Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 14 The Adopted Daughter and the Still Iron (4500)

Professor Old seemed afraid Locke would change his mind, so he handed Locke a list of materials and the refining process, then left without looking back. "You're welcome to contact me anytime this week, dear Locke."

Locke looked at the black leather notebook in his hand, frowned slightly, glanced at the blood-like stains on its surface, but after thinking for a moment, he put it away and strode towards Dean Tunguska's office.

The deal with Olde was indeed quite attractive to him.

It would be good to learn another spell and increase one's mental strength before boarding the wizard's ship.

Moreover, I already have two main compatible elemental particles. If I focus on developing plant magic and give up developing dark magic, it would be a great pity.

He was still too inexperienced on the path of wizardry, so Locke decided to seek advice from Tunguska.

This time, Locke went to Dean Tunguska's office. Patty was also in the office, along with a little girl of about ten years old with two pigtails, who was talking and laughing with Dean Tunguska.

The three of them looked at Locke, who had knocked on the door and entered the office. Dean Tunguska's face lit up with surprise. "Locke, congratulations, you have become a third-class wizard apprentice."

"Great."

"This is a joyous occasion. I will host a banquet for you tonight to celebrate."

Patty was taken aback, then looked at Locke with envy. Her expression was complicated. Locke was the last member to join their club, but he was the first to become a third-class wizard apprentice and officially become a wizard.

Patty thought about her level two talent and Locke's level three talent, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. In the world of wizards, the gap in talent was truly despairing.

If the difference between Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications is so significant, what about the difference between Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications?
How vast must be the difference in her learning speed compared to these aspiring wizards!

Patty said to Locke, "Congratulations, Locke."

Locke nodded to Patty. "Patty, I believe that you and Cody will soon become third-class wizard apprentices too. Keep it up."

Locke's words offered some encouragement to Patty, who nodded and said, trying to cheer herself up, "Yes. Thank you."

"That's why I came to the dean for help. With Professor Tunguska explaining the scorching Mars to me, my progress has been much faster."

Dean Tungus used his mental power to pressure Locke, but Locke's magic reacted automatically. Although he could not completely deflect Dean Tungus's magic, he protected himself.

Dean Tungus nodded and said, "On Corfu, there are no tools to thoroughly examine your magic."

"Once you're on the wizard's ship, you'll have a way to accurately measure your current mental and magical power."

"However, based on my knowledge, your current mental strength should be between 11 and 13 points, which is higher than that of a typical third-class wizard apprentice, and your magic power is very pure."

"This proves that your hard work over the past two years has not been in vain."

"Your first plant magic spell was quite well completed, so your mental strength is also relatively high."

Dean Tungus said with a smile, "To be honest, your learning speed has indeed exceeded my expectations."

"If I didn't know that you couldn't possibly have any magical resources on Corfu to accelerate your growth, I would have thought you used a lot of expensive and rare magical resources on yourself."

Locke thought of the Deep Blue Gem, but he couldn't explain why he could obtain so many magical gems on the low-magic Corfu island, so he chose to remain silent.

Dean Tungus pointed to the little girl beside him and said, "By the way, Locke, speaking of which, I haven't introduced her to you yet."

The little girl beside Dean Tunguska looked up at Locke with a mixture of cunning, awe, and intense curiosity in her eyes.

Locke said, "I was just about to ask, teacher, who is this...?"

Patty smiled and said, "This is Tunguska's newly adopted daughter. Because you've been in seclusion completing your magic, we haven't had a chance to inform you."

Dean Tungus said, “Yes. You, Cord, and Patty will be leaving Corfu in three months, leaving me, an old man, on this remote island, with no one familiar with my world by my side.”

"My students are all leaving too."

"That would be too lonely for an old man like me."

"So, I adopted a daughter."

"This way, I'll feel a little bit of home here."

Dean Tungus said with a smile, "Julian Frank is a very lovely girl, and she is also the sixth princess of the Frankish Empire. But her father voluntarily gave this daughter to me for adoption..."

“Julian, quickly bow to Mr. Locke. Locke is my most outstanding student.”

Julian quickly stepped out from beside Dean Tunguska, her knees slightly bent, her small hands holding the hem of her princess dress, and gave Locke a ladylike curtsy. "Brother Locke, please guide me in the future."

Locke nodded indifferently to her, his expression neither warm nor cold.

Clearly, this Julian Frank, although only about ten years old, is not as innocent and naive as she looks.

The fact that she was willing to give up her status as a princess of the Frankish Empire to become the daughter of Dean Tunguska suggests that her motives were not entirely pure.

But Dean Tunguska must have considered these things himself, so since he didn't say anything, there was nothing for him to say either.

When Julian saw that Locke didn't seem to like her much, a look of resentment flashed across her eyes.

Before she came here, her biological father, the emperor of the Farak Empire, instructed her that she must not offend any wizard here, and that for the sake of her motherland, she must try her best to win the favor of all the wizards here.

In particular, they needed to curry favor with Dean Tunguska.

Therefore, after seeing Locke, Julian wanted to attract his attention and make him feel good about the Farak Empire.

Unfortunately, Locke was completely different from Patty and Cord, and he didn't like her at all.

This made Julian feel a little uneasy, fearing that she might incur Locke's displeasure.

Julian said somewhat aggrievedly, "Uncle Locke..."

Locke's eyes flashed with impatience. He came here to find Dean Tunguska, not to talk to this little princess who was too self-conscious.

Dean Tungus coughed and, unusually, reprimanded Julian, "Julian, you are a junior. How can you call Locke by his name? You should call him Uncle Augustine."

"Alright, Julian, you can go out now."

Dean Tunguska was able to distinguish between primary and secondary matters. To him, Julian Frank was more like a pet than a daughter.

Locke, however, is his most outstanding student at present.

Later, when Locke went to the wizarding world, it was one of his connections, and his family would receive Locke's help as a result.

Therefore, he would not allow his excellent student to be put in any difficult position for the sake of a pet.

Julian sensed the ruthless indifference hidden in Dean Tunguska's words; it was a profound contempt from a wizard for mortals, an insurmountable gap.

So, Julian trembled slightly, then gave a ladylike bow to everyone in the office, apologized with a sob in her voice, and quickly left the office.

Locke said to Dean Tungus, "Professor Tungus, I would like to ask you what I need to do in the next three months."

Dean Tungus thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's all."

“I can’t teach you a second spell in such a short time.” “Besides, most of my energy will be focused on Patty from now on. Patty and Cord haven’t even finished their first spell model yet.”

Dean Tungus's subtext was that he was focusing his main efforts on Patty, while he was somewhat neglecting Cod.

After all, as long as they have wizarding talent, even if it's a package deal, they can join a wizarding organization, it's just a matter of how high or low the organization's level is.

Kord's wizarding aptitude was only level one, the worst in terms of talent. Therefore, Dean Tunguska gave up on improving his grades and let him fend for himself. Dean Tunguska decided to focus his energy on Patty during these last three months.

This cannot be blamed on Dean Tunguska; it's just that the wizarding world has always been so cold and realistic.

Locke nodded. This was not much different from what Old had said before. So he glanced at Patty and said carefully, "Old wants me to help him concoct a potion. Teacher, this is the name of the potion he wants to concoct."

"So, should I say yes?"

Dean Tungus took the black notebook handed to him by Locke, glanced at it, and said, "Hmm, just as I thought, it's the Stone Crab Bloodline Essence Potion."

"It must be that his lifespan had reached its limit. The continuous use of the life-borrowing ritual in necromancy, although it forcibly extended his lifespan, polluted his magic power, pushing his already weakened body to its limit."

"So he wanted to use the Stone Crab Bloodline Essence potion to modify his bloodline, strengthen his human body, and enhance his body by borrowing the bloodline of magical creatures from the wizarding world."

Dean Tungus sighed. "His own magic is too chaotic right now, so he can only ask you for help."

"Because he has violated countless academy laws, he doesn't trust me anymore and thinks I would take action against him to uphold the academy's laws."

"Actually, I've been trying my best to tolerate him. Everyone has their own difficulties, so I won't go too far unless absolutely necessary."

Locke asked, "If I can really help him successfully concoct the potion, will Ald's lifespan be extended as a result?"

Dean Tungus shook his head. "This is your first time making potions, the chances of success are very, very low. Potion making requires a very high level of mana stability, which requires talent and at least ten years of hard practice."

"Unless expensive resources are used to forcibly limit the fluctuations of mana to a certain range."

"But even if you are lucky enough to successfully refine it, its ending will not be good."

Dean Tungus said, "This is essentially a biological modification of one's own body. It is indeed something that a second-class wizard apprentice can do, but it usually takes decades and a long period of advance planning. Otherwise, it is easy to turn oneself into a monster or even lose one's mind."

"He was too hasty."

I don't think he has a good chance.

Dean Tungus thought for a moment and said, "However, I think he will give you a generous reward for the deal, so you can indeed make this deal with him."

"Anyway, he prepared all the materials, so you won't lose out. Even if you fail to refine them all, you can still gain some valuable experience."

Dean Tungus chuckled, “Having experience in potion-making before boarding the wizard ship could be a unique advantage for you.”

"Your path is already leaning towards plant magic. If you also have experience in potion making, you might get lucky and be noticed by some wizarding organizations specializing in potion-making."

Locke nodded thoughtfully.

Dean Tungus said, "Think about it the other way around, Alder actually can't do anything about you anymore."

"Although he is more powerful than you, knows more magic tricks, and has a wider selection of spells, he is too old."

Even if he gets angry and tries to do something to you, he won't be a match for you.

"They'll only be asking for trouble."

After receiving Dean Tunguska's analysis, Locke became more certain that he could agree to the deal.

Locke glanced at Patty. "By the way, Dean Tunguska, I have some personal matters I'd like to ask you."

Patty wisely left the office on her own initiative.

Dean Tungus looked at Locke gently. "Please speak."

Locke took out the black iron ring he had obtained from Count Augustine, which was a keepsake left to them by the original owner's mother.

The reason he didn't take it out before was because he didn't know what the ring represented.

But now that he has become a wizard apprentice, and Dean Tunguska has developed a deep master-apprentice relationship with him over the past two years, he is preparing to ask Dean Tunguska if he recognizes the ring.

Dean Tungus took the ring and asked in confusion, "Hmm, it looks like an ordinary ring. What's wrong with it?"

"Ok?"

Dean Tungus quickly realized something was wrong. He applied his magic to the ring, but the ring didn't react at all, as if it were insulated.

Dean Tunguska noticed the ring's unusual nature.

Their magical power is extremely strong; if they touch ordinary objects, those objects will definitely react.

But this seemingly ordinary ring is not as simple as it appears. It is so sturdy and almost completely insulated from magic, as if it were an insulator of magic.

This means that the ring is very strong and difficult to damage.

After careful examination, Dean Tunguska returned the ring to Locke, his tone becoming serious. "Locke, hide this ring well, and try not to take it out casually in the wizarding world in the future."

"This ring is not a magical item, but the material it is made of is very special; it is very likely to be still iron."

"That's a magical insulator, a very expensive magical material, even for formal wizards. Of course, the use of still iron is very limited, and the ring you have is too small to be used for anything, so it's not that expensive."

Dean Tungus said, "But to avoid trouble, you should let as few people as possible see it."

“You were right to remind Patty to go out; this thing is a problem.”

Dean Tungus poured himself and Locke two cups of tea each. "Where did the ring come from?"

Locke answered truthfully, "It was probably left to me by one of my relatives."

Dean Tungus nodded and said, "Well, I don't know the origin of the pattern on the ring either. It might be the mark of an organization or the emblem of a school of thought."

"It could also be a wizard's personal mark."

"This mark is very likely not from the southeast corner region."

"Keep it safe, I'll keep it a secret for you. Anyway, I can't leave Corfu."

Locke put away the ring, wondering to himself where the original owner's mother came from.

The materials of the keepsakes she left behind are so expensive. Does this mean that the original owner's mother was not just a wizarding apprentice?
Forget it.

Locke dispelled the gloom in his heart. Anyway, it didn't concern him much. He could just look for information about the ring later.

If we can find it, we can give the Augustinian family a response; if we can't, we can't blame ourselves.

(End of this chapter)