Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 862, The Forest Ranger 2.0, is now online!
In the dormitory of the Golden Crown Mountain District, Locke's Ancient Tree Fruit clone opened its eyes and stood up from the sofa in the study.

By consuming the Tourmaline King Peach, Locke obtained the secret of creation twice in succession.

At the same time, he recalled the star map of primordial dust that he had recorded in his mind, and marveled at the miracle contained within the tourmaline king peach.

This is practically a Dao Fruit!
As he consumed two Tourmaline King Peaches, the star map of primordial dust became increasingly clear in his mind. This made Locke realize that although he could only obtain the portion of the secrets of creation set by the breeder of the Tourmaline King Peaches by consuming them, he was still consuming them.

But the creation star map that I personally remembered was definitely real.

"If I could eat more tourmaline peaches, I could even study this star chart directly."

Locke pondered, "This star map gives me the illusion that it can enhance my botanical spell model. I did indeed optimize the spell model in my mind's eye and strengthen my spell power because of these two tourmaline king peaches."

"We can get more tourmaline and king peach blossoms in the future..."

Locke pondered, "I need to deplete the inventory of Tourmaline King Peaches on Mount Golden Crown to obtain enough of them so that I can see the Genesis Tree Planting Star Map more clearly."

Locke summarized what he had learned from observing the Genesis Star Chart, and even adjusted the Power Leaf of the Ranger he had previously established.

The higher the level cap of the Leaf of Power, and the more complete the Leaf of Power system, the higher the level of one's Great Magic forging, and the closer one gets to the Star Ring.

Locke took out a Leaf of Power from the Path of Nemesis, then used a grafting knife to engrave and carve on it, making minor adjustments to raise the Path of Nemesis from 0.3 to 0.5.

Locke then modified the other four types of Power Leaves, reducing them all to 0.5 rings.

If the Path of Nemesis: Leaf of Power can be upgraded to 0.5 rings, it proves that other Leaves of Power can also be upgraded.

At this moment, Locke was modifying the five powers of Ye Xiu.

"We will soon be deploying the Forest Sanctuary in the Three Caves World to conduct our third attempt at forging ultimate magic."

"This time, we'll add restrictions on spell slots. Each Leaf of Power has a base usage of 5 times... No, since we're adding restrictions, we naturally need to add a level system..."

Locke shuddered.

At that moment, he remembered what the witch Catherine had said: the power system of great magic was a hierarchical system.

"Adding a linear hierarchy would bring my Ranger system closer to a true power system. It's not that I can't share my power with the Rangers, but then it wouldn't be a true power system. Like Sura, his mage system would just be a facade."

"Only a true power system can be forged into Star Ring Great Magic."

Locke pondered, “Since we’re going to increase the restrictions on spell slots, we should just introduce a ranking system and classify Rangers. A level 1 Ranger can only use a 0.1-level Power Leaf, while a level 5 Ranger can use a 0.5-level Power Leaf. Apart from the Ranger’s passive spells, Path of Nemesis and Lightness of the Feather, other active spells can only be used 5 times per day.”

This was just a number Locke randomly chose, purely for testing and experimentation.

Locke continued to ponder, "In addition to the Way of the Nemesis, Lightness of the Feather, Herb Tricks, Herb Hands, and Herb Entanglement, I will add three more spell models that I have specially improved."

"The first type is the 0.5-level spell model I modified and simplified from the first-level spell model I used to use, the Golden Fern Spear, called the Arrow of Grass and Trees."

"The second type is the 0.5-level spell model I extracted from the Forest Sanctuary, which I simplified and modified into the [Tree Friend]."

"The third type is a 0.5-level spell I developed and designed myself: [Forest Conversation]."

"These Power Leaves should not only have a 0.5 ring version, but also various versions ranging from 0.1 ring to 0.5 ring."

An hour later, the number of Locke's Power Leaves was designed to be eight.

"We cannot ignore the essence and focus only on the phenomena. No matter how much the Rangers' power level increases, it has limited significance for me. What is truly important is my power system, and the foundation of my current power system is these leaves of power."

Locke pondered, “I have now increased the number of Power Leaves to eight, but that’s not enough. A second-circle wizard needs to organize a set of virtual symbols from the disciplines he has studied to describe his power system and his understanding.”

"It's perfectly normal for a second-circle wizard to create thousands of virtual symbols to describe their power system."

Locke said, "But that would be far too complicated. And it would take a long time to accumulate experience."

"Many wizards seem to waste decades, or even centuries, on this step precisely because of this. This is certainly not the path of genius."

Locke pondered, "I'll ask my teacher about these things later. Right now, my system of power leaves, which imitates the leaves of the World Tree, is deeply intertwined with the Rangers."

"The Rangers obtain the Leaf of Power by fulfilling their duty to protect nature. They will grow together with the Leaf of Power."

"Its core is the Way of the Nemesis - Leaf of Power."

This is actually the biggest foundation of his own Power Leaf system.

Of the three new Power Leaves that I have recently acquired, the most important one is actually the Treeman's Close Friend - Power Leave.

Essentially, he is using the Leaf of Power system—in his own language—to re-describe his entire journey.

This is also the key to the transition from the second ring to the star ring.

To re-describe one's own power in one's own language, even though this language cannot compare to the basic magical script used by wizards, can deepen one's understanding of oneself and begin to forge one's own great magic.

If I continue to grow and learn using the wizarding system in the future, then my own language will be more like a personal memo, or a way of looking at problems from another perspective.

Therefore, Locke realized that since he had become a formal wizard by using the Forest Sanctuary as a permanent defensive force field, his Ranger system needed to advance to the first level, and the power of the Forest Sanctuary had to be added to the Leaf of Power.

Therefore, he designed the [Treeman's Close Friend] - Leaf of Power, attempting to incorporate the power of his own Forest Sanctuary into the Leaf of Power.

Locke distributed the redesigned eight Power Leaves to his treant avatars in the two lower forests where he was currently located, and devoted some of his energy to remotely engraving inscriptions, creating a new Power Leaves system based on these eight Power Leaves.

At this moment, the entire forest ranger system is in flux.

Forest Patrol 2.0 is now online.

Shaw in the Louis dimension, and Jack and others in the Heidelberg dimension, all sensed a change in their power. The limitations had increased, but the power system was more closely integrated with nature, raising its upper limit. Talented individuals could continue to advance.

In the Heidelberg plane, Jack and Susan, dressed in ranger gear, looked towards the direction of the forest. Above them, some leaves of power drifted down from the canopy of the oak tree.

Inside the dormitory at Golden Crown Mountain, Locke saw that Rose the Witch had sent him a voice call request. Locke was stunned for a moment, then remotely controlled his treant avatar in the Three Caves Plane. Taking advantage of the giants' mistaken belief that they had cleared out the treants, he quickly entered the forest, hid himself, and disguised himself as an ordinary tree.

At the same time, he manipulated the treant to search for the sealing stone. After all, a sealing stone represents a gaseous wizard. If he could retrieve it, he could choose to unseal it at any time and gain an extra ally.

Meanwhile, Locke's clone, in his dormitory at Golden Crown Mountain, chose to connect with Rose the Witch.

Rose the Witch's voice maintained its nonchalant tone, as if her focus was never on herself.

"Locke Augustine, I have some bad news for you. Solas Barefoot and Melochy Magic Steps both intend to launch a promotional campaign for second-circle wizard shoes at the beginning of two months from now. You know what that means, right?"

Locke paused for a moment, then realized that this wasn't directed at him. Rather, it was between two behemoths, and even a small Karami who was just watching from the sidelines could be accidentally injured or crushed to death by the two behemoths during their battle.

After their failure with the second-ring wizard shoes, the two allied shops would obviously pay less attention to them. At this moment, their big promotion was obviously a deliberate price reduction activity to undermine each other in order to hold a themed event and because they were competing with each other.

But this has a significant impact on me.

My wizard shoes were already selling only so-so. If I were to run into promotional events from both companies, it's easy to imagine that my second pair of wizard shoes would likely be a flop, and it might even affect my third pair of second-ring wizard shoes.

Rose the Witch is now reminding herself that she must fulfill her duty as an ally.

Locke said to Rose the Witch, "I understand. But you don't need to worry too much. I will fulfill my duty as an ally and complete the pre-sale of my second pair of wizard shoes within this month."

"Therefore, their plan has no impact on me."

Rose the Witch's voice revealed a hint of surprise.

"Oh? So confident? No wonder my great-grandmother told me to treat you as an enemy."

“Locke Augustine, do you need to know the specific progress of Soras's support for the Brandy Wizards? If you need it…”

Locke said, "I don't need it."

Rose the Witch chuckled from the other end of the Ganoderma lucidum plant.

"That's good. I can rest assured now."

Locke hung up the phone and shook his head slightly.

Rose the Witch seems to be the kind of person who constantly tests the strength of her partners. In that case, cooperation with her is not stable at all. If you show any weakness, this person who was an ally just a moment ago might attack you the next moment.

Oh well, I'm only temporarily allied with her anyway.

Someone like her probably wouldn't need long-term allies; she likely doesn't even have many long-term, stable allies around her.

Locke thought for a moment; if she had anything to offer, she wouldn't need to come looking for him.

Locke said to Douglas, "You need to help me continue writing my article on the atavistic evolution of the sea urchin. I'll give you the experimental data and the core outline, and you can help me improve it."

Douglas was naturally happy to take on this task, since the Brandy Wizard had been keeping an eye on him every day recently, and if he didn't work, he might be targeted by the Brandy Wizard.

He simply immersed himself in his work. With the help of the Witch King Lagmamon, although it was difficult to write an article based on the information Locke provided, he could still finish it no matter how slow he was.

Meanwhile, Locke's clone was preparing to head to the second research institute to complete the second pair of wizard shoes and put them into actual combat.

Using the Forest Sanctuary, with the help of the Forest Alliance Spell and the Moon of Evolution, it is still possible to transfer some magical plants from one's clone to one's main body.

……

In the Three Caverns World, Locke manipulates his treant avatar to travel through the forest, while simultaneously searching for the missing Sealed Stone based on the flow of dimensional power.

A day later, Locke finally found the location of the sealing stone on a riverbank. It had disappeared three days earlier after being struck by the Light Principle of the God King of this world.

The sealing stone was now in the hands of a young boy and a middle-aged man.

At this moment, both the boy and the middle-aged man were covered in blood and dressed in rags, as if they were fleeing a disaster. They were not carrying any supplies, except for a stone in the boy's hand.

That stone is the sealing stone.

The middle-aged man looked at the stone in the boy's hand with a strange expression.

“My little master, I have been entrusted with protecting you by my late master, and I only hope to escort you to the hands of a friendly city-state.”

"May your late master bless you. May the god of war once again have mercy on us and look after us."

The boy gritted his teeth and asked, "Why did the God of War abandon me and my father, and instead support that despicable coward to the throne? He has never even fought a single battle."

A flicker of fear crossed the middle-aged man's eyes. "No...don't talk about the god of war like that. Talking about gods is a serious crime."

"This is the choice of the god of war, and we have no choice but to accept it and pray that he will change his mind."

“If we pray day after day, the god of war will hear us. He will change his mind.”

"Little master, your safety is the most important thing right now. Why are you holding onto this stone so tightly?"

The boy said in a low voice, "It's strange. We were able to escape yesterday because of this stone. Just by holding this stone, I felt a constant flow of heat entering my body. My strength would increase a little out of nowhere. It wouldn't increase much, but it would at least allow me to fight two more people my age."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up with surprise. "Could this be a treasure bestowed upon us by the god of war?"

"The suffering I am experiencing now is actually a test given to me by the war god Terella!"

"If we can get through this, we will surely regain the favor of the god of war."

The boy looked at the stone in his hand.

"I think to be more realistic, we should give this treasure to the priest of Terella and have him offer it to the god of war. Perhaps this will help me regain divine favor more quickly."

The middle-aged man took the stone from his hand and asked in confusion, "Then why don't I feel anything? Could it be that this is an honor bestowed upon you exclusively by the God of War?"

At this moment, Locke was manipulating the treant avatar. Because he had not descended as a saint, nor had he received the support of this world, he was essentially being suppressed by this world.

Therefore, one cannot enter the state of "doing whatever one pleases without overstepping the bounds".

Therefore, he had no way of knowing the identities of the boy and the middle-aged man in front of him, or whether they were the chosen ones of this world.

"If we can't see it directly, we can only guess."

Locke, manipulating his treant avatar, pondered, "This is a moment to test my judgment. But that child should have wizarding talent. This increases the possibility that he is the chosen one."

“The treants are too conspicuous once they leave the forest. I need humans to help me gather information, quickly understand this plane, and locate my half. My half gave the ring to the giantess, definitely so that my main body, who is about to arrive in this plane, could see it.”

"After all, the two sides will definitely clash when they land, and I will be able to see that clash."

"Then here's the problem."

What message is my other half trying to convey to me?

(End of this chapter)