Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 856 An Unexpected Ally

Jinmian Mountain, Research Institute Group 2, in the office of the Sith Group Leader.

The Sith wizard looked at Locke with envy and handed him two black magic boxes containing tourmaline peaches.

"Check it over. If there are no problems, sign it and you can take it."

"I really envy you. First you published a paper in a top-tier journal, and now you've won the Xiaoxi Cup. Although the Xiaoxi Cup has only been held a few times, it's still very prestigious because they controlled the quality of the first five Xiaoxi Cup champions and participants, and they also had a relatively successful business operation. Keep up the good work."

Sith Team Leader patted Locke on the shoulder.

"The higher-ups on the Academic Committee believe you are a breeder whose talent rivals that of Wizard Zeno. However, in my opinion, your overall level far surpasses that of Wizard Zeno. Wizard Zeno is not the champion of the Spellfighting Tournament or the Silent Grail."

"By the way, Locke, you can also choose from the twelve magic peaches, except for the Tourmaline King Peach and several second- and third-ring peaches. In other words, you can also choose two first-ring magic peaches."

Locke was prepared. After bowing to the Sith wizard, he said, "Sith leader, I would like to choose two [Dragon View Peach]."

The Sith wizard was taken aback.

"You chose the teacher's Longguan Peach? I thought you would choose the Bailu Peach, or the Shuiyu Peach, or the Jinyun Peach."

"Golden Cloud Peach enhances powerful magic, but it is still a first-level magic peach."

“For you, Jin Yuntao might be more suitable. After all, while second-ring projects and articles seem to be readily available, in reality, the number of second-ring projects and articles is actually limited, depending on each wizard’s talent potential, the platform they are on, and their current stage of development.”

"Especially since you are currently in a period of rapid development, you may not feel this way."

The Sith wizard said, "Although I don't know why, the older a wizard gets, the more quickly the number of projects they can directly apply for and the more articles they can publish will decrease. There are many reasons for this. For example, second-circle wizards are different from third-circle wizards; their souls will inevitably decline. It's possible that the decline of the soul occurs in a place we haven't yet researched. Several articles from the Siming Waters suggest that this is related to the maturation of the Light of the Mind."

"Of course, there is another major reason."

The Sith wizard said, "You should have realized it by now. Doing projects and publishing articles are, in essence, both a research system established by high-ring wizards to promote the development of wizarding civilization, and a path to power advancement designed by the high-ring wizards of wizarding civilization for all wizards."

Locke nodded slightly.

He did have a vague feeling about this, but the Sith wizard, being a Sun Ring wizard, had told him this out loud, in advance.

Indeed, his ability to forge great magic has improved further because he published an article in the second ring, first zone, and won a second ring level competition. Moreover, his breeding skills have grown rapidly.

The Sith wizard chuckled, “There are actually many unspoken paths to advancement in the wizarding world, because discovering these hidden paths is an ability that an excellent wizard should possess.”

"These unspoken, deliberately hidden pieces of information can lead some wizards to not know why they have failed."

"I don't know why other wizards advance so quickly. Maybe right now, I don't even know about some hidden advancement paths that are deliberately concealed. In the end, these are all training programs designed for us wizards who are still young in their eyes by the real high-ring wizards."

"Therefore, they are the pioneers of civilization, not tyrants who embezzle power."

"That's getting off topic. The key point is that along this path of advancement, a wizard will continuously publish related articles and apply for projects as they refine their ultimate magic."

Locke realized what was happening and said, "So, Sith, you mean that if a wizard deviates from his core magic in order to publish papers, win projects, and obtain championships..."

The Sith wizard calmly said, "This is actually a paradox. Because if you deviate from the ultimate magic and do these things, it is almost impossible to succeed. Of course, there are a very few off-the-beaten-path geniuses who do fall into this trap. Their ending is often regrettable. In such cases, if they receive some guidance from someone else, things will be much better."

"If they were at a less prestigious wizarding university, they would likely receive no guidance, or even be deliberately misled because they were in the way. There's nothing new under the sun."

The Sith wizard said, "Therefore, the number of projects, articles, and competitions involved in Locke's forging of your Great Magic is actually limited. Therefore, based on this principle, Mount Golden Crown has established a whole set of reward principles."

"Many old wizards have also seen a significant drop in the number of projects they apply for and the number of articles they publish because their ultimate magic has become too mature or has gone astray and they are no longer able to continue forging it."

Locke nodded. In fact, Sith Team Leader had said so much just to remind him of something.

He seemed to think he should try to exchange for Golden Cloud Peach.

Because Golden Cloud Peach can be attached to one's ultimate magic, the more Golden Cloud Peach attached, the greater the boost.

This thing is basically no different from adding points.

The only difference is that the more you hang, the more likely you are to experience a qualitative change.

Currently, Locke only has two Golden Cloud Peaches and one Comet Gate hanging on his Evolution Moon. Locke estimates that if he could hang three Golden Cloud Peaches, it would result in a small but significant improvement.

If one can hang ten Golden Cloud Peaches, it will result in a significant qualitative improvement.

So, the Sith leader's earnest advice was primarily to point out to himself that the wizarding world has training paths set up by high-ring wizards that are not directly disclosed to others.

For example, what I perceive is that top geniuses pursue top-tier teaching positions.

Secondly, seize the opportunity to exchange for Golden Cloud Peach as soon as possible. Don't think that competitions like the Second Ring First District Article and the Xiaoxi Cup are easy to obtain.

Because one needs to participate in competitions, conduct projects, or publish articles related to the forging of great magic, there is actually a limit to the number of related rewards.

After thinking for a moment, Locke said, "Then give me a Dragon View Peach and a Golden Cloud Peach."

Locke chose to exchange it this way for a simple reason.

I've never understood what happened to Scarmilla's sister in The Nexus.

The touch of humanity that I bestowed upon her with the spiritual power of the stone spirit somehow made her strange, while the teacher's Dragon Peach could just give animals souls 'humanity'.

Although only the Dragon View Peach King can bestow complete 'humanity', even just one Dragon View Peach is enough to conduct the experiment.

'Jin Yuntao is very important, but the symptoms of Camilla the Witch's sister are related to unraveling the mystery of the Stone Spirits in the Dune Plane.'

Locke pondered, "This involves the very foundations of great magic, therefore we cannot ignore it."

The Sith wizard was surprised to see that Locke still couldn't forget Long Guantao. He glanced at Locke with surprise, shook his head slightly, and didn't say anything more.

Locke isn't a beast tamer, so I don't understand why he's so fixated on that dragon peach.

However, the Sith wizard did not offer any further reminders.

After all, the other party was a second-circle archmage like him, not his student; they were colleagues. Therefore, he could not go against Locke's will and directly choose a reward for him.

The Sith Wizard said, "I understand. I will inform the academy. A Golden Cloud Peach and a Dragon View Peach will soon be in your hands."

"By the way, Locke, you need to keep up the good work. I heard that the Brandy Wizard in Group 3 has made a fundamental breakthrough in his project. I also heard that the others have made some good progress through mutual exchange."

“Around this time of year, the competition usually reaches its most intense stage, and many promising results begin to emerge during this period.” Locke blinked and calmly asked, “How so, team leader?”

The Sith wizard said, "I admire your composure in the face of danger, and your mindset that makes you seem to have everything under control."

Locke smiled and said, "Not at all. Actually, I often panic, team leader."

The Sith Wizard laughed and said, "I heard that the Brandy Wizard has finally given up on his research on the worthless Tree of Flesh and Blood, which he has persisted in for three years."

"Thank God, he's finally come to his senses."

"As long as he gets rid of that worthless Tree of Flesh and Blood, he's still pretty smart. Recently, he acquired a second-circle magical plant that has achieved a very rare symbiotic relationship with a second-circle magical creature: the Aegis Ice Leopard."

"It still looks like a peach tree. It seems to be an Arctic ice peach."

The Sith Wizard chuckled, "Research on peach-type magical plants has always been of interest to Golden Crown Mountain. So, his chosen research direction is finally correct. I don't know if he figured it out himself, or if someone gave him some pointers."

"The Arctic Ice Peach grows on the glacier on the back of the Aegis Icefield Leopard. The glacier on the back of the Aegis Icefield Leopard is a characteristic of this magical creature. Some people have previously speculated that it is possible for a second-ring magical plant to take root on the glacier on the back of the Aegis Icefield Leopard in the natural environment."

"But no such precedent has been found to date. The Brandy Wizard obtained this extremely rare Arctic Ice Peach magical plant, which has achieved symbiosis with a second-circle magical creature, from a plant hunter."

"This has all caught the attention of His Majesty the Throne. Because His Majesty the Throne really likes research in this area. It's almost as if it's right on His Majesty's radar."

The Sith wizard smiled and said, "That child has certainly made something of himself."

"However, they are researchers from Group Three after all. You are a researcher from Group Two, so you need to work harder."

Locke nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought. "I understand, team leader."

Locke exchanged a few more words with the Sith wizard before leaving the Sith leader's office.

It's the beginning of the year now, and it's perfectly normal for some of my competitors to start having ideas and making new breakthroughs during this period, preparing to apply for this year's top-tier grants around the middle of the year.

It would be abnormal if they didn't make any breakthroughs during this period.

Locke was somewhat surprised that the Brandy Wizard would suddenly abandon his research on the Sacred Tree of Flesh and Blood, which he had persisted in for three years. Did he come to his own senses, or was someone reminding him?
Locke returned to the tenth floor of the second underground research institute.

On the tenth floor, there were ten acres of magical fields, which were grafted plants of 'Golden Ear Wheat' downgraded to the first level of fast-growing seedling rootstock and 'Great Blood Wave Pineapple' downgraded to the first level of fast-growing seedling.

My second pair of wizard shoes will follow the golden magic route, and I will take some of the spell features of the spell Sephiroth's Grip as a reference to transform it into a second-circle botanical spell model.

Next, I asked an enchanter to enchant the wizard's shoes.

The reason for grafting Golden Wheat was simply to give the Bloodwave Pineapple the characteristics of Golden Magic, so that it could be used to cast that spell.

Therefore, this grafting will not require much money or resources, because it only requires cultivating a magical plant with certain golden magical plant factors.

The training difficulty is much lower.

However, Locke plans to use the grafting cultivation method in the early stages, and then use the spiritual energy cultivation method to improve and optimize it later.

In this way, I can also practice my spiritual cultivation method and improve my breeding skills to the level of a second-ring breeder.

At the same time, by designing a second-circle botanical spell model, he can simultaneously improve his level of gold magic and botanical magic, further forging his ultimate magic.

Of course, this is a bit difficult.

Locke was prepared to invest a lot of money and overcome many difficulties.

If that still doesn't work, he can browse the library, find some botanical spell models designed by others, copy them, and then piece them together. Eventually, he can manage to create something that barely meets some of the functions of the spell model he envisions.

Therefore, Locke had prepared for both possibilities.

Locke looked at Arthas's pre-sale platform, but there was a problem: he didn't know if this was because it was a concept pre-sale or something else.

My pre-sales last month were surprisingly slow, with only 21 orders sold.

This is in stark contrast to the overwhelming success of the pre-sale of his previous second-ring wizard shoes.

Locke looked at the number strangely and asked Scarlett the Witch. Scarlett seemed to know what had happened, and she replied that she was investigating the cause.

But at least for now, it is certain that it has nothing to do with Solas's barefoot and Melochy's magic step.

Locke stood in the laboratory, puzzled, and asked, "What happened?"

Things haven't been going too well lately.

At the same time, he received a message from the Witch Mason through the Water Hyacinth System. She said that a witch from the House of True Knowledge had come looking for him and had something important to discuss, hoping to meet with him.

But we need to talk in a private room in the Witch's Kitchen.

Locke glanced at the address sent by Mason Witch and frowned slightly.

……

The Witch's Kitchen, Room 1, has its soundproofing spell activated.

Locke walked in and saw a witch standing with her back to him in room number 1. Judging from her back, she should be quite young.

I feel like I've seen this place before, but I can't remember where I've seen it before.

Locke watched her as she fell into deep thought.

He suddenly remembered who this person was.

I've only met her once.

At the party my teacher threw to celebrate me becoming a second-circle wizard!
The witch turned around, revealing a blooming black rose on the left shoulder of her wizard's robe.

"Hello, this is our second meeting. Locke Augustine. I am Rose Tacitus."

Rose the Witch has a pointed chin and a cold look in her eyes. She seems unapproachable and even a little mean.

"I've come here today to seek a temporary alliance with you."

(End of this chapter)