Half an hour later, Locke completed the industry standard manual assessment and theoretical exam, submitting his answer sheet along with the other four candidates.
While working on the theoretical exam, Locke unexpectedly discovered that its difficulty far surpassed that of the Potionology Assistant exam. It contained numerous minute yet crucial knowledge points. Had he not used Memory Ointment for extended study, he likely wouldn't have passed this first round of the Breeder theoretical examination.
Madam Morgana frowned as she criticized Martin, the candidate before Locke who was also a First Class Wizard Apprentice from Lilith's Cottage. "Your fundamentals are severely lacking."
"You have considerable room for improvement. You didn't even grasp the primary function of the Cutting Breeding Method," Madam Morgana said with visible confusion as she looked at the First Class Wizard Apprentice before her.
Martin's face flushed red as he hung his head, not daring to respond.
Understanding flashed in Locke's eyes. The main purpose of the Cutting Breeding Method was large-scale cultivation of offspring from Magic Plant parent bodies, but this application required both an independent Plantation and extensive modification experiments.
Most First Class Wizard Apprentices hadn't reached the stage of establishing their own Plantations, so naturally they'd be unfamiliar with this aspect. The methods they most commonly used would be the Grafting Breeding Method and Hybridization Breeding Method. After all, breeding was a highly practice-oriented discipline.
Many First Class Wizard Apprentices lacked their own Plantations and practical experience, making it naturally difficult for them to pass the Breeder examination.
Madam Morgana gave Martin a cold look. "Your understanding of Breeder industry standards is riddled with errors too. Martin, I suggest you strengthen your capabilities in this area. Each Breeder examination registration costs five hundred Magic Stones—don't waste your money next time."
Madam Morgana then reviewed three students from minor wizard organizations, frowning as she and the other two Formal Wizards jointly assigned theoretical scores. Objectively speaking, these candidates' theoretical performance was even worse than Martin's, but Madam Morgana remained silent.
She held no expectations for external candidates from minor wizard organizations. Students from such groups had even more gap-ridden theoretical knowledge systems and limited access to learning resources. They often knew the "what" without understanding the "why," patching together just enough knowledge to get by.
Finally, Madam Morgana and the two examiners approached Locke. She picked up his answer sheet and scanned through it.
Her eyebrows knitted together in surprise—Locke had answered every single question about Breeder industry standards flawlessly, leaving her no room to find fault. His theoretical framework was also quite solid, with only minor errors. Thanks to the Memory Ointment, his performance in this theoretical exam far surpassed his previous showing in the Potionology Assistant examination.
Madam Morgana spent noticeably more time reviewing Locke's work than the others'.
Madam Morgana frowned, glanced at Locke, and said, "Your theoretical foundation is passable."
"Much better than the previous candidates. And you're quite clever too, knowing to memorize the breeder code of practice in advance."
"Did Sophia make you memorize it?"
Locke bowed respectfully to Madam Morgana and replied politely, "Yes, Madam Morgana. My teacher instructed me to memorize it."
"She said that only by learning to respect power can I master it."
A faint smile curved Madam Morgana's lips. "I was the one who originally told your teacher that."
Just as Madam Morgana was about to smile, her expression suddenly turned serious, as if remembering something. "Alright, the second round of the exam will test your mastery of the Magic Resonance Breeding Method—the foundation of a Breeder."
"Placed before you are five pots of Magic Plants on the verge of death. I want you to demonstrate your abilities as Breeders by using the Magic Resonance Breeding Method to revive these five Magic Plants."
"You have one and a half hours."
In the examination hall, Second-Class Wizard Apprentice assistants brought in five pots of basic Magic Plants—Nine-Serpent Flowers.
This was a fundamental Magic Plant with no special abilities. Typically, each plant bore nine buds that bloomed simultaneously, with an exceptionally long flowering period. Their shape resembled nine snake heads, hence the name Nine-Serpent Flower.
The flowers of the Nine-Serpent Flower could be used to concoct a simple potion—the Mind-Calming Aroma.
As Locke observed the Nine-Serpent Flower placed before him and those in front of the other candidates, he immediately understood the focus of this exam.
The Nine-Serpent Flower was an extremely delicate Magic Plant. It could easily die from lack of water, wither from high temperatures, or fall ill from nutrient deficiencies. It was also vulnerable to numerous harmful pests and fungi.
The Nine-Serpent Flower before him was clearly suffering from prolonged dehydration, evident in its wilted state. The edges of its leaves were curled and blackened—a sign of root damage. Additionally, the leaf surfaces were densely covered with tiny pink insect eggs—pests known as Pink Aphids.
As a Breeder, Locke quickly formulated a solution in his mind. The immediate priority was to mix water and Basic Nutrient Solution in a 10:1 ratio and water the plant, along with Rooting Powder to nourish its roots. If necessary, the rotten roots could be partially excised.
In extreme cases, the roots could even be temporarily removed from the soil and cleaned using a hydroponic method to address the damage.
For the Pink Aphid eggs, a targeted insect-repellent potion could be used—a simple concoction that Locke, as a Potionology Assistant, could easily prepare.
Under normal circumstances, such extensive measures wouldn't be necessary for a mere Nine-Serpent Flower.
The plant was too inexpensive—it would cost fewer resources to simply buy a new one rather than revive this one.
"But if we can only use the Magic Resonance Breeding Method..." Locke pondered. "Then I must solve this problem through directional radiation."
"Applying the Breeder's standard universal resonance frequency for revitalizing Magic Plants should suffice."
"At the same time, use the pest-repelling resonance frequency to destroy those insect eggs."
In other words, this stage was testing the depth of their understanding, familiarity, and operational proficiency with the Magic Resonance Breeding Method among these Breeders.
After all, unlike Magical Flame techniques, this breeding method didn't test switching speed. Judgment, experience, and control were far more important than switching speed.
"The universal enhancement frequency for stimulating Magic Plants is 822Hz, while the pest-repelling frequency is 200Hz..." Locke hesitated as he pondered.
Meanwhile, the other examinees were also racking their brains, especially the three Breeder Assistant candidates from small Wizard organizations. They hadn't expected Lilith's Cottage's Breeder examination to be so rigorous, and were all deep in thought, some even sweating from the mental strain.
All just to figure out a solution.
Beside Locke, Martin's confidence surged. "Perfect! My mentor guessed the exam topic correctly. I've practiced this before—I once revived a dying Centipede Grass using the universal resonance frequency."
Martin's words caused Locke's pupils to suddenly constrict. He turned his head to look at the chief examiner and primary question-setter, Madam Morgana.
At that moment, Madam Morgana was watching Martin with a slight curve to her lips.
That's it—no wonder he'd felt something was off. This was actually a trick question.
Locke suddenly recalled another minor detail: Centipede Grass and Nine-Serpent Flowers were different. Nine-Serpent Flowers had nine heads... while Centipede Grass only had one.
If you used the universal enhancement frequency of the Magic Resonance Breeding Method on a nine-headed Magic Plant, then...
'Madam Morgana is testing us on such minute details.'
'But of course—as full-fledged Breeders, no longer just Breeder Assistants, how could we afford to make such small mistakes?'
Madam Morgana sensed Locke's gaze and turned to look at him.
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