Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 137 Enlightening the Tree Ent and the Vine Boxer (Two Weeks)
Two weeks later, inside Locke's laboratory.

On the laboratory workbench is a small, five-year-old apple tree bonsai. This bonsai has been specially treated so that it will only grow to the height of a child and will not grow any taller, making it look very small and exquisite.

The apple tree is still hanging with some bright red apples, which looks like little red lanterns. This type of bonsai apple tree is called "Aidan Twig".

It is the best magical plant for a first-class wizard apprentice to practice a very complex spell model called "Enchanted Treant".

Enlightening a tree-man was originally something only a first-circle wizard, specializing in plant magic within the Life School, could accomplish.

However, by using a simplified version of the [Enlightened Treant] and the special accompanying magical plant [Aidon Twig], this can be achieved at the first-class wizard apprentice stage.

Being able to do this is extremely important. It can maximize the wizard's understanding of first-circle spells.

To become a full-fledged wizard, a first-class wizarding apprentice must not only meet the required level of mental strength, but also have a corresponding understanding of first-circle botanical spells and be able to construct their first first-circle spell.

In a sense, all the tricks a wizard apprentice learns before casting a first-circle spell are preparations for his first first-circle spell.

As Locke chanted the incantation, 89 Ogan runes flashed across [Aidon Twig].

Then, the apple tree, like a child, slowly crawled out of the flowerpot. In the process, facial features gradually emerged from its trunk, and its movements became more and more agile.

But just as the little tree-man from the apple tree crawled out of the pot and placed its roots on the control panel, at least nine of the Ogan runes on the apple tree's surface suddenly flickered, and then the entire spell model began to collapse rapidly.

As if under immense pressure, the Aiden twig made cracking sounds as its trunk rapidly degenerated, reverting from a nascent tree form back to an ordinary tree.

Then, its bark cracked, and some branches broke off.

Locke's expression remained unchanged; he was not surprised by this situation. The Enlightenment of the Tree Man was a magic trick that Sophia the Witch had specifically instructed him to learn two weeks ago.

The witch Sophia believed this would be of great benefit to her understanding of first-circle spells.

The greatest benefit of learning this spell is not gaining another powerful spell, but rather its ability to assist one on their future path.

So, I spent 100 magic stones to buy an apple bonsai called "Aiden Twig," and another 500 magic stones to enroll in the course at the public classroom. Whenever I couldn't understand something, I would ask the witch Sophia for help.

After two weeks of learning, this was his first attempt, but as expected, he failed.

“My magic power is still insufficient to transform ordinary magical plants into treants, which is the first reason for the failure,” Locke pondered. “The second reason for the failure is that the 89 Ogan runes are too complex, so my understanding was flawed, and the spell model was set up incorrectly from the beginning.”

“When I’m using my magic, I make a lot of mistakes,” Locke thought. “But it doesn’t matter. Failure is only temporary. I can continue to learn slowly.”

"The plantation has already started delivering the second batch of Crystal Palm Fire Lotuses," Locke thought. "Perhaps the academy will sign another bulk purchase contract with me in the near future."

"As long as I have enough resources, I can buy more [Aidon Twigs]. As long as I have enough practice materials, my speed in learning the Enchanting Treant spell model won't be too slow."

He had already been promoted to a higher rank because of the Blood-Weeping Dragon Sunflower, and the Deep Blue Diamond improved his mana stability and accuracy. With the help of the Memory Ointment, he could improve his learning speed. So as long as he was willing to spend money and invest a lot of resources, he could succeed.

I am probably learning this spell at a speed that is no slower than those of the Elemental Children.

Locke looked at Aiden's twig, which was already half destroyed, and said, "We should be able to try two or three more times. It seems like it will be another big expense, but we have to spend the money."

"Learning to enlighten tree people will enhance my understanding of plant magic."

Locke looked at the three ominous mandrake vines wrapped around his right hand. With his mana doubled, he naturally needed to learn more spells and more powerful spell models to convert this increased mana into his actual combat power.

In the past two weeks, I have successfully sketched out a model of a spell called "Vine Fist" with 40 Ogan Tree Runes and a level 0.7. This is the second spell in the Vine Frenzy series.

Locke softly uttered a spell, and as a result, the three mandrake vines on his right hand each branched out into five branches, the ends of which curled up to form a fist outlined by the vines.

Immediately afterwards, the fifteen vine fists rained down on the air in the laboratory, each sound of air being torn apart growing louder than the last.

The spell stopped after about three minutes.

Locke watched this scene with satisfaction.

The spell "Vine Fist" allows three Ominous Mandrake vines to form a unique attack pattern, unleashing a barrage of physical attacks on the enemy in an instant.

The Vine Frenzy series also includes three spells: [Vine Thrust], [Vine Whip], and [Vine Strangulation].

Including the Vine Fist spell Locke is currently using, plus the previous Multi-Manipulation spell, that's all the spells in the Vine Frenzy series.

All four spells are level 0.5, so there's no need to take special classes to learn them. Moreover, the four are very similar, so once you learn one, you can quickly master how to use the others.

When the five spells are combined, a powerful vine spell can be used to trap the enemy in a continuous and dense barrage of attacks.

At the same time, the Poison Berry Slingshot from the previous Vine Hand series still has some value and can be used in combination with it.

This combination of attacks is a standard spell used by a first-class wizard apprentice in the plant magic subfield.

At this moment, Locke temporarily put aside his study of magic and went to Sophia's office.

Inside Sofia's office.

Locke asked Sophia, "Teacher, did you want to see me?"

Sophia nodded and asked, "Locke, how's your memory ointment coming along? I think you've already used it on a third-rate wizard apprentice."

Locke smiled and said, "Teacher, things are going very well. The third-class wizard apprentice, named Pierre, has seen his memory improve by about 50% after using my memory ointment."

"His learning progress in public classes has improved significantly, as can be seen from his recent academic performance. At the same time, I arranged for my assistant, Terri, to conduct daily cognitive and memory experiments on him, and both experiments revealed that his memory has improved dramatically and his learning speed has increased considerably."

"Thanks to the effects of the memory ointment, he's almost a second-class wizard apprentice. I predict he'll become a second-class wizard apprentice in about six months."

Locke added, "However, he was originally a level 4 aptitude, so it's normal for him to become a second-class wizard apprentice in about three years."

"But the memory ointment undoubtedly played a catalytic role in it."

Sophia the Witch was slightly surprised. "Fifty percent? Hmm, that's slightly better than I expected. But it's good that you keep that in mind; your ointment generally doesn't cause any experimental accidents."

"Remember to record any side effects. In particular, don't miss any that seem unrelated to the experiment; those could very well be indirect reactions caused by the experiment."

Sofia shared her experience, saying, "I called you here to talk about the breeder certification exam you registered for last week."

Sophia's expression was somewhat strange. "Let me be honest with you, for some reason, I have a very bad relationship with this year's examiner. If you participate this year, you will most likely fail."

"So, do you still want to participate?"

(End of this chapter)