Angulo and Essie were momentarily stunned, but quickly maintained their smiles and invited Locke into the shop first.
After all, they were good friends with Locke, so they couldn't just turn him away like they had done with Robert.
Robert, watching as the two shopkeepers welcomed Locke inside, felt a surge of resentment. He turned and stormed off, muttering under his breath, "Damn it, this is so unfair."
"Judging by their expressions, they must be friends. So the reason my potions aren't selling is because I lack connections in this area."
Robert's eyes darted around as he came to a completely wrong conclusion. "It seems that if I want to keep my pharmaceutical room running, I need to befriend a few Magic Potion Shop owners."
"I'm not completely out of options yet. If all else fails, I can sign a few loan contracts... or find a job and use the salary to sustain my personal pharmaceutical room. As long as I can befriend a few shop owners, I should be able to open up my first sales channel."
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. "Once my personal pharmaceutical room sells its first product, it'll be much easier to sell potions in the future."
"Right now is the hardest time for me, but things will get better!"
...
Inside the Owl Cauldron shop, Essie and Angulo had a clerk pour Locke a cup of rich Anglula Fragrant Tea and escorted him into the VIP room.
As soon as they entered, the formal airs Angulo and Essie had put on in front of the staff completely vanished.
Angulo shrugged, leaning against the wall as she said to Locke, "Locke, you've really put me in a tough spot. Let me make this clear—even though you're my friend, I can't give you too many special favors."
"If Madam Irina finds out I allowed subpar potions into the Owl Cauldron shop, I'll lose my job."
Essie nodded in agreement.
Locke nodded. "Understood."
He had only come here for convenience.
Based on the experimental data for the Memory Ointment, sooner or later, some large Magic Potion Shop would take an interest in it.
But since he had this connection, why not use it?
"I understand," Locke said, taking an unceremonious sip of the Anglula Fragrant Tea before placing the experimental data and production certification for the Memory Ointment in front of Angulo and Essie.
Angulo and Essie exchanged a glance, then sat down and began carefully reviewing the documents.
The biggest advantage of having connections was skipping the time and effort needed to convince others.
True, only outstanding products could secure orders.
But the prerequisite was that others had to actually take the time to review the experimental data for your product.
Ten minutes later, Locke said to Angulo and Essie, whose expressions had gradually grown serious, "If your shop isn't interested in ordering my Memory Ointment, I can always try another shop."
"No hard feelings."
Angulo quickly waved her hands and looked up at Locke, saying, "No, no, no. This Memory Ointment of yours is in no way comparable to what that First-Class Wizard Apprentice brought earlier."
"Locke, you actually improved the formula for Contemplation Balm."
Beside her, Essie wore an expression as if she'd seen a ghost.
Essie murmured, "Contemplation Balm is an old formula with a long history. In the past hundred years, there have only been minor improvements in production techniques. Precisely because the technology is mature, the academy distributes five vials of Contemplation Balm to Second-Class Wizard Apprentices every month."
"As a benefit."
Angulo nodded. "Exactly. Contemplation Balm is a widely used potion, but if the experimental data for your Memory Ointment is accurate, even First-Class Wizard Apprentices would have a demand for it."
Essie added, "How could it be fake? Locke even published a B-grade paper with this data. That requires verification of its value through the prophetic spells of those Omniscience Scholars."
"Besides, I've always believed Locke's character is far better than yours, Angulo."
Angulo's mind worked faster than Essie's, quickly considering the implications. "Potions that enhance memory are truly rare. This one would have enormous sales potential."
"Shapeshifters studying transfiguration magic, Omniscience Scholars from the General Studies School, Speed Painters from the Enchantment School, Illusionists from the Illusion School, Defenders from the Protection School... All these wizards specializing in magic branches that require exceptional memory would have a need for Memory Ointment."
Angulo's eyes burned with enthusiasm. In her view, if she and Essie could stock this potion even just a few months earlier than other Magic Potion Shops, they could earn significant rewards from Madam Irina.
Were it not for the industry convention that Potionology Masters, unlike Breeders, don't form long-term exclusive partnerships with single shops, she would have wanted to establish an exclusive channel collaboration with Locke.
Looking up at Locke with unprecedented enthusiasm, Angulo asked, "Locke, is this your creation?"
Locke gave a slight nod.
Angulo and Essie nodded admiringly. Angulo sighed, "I heard Sophia was the most dazzling genius of our Lilith's Cottage in the previous generation. Now I see the talent runs in the same line."
"Locke, your talent in Potionology far surpasses mine and Essie's."
"And you only took three months."
"That third-class wizard apprentice you used for experiments seems to have advanced to second-class now. Hmm, his original aptitude was level 4. Normally, it would take about three years to become a second-class wizard apprentice."
"But it's only been two and a half years. It seems your Memory Ointment helped him tremendously."
Locke modestly deflected, "The three months were just for experimental data conversion. The time I spent improving Contemplation Balm was much longer than that."
"I just got lucky, happening upon a direction for improvement."
"As for that third-class wizard apprentice, I believe the reason he accelerated his progress to becoming a second-class wizard apprentice wasn't just due to the Memory Ointment. It was also because I hired him as a test subject—he earned 100 Magic Stones from me each month and used them to purchase considerable resources."
Angulo nodded slightly with a smile. "It's the first time I've seen someone promoting his potions at a Magic Potion Shop without exaggerating their effects, even going so far as to downplay the credibility of his experimental data reports."
Angulo continued with a laugh, "Locke, our shop usually purchases Contemplation Balm at 12 Magic Stones per vial and sells it to customers for 15 Magic Stones each."
"That means a profit of 3 Magic Stones per vial."
"But Memory Ointment clearly has greater market demand and better efficacy, so we'll buy yours at 15 Magic Stones per vial. Is that acceptable?"
Locke gave a slight nod.
The price matched his earlier expectations.
Angulo couldn't wait. "Then we can sign the contract. But how many vials of Memory Ointment can you supply us per month?"
Locke thought for a moment. "Around 375 vials. It might be slightly more or less."
Angulo seemed disappointed. "Can't you produce more?"
"Locke, potions are consumables—market demand is far greater than for Magic Plants."
Locke smiled wryly. "The main issue is my limited production capacity."
He truly needed to recruit more second-class wizard apprentices—perhaps even first-class wizard apprentice assistants if necessary in the future.
To establish a large-scale Personal Pharmaceutical Room!
Just like Angron, Albert, Astrid, and Miranda had done.
But before that, he needed to solidify his fooling and fully understand the murky depths of the potion trade.
Otherwise, he might end up like that Robert from before—blindly investing and landing himself in severe financial trouble.
-Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LegendaryTL
Thanks!