Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 844 The grave mistake made by the wizard Salonirus!

After the second-ring wizard shopkeeper of Another Path submitted his Civilization Credit Rating and Shop Alliance certificate, he addressed Locke, who was about to sign the contract, saying, "Wizard Locke, let me reiterate that this is your first time renting a Void Battleship. You plan to rent it for a year, so the rental fee is 219 million magic stones, which is equivalent to 219 magic crystal cards. The deposit is also 219 magic crystal cards, so the total is 438 million magic stones."

The minimum rental period for a Void Battleship is six months.

The second-ring wizard shopkeeper said, "If the item is returned after the deadline, it will be considered an automatic renewal of the contract, meaning the lease will be automatically renewed for the next year, and you will need to pay 219 million magic stones in rent."

"If the Void Warship is damaged due to abnormal use, the corresponding deposit will be deducted. If the deposit cannot fully cover the damage, you will need to pay the corresponding fees later."

"is that OK?"

"Of course, under normal circumstances, if the time exceeds two weeks, it will not be considered an automatic renewal of the contract."

Locke nodded and said, "Understood. Let's sign the contract."

Locke signed his name on the contract.

The contract was divided into three copies: one remained with Locke, one remained with the Otherworldly Paradise, and the third needed to be given to the White Wizard Association's Warship Management Division for safekeeping.

After the second-ring wizard shopkeeper finished signing the contract, he said to Locke, "Wizard Locke, do you need to order any other items necessary for void exploration?"

"Do you need the Void Armor?"

Locke had heard of the Void Armor, which was actually a recent achievement of the wizarding civilization. It was a suit of armor constructed from a large number of high-level magical artifacts, and each piece could be said to be a masterpiece of the wizarding civilization's alchemy.

However, these things are extremely expensive; a single piece of armor costs more than a regular void warship.

The advantage is that the Void Armor integrates the advantages of many magical artifacts. One Void Armor means that it contains items such as wizard shoes, magic gloves, wizard hat, wizard robe, and staff. It can also be used to explore the polar regions, save lives in critical moments, and even briefly leave the Void Warship in the Great Void for short-distance travel.

Some very wealthy high-ring wizards might purchase such armor when exploring the void.

Locke asked, "Can the armor be rented?"

The second-ring wizard shopkeeper paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Wizard armor cannot be rented. This thing is different from the void warship; many parts are consumables. Moreover, each piece of armor is a high-end custom-made item, deeply bound to the wizard's spiritual characteristics."

"Therefore, this is different from the Void Battleship; it cannot be rented."

Locke shook his head and said, "Never mind then."

Even if you take out a loan and use all the money you have, you might not be able to afford even the most basic Void Armor.

Void Armor is that expensive.

The reason why the market size of Wizard Shoes has shrunk significantly in the third stage is because of the existence of Void Armor. With Void Armor, why would anyone need Wizard Shoes?

Locke pondered, "While the Void Armor isn't significantly more expensive than the Void Battleship, it can only be used by one person, whereas a Void Battleship can be used by a group. The consumables for the Void Armor are also much more expensive than those for the Battleship, and it's difficult to resell the Void Armor secondhand."

Therefore, neither Void Battleships nor Void Armor are actually products of the same consumer level.

Locke pondered, "But some necessary equipment for exploration still needs to be purchased. We don't need to buy wizard shoes. The magic gloves, wizard hat, wizard robe, and wizard mask, along with the wizard shoes, make up the standard five-piece wizard exploration set."

Locke asked, "Forget about the armor. I can't even afford a single set."

The second-circle wizard shop owner was immediately filled with regret.

"No, a young genius like Wizard Locke should really buy a suit of armor. That would make it safer when exploring the void."

Locke said, "I need ten sets of first-circle wizard exploration gear and one set of second-circle wizard exploration gear. Oh, and I don't need wizard shoes, can I take them off?"

Those ten first-ring wizards were his employees, so he needed to prepare equipment for them.

The old pirate and Hussein were his helpers, not his employees. Moreover, the old pirate had been in the Great Void for many years and must have his own equipment; he was an enchanter himself.

As for Hussein, he should have been prepared as well.

The main item is the standard five-piece set for a second-ring wizard, which costs over ten million magic stones.

The second-circle wizard shopkeeper frowned.

"This is difficult to handle. Wizard shoes are usually sold as part of a set."

Locke asked, "Which merchant sells the wizard shoes in the standard set of Another Paradise?"

The second-ring wizard shopkeeper immediately said, "The wizard shoes in the standard exploration set of the first ring are from Vikos, while the wizard shoes in the standard exploration set of the second ring are from Blue Belt."

"It's a nice item from Blue Ribbon [Red Ribbon]."

The shopkeeper of the second-ring wizard shop said, "This is the business of Lord Throne, and the shares belong entirely to Lord Throne. Therefore, the quality of our shop is the most guaranteed, and we use only the best wizard shoes. You can rest assured about that."

Locke shook his head slightly. "No, that's not what I'm concerned about. Vicos is a subsidiary brand of Melochy Magic Step, and Blue Ribbon is the best sub-store alliance of Solas Footwear. You should know that my store alliance has recently been in competition with them."

The second-ring wizard shopkeeper said, "Alright, but this has nothing to do with the Otherworld."

"However, there's always room for flexibility. The original price of a five-piece set for a first-ring wizard is 500,000. I'll take the wizard shoes from the set, sell them separately to other wizards who need them, and then sell them to you for 400,000 magic stones."

“The original price of a five-piece set for a second-circle wizard is 15 million. I’ll take away the Red Ribbon Wizard Shoes and sell it to you for 12 million.”

The second-ring wizard shopkeeper said to Locke, "Buying the set directly is more cost-effective. After all, this is an exploration set used to enter the void. Among first-ring magical artifacts, the price of such an artifact usually starts at 150,000, and some cost 200,000. Buying the five artifacts separately might cost 750,000 or even 1 million. But buying the set only requires 500,000 magical stones."

"The same principle applies to second-ring magic items. Generally, magic items of this level cost around four million magic stones. By purchasing a set, you can save at least five million magic stones."

Locke knew this was the reason.

Moreover, the cost of this set cannot be skimped on, because when navigating the void, a second-circle wizard should ideally wear a pair of second-circle wizard shoes to enable rapid short-distance movement within the void and prevent entry into certain impassable and dangerous areas.

At the same time, wizard robes are needed to strengthen the permanent defensive force field shell to prevent the impact of plane-collapsing magical fluctuations in the Great Void, or to prevent encountering some very strange situations in certain planes.

Wear magical gloves to prevent contact with objects that cannot be touched directly with the palm of your hand during the target plane or void travel journey.

Locke once read an interesting anecdote in a free book at the wizard airship's free library: a second-circle wizard once believed that he had a permanent defensive force field shell, so he was not afraid of most dangers in the void.

Therefore, in an effort to save money, he didn't equip himself with a magic glove. As a result, in a target plane, he touched the egg of a famous second-circle magical creature, the Twin Serpents. The egg exploded, instantly amplifying the magical pressure beyond his permanent defensive field, tearing through his defenses. The egg then burrowed into his body through his unprotected hand and parasitized him.

This led the wizard to spend countless times more money than he had saved on the magic glove to seek out a potion master to treat himself. It is said that he was still left with serious side effects, which caused him to gradually fall behind and become a mediocre wizard.

The origin of all this tragedy was simply because he wanted to save money and didn't buy a pair of magic gloves. Without them, he ventured into an unknown plane to explore unknown creatures, and was thus outmaneuvered by the demonic serpent. The environment of the Great Void is extremely complex.

Even if one is a second-circle wizard, one still needs to fully arm oneself and make oneself flawless before one can explore unknown planes.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

Similarly, the wizard's hat generally has two main functions.

First, it increases the magical pressure multiplier of second-circle wizards, which indirectly enhances their maximum magic power. This was the wizard's hat's most important core feature in the past.

Secondly, after entering the era of exploring the Great Void, the wizard's hat was artificially given a second function: to enhance a wizard's ability to adapt to the dimensional power of unfamiliar planes.

The wizard's mask is used to protect the wizard's senses and eyes. In some special worlds, even exploring with mental power can pollute a wizard's mental power.

Or in some special dimensions, there may be situations where wizards, due to their overly keen perception, are harmed instead.

Therefore, the core function of the wizard's mask is to protect the overly sensitive perception of wizards.

The Explorer set consists of five essential pieces, none of which can be omitted.

After thinking for a moment, Locke agreed to the shopkeeper's approach, although he estimated that after the other party took out one of the pieces of equipment, he would not only not lower the price or sell it at the original price, but would instead increase the selling price even more.

But this has nothing to do with me.

Locke then paid him 2038 million magic stones.

He had just earned 35 million magic stones, and had 15 million magic stones in savings, but before he even officially started exploring the void, he lost 2038 million magic stones.

The cost of exploring the void is really high.

That's normal, though, since this is leaving the Wizarding World and traveling to other planes via void travel.

This is just the beginning; there will be many expenses to come later.

However, I still need to keep a portion of the payment for the goods in my own hands.

After signing a series of contracts, Locke took the equipment and returned to Mount Golden Crown, preparing to find Hussein and the others to set off together.

Meanwhile, Locke went to the White Wizard Association and paid three million in taxes.

……

Seven days later, before Locke officially set off on his void voyage, he received a reply from the "Intersection of All Things".

Locke's alter ego was in his office, reading the reply from "The Crossroads of All Things"—

'Dear Mr. Locke Augustine, we are pleased to reply to you and inform you that your manuscript has been accepted and will be published in next month's *Intersection of All Things*...'

"I'm delighted you submitted your article to 'The Boundary of All Things.' I hope you will continue to submit excellent articles to our publication in the future. Thank you for your contributions to 'The Boundary of All Things' and the Golden Magic Plant."

Locke's Ancient Tree Fruit clone leaned back against the chair, slightly dazed and melancholy. His first article in Zone 1 during the second ring stage had just been published.
The second-circle wizards I encountered all turned pale at the mention of articles from the first district.

The Celtic team leader doesn't seem to have a single first-tier card, and he worries about this every day.

But at this moment, he received his first paper published in a Q1 journal.

Locke was somewhat dazed, because everyone said this was extremely difficult, but he had done it.

Locke let out a breath.

"I remember that publishing in a first-tier journal was equivalent to completing a second-tier vertical grant. You could get a tourmaline king peach."

"I originally thought that this project at the border of Vientiane might be a bit risky, but who knew things would go so smoothly, and I got approval a week later. They didn't even ask me to make any minor revisions."

However, Locke was unaware that while everything seemed to be going smoothly to him, a huge uproar had already taken place in the Old Ruins City at the border of darkness and light, the headquarters of the Bronze Bell Border Journal.

……

At the boundary between day and night, in the old ruins of the city, inside the conference room of the bronze bell building.

Flavius ​​Sun Ring Wizard sat at the head of the conference room with a somber expression. Standing before him was the wizard Persepolis, and many other wizards were also present at the conference table.

Meanwhile, the wizard Salonerus arrived late. The meeting was held on short notice, and he was notified late. In addition, he was not at the headquarters office building at the border, so he rushed over here.

The wizard Salonirus felt a chill in his heart, for the moment he stepped into the meeting room, he sensed a suffocating atmosphere.

He looked at the Persian Blues wizard standing in the middle, giving his report. Upon seeing his bewildered direct superior, the Persian Blues wizard blinked repeatedly, giving him a hint.

The wizard Salonirus instantly turned his gaze to a journal on his desk.

that is……

The article by that blank-slate kid from Jinmian Mountain?
He saw the title of the article on the photocopy next to him—The Mechanism of Atavism from Green Foxtail Grass to Golden Wheat...

The wizard Salonerus felt a sudden chill in his heart.

Oh no, he was so focused on getting things done that he didn't even read the title of this article.

The moment he saw the title of the article, he knew this was going to be troublesome.

From the perspective of the current boundary between darkness and light, the atavism of an ordinary second-ring magical plant is indeed insignificant, but the problem is that this is Golden Wheat.

This was once a symbol of the boundary between darkness and light, but it disappeared into history along with the decline of the boundary between darkness and light.

Now that the border between darkness and light has just recovered some of its vitality, it is precisely the time to strengthen its cohesion and confront the influence of the Starry Sea.

If this article's regression to its ancestral form is successful, then... his decision to reject it would be a serious dereliction of duty.

This is even more serious than the problem of rejecting a good article without reason.

(End of this chapter)