Wizard: This mushroom is too fierce.

【The Magic Plant House】

[Competition Winner: Roland Colt]

[Score: Full marks]

[Evaluation: Solid foundation, active thinking, and rich knowledge base. From basic knowledge to magical plant knowledge, from fill-in-the-blank questions to analytical questions, every answer was like a standard answer. Therefore, our entire Magical Plant House votes to declare that Roland Colt, this newcomer who truly understands how a wizard should treat himself, deserves the victory in this competition.]

"A cover-up!"

"I checked Roland Colt's records and found that his wizarding aptitude was only first-class when he came in. Logically speaking, it's already remarkable that he was able to pass the test within the allotted time. How could he have had time to study magical plant science?"

"The House of Magic Plants is getting worse and worse. They don't even do background checks anymore. He's neither a family wizard nor a genius wizard like Francis who stood out among the apprentice candidates early on. I hadn't even heard of him before the competition was announced. And now you're telling me he got a perfect score, or that he was voted a genius by everyone in the House of Magic Plants?"

Roland frowned. The comments section under his posts had become a chaotic mess, with attacks on the House of Magic Plants, sarcastic remarks about the inside story, and of course, the most numerous attacks on his own wizarding aptitude.

Of course, there were also comments defending themselves, such as this account called "Cute Witch": "The Magic Plant House's exams have always only looked at the test papers, not aptitude or background. When did the criteria for measuring a wizard's level become like this?"

The voices of reason are ultimately in the minority, or rather, most rational wizarding apprentices will not speak out at this time. For them, studying magic and improving themselves is the right path.

Roland was unaffected. Since the magic stone reward was already in his hands, he could let them say what they wanted. After all, as long as he continued to perform well, one day these noisy comments would all fall apart.

After closing the forum, Roland took out a notebook and a sketching magic pen from his spatial ring and began writing at an extremely fast pace.

His research had reached a stalemate, but for a wizard, this was just a minor setback. Roland was well aware of his strengths and weaknesses; he possessed the talent of a fungus master and was naturally suited to develop on Little Puji.

The drawbacks are also obvious. The little Pugi are far too weak, and many experimental methods written by wizards cannot be completely applied to them. In other words, this is a thorny path that Roland must pave himself.

"The first thing to address is the mutation reaction..." Roland's mind was clear, and experimental images kept flashing through his mind. His hand was also constantly writing with his magic sketching pen: "The conventional bloodline modification approach can be stopped for now. The mutation reaction is too strong, and continuing will only be a waste of magic stones."

"I need to cut my losses!" Roland wrote again: "Environmental modification and magical plant grafting can proceed in parallel."

In Roland's laboratory today, the branch soaked in the bloodline potion is still stuck in the wild Puji, and it has neither died nor undergone any special change.

That's just how the field of botany is; it's inherently a long-term process. After clarifying his research direction and experimental ideas, Roland turned the page and continued writing on a new sheet of paper: "As Puji gets stronger, I myself also need to continue to grow."

"Mental strength needs to be improved at a high speed!" Roland frowned slightly. He thought of Olivia and wondered how her potion-making skills were, and whether she could pass the potion master assistant assessment and refine the energizing potion.

The energizing potion was an excellent meditation potion for a third-class wizard apprentice, but it was still too expensive for Roland, who did not yet have a stable source of income.

Roland also learned a lot about potions under Olivia's tutelage, and learned that the magical materials used in energizing potions were not actually that expensive. According to Olivia, the cost of the materials for this potion was only one-third of the price of the finished product.

The main reason for its high value lies in the official quality assurance and the risk premium associated with potion makers' failed attempts.

In other words, the expensive potions are all genuine products verified by the Wizarding Association, with no side effects after use and guaranteed quality.

There are cheap and effective potions on the student forum in the deep cave, but Roland dares not use them.

This kind of thing is related to one's wizarding path. In the wizarding world, things from second-hand channels are generally a rip-off.

If it were in the hands of a potion master who is a dark wizard, those wizard apprentices who buy potions would probably become free experimental subjects.

After noting down the matter of the energizing potion, Roland thought of the plant-based root magic he had just learned, "Fighting Together".

Roland has already learned the spell model and constructed the corresponding runes in his mental space. Now, only the final step remains: to select a magical plant for mental assimilation and bring it completely under his control.

"Which type of magical plant should I choose?" Roland hesitated. He had just embarked on the path of a wizard and was confused about which school of thought or direction he should take.

Extraordinary cultivation and bloodline modification are what Professor Ashus can teach Roland, while botany is the direction that suits his talents.

This spell is also crucial. Choosing combat-type magical plants, such as Flame Bell Flower and Thunder Vine, which have elemental spells, can greatly increase Roland's combat power, allowing him to earn magic stones faster.

Choose support-type magical plants, such as the Energy Gathering Root and the Wind Whisper Grass. The former can accelerate Roland's meditation speed, while the latter can use the spells attached to the Wind Whisper Grass to detect enemy situations.

The key issue is that Roland hasn't figured out his own role yet.

Before becoming a first-ring wizard, one can only choose three magical plants to form a spiritual resonance with.

After a moment's thought, Roland sighed. His experience and knowledge were simply not enough to support a long-term development strategy of taking one step at a time and planning three steps ahead.

"Let's ask the teacher first, and then make a decision."

Roland circled the question with his pen, then put away his notebook and took out a magic book on plant magic to study.

......

Outside Ashus's Magic Hut

Roland's expression was somewhat strange. He stood in the doorway, straining to listen to the sounds inside: "Ms. Lilith... how is it?"

"Does my body still suit your taste?"

"Trash!" a woman's muffled groaned. "Again..."

...

After a brief silence, Roland slowly walked down the steps and sat under a tree far from the magic hut, entering into meditation. Clearly, Roland's timing was somewhat inappropriate; as a student of Professor Ashius, he felt it was best not to disturb him at this time.