He had seen the quality of those magic potions; the solution was very clean, indicating they were very qualified magic potions, and the fact that they were bought by the magic potion store proved this point.
"Yes," Duke nodded.
Reela thought for a moment and said, "I have something I could recommend to you, but I’m not sure if you’re interested."
"What is it?" Duke asked.
"Lady Hela needs a Magic Potion Assistant. If you’re willing, I can introduce you," Reela said.
Duke was a bit puzzled; normally, this is something anyone would be willing to do, no Wizard Apprentice would refuse.
"Being an Assistant to an Official Wizard in Magic Potion, naturally I’m willing, it’s just that..." Duke did not rush to answer.
Reela noticed he had concerns and explained, "Lady Hela had an accident in an experiment earlier and suffered quite serious injuries. To survive, she made some modifications to herself, so her appearance might look a bit scary."
"Plus, her Spiritual Power was affected, so her temper can be a bit eccentric. But Lady Hela is actually a very good person; I’ve been her Magic Potion Assistant all this time."
"It’s just that I’ve been preparing for advancing to Official Wizard, so I have less time to help."
"I think you have quite the talent; why not give it a try?"
Duke thought for a moment and decided to give it a try.
Since Reela had been a Magic Potion Assistant there for a long time, it probably wouldn’t be a big problem.
As long as safety was not an issue, Duke didn’t care about the rest.
"You’re about to advance to Official Wizard?" Duke noticed what Reela said earlier, feeling both surprised and envious.
Reela nodded, "That’s right, my Spiritual Power has met the requirement; I just need some more time to prepare."
The minimum standard for advancing to Official Wizard is 50 points of Spiritual Power, and there aren’t many Wizard Apprentices who reach that level.
"I’ll make an appointment with Lady Hela later; I’ll take you there when the time comes," Reela said.
Duke nodded, and after chatting for a while, they left.
Before leaving, he also purchased a batch of Magic Potion Materials for Basic Magic Recovery Potions, planning to make some money with them and improve his corresponding skills’ proficiency.
The next morning, Duke received a message from Reela, saying they would meet Hela in the afternoon.
The two arrived at the Academy Island’s dock at the agreed time, where a small boat was already docked, rowed by a dark demon.
They were heading to the island owned by Hela personally.
Under usual circumstances, Wizard Apprentices can’t approach these Official Wizards’ personal islands unless, like today, they have permission.
After Duke jumped onto the boat, he gentlemanly helped Reela onboard. Reela tried to sit down, but the boat was so small that her long legs couldn’t stretch out, so she had to stand.
After they boarded, the dark demon gave a silly grin and began rowing vigorously, and the boat shot off like an arrow, entering a mist.
The mist surrounds many parts of Academy Island and serves as a signal that the area ahead is forbidden; otherwise, one might not be able to exit it.
Duke and Reela had already lost their sense of direction.
This mist was a special kind that confuses one’s senses.
The dark demon, however, was unaffected, confidently rowing the boat.
Soon after, the mist dissipated, and the surrounding area returned to the scene of blue skies and white clouds over the sea.
Ahead appeared an island, identifiable by its many buildings in unique styles, with fields of various herbs visible in the distance.
On the island, there were many figures moving around, seemingly tending to the planted herbs.
The boat docked at the island’s edge, and after they disembarked, Reela casually tossed a red object to the dark demon.
The dark demon’s eyes lit up at the sight of it, catching it with his mouth and swallowing it in one gulp, then grinning at Reela.
"That’s all for now, go ahead," Reela waved her hand.
She turned to Duke and said, "They love smoked deer hearts like these. You might want to prepare some in your spare time to build a good relationship with them. At least next time you call for a boat, they’ll come faster; they remember everyone’s aura."
Duke nodded, silently noting it down.
He had been at Black Sail for quite some time now but hadn’t ventured out yet, though he definitely planned to in the future.
The West Coast’s Wizard Civilization is incredibly prosperous with numerous Wizard Cities, but for now, he’s still relatively weak, and the outside world remains a bit dangerous for him.
Walking in front, Reela’s long, shapely legs were remarkably eye-catching.
Duke noticed the island had many humanoid creatures of races he had never seen before.
"These are slave creatures, helping with various chores on the island. Just delegate any task to them as needed; they’ve learned Morian Language," Reela said.
Slave creatures have various sources; some are captured from this Plane, but most are plundered from other Planes, used as slave creatures.
Aside from chores like on the island, slave creatures serve broader purposes, acting as Slave Legions in other Planes, serving as the vanguard in military offensives.
In other words, slave creatures are primarily cannon fodder, usually used to deplete enemy forces.
Being able to do chores here was a fortunate thing for these slave creatures, at least they didn’t have to fight in other Planes’ battlefields.
They mostly came from other Planes, having witnessed the ferocity and cruelty of wizards with their own eyes, and saw the fallen slave creatures. They had no desire to become any of those cannon fodders.
Reela led Duke into a courtyard, where there was a recliner beside a table, and an old lady was lying on it.
"Lady Hela, this is Duke," Reela said.
Hela immediately stood up and turned to glance at Duke, and upon being looked at, he couldn’t help but shiver.
There was an intangible Spiritual Power wave emanating from her, exerting tremendous pressure on him.
"Oh, sorry, my Spiritual Power’s been fluctuating a bit these days. Ah, getting old makes control a bit difficult," Hela’s voice was extremely hoarse.
Only then did Duke notice that Hela’s appearance was indeed a bit frightening.
Both of her eyes were gone; her left eye was a brass gear with many small gears inside, continuously rotating like a precision clock.
Hela’s right eye was a black misty vortex, looking bottomless, its contents unknown.
More importantly, a large part of her skull was missing, with a green gelatinous substance covering it. Inside, glimpses of her brain could be seen.
Hela’s body was shrouded in a black Wizard’s robe, obscuring everything inside.