Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 280 Augustus Series Magical Plants
Claudia Forbes nodded to Locke and said, "Alright, you've received the Sacrifice Potion."

"I hope you will abide by the contract. If you do, you will be hunted down by the Association. High-level contracts of the Association are usually protected by powerful curse magic."

The old witch of Forbes raised her eyebrows and said, "That is guaranteed by a [cursed Aztec corn coin] kept at the association headquarters."

“That cursed gold coin will instantly flip and release a curse when a certain agreement is violated, so it is a naturally best type of magical item that guarantees a contract,” the Forbes witch whispered. “However, the corn coin is a second-ring item, so most contracts don’t reach that level.”

Locke glanced at the contract he had signed earlier, the association's high-level confidentiality contract. In the blank space there was a strange gold coin pattern. In the center of the gold coin was a corn cob in the sky, and in the engraving of the gold coin, the corn cob was still bleeding towards the earth.

Locke thought carefully about the connection between curse magic and magic contracts and found that the two were indeed closely related. Curse magic could be used to achieve the magical effect of protecting the contract.

He exclaimed, "I never imagined that curse magic could be used not only to deal with enemies, but also for such a peculiar purpose."

The Forbes witch chuckled, "Yes."

"There are no dedicated contract masters in the southeastern corner region, but in many places there are contract masters who specialize in studying the curse magic of the psychic school."

"The magical contracts drawn up by these contract masters are very effective, but they can only be encountered in some wizarding lands with relatively high magical levels. This requires a higher degree of social division of labor; otherwise, it would be impossible for an ordinary individual wizard to learn a wizarding profession that specializes in serving certain special fields and purposes."

Claudia Forbes said, "We potion masters can break the magical contracts created by ordinary curse magic ourselves."

"But this kind of magical contract protected by the second-circle item, the Aztec gold coin, is something that even we potion masters are powerless to change."

"Alright, student, you can go now. I'm busy. I need to refine a batch of potions for the academy's higher-ups soon."

After bowing to the old witch Forbes, Locke left.

He went to the potion auction, which was held at Lilith's Cottage every six months.

Although Lilith's Cottage may hold a few small auctions every month, such large auctions are basically held only at two fixed times of the year, and those who can enter the venue must be at least first-class wizard apprentices.

Many official wizards from the Southeast Corner will come to participate. In essence, this is a region-wide event held by Lilith's Hut for the Southeast Corner.

Indeed, this demonstrates the prominent position of Lilith's Cottage in the southeastern region.

My main purpose in participating is to use the 20 magic stones I have to purchase enough magical resources.

Currently, the magical resources commonly found in the Chimera Market are of little use to me; consuming them is basically useless, and it would be better to consume more Eye Lord Potions.

But at this grand auction, there will surely be magical resources that can help you achieve your current status.

Furthermore, this is a grand event at Lilith House, and as a student of Lilith House, I should at least witness it.

Before the Potions Auction House, the auctioneers stood at the entrance, welcoming all the guests.

A trader familiar with Locke smiled and said to him, "Potion Master Augustine, welcome to the potion auction at Lilith's Cottage. This is your first time attending our academy's own large-scale auction."

"You may sit anywhere inside the auction house except for the private rooms. Only first-ring wizards have the right to rent the private rooms..."

Christine, the Green Witch, suddenly emerged from the crowd of wizards entering the auction hall.

Christine walked over and greeted Locke, saying, "Locke, are you here for this auction?"

Locke was slightly surprised, so he turned around and bowed to the Green Witch. "Senior, you're here too."

The Green Witch Christine smiled slightly and said, "Of course. I'm here on behalf of the Four Seasons Garden to bid on rare potions." "Lilith's Cottage is more skilled in potion-making than the Four Seasons Garden, while the Four Seasons Garden has an advantage in botanical magic. At the auction, there's a chance to find some very rare potions that are extremely useful even to a first-ring wizard."

Christine said to Locke, "Locke, why don't you come with me? Our Four Seasons Garden has rented a fixed auction room at the auction house. In the room, we have priority in bidding, and in the case of equal prices, our room wins. Moreover, in the room, we also have the special right to view the next three auction items first."

Locke readily agreed. "Okay, senior."

"Thank you very much."

The Green Witch Christine, after signing the first contract with me in the past year, signed another contract with me to purchase the Eye of Perseus lichen for 10,000 magic stones.

After all, the enemies of the Four Seasons Garden, the Bone Cult, while not particularly skilled in curse magic, are most adept at bone magic from the necromancy school. Bone magic contains some minor curse spells that weaken negative energy, and the Eye of Perseus would still be quite useful against the Bone Cult.

Upon seeing that Locke knew the Green Witch, the trader said nothing more, but simply gestured for him to proceed.

As Green Witch Christine and Locke entered the potion auction together, Green Witch Christine said to Locke, "Junior, I've recently been persuading the senior advisors of Four Seasons Garden to agree to my purchase of your magical plant, Emerald Iris Lichen."

"If it succeeds, it will probably be a fairly large order."

Locke thanked Christine, saying, "Thank you, senior. Over the past year, you've helped me open up many sales channels, giving me a small reputation among many wizarding organizations in the Southeast Corner Region."

The Green Witch Christine said to Locke, "We are from the same school and share the same wizard mentor, so I am naturally more willing to help you."

“We are helping each other. I used to help my fellow students like this when I was with Professor Harlan Vera.”

“Besides, the quality of your work is indeed quite good,” Christine said with a smile. “I am very satisfied with all your works. Perhaps in the future, you could create a brand for all your works.”

"This will make it more convenient to sell them in the future."

Christine the Green Witch said, "How about calling him Augustus the Plant? I've transliterated your surname using ancient Epirus, which means ancient, wise, and glorious."

"It's actually your surname."

“If you have no objections, I will help you promote it. Your works can already be considered a series, which will make it easier for me to persuade the senior consultants at Four Seasons Garden.”

The Green Witch looked at Locke. "Of course, it mainly depends on your own personal opinion."

"By the way, the work on the accompanying spells for the Eye of Perseus Lichen Shield that you authorized us to develop has been completed after nine months of effort."

Christine said, "I almost forgot. I'm going to pass on this spell that I developed to you."

She took a spellbook from her astral ring and handed it to Locke. "This is a 0.9-ring [Lichen Shield], the prototype of which is a 0.5-ring [Moss Shield]."

"You already know [Moss Shield], so learning this should be quick for you."

"Because we were responsible for developing this spell ourselves, and all the resources were paid for by us, according to the contract we signed before, Locke, you only have the right to use it and the right to learn it. You cannot teach it to others privately."

The Green Witch Christine smiled at Locke. "Of course, that's just a way of putting it. Actually, as long as you don't spread this spell widely in the area near our Four Seasons Garden and affect our project team so we can recoup our costs by selling this spell, that's fine."

"Whether it spreads or not in other places is none of our concern. Our project team also doesn't want to easily clash with the original creator of the Eye of Perseus lichen."

Locke nodded and said, "Don't worry, senior."

(End of this chapter)