not know, a review editor of Myriad Phenomena Crossroads, a moon ring wizard, had come by ship all the way here for some reason and was inviting him to meet face to face.

Locke acutely sensed this was an opportunity to raise funds.

At the same time, the Small Breath Cup award results should be about ready to be announced.

Golden Crown Mountain should be presenting him with two Tourmaline King Peaches.

What surprised Locke was that Antoine actually reached out to him.

Locke accepted Antoine's voice call invitation.

"What is it, Antoine?"

Locke furrowed his brow slightly, because at that moment Antoine had one arm around a beautiful woman and appeared to be enjoying himself considerably.

Antoine said, "I need your help, Locke. For the special-grade grant project I intend to apply for next year, I had already prepared it in my previous life. Only I have run into an unexpected snag. A type of potion that was fairly common in my previous life is now quite rare on the market. So I wanted to invite you to refine this potion."

Locke looked at Antoine with a puzzled expression. "Does the Fischer family not have any Second Circle potion wizards?"

Antoine said, "They do not. The last Second Circle potion wizard died fifty years ago. The family has gone without one ever since."

"Also, this involves an important secret of mine. I also wanted to find someone I know well to refine the potion for me. And then I thought of you, Locke, since your potion studies is very good. So that is why I came to you."

Locke's expression turned peculiar. "Who told you my potion studies is very good?"

Antoine's expression became strange. "Hmm? Are you not on decent terms with Wizard Zhuoma? He told others that you two are friends. And he was also the one who told others that you can already refine the Name Potion, that you can extract the Spiritual Resonance from someone's name from thin air."

Locke pursed his lips.

"Antoine. Do me a small favor."

Antoine dismissed the people around him and said, "Go ahead."

Locke said, "In the future, when you find a suitable opportunity, please tell others on my behalf that I do not know Wizard Zhuoma."

Antoine smiled and said, "Sure."

"By the way, the closer we get to the day of the internal review for the special-grade grant application, the more cautious we need to be. The spots in the senior Origin Academy are limited, and some people have already reached the point of stopping at nothing to achieve their goals."

"What happened last year, that incident occurred precisely during the period leading up to the internal project review."

"Only there is still no consensus on who was responsible. No one knows."

Locke nodded.

Antoine said, "The potion I want you to help refine is not actually a true Second Circle potion. It is just a variant of the Name Potion."

"Since you know how to refine the real Name Potion, you will certainly be able to handle this. It is just somewhat more troublesome. And for some unknown reason, it is not only out of fashion now, it cannot even be found in potion shops, and even potion wizards who know this formula have become very few."

"Here is the potion formula."

Locke glanced at the file he had received. On it was written: Identity Salve.

Locke furrowed his brow. He felt he had heard of this formula somewhere, and to make sure he was not misremembering, he immediately searched on the water hyacinth system.

Yes, he had indeed read a reference to the Identity Salve before. Its alternate name was the Name-Paste Salve.

The principle of this potion was simple: using the Name Potion, which could extract the Spiritual Resonance from someone's name to refine into a potion, the process was made into a salve that stuck another person's name onto one's own body. This allowed one to impersonate another person at the level of Spiritual Resonance.

However, this application was extremely narrow.

Because it would have absolutely no effect whatsoever on low-circle wizards.

Whether curses or attack magic, at low levels they rarely targeted people through Spiritual Resonance, as that required too high a standard.

And even a wizard who used this method could not actually pass as another person, since others could directly observe with the naked eye that you were a different person, or perceive through spirituality, magical power, and other such means that you were someone else entirely.

At the same time, magic that truly targeted enemies through their names was not something that could be solved by simply sticking someone else's name onto oneself.

In other words, this potion had very few practical uses.

It was not even as useful as a First Circle potion, the Thousand Faces Potion, for concealing one's identity.

Under these circumstances, this potion falling out of use and disappearing was entirely understandable.

On top of that, this potion had also been associated with one incident.

Even needing to stick Spiritual Resonance onto someone else's body, drinking a Name Potion under normal circumstances should not cause any problems.

Even the most advanced Name Potions, because a person can have multiple names, including names shared with others, could rarely cause any serious danger.

Yet uniquely, the Identity Salve, for unknown reasons, had caused a small number of wizards who used it over extended periods to develop identity recognition problems.

This peculiar ailment, because it affected very few people and was too niche in its nature, had never been researched, and therefore had never been resolved.

All of this, however, had left very few wizards willing to refine the Identity Salve.

The White Wizard Association had also listed this potion among the prohibited substances.

But because this potion's range of application was very narrow, and many better alternatives existed, no one was willing to waste energy tackling its side effects.

Locke glanced at Antoine. Although he did not know what Antoine intended to use the Identity Salve for, this was a deal he could make.

After all, he needed to refine a Second Circle potion once daily to improve his Spirit Knowledge anyway.

And the Identity Salve was not difficult to refine.

Locke asked, "How much will you pay?"

Antoine said, "This work is not difficult. I will pay five million magic stones. But accounting for the secrecy I need you to maintain, I will give you six million magic stones."

"My requirement is that you refine one dose of the Identity Salve for me."

"At the same time, you must keep this confidential."

"I will provide you with the formula and the materials."

Locke gave a slight nod. Six million magic stones to have him refine one dose of a Second Circle potion was an absolutely premium rate.

Because the Identity Salve was not a difficult potion to refine.

But given that it was a prohibited substance under the White Wizard Association, charging this price was still reasonable.

Honestly, while this kind of prohibited substance was not an especially malicious concoction, if the Ethics and Morality Review Committee were to come looking for trouble, it would still be quite a headache.

Had it not been for Antoine being someone he already knew well, he would not dare make this kind of deal with him.

This kind of deal could really only be done between people who knew each other well.

No wonder Antoine wanted to find a potion wizard he personally knew and was familiar with. This was the reason.