Seflin froze. "Mentor... I... is this related to that White Wizard Locke Augustine? I'll handle this matter properly. If necessary, I can even infiltrate Lilith's Cottage personally and kill that White Wizard myself to restore my damaged reputation and regain the respect of our peers for you."
The next moment, Rasheed Tarir slapped Seflin across the face again, leaving her not a shred of dignity before her juniors.
"Fool! Let me enlighten you. This is knowledge you should have already known. Didn't you learn this most fundamental lesson in your introductory Curse studies?!" Rasheed Tarir roared in fury.
"Magic Plants are the most prone to Plant Essence mutations."
"Even in the Summoning School's Beast Taming Magic specialization or the Conjuration School's Magical Creature Bloodline Modification research, Bloodline Factors in magical creatures cannot undergo large-scale mutations."
"Magical creatures' Bloodline Factors are naturally more stable than Magic Plants' Plant Essence factors, with lower error tolerance. But Magic Plants' Plant Essence factors are extremely prone to mutation during sexual reproduction, leading to the [Polyploidy Phenomenon]."
"Moreover, Magic Plants can be asexually propagated by Breeders using the Cutting Breeding Method. Even if a Magic Plant mutates to the point of being unable to reproduce naturally, it can still be propagated asexually through cuttings."
"So while cursing magical creatures is harmless, cursing Magic Plants is absolutely forbidden. Otherwise, those damned Breeders might develop Magic Plants resistant to our curses—or something even worse."
"Because Magic Plants' mutation potential far exceeds that of magical creatures!"
Rasheed Tarir glared coldly at Seflin, who was now showing signs of fear, and said, "This should have been the most basic of basics."
"I believe I mentioned this to you during your first week after enrollment."
Seflin whispered in explanation, "But... Mentor, you only mentioned it once, and that was years ago. This..."
Rasheed Tarir's gaze turned even colder. "That's no excuse, Seflin. I am extremely angry and disappointed in you."
"You've made me lose face before our peers."
"Especially before Mrs. Victoria, Hussein's Wizard Mentor."
Rasheed Tarir said icily, "Because of your foolish actions, the Magic Plant Curse you created has linked all our Blood Curse Court's commonly used curses—from First-Class to Second-Class Wizard Apprentice level—to Magic Plants. According to my intelligence, Lilith's Cottage has now developed a widely applicable curse-countering potion."
"That potion is so basic that an ordinary Potionology Assistant could produce about ten bottles per day with minimal training. Just one bottle is enough to neutralize most of our curses."
"The Elder Council even suspects that using such basic-level potions could grant some adaptability to our Blood Curse. This would drastically alter the scope of our advantage."
"Seflin, do you realize the magnitude of the disaster your Magic Plant Curse has caused?" Rasheed Tarir commanded sharply. "Cease all research related to the Magic Plant Curse immediately and destroy all records."
"Furthermore, you are to await the Elder Council of the Blood Curse Court's verdict regarding your punishment. Until the decision is finalized, you are forbidden from leaving this Curse Formula Research Institute."
Seflin pleaded urgently, "Mentor, can you intervene on my behalf?"
"It was merely an experiment gone awry."
"Please, grant me another chance. I will forever remember your investment in me and repay you once I become a Formal Wizard. Mentor, I acknowledge my folly—please, help me..."
Rasheed Tarir replied coldly, "I have invested much in you. If I could intervene, I would. But this matter has already drawn the attention of the Elder Council."
"How much I can negotiate remains uncertain."
"Recently, I've been assisting the Blood Curse Court in researching a Blood Curse with devastating effects on wizard apprentices. Stay here in the Curse Formula Research Institute and assist me with experiments. Do not venture elsewhere for now."
Seflin froze momentarily. Until now, even the Blood Curse Court and Lilith's Cottage had maintained an unspoken understanding.
Apprentices and mentors operated separately—Wizard Mentors avoided interfering in apprentice affairs, and apprentices remained unaffected by mentor-level conflicts.
This tacit agreement existed to preserve their Wizard Seeds, preventing mass casualties among the next generation and avoiding a talent drought in the coming decades.
Yet clearly, the Blood Curse Court no longer intended to honor this understanding—even aiming to exploit this timing to deal a severe blow to Lilith's Cottage.
Rasheed Tarir added, "You've had poor luck. Normally, even if you unleashed a Magic Plant Curse, given time, we could reclaim the cursed plants and prevent further escalation."
"But one of their junior apprentices got lucky—they cracked your Magic Plant Curse in under two months."
"Before we could even notice, the situation had already spiraled out of control."
Without sparing a glance at the other Second-Class Wizard Apprentices in the room, Rasheed Tarir turned and left.
Once he was gone, Seflin clenched her fists, biting her lip until blood trickled down.
"Damn it, how did things come to this?"
"It was just a routine experiment gone wrong—how did it become so convoluted?" Seflin seethed with resentment. "Hussein's Blood Curse was also broken by them, wasn't it?"
"All I did was develop a curse targeting Magic Plants! Now I'm trapped in this damned institute. No—I must find a way out, or I'm finished."
Seflin clenched her fists, her eyes filled with frustration and deep-seated hatred. "Just a mere Potionology Assistant, yet he made me suffer so much. You truly deserve to die. A weak First-Class Wizard Apprentice at best—if we fought head-on, I could crush him with my own hands."
"For now, I can only be confined within this Curse Formula Research Institute."
"The Council... I don't know how they'll punish me."
In the room, several Second-Class Wizard Apprentices exchanged furtive glances, silently communicating with their eyes. No matter who it was, they all understood each other's meaning.
Their senior, Seflin, seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
If they didn't want to go down with her, they needed to find a new master.
Under Wizard Mentor Rasheed Tarir, there were still some First-Class Wizard Apprentices. To seek shelter and safely distance themselves from Seflin, they would first need the protection of those apprentices.
In this system of servitude, for a slave to escape one master, they must first pledge allegiance to another.
And loyalty—in this Black Wizard Society—was the most hollow virtue of all.
(End of Chapter)